A Kiss For a Cure (3 page)

She wanted the ground to open up and swallow her. She was going to send her parents something evil for next Christmas. Something vile and terrible that would make them disown her.

Cai took the plastos to the door and set them down. He was, she realized, neat. He’d come behind her and tidied everything up while she’d been on her little rampage.

Turning, he crossed back to her more slowly than he’d gone to the door. This time he didn’t stop. He kept coming, invading her personal space. It had been easy to ignore the sheer size of him when he’d been across the room or out of her field of vision. Now he towered over her. The scent of soap, musk and a fragrance like sandalwood clung to his skin.

“Relax,” he murmured. “It’s just a hug, right?”

“Right.” She nodded.

She didn’t enjoy everything about caring for her sharks, but she did it because they needed her. Cai needing feedback was like caring for her sharks.

His hairless chest was at eye level for her. Of the few men she’d seen with as little clothing, they’d had some body hair, but not Cai.

He didn’t make a move to touch her, leaving her to initiate contact. Awkwardly, she pushed her arms under his, circling his waist. She wasn’t even really hugging him. More like, standing very close and touching. It wasn’t bad.

As she began to relax, Cai chuckled and brought his arms up, wrapping them around her waist and shoulders. He tugged her forward until she pressed against his body, her face turned sideways and resting on his shoulder. She didn’t want to cuddle up to this man, even if he did smell great.

Despite the chill of the room, his skin was warm against her face. She could hear his heartbeat, slower and with a slight staccato rhythm as if the valves worked faster. Where her skin touched his it tingled, as if she’d been exposed to a static electricity field. It was strange, and yet nice to be held by him, and hold him in return. But it didn’t mean she liked him.

One hand cupped her neck. His fingers brushed her hair, back and forth. The hand at her waist squeezed her hip, and slid under her shirt.

“What are you doing?” She turned her head to glance over her shoulder, as if she could glare at the offending appendage.

His hand splayed over the small of her back, his touch soft. “I have to touch your skin, remember?”

She took a steadying breath and reminded herself it was for his benefit. Laying her cheek against his shoulder, she realized again how touching him felt different. There was a comparison in her mind, on the tip of her tongue, if only she could remember what it reminded her of. “No, you must have forgotten to mention that bit.”

“Well, how do you think it works?” He chuckled, the deep rumble reverberating against her chest.

“I hadn’t thought about it.” But the need for contact made sense. Sex, kissing and other intimate acts involved a good deal of skin on skin.

Clearing her throat, she brought her mind back to the issue at hand. “Cai, we should discuss our options.” His hand began to rub soothing circles on her lower back. She rebelled against what her brain told her was a bad idea.

“Oh?”

“How, how long do you need the, um, feedback for?” Her traitorous body reacted to his male pheromones. It was the only explanation for the way she relaxed and how she leaned into him.

“Depends. I was in stasis for at least a few days. The unit started malfunctioning halfway through.” He sounded relaxed, and not at all in a hurry.

“Okay.” She wrestled her mind into functioning. “We need to discuss how to fix this and find a way for you to go home, or I don’t know, find a mate or something.”

His hand stilled on her back. “You’re really against the idea of marrying me, aren’t you?”

“It’s nothing personal,” she said quickly. “But, I don’t know you. And I’m a researcher. My life is here. I don’t know what you do, or would do, and I’m not going to satisfy your needs, so yes, we need to find a solution. We can get an annulment, and everything will work out.”

“I see.” He didn’t sound happy about it.

“I just–it seems wrong that you’re dependent.” Pulling back, she gazed up into his bottomless black eyes. “It is wrong. You should be able to go where and do whatever you want.”

His expression was unreadable, but she suspected she’d surprised him somehow.

“Why don’t–why don’t you explain how the feedback works? Maybe I can figure out a solution.”

* * * *

Cai’s fingers traced small circles on her back, the sensation leeching back into his hands. His body ached from the emotional malnourishment. Every so often a twinge of pain made him want to wince. The feedback from her was still weak, but he’d been warned humans’ bodies didn’t communicate the same as his did. It would take time to adjust to her, but the transition period could be a lot of fun.

