Stardust And Shadows

by Janelle Taylor

  “Everybody will think Ryker ordered you to display affection and happiness in public. They’ll—”

  “Are you forgetting you’ve made him seem a nice guy lately? And you plan to further brighten his dark image before your charade ends. You’ve made it appear he was so in love with his cherished wife that he changed for the better. But how do I repay him? By betraying his memory with you.”

  “People will think that you were being grateful to Ryker for freeing you and marrying you, or that you were trying to conceal or remove any lingering feelings for me, or that you were trying to be a good wife and friend.”

  “You’re dreaming, Varian. What about Maal and the Androasians? Remember how we behaved at their party for us? For heaven’s sake, Varian, our wedding portraits are hanging there!”

  “The Androasians and Maal will think you’re assuaging your grief with Ryker’s half brother.”

  “You mean, my husband’s archrival and foe.”

  “Not for long. Ryker and I are reconciling soon.”

  “If we get out of here alive. Anyway, Ryker’s been disguised since birth, correct?”

  “Yes, but everyone knows he and I look like Galen Saar.”

  “How can they if he’s always … Ah, yes, the genetic law of your world: fathers reproduced in their sons. How nice that daughters are spared that replicating process.” She gave an exasperated huff. “That resemblance makes it worse for us.”

  “How so, Moonbeam?”

  “I leave you to marry your reflection, then he dies. I bury Ryker, then elope with his mirror image. People will wonder which one of you I love.”

  “When they see us together, Moonbeam, they’ll know it’s me.”

  “Like everyone knew it was him when they saw us together?”

  “You were never with my brother in public.”

  “Thanks to your ruse, I was, many times, and always appearing to be in love with him. You don’t seem to grasp what an impossible predicament you’ve put us in. What you should have done was expose my kidnapping and declare my marriage illegal; then, perhaps I could have returned to you without problems. Ryker was dead, his threat and power gone. You could have stripped Trilabs and arranged a phony death for him. You could have found other ways to obtain your two treaties. But, no, you had to use this elaborate ruse that’s ensnared us like a spider’s web. We can’t break free; you wove too many captivating strands. Now just drop it,” she ordered. “We have work to do and I don’t want to discuss it anymore today.”

  While they waited in moody silence, dark purple clouds moved into the area. Wind gusted with an odd whooshing and whining sound. Red lightning with countless dazzling branches illuminated the horizon within a few miles of them. Air waxed muggy and oppressive, while sand creatures became noisy and agitated. The vanishing sunlight cast them in ever-darkening shadows.

  Jana observed the air currents and unusual shades of riproaring nature in this alien setting. “Just what we need, a violent storm with us exposed to its fury up here,” she said. “Surely we’ll be zapped by lightning and won’t have to worry about keelar bites, or Taemin’s claws.”

  “You should be delighted, Moonbeam; it’s good luck. Keelars hate rain. They can’t move through wet ground. It hurts them. They’ll burrow deep. It’ll give us a chance to get our things. Maybe even drive them away.”

  “You mean we’re having good luck for a change?” she muttered as she watched the sky.

  The ominous threat of nature’s violence moved closer. Jana squealed as scarlet lightning bolts snaked to the ground like flaming vipers seeking cover less than a half-mile from them. Its brilliant fingers sounded like whips snapping as they clawed through the humid air or attacked objects with their fiery tips. Thunder boomed and echoed overhead, often with almost earsplitting peals that lowered in volume as they drifted away from the two stranded captives. A deluge of water began to fall suddenly, and the only hissing heard now was from the cool rain and hot objects making contact.

  Jana and Varian were drenched in minutes. Hair almost the same tawny color was plastered to their respective heads. Clothes were soaked and glued to their bodies. Rain rushed into emerald and multihued eyes, over noses, across mouths, and flowed over both exposed and clothed flesh.

