Star Fallen Lover

by Lakes, Lynde

  “You aren’t Gregory Harris, are you?” She knew the answer, maybe she’d always known, but she had to hear him say it.

  He sighed. “I’m Cortz…from the planet Uraticus. I thought all this was behind us. What happened?”

  Darli looked into his soul…the truth had been there all along. He’d tried to tell her before, but she’d refused to believe it. Her anger dissipated, but the knot in her stomach tightened. She was going to be sick right there on the spot. Darli clenched her hands and closed her eyes for a moment. There was no time for this. Cortz was in danger.

  She took a deep breath, then quickly related the telephone conversation she’d had with Dr. Steina, and the one with Gretchen. “The police are probably at our house by now. That’s why we had to leave. I knew the truth the moment the doctor said another Greg showed up.”

  “It had been so long,” Cortz said in an agonized tone. “I had begun to believe the real Greg would never return.” His shoulders slumped. “The charade is over.”

  “There must be a way out of this.”

  “No. Greg coming back changes everything. I’ll have to go back to Uraticus. If I stay, the authorities will find out who I am and put me in prison. Or worse.”

  “But how will you leave?”

  “The way I came. In my spacecraft.”

  Even now that she had admitted to herself that Cortz was an alien, she hadn’t fully accepted all of it. God…spacecraft…unreal. “Where is it?”

  “On the ocean floor in a volcanic cave under the sea wall at Waikiki. Near the netting.”

  He drew her close. She didn’t move away—she needed his strength—needed him. He could make her feel so loved and protected by his touch, even now when her world crumbled about her. Tears pooled in her eyes, blurring her vision. This situation couldn’t be real…she’d wake up and find it all part of a hideous nightmare.

  “I know it’s a great deal to ask,” Cortz said, “but you know I love you. Come with me. We can make a life together on Uraticus.”

  Her breath caught. Dare she risk it? No. It was insane. “I can’t. I’m not brave enough to leave the known for the unknown,” she said, thinking of the new life forming under her heart. Having a baby in space would be too big a gamble. And it would be irresponsible to take a newborn into an untested foreign atmosphere.

  “I don’t understand…if you love me, why not?” His grip on her waist tightened.

  “I do love you.” Tears slid down her face. “I always will. I want to go…I just can’t.”

  “I suppose that’s why I stayed all this time. I knew you’d never leave with me.”

  His ragged voice and the sorrow in his face tore at her heart. She drew his head down until their lips met. At first, he answered her kiss like a man possessed, hard, demanding.

  Then, he stopped and pushed her away. “You don’t make this easy.”

  “Cortz, please understand.”

  “I do. I have to leave, and you won’t go with me. It’s that simple.”

  Chapter Fifty-Seven

  Fifteen minutes later at Waikiki Beach, Cortz brushed Darli’s forehead with his lips and left the car. With a heavy heart, he opened the trunk and hauled out his wet suit, scuba gear and enerplane. Once suited up, he headed for the water. Although tempted, he didn’t look back. He and Darli had spent the last week dodging every particle of cosmic debris the Navy hurled into their orbit. Now the Navy was closing the invisible net around him.

  He tightened his grip on the enerplane. Salt water sprayed against his face as he skimmed the surface of the swells and troughs. Under the cover of darkness, Cortz approached the area above the underwater cave where his spaceship waited for him. An armada of small naval boats blanketed the waters there. Their emblem was the same as the one on Fox’s car. Cortz directed his enerplane into a deep dive. The cave entrance was protected by more and heavier nets and extra cameras. A diver-cab on cables hung suspended nearby. Lights streamed from it. Two men in scuba suits following the path of silvery light swam into the cave. He couldn’t reach the spaceship with all the security in place. What now? If only he hadn’t sent Darli away.

  ****

  Darli couldn’t make herself start the car. Life without Cortz would be worse than venturing to the unknown. She opened the door and ran toward the water. Her feet sank into the deep sand. She tripped and struggled to keep her balance. Why had she let him go? Then, she caught a glimpse of him in the distance. His silhouette, etched against the scattering of harbor lights, grew larger. She ran faster. “You came back for me!” she said breathlessly. “You knew I couldn’t let you leave without me.”

