Ector swallowed. “What exactly do you mean to do, sir?”
“Capture and interrogate the android, as she originally intended, in order to discover the reason for his presence in the palace. I will have the so-called gift he has brought me and all of the truth, or he will pay the price.” Ouros lifted a brow. “Then—or sooner if he defies my will—he will be destroyed, as decreed by the law of my forebear.”
Which was why, Ector knew, the Seed had to be harvested first.
* * *
Being able to examine Acion’s workings was the best gift ever.
Thalina peered inside his shoulder, carefully studying the mechanism before she touched anything.
“It’s so beautiful,” she whispered, her gaze dancing over the replicated tendons and joints, the tiny transmitters that emulated the nervous system, the synthetic muscles. She gasped in wonder as she focused on the connections between the mechanical, the electronic and the biological. “So elegant,” she mused, never having imagined anything so wonderful could be manufactured. The integrations showed a wonderful attention to detail.
“You’ve never seen the workings of an android before?”
“Not one like you.” Thalina frowned. “Actually, not one in reality at all.” She tapped up a reference volume on her computer screen and showed it to him. “Just in Furton and Sluenz.” She returned to her study, marveling all the while.
“An outdated reference,” Acion scoffed. “Compare their notations on sensory receptors and the ones you can see in my hand.”
Thalina did as he suggested and was astonished by the greater level of complexity in his hand. “Your maker is really skilled.”
“My maker is always improving his designs and increasing our capabilities. I was given an enhancement just before this mission.”
“Did you ever know someone named Arista?” she asked without thinking.
Acion became very still. “Arista?” he echoed, but Thalina sensed the name wasn’t unfamiliar to him.
“My sister’s friend and Sword Sister. A Warrior Maiden of Cumae. You’re from Cumae. You must know her—especially since she was an android, too.”
Acion said nothing.
“You did know her!”
“I neither confirmed nor denied as much.”
“But your silence tells me everything. You would have either said that you didn’t know her, or that the information wasn’t available to me at this time.” Thalina shook her head. “It doesn’t matter. I can see why Gemma never guessed Arista’s true nature. Any chance of meeting your maker?”
“The probability is very low. The Hive does not leave Cumae.”
“I’d make a pilgrimage there to learn more.”
“The Hive does not admit voyeurs.”
Thalina laughed. “Is that what I am? I thought I was a fellow enthusiast.”
Acion again said nothing. Thalina hoped he was considering how it might be arranged. She’d leave Incendium and even endure a jump to learn more about this technology.
“Wow,” she whispered, peering even closer. Her view was magnified in steady increments, an ability that she used habitually but one that always astonished the clockmaker. “The replicated axons are almost indistinguishable from their biological counterparts!”
Acion stiffened a little. “I do not believe that is so.”
“Well, you probably haven’t looked inside your own shoulder recently,” she teased, knowing better than to expect him to laugh.
He lifted his left hand so that the screen embedded in the palm was positioned over the back of his shoulder, and Thalina heard a click. The image was probably delivered to his brain because he didn’t look at his palm before adjusting the position and capturing several more images.
“See?” she said, and he made only a low hum of acknowledgment. She leaned over him, indicating the image on his palm. “Am I right that this part of the joint needs to be replaced, and this simulated muscle tissue should be reconnected here?”
“Yes, but you should start with the connection, because the nanobots will complete the muscle repair once it’s in place again.” He paused for a moment, flicking a glance at her. “Are you certain you have the skill for this?”
“I am,” Thalina said with a smile. “But you can watch to be sure.” She lifted his hand so that he’d have a good view. She smiled when the shoulder was illuminated and realized he had a light in the screen in his palm. “I need the Fraxon B hook,” she said, and Acion reached into the toolkit in his thigh.
* * *
Thalina was more skilled than Acion could have expected from any biological organism. He added her attention to detail and precision to his growing list of attributes of dragons shifters, after passion, logic, compassion. This one, also, was honorable.
She was patient, too. She took her time with his repair, ensuring that each part was done perfectly before she continued. Perhaps this was the gift of her longevity. Her accuracy was impressive, and her determination to fix her own mistake was admirable.
Acion provided her with suggestions and information, releasing the nanobots in waves as she completed the larger repairs for him. All the while, he wondered.
What had happened to his neurons?
He knew with complete accuracy that they had no biological components. They linked to the biologically derived sensors in his face and hands, and moored the biological membrane that sheathed his body. They themselves were replicas. Manufactured replicas.
But the neurons in the image he’d taken of his shoulder looked different. How could that be? They pulsed in a different way, a less mechanical way. They moved with a fluidity that their mechanical counterparts couldn’t echo. Was this part of his last enhancement?
They looked organic.
Thalina was right that they were almost indistinguishable from their biological counterparts. Acion had a strange sense that they might be biological.
But how?
Where had they originated?
Was this one of his improvements?