  Varian’s fake green gaze tried to penetrate the downpour. He didn’t see a single keelar, but they could be lurking just below the surface until the ground was saturated and became uncomfortable for them. For certain he couldn’t hurry his love beneath any overhang that offered dried earth beneath, a definite lure for the creatures. He explained why they couldn’t seek cover, shouting it over a blend of wind and rain and thunder.

  The heat decreased with the sun’s disappearance and weather’s abrupt change. Breezes became stronger, whipping at their hair and garments. Thunder rumbled like a stampeding heard on Jana’s Texas ranch. The couple felt vibrations from the potent storm. They watched red lightning dance wildly in jagged lines across the indigo sky. It seemed as if the heavens had been ripped open by the lightning’s sharp nails and every drop of moisture stored there was being released in their confining location.

  Jana realized it would be beautiful and exciting had it not been so dangerous. “Why don’t we grab our stuff and run to another spot while those vile beasties are trapped underground?” Jane asked.

  “The signals, woman,” Varian explained. “They gave these coordinates. I may not get another one out to correct it. I’ll get our things, but we need to stay here.”

  “Be careful; those vipers might be hiding in there.”

  “No, it’s too wet by now. Get ready to catch the things I throw up to you.”

  Varian tossed everything atop their refuge and they soon sat down and ate from tins protected against rain by body shelter. The rations tasted delicious to them after being without food for hours. The wind and lightning lessened but rain continued to pelt them in large and rapid drops.

  Goosebumps raced over Jana’s drenched head and body. Her teeth chattered and she shuddered. She draped the ragged material of the thin silk skirt over her folded legs and bare feet. Her hands felt like ice and she was cold from head to foot. She crossed her wrists and massaged her arms with opposite hands to warm them; the temperature had taken a drastic and swift drop like the Texas northers she remembered that always chilled her to the bone.

  “Why don’t you sit closer and share my body heat?” Varian suggested. “If you get too cold, you can take a chill and we don’t have proper medicine.” He noted that Jana didn’t wait for a second invitation, as if she’d forgotten about her quarrel with him. She snuggled into his arms as he said, “I should have thought to grab some covers or jackets.”

  “You can’t think of everything. At least we have supplies and weapons.”

  Varian rubbed his hands over her back, shoulders, and bare arms to spread warmth. He decided not to tell her just yet that the sand creatures had torn open some of the pouches and yanked others into their holes. One weapon was missing from the crevice, and he hoped he could find it when daylight returned. Diminished food and weapon power wasn’t news to share at this depressing moment.

  “If there was a sparker in the emergency kit, we’d be warm. It’s the size of a small stone and gives off lots of heat and some light, even in rain.”

  “We could use one about now. The dress has no protection and my shoes are full of water. I’m freezing!”

  His hands stroked and caressed rain-slick flesh. His lips teased over her face and ears as he murmured, “I know how to heat you up if you’re willing.” His hot breath, fiery lips, and blazing hands soon ignited more than warmth within both of them; they kindled white-hot desires in bodies denied passion’s pleasures for weeks. He meshed their lips with feverish ardor, cradled her in his embrace so his mouth could ravish hers with a wildness to match the storm’s while his body shielded her face from rain.

  Jana wondered if this might be the last time they could join their bodies before they died on this barren plan
etoid so far from home. It was possibly the only span of time when shuttles wouldn’t appear. In spite of all the unfair things Varian Saar had done to her, she loved and desired this irresistible alien. Even if they escaped this peril, she knew she would agree to a secret love affair with him as they continued the charade he had begun so many weeks ago. For once, her ex-captor and traitorous lover would be in her power and at her mercy because he needed her for the success of his ruse. In exchange for all he had offered and promised for her assistance, she also would be his lover. Why deny herself? As their lips parted, Jana asked, “Did you order up this bad weather and keelar attack so you could take advantage of me?”

  He chuckled and smiled as he comprehended her responsive mood. “Of course. But I plan to take even more advantage of you, woman. I plan to remove these wet garments.” As he talked, he pulled the dress and slip over her head, then released her breasts from the soaked bra. “I plan to heat you up in grand style.”

