by Candace Sams
He held out his hand for her to shake. A greeting universally accepted on almost any world.
When she smilingly put her hand into his much larger grasp, he lifted it to his lips and pressed a very slow, lingering kiss on the top of her palm. Her mouth went dry and some inner desire she’d never experienced suddenly sprang to life.
No one had ever kissed her hand, even as a beauty pageant winner. All his sudden chivalry aside, some instinct still told her she should have kept her anonymity and never let this colossal, be-winged muscle man so near. There was no room in her life for romantic notions. Certainly there wasn’t time for them. She only had eighteen months left.
Because of the sultry way Datron Mann gazed down at her, it’d be all too easy to encourage a relationship where one or both of them would get hurt. But just for once, she wanted to do something wild and uninhibited.
“I-I’ll go make the call for room service,” she whispered.
“Take your time, Charlie. Choose whatever food you like.” He lifted one hand to touch her cheek. “I’m not in any hurry.”
Charlie backed away from him and turned to find the nearest wall computer. She took a great deal of time ordering their meal, as well as selecting an appropriate wine. As she did so, she sensed the big man standing behind her—too close. His breath warmed the back of her neck. And when she was through ordering, his fingers suddenly traced a pattern down her spine; her bare back due to the design of her ball gown.
She fought the instinct to tell him to go. It would be better if he did. But instinct had nothing to do with the warmth of Datron’s caress and how it made her feel.
Everything she’d ever wanted and couldn’t have flourished in that touch. She closed her eyes and mentally repeated two words.
“Just breathe.”
Chapter Five
Datron felt her shudder. Something about that innocent signal was gratifying.
Her small shiver of anticipation initiated protective urges that went straight to his soul and someplace much deeper. He’d bet his next pay voucher this tiny little morsel of a woman didn’t often entertain men in her room.
She seemed more coy and hesitant. Indeed, the little trouble-maker might not even be all that familiar with being intimate, though she at least had the acting ability to have dazzled him with her come-ons down in the ballroom.
When she slowly turned and faced him, Datron almost came undone witnessing the pure, innocent expression in her wide-eyed gaze. He couldn’t count her as a virgin. Intuition and her age signified the girl had likely been with men, hence her knowledge of the sexual innuendoes she’d relayed whilst playing her joke. But there was probably no one in her life that held her interest or claimed her heart. Hence the naiveté he sensed under the surface.
If he had to sum up her response to his presence in one word, he’d say she was a loner—unused to explaining her actions to anyone. Which would account for the reason she suddenly backed away, walked across the room, and poured them each a fresh drink. She was either frightened by the touch he’d just bestowed, or afraid of how good it felt. Either way, she’d definitely piqued his interest.
Charlie Grayson wasn’t like the other women he’d met on Earth, nor did she display any attributes of the star-chasing debutantes he frequently ran across when out on the town. There was something a bit deeper about her, something purer. The fact she’d played her prank on him in defense of her fellow pageant comrades proved she cared about people’s feelings. She wasn’t shallow.
He decided to take the conversation completely away from the intimacy of the moment and put it on something that would make her more comfortable. In that way, he could get to know her better.
“So…will you be leaving Oceanus soon?” he asked as she handed him his drink.
“I-I was actually gonna kick around your planet, take in the sights, then head off to Centaurus for the wine festival before going back to Earth. I figured, as long as I was in this sector of space, I might as well get a good look around.”
“Won’t your family miss you? Even with newly discovered wormholes in this part of the galaxy, you would have been gone from home some months. Assuming you still call Earth home.”
“I have no family. No one back on Earth or anywhere else to miss me. That means I can do as I please and maintain my total independence,” she told him. “What about you? I know from the judges’ biographies you have no mate or children, but there was nothing mentioned about your extended relations.”
He immediately felt guilt over not having familiarized himself with his fellow judges’ backgrounds. If he had, perhaps he’d have recognized Charlie right away. But at the time he’d been asked to take Keir’s place, he’d been quite busy outfitting the Valiant with some updated communication equipment. That had taken priority over the pageant specifics. He’d just shown up when required and done what was asked of him.
“I’ve no family left alive.” Then, he elaborated, hoping she might do the same with her own background. “My parents died in a transport accident when I was ten, my maternal grandparents raised me. They died some years later. I was eighteen when I left Valkyrie to join Oceanus’ enforcement cadre. And though I’ve been back to visit my world on numerous occasions, I now consider Oceanus my home.”
“You must be very proud. I understand you’re the first non-Oceanun to have ever been promoted to the rank of Starfighter Captain,” she acknowledged. “Knowing this world’s citizens have previously considered themselves both intellectually and philosophically superior to just about everyone else in the known galaxy, your promotion is certainly an accomplishment.”
He lifted one brow in acknowledgement of a trait his fellow Oceanus citizens often, if pompously, exhibited. “While I won’t comment on their former attitude, Oceanus has certainly embraced Earth customs and their language over the past two years. Even my crew walks around speaking nothing but Earth English and relaying data in Earth quotients. I’d have thought the novelty would have worn off but it hasn’t.”
