Enhanced: Brides of the Kindred 12 (The Brides of the Kindred) (26 page)

“Oh…Oh God, Six,” she moaned, thrusting
her hips back to give him better access to her open pussy. “That’s incredible!
I’m close…so close…”

“Then you’re ready for this,” he growled
softly. Before he even finished speaking, Mei-Li felt two thick fingers from
his other hand penetrating her to the core. She gasped and arched her back as
they slid inside her, filling her, fucking her, pressing deep to get to the end
of her channel while with his other hand he brought her to an earth-shattering
climax.

“Oh my God, oh Six!” she heard herself
gasping as her orgasm broke over her. “Oh, please—oh yes!”

“That’s right, Mei-Li,” he murmured, never
altering his rhythm as he thrust deep inside her. “Come for me—I want to hear
you come. Want to hear your pleasure as you give yourself completely.”

She couldn’t have stopped herself if she
wanted to—and she didn’t. Moaning his name, she allowed herself to come hard on
the invading fingers. Allowed herself to lose it completely, giving in to the
pleasure as Six watched her with an almost hungry expression on his face while
she came for him. Came until she felt as limp and lifeless as a rag doll and he
finally slid his fingers from her pussy and let her slump down, exhausted, to
her side on the bed.

“Six,” she gasped, when she could talk
again. “That was…I don’t even know what to say.”

Turning over, she saw that he was sitting
on the bed beside her, watching her with an unreadable expression on his face.
He was still nude and still hard—his shaft looked painfully erect and she
wondered if it was hurting him.

“Six?” she asked tentatively. “Are you
okay? Do you need me to, uh…” She reached for him but he moved much more
quickly than she would have believed possible considering his size. In a flash,
he was off the bed and halfway across the room. “Six?” she asked again, looking
up at him.

“Forgive me.” His deep voice sounded
strangled. “I must…I need…”

“You need what?” Mei-Li asked, mystified.

He shook his head. Then, without another
word, he turned and left.

Chapter
Nineteen

Six locked himself in the fresher and put
his back to the door, breathing heavily. Gods, what was wrong with him? Why was
his heart pounding so hard? Why did it take everything he had not to rush back
into the sleeping chamber, gather Mei-Li in his arms and crush her to him? Why
did he want to cover her mouth with his and taste her sweet lips again—to take
the kisses she had denied him earlier?

I simply need a
physical release,
he told himself
sternly, trying to control the strange, wild urges that seemed to have taken over
him.
Once I have relieved the physical pressure, the need to hold her will
pass.

But would it? There was only one way to
find out.

Though he hadn’t given himself pleasure
since he was inducted into the ranks of the Enhanced Ones, some things could
never be forgotten. Muscle memory took over as he took his shaft in his fist.

Six pumped in long, slow, measured
strokes, trying to control the lust rather than letting it control him. He was
doing well until he brought his other hand to his face. Then he caught her
scent—that sweet, feminine musk that seemed to drive him wild, to cause all
kinds of forbidden sensations to rise within him.

It wasn’t just her scent, either, he had
to admit to himself even as he breathed her in. It was the way she looked when
she gave herself to him, when she opened her thighs and submitted to his
penetration. When she let him put his fingers deep inside her pussy and fill
her until she came…came so hard for him.

Unable to stop himself, Six slipped the
first two fingers of his right hand between his lips. Immediately her rich,
complex taste filled his mouth. He closed his eyes and sucked, lapping his
fingers to get every last bit of her sweet juice. Gods, how he wanted to taste
it from the source! How he longed to bury his face between her thighs and lap
and suck and kiss her soft little pussy until she came all over his mouth
instead of on his fingers. He wanted to feel her pulling his hair, riding his
tongue, begging and moaning and calling his name in that soft, little voice of hers.

He wanted to hear her say she felt for
him. That she…loved him? But no, that was foolish. Wasn’t it?

Foolish or not, the fantasy was suddenly
too much. With a low groan, Six came hard, spurting his seed over the metal of
his enhanced left hand, losing control in a way he hadn’t allowed himself to in
years.

Mei-Li,
he thought nearly incoherently.
Gods, want you so
much…

When the pleasure finally ebbed it took
his strength with it. Six slid down the door bonelessly and wound up on the
floor with his legs splayed out in front of him. For a moment he just sat
there, trying to catch his breath. Then the barrage of questions began.

What just happened to
me? Why couldn’t I help myself? Why do I want her so badly? Why did I need so
desperately to make her come—to bring her pleasure? To kiss her and hear her
say that she feels for me?

