The Syn-En Solution

by Linda Andrews

  “Terms?” Nell’s thoughts were as fuzzy as he appeared at this close range, but she wouldn’t close her eyes. She liked to watch his pupils expand and contract as his cerebral link tried to control his body’s response to passion. Resentment pricked her desire. Couldn’t he turn that computer off for this? She wanted to know how the man reacted to her.

  “To our mating.” Bei kissed her forehead, inhaled deeply as if to breathe her in.

  Tendrils of hair tickled her skin. Desire magnified her senses and she felt his groan as he trailed kisses across her temple, down her cheek before stopping to nibble at her ear. Nell tilted her head to the side, allowing him maximum access. She wanted him to kiss her neck, loved to have the sensitive tissue nipped and sucked.

  As if he heard her, his mouth traced her jugular, drawing in her skin with every pulse.

  Nell groaned as desire melted her insides yet tightened her body. If he kept that up, she might climax before he actually touched her. She squeezed her thighs together and her legs almost buckled at the delicious pressure on her swollen clit. Oh, heck. She raked at his shirt, trying to rip it off him. She at least wanted him half naked before she came.

  Easing away from her, he stripped his shirt over his head.

  Magnificent. Well-defined muscles accentuated every peak and valley. Not a scar, freckle, hair or mole marred his dusky skin. Greedy to touch him, to find his pleasure points, she reached for his nipples. They cinched tight under her caress and she strummed the buds. He growled in pleasure but it wasn’t enough. She wanted to taste him, every inch. She’d start with them then work her way up, down, sideways, backwards and forwards.

  Bei’s hands on her shoulder held her away. His Adam’s apple bobbed in his corded throat. “Your terms.”

  His words rasped in her ears. Nice to know he was as affected as she. Gently, she squeezed and tugged at his nipples.

  He hissed through clenched teeth and shook her gently. “Dammit, woman. Your terms.”

  His growl penetrated her haze of desire. He wanted terms? Of what she wouldn’t do, what she would, how many, how long, how often, positions? Positions. She latched onto the thought. “I can’t be on top. I float.”

  Bei smiled. “I have enough metal in my skin for both of us.”

  “Good.” Nell leaned forward again but he kept her at arm’s length. Okay, maybe positions wasn’t what he meant. She blew the hair out of her eyes. So much for the stereotype of women wanting to talk at inconvenient moments. “I don’t understand what you mean by terms.”

  “How long do you wish to mate with me?”

  Nell blinked. How long? Her mind boggled at the implications. Energizer bunny meets Viagra. Sure one of her exes had accused her exaggerated libido of trying to ride his dick off, but to actually program a snooze request… “Don’t you usually go until you, ah, come?”

  Embarrassment burned her cheeks. She so didn’t need the birds and the bees talk from her soon-to-be lover. And just where was her know-it-all mother/conscience when she needed a little inside information?

  Bei grinned then chuckled before laughing outright.

  Nell crossed her arms over her chest. Humor at her expense was not an attractive trait. “What’s so funny?”

  With his hands, he followed the curve of her back to her shirt’s hem. He toyed with the edge while lifting it to her waistband. “You are thinking about how long I want to be inside you, correct?”

  “Maybe.”

  “Forever.”

  Nell sucked in her stomach as his finger slipped along the front of her pants to circle her navel.

  Her hips followed his movement, encouraging his teasing lower. Resisting the urge to grab his hand and put it where she wanted, Nell tucked her hands inside his pants and kneaded the hard flesh of his backside. It was good but not enough. She wanted more. “That will make walking difficult, not to mention dressing.”

  Bei playfully swatted her behind. “Terms refers to the length of time of our exclusivity arrangement.”

  Nell’s brain sluggishly processed the information. “You want to know how long our relationship is going to last?”

  Dang, sleep for a hundred years and men had actually evolved enough to value relationships. Could it be possible or had a woman programmed their cerebral interface? “Are we talking monogamy or me washing your socks and picking up your dirty clothes?”

