Stardust And Shadows

by Janelle Taylor

  The shuttle reached the planet surface and parked in a protective hangar. They were met by Avatar Saito, who smiled and welcomed them as if they were long-awaited best friends. Again, a delicious meal and evening—this time with musical entertainment—was enjoyed by all.

  Afterward, Jana stood at the large transascreen in the plush suite provided by their host, Kudora’s ruler. Suddenly she wondered if the thirteen avatars in the Alliance Assembly were in on this secret assignment as they had been on the Earth mission, or if only the three-man ruling body—the Supreme Council of Tirol, Draco, and Segall Garthon—were in the know. If more than Kadim Tirol and Varian were involved in the ruse, had Canissia wheedled that information from her loose-lipped father? If that bitch knew or learned the shocking truth, that Jana was with a disguised Varian—the object of Canissia’s lust—what would the spoiled and spiteful vixen do about it? What could Canissia do without exposing herself?

  Jana shuddered at the thought of the elite men she was meeting being aware of her predicament and ignorance. How humiliating!

  Varian stepped up behind her. “Is it too cool in here for you?”

  “No, it’s perfect. I was looking at all that ice and snow and thinking about how cold it must be out there. I’d bet that if you went outside in that temperature or this window broke, you’d never get warm or thaw out again.”

  He moved his hands up and down her bare arms to chase away the goosebumps showing there. “It’s warm and safe in here, so relax.”

  She turned to face him. “Are all of the avatars rich men?”

  “It is a high-paying position because of the responsibility for an entire planet’s welfare, but most of them have holdings that provide wealth. Avatar Suran of Zamarra is the richest man in Maffei. His family, his ancestors, are the ones who created the underwater cities. Everyone who moved there had to pay them, so they amassed a great fortune. Why do you ask?”

  She leaned against him and buried her face on his chest so no expression would be revealed. She wrapped her arms around his waist and snuggled close. “I was just wondering; they all seemed so rich and powerful when I met them on my first trip. We’ll be visiting Suran soon.”

  Varian’s fingers toyed with the tawny curls that cascaded over his hands. “After Avatar Rhoedea on Auriga. Do they make you nervous? They shouldn’t. They all like you, Jana of Earth.”

  She stiffened a moment and wished he’d stop calling her that.

  Assuming she was merely tense about meetings with men of such high status, he kissed her forehead and said, “That’s no pretense. You were rich on your planet and you know how to conduct yourself around such people. No one is more well bred or well mannered than you are. What’s the real problem?” She didn’t answer. “You seem tense and distracted.”

  Varian wished he could be distracted from her potent allure. He should never have placed this sexy gown in her wardrobe. He was stunned that she was wearing it tonight, especially without its matching robe. The deep fuchsia sleepware had an almost see-through lace bodice. Its gathered bottom hiked up on both sides to the hips to expose a view of sleek legs. The front was cut low to the swell of her breasts, and the back dipped in a V to the waist where crisscrossing silk bands held the sides and shoulders in place. Around that lengthy and seductive neckline were frilly ruffles of lace, which his fingers played with. His hands shifted and found bare flesh between the slender strips. She was so soft and smooth, but still firm from a well-kept body. As if the stretchy X’s were negative signs of warning, he released her, stepped back, and smiled. “Feeling better now?” he asked.

  “Yes, thank you.”

  “Why don’t you go to bed while I finish my business here? We leave early in the morning to avoid the later congestion of supply shuttle traffic.” He had to get out of there and away from her pull!

  Jana sensed his motive but kept from smiling at another victory. She stretched out on the large bed to see if she could sleep, as she was also aroused from their contact. If this play for “Ryker” was tormenting and punishing Varian, it was because he deserved it. The trouble was, it was doing the same thing to her, and she didn’t deserve it. She couldn’t help but recall that one of Varian’s terrible tricks on her and the other captives was exposed on this very planet. He had pretended to feed a hostile and foul-mouthed disrupter to large spiders called scarfelli. At the auction here, the Uranian girl had been taken from solitary confinement and sold. She remembered how that discovery had softened her heart and pulled her toward Varian. Now, another trick was in motion and was hardening her heart anew.