  “Do you mean it?” Relief and joy filled his voice.

  “I never meant anything more.” Her spirit soared…she felt she would burst with love.

  Cortz dropped his gear on the sand and embraced her as if they had been apart for years. When he brought his lips to hers, a warmth spread to her toes. She closed her eyes. She’d made the right decision.

  “We have to change plans,” Cortz said, as he guided Darli toward the car. “The spaceship is heavily guarded.”

  Tension ripped through her. “What can we do?”

  “Since we can’t safely reach the ship, we’ll have to find a secluded area and bring it to us.”

  She handed him the car keys. “Can you do that?”

  Cortz nodded. His ruby eyes glinted with confidence.

  Darli touched her still flat belly, fully aware of the baby growing there. “Isn’t that risky?”

  “Extremely.” His face was grim as he started the engine and pulled out into the traffic.

  His expression told her that there was the chance they might not make it. “Maybe there’s another way out,” she said. “What if we face the problem head on? What if we voluntarily go in and answer the authorities questions? No one knows the truth except you and me. We can say you believed everyone when they said you were Greg…you were an innocent party.”

  “But I told the doctor I was from Uraticus.”

  “She didn’t believe you.”

  “We don’t know what she thinks now. Or what she wrote in the files—maybe enough to raise questions. And if the Navy finds out what I said, they will believe it. They know about the spaceship. Besides, if I say I’m not Greg, who do I say I am? Don’t you see? I have no identity. I was safe only as long as I could assume Greg’s life.”

  “There has to be a way. Criminals take on new identities all the time. You can hide while I see what can be done.”

  “Hide? Where? The longer we wait, the more time the military has to assemble tighter security and the riskier it gets. Please understand. A delay will increase the possibility of my capture, perhaps my death.”

  A pang of fear shot through her. She closed her eyes and prayed. She touched her belly again. “Please, give me a day or two. The minute I see that it’s hopeless we’ll leave. I promise.”

  He clenched the steering wheel with both hands, his knuckles ghostly white. “I don’t feel good about this…”

  “Trust me.” She put her hand on his thigh and gave it a squeeze. His leg muscle tensed beneath her fingers as she knew it would. “If I’m willing to soar off to another world with you, surely you can give me a few days.”

  “After that, we’ll go? You and me, together, with no more stalling?” He glanced at her with intense ruby-flecked brown eyes.

  She nodded.

  On the night Cortz disappeared so long ago, he’d told her that from the moment his spacecraft entered the Earth’s atmosphere its instruments began gathering data from the air, land-surface, and sea. “How will leaving affect your research?”

  Cortz stared straight ahead at the road, his expression thoughtful. Was he wondering about the study, or was he thinking of Uraticus? Was he eager to return home?

  “If Greg hadn’t shown up,” she said softly, “would you have eventually left Earth anyway? I mean after your spaceship computers gathered and transmitted enough data?”

  H
e pulled to the side of the road, turned off the ignition, and faced her. “There was enough data months ago. The ship’s computers automatically transmitted it daily.” Cortz’s warm hand closed over hers.

  The comforting strength and control failed to ease her misgivings. “So why did you stay?” She could scarcely breathe, waiting.

  “I didn’t want to leave without you, and I couldn’t risk telling you about me again. The other time, if you remember, I ended up in a mental institution. Besides, I felt I could do more good by staying.”

  Darli inhaled and then let the air out slowly. How had she managed to close her eyes to the truth for so long? She’d ignored the signs, not wanting to believe them—afraid to believe them.

  “Through Harris Inventions,” Cortz said, “I was developing atmosphere-safe products. Working from the inside, so to speak.”

  “If I’d believed you in the beginning, I could’ve helped.”

  “You weren’t ready to believe. And it wasn’t your fault. You were up against a credible actor.” A smile creased his face. “I got rather good at being Greg, don’t you think?”

