HeartCrystal

Chapter 3

“Make love to me.”

The day was warm. The weathermakers were holding off until later that evening to build up enough clouds to drench the city in some much needed rain. Until then, Star could raise her face to the searing orb overhead and soak in its incredible wealth of power until she felt like she could glow herself.

Once they had taken off from the eatery, she had reached underneath Hunter’s long shirt and let her fingers tease the skin above the waistband of his pants. Lightly running her nails across the taut abdomen, she felt his whole body tighten.

They were zipping over the outer banks of the city, just above treetop level, and away from normal traffic lanes. The thrum of the engines between her legs heightened her sensitive flesh, reminding her of earlier in the day when her husband had found a secluded section of the park. There, amid the tall, weaving grasses, against the bole of a furred tree, Hunter had taken her. Fully clothed, except for what little they’d needed to divest themselves of in order to mesh into one entity.

Star smirked. This “keeping clothes on” challenge had a lot more going for it than she’d first imagined.

She glanced down at her knee pants and thin top. Her husband still had plenty of casual clothes in his closet, for his impromptu visits home. But Star had little, even when he’d popped back over to her rooms at Guardian Command and gathered up a couple of changes.

“Wait until Mother takes you shopping,” he promised her with a smile, making her wonder what he was talking about.

Snuggling closer to him, she rubbed her breasts against his back until her n*****s were hard points digging into his skin, despite two layers of fabric. Suddenly, without warning, a feeling of burning lust overwhelmed her, taking her breathlessly by surprise.

Star reached up under his shirt to find his male n*****s and tweaked them between her fingers. She heard his quick intake of breath. The slider wobbled almost imperceptibly. Hunter’s grip on the machine was no longer rock solid, and Star smiled. Lightly, she let her fingertips tease his little buds again as she pressed herself as close as she could along his buttocks and back. Placing her lips to his ear, she begged again, “Make love to me.”

His response was to lift his hand from the brake handle and reach up to grab one of hers. Silently he lowered her hand to touch him through his pants, letting her know of his readiness by the thick, iron-hard length she felt compelled to wrap her fingers around. She gave him a squeeze, and felt his whole body react.

Ten times. Ten times they had made love, ever since that first soul-melting time when he’d taken her virginity, then taken her heart. Star remembered each moment, remembered every place, every time, and every circumstance. Ten times Hunter had claimed her body, making her soar beyond flight, beyond worlds and space itself. But there still remained so much to learn about each other. The promise of a lifetime of exploration, discovery, and fiery lovemaking was enough to begin melting the years of iciness she had built up inside her heart.

As he escorted her about the city, showing her off as he introduced her to his past, Star found herself becoming more and more curious about this wonderful, enigmatic man she had taken for her husband. And, if it was at all possible, deeper in love. He was everything she’d long ago given up hoping for—family, stability, happiness, acceptance.

Love.

She squeezed his erection again, delighting in the way he twitched beneath her grasp. This was a new challenge, this being able to dominate him for a change. The flames of possibilities licked her body, making her moan softly into the back of his neck.

Something flashed in the corner of her eye, followed by a loud blatt. Hunter was instantly on the alert. “We have company,” he tossed back at her.

blattReluctantly, she pulled her hands away and rested them on his thighs. A First City patrol officer signaled them to stop. Hunter put the slider on hover mode as the familiar red and yellow patrol skiff slid to a stop beside them. The officer gave Hunter a curt nod.

“Good day, sir. Can I have your ID, please?”

Hunter quietly thumbed the identification scanner on the skiff’s portable console.

“Do you realize you’re traveling in unauthorized space?” the officer inquired politely as he waited for verification.

“My apologies. I know I was outside regulated airspace, but I wasn’t aware this had become a restricted area.”

The officer frowned slightly. “It’s been restricted for over a year. Are you new to the city, or just visiting?”

“No. Well, yes. I’m from here, but I haven’t lived here in over two years,” Hunter explained. “My wife and I are on a leave of absence, and I was showing her around.”

The officer gave Star a quick once-over, which became a full-on stare. His gaze wasn’t broken until the scanner beeped. A glance down drew a frown from him. “Sir, would you have any idea why your ID has been flagged?”

Hunter knew why, but kept his peace. The man would find out for himself soon enough.

Another beep sounded. This time the officer’s face went pale. Raising wide eyes at Hunter, he said, “You have…Guardian credentials.” A blink, and the man’s eyes again swept over the dark-haired beauty resting against the man’s back. “Sweet heavens. You’re Master Hunter and StarLight.”

Before the words were out of the man’s mouth, a second skiff came along their other side. The officer seated inside nodded toward his teammate. “Everything all right, Foress? My display threw up a flag a moment ago.”

“More than all right, Cheel. I thought I was catching a trespasser in unauthorized space. Just my luck, I caught someone even better. Cheel, this is Master Hunter and StarLight.”

The other officer blanched. “This is no time to joke.” He turned to take in Star’s appearance. “Oh, dearest sun in the heavens. You’re not joking, are you?”

“Master Hunter, meet my boss, First Insignia Marv Cheel.”

Hunter released the brake to shake hands. Star offered her hand to do the same. From what he could sense from her, Hunter could tell his wife was comfortable and not as intimidated as she normally would have been under other circumstances. That knowledge made him feel more at ease.

