245.

Energy and glowing happiness zinged through him, and Zical wanted to laugh and talk and make love to this precious woman. He wanted to cherish her for the rest of his days. Most of all he wanted her to be happy.

"The Perceptive Ones would approve of you and your female. And you'll be pleased to know the Zin have not penetrated this galaxy. The Jarn are free. Your people are once again safe from attack. Now, I will take you home."

Every atom in Zical's body wanted to insist that Dora marry him, but first he had something important to say. "Dora, I love you. When I thought I'd lost you, it was if I'd lost the best part of myself. I love you more than, life itself. I don't care if you spend all your days linked with Ranth. Just give me your nights. I want to spend the rest of our lives together. If you aren't certain, I'll wait-as long as necessary. Just give me the opportunity to prove how much I love you."

Her eyes gleamed with happiness. "I'd like that."

"Which part?"

"The part where you prove how much you love me." She giggled, used a psi thought to turn her suit transparent. "In fact, I wouldn't mind at all if you started loving me right now."

She was so beautiful, this spirited, loving woman, that stole his breath away. When she c.o.c.ked her head at a mischievous angle and licked her lips with a provocative grin, his heart sped and his blood quickened, as he waited for next saucy comment.

She grinned. "There's something you should know."

"Please don't tell me you miss life as a computer," he teased.

"Of course not. Computers can't make love." Her grin widened. "But I finally figured out that I love you too. I always have and I suspect I always will. Loving you is hardwired into my brain. I can't seem to help it. So it's a d.a.m.n good thing that you love me back." She playfully teased his lip with the pad of her forefinger. "However, I have a few concerns."

"Concerns?" he growled into her ear. "Like what?"

"Rystani men like to take control."

"So?" He clasped her waist to keep his bands from roving, but touching her seemed to cause his sizzling nerve endings to recall the stimulation from the Sentinel's mind scan. The alien machine always left him aroused, and Dora's wriggling, her words of love, all combined to make him burn for her.

"Sometimes a woman likes to be in charge," she warned him, her eyes sparkling.

"She does?"

"Oh, yes."

Following Rystani custom was no longer as important to him as keeping his woman happy. Oh, she hadn't agreed to marry him yet, but she'd already given him her love.

For now, her love was plenty and would keep him a very happy man.

246.

After trying and failing to give her his sternest expression, he chuckled. "Let me make sure I have this right. You want to take charge of our lovemaking?"

"Yes."

"Really?"

"Yes."

He laced his hands and placed them behind his head, a smile teasing his lips. "So, go ahead, I dare you."

Epilogue.

Eight and one half months later "Push." Miri instructed Dora.

For months Dora had been impatiently waiting for this moment, for the birth of her and Zical's twin daughter's. With Miri standing between her draped thighs, and the healing circle that was Tessa, Kahn, Shaloma, Etru, and Kirek surrounding her head and shoulders, Dora was coc.o.o.ned in love.

She'd finally admitted to herself that she wanted to spend the rest of her life with Zical and had consented to marry him. He'd accepted that she would always feel a special kinship with computers and claimed he loved that part of too. He'd shown his acceptance of her differences when she'd refused to follow the Rystani custom of wearing the bands, and he'd married her anyway. Dora understood that his kind of acceptance was rare and precious, and loved him all the more.

Her husband now stood proudly among their family unit, with his hands on her shoulders, rubbing her with loving encouragement. Since Dora had borne the discomfort of carrying the babies for nine months, Rystani custom required the male to take his mate's pain during the birth.

However, the fathers found the agony easier to bear when it was shared among the family unit of the healing circle. So although Dora had no discomfort whatsoever, the three men, Zical, Kahn, and Etru, were bearing the childbirth pain through the psi link.

Although Kirek had begged to be included, his father had protectively insisted that the boy's body was not yet strong enough to share the agony of labor.

Her abdominal muscles contacted again and Zical grunted. Kahn's lips pressed tightly together and Etru winced. Wishing to end the men's, pain, yet unwilling to risk harming her babies by pushing too hard with her psi and her suit, Dora gave a little experimental squeeze.

"Dora, use more force," Miri gently instructed.

"But not too much," Zical cautioned, obviously willing to bear the pain to ease his daughters' way into the world, and Dora's heart swelled with pride.

He was a good man, a wonderful husband, and he'd be a terrific father. As a computer she'd picked him out knowing he was special. But as a woman, she loved him with all her heart. As his suit barely kept up with the sweat on his forehead, as he bore the pain of childbirth for her and their children, she'd never loved him more.

248.

Linking her psi with Shaloma, Tessa, and Miri, Dora reached out a mental link to her daughters. Come, little ones, she crooned. It's time to begin your lives.

The contractions increased in frequency, coming upon one another so fast that Dora could no longer have spoken if she'd tried. She was simply working too had to spare any extra energy beyond the process of gently urging the girls from her body.

