by Mind Guest
around?"
"I wanted to talk about your new partner," he said with a hard look in
his eyes as he folded his arms. "You know, the good-looking fellow
who's well thought of by his coworkers."
"Oh, him," I muttered, not liking his dark tones of voice. "I didn't
know Dameron was awake yet."
"He isn't," Valdon said flatly. "I happened to be talking with Nelixan,
and she passed on the word. If you had to change your mind again you
might have told me about it! This on-again, off-again business is
beginning to get to me!"
"But you didn't ask," I pointed out in a very reasonable way. "If you
had asked, I would have been glad to tell you."
"Aren't you generous," he said in a voice that had suddenly turned very
soft. "If it's my fault for not asking, let's take care of it right
now." he moved closer fast, put his palms to the wall to either side of
me, then looked down and locked eyes with me. "I am now formally asking
the identity of your new partner. Would you care to tell me who he is?"
"Sure," I answered, looking up at him with a smile. "You're my new
partner. And you're also wide open."
He flushed very faintly, but didn't move.
"Then take advantage of it," he offered, still staring down into my
eyes. "You might be interested in what happens right after that."
I stared back at him, realizing I had a problem. I knew-without knowing
how I knew that if I started playing rough again he would not retaliate
in kind as most men would. For some reason I didn't want to think about
how he would retaliate, and above that there had already been enough
argument between us. The smartest thing would be to drop a subject that
never should have been brought up.
"I couldn't do that," I answered, not having hesitated long. "I said
I'd be making an effort to get along with my new partner. That isn't my
idea of getting along."
"What is your idea of getting along?" he asked, the hard look fading
from his eyes. I brought my arms up, put them around his neck, then returned the kiss he'd given me the night before, but with interest.
"That's more in line with my thinking," I said softly when the kiss
ended. "Does it disagree with you?"
"I'm willing to suffer," he laughed gently, brushing some hair out of
my eyes. "As your new partner, I think I ought to offer my services. Is
there anything else you might be thinking about that I could help
with?"
His faint grin made it plain what sort of anything he was referring to,
but I had my own ideas on the subject.
"As a matter of fact there is," I murmured, moving closer to look up at
him. "I'm just about starving to death. What are the chances of getting
a decent meal around here?"
For a minute he didn't make a sound, then he started laughing. He threw
his head back and roared, and I couldn't help grinning as I watched
him.
"You are without doubt the craziest woman I've ever met," he said after
he'd run down to chuckling. "Working with you will be an experience and
a half. Well, come on! We can't have people starving around here."
He took my hand and led the way over to the refectory, then found some
real, live meat dishes for me. For some reason most of the dishes
looked alike in their pictures, and that's how I'd ended up with a
dessert instead of what I'd really wanted. It was obvious that telling
them apart took practice.
When I was happily stuffed, Valdon and I went to check on my ship. He
and Dameron had done a good job putting it back together, and it seemed
to be all ready to go. I poked and. puttered for a little while in
preparation for the next day, then took Valdon up on his offer of a
tour of the base. We covered the entire thing, from the ship's entrance
tunnels to the smallest of storage areas, and the base finally settled
down into perspective. The people using it were humanoid and therefore
had developed a lot of things strange humanoids like me would
recognize, but there were enough oddities to remind me that I was a
long way from home.
For instance, one of their favorite sports was deep dropping, and an
inner cavern had been prepared especially for its practice. The deep
dropper stepped off the edge of an abyss, free-fell lord-only-knows how
far, and was finally caught by a safety field a random number of feet
from the bottom. Since the positioning of the safety field was decided
by computer, they never knew when their fall would be stopped. Also,
since the safety fields had - been known to fail occasionally, they
never even knew if they'd be stopped. It takes more nerve than I have
to casually walk into one of the dozens of ten-foot-wide, unlit holes,
and I didn't mind saying so. Valdon looked at me less with amusement
than with an odd sort of respect, then suggested that we eat again. I
wasted no time agreeing with such a sensible suggestion, and we walked
into the refectory to see Dameron at a table, watching as three or four
dishes were raised to eating height from the center of the table. We
were about to choose a place of our own when Dameron spotted us and
gestured us over.
"Just the people I want to see," he said, shoveling part of his meal
into his mouth. "Sit down and have something to eat."
"Why do I get the feeling I ought to be suspicious?" I asked as Valdon
and I sat. "That isn't anything like the tone of voice you used when
you told me how easily I could handle that business on Tildor."
"You must come equipped with ultra-sensory gear," Dameron grinned.
