Stardust Dreams (24 page)

Not able to lie still
another second, she pulled them both up into sitting positions and held his
hands tightly as she spoke. "Isn't it possible that I bring out the
best
in you instead? Holding in all your emotions is unhealthy. Maybe you were fated
to meet me before you burst at the seams. Tell me this. Have you held yourself
back in any way when we've had sex?"

"No, but—"

"No buts. I realize
there are women who prefer lukewarm men, just like there are people who prefer
vanilla ice cream. Maybe that's the only kind of woman you've encountered, but
I've never been with a man who excited me more or satisfied me better than you
do. You have definitely not
hurt
me. And I don't believe for one
second that you really could, not physically anyway. Of course, there's always
the possibility that I'm a barbarian, too. That might explain a lot of
things."

Gallant laughed out loud. "I've
said it before and I'll probably say it again. You are the most exasperating
female I have ever known. I've been agonizing over your figuring out what I am
for days. Then here I was, fully prepared for you to be repulsed by my
confession, and what do you do? You compliment me on my performance as a
barbarian."

"It's called being
truthful. Are you convinced that I'm not disgusted by your genetic heritage, or
afraid of you—either in or out of bed?"

His slow grin said it all.

"Good. Please note how
well being honest worked on you, and use the method often in the future…

at least with me. I assure
you well do a lot less fighting that way."

He pulled her back down to
the floor and rolled her beneath him. "Well, there's fighting, and there's
fighting"

She stopped him just before
their lips met. "Wait a minute. I just remembered something. What happened
to your appointment?"

He lifted himself partially
away from her and frowned. "That was very odd. Before I went looking for
you, I made a quick call to Josep, my contact at the Consociation, to tell him
I'd be delayed, and I was told he had left Norona this morning on an emergency.
I can't figure out why he didn't send me a message in time to save me the
trip."

"Maybe the emergency
was such that he forgot about your appointment."

"Maybe. The last few
times I've spoken to him, he's forgotten something."

"How old is
he
?"

"I don't know. He
looks ancient. Why?"

"When Terrans age,
they sometimes lose their memories."

"That can't be it. Josep
is from the planet Gilliad. They are a gentle people known for the fact that
their intelligence increases throughout their lives, which might be as long as
a thousand years. In fact, there are Gilliad representatives to the
Consociation who personally recall the Illusian invasion. Josep is the only one
among them that wants to see a change in the current policy. From what I've
heard though, he's slowly bringing them around to his way of thinking."

"Good for him."

"You really mean that,
don't you?"

"Yep. I told you
before that I thought it was totally unfair to judge the Illusians purely on
past history. Now that I know one personally, I'm even more convinced that
their reputations are probably much worse than they are for real."

He gave her a quick kiss. "I'm
beginning to think you're a hopeless optimist."

"An optimist—yes. Hopeless—never.
In fact, I'm hoping something right now."

His hand clamped onto her
hip and pulled her to him. "I think I can accommodate."

"Close, but no
cigar." She laughed at his dumbfounded expression. "Although I admit
my body was hoping for a rematch, my mind was actually hoping something along a
different line."

"Oh?" he asked
with a raised eyebrow.

"Now that we've worked
out your problem, I was hoping we could work out mine." His expression
grew ominous, but she ignored the warning. "I accept the fact that you
can't afford the time it would take to return me to Earth, but at least take me
back to Norona."

Gallant tensed- His
confession may not have repulsed her as he had expected it would, but she was
still anxious to get away from him. As before, while he held her quietly in his
arms, his imagination had run straight to thoughts of forever. Those thoughts
had started to crystallize when she seemed to understand. But her request to be
returned swiftly brought everything back into a realistic perspective.

"Gallant? Are you
afraid I'd tell someone about you? I swear I wouldn't."

He rolled away from her and
sat up. 'There are those who could discover what you know without your telling
them. Besides, you're still in need of my protection, whether you want it or
not."

Cherry slowly rose to her
knees. "Protection? Or captivity? You said the condition to my getting an
honest explanation was that I stay in your arms. You didn't warn me that
hearing that explanation would strip me of my freedom."

"It's only
temporary," he said with a frown. "Until I can discover the truth about
the Illusians."