  She also remembered that Varian and Ryker were tied as the fifth richest men in Maffei. As Ryker’s widow, that spot on the list belonged to her. If Ryker had survived to inherit from his grandfather, Kadim Maal, he would have yielded riches and powers beyond counting. If Varian never halted his Ryker charade, he could take over Androas as Maal’s heir.

  That’s crazy, J. G.! Varian Saar would never give up his identity forever, not even for such wealth and power, not even for intergalactic peace which a phony Ryker could control.

  Jana shoved the wild thought from her mind by thinking of all the good she could do on Earth with so much money and so many secrets. After Ryker’s death was exposed, what or who could stop her? If she moved to Androas and was under her father-in-law’s protection, no one. She would have a starship. She would have medical and scientific wonders within her grasp. She would be her own boss, come and go as she pleased. Then, she realized she would inherit alien money that would be useless on Earth; but the technology she could take there would be priceless; it would mean miracle cures for ailing humans, an ailing economy, an ailing defense system. Was it possible to return home after this charade ended?

  She gave the idea serious study. How would she explain her long and mysterious disappearance, then her return with such advanced knowledge? The media and gossipmongers would have a field day with wild speculations. She would become a worldwide name. She would have no privacy, peace, or safety from those who craved possession of her valuable secrets. It was too risky to return to Earth, but there might be another way she could help her world battle its problems. First, she had to conquer her own.

  Enroute to Auriga, Jana tried to coax the alien into a game of forsha, but he curiously refused and sidetracked her. After watching how well he had played their form of tennis on Darkar, it struck her as being odd.

  Varian mistakenly thought he took Jana’s mind off the sport he didn’t like and could not play well, a fact she would notice and suspect. He couldn’t let the Ryker-cyborg that was concealed in a cleverly hidden compartment stand in for him as before. Nor could the other cyborg be seen until it was needed.

  Two nights before they would reach their next destination, desires blazed too high and fast to be doused. As they lay in the bed with only the light of a small lamp casting a soft glow in the room, Jana rolled to her side facing him. His head was turned her way, and their gazes met, locked, and searched. She ignored the fact his eyes were green, for she only saw the look—a familiar one—in them, one that matched what she was feeling. Each took in the other’s expression of need and desire. The stare seemed to last forever as it wove a spell around them, as if neither could move nor speak. Their hearts pounded. Their passions flamed. Their endless hunger could not be hidden or denied. A silent message passed between their spirits, causing them to reach out and embrace, to seal their mouths. They belonged to each other; they belonged together. If only cruel fate or mischievous gods would leave them in peace.

  Varian rolled Jana to her back and lay half atop her. He kissed her mouth, her nose, her forehead, her cheeks, her chin, and her mouth once more. Her hands clasped the back of his head and, with fingers buried in blond depths, held it with possessiveness against hers. Their bodies rubbed against each other, kindling their desires to a higher flame.

  Jana’s hands roved his broad back and reveled in the feel of his flesh next to them. She trailed them up and down the hard terra
in, slow and light at first, then with swiftness and pressure. A tingling glow suffused her. She was captivated by him and his actions. Her senses reeled as if she were racing with the wind across her ranch on Apache’s back. Her elusive lover was taking her to paradise, and she was more than eager and willing to go.

  Varian was intoxicated by Jana’s urgent need for him and her unbridled responses. With gentleness, his mouth ravished hers, then “worked its way down her neck to feast on her taut peaks. His tongue circled the rosy-brown tips. He was feverish to obtain the only thing that could cool his temperature: all of her. There was no place on her that didn’t beg to be cherished by him and he complied.

  Jana was oblivious to anything except Varian and the sensations he created with his skillful lips and hands. She was a shooting star blazing across love’s heaven. She wanted a resolution to the bittersweet torment assailing her, but not too fast. She wanted to enjoy every instant of their union. Her kisses waxed bold and deep when his mouth returned to hers like a fiery comet that came, went, then repeated its cycle.