  “Too good.” She laughed in spite of herself. “That was part of the problem.”

  “Maybe the delay isn’t all bad. It’ll give me time to leave instructions so the work can go on. I’d better transmit a message to Uraticus. Just in case my plan falls through. The craft is well guarded. When I call it to me, the Navy will try to stop it. My ship is fast, but…” His voice trailed away as if he didn’t dare tell her his worst fears. “If you decide not to go with me, I’ll understand.”

  “I’ve already made that decision,” she said, hoping her courage would last. “Let’s get checked into a hotel. Then you can work on the instructions undisturbed, and I can figure out my next move.”

  Doubt clouded his eyes. “Your move. That’s the part of this dangerous and very reluctant agreement that makes me nervous.”

  She sent him what she hoped was a reassuring smile. “Have faith.”

  Chapter Fifty-Eight

  Darli picked one of the largest and busiest hotels where they could blend in with the crowds. In spite of the near-capacity occupancy, she secured a room, then checked in, while Cortz parked the car. Once inside the oceanview room she began to relax. “I paid cash for a week in advance.”

  Cortz frowned.

  “You’ll be safe. I registered as Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Smith. No one will know you’re here as long as you stay in the room.”

  “I’d feel better if we retrieved the spaceship and left now.” Cortz ran his fingers through his thick, curly hair. “I’m only delaying the inevitable because I hate to give up our life here as much as you do. I almost had myself convinced I was Greg Harris. I’ve been happy. You know that, but we have to leave soon.” He walked to the window and stared out. “Every day of postponement makes the liftoff more dangerous.”

  Darli walked up behind him. “There’s an important reason to remain here.” She hugged his waist and nestled her head against his back.

  “What could be so important that you’d put us in danger for it?” Cortz grasped her hand, drew her around in front of him and grasped her shoulders.

  Darli met his piercing gaze. “If at all possible, I would like to raise our child here, rather than in a totally foreign world.”

  The ruby flecks in Cortz’s eyes glowed, the glints in the corner of his eyes reflecting the glistening shimmer from the sunny waters below. “Is this a child in our distant future, or is there something you haven’t told me?” A large vein in Cortz’s neck pulsed. His hands dropped from around her and he stepped backward, searching her face.

  “Don’t back away from me. Not now.” She followed and wrapped her arms tightly around him. She couldn’t stop her chin from quivering with emotion. “I only found out this afternoon. Then the roof caved in before I could tell you.”

  “Then it’s true?”

  She nodded, terrified. “We’re going to have a baby.”

  He tilted her face upward toward his and brushed her lips with his. “Making a baby with you makes me happy…proud.” His smile didn’t spread to his eyes.

  “Your words say what I want to hear, but your voice and eyes tell me a baby is the last thing in the world you want.”

  When he remained silent, she twisted free, rushed across the room and flung herself onto the bed. He followed and sat down next to her. When she wouldn’t look at him, he touched her chin and turned her face so she had no choice but to meet his gaze. “It’s the dangerous timing.” He captured her face between his hands. “I love you and I love that we’re going to have a baby. But you’ll have to admit the timing is perilous. If we get out of this mess, I’ll show you how happy I am.”

  He guided her downward until her head touched the pillow. Then he brushed a long strand of hair from her face. His eyes expressed a love as tender as a caress. She wanted to believe…

  “Inside, I am joyous. Honest.” The deep emotion in his voice convinced her—he was glad about the baby.

  He kissed her lips lightly. The absence of the usual passion and fire revealed his distress. She understood. She, too, had serious concerns about being pregnant now. Even so, when he gave her hip a pat, disheartening disappointment shot through her. She needed more from him.

  “I’m beat,” he said unzipping his trousers. “Let’s get some sleep.”

  “Sleep? Now? How can you with all this uncertainty?”

  “I need to replenish my brain cells.”

  She rolled her eyes. “Okay. But think about what you’re missing,” she said, heading for the shower.

