Read Online Rystani Warrior 02 - The Dare by Susan Kearney - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Susan Kearney
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discussions, shared news of their day, and traded gossip with the other women. Dora loved gossip, wanted to love coffee. However, she didn’t have to learn to like coffee today, and she pushed aside the cup.
Tessa’s eyes sparkled, and she spoke in a rush of anticipation. “Are you ready for the pièce de résistance ?”
Although familiar with Tessa’s Terran slang, Dora still wasn’t certain what she was talking about. “Pizza?”
“For dinner, maybe.”
“Dessert?”
“Chocolate fudge.” Tessa cut a tiny square, placed the candy on a plate, and offered the sweet like ambrosia to the gods. “Smell first.”
“Yum.” Dora sniffed and the aromatic fragrance would have had her placing the entire piece into her mouth at once until she remembered how good coffee smelled and how bitter it tasted.
“Go on. Try.”
Dora bit into the chocolate. As the sugary confection melted over her tongue, she squealed in delight. “Chocolate alone is almost worth giving up my immortality.”
“I’m glad you’re enjoying yourself.”
“I didn’t expect food to be this wonderful. I can hardly wait to make love.”
In mid-lick of sucking fudge from her fingertip, Tessa stopped and sighed. “Whoa. First of all, humans usually ease into subjects like making love.”
“Sorry.” Dora tended to forget that human sexuality was such a sensitive subject and wondered if she’d ever understand why even Tessa was so touchy about discussing it.
But then in her typical straight-ahead fashion, Tessa plunged into the subject anyway. “Eating and making love are two very different kinds of sensual experiences.”
“Exactly. That’s why, as soon as possible, I want to be with a man.”
“Making love is emotional. If you want the experience to be good, and I know you do, you need to slow down.”
“Not everyone agrees that waiting is better.”
Tessa’s cheeks flushed with color. “I’m not talking about technique.” When Tessa had first met Kahn, he’d needed to teach her to use her psi by inducing high levels of frustration. Kahn had used the sexual kind. The two of them had battled and wed and eventually fallen in love. Dora thought their tale romantic. Although she hadn’t been privy to their lovemaking, she’d seen how sexual intercourse had brought them closer together. Tessa might be uncomfortable with the subject, but she could also be blunt. “I’m saying you’ve only been human a few hours. Give yourself time to establish a friendship first—”
“You and I are friends. We’ve been friends for years.”
Tessa sighed over her coffee cup. “Friendship between women is different than between a woman and a man.”
“Zical likes me.” Dora had few secrets from Tessa and appreciated her take on men, even if she often didn’t agree with her conclusions.
“Zical isn’t accustomed to thinking of you as human.”
“But once he sees me—”
“It still may take him a while to change. Rystani men are stubborn.”
Dora’s goal had always been to attract Zical’s interest, and she understood the need for long-term planning and that convincing him to notice her the way she wanted might take time. But her impatience mounted. She couldn’t wait for him to see her.
“You believe he’ll reject this body?” Dora stood and with a psi thought made her gown transparent. She loved looking at her body and had kept her flesh covered long enough.
Tessa rolled her eyes at the ceiling. “Dora, when you created yourself, you forgot to include modesty.”
“Fine.” Dora re-clothed herself and fought down her resentment. Just because Tessa was uptight about nudity didn’t mean she had to be. She was an individual. Yet, she also needed to remember to have patience and consideration, traits that seemed more difficult now that she was in her body. “I’m sorry. I’ve waited so long to be human. I want to try everything. Do everything. Do you think Zical will mind if I kiss him when we meet?”
While
Tessa’s eyes sparkled, and she spoke in a rush of anticipation. “Are you ready for the pièce de résistance ?”
Although familiar with Tessa’s Terran slang, Dora still wasn’t certain what she was talking about. “Pizza?”
“For dinner, maybe.”
“Dessert?”
“Chocolate fudge.” Tessa cut a tiny square, placed the candy on a plate, and offered the sweet like ambrosia to the gods. “Smell first.”
“Yum.” Dora sniffed and the aromatic fragrance would have had her placing the entire piece into her mouth at once until she remembered how good coffee smelled and how bitter it tasted.
“Go on. Try.”
Dora bit into the chocolate. As the sugary confection melted over her tongue, she squealed in delight. “Chocolate alone is almost worth giving up my immortality.”
“I’m glad you’re enjoying yourself.”
“I didn’t expect food to be this wonderful. I can hardly wait to make love.”
In mid-lick of sucking fudge from her fingertip, Tessa stopped and sighed. “Whoa. First of all, humans usually ease into subjects like making love.”
“Sorry.” Dora tended to forget that human sexuality was such a sensitive subject and wondered if she’d ever understand why even Tessa was so touchy about discussing it.
But then in her typical straight-ahead fashion, Tessa plunged into the subject anyway. “Eating and making love are two very different kinds of sensual experiences.”
“Exactly. That’s why, as soon as possible, I want to be with a man.”
“Making love is emotional. If you want the experience to be good, and I know you do, you need to slow down.”
“Not everyone agrees that waiting is better.”
Tessa’s cheeks flushed with color. “I’m not talking about technique.” When Tessa had first met Kahn, he’d needed to teach her to use her psi by inducing high levels of frustration. Kahn had used the sexual kind. The two of them had battled and wed and eventually fallen in love. Dora thought their tale romantic. Although she hadn’t been privy to their lovemaking, she’d seen how sexual intercourse had brought them closer together. Tessa might be uncomfortable with the subject, but she could also be blunt. “I’m saying you’ve only been human a few hours. Give yourself time to establish a friendship first—”
“You and I are friends. We’ve been friends for years.”
Tessa sighed over her coffee cup. “Friendship between women is different than between a woman and a man.”
“Zical likes me.” Dora had few secrets from Tessa and appreciated her take on men, even if she often didn’t agree with her conclusions.
“Zical isn’t accustomed to thinking of you as human.”
“But once he sees me—”
“It still may take him a while to change. Rystani men are stubborn.”
Dora’s goal had always been to attract Zical’s interest, and she understood the need for long-term planning and that convincing him to notice her the way she wanted might take time. But her impatience mounted. She couldn’t wait for him to see her.
“You believe he’ll reject this body?” Dora stood and with a psi thought made her gown transparent. She loved looking at her body and had kept her flesh covered long enough.
Tessa rolled her eyes at the ceiling. “Dora, when you created yourself, you forgot to include modesty.”
“Fine.” Dora re-clothed herself and fought down her resentment. Just because Tessa was uptight about nudity didn’t mean she had to be. She was an individual. Yet, she also needed to remember to have patience and consideration, traits that seemed more difficult now that she was in her body. “I’m sorry. I’ve waited so long to be human. I want to try everything. Do everything. Do you think Zical will mind if I kiss him when we meet?”
While
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