Ride the Stars

by Autumn Dawn

  “So what did you really do after you left home?” she asked, nibbling on her dinner.

  Chrys smiled. “I attended military academy. Hard to believe, huh? From there I was recruited to work with the Draconian Security. They liked the way I flew. As you’ve probably figured out, I’m now an officer with them.”

  “And in his spare time he kicks tail in the laser hunter arena,” Belsi added with a grin. “What a man!”

  Jaide laughed with Chrys. Belsi truly was irrepressible.

  They dropped Belsi off first before Chrys took Jaide home. On the way she asked him, “So what about Belsi? She’s cute.”

  “She’s Draconian,” Chrys answered dryly without taking his eyes off the road. “I’d have better luck winning the lottery than hoping for her brother’s permission. You have no idea how protective they can be. Besides, she’s too young.”

  “Twenty to your thirty-two.” Jaide mulled it over. “You’re right, you’re too much of an old man for her.”

  Chrys shot her an irritated look.

  She rubbed her jaw to hide her smile. “Besides, in a couple of years you won’t even notice women. I’ll have to buy you a cane and find you a nurse.”

  He grinned. “Make that a pretty nurse and you’re on. I’ll be happy to show her my cane.” When she choked, he added, “Besides, your husband is older than I am. Is he losing interest in you?” His knowing look caused her to blush.

  “None of your business!”

  “I’m just curious when I’ll be an uncle.” He eyed her. “You’d tell me if you were expecting, wouldn’t you?”

  Face on fire, she slouched in her seat and stared firmly out the window. “I’m not.”

  “Why not?”

  She stared at him. “What’s your rush? I just got back. Maybe I’d like to think it over first.”

  “No rush. I just like kids, that’s all. I’m looking forward to being an uncle. I’ll bring your kids presents, take them in my ship, turn them into brats and then send them home.” He grinned. “Can’t wait.”

  Jaide grunted. “To hear my husband talk, the moment I have kids he’s going to try and lock me away someplace ‘safe’ while he continues to roam all over the universe. Maybe I’m not willing to give up my freedom.”

  Chrys sighed. “Talk about it with him. He’s not as traditional as he’d like to think. These years away from the core of the Draconian society have changed him. Tell him what you’d like to do with your life and how you’d like to run the family and I’m sure he’ll work with you. One warning, though. Don’t think he’ll agree to allow anyone but the two of you to raise your kids. He’ll agree to let Belsi, Vasha and Domino help out with the kids now and then, won’t be able to stop them,” he said with a grin, “but no day care, no nannies. He’ll hire a ship load of servants to run the house if you like, but as for kids, you produce them, you’ll raise them.”

  “Huh.” In a way she agreed with that philosophy, but on the other hand she’d go crazy if she never had the time to work on her own projects. She needed a creative outlet of her own. “I’ll think it over.”

  “How was your evening?” Skye asked as she came in the door of Domino’s suite. “Did it go well?”

  He pretended nonchalance, but she wasn’t fooled. Unwilling to go into it just now, she said merely, “Fine.”

  Nonplused, he nodded. “Good. Did you go out to eat?”

  She shrugged her jacket off and hung it in the closet. “Yep. I’ll have to take you there sometime.”

  Frustrated, he frowned and set down the mug he’d been sipping from. “What about your brother?”

  Jaide plopped down on the couch. “What about him? By the way, I think we ought to talk about kids.”

  Thrown off balance, he crossed his arms and stared at her from his seat at the bar. “What about them?”

  “I was thinking about them tonight, about how much care they needed when they are little and stuff. I also know that while I like to cook and don’t mind doing housework, ships are my first love. It seems like we could hire someone to take care of the house while I took care of the kids. We could build a playroom off my garage so I could work while they nap and stuff. If it had a clear wall and I carried a portable monitor it wouldn’t be a problem. Maybe I could even hire help to do stuff while my hands were full of baby, if need be. I’d have the best of both worlds.”

  His brow knit as he studied the floor thoughtfully. “It might work.”

