by Lakes, Lynde
“Mona, this is Darli.” Please don’t let my voice give away my uneasiness.
“Darli, I’m so glad you called. Can Greg ever forgive me for doubting him?”
In spite of her rapidly pounding heart, Darli forced a light tone. “You doubted him?”
“I should have known,” Mona said. “But when that man showed up claiming to be Greg, I got confused. Even though thinner, he looked so much like him. In ways, he seemed more like Greg than Greg himself. He really got to me. But when I insisted upon fingerprints, he took off.”
“Did he say where he was going?”
“He threatened to go to Honolulu and face Greg.”
Darli prayed Mona wouldn’t ask if they’d seen him.
“Before he disappeared, I bought his whole story,” Mona said. “Yet a part of me wasn’t sure, so I called Dr. Steina and asked her opinion. She told me she had no reason to doubt Greg’s identity. But, in spite of what she told me, I thought Greg should be questioned. The police here in California agreed to contact the Honolulu Police Department.”
“Yes. We talked to them.”
“I’m so embarrassed,” Mona said. “If only the guy hadn’t been so convincing. He knew everything about our lives. And the likeness was incredible. Honestly, Darli, I’ll bet even you would have had trouble telling them apart. The only thing that seemed wrong was his refusal to talk to the police. He said he didn’t have to prove who he was.”
Darli’s hands trembled so hard she could barely hold the telephone. She heard Cortz’s soft breathing on the other line. She yearned to touch him, to give him comfort.
“I feel so guilty,” Mona said. “I shouldn’t have doubted Greg. Is he there?”
“I’m here…” Cortz sounded choked up as though he had trouble speaking past the lump in his throat. He took a deep breath. “If it’ll help, we’ll come stay with you for a few days.”
“Yes…yes…come,” Mona said. “I would feel better if I could see you.”
“Mona,” Darli cut in, “I have news. You’re going to be an aunt.”
“Really?” Joy filled Mona’s voice. Then she insisted upon hearing everything. The longer they talked about the baby, the safer Darli felt.
When she finally hung up, she raced into the kitchen and into Cortz’s arms. “I have mixed emotions. I feel guilty and relieved at the same time.”
“Me too. I took Greg’s identity and it ended his life.” His eyes glistened with moisture.
“He made the choice. You tried to stop him.”
“Poor guy. But I can’t change what’s been done.” Cortz raked his hand through his hair. “It’s so unfair. It shouldn’t have happened.”
Darli touched Cortz’s face, wishing there was a way to ease his pain. “If Dr. Steina hadn’t warned me, the police might have picked you up right away and found out the truth.”
“Remind me to send her a dozen roses.”
“Make it two dozen,” Darli whispered. The loud ring of the telephone made Darli flinch. “Don’t answer it!”
“Why? We’re safe now.”
“It might take me awhile to believe that.”
Cortz held her closer as he lifted the receiver. His voice was deep and confident. “Yes?”
“Can we get together?” Mario asked.
“It’s been a rough day, Mario. How about tomorrow?”
“I need to talk to you tonight,” Mario insisted. “The guilt is eating me up.”
“It’s all right, Mario. I know you were only following orders. We can talk tomorrow. We’ll all have dinner together. But tonight, Darli and I have other plans.”
As Cortz hung up the phone he said, “You were right about Mario.”
“I wonder if Keiko knows?”
“If she does, we’ll have to persuade her to forgive him. We can’t have our best friends angry at each other.” Cortz grinned and drew her closer. “And speaking of friends, now that my identity is cleared, I want to bring Hap here. That is…if it’s all right with you?”
“We have so much. We can afford to share it.”
“I’ll find the best hospital on the island, and we can bring him home with us from time to time.”
“When he comes,” Darli said, “he can stay in the guest apartment over the garage. It will give him a place of his own.”
Cortz touched Darli’s face. Her compassion was one of the many things he loved about her. He didn’t expect the longing that surged through him when he felt her silky skin. Need tore at him. He pulled Darli tight against his body. Her curves were soft, warm. “What do you say we finish this conversation upstairs?”
Darli nodded and he swept her into his arms, carrying her effortlessly up the wide stairway toward the bedroom. He lowered her onto the bed. She moved to the center and patted a place next to her.
****
Darli stiffened when Cortz said, “We have a few things to clear up.” He stretched out and faced her. He cupped her face between his hands and kissed her forehead.
“Like what?” She wrinkled her brow as a trickle of fear slid down her spine. He smoothed her forehead with the tips of his fingers.
“Like how happy I am that you’re having my baby.” His tone came out deep and his words a little shaky.
Relieved, she said, “I know, darling, I know.”
Cortz stroked her shoulders.
She smiled and sighed in contentment. “I feel so loved and safe in your arms.”
Shadows of coming evening darkened the room. The fragrance of plumeria blossoms floated through open terrace doors from the garden below. Slightly humid air closed around them.
“Cortz,” she said softly, feeling hesitant. “How do you feel about losing the spaceship and being stuck here for life?”
“We’re alive together. That’s what’s important.”
“But, it’s so final.”
“You forget my love, I’m an inventor. If I set my mind to it, I can rebuild the spaceship.”
She shivered. “But will you?”
Cortz didn’t answer.
He was silhouetted in the dim glow of the apricot sunset. When he bent closer, she saw his grin and the teasing ruby glints in his eyes. She smiled. There was nothing to worry about. She lay back in his arms, listening to the timeless sound of breaking surf, praying she was right.