He tried to tell himself that it was
simply Kindred instinct surfacing—a female’s pleasure always came first and a male’s
need to make her come was part of that. But somehow, though he tried, Six
couldn’t quite shake the sensation of unease that lingered around his head like
a dark cloud, even after he rose on shaky legs and cleaned himself up.

The fact was that Mei-Li affected
him…deeply. Despite Yipper’s promise that all was well with his emotion damper,
something was happening.

Something that Six feared would have far
lasting consequences…

Trying to shake the idea, he gathered
himself and took a deep breath. It was foolish to stay here in the fresher,
avoiding her because of some ridiculous concern that would ultimately amount to
nothing. Squaring his shoulders, he went to find her.

* * * * *

“Hey, are you okay?” Mei-Li looked at Six
anxiously when he stepped into the kitchen. He had left the bedroom in such a
hurry she wasn’t sure what was going on with him.

“I am well.” The big Kindred looked much
more composed and also much more clothed—though he was still bare chested, he
was wearing his black leather flight trousers that clung lovingly to his
muscular legs. That was good, if he had walked out naked, she didn’t think she
could have kept her composure nearly so well. Even now she could feel her
cheeks getting hot when she considered what they had just done together—or
rather, what she had allowed Six to do to her.

Hit it and quit it,
she reminded herself sternly.
Don’t get emotionally
involved. Just be cool, calm, and collected—like Six is.

Or was he? The last time she’d seen him,
he was in a state of extreme arousal. Mei-Li snatched what she hoped was an
unobtrusive glance at his crotch and noticed that he had apparently taken care
of his problem himself. Well,
that
was a little insulting, but maybe he
had his reasons.

Looking back up at his face, she noticed
that he was taking in her own choice of clothing.

“I hope you don’t mind,” she said, nodding
down to his thin black undershirt which she was wearing as a kind of a
nightdress. She’d had to roll up the sleeves and it fell to mid-thigh on her
but it was preferable to the tight, white shrink-wrap clothes he’d simulated
for her. She wished for the white lace nightgown he’d given her but she must
have left it behind on the med barge. “I wanted something comfortable to lounge
around the, uh, domicile in.”

“No, I do not mind.” Six’s voice sounded
slightly strangled. “You can help yourself to anything you find here. What is
mine, is yours.”

“Thank you, I was hoping you would feel
that way.” She smiled at him. “Right now I’m helping myself to some food—or
trying to anyway. I don’t really see much of anything to eat around here.”

She looked around the sterile kitchen area
which appeared to consist of empty countertops and one cabinet which was bare
except for a blue, plastic bag of fine, white sand. At least Mei-Li assumed it was
sand—it certainly didn’t taste like salt or sugar when she’d dared to take a
pinch of it to try.

The whole room was so bare she wouldn’t
have even known this area was supposed to be his kitchen if there hadn’t been
appliance in it. One looked very much like a large microwave with wires
sticking out of it the other appeared to be a small refrigerator built into the
wall. Both were very clean and very empty.

“There is plenty of sustenance to be had
here,” Six rumbled, saying the exact opposite of what she’d been thinking.
“Enough to feed the two of us for an entire solar year.”

“Oh yeah? Where?” Mei-Li looked around
skeptically. “Unless the bag of sand in the cabinet is edible, I don’t know
what you’re talking about.”

“That isn’t sand—it’s
tresh—
raw
material for the synthesizer.” He got out the blue plastic bag and set it on
the counter. “Watch.”

He reached into a small drawer which had
several of the weird spoon-straws in it and withdrew a small metal flask. It
was long and thin with measurement lines marked in black on its side and a pour
spout at one end. Dipping it into the bag, he filled it about half full. Then
he crossed to the microwave looking appliance and opened a tiny hatch in its
top that Mei-Li hadn’t noticed before. He poured the fine, white
tresh
in
and closed the hatch.

“Wait—so you pour the sand, I mean
tresh,
in the top and food comes out?” Mei-Li asked.

Six nodded as though it were obvious.

“Of course. The
tresh
is a
dehydrated and compact form of nutrients as well as other raw materials. It is
converted into comestibles or other goods which appear in the delivery slot.”
He nodded at the interior of the simulator.

“But…how does it know what kind of food to
make?” Mei-Li asked. “Or does it only make
garn?” Please say it can make
something else!
She really didn’t want to eat stewed white paper-tasting
gloop for breakfast, lunch, and dinner her entire stay on Z4, even if it was
only for nine days.