  Varian yielded to her magnetic pull. He moaned and his hips writhed as his manroot grew in size. He felt it tremble with longing and plead for entrance to Kahala. He fought to restrain his ardor, to make this moment last forever. His adventurous fingers aroused the sensitive areas of her body and soon his lips covered the same terrain. His craving for her was tremendous. Breathing was difficult as he inhaled and exhaled erratically to slow his runaway heartbeat. He cupped one breast, rolled it beneath his hand, and teased the taut bud between his forefinger and thumb. He smelled her hair, her neck, her skin, to find that fragrance that was hers alone. He kissed her in every way imaginable, one dissolving into another and another.

  Jana’s fingers dipped into the shallow valley along his spine and trekked up his back tiny hump by tiny hump along it. Her breathing became swift and shallow. Surely everyone could hear the thundering of her heart. This was heaven, what he called Kahala. His compelling physique had the power to crush her body, yet it felt wonderful resting upon hers. So many impressions and images flooded her enraptured mind, and all of them heightened her desires. His hot breath in her ear made her squirm. His hand tracing over her abdomen made her tense. When it entered the cottony-soft maidenhair, she arched her back, groaned, parted her thighs, and welcomed its visit. The longer he caressed her there, the more pleasure she received, yet the stimulation also increased her tension. “I need you now,” she murmured without notice.

  Varian’s darting tongue was met and joined by hers. Their bodies fused as one. It was a sensation of sheer bliss. He altered between slow and deliberate strokes and swift and urgent ones. He shifted his groin from side to side to caress and tantalize the straining bud. The way she pulled him closer to her and meshed her mouth to his told him she was engulfed by the same fiery furnace in which he was held captive.

  Jana curled her hands around his hips and dug her fingers into his straining buttocks. Her legs draped over his and held on to him for the erotic ride. He was swift and forceful, but he wasn’t being rough. Her delights increased. She tried to match his movements. Her mouth clung to his lips, and her flesh seemingly did the same to his body.

  He nibbled at her breasts, then the hollows of her throat. He teethed her earlobes. Then he made a terrible mistake: “Love me, Jana of Earth, love me,” he murmured in her ear.

  Pain seared through her heart more fiercely than desire did across her body. She read passion smoldering in his … emerald, not sapphire, eyes. She saw his . .. blond, not sable, head towering over her face. As he twisted his head to press kisses along her shoulders, she saw the scar along his jawline. Damn you, damn you, damn you. She cursed him for not having the visage of her truelove at this special moment. Her reply was out of her mouth before she could stop herself, “I do, Ryker, I do. Take me now. I need you. I want you so much.”

  Those words ripped out his heart and wits for a time. He thrust into her with an urgent force, needing to drive Ryker from her mind and body. Over and over he sent mighty strokes into her, movements she accepted with pleasure. He rode her like a wild man on a wild espree to vent himself of his pain, yet never hurt her in his rush and confusion.

  Jana tossed aside her anguish and urged him onward and upward as a sweet and urgent signal came from deep within her womanhood. Its intensity mounted and teased, then sent charges over her entire frame from head to foot. She writhed and moaned and claimed her reward.

  This woman was his heart, his soul, his world. He could not lose her to any man or force, especially to a ghost. She was unique, totally consuming. She was his, by Kahala, she was his! As she abandoned herself to taste the sweetness of release, so did he. It would be agony of mind and body to stall the inevitable any longer. His body shuddered, and he groaned as potent spasms poured his life force into her receptive portal. As passion’s flood began to subside, he caught himself before saying, I love you, Jana Greyson, I love you, aloud.

  He refused to release her afterward. He switched off the light and cradled her against his dampness. As his body settled down, he suddenly realized what he had murmured earlier. Then he grasped the reason for her expression and response, her striking back at him. You know it’s me, don’t you, Jana, my love? May you and Kahala forgive me for what I must do soon to convince you it is not. And forgive me, my love, for being too weak to resist you and taking you while wearing his evil face.

