Moonbeams and magic (24 page)

"I have no doubt you are the perfect woman for me, my destined mate, my partner in all things," Dagan murmured. / must find a way to keep you, but also do my duty. How, I don't know at this time.

Dagan's mouth slanted across Starla's in a tender kiss to which she responded with eagerness. Many others followed, the pressure of his lips varying from gentle and soft to firm and dem^anding. His deft hands roamed her back and his mouth soon journeyed down her neck and over her ears, driving her wild with feverish cravings.

Starla yearned to feel her bare skin making contact with his. She wriggled her fingers between them and removed her top, then his, with Dagan helping her to peel off their garments. Her senses were alive, responsive, enchanted. She pressed her hips to his, bringing their fiery loins into snug and tantalizing proximity.

Dagan's body begged for appeasement. He trembled from need and in a battle for self-control. Her mouth seemed to ravish his with undeniable urgency. His tension increased

and he wondered if he could explode just from touching her and being touched by her. No female had aroused him to such great heights of hunger, to such near mindless abandonment of will and wits. His knees felt weak and shaky, so he lifted her and carried her to his sleeper where they reclined.

His hands fondled and kneaded her breasts, their buds growing hard beneath his fingers. His mouth joined them to labor lovingly on their points, to circle their mounds, and to delve into the valley between them. Soon, one hand drifted down her rib cage, moving slowly and sensuously over each bone. His palm flattened over her stomach and moved fi:om hipbone to hipbone as he relished the smooth and warm surface, each trip carrying it lower and lower.

Starla quivered in anticipation, then squirmed in delight as his fingers explored the pulsing nub and silky folds surrounding it. She trailed her fingertips over his broad back and shoulders, stroking the soft covering over his hard frame. She wanted him to continue this thrilling sport, but her body begged to have him within her. "Take me, Dagan," she panted. "Make me yours forever; I can wait no longer to bond with you."

His mouth trekked back to hers and melded their lips as he moved atop her. He entered her feminine domain and reveled in the welcome he received. He began to thrust and withdraw as he kissed and caressed her. His desires heightened, his pleasures intensified. When passion threatened to overwhelm him, he paused for a few moments and took several deep breaths, retreating until only the tip of his organ was poised at her rosy portal. But Starla's hands and mouth protested the delay and her hips and legs urged him to resume his previous actions. "Easy, my love;" he chided. "I want you so fiercely I can barely stay within you without losing all control."

Starla murmured in his ear, "There's no need for control or hesitation, my beloved."

Heat and suspense rose in her loins as he slipped within her. Sparks of ecstasy licked over her body, dazed her mind. Those tiny jolts built into powerful ones that staggered her senses and swept her away to a glorious climax. She gave herself totally to him and to the blissful experience.

For a wild minute, Dagan speculated that her responses were oddly and strongly similar to Yana's. Though the sultry Asisan was pleasurable and beautiful in a physical sense, Starla had so much more to offer him. Again, he briefly worried about his love and desire for the space pirate conflicting with his duty. Even so, his wits scattered and his heart pounded as she once more confessed her feelings for him.

"I love you, Dagan Latu, and I've never wanted a man as I desire you. This might be the craziest thing I've ever done, but I can't help myself."

He echoed her fiery sentiments. "I love and desire you, Starla Vedris, more than you can know or imagine." He buried his face in her flowing brown hair and thrust into her until every drop of love's nectar was spent. This may be the most reality-impaired thing I've done, but I can't help myself, either Whatever your magic is, my radiant and potent moonbeam, I'm enchanted by it and you.

Afterward, almost breathless from their exertions but sated to a supreme level, they cuddled in each other's arms, sharing and savoring their closeness and serenity.

"You're miine, Starla, tonight and forever."

"If it's possible one deega, I do want a future with you," she said with certainty.

"As soon as I earn enough to buy another ship, we're gone from this perilous place and existence." What if, he worried, she offers you her ship? Clear your head, Curran! He tried to prevent that predicament by saying, "Call it ego or male pride, but I have to get on my feet again using my own skills. Right now, I have little to offer you except me, but we can't live on love, as delicious as it is. When I'm

back in full control of my life, I'll have the means to support and protect you."

