Burning for Love (Kindred Tales)

“Oh of course you can,” Rissa said quickly. “I wasn’t afraid of you. I just wasn’t sure…sure if it would be quite, er, proper for you to…”

“To massage your temples?” He raised an eyebrow at her. “Is it considered wrong in your culture for a male to touch a female in this area?”

“Oh, not wrong, no,” Rissa said. “I just…I didn’t…”

She broke off, feeling that she was being rude and also a bit foolish. Why did she keep assigning human emotions to the big Kindred when he was little more than a robot? And what other proof of that did she need than the metal arm he was displaying?

“Please, do go on,” she said, trying to smile at him. “I do have the most awful headache. I would be most grateful if you could help alleviate it, Sir James.”

“You can simply call me ‘James,’ Princess,” he said, as he began to lightly massage her temples. “I have not earned any of your planet’s titles.”

“Oh, but…” she began to protest, but her words ended in a little moan of pleasure and relief.

True to his word, the big Kindred was exceedingly gentle—though his touch was also cool and firm. To her surprise, his metal hand felt as real and natural as the flesh one. If she closed her eyes, she couldn’t even tell them apart.

James seemed to know just how to touch her in order to relax the tense muscles at her temples. As he rubbed her in just the right way, Rissa felt a great deal of the tension she’d been feeling all night melting away under his touch.

“Oh, Sir James,” she moaned softly. “You are so very good at that! I have never had anyone rub my temples for me before!”

“Perhaps you will allow me to help you further, then?” he murmured softly. “Your scalp must also be tense from wearing that heavy wig all night. May I also massage you there?”

Rissa wasn’t sure if this was proper either, but his big hands felt so good on her, she only hesitated a moment.

“All right,” she whispered, nodding. “You may go ahead, James.”

“Thank you, Princess.”

And he plunged both hands into her thick hair and began massaging her scalp.

Rissa moaned again as his long fingers stroked and rubbed, easing the tension she’d been feeling all night and making her relax. His hands were so lovely and cool on her heated flesh and the massage felt so good—no one had ever done anything like it for her before. Lady Mildew certainly wasn’t going to offer to do any such thing—she was much more likely to protest how very troublesome Rissa’s long hair was than to offer to ease the pain and tension the heavy wigs and tight skull cap caused.

After her scalp, the big Kindred asked for permission to massage Rissa’s neck and shoulders, which she granted without reservation.

“Oh, Sir James,” she moaned softly, as his thumbs dug into the knots of tension that always seemed to form in her shoulders, on either side of her spine. “Truly, you have magic fingers! And I cannot even tell your metal hand from your flesh one.” Then her eyes flew open and she looked at him in the mirror as she realized what she had just said. “That is to say…I hope I did not offend you. I was just—”

“You were just frightened of my arm and hand enhancements,” he finished for her. His tone was oddly gentle as he met her eyes in the mirror. “But you never need to fear me, Princess. I only want to protect you and ease your pain. However, if you’re interested in my metal arm, I can tell you that the reason you can’t tell the difference is because my enhancement is made of smart metal.”

“Smart metal?” Rissa frowned. “Pray, what is that? I have never heard of it.”

“It’s a special alloy enhanced with microscopic electrodes and sensors,” he explained. “When I want it to, it automatically matches the exact temperature and texture of my un-enhanced arm and hand.”

“But you can also tie knots in metal with it,” she pointed out, remembering his display in the Reception Hall with the guards’ spears.

He shrugged, his broad shoulders rolling under the black shirt he wore.

“When I want to. It has other functions as well. Here…feel this.”

He splayed the fingers of his metal hand over her shoulder and, after a moment, they began to hum and vibrate.

“Oh!” Rissa jumped. “How very singular! It gives me such a ticklish sensation!”

“Until I press a little harder—then the vibrations should ease some of your aches and pains.” He demonstrated, gripping her shoulder a bit more firmly and Rissa moaned at the way her tight muscles loosened under his long fingers.

“Oh my—that’s lovely!” she gasped, leaning her head to one side, to give him greater access to her neck and shoulder. “I…I’ve never felt anything quite like it!”