  A little relieved to have so easily solved that problem, she launched into the next. “I still have a problem with you being gone all the time, though. You’re so worried about me staying home and being a good mom, but you don’t seem to think twice about chasing off for weeks after criminals. Isn’t there something else you could do closer to home?”

  Instantly on the defensive, he opened his mouth to list the reasons it wasn’t possible and never would be. The tension on her face made him shut it. She’d been very reasonable and willing to compromise for him. The least he could do was think about it. “I’ll consider it,” he said reluctantly.

  Surprised, her eyes widened. “Wow! Thank you.” She’d never expected such a concession from him.

  A little soothed at the sight of her smile, Skye joined her on the couch. One arm slipped around her back and he nuzzled her neck. “When did you wish to conceive these children?”

  Jaide shivered as his canines teased her skin. “I think we need more practice, first.”

  “You’re sure?” He gently nipped the skin, making her moan.

  “Um...” That was the end of the conversation for a while.

  The next morning Jaide walked into the common room and received a shock. A woman sat at the bar. Her hair was darkened to Draconian black and her eyes were the color of gold coins, but Jaide would know those features anywhere. Two black haired toddlers sat at her feet, nibbling on biscuits.

  “Sesame?”

  “Hello, Jaide.” Sesame smiled. “Miss me?”

  One of the toddlers looked up and smiled a cookie-crumb grin at Sesame. “Mama.”

  “Mama?” Disoriented, Jaide blinked. Sesame, a mother?

  Sesame smiled gently at the little girl and cooed in agreement, “Mama.”

  Before Jaide could recover the use of her tongue and inquire about the father, Nemesis walked in.

  “Jaide,” he nodded at her. He took Sesame in his arms and gifted her with a long, hungry kiss. “Miss me?”

  “Definitely.” Sesame sounded a little breathless.

  That did it. Overwhelmed, Jaide sat down hard, half falling on the couch. Her brain just couldn’t process the change in Sesame. What else had happened in the two years she’d been gone?

  “Don’t mind them,” Lore counseled as he entered behind Nemesis. “They get like that when they haven’t seen each other for, oh, about half an hour.”

  “Jealous,” Nemesis accused smugly.

  “Much,” Lore agreed with good humor. “Where’s the food?”

  Mute with astonishment, Jaide spent most of the meal trying to absorb the changes. Much of her time was spent staring at the children.

  “Is it that shocking?” Sesame finally asked.

  “I still can’t believe it. You, the mother of twins?”

  “Twin girls,” Sesame said smugly, causing her husband to color and Domino and Skye to shift in embarrassment. They were still not used to the human penchant for talking openly about things their culture considered personal. “Not bad for a cranky human, is it?”

  A grunt was Jaide’s only answer since she’d already offered her congratulations. It was nothing short of astonishing how thrilled the once-independent Sesame was about her motherhood. Although she understood the smugness-Skye had explained to her how rare the birth of females was among Draconians-she wasn’t so sure she could handle twins herself. Nor could she imagine walking around with a swollen middle. “Did you enjoy the pregnancy?”

  “Are you kidding?” Sesame glared at Nemesis as if it were all his fault.
“I was so miserable I wanted to die half the time. This goon didn’t even ask my permission first.”

  Nemesis raised an arrogant brow. “I didn’t hear any complaints at the time.”

  Sesame snorted, but otherwise ignored his comment. “Just beware of biting Dracs,” she muttered.

  “Biting...?” Confused, Jaide looked around at the suddenly and unanimously embarrassed males. She fingered the tiny pinpricks she’d found on her neck that morning. Last night Skye had nipped her a little hard during the love bite he’d been giving her. At the time she’d felt so good she’d had no interest in protesting, especially when he’d soothed her by.…She shook her head to clear her brain. “What do you mean?”

  Instead of looking at her, Sesame’s eyes narrowed on Skye. “You didn’t.” Her tone was hard and flat. “Not after seeing the strain it put on me and Nemesis’ relationship.”

  Skye cleared his throat. “It’s not your concern, Sesame.”

  She half rose. “The heck it isn’t! She’s still my friend. When are you Dracs going to learn to ask first?”