  His greedy lips covered hers while his deft fingers captured and stimulated her nipples, brought erect by a combination of the cold and sexual excitement. His hands labored there until his hot tongue took control of the loving chore. She made no attempt to slow or halt this heady madness, not even when he removed her panties and tantalized her with daring caresses. She admitted that he knew how to evoke achingly sweet sensations, how to make her flesh quiver, how to fan her coals into smoldering embers and then into a roaring wildfire. Jana ignored the near stinging rain and chill. She ignored the wet and hard rock. She ignored the rain dripping from his hair and face onto hers. Her desire was too great to be restrained, and it was the same with him.

  A savage intensity of primal need coursed through their veins. Primitive longings gnawed at them. The dangerous setting and elements evoked an erotic and potent wildness. They needed a frenzied union, a swift and urgent fusion of uninhibited bodies and unleashed emotions. Her hands sought the Velcro-type closing of his jumpsuit, yanked it apart, and peeled the stubborn garment from his torso with his assistance. Together they shoved the snug sapphire garment past his firm buttocks to release his manhood. “Take me,” she urged him and guided him inside her.

  “I need you so much, Jana,” Varian whispered. “It’s been so long since I’ve loved you as me.”

  Soft and throaty moans came from her throat, from the core of her being where anticipation was mounting at a rapid rate. The cold and rain were ignored and forgotten. All that mattered was being with her daring space pirate one more time. Each time he entered and withdrew, she savored heaven and endured hell. Her hands journeyed over his broad back, along his narrow sides, across his strong shoulders. She felt his sinewy muscles as they moved beneath her exploring fingers, moved because his hands and body were tantalizing and delighting hers. He was like a heady drug that numbed her wits and took command of her body. Every time his manhood plunged into her receptive body, his kisses would deepen and his tongue would dance with hers. He challenged her to give him the same splendor without speaking a word, and she accepted.

  Varian blocked out the reality of the torrential rain as it pelted almost painfully on his unprotected back and buttocks. He took and gave with zest. He enjoyed the way she kissed and sucked and licked raindrops from his chin, his ears, his brows, and shoulders. He savored the way she cast aside reservations and handed control over to him. This was one area in which she always trusted him. He continued and increased his movements and resolve. She arched and writhed and clung, and almost drove him mindless with pleasure and stimulation. Her body as well as his cried out for appeasement. The intensity built to a point where they could no longer wait to be sated.

  She murmured over and over, “Don’t stop. I’m ready. Take me now. Take me. Take me. Now. Now.” Her entire body experienced a rush of heat and tingling. She held tightly to him with arms and legs as the blissful climax rocked her to the core. Wave after beautiful wave of sheer ecstasy washed over her and swept her away. His mouth seemed to demand kiss after kiss as she heard him groan and recognized movements that said he was now in the throes of sweet release from which she was still reeling.

  Varian continued to thrust and thrust within her. He was exuberant, sated, contented. He was also misled about her fiery response. “I love you, Jana. I knew everything would be fine.”

  Reality had returned for Jana, and she was chilly in more than flesh again. “Everything is not fine, Varian Saar, you treacherous snake. This changes nothing. It was nothing more than physical release.”

  “Why don’t you admit you love me and this proves it?”

  “We’re accustomed to having sex and it’s been weeks since we’ve been together like this. We were horny, that’s all. For certain, we’re well matched in bed, even one this hard and wet and uncomfortable. I made a deal with you to work as allies. We have an old song on Earth that says: ‘I’ll be your friend and I’ll be your lover,’ but nothing more, Varian, nothing more.”

  “All right, you stubborn female: ally, friend, lover, and partner—I’ll settle for that much of you for now. But I’m not giving up on getting more. I’ll chase you at every turn until you weary and surrender.”

  “That would be smart because we need to continue the romantic ruse between your brother and his wife.”

  “I won’t be pretending or faking anything with you, woman.”