Jordan peeked at him, her strange, tawny gold eyes boring into his soul. Humans didn’t network as his race did, but they were astute.

Slipping his other hand under her sweater, he flattened his hands against her sides and stroked the sensitive skin. She didn’t respond like a Galairian woman, or even the few human women who had offered themselves to him. They were alive with sexual energy crackling off their skin. Jordan was tightly contained. There was nothing sexual about how she felt toward him, at least not that he’d discerned. She presented him with a strange puzzle, one he was going to have to solve and soon.

“Without feedback, we lose the sensation in extremities.”

“Is that why you’ve been moving your hands?”

He nodded. “Yes. As we mature we lose the ability to provide our own feedback. We have an organ you lack. It allows a kind of psychic networking. As we grow, it lays out a system throughout our body, similar to the nervous system, for example. It sends and receives electric impulses, but not our own.”

Her brow wrinkled. “But what’s its purpose?”

She appeared to have forgotten his touch, now that her mind was engaged. He could taste a salty sweet emotion he had no name for emanating from her. It boosted his system, not as much as a good time between the sheets, but efficiently enough.

“It interconnects us. I can, for lack of a more appropriate word, taste the emotional state of someone I am connected to.”

“That sounds really gross.” Her nose wrinkled adorably.

He wrapped his arms around her waist, tugging her more firmly against his chest. He benefitted from more skin touching, though if he weren’t careful he was going to end up with a hard-on. He hadn’t expected her to be pretty. Her golden brown hair curled gently. Several strands hung around her face. Every so often she would shove them behind her ear. Her gaze sparkled with intelligence. There was a refined cast to her face in the way her cheekbones tapered, the slight upturn of her nose and the point of her jaw were regal. But underneath her clothing he could feel the strength. He hadn’t known what to expect, but still she surprised him.

“Don’t knock it until you try it.” He chuckled and shrugged. “Or, well, take my word for it.”

Jordan laid her cheek against his shoulder, fitting her head perfectly under his chin. Their bodies were puzzle pieces that clicked into place. He exhaled as a pulse shot through his body, emanating from the points where his body touched hers. He’d never experienced it before. Maybe she didn’t feel the potential between them. He was the one with the ability to taste her emotional state after all, but it was there. A rightness.

He cleared his throat. “We call it the
pur
. It works as another sense. Humans have the basic five, I have seven. Eight after I’ve mated.”

“What?” She pulled back, her eyes open wide. “Okay, explain.”

“We mate for longevity, not life. With a mate, we form a bond–an ability to sense their bodies, their needs. It’s hard to explain, but you’re more aware of one another.”

“I can’t decide if I like the idea of that or not.” Her hands relaxed and flattened against his spine. “So, it boils down to electrical impulses, right?” She stared past his shoulder.

The feedback from her felt like tiny bubbles blowing over his skin. Fascinated, he watched her face as the wheels in her brain began to turn. He needed to get to work convincing her that their marriage of convenience was a good idea. If not, he’d resort to other means to keep her safe, since that was ultimately his job.

“Cai,” she said sharply.

“Sorry, what?”

“The feedback, it’s like electrical impulses, right? Oh shark bait, magnets. That’s how this feels.” She ran her hand up and down his back.

“What do you mean?” He was getting a definite spike in feedback. A perk to his system, as if he’d woken fully rested and added a few cups of coffee to the mix.

“Sharks use these sensors, electroreceptors, which allow them to sense magnetic charge. In the ocean, it lets them feel the way the earth is shaped so they can navigate all over the world. We call it the ampullae of Lorenzini. In my sharks, it’s mutated, and it’s one of the things we think allowed them to evolve to hunt in space.”

“I understood sharks, sensors and magnets.” He shook his head. “But I don’t understand how it works together.”

“It does!” She rocked onto her toes, pressing her breasts against his chest and sliding their bodies together. She gripped his shoulders, and grinned. The minx didn’t even realize what she was doing. “I’ll need to do a body scan and get an idea of what the
pur
does, but being able to sense things, each other, would be similar to how the ampullae allow sharks to sense electronic fields. Maybe the feedback powers it. If you could get a–a jumpstart, maybe you wouldn’t need the direct feedback.”

