Ride the Stars

by Autumn Dawn

  “Just tea, please,” Jaide gritted. “I’m kind of in a hurry.”

  With a dramatic sigh, Madam reached under the counter and produced one tin and a plastic packet of a white cream. She dimpled at Lore, handing him the cream. “See if you can’t get her to use this instead.”

  Lore slid his shades down his nose to read the packet. His eyes widened, and he hastily stuffed it in a pocket, out of sight, then hid behind his dark glasses.

  Jaide narrowed her eyes on Madam Pels with suspicion. Pels waved it away and selected a tiny bottle from the shelf behind her and extended it to Lore, who took it gingerly. “It’s a free sample, dear, of cologne. A special blend of mine. Do tell me how it works.” Lore muttered a self-conscious thank you. Picking up a spray bottle of perfume, Madam spritzed the tea tin, then placed it in a small bag.

  The sweet fragrance went directly to Jaide’s brain with seductive allure, and she stabbed accusing, dilated eyes at the smug Madam. “You could get arrested for selling that stuff in certain sectors, you know.”

  Madam flashed her a cheeky grin. “Not me, darling. Ta! Do let me know when you need that mood enhancer.” She gave Lore a flirtatious smile. “If you ever do.”

  Lore handed the plastic packet to a puzzled Skye the moment they met up at the ship. “I believe this belongs to you.” At his friend’s raised brow, he added, “And a word of advice; don’t ever visit the herb woman here.” He slapped Skye on the back and continued up the ramp, tossing over his shoulder, “She’s a shark.”

  Removing his blast glasses, Skye squinted to make out the fine print on the plastic. Heat streaked his cheeks the moment it registered what he’d been handed. Why in the name of all they held holy would Lore think he needed enhancing creme? Besides, hadn’t he warned him off Jaide just this morning? Shaking his head at the vagaries of Lore’s mind, he stowed the packet away and ascended the ramp, sealing it shut behind him.

  Jaide suppressed the memory of Skye’s kiss with such ruthlessness that she even managed to convince herself it hadn’t felt so good. Mildly pleasant at best. Feeling it was in her best interests to regroup, she made a double strength mug of Seti tea and retired to her room, telling Sesame she was going to take a nap. Taking a mild sedative to ensure she did just that, she emerged later that afternoon feeling pleasantly refreshed and, best of all, remote. Her mind was perfectly clear, but all turbulent emotions were as blissfully absent as if they’d never been.

  Skye looked at her sharply when she entered the galley for the evening meal. He’d expected her to be subdued, maybe even short tempered. Instead, she radiated unnatural calm as she shared the blessing with Lore, who kept shooting her worried looks.

  Sesame took one glance at her and spent the rest of the evening glaring at her plate as she dissected bits of steak she didn’t eat.

  “Maybe you should ease up on the tea,” Lore finally ventured, toying with his food. “You don’t seem quite yourself.”

  Surprisingly, it was Skye who spoke up. “Don’t worry about it, Lore.” Before he could bristle, Skye murmured in their language, high-frequency, “I’ve got a project that will require your help in the lab later.”

  Lore frowned at him. Although not happy, he went back to his meal in silence. It was a very quiet dinner.

  Jaide tossed in the deep hours of the night, dreaming.

  She’d just finished puffing and sweating her way through gym. She hadn’t been able to run, of course, so she’d walked the mile, pretending to ignore the sneers and jibes. Finally she’d finished and retreated gratefully to the locker rooms and showered, only to discover that someone had stolen her clothes, leaving a pup tent with a slit at the top in their place. The best that the amused teacher could offer as an alternative was clothing from the lost and found. None of it fit.

  She’d walked through the halls, past crowds of howling students and convulsed-though-trying-not-to-show-it teachers to her locker, collected her things and walked out the main doors, never to return. Once home she’d cried until she threw up, then vowed to slim down or die trying. Discovering that she was sensitive to carbohydrates, she’d taken the necessary steps to cut them out of her diet, then found a doctor to treat her unstable hormones. The weight had dropped like so much rain, almost causing her to cry with the ridiculous ease of it all after so many tears. She’d taken her equivalency exam and vowed never to look back.

