Those bright eyes, he could feel her all the way into his bones. Every part of him felt touched by her stare. He could not find the words to describe the sensation, other than he liked it very much. Many expressions passed over her face as she observed him.
Women had looked at him in the past. Both out of intimidation and in admiration. He found it entertaining when they were out in public venues, but this was a far different emotional expression that he experienced. She seemed both intrigued but also a little nervous. All of it made the Craving inside him burn like nothing he'd ever known. He let her look at him. Her gaze ran over him could have been tactile; it affected him so much.
He wanted her to be comfortable with him. If they were intimate, then he wanted her to be sure she was ready for it. It might seem scary to her, and that was not what he wanted.
He didn't want Eleanor to ever be afraid of him.
Her gaze lingered on his male parts. Her mouth opened, and he was unsure if she was pleased with what she saw or was concerned about it.
He should try to reassure her. "Do not concern yourself. I will not hurt you."
She smiled. "I know you wouldn't. Not intentionally."
He stroked her small shoulder. She was so delicate, but he also thought she was strong. At least in her brain. Though she did break the drawer. That would take some physical strength.
Her mind, however, had to be strong. Powerful, even, to do what she did for her people and to be able to move forward from what she'd experienced in her short life.
For what she'd confessed to him about her father, he would happily remove the humanoid from this side of existence.
And Jedriek would be pleased to take care of that for her.
The story engaged his emotional responses--the kind of emotional responses that caused a Rhimodian to lose his shine. He must tread carefully. While he could interpret his protocols a little differently than other cyborgs it did not mean that he could create his own protocols.
Yet, was that any different than what he was doing now? Was he not making up his own protocols, choosing to be so intimate with this Terran Princess?
If one chose to interpret it that way...
He must not focus on that.
Instead, he needed to think about this beautiful female humanoid before him. She was all that mattered. Hewouldbe following protocol to make sure she was cared for. But in doing so, he would be engaging in his own more primitive desires and dealing with the Craving.
He needed to focus on her needs. Her safety and her needs.
Right now, her needs dominated the situation. Her needs were what he had to attend to. Not his growing desires for the Terran Princess.
By the moment.
"Touch me," he said.
She gasped, and a small smile spread over her features.
She lifted her hand off the bed she sat on, but she didn't reach out.
Slowly, he reached up and met her fingers, and they laced their hands together. Her fingers poked out between his, and he marveled at their thin, delicate appearance. The Craving roared under his skin, but different than other kinds of desires, this was almost a kind of approval? He could not explain what it was, more than he knew that his Craving for her was more than he'd experienced with other females.
He ran his thumb over her hand.
"Your skin is magical," she said.
He blinked. "Why?"
"It changes so easily to different colors."
"I can make an adjustment if it bothers you. "
She laid her hand on his chest. Almost immediately, his bare flesh started to shift, so it matched the light brown of her hand and turned white where her dress sleeve was. "It doesn't bother me," she said. "Can you hide this way?"
"I have before. Stepped into a shadowy place and blended into the dark, the targets do not notice me until it is too late."
