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precipice she hadn’t looked over in a long time.   Her breath caught in her throat, and she shook with mingled pleasure and fear.  
    She wasn’t sure she wanted to go over that precipice, wasn’t sure she wanted to admit that she was a sexual creature, as sensual as any Canvul woman.   The thought that she was really no different from any of her people terrified her.   She’d built her life on the premise that she was different.   More serious.   More staid.   Totally asexual.
    And yet she thought she’d die if she didn’t find fulfillment.
    And then he moved his finger just a little faster, and she fell over the edge.   Ecstasy exploded within her, warmth radiating from her womb through her body in waves.  
    She gritted her teeth, managing to keep herself from moaning, but her body was beyond her control.   She writhed in spasms of unleashed pleasure.   At last the heat ebbed, and she fell back against the floor with a stifled gasp.
    His hand splayed possessively over her belly.   “You’re a lot sexier than I ever realized,” he said softly, his mouth against her hair.  
    She hadn’t realized the depth of her own longing for sex, but now she ached for more.   Even after the incredibly satisfying orgasm he’d given her, she couldn’t stop herself from thinking what it would be like to have him inside her, moving hard and fast.   Another shiver ran through her.
    But he pulled his hand away.
    “Well,” he said, “I guess I’ve interfered with your sleep period enough for one evening.”
    Are you out of your mind? she almost said, but managed to stifle her indignation just in time.   What the hell?   She’d expected him to seduce her into sex, and instead he’d simply satisfied her and was now going to sleep.   It was baffling.   Steven had never struck her as the type to care more for a woman’s pleasure than for his own.
    But he rolled over.   She cracked an eye open and saw the big wall of his back, lit by the faint glow from the instruments.  
    “Good night,” he mumbled.
    And within moments he was asleep.
    Despite the intense relaxation of her muscles, sleep didn’t come as easily to her.   And when it did, her dreams were haunted by a chiseled statue come to life.   A statue that touched her and turned her from marble to flesh as well.  

Chapter 5
    “We need to come up with a plan,” Steven said the next morning, wincing as he downed a cup of truly atrocious coffee.  
    “A plan?” Vaish echoed.   She had opted for Canvulian tea, which must be as awful as the coffee, judging from her pained grimaces as she swallowed it.   Emergency rations, Steven thought, were hell.   “What sort of plan?”
    “A plan to get us off this godforsaken rock, obviously.”
    “It’s not a rock,” Fred said.   “It’s a very lovely place.   You should see the second planet.   Now that’s a rock.”
    Steven sighed.   “Yes, Fred, it’s a very lovely planet.   But I don’t want to live here the rest of my life.”
    “The second planet doesn’t even have a breathable atmosphere,” Fred said.   “Did I mention it’s methane?   You wouldn’t want to be breathing methane, would you?”
    Steven closed his eyes and counted to ten.   “Yes, Fred,” he said at last, in what he thought was a commendably even tone.   “You did a good job making sure we landed here safely.   Neither of us wants to breathe methane.   But we still need to get out of here.”
    “I’ve already done everything I can,” Fred said.   “I engaged the emergency beacon, as you ordered, and I’m constantly scanning the system for vessels.   But there haven’t been any.”  
    “There aren’t likely to be any just passing through,” Vaish said.   She had knotted up her long lavender hair, scraping it tightly against her skull, and the stiff science officer persona had returned along with the hairdo.   She didn’t look at all like the woman who’d shuddered in his arms last night as he