Free Virgin by Cheryl Brooks

he’d had an erection, but it was uncommon. If it hadn’t been for the others, Dax would have suspected there was something physically wrong with him. Ava had done it to him twice now. Obviously it had simply been a matter of finding the right woman—the right available woman.
    But what did you do once you found her? Dax’s basic sexual education had concentrated on Zetithian females, and there was a definite protocol for that—all sorts of carefully designed ways to get one to allow you to mate with her. Though he knew that human women weren’t quite as particular, never having put that knowledge to use, Dax had forgotten much of what he’d been taught.
    Maybe if he could get Ava alone and just talk to her, he might be able to figure it out—though after all the yapping Waroun had done at breakfast, she would probably avoid him from now on. Dax had been keeping women at arm’s length for so long, getting her into his arms was going to be tough, especially if she wasn’t interested—and might even be a little afraid of him. He’d seen the dismay on her face when she came into the dining hall and saw where she would have to sit.
    Still, it would take a long time to get to Rutara—especially if they took on more passengers at one of the stops along the way. This would give Dax plenty of time to get to know her, perhaps even to entice her. One big problem with that: He had absolutely no idea how to do it.
    Dax felt like his head was about to explode. He pulled the ball Jack had given him long ago out of one of his pockets. She’d called it a baseball and had once told him that he had an arm good enough to play for the Yankees—whatever that meant. He lay flat on his back, throwing the ball at the ceiling and catching it. Over and over and over again, until the monotony of it had reset his thoughts to a more manageable level.
    He wasn’t the first man to be clueless when it came to getting a woman. He wouldn’t be the last. Sure, he’d probably make mistakes, but women were forgiving creatures, weren’t they? After all, Ava had stayed with a guy who beat her up—and she’d had to hit him over the head too. She must have forgiven Lars for lots of things during their time together. Dax knew he was a better man than Lars, though that wasn’t saying a whole helluva lot.
    Russ was the one he had to worry about—the “good” man she was going back to—the man who claimed to love her and was willing to wait for her. The man Dax was beginning to wish was a cad, or a lying, inconsiderate sonofabitch who had only said that to make her suffer. She’d been wrong about Lars, so perhaps she was wrong about Russ. Unfortunately, the best he could hope for was that Russ had finally given up and found another woman.
    If only he could be that lucky…

Chapter 6
     
    After viewing the orientation video, Ava lingered at the breakfast table until everyone else finally drifted off to other parts of the ship—and there were certainly plenty of places to go. There was a game room, an exercise room, a full spa and beauty salon staffed by droids—she could get a makeover if she wanted—and the list of available movies and other interactive entertainments was lengthy. The Valorcry also boasted a small swimming pool and a live botanical garden on the lower deck, not to mention the numerous places of interest that were available for virtual tours. She and the other passengers had each been given a library module that claimed to have every book ever written imbedded in its memory, in addition to every piece of music ever recorded. Ava had never seen—or heard of—anything like it.
    So far, everyone, with the possible exception of Waroun, had been very pleasant, but Ava had been sorry to see Dax leave her alone with the others. He was the closest thing to her own species, but it didn’t look like he’d be hanging around much, especially after what Waroun had said. She’d seen him blush at the frank discussion of his