He couldn’t help thinking of the heat that had raced through his body upon his sexual release, and the sense of being fried from within. Had that been a casualty of excessive sexual pleasure? But why would the nanobots have restored his neurons using a different design?
Acion would have liked to have discarded the observation, or discounted it, but the image of his own shoulder was vivid in his thoughts. He magnified it repeatedly, and found only confirmation of Thalina’s observation.
What did it mean?
Did it have anything to do with these feelings he was experiencing?
More importantly, was he succeeding at the Hive’s test of his new functionality, or failing? Acion felt uncertain about the result of reporting to the Hive, as he never had before. Thalina’s so-called warning had given him a taste of his own end that was more concerning than any close call he’d had before. Was that part of his improvement?
His reasoning came to an abrupt halt when Thalina exhaled with satisfaction. “Done!” she said. “Or at least as done as I can be. Let me watch the nanobots.”
Acion released them, then his eyes opened wide.
Not because Thalina dropped her hand to the back of his waist and leaned over him.
But because he could feel the weight of her hand, where he knew he should have no sensory receptors.
He felt the silk of her hair brush his back, too, and the light waft of her breath against his rapidly repairing skin.
“You are amazing,” she whispered and he felt his heartbeat quicken.
What was she doing to him?
And why did it feel so very good?
This change was a matter to investigate!
Acion rolled over and sat up, raising one hand to cup her chin. He noticed the way she caught her breath, the quick dilation of her pupils, the flush that rose on her cheeks. Her eyes began to sparkle and her lips parted, as if she could read his inclination in his eyes.
Or maybe she read it in his react
ions. Acion noted that his own respiratory rate had increased along with his pulse. He was filled with that new heat, and a buoyant sense of anticipation.
Yearning. Yes, it was yearning.
For the first time, he understood the compulsion biological organisms felt with regard to mating. Frequently. Repeatedly. He smiled and touched his lips to Thalina’s, echoing the way she’d brushed hers across his own earlier.
The sensation was sublime. Evidently, the abilities of his receptors had been enhanced during the repairs. He initiated a check of his systems, learned that the repair of his exterior membrane was eighty-seven per cent complete and that strength in his right arm had been diminished by fifty-two per cent. Thalina had tried, but she evidently didn’t know enough about his design to repair him completely. He couldn’t blame her for that, but would have to accommodate that diminished ability in his reactions, at least until he returned to the Hive for further repair.
For the moment, there was this new sensitivity to explore. He kissed her again, lingering over the contact, tasting her quick exhalation.
The fleeting touch wasn’t nearly enough.
Her gaze searched his, as if she sought to read his programming. “Will you pleasure me, twice in one Incendium day?” she asked, her voice husky.
“It is already negotiated,” he said, hearing that his own words were strained. “We made an agreement and I have seen a dragon now. You must have the second delivery of the Seed.”
She laughed, which made her eyes sparkle. He felt anticipation of their union, one that could be measured in his body’s reactions. He felt arousal as he had before, and knew that his biometrics were responding to the stimulus of experience with this woman.
It must be the promise of gathering more data about her and thus about dragon shifters that excited him.
Anything else would have been illogical.
He stood up and cupped her face in his hands, bending to capture her lips beneath his own. She rose against him, and he realized she was standing on her toes. He eased his fingers into her hair and deepened his kiss, appreciating how she returned his embrace, liking how she wound her arms around his neck and surrendered to him.
His yearning increased exponentially as their kiss became more passionate. She opened her mouth to him and he caught her close, lifting her against his chest and slanting his mouth over hers. She sighed, a wondrous sound, and murmured his name. One of her legs wound around his and she gripped the back of his head, demanding more, demanding all that he was willing to give. Acion closed his eyes, almost overwhelmed by sensation and wanting even more.
He spun and lifted her to the couch, following her down to its softness, their kiss uninterrupted. He lowered himself over her, trapping her beneath him, and she made a growl of satisfaction. Then her kiss became more demanding, her legs wrapping around him as she feasted on his mouth. Acion was enthralled. When they parted, her eyes were sparkling and her lips were redder.
“I thought you had to rejuvenate,” Thalina said, her words husky.
“Touch me,” he said by way of reply.
Her gaze dropped to his erection and she smiled. “I thought five was a resting state.”
“The resting state is considerably surpassed. Touch me.”
Thalina smiled, looking impish and unpredictable in a way Acion found remarkably alluring. “Let’s start with that finger,” she said, lifting his hand within hers.
“It was inoperable after the incident.”
“Then, we’d better check the repair.”
Acion slid back the protective cover on the finger tip, revealing the vibrator, and Thalina’s smile broadened. She lifted it to her lips and he activated it, watching the way her eyes closed with rapture and her lips parted. She leaned her head back, eyes closed, as he slid his hand down the length of her throat. He let the vibrator touch her earlobe, the underside of her chin, the hollow of her throat. He traced a path along her collarbone to her shoulder, noting where she reacted most strongly, then cupped her breast in his hand. She still wore her clothing, but he touched her through the cloth.