For some reason, despite the love surrounding their babies the wonderful scent of fresh flowers, the dim lights, the encouraging Rystani melody, the girls wanted to remain in the womb. Not yet born, they already exhibited distinct personalities through their psi, one sensitive and shy, the other defiant in spirit. And despite Dora's, Tessa's, Miri's, and Shaloma's encouragement, the babies refused to cooperate.

Kirek's hand tightened on Miri as he linked and added his special encouragement.

Come on. You have a wonderful mother waiting for you.

And a brave-father, Dora added.

Tessa's mind linked and fed in more encouragement. Friends are waiting to greet you and bestow their blessings.

Dora might not feel any pain, but her body stretched to accommodate her children.

She cajoled, coaxed, pushed.

And a new life entered the world.

Miri gently removed the firstborn, placed her in a suit that automatically shrank to her tiny size, then cleaned her. Dora reached eagerly for the baby, even as she gently urged her second daughter into the world. Miri took care of the details while Dora marveled at her daughters, two perfectly formed girls with alexandrite eyes.

Even as Zical protected her from the last of the birth pain, he grinned at her in proud, happy, and excited exhaustion. "You are amazing. These children are-"

"Going to be my best friends," Kirek proclaimed with solemn face and a mischievous wink that took Zical aback and made Etru chuckle.

Then Zical tousled Kirek's head. "They will be lucky, indeed, to have you for a friend." He raised his eyes to the two men who'd helped him through the labor pain.

"And I am lucky to share this moment with both of you."

Etru nodded with relief. Kahn clapped him on the shoulder and their women smiled as Zical's gaze quickly returned to the twins. One cuddled sleepily, sucking her thumb. The other stared at him curiously. Dora handed him the baby who was awake.

He took her gingerly and Etru showed him how to adjust the baby to a comfortable spot in the crook of his arm. "Are they supposed to be so tiny?"

As if his daughter understood, she stretched, her little fists, slapping his chest as if to say, "Of course I'm perfect, can't you tell?"

Fascinated by the babies, Kirek obviously didn't want to depart with the others. But Miri took his hand, insisting that the new family needed some time alone. And Dora a.s.sured Kirek he could return and visit soon.

249.

After the others had departed, Zical wiped a stray tear from his eye and cleared his throat. Dora lifted her gaze to his, her eyebrow arched. "Yes?"

He leaned down to her, protectively cuddling their daughters. "Happy?"

She gazed back at the man she loved with all her heart, the man who had given her two amazing babies and a life where she felt... complete, wanted, needed, adored, cherished, and loved. "When I was a computer, I had emotions but... they were never so intense. I feel as though I'm about to burst with happiness."

"Oh, you're bursting all right... with milk." Zical chuckled, kissed her brow, his gaze dropping to her breast where their youngest daughter had wriggled and latched on to her nipple.

As her milk let down and she nursed first one hungry daughter, then the other, Dora enjoyed the loving warmth in Zical's gaze. She'd created her body because she'd wanted to have s.e.x with him. And even though s.e.x with Zical was terrific, the best part of being human was to love and be loved.

She'd gotten so much more than, she'd ever wanted and no regrets about becoming human. Out of billions of people, Zical was her soul mate, the man she'd always loved.

To feel such joy, to experience such love, was worth giving up her immortality. She had no doubt she'd made the right choice to become human. Rather than spending an eternity alone, she looked forward to a lifetime with Zical and her daughters.

Turn the page For a sneak peek at the nest Susan Kearney paranormal, coming from Tor Romance in February 2006 The Ultimatum Some species lived to make love. Why did hers, require mandatory s.e.xual encounters-not just to procreate-but to survive?

Once again Dr. Alara Bazelle Calladar's goal of creating the DNA she required eluded her, and she rubbed the bridge of her nose in disappointment. Her search to free Endekian women from the curse of their genetics was turning out to be extraordinarily complex and laborious. b.u.t.t all her effort would be worthwhile if she ever succeeded in putting women's hearts and minds, instead of their biology in charge of when they had s.e.x.

Under normal circ.u.mstances, finding a solution to achieve her goal was difficult, but during the beginnings of Boktai, Alara's female hormone levels made unclouded reasoning as elusive as a Denvovian sandworm who'd grown wings. As if in antic.i.p.ation of a kiss, her lips already tingled and the increased blood flow from arousal had caused her b.r.e.a.s.t.s to become tender.

"Alara," her a.s.sistant and good friend, Maki, interrupted her words echoing through the com system and over the lab's DNA maturation receptacles that housed Alara's hopes for the future of every Endekian woman. "You have a visitor."

"I'm busy." Busy was their private code word for put whoever was interrupting her work off until another day, a day when she wasn't so frazzled.

"He's... insistent."

"He? Alara snapped her bead up from the array of test samples, every one of them a failure. Science required patience and normally she had plenty. But with her blood simmering from the onset of Boktai, just the mention of a man caused her heart beat to escalate, her patience to dwindle.