  Jaide’s eyes darted warily between the combatants. “What are you talking about?”

  “Skye bit you, didn’t he?”

  Hot color rose in Jaide’s face. “So?”

  Sesame shook her head in impatience. “He injected you with hormones to trigger pregnancy. You’re pregnant, Jaide.”

  Stunned, Jaide stared at her. “But it’s not that time of the month.” Or was it? Her cycle had been a bit irregular since she’d come back.

  “It’s always that time when you’re married to a Drac.” Sesame glared at Nemesis as if it were all his fault. “The stuff will stay in your system until your body is ready to receive it. It’s tenacious stuff.”

  Ire began to replace surprise. Jaide stared at Skye. “You did this without asking?”

  “You brought it up last night. Nor did you specifically say no when I asked.”

  “You distracted me!”

  Lore and Domino quietly left.

  “I apologize.” He didn’t look apologetic. “I’ll ask next time.”

  Incensed, Jaide stomped to their room and slammed the door.

  It crashed back open a moment later as Skye entered, his face thunderous. “I hate it when you walk away from me!”

  “You’ll get over it faster than I'll get over this!” She gestured to her stomach. “I’m not ready, Skye! We’re not ready. We don’t even have a house.”

  “We’ll look today.”

  Robbed of that argument, she paced. “I don’t know anything about kids.”

  “Spend time with Sesame. She’ll teach you everything she knows.”

  She clenched her fists. “Stop being so reasonable! Can’t you see I’m trying to fight with you?”

  Skye sighed and went to her. Lacing her resisting hand with his, he rested his forehead against hers. “I’m not going to walk off and leave you, Jaide. We can do this.”

  Much of the battle went out of her. There was no point in fighting with the blockhead. He’d only wear her down. “I want a house as soon as we can find a good one,” she said grouchily.

  “Done.”

  “And a housekeeper.” She wanted to make sure he wasn’t going to expect her to be Harriet Homemaker.

  “Two if you like.” He rubbed her back.

  “Garage?”

  “I’ll enjoy working with you out there in the evenings. We just have to be careful not to expose you to toxic chemicals.”

  Mostly mollified, she subsided. She was surprised she wasn’t more mad at him. Oddly enough the idea of having a baby didn’t sound so bad. “I hope it’s a boy.”

  He pulled back and looked at her askance. “You do?”

  “Sure. How many girls will want to do the things I like?”

  Skye just shook his head and took her in his arms again.

  It took nearly a month of searching before they finally found a place that satisfied their requirements. Equipped with its own landing pad, a rooftop garden, attached conservatory, garage and five acres, it was more than satisfactory.

  Skye didn’t even blink at the price.

  “We’ll take it,” he told the realtor as they stood within the spacious living room. “But this white carpet has got to be colored. I’ve seen what Sesame’s daughters do to her floor.”

  “It’s specially treated, sir. Guaranteed not to stain,” the realtor assured him.

  “So was Nemesis’,” Skye returned, unimpressed. “Trust me, kids can destroy anything.”

  “It has holo systems in all the rooms,” Jaide reported in amazement, returning from her re-inspection of another part of the house. She’d never heard of such an extravagance. She looked at Skye anxiously. “Are you sure we can—”

  “We can.” He took her hand and kissed it. “As soon as we sign the papers we can begin shopping for furniture.”

  For a woman who claimed to want a boy because she wasn’t good with girl stuff, her eyes sure lit up.

  They returned to Domino’s that afternoon. They’d barely walked in the door when Jaide got a call from the man who’d designed the Splinter’s technology.

  Surprised, Jaide flipped off the answering mechanism and flipped on the view screen. “Hey, Doc. What’s up?”

  In his early thirties, dressed in a lab coat, Doc’s hair was shorter than she remembered it. The brown locks stood up in unruly spikes. “I’m not sure how to tell you this.” He looked grim. “But I think there might be a problem with the phase technology. I’ve found some suspicious signs in my lab animals. I’d like to run a few tests on you to see if I’m imagining things.”

  “What kind of signs?” Skye demanded, coming closer.