  Ten minutes later when she returned, he had his hand across his eyes to block out the lamplight. The bed gave slightly as she slipped in beside him. He remained still, pretending to be asleep, but his lashes fluttered. She fanned her shower-fresh fragrance toward him. When he wriggled his nostrils, she was certain she’d managed to stir him. She angled herself carefully and leaned over and gave him a kiss on the cheek. As planned, her breasts brushed against his arm. She smiled when she felt him stiffen and start to vibrate. But he didn’t respond the way she’d hoped. He merely brought her to him in a light embrace. Darn. Then she noticed that his breathing had accelerated. She smiled again. Her stubborn alien wanted more, but was holding a tight rein on his passion. Darn. All the fun didn’t have to stop just because they’d stepped into the most dangerous situation of their lives.

  She made no effort to turn out the light. For a long time she lay at his side, silently studying his face. His eyes remained closed, but his normal breathing proved he was still awake. “Okay, Cortz, if you don’t want to fool around, fine. But there we’re getting any sleep until you answer a few vital questions.”

  He sighed. “Anyone ever tell you that you are a pesky little stargazer?”

  She ignored the question. “If we have to go to Uraticus, will it be dangerous for the baby and me?” She hated the quiver in her voice. “I mean, will the Uraticean people accept us?”

  “Of course,” Cortz said huskily. “You’ll be considered celebrities. Everyone will be interested in you.”

  “That’s what scares me.”

  “I’ll keep you safe, and I promise you’ll be treated with the greatest respect.”

  “Are you positive the baby and I won’t be outcasts? I won’t be colorless like your people and I won’t know the language.” Wait. Would her baby be colorless? She wasn’t sure how she felt about the possibility.

  “You forget…my color is permanent now, too. We’ll be considered stylish—trendsetters. And, as far as language goes…by the time we get there I’ll have you speaking like a native Uraticean.”

  He sounded so confident. Darli wished she could be as certain. “What’s it like there?” Darli asked softly. “Are the cities similar to ours?”

  “More or less, only more efficient due to the advanced technology.” Cortz looked down and gave her a squeeze. “But it’s the sights, like the giant diamond pyramids, and fields o
f sparkling chips that will take your breath away. Their color prisms are more brilliant than sunbeams and have a life of their own.”

  “It sounds wonderful,” Darli said. “What about the study of astronomy?”

  “Lenses await you like you’ve never dreamed,” Cortz said. “You’ll make fantastic discoveries. And my people will be glad to get a qualified stargazer like you to join their studies.”

  Excitement rose in Darli. “What are the cities like?”

  “Ultra modern structures that soar into the sky complete with sleek offices, residential units—each self-contained with stores, child care facilities, and extensive recreation opportunities.”

  Her enthusiasm dwindled. “In spite of your emphasis on recreation, it sounds sterile.”

  “You’ll get used to it,” Cortz said. “Lush parks and gardens separate each structure similar to those of a resort hotel. All of the industrial buildings and land transportation is underground and automated.”

  She frowned. “Just one antiseptic city blending into another?”

  “I’ll ignore your sarcasm,” Cortz said wryly, “and assume you want an answer. The planet isn’t a hundred percent developed. There are open areas of forests, tropics and deserts. And, I told you about the diamond pyramids.”

  “But what are the people like?”

  “I guess similar to people everywhere, some good and some bad.”

  The tone of Cortz’s voice and the way he patted her hip signaled the end of the conversation. But he could forget any hope of that. She reached up and traced the outline of his strong jaw. “What about your mom and dad?”

  He took a deep breath and shifted his weight. “You aren’t easy to discourage, are you?” Relief washed over her at the hint of amusement in his tone. “My parents are both serious minded, dedicated scientists,” he said. “But they have warm hearts. You’ll like them.”

  He yawned and reached past her and turned off the light. She refused to let him turn her off as easily. “Do you have any brothers or sisters?”

  “No. Few Uraticeans have over one child. Remember, I told you before, most of the children are test tube babies.”