Thalina gasped when the vibrator touched her nipple and he teased it, then pulled away her chemise to put the vibrator directly on her skin. He watched the nipple harden to a point, feeling a curious satisfaction when her body responded according to his plan. He did the same to the other, then Thalina pulled his head down for a kiss.
He determined that he was able to multi-task, even when her hands swept over his back, launching a fire through him. She twisted and giggled when the vibrator ran over her ribs, proving that she was ticklish, then caught her breath and parted her thighs. Her expectation was so obvious that Acion wanted to surprise her.
He followed the path of his finger with his lips, creating a trail of kisses. He captured one nipple in his mouth, and when he’d coaxed it to a perfect taut peak, he gave the same attention to the other. He could smell Thalina’s arousal, and his own was beginning to demand satisfaction. He eased down the length of her, then settled between her thighs. He feasted upon her there, using his tongue instead of his finger to give her pleasure.
Thalina’s gasp of delight, and the increase in her heart rate, proved that his technique was satisfactory. The way her hands moved over his shoulders kept him burning with that newfound desire, as well as determined to please.
She would remember the second delivery of the Seed. Acion would make sure of it.
* * *
Thalina liked how intent Acion was upon ensuring her pleasure. He could have been her personal android, perfecting his approach to ensure her complete satisfaction.
Not that it needed much improvement.
His technique was wonderful. He seemed to know exactly how to drive her wild and to be determined to do it as quickly as possible. There was something thrilling about his intensity and Thalina found her arousal increasing so quickly that she thought she might spontaneously combust. Her heart was racing. Her skin was on fire. She was wet and hot and ready for him, her blood boiling and her need beyond anything she’d experienced before. She found her fingers digging into his back and her legs wrapped around him, but Acion was relentless. He didn’t push her over the edge but he didn’t stop, either. She wasn’t sure she could stand any more. She was writhing. She heard herself begging.
And then he used that finger.
As soon as the vibrating tip touched her clitoris, Thalina found her release. She shouted as the fire shot through her body and locked around Acion, holding him fast as she quivered and shook.
When she managed to open her eyes and catch her breath, he was watching her with such an expression of pride in his feat that she found it hard to believe he was an android.
“Were you satisfied?” he asked.
“Not quite,” Thalina said. “I want more.”
“You are voracious,” he said softly.
“I’m a dragon princess,” she replied, rising from the couch to shed her clothes. She liked how Acion studied each increment of skin as it was revealed. She liked that he looked at her as if she was a marvel to be investigated, as if he’d never seen her before, as if they hadn’t pleasured each other so recently. It was exciting to have his attention so fixed upon her and she guessed that he was gathering information about dragon shifter princesses.
She was glad to be his object of study. His interest in her mirrored her interest in him and made her feel that they had much in common.
“I have a suggestion for you,” she said and his gaze flicked to hers.
“Do you?”
“I think it’s one that you’re likely to accept.”
He smiled, just a little, and her heart skipped. “How likely?”
“At least ninety per cent.”
“And will that give you pleasure?”
“Yes.”
“Then please tell me of it.
Thalina returned to him, sitting beside him and sweeping her hand over him as she had once before. This time, she heard him inhale sharply and
knew that his arousal index was rising.
“I think you should investigate dragon shifters and document any discrepancies between dragon shifters in their human form and other humanoid women.”
“An excellent suggestion,” Acion said, reaching to cup one of her breasts in his hand. “You underestimated its appeal by at least eight per cent.” His thumb slid over her breast and Thalina tipped her head back, feeling her nipple respond to his touch.
Then she remembered their conversation. “Well, there’s another part of the suggestion, one you might find less attractive.”
“So, the appeal of the entire proposition would be diminished once the less appealing part is factored into the end result. I understand.” He bent and took her nipple in his mouth, tugging it to a taut peak and making Thalina shiver. He was so good at that. He flicked his tongue against the nipple, then looked up at her, eyes glinting. “Tell me the part you expect me to find less appealing,” he whispered.
“I think the investigation should be reciprocal. You want to learn more about dragon shifters. I want to learn more about androids.”
His gaze flicked and she knew he was calculating. “To what purpose?”
“I’m curious.”
“The lore of biological organisms suggests that curiosity is a dangerous trait.”
Thalina smiled. “That must be what I like about it.”
He tilted his head, his thumb still moving back and forth across her nipple. “Why would you like a prospect of peril?”
“Because danger makes me feel alive.”
Acion didn’t respond for a moment. “Triggering the fight-or-flight response contributes to your awareness of your existence?” he asked, obviously uncertain of the merit of this conclusion.
“Experiencing sensation, taking risks, triumphing against the odds, feeling and enjoying and daring—these make me feel alive.”
His hand dropped from her breast. “But that is irrational. How can risking your life unnecessarily make you feel alive?”
“It does, when I triumph.”
“But what if you do not?”
“I’ll have had one magnificent moment. That’ll make taking the chance worth it.”
“Even if it is your last moment?”