  Doc’s gaze flicked off to the side. A tiny bead of sweat rolled down his temple. He blotted it with his sleeve. “In your cells. Cellular damage. It’s best if we treat it right away.”

  Skye’s frown smoothed. “Then we’ll be there right away. I won’t have my wife’s health jeopardized by delay.”

  Strangely Doc didn’t look relieved. He sent an almost angry look off screen. “Good. We’ll see you soon.” The screen went blank.

  Jaide frowned at it. “That was weird. Doc tested everything obsessively before he allowed me to try it. I wish I could say the same about the others. To discover a problem at this late date.…”

  “There’s nothing wrong with you.” Skye keyed in a number. “I want you to stay with Sesame while I’m gone.”

  “What!”

  “You’re not flying into a trap. Especially not now.” Nemesis’ image came on screen. “Nemesis? We have a problem.”

  Foot tapping and arms crossed, she waited impatiently for him to finish his call. “It might not be a trap, you know.” She didn’t outright say that he could be paranoid. “Besides, what do you think will happen when the Splinter doesn’t show up, but a Draconian warship does?” If this was some sort of scheme of Quadril’s, he wasn’t going to take kindly to the arrival of his erstwhile companions.

  “We’re not taking a known ship in close, Jaide. We know what we’re doing.”

  She followed him to the bedroom and watched as he packed a small bag. “Fine. It still doesn’t mean I can’t do something to help.”

  “You can.” He sealed the bag and gave her a quick kiss as he walked past. “You can stay with Sesame and keep her out of trouble.”

  Jaide pulled a face. “Gee, thanks.” Reluctance aside, she was packed and ready shortly after he was.

  Sesame was no more thrilled to see Nemesis leave than Jaide felt. For a long moment she scowled at the door after the men left. She sighed and attempted a wicked grin. The effort came out half-hearted. “So, what kind of trouble do you think we can get into while they’re gone?”

  Not much, it turned out. Draconian security closed tightly around them in their husband’s absence. Everywhere they went arrangements were made ahead of time to secure private dinning rooms or accommodations. Crowded situations were completely off-limits. After
three days of tinkering in Sesame’s workshop, Jaide had had enough.

  “I’m going to go visit Vasha and Belsi,” she declared, tossing a tool in the chest and slamming the drawer. She stripped out of her coveralls and tossed them on the chest. “Want to come?”

  Deep in a project, Sesame shook her head. Every minute of her children’s nap time was strictly set aside for the execution of her newest idea.

  “Suit yourself.”

  The ride to Belsi and Vasha’s studio was relaxing. Jaide hadn’t realized how cooped up she’d felt. Odd, she used to be able to work for days on end without noticing the passing time. Now she’d become restless, unable to concentrate. Is this what love did to one? How was she supposed to cope with Skye if he persisted in chasing off all over the galaxy without her?

  Determined it wasn’t going to happen like that, she exited the transport, feeling somewhat like a reluctant celebrity with the corridor of black clad security around her. Not only that, they were making her paranoid, too.

  If Belsi was bothered by the increased protection around herself she didn’t show it. She bounced right up and gave Jaide a big hug. “Hi! How are you doing, sister?”

  Jaide gave her a rueful grin. “As well as I can be given I can’t sneeze without an audience. How do you do it?”

  Belsi linked arms with her and led her toward the set. “I just be myself and let them do their job.” Leaning closer, she confided, “The only people who really ever annoy me are my brothers.”

  Jaide laughed. “I can see why.”

  Stage lights shown on the blank screen behind the stage area. In the more shadowed place behind the lights, Belsi introduced Jaide to her director. Tall, thin and good-looking in a Latin sort of way, he had a quick energy about him that made her understand his appeal to Vasha.

  “Lady D’rath,” he bowed slightly over Jaide’s hand. “It’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance. Would it please you to watch Belsi’s performance today?” He gestured to a nearby chair.

  “Thank you. I’d like that.”

  The crew took their places and turned on the holo projectors. Soon Jaide was caught up in the drama of the action adventure being filmed. Belsi truly was talented.