Page 6 of Seduction

He groaned and put a hand over his eyes. “The light. It’s blinding – like staring up at Phalyx and Zalyx when they’re overhead at midday.”

Selena swiped a hand through the air. The lights dimmed.

“Better.” He stopped, stared as if finally seeing her clearly. “Nicely done. Are you a sorcerer as well as a healer?”

She shook her head. “No. It’s merely a mechanical device. I control all the basic functions of the room – temperature, lighting, even opening and closing the window coverings – by a combination of my thoughts and a few simple gestures.”

“Talia told me of the marvels of her world,” he replied. “But I never thought to see them for myself. Truth be told, the last thing I can remember thinking is the next time I opened my eyes, I’d be getting my reward in Valhalla for a battle well fought.” His eyes raked up and down her body then went to his erection. “So far, I like being here better.”

Selena was speechless. She’d never been subjected to such a frank appraisal. His gaze made her feel as though she’d been stripped as naked as he. Without thinking, she followed his gaze down to his male organ and gasped. It jutted straight out from his body now, long and thick.

He raised an eyebrow and shot her a grin. “Didn’t know you were such a good healer, eh?”

“Yes. I mean no. I didn’t do that. Well, maybe I did, but…”

He leaned back against the pillow, reached down, and stroked his cock. “Come here, wench. I’ll show you how well you’ve healed me.”

Selena backed away so fast she bumped into the chair she’d been sitting in earlier. “No! I can’t! I don’t…we don’t do that here. Besides, you’re in no condition to achieve gratification. You’re still much too weak.”

“Weak? I’ll show you how weak!” He threw himself off the bed and started toward her then crumpled to his knees.

“Easy! Take it easy.” She rushed to his side. Knelt down. “We’ve been sending impulses to your muscles the entire time you were in the pod. But the program wasn’t designed for someone your size. There’s a big difference between hooking up to electro-stimulation and actual movement. You can’t just jump up and start running around Your body needs time to adjust.”

Haldor shook his head, looked confused at the technical terms. “Dizzy. So dizzy.” He struggled to his knees, leaning heavily on Selena.

She stifled a groan. He was even heavier than he looked. She managed to lever him back into bed while refraining from accidentally touching his male organ, still semi-erect. “I apologize. I didn’t mean to offend you.” She fussed with the sheet, covering his nakedness. Not trusting herself to meet his eyes. Though she’d been interacting with him for only a short time, he seemed to have a knack for catching her off guard.

“Hunger. That’s what it is.” He acted as if she hadn’t spoken, ignoring her apology. “It’s no wonder I’m weak. If I’ve been asleep, I haven’t had a decent meal in weeks.”

Haldor snatched the edge of the sheet from her hand. He let it fall just below his waist. “Leave off swaddling me like a babe and bring me a platter of roast boar.”

She tried not to stare at the line of dark hair that ran down between the twin rows of muscle on his abdomen and disappeared under the sheet. “Roast boar? I can’t do that. I’ll bring you a liquid meal. It will provide all the nutrients your body needs right now.”

“I don’t need any more of your honey mead, woman. My head is spinning enough already. Bring me meat. And turnips. And gravy. Plenty of gravy. I’ll wash it down with a mug of ale for now.”

She let out an audible sigh. “We don’t eat animal flesh on Earth. Boar have been extinct for hundreds of years. The only animals left on the planet live in protected enclosures, where they can be viewed and studied by everyone. Except for our pets. A few cats. Roaches mostly.”

He stared at her in horror. “You keep roaches as pets?”

“I don’t. Can’t stand the sight of them, personally. But they’re quite popular. We had dogs, too, at first. But they were so needy. All that petting. And wanting to sleep with you and sit on your lap. The government outlawed them around the same time they did away with sex. Roaches are much more practical, from a purely scientific point of view. Take up much less room. Amazing, really. They’re one of the few creatures that managed to survive outside the dome. They can go for incredibly long periods of time without eating.”

“Yes. Back to eating. Please don’t tell me you’re going to feed me roaches!”

She laughed. “Nothing that drastic! We eat balanced meals, manufactured in the nutrition center. Synthetic protein at lunch and dinner, with a serving of vegetables grown in one of the hydroponic gardens. Spinach, kale, sea kelp. For breakfast, we have a liquid meal. Our personally tailored nutrition plans include an occasional treat – a serving of fresh fruit or the rare fish fillet. They’re harvested when the hydroponic apparatus is dismantled for cleaning. We raise fish in the water that nourishes our gardens.”

“Sea kelp? Back home, we use it to wrap our cod and salmon before we lay them on the cooking fire then toss it away. I’ve eaten a mouthful or two – purely by accident. Nasty stuff.” He frowned. “Forget the meal. I’ll make do with a mug of ale.”

She shook her head. “Strong spirits have been done away with too. They artificially alter one’s brain chemistry. I can bring you a nice cup of herbal tea,” she offered.

“No ale either? By all the gods, I wish you’d let me die. I would have awakened in Valhalla. Instead, you’ve starved me to death in my sleep, and now I’m in hell.”

Selena laughed. “Most people consider modern Earth to be a wonderful place. The climate is always perfect here under the dome. No more illness, no wars. No stress. People live for nearly two hundred years, lives of peace and harmony.”

“That’s because they’re too weak from hunger to rebel,” he muttered. “Bring me one of your cursed plates of spinach and kelp then – and a big mug of hot tea. With plenty of honey. I can’t abide tea without honey.” He gave her a worried look. “You do have honey here, don’t you?”

“In limited amounts. We use it for medicinal purposes. But I can spare some for you,” she hurried on, seeing his brow wrinkle in frustration.

Selena headed for the staff break room. She guessed his appetite would be as huge as his size, so she prepared a tray with triple meal portions, adding a flask of hot tea. Then she took several vials of honey from the locked drug storage cabinet. She’d had the lock installed last year after she caught a patient trying to smuggle drugs out of the lab.

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