"Oh, he's one hundred and ten percent male," Maki practically purred, and Alara imagined how the Endekian male would preen at Maki's compliment. He'd no doubt entered the reception area, purred up with confidence that he was wanted and that he was worthy of female attention. Very likely, he wasn't. Endekian men didn't need to treat their women well, not when women had to offer up their bodies to them on a regular basis to stay alive. While it took a lot to impress Maki, she still wouldn't have interrupted unless she believed the man Important.

"Krek," Alara swore under her breath, annoyed that in her current biological state she would react to a male just like every other Endekian woman with her hormones demanding s.e.x. After inhaling male scent and male pheromones, she'd find him irresistible-even if he turned out to be an absolute idiot, or an uncivilized brute, or simply an unskilled derelict. In the early phase of Boktai, her enhanced senses would enflame her, deepening her desires, quickening her yearning until she transformed into a female she loathed-an undiscriminating female who required s.e.x with every needy cell in her body.

Alara didn't want the temptation of a male in her lab, or in her life. Not unless she chose to invite him, but that wasn't d.a.m.n likely. She had no use for men-not until she 252.

was caught deep in the clutches of Boktai. In fact the few rare males who deigned to enter her laboratory were often those who sought to discourage her from continuing her work. Oh, yes. Endekian men were quite content with the status quo, and if Alara hadn't been a war heroine, the male-run government might have shut down her facility from the start.

Some heroine she was. While everyone else bad died during the Terran terrorist's bombing of her city, her presence within an underground laboratory had saved her life along with her mother's. But due to an preposterous calamity of nature, Endekian biology tied a wife's, death to her husbands. After the Terran bomb had killed father, her mother had suffered a slow, painful death.

Alara had gone on... alone.

She had raged, mourned and buried both mother and father. And then she'd repressed her grief in work. As the sole survivor of the vicious attack that had killed her parents, she'd studied harder and become more determined than ever to unravel the secrets of Endekian biology. She wanted women to be free of the curse of Boktai and an odd fame had given her the means to follow her dream.

She could never nave foreseen the results of her survival, that the government would chose her as the symbol to rally the ma.s.ses to their cause against the Terrans.

Alara had used her new-found celebrity and government; connections to help fund her research. However, as the anger against the Terran attack abated, she'd become less useful to the government and had fallen out of favor. With the current unpopularity of her work, she wouldn't be surprised her visitor was here to close her lab.

"Alara." Maki's voice dropped to a whisper. "He's bristling with att.i.tude."

"Tell him I'm busy."

"I already tried." Maki's tone conveyed vexation. "Here refuses to make an appointment."

"Well, use your imagination. Get rid of him for me."

"I'd be perfectly willing to take him home for the night." Maki breathed out a delicate sigh. "I tried. But he wants you. He said he's willing to wait as long as it takes."

"Oh, for the holy structure of atoms," Alara cursed and shoved back from the table.

"He can wait all through the dark hours if he wants. I'm leaving through, my personal entrance."

Alara picked up the disk to start her flitter and headed out the back of the building.

She intended to go home, soak in a hot bath and take care of her growing arousal. Using self gratification to ease her cravings was only a temporary solution, one that would work for a short tine and only if no males were present. Out of distaste, she would delay approaching a man for as long as possible to ease her need. Alara's personal physician had warned her that repet.i.tive delays were detrimental to her wellbeing, that her cells required regular s.e.xual activity with a male for healthy regeneration, and Alara fully understood that her relief from her inborn biological drive to mate would be fleeting. Experience told her she couldn't hold out much longer and that within a day, 253.

two at most, she would lose control of her psi and herself and be forced to seek out a male partner.

With a quick retina scan, Alara unlocked her back door stepped outside into the balmy dust. Automatically she used her psi on her suit, the type worn by every Federation citizen, to shield her from the cloying humidity. Anxious to be on her way, she didn't pause to take in the city lights beyond her building and headed straight for her flitter, climbed in, inserted the disk and revved the engine.

"You were leaving without speaking to me." A deep male voice that was filled with vitality arrowed from the back seat and struck her full blown, causing her to jerk in surprise.

She held her breath, refusing to allow his scent into her lungs, but just the sound of his husky male tone kindled inevitable biological reactions. Her nostrils flared, automatically seeking his provocative scent. Blood rushed to sensitive b.r.e.a.s.t.s and her suit cupping her skin seemed inadequate. Her pulse between her thighs quickened. Her flesh yearned for male hands to caress her, seduce her, satisfy her.

However, she was not yet so far into Boktai that her brain had abdicated completely to the demands of her body. She still maintained enough control to keep herself clothed, but thinking was becoming more difficult. The man had asked antic.i.p.ated her escape.

He had some nerve following her. Even if he recognized her needy condition, custom dictated that the female choose her mating partner, not the other way around, so she answered without bothering to conceal her annoyance. "This is my flitter. Get out."

"Not until we have a conversation," he countered.