Dora held her breath. Would Zical kiss her? She'd imagined this moment so many times, but she'd never thought it would come in the midst of so much fear. She still didn't understand why he was so shocked by her transformation or that she'd grown her body to look like his fantasy woman. It wasn't as if Xentos were a person, but clearly Zical had not been pleased.

Obviously, she'd made a mistake, one she'd have to live with. Barring extensive plastic surgery this was the way she would look until she began to age. And despite Zical's surprise, once he'd gotten past the initial shock he'd adjusted quite well.

Better than she was doing. She wondered if he found her uncontrollable spasms as ugly as she did. She hated the lack of control, but the doctors could find nothing physically wrong and had suggested that time might cure the problem. But it might not.

Zical gazed at her, his irises flashing into the purple spectrum. Even with only two eyes she could see his pupils dilate, his nostrils flare sightly, and a muscle in his neck throb. When she realized that her flirtation was succeeding she swallowed down a grin.

Snuggling closer, she rubbed her breast against his chest and the sensation stunned her.

Wow. Talk about pure sensual feedback. Her flesh suddenly seemed oversensitized with delicious thrumming and her nipples pebbled. Heat suffused her and her chest tightened in a pleasing reaction that made her ache for more of his touch. Thinking about him helped push her fears to the back of her mind. Touching and being touched by this man was one of the reasons she'd wanted to become human. While she suspected Tessa had had something to do with his appearance in her quarters, Dora didn't mind that the man needed prodding to visit. She simply was glad be was here.

And now that she finally had him to herself, she'd he a fool not to put aside her groundless fears. And make the most of her opportunity.

Lifting her face to his in breathless antic.i.p.ation, she gave him clear access and waited for his lips to press against hers. She was about to congratulate herself for temporarily overcoming her fear and beginning a seduction in one fell swoop, when Zical pulled back.

He wasn't going to kiss her.

Disappointed, she wondered if she'd miscalculated the heat in his eyes. Or was he holding back because be wasn't certain of her response."

Maybe he needed more encouragement. She allowed a pleased smile to soften her mouth. "Aren't you going to kiss me?"

He stiffened. "Why would I do that?"

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"Because you want to?" She arched one eyebrow, hoping he'd read the gesture as impudent.

"Dora, you aren't a computer anymore. When you tease a man like that, there are consequences."

Her grin widened. I'm ready for them."

"I don't think so." Gently, he set her from his lap onto the gra.s.s.

She plucked a blade and tore it to bits, disappointment nagging her, uncertainty enveloping her in a tension she didn't understand. Their first time together was not going as she had hoped. If he intended to refuse her, if he didn't want her, why was he going out of his way to be kind? Although she'd apologized, was he still upset about her body?

Or had she come on too strong? Tessa had warned her that Rystani men preferred to be the pursuers. But this rejection had made Dora start to question herself. Being uncertain was a new experience, one she didn't know if she wanted to deal with on a regular basis-not that she had much choice. When she'd been a computer, she'd gathered her facts, determined the outcome she required, and then done what was necessary to achieve success. She didn't second-guess herself because with the data available, the probabilities calculated, she always made the best decision.

Now, all she wanted to do was run away and hide in her room. Yet she'd been waiting months to be with Zical in her human body. He was the man she'd dreamed her first dream about. He was the man who intrigued her more than any other. It made no sense to run, especially when her fear of the outdoors had begun to subside. The pleasant gurgling of the fountain calmed her. The balmy breeze and the sunshine soothed her.

She tossed the bits of gra.s.s into the air. "You were right to bring me outside. It's beautiful here."

"Glad you-"

"But you were wrong about not kissing me" Dora rose to her feet and dusted off her palms, hoping she could manipulate him by causing a bit of jealousy. "I think I'll go visit another man. One who likes me better than you do."

"Don't act like a child" His tone was to harsh again, as if he couldn't contain his disappointment in her.

"Then don't act like one."

Zical reached out with a lazy snap of his wrist and jerked her back down, his gesture revealing a tension that she couldn't discern in his soft tone. "So men are all interchangeable. Anyone of us will do?"

She shrugged, unwilling to tell him that she considered him special, that she wanted her first time to be with him. There was no point to making that kind of admission when he wouldn't even kiss her. She'd already created her body in the form of his fantasy woman and his rejection still stung. She wanted to return the insult. She

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might be new at the human-relationship business, but she'd always had feelings and he had no right to trample them.

