Enhanced Read online

  “You keep referring to this contract, but I never signed it!” Mei-Li protested, taking the sheet of plastic from his hand. It was covered in tiny black dots except for a section in the middle where perfectly legible printed English words were scrolling very slowly across its clear surface.

  “You did though, when you signed up for the draft of unmated females who may be called as brides.” Six tapped the very bottom of the piece of plastic and immediately the tiny black dots there expanded to show the last few clauses of the contract as well as Mei-Li’s own, looping signature.

  “Wait a minute—is the entire contract on this thing?” She looked closely at the plastic sheet.

  Six nodded. “The printing magnifies and diminishes as needed. As I understand it, the Kindred of the Mother Ship used to have it printed on thin sheets of mulched and dried plant life—I believe you call it paper? Anyway, they would have a female sign the paper contract when the male came to claim her. They have since streamlined the process, getting the signature when the female first signs up for the draft.”

  “Why did they do that? I didn’t know I was signing all this,” Mei-Li protested, staring at her signature at the bottom. Then again, she hadn’t exactly taken time to read the fine print when she went down to the HKR building to put her name on the rolls of women who could be called as brides. She was just doing her duty—signing up for the draft like every other girl her age and never dreaming that it would come back to bite her in the ass.

  Six raised an eyebrow at her. “Apparently you live in an extremely litigious society, correct? I think the process was changed in order to be certain there would be no ‘loop holes’ as you call them for a female to back out of a contact once she has been claimed.”

  “So I guess I’m stuck getting an ‘enhancement’, at least according to this,” Mei-Li said glumly, tapping the thin plastic for emphasis. At once, the bottom half of the Claiming Contract shrank down and another group of tiny black dots expanded to a readable size. “What’s this?” she muttered, scanning it rapidly. “It says that we must eat every meal at the same table and sleep every night in the same bed?”

  “Those are the rules of the Claiming Period,” Six said. “They outline exactly what we must do in each stage or week of the Claiming.”

  “What else does it say?” Mei-Li asked apprehensively. “What’s this—the Holding Week, the Bathing Week…the Tasting Week? What the hell?”

  “It simply tells the ways I am allowed to touch you with my hands and mouth as our time together progresses.” Six spoke as though it was no big deal.

  “It…it does?” Mei-Li was beginning to get a tight feeling in the pit of her stomach. Like every other Earth girl signed up for the draft, she had heard rumors of the intensely sexual courtship that went on between a Kindred warrior and his chosen bride during their Claiming Period. But she had assumed that wouldn’t be the case here. After all, Six had no emotions—why would he want to hold her or kiss her or do…any of the other things she’d heard whispered and hinted about?

  Not that she would mind doing sexual things with Six—well, she wouldn’t run screaming from him, anyway. Now that she was mostly used to his red search-light left eye and his metal hand, she found the rest of him completely mouthwatering. And there was also the fact that he smelled amazing. His big, muscular body and deep voice and the gentle way he touched her would be enough to make her or any girl melt. But what was the point if he didn’t feel anything?

  “There is one part I don’t understand, though,” Six said, breaking her train of thought. “It says that during the first week I may kiss you.”

  “Yes, and?” Mei-Li said, her voice coming out much higher than she would have liked.

  “And I do not understand the term.” He looked at her quizzically.

  “What term—kiss?” Mei-Li looked at him in disbelief. Seeing the confused expression on his face, she shook her head. “Oh my God—you don’t know what a kiss is, do you?”

  He frowned. “I have a vague idea. Is it an action performed with the mouth? Like this?” He pursed his lips and blew a stream of air that made a few wisps of her still-damp hair flutter against her cheek.

  Mei-Li had to suppress a laugh. “Not quite. It’s when you touch your mouth—your lips—to someone else’s skin or lips.”

  “Like this, then?” He surprised her by leaning towards her and pressing his lips briefly to her cheek. It didn’t feel like much of anything since he didn’t purse his lips or move his mouth in any way but Mei-Li’s heart started to pound anyway when she felt his warm breath on her skin.

  “Not…not exactly,” she said, a little breathlessly. “I…I can show you, if you want. I mean, if…if you really want to know.”

  Six frowned. “I do want to know what is expected of me but you are not obligated to do any of this now. Our Claiming Period doesn’t officially begin until we step foot upon the surface of my planet.”

  “I, um…” Mei-Li cleared her throat. “I don’t mind. Really.”

  “In that case, yes. I would…very much like to know what a kiss is and how to perform it properly.”

  “All right.” Why was she doing this? She didn’t know. Maybe it had to do with the gentle way he had soothed her and held her against him last night. Maybe it was just because she wanted to. Wait, what? Why did she want to? Again, she didn’t know.

  Heart pounding, Mei-Li scooted a little closer to him. She leaned in, getting up on her knees since he was so tall and putting one hand on his broad shoulder for balance. But as she got closer to him, Six kept staring at her. Mei-Li drew back.

  “Is there a problem?” he asked.

  “Yes—you’re supposed to close your eyes.”

  “But if I close my eyes, how can I observe what you are doing and learn to do it myself?” he objected.

  Mei-Li had to bite back a nervous laugh.

  “Kissing isn’t about observing,” she told him. “It’s about feeling.”

  Six frowned. “But I have no—”

  “Yes, yes, I know—you have no emotions,” Mei-Li said impatiently. Which meant this was probably going to be like kissing a gorgeous but slightly scary statue but whatever. “I’m talking about feeling in the physical sense,” she told him. “When you kiss someone, you’re aware of how their lips feel against your own…the warmth of their breath, the softness of their skin, the way they react…it’s a very sensory experience.”

  “Oh…I see.” Six sounded doubtful.

  “No, you don’t. Here, I’ll show you,” Mei-Li said. “But close your eyes this time.”

  “Very well.” He closed his eyes—the right one anyway—and the red light that covered the area where his left eye should be went dark.

  Mei-Li leaned forward again, studying his stern features for a long moment. God, he really was perfect under all the hardware on his face. Daring greatly, she cupped his right cheek in her hand, tracing the high, sculpted cheekbone with the pad of her thumb.

  Without him staring at her, she felt much less inhibited. Leaning closer, she nuzzled just under his jaw, feeling the slight scratch of his close shaved whiskers against her own smooth cheek. It had been a long time since she had been this close to a member of the opposite sex and she’d never been this close to such a big man. Six dwarfed her with his muscular bulk, even sitting down. Mei-Li felt a little tingle of nerves—it was like getting close to a lion or some other dangerous beast and yet, she didn’t want to stop.

  She took a deep breath, inhaling his clean, sharp scent which made her feel slightly dizzy somehow. Slowly, she pressed her lips to the side of his strong throat, kissing the pulse that beat there very gently.

  Six drew in a breath at her tender ministrations but didn’t move or open his eyes.

  “Is this part of it—of kissing?” he asked, his deep voice slightly hoarse.

  “It can be,” Mei-Li murmured. “But keep your eyes closed—I’m not done yet.” Inside her head a little voice was demanding to know what exactly she thoug