Charlie nodded. “That’s probably because Keir Trask came back to this world as not only a former Mr. Interstellar Feller, but as an exemplary galactic ambassador in that same guise. He spent his time wisely on Earth and brought pride to his people. He dispelled a lot of misconceptions concerning Oceanuns.”
“Indeed,” Datron laughingly admitted.
Charlie tilted her head and stared up him. A quizzical expression lit her perfect features. He stared and waited to hear whatever she’d say. He had a feeling every syllable was going to be important and on levels he couldn’t yet imagine.
“All that being said… I have to say that I’m still quite puzzled about something.”
“Oh? And what is that?” he congenially asked before sipping his drink.
“Prior to Keir Trask’s winning the Mr. Interstellar Feller title, I’d would have thought he’d be shunned for even entering. For his part, a man like Keir would rather be eaten by Lortis Worms on Trillium Six than subject himself to the humiliation of being involved in a male beauty pageant.”
Datron tried to allay her inquisitive thoughts. The woman edged close to a truth that was none of her business. “You’re judging Oceanuns and my best friend a bit harshly.”
She shook her head. “I don’t think so. It’s always confused me why Oceanun authorities would even allow one of their enforcer captains to fly to Earth and enter a contest of that nature. And when you add in the fact Trask is a member of Oceanun’s royalty and in direct line for the throne…well his actions seem doubly strange.”
The look Charlie gave him contained all the guile of a master spy. He quickly lowered his gaze and stared into the contents of his glass. The woman was nothing if not intuitive. He’d have to be very careful with his words and actions. For the moment, he said nothing at all. It was better to let her surmise.
“Now that I think about it…why in the world would you, as Keir’s second-in-command, put your own name on an entry form? Was it a dare? A camarade
rie thing? I mean…you’re both Oceanun enforcers of the first rank. What could you possibly have thought to gain? If you had lost the competition, you’d both have been subjected to the worst kind of derision. You may have even have lost your ranks and positions for the rest of your lives.”
Her lovely, blue-green eyes narrowed, and he knew without a doubt this woman could and would ferret out the truth.
That undercover mission, though a little over two years ago, was still considered highly classified. Even the incarcerated smugglers kept their silence under threat of death. The stones they’d sought had never been used on them because the guards would have become suspicious of their captives’ change in attitude. And everyone who knew of them, whether friend or foe, was one more link that could be broken. Their existence had been kept so hushed that very few people had ever heard of them. Authorities wanted it kept that way. The entire affair to be handled on a need-to-know basis.
The woman standing before him exhibited the instincts of a Libran feline. He could almost see her neurons firing as curiosity drove her to question what no one else ever had. But if politicians or other enforcers had questioned their entrance into a male beauty pageant on Earth, highly placed authorities had found some quiet way to shut inquisitive mouths. For her own good, as well as for the integrity of that closed mission, he chose his response accordingly.
“Your attitude amazes me, Charlie. You know Oceanuns are willing to embrace Earth’s customs even to the extent they’d lay aside their own. These very actions negate notions that people here are or ever were the arrogant elitists others have labeled them. Every perception you’ve uttered has mistakenly been based on gossip.” He sat his glass down, put his hands behind his back, and pretended to be outraged over her assertions. “Keir Trask is one of my best friends. You’ve put me in the position of defending him when he needs no justification for his actions. You’ve dishonored his motives and therefore his good name. I happen to know he entered Electra’s pageant out of sheer optimism. He hoped to secure better relationships between his planet and yours, especially since it’s believed Oceanus and Earth share common, if distant, ancestry. My own world of Valkyrie shares those same genetic similarities—therefore my incentive was identical to Keir’s. There was no sinister motive for our actions.”
He lifted his nose slightly and relayed an even more believable reason for their entrance into the pageant. “The prizes offered to the winners were the greatest in history. A worthy incentive though it wasn’t our primary aim. But if you must assign some nefarious impetus to our actions…let it be greed. As to your claim that there’d be retribution because of our behavior, no one on Oceanus or Valkyrie would have shunned us or interfered with our careers had we lost the pageant. Simply put, we took the same chance you did when you entered the Miss Milky Way competition. I might just as easily question your motivation,” he assertively finished.
His defensive speech was well delivered, or so he thought. But unfortunately she didn’t look as if she bought his explanation. He saw it in the way her blue-green eyes narrowed once more.
“I did it because I needed the money to go to school,” she told him. “I even told the judges that during the competition.”
Charlie’s rather abrupt if honest response somewhat took the wind out of his sails. But her retort noted a kind of mercenary reason to enter a female pageant, even if for educational subsidy.
Try as he might, he couldn’t stem anger over explaining something he’d been categorically ordered to never speak about. Who was she to question him this way? Why did her queries seem so suspicious?
His antagonist suddenly relented by putting up her hands and gently lifting her shoulders and letting them fall. The gesture was one of contrition though he was sure she wasn’t done with the subject.