  “Sexual exclusivity.” Bei tugged on the top button of her pants, easing it free. “I can tend my own hygiene needs.”

  Nell held her breath, willing her pants to drop to her ankles. Instead they clung to her hips. Damn zero gravity. She wiggled her behind, hoping her trousers would get the message while purposely rubbing against Bei. Both stoked her frustration. “So you don’t want to shower with me? Wash my back while I wash yours.”

  Either alternative required absolute nudity. And she was going to get them there. Giving up on subtlety, Nell reached for her pants and unzipped them. The soft fabric cascaded down her legs and whispered to a stop around her boots. Cool air washed over her exposed skin. The hem of her shirt brushed the top of her thighs. One down, one to go. The commando bit had unforeseen benefits. Nell grabbed the hem of her shirt.

  Bei’s nostrils flared and his blue eyes darkened to cobalt. His hand on hers stopped her from removing the tunic. “I am certainly willing to help you remove your uniform.”

  “Then I shall return the favor.” Anticipation burned sweet and intensely in the pit of her stomach.

  He closed his eyes as she released the garment to trace the ridge of his erection. Heat and strength pulsed under her palm. Nell popped the top button of his fly.

  “And your terms?”

  Nell reined in her rampaging desire. It mattered to him these terms, but how long was too long? A part of her rebelled at setting a time limit. Yet he needed it. She could give him this. “I don’t know. What’s standard?”

  “There isn’t one.”

  Cupping him through his pants, Nell rose on her tiptoes and kissed his cheek, felt the press of firm skin against her lips and the exotic taste of him on her tongue. “How long do you want?”

  “Because I asked, you must decide the terms.”

  Irritation flared through her. His answer sounded too much like a twentieth century sex game. A cop-out to blame her if things go bad and he felt trapped. But Bei was different and it wasn’t just his synthetic arms and legs.

  “How long would you like to be with me, Nell Stafford?”

  Forever. Nell bit her tongue. She’d known him less than two days and didn’t want to seem desperate, but then again she wanted in his pants, wanted him. How long was enough to establish her interest without leaving her stinking of Eau de Spinster? A couple weeks? A month? “Until we get to the planet.”

  Disappointment tugged on his mouth and pinched the sensitive skin at the corners of his eyes. “I see.”

  Darn. She’d picked the wrong time, but did he want longer or shorter? Nell took the coward’s way out. “Then I’ll ask you to name the terms. By then I should know if you snore or not.”

  His left eyebrow arched but the tightness left his features. “I do not snore.”

  Nell smiled at him. She loved his face, the experience and responsibility that chiseled the planes and angles. The intensity shining in his eyes, aimed at her. Only her. “So you say, but if you’re sleeping how would you know?”

  “None of—”

  Nell set her index finger over his mouth. She didn’t want to talk about him and other women. Heck, she didn’t want to talk at all.

  For once neither did he. He licked the pad of her finger before nipping it gently then clasped her hand and traced her lifeline with his tongue.

  Nell shivered. Never had she considered her palm an erogenous zone before. With her free hand, she caressed the bulbous head of his penis, lubricated her skin with the dew of his desire and stroked his shaft. Real or not, she couldn’t tell by touching it. “Do you agree to my terms?”

  Nodding, h
e released her hand, slanted his mouth over hers and reached for the hem of her shirt. His tongue darted in and out, tasting and taunting until she bit his bottom lip. He smiled against her mouth before trailing kisses down her chin, along her jaw to the hollow under her ear.

  Her stomach quivered as his knuckles skimmed her belly. Inch by inch, he pushed the fabric up. His fingers swept her skin, back and forth, back and forth, another inch.

  Her body coiled tighter upon itself, bringing her closer to sweet release yet still to far away.

  “Stop torturing me.” Nell raked her nails down his back and shoved her hands down his pants. His zipper parted before she pushed them over his firm ass. Finally, his pants slid down his long legs. Clenching his butt, she ground him against her, reveling in the scorching velvet erection digging into her belly.