"Better watch out for her, Valdon. She's the type to know what you're
doing even when you're only thinking about it." "He can do or think anything he likes," I countered, not willing to be
distracted. "I'm his partner, not his mother. Now what was this oh-socasual
thing you wanted to mention to us?"
"It's not exactly casual," Dameron admitted reluctantly, losing his
grin. "The truth of the matter is, you can't leave for home yet."
"Why not?" I asked, keeping my eyes on his face.
"Now, don't start looking like that," Dameron protested, clearly
uncomfortable. "I didn't say, you couldn't go, I just said you couldn't
go yet."
"I think you'd better tell her why," Valdon put in quietly, placing his
hand on my arm.
"Nelixan woke me for a shift level call," Dameron said, giving a lot of
attention to his food. "When I got the transmitter link, I almost had
my ears burned off. Seems one of our long-call operators had mentioned
to the caller that we had a special visitor here. I'm sorry I ever told
them about you."
"And they say only women don't know when to keep quiet," I muttered,
remembering my earlier thoughts on not spreading the word. "What
happened then?"
"Phalsyn took his turn at me," Dameron said, his face glum. "He and I
have been friends for a long time, and that's probably the only thing
that saved me. Phalsyn reminded me that little things like contacting
members of other civilizations ought to be mentioned to Absar Central,
even if only in passing.
He also said that if I let you leave before he
gets here, I'd better go with you."
"Always room for one more," I said, leaning back a little. "You and
Valdon can share a cabin."
"Be reasonable, Diana!" Dameron pleaded, his eyes directly on me.
"Phalsyn only wants to talk to you! He may be high in governmental
circles, but he's really bright. he won't cause you any trouble."
"So you say," I countered, holding his gaze. "What happens if I decide
to take off right now?"
"Take off where?" Valdon put in in a calm, gentle way. "We haven't
programmed your course computer yet."
"I'd still be better off than when I got here," I said, throwing him a
quick glance. "And maybe even better off than waiting around. When
things become official, they also tend to become complicated."
"This time it can't be helped," Dameron sighed, pushing his half-eaten
food away from him. "I'm sorry, girl, but you'll just have to wait to
see Phalsyn. He's already on his way, so it shouldn't be too long." he
stood up from the table, turned three-quarters away from me, then
added, "Under the circumstances, I think you'd better stay away from
your ship at least until Phalsyn gets here."
He left then, and I watched his broad back disappear while I cursed
feelingly under my breath. You can always trust people to come up with
more complications than any one particular situation calls for. I
started to get up too, but found Valdon in my way, still holding onto
my arm.
"We haven't eaten yet," he said in the same calm, gentle voice he'd
used a minute earlier. "We can't have people starving around here',
remember?"
"I'll eat later," I answered just as calmly and quietly. "There's
something I have to do first."
"Do you mean get to your ship before guards are put on it?" he asked.
"And then what? Take off in the first direction that appeals to you?
How do you plan on getting through the ship locks? Or evacuating the
air from the tunnels?" "I'm very resourceful," I told him, merely stating a fact. "Want to bet
on it?"
"Not after having given you a tour of this place myself," he snorted.
"Sit still and behave yourself, or I'll have you confined to your
room."
"What, no brig?" I asked with raised brows. "Surely you'd feel safer
with me behind bars."
"I'd feel safest with you tied hand and foot!" he answered sharply. "If
you don't stop acting like an idiot, that's exactly what will happen to
you! Waiting a few days for Phalsyn isn't going to kill you."
"I'm glad you're so sure about that," I muttered, looking away from
him. "I wish I could be as sure."
"Hey, nothing's going to happen to you," he protested, putting an arm
around my shoulders. "If Dameron or I thought there would be any
trouble for you because of this, you would already be on your way. I
know Phalsyn too, and I give you my word that everything will be fine."
"Would that come under the heading of famous last words?" I wondered
aloud, turning back to him. "Look, Valdon, basically I'm a pessimist.
If I expect the worst to happen, I'm prepared when it does. Now, why
not be a good boy and turn your head for a few minutes? You can always
tell this Phalsyn that I overpowered you."
"Oh, that would solve the problem." he nodded. "He wouldn't even bother
bringing me up on charges. He'd just tie a ribbon around me and send me
home. You'd better sit back and relax, Diana. When it's time to leave
we'll leave together."
His determination wasn't hard to see, and any more words would have
been a waste of breath.
"I have very little choice," I shrugged, leaning back as he'd
suggested. "Just bear in mind that if you're wrong, I'm the type to
come back and haunt you."
