refusing to enjoy what we can do for
them," Kaufman said, gesturing as she chuckled.

Thompson turned, to see Sergeant Gottfried--his communications
expert--in the arms of a tall, equally Nordic-looking man, her expression
almost ecstatic as the Kin's mouth worked at her throat. Nearby he saw
Audra, pale but looking pleased, with a petite Polynesian-looking Kin
being obviously solicitous of her. Thompson shook his head ruefully,
then turned back to his group. "It looks like you have a few more
donors, at least as long as we're assigned here." He hesitated, trying
to decide whether he should go on, but the Count made that decision for
him.

"Go on, Captain. I can see you have more to say."

"Yes, sir." Thompson took a breath, then did so. "As I told Sergeant
King, I'd donate myself, as often as I could, except that I'm told that
if I do it even once, I'll become a Kin. And that would cost me my
career, something I'm not willing to give up."

"More to the point," the Count said, "you think it would cost you your
team."

Dammit, Thompson thought, couldn't she give him any slack? "The only
way it wouldn't, my Lady, is if you got the Emperor to assign them here
permanently--which would ruin their careers. I say again, my
responsibilities to my team outweigh my personal desires."

He hadn't kept his distance carefully enough; Kaufman touched his
shoulder, then his throat, and he shivered with the promise of it.
"Captain," she said softly, "would it really be that bad, staying in
this system? The human race, after all, was restricted to one planet
for millions of years, and most people still remain planetbound for
their entire lives. Believe me, Narvon System can provide enough
challenge for you and your team. Have you asked them whether they
would consider staying here with you?"

"No, I haven't," Thompson admitted. But he had to add, "I wouldn't,
either, because I'm afraid they'd think I was pressuring them."

Kaufman eased her hand to the other side of his neck, and Thompson
moved closer without quite realizing it. "Look at them, my friend.
They're feeling good, and I can assure you that anyone who's donated to
one of us once wants to do it again." She chuckled. "The kind of
pleasure we can give is unique, and you want the best possible for your
people; wouldn't you like to give them feeding-pleasure yourself, as
often as you could do it without endangering their health?"

That gave Thompson an en