Stardust Dreams (23 page)

She dragged her gaze up to
his ebony eyes. "Yes. That was very civilized of you."

"You wanted the door
open. It's open. Now tell me again how I don't frighten you."

Cherry's eyes raked over
him, purposely giving his male anatomy a disdaining look. "There's
nothing
about you that frightens me."

In a flash his hands
slipped under her arms, lifted her across the threshold, and brought her up to
his height. "I'm a lot stronger than you are." Bringing her body
flush against his, he eased her down several inches and up again without
letting her toes touch the floor.

"You may be strong,
but you're still afraid of me." She wrapped her legs around his waist and
pressed herself to him. "Or is it just this?" She moved against him
suggestively. "Are you scared that you'll get so distracted by this,
you'll spill all your secrets to me?"

"Yes," he
whispered as his hands slid down to brace her hips.
"Yes!"
And with a menacing growl, he took her mouth in a kiss that could never be
called civilized.

She allowed him to dominate
her just long enough to let him think he was in control, then she tore her lips
from his. "I'm still furious with you."

"And I still want you
to beg for mercy," he said raggedly against her ear as he kneaded her
bottom.

"I never beg." She
yanked the jumpsuit off his shoulders. "I demand." Blindly reaching
out she closed the door to the chamber. "We can fight later."

He pressed her back against
the door and tugged the top of her jumpsuit down. "We can fight now."

She moaned in pleasure as
his teeth closed over the tight peak of one breast and then the other. His
urgent suckling drove her to a state where she no longer cared what they were
fighting about. Inches at a time, the stretchy jumpsuits were lowered to expose
more and more heated flesh.

Cherry barely noticed when
he separated their bodies in order to shed the suits completely, for in no time
she was once more wrapped around him with her back against the wall.

He rubbed his shaft against
her sensitive core until she was dizzy with need, but when she tried to bring
him into her body, he held himself at her opening.

"Beg," he ordered
and nipped her ear.

She trembled and tightened
her legs around him. "I'll beg… right after you do."

He raised his head as if to
say something else, but as their eyes met, their bodies melded together and
there was nothing left to say… with words.

She made him growl. He made
her moan.

Neither begged for mercy. And
neither gave it.

Yet when the battle ended,
both were supremely satisfied.

Keeping her in his snug
embrace, Gallant lowered them to the carpeted floor.

In the back of her mind,
Cherry knew they would probably be arguing again soon, but for the moment she
only wanted to enjoy the strange gift of peace that seemed to come in the
aftermath of their near-violent couplings.

She couldn't remember ever
experiencing anything quite like it, but then she couldn't recall any man quite
like Gallant Voyager. Certainly no one ever made her as angry, as often, as he.
Nor had any man ever given her so much pleasure so effortlessly. She just
wished she didn't have to fight with him to get to the good parts. The more she
thought about that, the more it bothered her, until the peaceful feeling
started to fade.

"Why does it have to
be like this?" she asked aloud, without really expecting an answer.

He gently kissed the top of
her head. "What's that?"

She sighed. "Do you
like this—lying here, holding me?"

"Mmmm. Very
much." His fingertips skimmed her spine and made her arch into him.

"As much as last
time?"

"Maybe more," he
answered with a low-pitched chuckle.

She propped herself up on
her elbow, fully intending to get to the root of their problem, but was struck
speechless by what she saw. Either she was dreaming or they had been
transported outdoors to a sun-drenched meadow filled with yellow and blue
flowers. A brightly colored butterfly hovered in front of her face then flitted
away before she could catch it.

"How in the
world—" Totally bewildered, she glanced at Gallant and knew from his
amused grin he was somehow responsible.

"This is how you make
me feel afterward," he said, and stroked her cheek.

Gradually, the meadow
misted over, until Cherry thought she had been enveloped by a fog, but she
could still see Gallant lying beside her as clearly as before. He blinked his
eyes, and instantly they were surrounded by a wall of dancing fire. Before
Cherry could voice her terror, it was replaced by the gray fog again.

"And that's how you
made me feel before," he said, sitting up beside her. He gave her a soft
kiss on her parted lips. "Now, see if you can guess what this is."

In a burst of colors and
light, extravagant fireworks silently exploded against a night-darkened sky,
then fell to the ground like a million twinkling stars.

Cherry gaped at the last
few sparks rekindling for a second before dying out. "That's what I see…
in my head… when we… but I thought you said you weren't telepathic."

"I'm not. That's what
I see also. But when I see things in my head, the images don't always stay
there."

They were back in the
meadow again and Cherry was more confused than ever. She ran her fingers over
the grass, but what she felt was the carpet. "We're still in the facility
chamber, right?"

"Right."

"I haven't been
suffering from space sickness, have I?" He gave her a sheepish look. "I
have the feeling you've just given me all the answers, but my brain is in
shock. What is this?"

"This is my admission
of defeat. You win."

Cherry laughed. "Great.
What were we playing:
¹
"

He gave her a brief smile,
then grew serious. "I'm not sure what it's called, but men and women have
been at it since the dawn of time. I was under the mistaken impression that if
I didn't agree to play, I could avoid the game. It was foolish of me to imagine
that I could be near you and not touch you." She narrowed her eyes at him
and he drew her back into his arms to lie down again.

With her head resting on
his chest and their legs twined together, he began with a question. "Before
I distracted you, you asked why it had to be like this. What did you
mean?"