Starla was relieved he gave her an excuse not to suggest they depart on her ship, as she had not considered that complication when her last words escaped from her lips. Un-cloud your mind, Bree, and get back to work; that's why you 're here tonight! "I understand and agree with your reasoning and motives. We also have to be cautious, Dagan; we can't flaunt our relationship or it might worry Tochar; he could think it might be distracting for us or may fear we'll pair up and leave him." She faked soft laughter and a jest, "He needs us, so we wouldn't want him to be tempted to harm one of us to keep the other here. Seriously, those recent incidents might have his thinking reality impaired. If he has an enemy or rival working against him, the man is clever and leaves no clues. I'm afi*aid that if anything else happens, suspicion could fall upon either of us as the newest members of his unit. In view of those two explosions and my thwarted raid on Zumali, Tochar might use that truth serum on us again. If he does, there is no guessing what we would say if our feelings and thoughts have changed since joining up with him and after meeting each other. Too bad there's no way around such a powerful and precarious probing." Starla knew she was immune to Thorin, but she could not reveal anything to Dagan that might be extracted by the flendal, which was why she had changed her mind about mentioning a suspicion about Moig's death.

Dagan was thinking much the same; he must not tell Starla anything that Tochar could learn ft-om her during another drug questioning. "Tochar knows I'm working for him only for a limited time, so my eventual departure won't be news to him if he tests us again, and I'm always loyal to whomever hires me."

"Tochar is my first leader, but I would never betray him after I've given him my word of honor," Starla fabricated.

"and I try to do everything he expects of me. It wasn't my fault that drug raid failed and Moig died from his injury, so I hope he doesn't blame me or think less of my skills."

Dagan caressed her still-flushed cheek. "There's no way he or the others could blame you. I'm happy you escaped alive and unharmed."

"I'm glad you weren't harmed. In my opinion, it's risky to send small teams on raids, so I hope he doesn't divide us again. Where did your team go? What did you do? To-char wouldn't give me any details, as usual. I was worried about you facing perils with only two men as back-up."

"I didn't know why you and Moig weren't along until we were heading back after our raid. Then I couldn't get here fast enough to check on you. I suppose Auken didn't reveal that news so I wouldn't be distracted. They kept me in the transporter room during our approach; I don't know why Auken doesn't want me to wimess the initial contact with our targets. We made a raid on Orr; we pretended we were there for a secret pick-up of crystals. We had convincing papers, codes, watchword, identification, and uniforms which duped the guards. It was quick and simple, and the crystals were handed to us without trouble. That's terrible security for something so valuable."

"You're right. We've never raided at a mine before; that boldness surprises me. I wonder how and where Tochar gets his information."

"It has to come from somebody in an elite and trusted position."

She nodded agreement. "I would rather be a pirate than a traitor; a betrayer's fate is worse than death if or when he's exposed."

Dagan concurred, then posed a query. "Is there any way I can persuade you to go some place safe until I can join you later? With all these strange incidents occurring, I don't like you taking so many risks."

She trailed her fingers over his collarbone. "How can we

get to know each other and test our feehngs if we're separated? It would be a long and lonely time before you could join me. Besides, you need somebody you can trust completely to guard your back, especially if matters worsen. It's naive to believe the Sedans and Kalfans and I-GAF will continue to allow us to raid them without taking action against us, despite our defense system here."

As she played with dark curls on his chest, she ventured, "In fact, I'm amazed that at least one if not all of those forces hasn't laid traps for us; our goals and tactics must be clear to them. If they have set snares, Tochar is kept informed about how to elude them; that's probably what Auken checks on when we're exiled from the bridge, some unknov/n measure he doesn't want us to discover."

When Dagan failed to respond to her evocative statements, she said, "There's another angle to consider: Tochar may not allow me to leave or he could send a team of his men after me if I did. With his elite sources, I'm certain he could locate me wherever I went. Until he has the invincible power he wants and I'm no threat to him, he might refuse to release me, refuse to release both of us."

