Gar seemed to have caught something of the discord in her expression. He said, “It will be a pleasure to show you, Sharon. Let us start your tour.” He walked quickly behind the counter and reached down. Pulling a flat notebook from a stack behind his desk, he showed Sharon how to operate the small reader. The entire front of the notebook was a display screen.

Walking over to a row of disks, he placed one in the side of the notebook. He then inserted Liken’s ID card into a slot on the other side. With a little hum, the screen lit up and displayed the cover of “A Tale of Two Cities” by Charles Dickens. The words were in English. He handed her the reader.

Placing her finger to the option screen in the upper right hand corner, she learned how to flip from page to page and even how to choose which translation she wanted to read. The language options included Earth languages as well as Shimerian. She learned the disk contained all of Dickens’ works, as well as a biography of the author and all literary criticism.

Gar gave a little sigh and told her, “You should have seen the lists of works and other information first, but someone has neglected to press the reset option to return to the main index. It can be frustrating.”

Thinking of her own library, she gave him a look of sympathy and said, “I know what you mean. Back at my library, we can never seem to keep people from placing books back on the shelf incorrectly.”

Liken saw the look of understanding pass between them and smiled. As Gar led Sharon on a tour of the building, explaining the organization and operation of the library, Liken trailed in their wake. Watching her expressive face, he could see her enthusiasm and love of books. Her curiosity and quiet sincerity charmed Gar just as it did anyone within her orbit. He could tell she was enjoying the outing tremendously. She was happy and he felt a swell of happiness himself that he had given her this experience.

Then, he felt a flash of guilt as he wondered if she knew he had an ulterior motive. He had already spoken with Gar about Sharon working at the library, but had sworn the older man to secrecy. This was, in a way, an informal position interview. Seeing Gar and Sharon in such accord meant she could probably work there on some basis.

It was another step toward convincing her that she could be happy on Shimeria with him. Uneasily wondering if she would accuse him of managing her choices again if she knew, he hoped she would be too happy to examine his motives very closely.

At the end of the tour, Liken and Sharon paused at the main counter. Liken removed his ID card and handed the notebook back to Gar. Placing his hand on the older man’s shoulder and nodding his head, he said, “Our thanks for your kind assistance, Gar. We enjoyed the tour very much.”

Gar returned the gestures and said with a smile, “No thanks are necessary.” He aimed a smiling look Sharon’s way. “It is a pleasure to share the experience with a fellow lover of books. She is quite wonderful, Liken. Best get her pledged quickly.”

Turning to Sharon, he said, “My thanks for your company. I hope I will see you again, Sharon.”

Sharon gave him a bright smile. Gar was a knowledgeable and efficient librarian, and a charming man. She said warmly, “Your library is a marvel and I appreciate the tour. I enjoyed it so much. I’m hoping to see you again, too.” She wasn’t sure if she was staying on Shimeria or not, but now wasn’t the time to worry about it.

With smiling faces, Liken and Sharon exited the building and began walking along the pathway outside. Placing her hand on his arm, Sharon looked up at Liken. “Thank you for today.”

Looking into her shining eyes, Liken felt a fresh wave of guilt. Deliberately reminding himself that he would have brought her just to experience her enjoyment, he placed a gentle hand against her cheek. “You are welcome,sherree. It pleases me to see your happiness.”

The look held for a moment as they stared at each other. Removing his hand from her cheek and grabbing a hold of hers, he moved them forward. After a few steps, he looked down at her. His eyes held a teasing light. His smile widened into a grin and he wagged his eyebrows suggestively. “If you wish it, you can show me your gratitude later in private.”

She laughed and swung their clasped hands as they walked. “Oh, how generous of you. Let’s see…what could I possibly do?” She cast him a sideways look under her lashes. “I could cook dinner tonight.”

He stoppedand with a mock growl, shook his head. “I think you can do better than pushing the meal buttons on our transport machine. I had in mind a more intimate activity.”The look he gave her was hot with desire.

She turned her head and made a great production of letting her gaze roam his body. Her expression was speculative. “I don’t know…what could be more intimate?”

She appeared to contemplate the question. Stepping closer and bringing her free hand to his chest, she brushed her body against his. “This could take some thought.” She pulled her hand from his grasp and ran it teasingly down his chest to the top of his pants. “A great deal of thought.”She could feel his cock start to harden.

He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her into the hard planes of his body. His eyes were dark with desire. “You are an intelligent woman,sherree. I have great confidence in you.”

Abruptly breaking his hold, she danced away. Her face had flushed with desire as well, but her eyes were teasing. “Unfortunately, I can’t think about it now. We are late for supper with Tair.”

His look said she could expect retribution later. “Yes, teasing does tend to make one forget the time.” He was secretly thrilled with her easy flirtation. She felt comfortable enough to tease him sexually.

With a mock sigh and a glance at his time device on his wrist, he said, “We will continue this later. Now, I am sorry to say, you are right. We will be late if we do not hurry.”

With matching smiles, they hurried along the pathways leading to the eatery where Tair waited. When they entered the building where they had met him the last time, Sharon barely noticed the sudden hush and the fascinated stares. Looking around for Tair, she spotted him in the far right corner of the room. Smiling and waving, she headed for his table.

Weaving her way there with Liken behind her, she never saw Tair’s sweeping look around the room. His predatory gaze froze his fellow diners in place until they looked quickly away from Sharon’s form and focused on eating. The mental warning had been so brief and effective that Sharon reached the table completely unaware.

With a silent nod of acknowledgement for his assistance, Liken sank into a chair next to Sharon. In contrast to just a few seconds earlier, Tair’s face had a gentle smile when he turned to Sharon. “You are looking quite beautiful, Sharon.”

Smiling with obvious happiness, Sharon said. “Thank you, Tair. We went to the library today.”

Tair frowned in mock astonishment. “So that is what has left you flushed and put a glow in your eyes?” He glanced over at Liken and shook his head in reproof. “We need to have a discussion, brother. “

Watching the blush climb into Sharon’s cheeks, Liken said with a laugh. “I do not believe the library is solely responsible, Tair.” He leaned toward her and gently nuzzled her cheek. “Sharon has found other things on Shimeria that are also highly enjoyable.”

Sharon felt like her face was on fire. They were ganging up on her. She was in too good a mood to let them get to her. She felt sexy and happy and powerful. She was not going to give in to embarrassment at their teasing.

Clearing her throat, she decided to fight fire with fire. Placing her hand on Liken’s thigh under the table, she watched his teasing grin begin to fade. She gently stoked the taut muscles in his thigh, her fingers heading up toward his crotch. Liken had turned to stone at the first touch of her hand.