  He arched into her. Hot flesh against hot flesh. Insanity raged through her. Now. Soon. She’d scale the man to go down on him. But when she tried to wrap her legs around him, her pant leg caught on her boots and nearly swept her feet out from under her.

  Bei caught her, holding her squirming body tight against his before he jerked off her shirt, devoured her with his gaze.

  Her breasts grew heavy, ached for his touch, his mouth.

  But his calloused hands only teased the soft bottoms, echoing the curves along the sweep of her ribs.

  Nell moaned. Never had making love been this maddening. She backed toward the bed, milking his arousal with both hands to make sure he followed. He was thick and long and huge. Good heavens, enhanced was definitely an understatement. How the heck was she supposed to walk after being impaled on that?

  “I want your responses, every groan, sigh and hitch of your breath.”

  “You want my response.” She released him to grab his hands and set them on her aching breasts. He squeezed gently and pleasure zinged straight to her core. “This is frustration.”

  And maybe a little fear. Definitely some excitement.

  “That one I knew.” He chuckled, teasing her pert nipples but making no move to suckle them.

  She’d have to tell him what she liked and discover what turned him on, but later, after the first or fifth time. The back of her legs hit the bed. She flopped onto the mattress and grabbed the blanket to keep from springing back up. Propping herself up on her arms, she offered him her best come hither look. “Take me, I’m yours.”

  “Do you want to be on top?” Bei’s gaze roamed over her, igniting an inferno within her.

  “Not if you have to talk me through it.” She stilled under the caress of his eyes and hoped he liked what he saw, prayed he’d adore what she could do with it. Skimming his flanks with her hands, she admired the strength and warmth under them. Nell stared at his penis and debated taking it in her mouth for a long pull or two. He wasn’t the only one who craved a lover’s response.

  “Deal.” Stepping between her legs, Bei stretched out on top of her. His muscles bulged as they held his weight, yet firmly pushed her into the soft mattress.

  Nell’s hands played along his back as his body molded to hers.

  He kissed her forehead then her eyes, the tip of her nose while his thighs spread her legs wider. His cock probed her once before sliding between her folds. The friction against her swollen clit pushed her higher. Her nails dug into his ass and she demanded he move faster, rougher. He pinched her nipples and tugged on her breasts while his mouth sucked on the pulse point at her throat. The sensation pushed her over the top and her body spasmed with her climax.

  While the evidence of her desire flowed from her, Nell’s breath rasped against the hollow of his neck. She sank her teeth into his throat as he was poised at her damp opening. He pushed inside, slowly filling and stretching.

  Pain mingled with pleasure at the intrusion. Yet she lifted to meet his thrust, craving more, wanting all of him. He pulled out, then penetrated ever deeper. Never had it felt like this, been this good. His muscles flexed from the frantic pace. Her desire mounted mirroring his own. She tweaked his breasts and delighted in his groan, taking his pleasure as her own. Her body tightened around him, pulsed to a tempo as old as time. Close, so close.

  He reared back and slammed into her. Again and again, carrying them closer to the pinnacle in a bruising rhythm. She clung to his shoulder, tasted the salt on his skin. How much more could she take before her body imploded from the pleasure? One more thrust and the world around her exploded, and her cry of ecstasy joined his.

  A true leader never shows weakness in front of his subordinates.

  During times of trial, he demonstrates strength of purpose, certainty of actions and unwavering determination.

  Principles of Leadership

  Syn-En Vade Mecum

  Chapter Fifteen

  21 Days Later

  Bei strode to the center of the Starfarer’s bridge, the spring in his step tempered by the knowledge of all he must accomplish today. All that he could lose. Fear overrode his cerebral interface to force his heart into a staccato beat. This was it. The moment of truth.

  They would either open an event horizon or die.

  If he failed, Nell would number among the casualties.

  “Your woman’s gone then?” XO Penig asked without turning from his position at the helm. His question echoed around the bridge. The crew had been evacuated so only the two of them remained, along with Shang’hai, who manned her station in engineering.

