"Sharon Green - Diana Santee 2 - Gateway To Xanadu" - читать интересную книгу автора (Green Sharon)

swapping jokes during that time, Val. Why would things be any different now?"

"We were in the middle of the base with a lot of other people around us then," he answered gently as he
smoothed my hair with one big hand. "It so happens I was in this general situation once before, sharing a
bed with a woman among other people, then suddenly being alone with her in a place where no one
could interrupt us and neither of us could walk away. The first time I put my hand on her shoulder, she
had hysterics. "

My first reaction was to tell him he was making that up, but one look at the flinching vexation in his
eyes told me he wasn't. You hear a lot about women's traumatic experiences; it looked like some men
got raked over the coals just as badly.

"She must have been a neurotic," I decided aloud, pretending I hadn't noticed the way he'd sighed. "I've
never heard of anything that mindless."

"it wasn't mindless, and she wasn't neurotic," he denied, a faint smile curving his lips as he looked down
at me. "She was a seasoned fighter from one of the field teams, and hadn't gotten particularly upset even

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the times she'd been wounded. When I finally got her calmed down, she was terribly embarrassed and
insisted on explaining why she had done as she had. It seems that I had the same appeal for her that her
job did, lots of excitement, lots of adventure-and lots of danger. Being in the base had been like being
part of her team, the mere fact of their proximity enough to keep the danger from becoming
overwhelming. Once we were alone, though- All she could think about was how `big' and `dangerous' I
was, how I might do anything I cared to to her, and the really horrifying possibility that she might come
to like that anything. She'd seen fully trained female slaves on Tildor, you see, and had been just as
fascinated as she'd been repelled. Those slaves served their men's every want and whim, and loved doing
it. She was afraid she would love doing it, and that I would make her love it. She found it totally
impossible to stop trembling."

"Neurotic," I repeated firmly to those very black eyes watching me. "So that was the reason behind all
those strange suggestions of yours; you wanted to get the possibilities said and considered before I
thought of them on my own. Well, I'm sorry to disappoint you, friend, but it's just as I mentioned earlier:
as far as slavery goes, I've tried it more than once and still don't like it. Do you think you might stop
watching for the screaming and fainting now?"

"I stopped watching for that about ten minutes ago," he said with a stronger grin, letting his eyes move
briefly over me. "You may not be terribly impressed with my size and abilities, Diana, but you're the
only woman I ever met who wasn't. Do you understand now why I'd like to hear from you about where
we stand?"

"Yes, I can understand it now," I agreed judiciously. "I'll be glad to give you a statement concerning my
views." I took a final sip of my coffee before returning it to its slot, then lifted both legs and swung them
across Val's lap. "As I see it," I told him, "I've been promised that nothing would be done to me that
would cause me to want to defend myself. I was told that by someone who tends to keep his word, you
see, which turns out to be a very good thing. Even with the master matter converter, disposing of bodies
in a ship like this tends to be hard work, and I'm not in the mood for hard work. "