Her excitement was palpable, but he didn’t share it. This was bad news for his job security. He pasted on a smile for her benefit.

Her grin sobered. “Crap, but the lab’s being used.”

Relieved, he swept his thumbs back and forth against her ribs.

“Um.” She glanced at his arm. “Are you okay now?”

He considered the question. “I’m not in pain anymore, if that’s what you mean, but–”

“Wait, you were in pain?” Shock and horror slapped him hard, the sharp, spicy flavor unpleasant. The visceral quality of the emotions were staggering.

“Yes.” He stroked her back in long, calming sweeps. “If I don’t get adequate feedback the ends of the
pur
lines begin to die.”

“That’s…that’s terrible. How can you live like that?”

He was ready for her reaction, but the force behind it was hard to grapple with. “See it from my side,” he countered. “A lifetime spent with someone I know beyond a shadow of a doubt cares for me. Wants me. What’s so terrible about that?”

Her mouth snapped shut. “It’s not terrible, but people change. What if your mate doesn’t want you anymore? What if you have an accident and can’t get feedback and die? What if someone tortures you?”

He nodded. All of the scenarios were woven into his culture’s history. She wasn’t telling him anything he didn’t already know. “Mates do drift apart at times. It’s sad, but it happens. Within our culture it’s acceptable to care for one another’s needs.”

“You could be forced to have sex with random people to live?”

“Sex is enjoyable, but it doesn’t always have to be sex.”

Her cheeks flushed and another emotion blossomed on his tongue. It was a cocktail, with a little of this and that tossed into the mix. Part sweet, tart and a kick of spice, he couldn’t put a name to it. Identifying her complex emotional state would take time.

“Accidents do happen, but
pur
can be rehabilitated. There’s even a process for grafting in new
pur
lines. It’s difficult and not always successful, but it can be done. Our race is a peaceful one. We’ve been lucky to not be in a confrontation which would have one of ours tortured, but we aren’t weak.” He was far from it, if pushed to defending himself, but it was preferable to leave the darker part of his race behind the curtain for now.

“I’m sorry, but that seems a terrible way to live, dependent on someone else.” She shook her head. Her hands splayed over his chest. She was so small compared to him.

“You’re human. Notoriously independent and inquisitive creatures. We’re not human, Jordan. We look similar on the outside, but we aren’t the same.”

“But don’t you want to be independent?”

“I am. I make my own choices, but I also accept the symbiotic relationship. It’s not a wrong way to live; it’s different.” He smoothed her hair back from her face.

“I can’t believe my parents tried to give you to me like a Christmas present.” Her cheeks colored again. “That’s so embarrassing. I guess it doesn’t matter how old you get, parents always humiliate you.”

He threw his head back and laughed. “Oh, do I know that feeling.”

She chuckled, and just like that, Cai could feel their bodies sliding into sync. She wasn’t Galairian, but she fit him, and he wanted a chance to explore how they could be together. It was an arranged marriage for her protection, but it didn’t mean they couldn’t be more. Her characteristic independence was a hurdle, but he was up to the challenge.

As their laughter tapered off, he felt a spike of nerves from her. She held him easily, leaned into his body and yet was uncomfortable. Massaging her lower back and restraining himself from straying to the more interesting areas of her body, the ones that would have greater reactions to him, was difficult. She didn’t seem to notice his stiffening cock, but it wouldn’t be easy to miss for long. He doubted she would be amused at him sporting a pipe, so as much as he wanted to stay connected to her, she needed space.

“If I may suggest a solution for the moment?” He could live with feeling like a devil. He might need to romance Jordan’s mind, but his body needed very physical things. “Unless you have time to spare, we’re going to have to stay here for a while. Allow me to kiss you.”

Chapter 3

Jordan’s eyes grew large and round.

“Just a kiss,” Cai said, surprised by how much he wanted the chance to taste her.

“Um, I don’t know, I just…”

“You can say no.” She could, but he wouldn’t like it. “I would never do something you didn’t want me to do.”