“What about Saurellia?” she asked. “What’s the backbone of your economy?”
“Some would say fighting,” he said slowly. “At least for men like me. Almost all of us leave home to work as mercenaries sooner or later. But very few Saurellians hold slaves.”
“It is illegal?”
“On Saurellia it is,” he said. “But it’s just one planet within the federation. There are hundreds of others where slavery is legal. We do have economic sanctions in place to discourage it, though.”
“I’m sure that’s a great comfort to the slaves.”
“This isn’t going well, is it?” he asked finally. “I really don’t want to fight with you anymore, Giselle.”
“Why not?” she asked softly. “Honestly, why should you care? You have complete power over me—I’ve agreed to do whatever you want. Wasn’t that the plan?”
He fell silent for a moment, and then spoke again.
“Yes, that was the plan.”
“So why all the worry?” she asked softly.
“Because I don’t want to fight with you,” he said simply. “I don’t want to force you, either. When I thought you were a whore, I thought I could just pay you and everything would be all right. But I know now that you aren’t a whore, and to be honest, I’m not sure it would make a difference if you were. It just doesn’t feel right like this.”
“Does this mean you don’t want to have sex with me?’ she asked.
He gave a low, humorless laugh. “No, that’s not what it means.”
He reached over and took her hand in his. For a moment she wondered if he would lay it across his lap, repeating the crude gesture he’d made at Manya’s. But instead it carried it slowly to his mouth, turning it so her palm brushed his lips.
“I find that I just want to be near you,” he said after a moment. He kissed her palm softly, and she could feel the sensation singing down along her nerves. Between her legs there was an answering twinge, as if her body had just been waiting for him to make a move. He kissed her palm again, and then slipped his tongue out just enough to trace one line across her hand.
“It’s amazing to me,” he said. “We came from worlds that are thousands of light years apart, yet we’re made exactly the same. Same hands, same little wrinkles, same desires.”
“It’s why so many people have faith in the Goddess,” she said lightly. “Because no matter the distance between the human worlds, we all stay human. We’re tied together by our genes and our heritage.”
“Are we?” he asked. “I’m not so sure about that sometimes. Saurellians are different than most humans, you know. We can’t mate outside our species.”
She froze, and then carefully pulled her hand back from him.
“What the hell is going on here?” she asked, confused. “Call me crazy, but licking each other’s hands seems sort of like a prelude to mating. I’ve seen you down there, and you looked human enough to me before.”
He laughed, and then pulled her close again.
“I meant mating to have children,” he said. “I’m sorry, that did sound kind of strange. Saurellians can only mate with other Saurellians, and then only with a life mate. Unfortunately the Goddess hasn’t seen fit to grace us with enough women to match our men. Makes things a bit awkward for people like me.”
“People like you?”
“Men without a life mate,” he said. His mood seemed to change, and he turned to her, looking deeply into her eyes.
“This has been a very serious evening,” he said. “That’s not really what I was looking for. How about you?”
She shook her head, and then laughed a little out of nervousness. He constantly surprised her.
“No, not really,” she said. “But to be honest, I rather suspected we’d just have sex. We’ve already done more talking than I was anticipating, that’s for sure.”
He stood suddenly and pulled her to her feet.
“Talking isn’t getting us anywhere,” he said. “Let’s dance.”
She looked at him, eyes wide.
“You do realize that you’re an enormous man who looks like a killer and who wears black leather, right?” she asked.
He nodded his head slowly, and then grinned at her. “It’s an image I cultivate,” he said. “Helps me get women. But I can still dance.”
“All right then,” she said, rolling her eyes at him. “Are we going to have music for this dancing, or are we expected to sing?”
“I think music would be in order,” he replied, eyes sparkling. “Jenna, play us something good. Try the harvest festival recording.”
A swell of lively music burst into the room, and he grabbed her around the waist. She didn’t know the steps, but after a moment it didn’t seem to matter. He danced her across the room in giant, leaping strides, and she burst out laughing.
“You lied,” she gasped when the song ended. She could hardly catch her breath, and she clung to him, giggling. He looked down at her, smirking.
“How’s that?”
“You said you could dance,” she gasped, and he swung her around.
“Well, I didn’t say I could dance well . Jenna, let’s have something slower next.”
A new song welled out from Jenna’s hidden speakers. He pulled her close and they swayed together.
Finally, she looked up at him and spoke.
“I think this is the weirdest date I’ve ever had,” she said.
“Thanks,” he replied, dropping his head to kiss the tip of her nose. “It’s just my way to trying to make myself memorable.”
“Are you telling me that this is all deliberate, all part of your great plan? Because I don’t believe that for one minute.”
He winked at her, and then pulled her head back down against his chest. She sighed, and snuggled into his warmth. He was so big, so strong. She could feel the strength in his arms around her. His chest was hard with muscles, but still warm. He smelled good, too. Like leather, and man .
“Why do you wear leather?’ she asked quietly. “It’s nice, but it’s not what most spacers wear.”
“I like how it feels,” he replied. “It’s natural, reminds me that humans belong on planets, not space stations.”
“Do you live on a planet, then?” she asked. “I thought you lived on this ship.”