CHAPTER 2

Kalli turned and triedto find a comfortable position for the umpteenth time that night. Not that the mattress was uncomfortable. The simple fact was that she was too aware of Dariux, who lay a few inches away from her on the bed. Even through their sleeping bags, which effectively cocooned and separated them, she could feel a sort of energy emanating from him. It called to something deeply feminine inside her.

She had never felt such restlessness before. Her couplings with Martin, her parbot, were uncomplicated and pleasurable. They never made her feel like a piano string stretched too tight and left to twang plaintively in time with the merest pluck.

As a neurobiologist engaged in the study of human psychology, she knew exactly what she was feeling. Desire. As the pearly light of dawn peeked through the windows, she analyzed the emotion objectively.

She was no stranger to desire. But it was different this time. It wasn’t a simple physical urge to find release. It was more complex and deeper. She wondered what her hormone levels and brain activity would be at this moment. If she had been alone in the room, she would have scanned herself. But then, if she were alone, she probably wouldn’t be feeling these sensations.

What would it be like to engage in sex with a real man? Before this mission, she had not given the notion any thought for years. After the rejection and heartbreak that seeking a human relationship had caused her, she had given up on trying to find love.

Martin suited her very well. He was sweet and fulfilled her needs for companionship and pleasure without the messiness of human interactions. But she had always wondered if there was something missing from the human-parbot relationship. Well, of course there was. That was the whole point of this mission, wasn’t it?

Dariux wasn’t sweet. She studied him in the dim light of the room. He was hard. Handsome, yes. Without a doubt. The angles of his face seemed carved from rock by an expert sculptor. There was no softness in his lean jawline, strong brow, and straight nose. Even his lips, although plush, were shapely and defined. The texture of his face, with his morning stubble, seemed abrasive. His body was hidden from view inside the sleeping bag, but her memory supplied the image of wide shoulders, bulging biceps, rock-hard abs, muscular legs, and at the apex of those legs...

Her face was burning, and so was she. Would it aid their investigation if they got physically involved? There were baseline scan records for both. They were healthy adults in their prime. The perfect study subjects. It would be an interesting experiment to see if, after involvement, their levels would change to resemble that of the people in these times.

No. She was just trying to rationalize it, to find a justification to indulge her curiosity. Her desire. The naked truth was, she would like to have sex with him, scientific investigation or not. But it was also the truth that it could help their mission.

She would have to observe him for signs that he was as affected as she was. If he wasn’t interested in her, it could become very awkward, not to mention inappropriate. She wouldn’t want him to feel like she was accosting him. Nor would she want to feel the humiliation of rejection.

At that moment, he opened his eyes and his gaze locked on hers. The impact of his gray eyes at close range was like a ball to the chest. Her heartbeat picked up, and she struggled for breath.

“Good morning,” he said in a deep voice, raspy from sleep. She found that little detail oddly endearing. He seemed unaware of the tumultuous drumming of her heartbeat. Couldn’t he feel it through the mattress? She could swear it was strong enough to shake the entire building.

“Good morning,” she croaked in response, opening her sleeping bag to get up. Now that he was awake, the intimacy of lying in a bed together was unbearable. He seemed relaxed and well rested, in no hurry to get up. Maybe she should scrap her experiment idea...he didn’t seem to be the least affected by her.

Hurrying over to the screen, she slipped behind it and started washing and getting ready for the day. Her clothes were designed to look period-appropriate but had a lot more practical uses too. For example, her skirts, while wide like the women of this time wore, could be turned into a tent. The inside was lined with a special camouflaging fabric that would allow them to set up an observation post without being seen.

Her top was a normal garment, however, and she needed help to button it in the back. With the garment open, she stepped from behind the screen and approached Dariux, who was still in his modern sleeping clothes. He stretched, and she took a moment to admire his muscular body lovingly hugged by the stretchy material of his pajamas. She went to stand in front of him and turned her back. He had performed this service countless times, so she didn’t even need to ask him to button her up.

Before, she had thought nothing of his fingers lightly brushing her back. Now every feather touch felt like electricity skittering along her nerves. What was happening to her? It was as if the rational, civilized woman she had groomed herself to be had vanished after just one night of sleeping next to him. Insane.

“What is the plan for today?” His low voice coming from so close behind her gave her a guilty start.

“Going back to the duke’s estate to collect some more data on the couple.”

“Couldn’t we have found easier subjects? It is simpler to collect information from the inns in the towns we visit. Plenty of people close together and paper-thin walls.”

“Yes, but people don’t stay long at any inn, which makes any longer-term study difficult. We can hardly follow them. And besides, the duke and the girl from the twenty-first are the best case studies we have encountered. Their metrics have been all we could hope for.”

“But they shouldn’t be together. She is not even supposed to be here. I worry about the consequences. For them, as well as the time continuum.”

“Yes, I know. That is a concern. But since he took her in, there was nothing we could do until after the mission.”

“Maybe. Or maybe we didn’t try hard enough. Anyhow, their case is fraught with complications. There aren’t many opportunities to get close enough to the manor to get a good reading. And it is dangerous.”

“I know. You have told me this a million times already. I think it will be easier in a couple of days, when they move to London. The buildings are closer there. And they must go out sometime. With more people on the streets, we will be able to get closer without standing out. We don’t need to collect much more data to have a complete dossier on them. We just have to be ready for the next opportunity.”

“And do we have to wear these ridiculous clothes?” He had finished buttoning her up and was efficiently donning his own gentleman attire. “Our own clothing would be much more practical to trample around and crawl through the forest,” he said with disgust as he tied his neckwear.

She laughed at his grouchy tone. “Small scandal we would cause if we were to walk around in our clothing.”

He smiled reluctantly. “I know, but a guy can dream.”

“Stop complaining. I get the worse of it,” she said, kicking her skirts. “At least they are useful.”

“And they look pretty on you,” he said with a twinkle in his eyes that did something to her insides. “Ready? Let’s go then. I have a feeling today will be the day we luck out.”