  But she did, didn’t she, she thought later as she lay curled in her hammock, trying not to wake Sesame. Bowing her head in shame, she hid her face in her arms. Ten years later, she didn’t even have a stretch mark to betray her, thanks to corrective surgery. She’d destroyed all known pictures of her fat self; even going so far as to hack into the school computer system to erase those as well. Her body was in excellent shape, and hey, no one had a finer looking butt.

  Inside, though, she was still that fat girl, tears streaming down her cheeks as her shame was broadcast to all the world by the boy she’d thought she loved. She never dared flirt. In all the years she’d been thin, she hadn’t braved so much as a short skirt. She didn’t own an earring, and her scanty collection of cosmetics rarely touched her face. Trapped in a circle of buried shame and self-doubt, she didn’t know how to change. Hadn’t she been trying? Didn’t she try?

  The next morning she awoke feeling sluggish and exhausted. Sullen and stiff from her excursion with the cane, she limped into the galley feeling like a lower class life form. The first thing she did was make a strong cup of Seti tea, looking eagerly forward to the dousing of emotion. She waited. Waited some more.

  Nothing happened.

  She stared at her cup, wondering what was wrong. It was the same tin she’d bought yesterday. The stink and the repellent taste were the same. The color was fine.

  It took a moment for her sluggish brain to figure out what had happened, but when it did connect the dots, she was hot enough to melt steel. “Don’t worry about it, Lore,” she sneered, dumping the tea down the disposal. Then she broke the mug and shoved it down the hole for good measure. How dare he!

  “Break your cup?”

  Jaide whirled around at the calm query, actually snarling at the offender. “You owe me a batch of tea, Skye.”

  Unconcerned, Skye leaned his hip against the counter. “I was addicted to painkillers once myself, so I’ll ignore that outburst. Let me know when you need help with the shakes.”

  “I’m not an addict!”

  Knowing eyes scanned her. “Irritability, fear of going without your hit, nausea? How long have you been on the Seti, years now? When did you figure out that you wouldn’t feel good unless you had some every day?”

  “You don’t understand,” she protested, beginning to sweat with anxiety. “I need it.”

  His eyes hardened. “Too bad.”

  She jerked away from his stare, pitiful excuses, bribes, and threats running through her frantic brain. She was not an addict! He didn’t understand, she just....she just needed it. On the verge of hyperventilation, she forced herself to take deep, calming breaths. If she just explained-no! No one would ever hear about that. Shoulders hunched, she stared at him with hate. This pain was his fault.

  “I suggest we move this to the infirmary before you get ugly,” he said, straightening. When she didn’t budge, he explained, “I’ve made a non-addictive serum that will give you what you need. It’s in my lab.” He shrugged. “It was the least that I could do, considering.”

  There was no reason to trust him, but she followed him anyway, just on the chance it might be true.

  Skye took a prepared injector off his work bench, then turned towards her. “All right. Let’s have your neck.”

  She closed her eyes and gave him access.

  Easing his groggy patient down so that she could lie comfortably, the medic put away his injector. The serum would help her to sleep off the worse of the withdrawal symptoms, as well as help her body shed the toxins. Flicking off the lights, he left her to rest.

  He’d done his good deed fo
r the day.

  Jaide woke twenty-five hours later feeling as if something wasn’t quite right. She felt....different. Opening her eyes, she saw the darkened infirmary ceiling, and remembered.

  Groaning, she levered her stiff body off the examining table and swung her feet to the floor. In spite of her long sleep, she felt foggy, and for a moment she couldn’t decide what to do. Her clamoring bladder decided for her, and she shambled over to the latrine. That finished, she limped toward the delicious smells coming from the galley.

  Skye looked up as Jaide lurched into the doorway, holding onto the frame. Immediately he went to her, catching her before she fell. Her light brown hair, barely constrained in its loosened tail, slipped free, swinging down to veil her face as she used him for balance. A little unsettled by his first view of her more feminine side, he asked, “Are you all right?”

  Not really. Why had she never noticed how delicious he smelled? Whatever scent he used, it made him smell like spring rain and summer nights. Sultry. So good.... Catching herself leaning closer to nuzzle his shirt, she jerked back. “Just hungry.”