She gave a little shrug. "I
was thinking about how you only wanted me when we were fighting, but I guess I
was really talking about everything that's been going on between us. I was
expecting you to say this was another mistake then push me away, like last
time, until the next argument."

"No, I won't do that
again. It's obvious that particular tactic didn't stop me from wanting you. As
you said, it's no longer reasonable for me to try to keep secrets from you. But
there's one condition to my complete honesty."

"You'll explain
everything? Complete honesty?" He nodded. "What's the
condition?"

"Stay here, in my arms
until I'm finished, no matter how it makes you feel."

She snuggled against him,
her body aroused almost as much as her curiosity. "You've got it. Shoot."

He took a deep breath. "I
told you the truth about my mission. What I didn't tell you was that I have a
personal stake in its outcome. Under normal circumstances, I would never have
involved you, but because of that stake, I was willing to do anything that
might speed it along."

Cherry's head shot up. "Are
you telling me that you kidnapped me and put my life at risk, and it wasn't
even necessary to the security of the universe?" She started to pull away
from him, but he held her in place.

"You promised to stay
until I'm finished. Perhaps I should ask you not to interrupt as well."

"You can ask, but it
won't do you any good. I'm a chronic interrupter." Though she made a face
at him first, she settled herself back in his arms. "Okay, I'll
try
not to ask too many questions. Go on."

"I told you that I
didn't know what my planet of origin was, but that was not entirely true
either."

"Surprise,
surprise."

He gave her a squeeze, but
went on. "When I was five, my foster parents realized I was different. At
first they were only concerned about how uncontrollable I was, but they kept
making excuses for my barbaric behavior. My mother tells me I was wild, but I
was also a very affectionate child, and that seemed to be all she really cared
about. Then they discovered my rather unique talent and had me examined by a
trusted physician."

"I assume that talent
is the ability to make things appear and disappear."

"Not quite. None of
what you see is actually here. It's three-dimensional and appears to be solid,
but it's still only an illusion. As a young boy, I didn't know how to control
the ability. Whatever image came to mind was instantly in front of me. If I was
angry at someone, ferocious monsters filled the room. If I was happy, it might
have been balloons. I still have a problem controlling the images if I'm highly
emotional, unless I'm wearing the eye patch. The doctor figured out I needed
both eyes to create, either on purpose or accidentally."

"Ah-hah. Now we're
getting somewhere. That's why you took it off on Zoenid; you
created
the drillfly that frightened Frezlo, didn't you?"

"Right. I just had no
idea he could be literally frightened to death by it."

"But I heard it
buzzing."

"Sound can be part of
the illusion."

"And Aster? When you
caught up with me you weren't wearing the patch then either."

"Yes. I knew that was
one person you would follow. I only saw her once so I wasn't sure I could
duplicate her face or voice well enough to fool you."

"Hmmph. So that's why
she didn't turn around. I know I'm taking this a little off the track, but how
did
you catch me so easily?"

He shook his head. "I
almost didn't. Mar-Dot signaled me just as I was boarding the shuttle to take
me to the Consociation headquarters. Fortunately, you weren't aware that their
telepathic abilities are strong enough to send messages."

"I should have
guessed. I've met plenty of people with extrasensory powers, and some of them
have that ability. I've never known anyone that can do what you do, though. You
said a doctor examined you. What did he come up with?"

"The physical
examination proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that I was humanoid, but not
Noronian, or from any other advanced civilization. Physiologically and
psychologically, I was a primitive, except for my power to create illusions. After
weighing all the facts, he came up with the only solution possible."

When he hesitated to
continue, she rapidly reviewed all the hints he had given her to date and came
up with a shocking conclusion. Her head bobbed up again. "You're an
Illusian?"

"It would seem
so." He didn't force her to lie down again, but neither did he meet her
gaze. The meadow faded, leaving the facility chamber looking as it normally
did.

"But how? You said
Illusia had a barrier around it that no one could penetrate."

"That's what everyone
thinks. But if I am of Illusian descent and I was found on Norona, how did I
get there? Am I a throwback from a mating that occurred four centuries ago, or
did someone manage to remove me from Illusia when I was a baby? And why only
me? Considering my mission, my presence on Norona could be a vital clue. If I
was
smuggled out, then the document could have been also, meaning it is legitimate
and important. Unfortunately, I can't share my knowledge with anyone."

"I don't
understand."

"My foster parents and
the doctor agreed that if anyone found out about my existence, I would be
exiled without being given a chance to prove that I could behave in a civilized
manner. The patch prevented me from accidentally revealing my secret ability. My
parents dyed the white streaks in my hair and trained me to control my emotions
in public. But I could never forget what I was hiding. The hatred and fear of
Illusians is very widespread. I could still be exiled today simply because of
my genetic makeup. Mar-Dot, and now you, are the only others who know the
truth."

"Holy stars. That's
why you're so worried about hurting me. You actually believe all those things
you were told about the Illusians are true about yourself."

He turned his unsmiling
face to hers. "I believe it because all those things are true." His
voice was charged with hostility. "You have no idea what I'm capable of. I
am
constantly
at war with this primitive nature of mine. But I had
been doing a formidable job of keeping my secret… until I ran up against
you."

"What's that supposed
to mean?"

"It means that, in
spite of all my training and good intentions, you make me act like a barbarian.
For whatever reason, you bring out the worst in me."