Page 9 of Alexis

She was light as a feather, and with her jumping, it felt as if he was barely lifting her at all. Her feet went a foot over the bed and he had to actually lower her down.

“Thanks,” she said, wading through the pile of straw to get closer to the front, presumably so she could have a good view of the horse.

He leaped up after her, and was surprised to see her lower herself unceremoniously into the prickly stuff.

“It’s a bumpy ride,” Oberon said warningly.

“I think that means we’re supposed to hang onto each other,” she told Tiago, winking. “Oberon knows what he’s doing.”

He looked at the low rail around the back of the cart and shuddered at the idea of this small, soft woman being thrown over the side.

“Between my legs,” he ordered her as he sat near the front of the cart, where he knew she wanted to be.

She scrambled over and sat in front of him, between his legs, as she was told.

Something ancient and masculine deep inside him swelled with pride at this evidence of her submitting to him.

He wrapped his big body around her small one, reveling in the delicate fragrance of her hair and the shiver of electricity he felt once more as they touched. This was not some trick of her Terran physiology. It was something more.

As soon as he had his arms around her, the horse began to plod forward along the path between the trees. A bird cried out, and then a cloud of blue-black ravens lifted from the trees just ahead, forming a triangular curtain above them before disappearing into the sky.

“Oberon, you really know how to set the stage,” Alexis said appreciatively.

“Thank you,” Oberon replied.

Tiago would have sworn the voice actually sounded gratified. But that wasn’t possible. Oberon was an AI, not a person.

The cart went over a big bump and Alexis was tossed more firmly against him, her backside pressing tantalizingly against his groin.

He forgot all about Oberon as he willed himself not to bury his face in her neck and lift his hands from her waist to cup her small breasts.

It was going to be a long ride.

5

ALEXIS

By the time the autumn colors of the forest on both sides of the road gave way to rolling countryside, Alexis was in a haze of pleasure.

Tiago’s arms were wrapped around her, his big body pressed to hers, making her feel safe and overstimulated at the same time.

She could sense the tension in him, his muscles tightening each time a bump or curve in the road pressed her closer.

How in the world were they supposed to solve a labyrinth and eat dinner before they gave in to the temptation that hummed in the air between them?

She tried to shake off the feeling. As was the custom on Terra-58, until a woman gave birth to her primary heir and then was matched and married, she did not engage in sexual contact of any kind. Alexis had never been with a man. And she wasn’t a believer in instant chemistry anyway. That kind of thing was for the holo-serials her mom watched.

But would it be so bad to lean in? After all, a one-night-stand was exactly what she was here for. Maybe several nights, if she was lucky.

“The farmhouse is up ahead.” Oberon’s voice interrupted the direction of her thoughts. “You can just see the labyrinth leading up to it.”

Sure enough, a lumpy white-stucco farmhouse with green shutters stood silhouetted against the pink sunset atop the hill they were heading for. A golden maze of corn stalks covered the hillside leading up.

Surrounding the farmhouse was a collection of twisted, knobby-limbed trees dotted with red.

“An apple orchard,” Alexis exclaimed. “It’s like a farmhouse from a storybook.”

“A Terran storybook?” Tiago guessed. His deep voice emanated from his chest, and she felt it against her back.

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