  “Glad to hear it,” he murmured, wrapping his arm around her shoulders as he assisted her to the table.

  “It’s good to see you up and around,” Nemesis offered, looking her over. “Skye said you weren’t feeling well, and we were beginning to worry.”

  Oddly enough, Sesame said nothing.

  Murmuring something soothing, Jaide accepted a huge slice of quiche from Lore and fell on it, devouring every crumb. With every bite her brain cleared, and she felt more human.

  Skye watched her eat as he chatted with the others. Color flushed her cheeks, and she seemed softer, more vulnerable. That and she kept sneaking looks at him when she thought he wasn’t looking. The third time she did it he deliberately caught her eye, surprising a flush out of her.

  He wasn’t the only one who noticed. Astonished, Nemesis asked Skye, high-frequency, “What did you say was wrong with her, my friend? She seems....”

  Skye hid his smile behind his mug. “I advised her to discontinue taking the Seti for medical reasons. She complied.”

  Nemesis’s eyes filled with a new light and he considered the small augmenter. “So that’s why the blushes and the shy glances. What a difference.” He sent Skye a sly smile. “It should make her more pleasant to be with, yes?”

  “I’m sure his motives were completely altruistic.” Lore couldn’t quite hide his smirk.

  Skye ignored them both.

  Without the Seti, Jaide was very different. The glass veneer was gone, leaving behind a woman both younger and more vulnerable. Compared to what he’d seen before, this Jaide seemed almost defenseless. Unsure and in need of a protector. Anticipation brought a sultry smile to his lips.

  This Jaide held possibilities.

  Jaide saw the small smile and a chill raced through her. She looked at Sesame in panic. She returned a bland stare and asked Quadril a question. No help there.

  This was bad. Not since she was seventeen had she felt this vulnerable, this aware of the opposite sex and her own body. Needs she’d buried for years threatened to swamp her. Fortunately there was one antidote that always worked.

  “That was great. Best quiche I ever had,” she said, using the table for balance as she stood. Lore whisked her plate under his as she reached for it, and she sent him a half smile of thanks. Her hair swung forward, obscuring her vision, and she tossed it back over her shoulder in annoyance. There was little she could do to confine it since one hand was occupied with her cane, but she’d see to it first thing when she reached her room. Loose hair was a nuisance and a hazard on the job.

  Skye considered walking her back to her room, but she looked so relieved to be escaping that he relented. As he watched her limp away he reminded himself that just because she was now showing signs of interest in him didn’t mean he needed to pounce. There was no telling what the woman was like now that her defenses were down. A smart man would sit back and observe before making any decisions. For all he knew, this Jaide was clingy and grasping, with the morals of space port flotsam. >From what he understood of Seti, withdrawal brought with it a powerful surge of suppressed sensation. She might turn out to be randy as a alley cat no matter what turned its attention her way.

  Yes, he decided, sipping his coffee and turning his attention back to business. A smart man would definitely wait.

  “You rigged my tea.”

  Sesame didn’t even blink at Jaide’s low, accusing growl as the door to their room cycled shut. She tossed her tablet on her bed, then faced her friend and partner, who glowered at her from her hammock. “Actually, Skye rigged it.” Her smile was wide and false. “I just swiped it for him.”

  Jaide sat up, using one foot to keep the hanging bed in motion. “It happened almost from the beginning, didn’t it?” Her tone was low, savage. “Rather trusting of you, wasn’t it?”

  Scratching the edge of her nostril with her thumb, a sure sign of rising temper, Sesame replied, “Spare me your temper tantrum, Calanarre. Someone had to crash your pity party. And yeah,” she said with a challenging look, “maybe I thought you could use a good lay.” Her eyes swept Jaide in fast survey. “I’d say the Drac has the equipment to do the job justice, and from what I’ve seen, you think so, too.”

  Her tongue temporarily immobilized by chagrin, Jaide looked away. Sesame didn’t know the stakes. “You don’t know what you’re talking about, Calais. Maybe you can just hop from bed to bed, but it doesn’t work that way with me.” Her eyes narrowed. “Not that I’ve seen you do any hopping in the time I’ve known you.”

