Page 23 of Olivia

She nodded and moved closer to him, so that the chairs were touching. Then she took the fork from his hand and grabbed a spoon.

7

STARK

Stark held perfectly still as the Olivia swirled the noodles on his fork.

Her movements were so graceful that it was almost hypnotic.

She lifted the mouthful to him and he opened for her, loving the way her eyes lifted to his immediately, as if to see if he liked it.

I like it, kitten. I like everything about this…

Then the flavors burst on his tongue and he closed his eyes to take it in. Terrans loved tomatoes and the little fruits could be grown almost anywhere, so they were found throughout the system now. But there were other flavors here too, tart, savory and sweet, all perfectly offset by the simplicity of the noodle.

“It’s so good, isn’t it?” she murmured.

“Incredible,” he agreed, opening his eyes.

It wasn’t the only incredible thing. Olivia was swirling up another bite for him, a smile on her pretty pink lips.

Take it slowly,he reminded himself.

Terrans were notoriously prudish. He could sense the girl’s desire for him, but she would have to be patiently guided to his bed if she was like the others of her kind.

If she were a Maltaffian girl, he would have taken her against the gates to the house the moment they were off the hover-cart. Twice.

“More?” she asked after his third bite.

“Wine first,” he said.

She got a playful look on her face and lifted the glass to his lips.

He drank obediently, licking his lips when he was done. Her eyes greedily followed the movement of his tongue and he was nearly done for.

The conversation that had flowed so freely between them before had vanished. Now there was only the clink of the fork and the sound of his own heartbeat in his ears.

They moved from their dinner to the dessert, and he took a delicate dessert fork and speared a small sphere of xynnit-melon, dipping it in the sauce before holding it to Olivia’s lips.

He smiled, wishing he could taste the sweet dessert for the first time again. She opened her mouth for him and took the fruit, her eyes sliding closed as she moaned at the taste. It was all he could do not to lift her out of her chair and carry her to the bedroom.

“Olivia,” he said, his voice a rasp. “Are you ready for bed?”

She swallowed hard and nodded.

He sensed the tiniest whisper of fear, but surely it was only because she had heard that Maltaffians were valiant lovers and well-endowed compared to Terrans.

But he would restrain himself and treat her like the most delicate Nyperian glass.

Sweeping her out of her chair, he carried her up the stairs, smiling as she gasped in surprise and then let out a waterfall of bell-like laughter. When he reached the bedroom, he found that the lights were already dimmed and the fireplace in the corner was crackling with a low fire.

Oberon…

Well, the AI had some good ideas, even if it wasn’t as good a protector as one of his men.

He set the girl gently on the soft rug in front of the bed. Remembering the center’s policy on consent, he stopped short of tearing her clothes off.

“Olivia,” he said gently. “I would like to make a baby with you now.”