Dora tossed her hair over her shoulder, concealing her pleasure that he'd pulled her back onto his lap. "All men have the necessary equipment.''

"But they don't all use that equipment with the same expertise," he countered, peering at her intently as if she didn't understand the basics.

Her heart thumped crazily, her hope rising that maybe he was more attracted to her than he was willing to admit since he so obviously didn't want her going to another man. "I suppose I'll find out for myself... especially now that you've convinced me that it's not so dangerous to go outside."

"You have a prospect?" His eyes narrowed.

Her intense physical awareness of his irritation with her, and his display of jealousy, gave her courage. Hoping she sounded confident, she wrenched her gaze from her preoccupation with his handsome face and taunted him some more. "Tessa a.s.sures me that with this body, I'll have my choice of offers."

His gaze raked the curves, causing her to realise that despite his previous outburst, he was susceptible to her charms. His tone, however, was serious, as he said. ''Perhaps you should return to Mount Shachauri with me. There's lot of men there. Many with brilliant minds. And we could use your help."

She quashed her disappointment that he was offering to take her to see other men.

He seemed to miss the point that she would be with him-or perhaps she wasn't giving him enough credit. Perhaps her being with him bad been his real plan all along. Either way, she hadn't realized how much she missed being useful until he made the request.

Besides, the idea of spending curie with Zical intrigued her as much seeing, the alien machines from a human perspective. "I'm not a computer anymore. What could I do to help?"

"You know computers from the inside out better than anyone else."

"Not better than Ranth. He has a lot of technical expertise I couldn't fit in this brain."

"'But you have a unique outlook and that might help us figure out what's going on.

One of our archaeologists has a theory I'd like you to hear."

Excited by the idea of spending more time with Zical as well as being useful, Dora had no difficulty making the decision. "Okay. I'll go with you on one condition."

"What's that?"

"Kiss me."

Zical sighed and shook his head. "You have a one-track mind."'

"So, do we have a deal?"

He put her off with a frown. "You figure out what those machines are for... and then... I'll kiss you."

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The trip to Mount Shachauri's peak clearly tired Dora. From her increased trembles and spasms, Zical suspected she fought a mult.i.tude of fears, but to her credit, she didn't once complain. Tessa had been pleased that Dora had agreed to make the journey, but Zical had kept their bargain private, telling himself that kissing Dora would probably put an end his fantasy for good. Kissing her might be exactly what he needed so chase his l.u.s.ty thoughts from his mind.

Still, he wondered why he hadn't asked her for something in return if she didn't figure out the puzzling mystery surrounding the machines. It wasn't like him to miss an angle, but Dora had his conflicting emotions so muddled he felt like a null-grav bouncing ball. First he was up, then down, then spinning sideways and out of control.

His attraction to her bothered him because he knew very well how vulnerable she was, and the last thing he wanted to do was to hurt her.

He told himself that he should never have agreed to kiss her. He shouldn't have led her on when he had no intention of having that kind of relationship. Dora might have the body of a full-grown woman, but emotionally she had a lot of maturing to do. Her silly threat to search for a lover, her insistence she was ready for a kiss, her consuming desire to link with Ranth instead of exploring her humanity, told him she wasn't grown-up. Zical didn't intend to repeat his mistakes. He'd had little choice when he'd married his child bride, and he still bore the internal scars of that failure. And while Dora was nothing like Summar, both women were vulnerable, Summar with her inability to make decisions, Dora at coping with her new humanity.

Yet, despite his resolve to keep things on a friendly basis with Dora, he couldn't help wondering what kissing her would be like. Would she set off sparks? Would there be pa.s.sion for either of them?

Dora seemed so eager to explore the s.e.xual side of being human, yet when it came down to the act, would she be afraid? Find mating distasteful? Would she pretend to welcome him and then rain a storm of tears afterward like Summar? As he recalled his failure to please his inexperienced, young wife, he shoved aside the bad memories.

Zical had no doubt that he was a thoughtful and skilled lover. Summar had simply found love making distasteful." He shuddered at the recollection of her begging him not to touch her and was grateful for the distraction of their arrival on Mount Shachauri.