"I'll take my chances." he grinned, then reached past me to press
buttons on the box. While we waited for the food, I reflected that
"middle-of-the-night" would be as good a time to leave as right then.
In a base as quiet as that one, no one would be expecting trouble,
When we finished eating, we went to the lounge and sat around with a
number of the base personnel, listening to some very strange music for
longer than I would have stayed on my own. When Valdon finally walked
me back to my room, I wasn't disappointed over missing the
"entertainment." Even if I'd been in the mood for it, I wouldn't have
been able to bridge the gap between cultures alien to one another in a
single sitting. My new partner followed me inside, then gave me a
strong, reassuring smile.
"It shouldn't be too long," he said, referring to the wait he'd
mentioned more than I had. "I can't honestly say I know what Phalsyn
wants to talk to you about, but he really is the reasonable sort. After
we're through with him we'll be on our way, and I won't have to share a
cabin with Dameron."
"You sound awfully pleased about that," I commented over my shoulder as
I reached for a cigarette. "I thought you liked Dameron."
"There's liking and there's liking," he said, coming up behind me to
take the cigarette out of my hand and pull me gently to him. "You're a
lot more my type, and I'd much rather share a cabin with you."
He looked down into my eyes as he said that, but rather than sending
the sort of "let's get to it" signals most men did in a situation like
that, he seemed to be searching for something. I couldn't imagine what
the something could be, until I suddenly realized that his last
statement had been a question. "I'd rather share a cabin with you," he'd said, not, "We will be sharing a cabin." he was making no attempt
to force me into anything, and from my experience with him on Tildor, I
knew it wasn't a put-on. He'd been very much aware of how dippy Bellna
had been over him, and if he'd wanted to play twisted bed games he
would have done it then. But he also knew how I had felt about him, and
had brought in a substitute player rather than take the advantage he
could have. I also remembered then what Dameron had said about how some
women reacted to him when he showed interest in them, and his lack of
aggressive behavior became more understandable. The hunter had gone
hungry too many times, and had therefore learned to keep his claws
sheathed.
"I think you're making a mistake not wanting to share a cabin with
Dameron," I said after the briefest silence, then put my hands to the
top of the long stay-tab that closed his uniform and slowly began
opening it. "There are men in this universe who would fight fire and
flood to get a chance at a man like the commander, and here I offer you
the chance and you don't even appreciate it."
My words cut off as his hands came to my face, and when he raised it to
his, the hunter's look was there in his eyes; hunger and unquenchable
desire, the intention to take, the intention to continue on until
complete satisfaction was attained. It was a statement as raw and
direct as a big cat's scream of challenge in the night, and I didn't
wonder why so many women had flinched away from it. Most women were
smart enough to be wary of hunters like him - but I've never been smart
in that particular way. Valdon saw the answer he was looking for when
our eyes met, and a very faint smile touched his lips, then he lifted
me in his arms and carried me to the bed.
Valdon had fallen asleep on his stomach, and I was careful not to
disturb him when I got up to find my ship's suit. Before getting up I
had spent some time watching him sleep, silently cursing the fact that
I had to leave alone rather than take him with me. The man was
absolutely incredible, and I still didn't really understand what had
happened between us. I remembered being carried to the bed, remembered
having the ship's suit opened and taken slowly from me, remembered the
kisses and touches during the lengthy unveiling. Somehow I seemed to
have missed seeing Valdon getting out of his own things, but I was very
aware of his naked body when it was pressed up against mine. By then my
breathing wasn't very steady, and I met his kisses with parted lips,
which did even more damage to my breath rate. Somehow his hands and
lips had been everywhere and somehow I had lost all say in what we did
when. Once or twice he had whispered to me, and I had done exactly as
he had asked. All thought ended when he finally entered me, and didn't
begin again until we had both had all we were capable of giving or
taking. He had kissed me a final time then, and then had put himself on
the bed beside me to sleep, one arm still around me. By the time I was
able to get up, he was asleep and his arm was gone.
I turned away from him as I got into, the ship's suit, not knowing what
made him so different from all the other men I'd ever tried. There had
been no resisting him, no ignoring him; he had asked before starting
anything, but once he'd gotten his affirmative there had been no
stopping him. In a way, sex with Valdon was very demoralizing for a
woman, and it might have been a good thing after all that he had to be
left behind. He'd made me forget about all sense of dignity and selfesteem
when he'd had me in his arms, and that was nothing to make a
habit of. I just hoped they wouldn't give him too hard a time when they
found me gone; under other circumstances, he probably could have kept
me right there. I closed my ship's suit and glanced at him one last time, then left the room.