Jinx on a Terran Inheritance Read Online Free Page A

center. He couldn't resist a second.
    Meanwhile, she scanned his heart and blood pressure, scoped his chest, and made similar assessments.
    Then she drew the robe from his arms and upper torso and pressed him down flat on his back.
    The thing she used to draw the blood was like nothing Floyt had ever seen before, a flat tube with a shrunken sac the size of a walnut at its far end. It had a veined, organic look to it, nothing like a man-made object, and glistened wetly.
    Yumi laid the open end of the tube into the hollow of Floyt's right elbow; it made itself fast, numbing the surrounding flesh. A few moments later the sac began to swell, and Floyt could actually see the tube
    —blood vessel, whatever—pulsing with his blood.
    He shifted uneasily. "Is it alive?"
    "Not in any significant sense, except in that it serves this purpose very well." She moved to stand behind him. Closing his eyes with soft fingertips, she began gently massaging his forehead and temples, her small hands cool, strong, and skilled.
    At length Floyt said, "I saw you in your kimono too, Yumi. It was rose red, with big hibiscus on it."
    "Yes. Your own traditional regalia caused much, much talk in Frostpile. My Daimyo is having a suit file:///C|/Documents%20and%20Settings/harry%20kruis...aley%20-%20Jinx%20on%20a%20Terran%20Inheritance.htm (13 of 320)19-2-2006 17:12:28
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    such as that made for him. What do you call such garments?"
    "A tuxedo. White tie with black tails."
    "You were a splendid figure, like a man from legend. You were the envy of Frostpile."
    That came as such a revelation to Floyt, who'd been treated more like a gatecrasher, that he was silent for a time.
    "Do you believe it, Yumi?" he asked dreamily after a while, the slow massage having set him drifting.
    "Do you believe that Terran blood is something magical?"
    "I know that my master believes so." Her fingertips caressed his temples. "And if it makes a dear old soul imagine he is a strong young man instead of an aged, infirmed one, then it is worth any price, and I am happy."
    The fingers went to the muscles of his neck. He felt as if he were floating, but at the same time he could feel every nerve ending in his body.
    "Then I suppose he's disappointed he couldn't get a younger donor?" The scent of jasmine had Floyt's head swimming.
    "Younger?" Her laugh was musical. "Oh, Citizen Floyt—"
    "Hobart."
    "Oh, Hobart! Why would my Daimyo want the blood of a stripling!"
    The deft fingers were at his shoulders now. He felt his muscles relax. Immersed in the sensuality of it, he wondered fleetingly how long such tension had been in him.
    The lilting voice said, "My Daimyo hopes to feel the spirit of a man who has led a full life on Manhome, who has had time to experience the nuances and extremes of existence there."
    Floyt thought back through his life. "I doubt I'm what he had in mind."
    "You must not say that! You are the first Terran I have ever met, but I sense that it is true of you. I sense that most clearly, Hobart."
    Her hands rested over his drumming heart now; he felt her small, firm breasts against his head as she half cradled it. Instead of leaving him weaker, the drawing of his blood left him preternaturally alive, as if a light charge were passing from cell to cell throughout his body. A voluptuous heat seemed to radiate from his face and neck, chest and loins. His body, ignorant of etiquette, responded eagerly.
    Taking her wrists, he drew her hands hands to his mouth, ignoring the tube in his arm. Yumi's breath file:///C|/Documents%20and%20Settings/harry%20kruis...aley%20-%20Jinx%20on%20a%20Terran%20Inheritance.htm (14 of 320)19-2-2006 17:12:28
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    caught, then became quicker and deeper. He kissed her palms softly, bit gently at the fleshy mound of her thumb, traced her heartline with the tip of his tongue, and tasted the skin between her fingers.
    Yumi moaned and bent over him, drawing the midnight