  “Yes.” Bei clenched his hands at the more fatal implications of the question and crossed the half-moon shaped deck to stand beside his executive officer. He would not allow thoughts of losing his lover to distract him. And yet nothing seemed to keep them at bay.

  “You’re sure?” Penig scratched the fringe of gray hair above his left ear. “I’ve found that women, enhanced or not, tend to be the more devious of the sexes. They’ll agree with you, then turn around and do the exact opposite. And somehow, it’s always us who didn’t understand.”

  Penig angled his body toward Bei, deep grooves in his cheeks bracketing his smile. His eyes turned to lumps of coal in their sockets, proof that he interfaced with CIC solely through the WA.

  “I put Nell on Starflight Three, strapped her into the seat and watched it glide through the cargo bay doors.” Bei stared at his second in command’s black eyes, still not understanding how the sight of blackening eyes could invoke such revulsion in citizens. Nell had rattled on about demons, eyes being the windows to the souls, and other superstitious nonsense. But she had been naked, and he had wanted to know if she’d make that amazing sound in the back of her throat if he touched her just—

  Penig grunted. The six LCDs banding the bridge flickered to life. “And did you check the cargo bay to see if she’d snuck out the emergency hatch?”

  “No.” Bei rubbed his chin before summoning his avatar, knowing once his consciousness merged with the digital man, his own eyes would be as dark as the heart of a singularity. Another reason for Nell to be away from here. He hated to remind her of their differences. Despite the incredible closeness they’d achieved in the last three weeks, he sensed her unease. He hoped her doubts were about getting to the planet alive. Hell, he had his, even with reassurances from his scientists.

  And the odds were stacked against them.

  The Starfarer could give them only one shot, a mere twelve minutes six point two seconds until her engines overloaded from the stress of maintaining a focused magnetic field. Shang’hai, Penig and Bei would be lucky to make it last that long without a surge frying their interfaces and brains. But a handful of seconds less meant the America and her escorts would crash into the Fleet and the Syn-En race would come to an explosive end.

  At least that was the scenario in the original plan. But plans changed. Instead of waiting for the America to sail through first, Bei and his senior staff decided to send the remains of the original fleet through before she arrived. Nell would be in the first wave, followed by Commander Keyes and Chief Rome. They would lead whatever was left of the fl
eet to Terra Dos.

  They would survive.

  Bei clung to the thought, despite the ache banging around his chest at the idea that Nell might go on without him.

  Penig brought up the aft starboard visuals on the two right hand bridge LCDs. Three waves of dark ships freckled the white luminescent background of the wormhole. “Fifteen minutes before the Starcruiser America reaches us.”

  Using the CIC, Bei brought up long range sensors on the two far left screens. The America’s dark hull approached like a shark in white water and swallowed the visuals of her twenty escort ships in her bulk. Only Jane’s identification marks on the screens told of their presence. Bei watched twenty digital versions of his pink haired engineer swarm the boxy engine, navigation and electromagnetic shielding mainframes. “How much longer until engines and shields are aligned, Shang’hai?”

  The miniature versions bumped into each other, merging and growing until one full-sized avatar remained. She smiled, and fireworks, a digital representation of her excitement exploded around her head. “Engines and shields are ready, Admiral. Wilson and I are just double checking the forward laser cannons. He thought if we could tighten the electromagnetic beam, we might keep the event horizon open an additional twenty-three seconds.”

  Bei scanned for any crewmen still on his ship. The CIC recognized four ident chips and his temper flared. “Wilson should have evacuated the Starfarer with everyone else.”

  Shang’hai’s avatar turned red and apologies appeared in white bubbles near her head. “You said it yourself, Bei. We only have one shot at this. And while I can do a lot through the WA, sometimes I need another set of hands. Wilson has very nice hands.”

  The apologies disappeared in a mist of lust and longing that Bei had come to know only too well these last three weeks. With all the Starfarer’s life pods gone and the two newly minted Starflight shuttles launched, Bei had no choice but to let the civilian stay. But he didn’t have to like it. “Finish your checks.”