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 entirely different point of view, and he moved still closer to the Kin, again without realizing it. "Yes … yes, I would." He did want the best for his people, and if he could get that in a way that also let him be even closer to them—
He felt lips at his throat, hard sharpness under their warmth, and knew he'd surrendered.
Then a large hand closed on his shoulder and he was pulled away, to stumble back against Corporal Nkomo's chest. "What—"
"No marks, sir; you're safe."
Thompson took a deep breath, coming back to reality as his team surrounded him. It seemed he'd been right when he told Audra he might need protection from himself. "Thanks, Corporal. And the rest of you."
"No problem, sir. Sergeant King said this might happen."