“The simulator can make whatever you
desire. You simply tell it what you wish to eat.”

“How do you tell it?” Mei-Li asked, still
mystified.

“Watch.” Six lifted one of the wires
hanging off the back of the microwave and pressed the flat pad at the end of it
to one of his temples. “Tell me what you desire.”

“Oh, I’m not exactly sure I could describe
it.” Mei-Li frowned, thinking of the large French fries and chocolate shake she
had never gotten to finish from lunch the other day. “Maybe you should let me
do it.”

“I am afraid the simulator is not yet attuned
to your brain patterns. Though I will instruct Ter to work on it, it may take
some time to reprogram.”

“Working now. Approximate time to
reprogram, eight solar hours,” the voice of Ter came over the speaker, making
Mei-Li jump.

“Oh,” she gasped, putting a hand to her
chest. “I almost forgot about him! But look, you don’t have to make anything
special for me. I mean, I don’t want to impose.”

Six frowned. “It is part of my duty to
cook you meals that meet with your approval. I will be pleased to make you
anything you desire.”

“But I really don’t think I could explain
what I like well enough for you to make it,” she protested.

“What about the comestibles I saw you give
away to the young one on the day I claimed you?” Six asked.

“You saw that? You were watching me?”
Mei-Li felt suddenly uncomfortable. What else had he seen her do? How long had
he been watching her that day before he claimed her?

He nodded. “I told myself that I wanted to
be certain you were not in danger. But I think now that I was…” He looked
suddenly troubled.

“You were what?” she asked softly.

“I think I was curious about you. I wanted
to see how you lived…who you spoke to…what you were like outside of my dreams,”
he admitted in a low voice.

“Oh…” Mei-Li wasn’t sure what to say.
“Well, that’s…” She cleared her throat. “I mean, I guess I wondered about you,
too.” For a moment she had the impulse to go over and hug him, or at least
touch his broad, bare chest. She restrained herself with an effort.
“Anyway…yes. The things you saw me eating the day you came to get me would be
just fine. They’re called French fries and a chocolate shake.”

Six shook his head. “The names are
irrelevant. I will simply picture them in my mind and remember how they
smelled.”

“Don’t you actually need to know how they
tasted?”
she asked.

He shrugged, as though it wasn’t
important. “The sight and smell should be sufficient for the simulator to make
a reasonably close facsimile.”

“Okay, well…if you say so.” Mei-Li
shrugged. “But…you were close enough to me to smell my lunch?”

“I have very sharp senses.” His nostrils
flared slightly. “Though mostly I was searching for your personal scent.”

She frowned. “What? You mean like perfume?
I don’t think I was wearing any that day.”

“Not an artificial fragrance—I mean the
scent of your skin, of your hair.” He reached out and stroked a strand of it
out of her eyes, tucking it gently behind her ear. “It is…intoxicating.”

“You, uh, smell really good too.” Mei-Li
had a feeling they were getting off topic but she couldn’t seem to stop herself.
Six had just made her come harder than she ever had in her life only a few
minutes ago. Despite her promise to herself to remain emotionally uninvolved,
she couldn’t help being drawn to the big Kindred.

They were actually leaning toward each
other with Six cupping her cheek and Mei-Li standing on her tip-toes to reach
him when she realized what she was about to do.
You’re about to kiss him,
just like you promised you wouldn’t,
whispered a little voice in her head.
Really,
Mei-Li, get a grip on yourself! Have some self control—some self respect!

“Um, I’m really hungry,” she said, drawing
away from his hand. “Maybe you should go ahead and make supper—if you don’t
mind.”

“I will.” Six let the hand he’d been
stroking her cheek with drop to his side. Then he took a deep breath and his
brow furrowed as though he was concentrating hard. After a moment there was a
small, flat chime and the inside of the simulator lit up.

“Is it done?” Mei-Li asked hopefully.

“It is.” Six removed the sensor pad from
his temple and opened the door. He pulled out a familiar looking white paper
sack. Inside, was a big red cardboard carton filled with golden, crispy,
delicious looking fries that were steaming hot. There was also a paper cup with
a plastic lid and a straw and when Mei-Li lifted the lid, she saw a frosty
chocolate milkshake inside.

“That’s amazing!” she exclaimed as he put
the items on a long, flat tray-like plate and held them out to her. “I can’t
believe you can make fries and a shake out of sand just by
thinking
about
it.”

“The simulator can make anything you can
imagine,” Six told her. “Within reason, of course. Whatever you are trying to
simulate must fit within the delivery slot. And you cannot simulate a living
creature.”