Read Rystani Warrior 02 - The Dare for Free Online

he couldn’t make out her words. What had knocked him flatter than the geological pancakes on Damar, Mystique’s second moon? Breathing lightly past the tightness in his chest and the fullness in his loins, an odd side effect that his suit would take care of now that he was conscious, he ran his hands over his face while the ringing in his ears subsided and Dora’s voice slowly became clear enough to comprehend.
    “Zical. Talk to me. Are you hurt? Do you require—”
    “Give me a minute.”
    “I’ve already given you sixty.”
    He wouldn’t consider rolling over until the suit finished countering his arousal. Luckily, Dora hadn’t seemed to notice, or no doubt, she would be asking personal questions for which he had no reasonable answer. Thanks to the suit giving men control over their passions, Rystani males did not have erections unless they were ready to have sex.
    Stunned by the fierce sensation of need, need that he had no way to satisfy at the moment, he winced and lost track of the conversation. “Say that again, please?”
    “I would have summoned help but communications are still down.”
    “You sensed no immediate danger?” he guessed, rolling to his side and sitting up cautiously as he avoided putting pressure on tender areas, pleased his suit had done the job. His head pounded as if the entire Rystani army had tromped through, muddling his thoughts, scrambling his impressions. Yet, his skin tingled as if stroked.
    “Are you ill?”
    “I don’t think so, but …”
    “But?” she prodded.
    Stars. He wanted a woman so badly that he’d almost said so—a clear sign he was thoroughly rattled. Perhaps Dora’s discussion about breast size right before he’d blacked out had remained in his mind and stimulated him. Yeah, sure. More likely, he’d put off for too long a visit to a holosim, a holographic simulator, that would relieve his needs, so the first time his consciousness relaxed, his body felt as though he’d gotten a weekend pass to play. However, with Dora expanding her circuitry into every business on the planet, Zical couldn’t be certain his time with the holosim Xentos would remain private. The idea of Dora knowing about his personal business with a holosim disturbed him, so he always left his portable unit at home during his infrequent trips to that part of town.
    “What happened while I was out?”
    “Nothing. Your respiration and pulse remained within normal limits. You remained flat on your stomach, unmoving. Why?”
    At the sound of a skimmer outside the portal, Zical staggered to his feet. Nothing hurt, but his bones throbbed in a way he’d never experienced. Something odd had happened to him when the golden beam had struck. He would have thought he was simply suffering from the aftereffects of repressed sexual desire, but he recalled images, images so erotic that he suspected they couldn’t have originated with him.
    Zical peered toward the portal. “Who’s here?”
    “My communications still aren’t functioning. But my mainframe may have sent a rescue party when—”
    “Zical?” Kahn’s voice shouted through the portal.
    “Stay where you are. I’ll come out.” Zical straightened, bumped into a panel, and swore under his breath. Machinery rumbled, clicked. Zical’s scalp prickled, stopping him in mid-curse.
    “Let’s get out of here,” Dora’s voice deepened with urgency.
    Overhead, a fan-like noise whirred and fresh air wafted inside the cavern. Zical tipped back his head and spied what looked like a ventilation system, then the lines of the grill formed a shape that reminded him of the sensual sway of a woman’s hips. Lips pressed to his neck, but no one was there. A wispy soft breast brushed his cheek, yet he was alone, his suit in proper working order. Not prone to fantasizing while at work, he blinked, stared hard, now saw only the grill from the ventilation system. What in Dregan hell was going on?
    “Zical,” Dora’s tone commanded with authority.