  At sunrise, Jana was awakened to a hairy and naked threat that was squatting beside her and poking her with fingers that were dirty and fuzzy. She came to instant alert. She scrambled to a sitting position with a shriek of surprise that caused the ugly cavelike man to become agitated. He jumped up, stared at her from a crouched stance, and sent out a menacing air. His huge balled fists plummeted his hairy chest as if telling her he was the leader. It was a gesture similar to ones she had seen on nature shows about gorillas, of which the male reminded her in body shape and appearance, though his enormous head did not. Scraggly, smelly hair grazed his shoulders. His nose was like a pig’s snout, his black eyes round and beady like a weasel’s except for their large size. His protruding facial bones revealed big lumps and long, sharp ridges. Dark, wiry whiskers struck out from all over his face. His flesh was pale yellow and his thick lips were brown. When he opened his mouth to form unintelligible words, it looked as if there was enough old food around his teeth to make a meal for a small animal. As he puckered his lips and made blowing sounds like signals, his breath stank like rotting vegetables combined with spoiled meat.

  Jana wanted to retch and run. Her frantic gaze located Varian near the flat boulder’s edge almost behind her. Two naked creatures cut him off from her and their weapons. He nodded but didn’t speak, as if talking would be a threat to the Neanderthal-like creatures. She knew she must not make any sudden moves against the intruders. She assumed that if communication were possible, Varian would be doing it. Her gaze swept over the surrounding area to sight a group of mutants. The band looked ready to scale the rocks and attack them the moment a signal was given by the three atop it.

  Jana realized that even if she and Varian could get to the weapons lying near her, they had only seventeen shots left, nowhere near enough to defeat this large band of savage primitives. Her frightened gaze searched the horizon in vain for a shuttle. She wished the keelars hadn’t left the saturated area or would return to scare off these beasts. She knew Varian, even with his great strength and skills, couldn’t attack the two strong males entrapping him. To do so would risk being thrown into the growling crowd below and perhaps be torn to pieces and devoured.

  As the wild brute near Jana stopped studying her and inched forward, she trembled in terror and revulsion. The way he fondled his exposed manhood while eyeing her revealed that the filthy animal had mating in mind. The panicked Earthling prepared herself for the alien beast’s assault and her defensive battle with him. Yet she feared there was no way she or Varian could prevent impending ravishment by the stalking beast.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Jana knew she must make an attempt
to save their lives. With caution and a slow pace, she wriggled backward by moving her palms and buttocks against the flat-surfaced stone. As she did so, she forced a relaxed gaze on the foul-smelling, furry creature who watched her with curiosity but without advancing again. She was relieved that she had redressed last night after her lovemaking with Varian, as a naked woman might drive this beast crazy with lust.

  Her groping fingers made contact with the two weapons. She grasped one to use and the other to toss to Varian when the opportunity came, if it ever did. She surmised that the moment she presented a threat to the wild men, she and her lover would be pounced upon and further imperiled. With only seventeen bursts of power left in the two weapons, she couldn’t risk wounding these beasts. She glanced at the creature a few feet to her right, his enormous and erect maleness pointing directly at her. It was telling her that if she didn’t remove his grim threat she would be brutally raped by this primitive gang. She must kill him first or he might leap forward and disable her. Jana reasoned that her sudden defeat of the pack leader should take the two beasts standing near Varian by surprise and freeze them long enough for her to shoot them next. Then, Varian could assist her in confronting the many others on the ground who were sure to rush them.

  Stop stalling and do it. J. G. You have no choice. This is a life-or-death struggle. Do it before it’s too late.

  Jana’s armed hand rounded her body and she fired the alien weapon. It gave off a loud “bzzzt” and an iridescent beam as the charge blasted into the mutant’s heart with full power. He howled and thrashed then collapsed to the rock as the others gaped in astonishment. She wasted no time before whirling and firing at the other two, striking both motionless creatures in the center of their chests. Close to the edge, both lifeless bodies tumbled to the ground amidst startled and rigid primitives who continued to gape. Their slow recovery of courage and simple wits gave Varian time to rush to Jana’s side and take the weapon she held out to him.