"And what if you never
do?" Her voice rose a few decibels. "You can't keep me chained to you
forever."

The truth of her words
forced him to turn away from her.

"I see." Cherry
reached for her jumpsuit and pulled it on. "How silly of me to think wed
made some progress. You just can't deal honestly no matter what."

One glance at her face let
him know that endless days of gnawing tension and unsatisfied desires loomed
ahead. He watched her walk to the door before he knew what he had to say. "Wait.
Please." She turned to him and crossed her arms. "At least hear me
out before you condemn me."

She walked over to the
chair where his black outfit lay in a heap. Tossing his clothes to him, she sat
down and said, "Put these on and I'll listen."

The awareness that his body
could disturb her, in spite of her annoyance with him, made him feel somewhat
better about his own mixed feelings.

As soon as he was dressed,
she motioned for him to take the other chair. "Shoot."

"It wouldn't do any
good to take you back to Norona. I couldn't get you on a ship without the
proper authority, and I know if I try to explain the situation to anyone to get
that authority, you stand a good chance of being incarcerated there. At least
as long as I keep you with me, I know you're safe. No matter what you think of
me, I will not ignore the fact that I am responsible for your safety."

"For the rest of my
life?"

He almost said yes before
his common sense kicked in. "Of course not. I'll return you to Terra as
soon as I can."

"But not in time for
me to audition for Theodophilus, and maybe not even in time to be with Aster
for her daughter's birth."

He shook his head. "I'm
sorry."

"Just not sorry enough
to do anything about it."

"That's not
true." Rubbing his chin, an idea occurred to him. "I can't change the
child's birth date, but I should be able to do something to make up for your
missing the audition."

Cherry's eyes widened and
she leaned forward. "Go on."

"Certain privileges
come with my employment. I'm sure it would be possible to convince Theodophilus
to hold a private audition for you after my assignment is completed. Wherever
in the galaxy he is at the time, I give you my word, I'll take you there."

She cocked her head at him.
"You're not just saying that to make life with me more peaceful?"

Leaning back and stretching
his long legs out in front of him, he gave her a dismayed look. "I'm
trying to play by your rules, but I don't see the point in being honest if
you're going to question everything I say."

Cherry bounced up from the
chair and walked the width of the chamber several times before coming back to
stand over him. "Okay, let me get this straight. You're going to be
truthful with me from now on, and whenever this mission of yours is over,
you'll help me get an audition with Theodophilus."

He nodded. "What about
the fact that I know your secret?"

He shrugged. "Taking
risks is part of my life. If I give you what you want though, you won't have
any reason to betray me. Besides, if I can prove the Illusians have changed, it
will no longer be necessary for me to hide what I am."

"I almost hate to
admit it, but you're making sense."

"Truce?

She started to offer her
hand, then withdrew it. "I have one more condition before I agree to
peaceful coexistence."

He didn't think it would be
very diplomatic of him to remind her that she was in no position to negotiate,
so he simply raised an eyebrow at her.

"I can't just sit
around on this ship, twiddling my thumbs, while you go off in search of the
truth. Let me work with you, like on Zoenid—only better informed."

"Cherry—"

"Don't say no. I need
to keep busy, but I also
want
to be involved. Please?"

He shook his head with a
sigh. "I have no idea what kind of situation we're heading into. Lore is
supposed to be uninhabited because of the poisonous mist that surrounds it. But
from what Frezlo said, something must be there. I had a good reason for taking
you with me to Zoenid, and I had believed I could adequately protect you then. Of
course," he added with a grin, "I had no idea
someone
was
going to take my cheats out of my vest."

Cherry sat on the edge of
the low table in front of him. "I promise I won't do anything like that
again. In fact, I'll even give them back to you right now," She paused a
moment before making her final offer. "I'll let you put the collar back on
me, and I'll behave however you want me to… in front of others." He rolled
his eyes in disbelief.

"Well? Can I go?"

"We'll see."

She accepted that as a
positive answer. "When do we get there?"

"About three
days."

Cherry smiled as she glided
from the table onto his lap. "That should be long enough."

Although he looked at her
suspiciously, his hands and body welcomed her back. "Are you trying to
influence my decision with sexual favors?"