Dagan was impressed by Starla's perceptive wits. "You're right. Be careful you don't do anything to get into ti'ouble with Tochar or to make your record worse. When we leave, we don't want anybody in hot pursuit of us."

"The same applies to you. So far, our records aren't that bad, so let's keep it that way. No life-taking charges against us, agreed? As long as we don't do anything to get us terminated if we're captured, there's always a chance for escape or rescue and being reunited."

He nodded compliance. "That will be our safeguard for survival. You're a smart and intuitive woman, my love."

Starla's yearning for him was enflamed by his endearment. "You're an intelligent and clever man, so perhaps we are a good match as you claimed."

He smiled and murmured, "Trust me, m.y ravishing delight, we are."

As he kissed and caressed Starla, he planned, Before our next trek and after I see if Tochar will use Thorin to interrogate you again, I'll set up a meeting place in case we get separated. Since she had a ship and possessed great prowess, there was a strong possibility she could escape during a crisis or attack, especially if he decided to warn her about one in advance, and if that daring assault came from I-GAF teammates. What concerned him was an unexpected intrusion by the mysterious person also working on this mission, one whose name and goal were still unknown to Phaedrig. At least only his superior and other Inter-Galactic Alliance Force members had access to the I-GAF computer files which contained their personnel and assignments records, so his identity and mission were safe. Their headquarters—computer/data center, strategy chambers, medical labs, between-missions quarters, armory, recreation and training facilities, and ship storage—were located underground on a barren-appearing planetoid in Kalfa; it was protected and hidden by an impenetrable force shield, and only I-GAF members knew the entry code. Even if an enemy learned the password, no one could get beyond the main portal without the proper retinal and digital scans. If only he had a Spacer at his disposal, he could stay prepared to thwart trouble, but his was in a storage bay at headquarters until he completed this mission and retrieved it—a swift and sleek craft with advanced cloaking ability to conceal his comings and goings, and a weapons system that could defeat any force except Tochar's.

Dagan couldn't help but wonder if Starla would find Cur-ran Thaiter as appealing as she found Dagan Latu, as their looks and characters were so different. He also wondered if he was deluding himself about her feelings for him and about sharing a future with her. There were many barriers between them and many hurdles to vault. After this mission

was over, a difficult talk with her loomed before him; he was certain she would be angry and hurt and would feel betrayed and used. Somehow he must find a way to convince her he had no choice except to do his duty: to destroy Tochar and his tlireat to the United Federation of Galaxies, and to seek personal revenge against the fiendal for a lethal crime against his loved ones. Yet, the joy of having justice within his impending reach was overshadowed by the grim possibility of his victory costing him the woman he loved.

He didn't know how he was going to accomplish the gigantic task, but he was determined to find a way to save Starla from a black fate so she could share a golden one with him. He loved her; he wanted her; he needed her; and with Kahala 's help, he would have her at his side forever. / can't lose you, Starla, but neither can I fail my duty and the UFG. I hope and pray it never comes to a choice between you and them because there s far more at stake than just our lives and our love.

Dreamily her fingers grazed through the ebony waves on his head, deserting that location only to roam a supple terrain of bronze lean and hard flesh. She adored the smooth and strong body touching hers. Yet, she was painfully aware this could be the last time she enjoyed such a union if anything went wrong during her mission or if it terminated soon. She didn't know how she could exist without him and didn't want to envision that horrible event, not tonight.

Dagan trailed his lips and hands over her face and throat, returning time and time again to her tasty mouth. He had never taken such a perilous risk during a mission but he could not help himself. His kisses became deep, greedy, as were hers. She had become a vital part of him, one he could not excise from his life without slaying his soul. His hand cupped a breast and teased its taut nipple before sliding past her hip to grasp her buttocks to lock her groin snugly and possessively against his. He savored the way her legs imprisoned him and the ardent way she surrendered to him.