Epilogue
Five years after the U.S. Government destroyed his spaceship, Cortz, Darli, and their daughter Celestia soared high above Earth. It was the week following the successful test lift of his spaceship. Today, after receiving clearances from the government, he was sharing that triumph with his family. His pulse raced. He looked at Celestia asleep against Darli’s shoulder. Love filled his heart. He winked at Darli. Her eyes glowed with pride, and her face was a rosy vision of excitement…and incredible beauty.
He turned off the crisscross-air-pattern shield that held Darli firm and took Celestia from her arms. His daughter’s violet eyes, framed with lush silver lashes, opened briefly and then closed again as her soft arms circled his neck. Her platinum hair felt silky against his face and her fresh, little girl, strawberry-popsicle scent floated around him. He kissed her forehead and hugged her to his chest before laying her into the Cinderella-pink sleep compartment. When he handed her the teddy bear, she cuddled around it. He marveled at her. She had skin like her mother but a sweet precocious personality all her own. He patted her for a second then tiptoed out and closed the door.
In the control area, he touched a switch and the cabin lights lowered. Darli stood by the dome looking out. He glanced past her. Sunlight sparkled on the hard silver surface of the craft and threw a glare onto the transparent dome. In spite of the dazzle, Cortz spied earth. From their distance, it looked like a blue marble, rippled dark and light. He stared at it for a moment, and then, more interested in the human beauty within his reach, he wrapped his arms around Darli and pressed his lips to the back of her hair. She turned in his arms and looked up at him. Her green eyes were luminous, her lips dewy an
d inviting. He pressed the control switch behind Darli and the viewer dome-cover closed.
“Celestia is sound asleep,” Cortz said. “It’s time for some intergalactic play.”
“What do you have in mind?”
He loved the purr-like quality in her tone. “We have an ancient custom on Uraticus for spacecraft launches.”
“Hmm. Ever celebrate such a launch?”
“No, but it’s been a fantasy of mine since the day I designed the craft.” Cortz slowly unzipped her spacesuit to the waist, wishing he could rip it off. He kissed the arch of her throat.
****
Darli trembled at the rush of passion that surged through her. The idea of making love while soaring above Earth excited her. She lifted her face toward Cortz, eager for the delight of his voracious vibrating lips.
Kissing and caressing each other past the bulky spacesuits proved frustrating. They drew apart and helped each other out of the restricting garbs. They giggled at their weightlessness as they kept floating away from each other. Cortz pushed the cabin stabilizer button to correct the problem. When they stood nude beneath the glow of the blinking panel of control lights, Cortz trailed kisses from her earlobe to the hollow of her neck. His chest was hard against her bare breasts. Her hands sought the familiar texture of his skin, and her fingers spread against the smooth tautness of his shoulder muscles.
“Ready to soar with me?” Cortz murmured against her lips.
Darli quivered. “Oh, yes. Take me to the moonlit sky of rising passion and exploding stars.”
The ruby flecks in his brown eyes glowed without restraint. He lifted her off her feet, carried her to their king-sized sleeping compartment, and laid her back on cloud-soft cushions. He slipped in beside her and trailed a zigzagging path of kisses from her shoulder to her navel. With his magic deft fingers, he sought her intimate softness. The warmth in her heart reached out to him while she reveled in physical delight. He found her quick-surge hotspot and she arched in pleasure. He eased into her wet heat. She undulated and twisted beneath him in abandon, urging him on.
But he moved slowly, rhythmically like the rotation of the earth or the flow of the tide. “Please, Cortz!”
At her demand, he increased his pace and she responded with urgency. He vibrated inside until her passion soared like a meteorite streaking through the heavens. Then, like two stars colliding, they met in ecstasy—a splendid union of worlds.
Later, resting in his arms exhausted and content, she whispered, “This may turn out to be my favorite place to make love.”
Cortz smiled. “You like to make love everywhere.”
“Everywhere with you.”
“Aren’t you the least bit afraid?”
“Of what?” She stared up at him.
“That this may be more than a test flight? That we may be on our way to Uraticus?”
“No. I know you too well. You’re too Earthified! You wouldn’t fit in with Uraticeans anymore.”
“Is that so?” His voice was deep, teasing.
“Exactly so. Someday you may want to visit Uraticus, or you wouldn’t have built this craft. But you love Earth as much as I do. Your work to save the environment has proven that.”
“You’re right on all but two counts.”
Darli felt a twinge of concern. “Oh? Which two?”
“I would have worked to save the environment whether I loved Earth or not. Stopping pollution on Earth preserves the delicate balance of space, which saves not only this planet but Uraticus as well. Remember, that was the reason the Uraticean government sent me here.”
Darli sent him a look of in mock indignation. “You told me you came to discover and marry me.”
“That was my reason, not my government’s.”
“And my other misconception?”
“You said I wouldn’t have built the spacecraft if I didn’t intend to go back. The truth is I built it to prove it could be done. And I’m afraid you’re right. I am too Earthified to live anywhere else. I’ve changed too much. Going back would be impossible.”
“But you miss your parents and friends.”
“Talking to them through my interspace transmitter helps.”
Filled with a rush of overwhelming love, she kissed his shoulder. He’d come a long way since the night the Uraticean spacecraft plunged into the ocean. The only reminder that he was from another planet was the endearing way the ruby flecks in his eyes glowed with emotion. Would he ever change his mind? I’ll worry about that liftoff if and when it ever comes.
With a light heart, she cuddled closer to Cortz…her star fallen lover.
The End
www.lyndelakes.com
Other Books by Lynde Lakes:
Murder in the Clear Zone
Pointing Leaf
Primitive Flame
Silent Cymbals
Evernight Publishing
http://www.evernightpublishing.com