“Look, I didn’t mean to sound as if I was interrogating you or casting disparagement on your friend,” she apologized. “I simply put into words what millions of others were thinking at that time. It was extraordinary for anyone from Oceanus to enter Electra Galaxy’s contest. Oceanuns weren’t even allowed on Earth because of ongoing trade disputes. An unusual exception was made so Keir and you could enter the pageant. What’s even more interesting is no one actually knew you or Keir were working with Oceanus law enforcement authorities until well after the pageant was over. That rather interesting fact somehow got overlooked by the press. It also wasn’t in your biographies. I recall reading them.”
He knew their real occupations hadn’t been overlooked by the media at all. To dispel any suspicions about their cover story―as being two normal pageant entrants from their respective planets―no mention was ever made about their police jobs on Oceanus. Indeed, Sagan Carter, their Earth Protectorate contact, had gone to great pains to hide what they really did for a living. At the time, the paparazzi had been all over the contest. He and Keir didn’t want the smugglers―who were also posing as contest entrants―to know they were Oceanus enforcers. That would certainly have given away their mission.
Right now—in a place and time very incongruous—all the stories that so carefully hid the past were being questioned, they were being found flimsy by one very astute, waif-of-a-woman.
Charlie Grayson irked him with her suspicious insight. Simultaneously, she intrigued him. He didn’t think he’d ever run across any female, besides Sagan or Electra, quite so astute.
“Tell me,” Datron carefully queried, “why are you so suspicious of Keir and me? I admit our entering the contest seemed odd. We basically did it on a lark as you Earthlings would say. But we won fair and square. There was no collusion or tampering with any judges. You must have seen us compete.”
“I did,” Charlie agreed. “And like every other woman who breathes air, I was entirely impressed. And I have to admit something else as well.”
Datron crossed his arms over his chest, expecting another round of perceptive if distrustful observations. “Yes?”
“I really wanted the both of you to win. I couldn’t make up my mind which, but I couldn’t see any other competitors coming close to you or Keir Trask. Electra, like the cooperate sponsors of the Miss Milky Way pageant, doesn’t run a shabby show. She picked judges who knew what they were doing. That’s why I was so glad to see you’d agreed to stand in Keir’s place for this pageant. If he couldn’t judge this year’s Miss Milky Way entrants, then you were a perfect replacement. I was so dismayed when you acted as if you’d rather be boiled in oil than hear one more of the ladies’ interviews. I think my perception of you fell. I’d put you on a chivalrous pedestal and had to watch you slip a bit…a little like watching a knight’s armor tarnish.”
Her softly spoken words hit home, as did the disappointed expression on her lovely face. He’d already apologized for having impugned his and Keir’s integrity, but it now became a moral imperative he salvage his image. He moved closer to her. “We’re back to where we started when we first met. This has adversely affected you, perhaps more than you realize. I won’t be the cause of such disenchantment. What can I do to make amends?”
She shrugged. “I’ll have to get over it. I tend to expect more of people than they’re capable of giving. It’s a fault I really need to work on.”
He lifted his left hand and cupped her cheek. “That’s not a fault. It’s a testament to trust. At any rate…I won’t let this go. If it’s a mythical warrior you’re after, I’d like to put myself back in line for the job.”
“Why? Why do you care what I think? You don’t even know me.”
“That’s another matter I’d like to address.” He leaned down and would have kissed her sweet, gloss-covered lips but the door buzzer sounded.
“I-I think that’s our f-food,” Charlie stammered and hurried to the door.
She quickly ushered in the staff delivering their food, and waited for them to arrange it attractively on the suite dining table. She remained silent until they left.
“Look, I know you’re used to seducing women, but please don’t p
ut me on your list,” she requested. “I thought you understood the come-on downstairs was just horseplay. It was just as wrong for me to play that prank and to accuse you of rude behavior as it was for you to act so uppity with the girls in the first place. So, let’s just say we’re even and eat our meal. Okay?”
For the first time in his life, Datron knew rejection from a woman. Actually, he had made a play for Sagan, but her heart had always belonged to Keir. And that half-hearted romantic attempt had been successfully covered up by the same kind of horseplay tactic Charlie had pulled on him. He’d made a big joke out of ever having wanted Sagan in the first place.
Now, all that business about secret yearnings of the past—yearnings he’d futilely hidden from his friends—seemed to dim. He faced a real challenge this time. This fair damsel didn’t seem encumbered by her feelings for another man. So, why wasn’t his much vaunted and almost legendary charm working? Aside from her intelligence, what made Charlie Grayson different from every other female he’d met?
After pulling out a chair for her, Datron took his place on the other side of the table. Perhaps he could find another way to crack the ice around this little package of exuberance. He watched as she uncovered the superbly presented food and thought of at least one topic that couldn’t possibly offend.
“So… it’s obvious you have a high degree of expertise concerning state-of-the-art infusion engines. May I ask where you got such training?”
“California Institute of Engineering and Higher Mathematics in Los Angeles. Of course, I’d had experience working on all kinds of engines before I went to school. I got extra tuition money by tuning up and re-building old class-two freighters. I repaired all kinds of electrical equipment and household appliances when I was a kid.”
He grinned. “You were one of those children who loved to take things apart and put them back together?”