  Varian decided that before he took rash action, he should make certain she wasn’t convinced of his ruse. He observed and listened as they approached their next stop. He would turn to find her watching him with a glare of anger and accusation, which she concealed quickly. The moment their eyes touched, she would paste a fake smile on her face. As he feared, she doubted him and his explanation. He had no choice but to use his last resort before reaching Maal’s, one that couldn’t fail him.

  On Auriga, Jana was almost relieved that Avatar Rhoedea had taken ill and couldn’t join them for dinner. The reason was that the ruler’s daughter was an old flame of Varian’s, and it was just as well she didn’t have to spend the evening conversing with an alien woman who might embarrass her with nosy questions or insensitive comments about her past owner.

  As promised, she was allowed to have lunch with an old friend and ex-captive from the ship. Kathy had become the charl of Ferris Laus, the Security Control and Weapons’ Chief on Varian’s ship. Varian had even provided most of the money for Kathy’s price, as a gift to them. But Kathy had a surprise for her: Heather was visiting and had come along. The other friend was charl to Spala Rilke—brother to the navigational and guidance officer on Varian’s ship. Was, J. G., because Tesla Rilke died in that Spacer accident while saving your life after Shara’s treachery. How would Varian explain away that death when she confronted him with it? If he had known Heather was here, he would never have permitted this kind gesture! Both females were smiling and bubbling, apparently happy. Jana was determined to enjoy herself before she sought proof of the truth.

  “I can’t believe we’re all together again,” Kathy said. “Ferris told me about you being freed and marrying a prince. That’s so exciting, Jana. I wish my love could have come today; he’s on leave while Commander Saar is planning his wedding with—” The female blushed and said, “I’m sorry, Jana; that was thoughtless of me.”

  With feigned innocence, Jana asked, “Why? It’s big news.”

  “Because everyone, crew and captives alike, thought he would keep you for himself. The way he treated you and looked at you, I can’t believe he didn’t. I’ve heard awful tales about that woman he’s going to marry. Commander Saar is too good for a hussy like that. If not for him, I don’t know what would have happened to me and Ferris.”

  “Commander Saar is very good and loyal to his friends,” Jana conceded. “I suppose he thinks he and Canissia are a perfect match or he wouldn’t marry her. The same is true for me and Ryker; we’re a perfect match. We’re both scientists and we both needed a mate. I guess I�
��m lucky he chose me.” That was as far as Jana was willing to go to delude the women.

  “Everybody knows who your husband is,” Heather said. “I heard you eloped without telling anyone. I guess you had a good reason. Tesla told us Commander Saar was furious and worried when you vanished. He searched for you and offered a large reward for your return. When he heard you had run away to marry Prince Triloni, he said he was happy for you, but Tesla doesn’t believe him. Tesla thinks he’s hopping into marriage with that woman to pretend he isn’t hurt over losing you. I’d bet he still wants you, Jana.”

  “I’m sure Jana doesn’t want to hear about his new romance and upcoming marriage,” Kathy chided Heather in a soft tone, “especially since it’s over between her and Commander Saar and she’s married to someone else.”

  Jana sent Kathy a smile of gratitude for her compassion. She knew Heather—not the brightest of females but a kind one— wasn’t being hurtful on purpose. It was the girl’s simple and honest traits that had enticed Jana to take her under her wing like a younger sister during the voyage to Maffei. “Tell me about you and Spala.” She watched dreamy lights fill the girl’s eyes.

  “He’s wonderful, Jana, wonderful. I was so scared on that spaceship coming here. If it hadn’t been for you, it would have been awful. I told Spala everything you did for me and he wants to meet you one day and thank you himself. I love him and he loves me. Isn’t that the wildest thing? Kathy has Ferris. I have Spala. You have Ryker. We’ve all made good lives here.”

  The three women laughed, chatted, and exchanged stories of their alien romances. Yet Jana left out much of hers and lightly glossed over her surprising marriage to Ryker. “I’m so happy for you two. It’s good that everything turned out so well.” She changed the disquieting subject. “I love the way you’re wearing your hair, Kathy, part of it swirled up and the rest hanging free. It suits your face and personality.”