  It was Sesame’s turn to look away. Sitting on her bed, she fiddled with her tablet. “We were discussing your smoking love life, girl, not mine.”

  Target sighted, Jaide pressed with the goal of revenge, “I don’t know. Maybe you ought to find a Drac and give him a test drive; then you might be qualified to give advice. The captain looks like a likely specimen,” she goaded.

  Sesame shot her a dirty look. “Not in this lifetime.”

  Unconvinced, Jaide leaned back, swinging her legs up on the hammock. “Come on, Sesame. Live a little. Besides, who are you trying to fool? The air ignites every time you guys are in the same room. Everybody knows there’s something going on between you two.”

  Tossing her tablet aside and bending to unlace her boots, Sesame retorted, “Yeah, and it’s called intense dislike.”

  Sesame got into bed and doused the lights, and soon her soft snores filled the room. Unable to rest, Jaide remained awake, trapped by her own thoughts.

  No matter what plot Sesame and Skye had cooked up together, she was not going to comply, she thought fiercely, glaring at the darkened ceiling. She was an adult, and she knew what she was doing. The very last thing she needed was an intimate relationship to mess with her mind and screw up her life. Relationships brought complications she didn’t want to deal with.

  A rebellious, slow throb started low as she thought of Skye, in direct contrast to all her cool logic. Stifling a groan, she curled on her side, drawing her knees up. It didn’t help. Swearing silently, she shifted back.

  The obvious solution was to get her hands on some more tea the moment they docked. Not an easy task with Skye and Sesame watching her every move.

  Feeling like a prisoner, she shifted again, resenting this new restlessness. Now even the haven of dream time was lost to her, thanks to her helpful friend and her accomplice.

  Skye! she seethed. Why did he care, anyway? Surely there were other ways, easier ways, to get women. Why was he messing with her mind?

  Playing with her heart?

  Jaide rolled over with a groan at that unbidden thought, slapping a pillow over her head. Enough of this foolishness! She was going to sleep.

  Chapter 4

  Life without Seti was a great deal more challenging.

  As her injuries healed Jaide’s spirits returned to normal, but her new awareness did not fade. Often she would catch herself
sneaking glances at Skye’s magnificent rear end, or worse, drifting off into a fantasy involving the two of them and unlimited privacy.

  Avoidance on a small ship was not the easiest thing, but it helped to stay busy. In fact, things were going surprisingly well.

  Until V.B. Trell decided to make contact.

  Jaide was on the bridge working on a console when his ship appeared on the scanner. Immediately it began broadcasting a signal to talk. Wary but willing to communicate, Nemesis took the call.

  “Captain Spectere.” V.B. nodded his shaved head at him with cool respect. Then his pale blue eyes shifted to Jaide. “Calanarre,” he sneered. “Ruining yet another fine ship, I see.”

  Unwilling to show the icy dread the sight of him stirred, she leaned back in her chair, crossing one ankle over her knee. Toying with her screwdriver, she acknowledged him with a curt nod. “What’s your gripe, Trell? I’m a busy woman.”

  Frigid eyes narrowed. “Too busy to fix your screw ups?” His eyes shifted momentarily to Sesame, who immediately came to stand beside her. His expression was annoyed but dismissive, then his attention shifted back to his true target. Gesturing angrily behind him, he all but spat, “I’ve got a faulty regulator here that cost me my last race. You were the last one who worked on it, and my mechanic confirms it’s your fault. I want it fixed.” His voice dropped a menacing octave. “Now.”

  Jaide tossed aside her tool. Five years ago she’d vowed never to set foot on one of his vessels again, and she wasn’t about to do it now. “Vent it up your blow hole, Trell. Your mechanic is a liar,” she told him coldly. “I never touched your regulator, and if you’d reviewed your records, you’d realize that. Not that any of that matters to you, since you’re just trying to bum a free augmentation. If I boarded you’d be off for deep space, trailing vapor.”

  Trell appealed to the impassive Nemesis. “I signed her bloody contract, Spectere. It says she owes me repairs. It would be in your best interest to see that she complies.”