As the skimmer glided in for a landing on the newly built pad, he pushed old regrets and sorrows aside. Ever since he'd found the ancient entrance he'd felt compelled to remain near the site. Instead of moving on with his life and accepting a commission in s.p.a.ce, he'd stayed close by, ferrying scientists and supplies up the mountain.

However, unlike the first time he'd explored, they had to make their way past reporters from a dozen planets that were camped out on the mountain, hoping for news or an official briefing, perhaps capturing unusual activity into or out of the core. Zical attracted little speculation since the reporters were accustomed to his presence, but even

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though the reporters couldn't immediately identify Dora, her beauty had them setting their holovids on capture mode.

He wondered if she'd wave or smile for the cameras, but she kept her bead down and ignored the commotion, surprising him. He'd have thought she'd revel in the attention, but seemed to matter little to her. And if he hadn't known better, he would have thought her shy as she tried to hide behind him when he greeted security.

A guard at the entrance checked their identification before admitting them.

Protection of the site was tight and would remain so for some time.

Until Mystique's leaders knew the purpose of the ancient machinery and understood the significance, if any, of the machines turning back on, they wouldn't risk spies stealing, looters thieving, or unauthorized scientists trampling what could very well be a holy site. Zenon Prime had already sent out a delegation of scientists, who overlooked their distaste of travel, to the newly colonized planet to ensure the Mystique locals didn't botch an investigation that could have consequences throughout the galaxy. However, unlike the last two ancient finds-which had yielded their environmental suits and the planet where the Challenge, an ancient test devised to see if a species was fit to join the Federation took place-no good had yet to come from Mount Shachauri.

And as often as Zical told himself to have patience, whenever he thought about the discovery, a strange restlessness infused him. Although the effects had abated somewhat, he'd never completely recovered from the haunting erotic dreams of Dora created by the aliens' golden light.

Inside the corridor his agitation increased along with his urgency to learn why this place existed. So far the scientists had many theories, none of them verifiable, most at odds with one another.

By his side. Dora shivered and rubbed the goose b.u.mps from her arms. "Being here in the flesh is very different from seeing the machinery as I was before." She kept her voice to a soft murmur. "The site has a mystical quality."

Zical glanced at her, impressed with her keen instincts. "So you feel it too."

Dora sneezed "Maybe it's the dust."

"Adjust your suit's filters," be reminded her. Although the suits had the ability to protect the wearer from light, heat, and tiny particles of matter, many of the adjustments weren't automatic and required the higher brain function of psi. Dora had possessed psi powers as a computer but she needed the reminder to adjust for the needs of her body. In s.p.a.ce a mistake like that could kill her. Federation citizens wore the suits to protect them from radiation, extreme heat and cold, as well as differences in pressure. Since all of them had the suits since early childhood, adjusting with their psi was second nature.

Zical supposed Dora was safe enough on Mystique. Nevertheless, he edged closer.

After his work ferrying settlers from Rystan to Mystique, he'd quickly learned to identify those who might need a helping hand, and honed instincts told him Dora's

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reactions could be... unpredictable. Like when she'd taken Xentos's shape. Like when she'd asked him for a kiss.

Telling himself that his gesture was protective, not possessive, he slipped his arm through hers, and they strolled down the corridor as he tried to ignore her citrus scent, tried to ignore her smooth skin beneath his hand.

Many scientists from Federation planets had gathered to study the ancient site.

Thanks to the automatic translators in their suits, they could all communicate without difficulty.

Dr. Laduna, a diminutive Jarn with intelligent green eyes, waved them over. If Zical looked closely, he could see an extra eyelid that the man used along with his gills to live on his homeworld, one coveted almost entirely by oceans after a collision with an asteroid many eons ago.

At home in air or ocean, Dr. Laduna had a voice that sounded eager and pleasant, unlike so many of the other scientists, who seemed more interested in proving their theories correct than discovering the truth. The Jarn bowed low. "Greetings and salutations.

"Good morning." Dora nodded.

"Find anything interesting?" Zical asked.

"Yes Yes. Yes. All very interesting. We have many more puzzles to solve." The tiny man almost vibrated with enthusiasm, his scales changing from tan to burnt orange.

"More puzzles?" Zical homed in on the salient factor.