“Oh, wow. The boys back at the station won’t believe this,” Cheel commented. “What are you doing in First City, anyway? Aren’t you supposed to be on your honeymoon or something?”

“A bit of both,” Hunter answered with a small smile. “We’re staying at my parents’ home while they’re back at Guardian Command. I thought Terrin could use Plo Corra to help her regain her strength. We’d been out sightseeing and were on our way back to the house when I thought I’d take a shortcut.” He nodded toward the first officer. “My mistake, it seems.”

“Not a problem,” Foress waved off. “I’ll waive the warning.”

Hunter thanked him.

“How long will you be staying?” Cheel questioned.

Before he could answer, Star leaned over and rested her chin on his shoulder. “Udo?”

“What?”

“I need a little burst. Mind if I go up for a minute? I won’t be long. Promise.”

He nodded. Her demonstration back at the eatery had drained her. “Sure. I’ll hover nearby until you’re ready to go home.”

She gave him a quick buss on the cheek and sat back. Closing her eyes, Star lifted from the seat, hanging momentarily in midair as she spread her arms to encompass the sun’s rays. The men watched as she straightened her legs and arched her back. Suddenly, she shot straight upward, directly into the heart of the sunlight. They followed her ascent until they were forced to turn their eyes away from the glare.

Once she rose out of sight, Foress sighed loudly. “Damn, she’s even more beautiful up close. Those eyes…how’s she doing?”

“Better. Much better, thanks.”

“And you? Managing to cope?”

“It gets easier with each passing day. It’s a miracle I didn’t lose her,” Hunter admitted in a low voice. “She was on total life support the first four days after the Ombitra attack.” Running a hand through his hair, Hunter knew it was still too soon to think back on it. Star wasn’t the only person needing time to heal.

“Yeah. I think I just about swallowed my teeth when the news came out about how the HandFast Committee Chairman was involved in that plot to let the Ombitra scrape the outer planets clean. Wanting StarLight to get pregnant because she was the only person able to defeat them, and because he and the others involved thought she wouldn’t sacrifice the baby to save the populace. If you ask me, fifty years on Vanndigar Six isn’t enough,” Cheel spat out, mentioning the maximum security prison planet where the perpetrators had been sentenced to serve time. He looked up, but was unable to see where the woman had gone. “So, you two fell in love during the HandFast?” He spoke cautiously, hoping the Guardian wouldn’t take offense.

“Actually, we know now the feelings had always been there. It took the HandFast for us to recognize it for what it was. Even after Terrin lost the baby, we couldn’t deny ourselves or the truth. We couldn’t go back to the way things used to be.” He glanced upward. The traffic stop may have put their plans on hold, but the heat she had flared through his blood continued to burn in him.

“Master Hunter, would you mind if I asked for an autograph? For my kids?”

Hunter looked back at the officers and flashed them a smile. “Seeing as I’m a captive audience anyway, sure.” Lifting his head again, he tried to sense his wife’s presence. All he could perceive was a calm peacefulness. An openness and willingness. He let out a sigh of contentment and reached for the officer’s personal comm, when her mood shifted and turned cold. There was an unexpected prickle of alarm.

Straightening up in his seat, Hunter was about to seek her out when the warning sirens on both police skiffs went off. The officers jumped on their calls as Star flew down to alert him.

“Hunter, there’s a major fire. In that direction.” She’d slipped back into Guardian mode, which meant calling him by his work name. It made it easier to keep their private and business lives separated when they switched.

“Where?” He turned to look where she was pointing, knowing she wasn’t familiar with the city.

“Glass factory!” Cheel barked. “One of the major kilns exploded!”

“The glass factory’s close to the primary school.” Hunter was thin-lipped as he gunned the engines and turned the slider around to race for the scene of the blaze. His first instinct was to dematerialize and reappear at the scene, but that would mean leaving the slider unattended. Not a wise move. But if he took the time to return the machine to the house, lives could be lost. Mumbling a curse word, Hunter took the lead, followed closely behind by the two police skiffs. Star easily kept pace beside him. The police didn’t question the actions of the Guardians. Their help was to be expected, and the officers were grateful for the extra aid.

As they drew closer, enormous gray-black clouds of smoke indicated where the largest section of the fire burned. Fire crews were trying to douse the flames erupting from the ceiling. The heat was intense.

A crowd of curious bystanders already framed the roped off area surrounding the building. Hunter grounded the slider and popped over to where the fire marshal was bellowing out orders. “What’s the situation?” he asked the already sweating man.

The marshal gave him a cursory glance. “Officer! Get this civilian out of here!” he turned and yelled over his shoulder.

“We’re here to help,” Hunter barked back as Star dropped down to join him. “Can you go up top and get me a perspective? I sense survivors inside,” he asked her.

She nodded and zipped up into the air. This time the marshal and two other firefighters did a double take. Hunter ignored them, leaving them to do their jobs as he vanished into the inferno.

Almost immediately he found two victims of the initial explosion. Although they were already dead, he dragged the bodies outside, rather than take the chance on them becoming incinerated. It would be the families’ decision how to inter their loved ones’ remains. Star saw Hunter emerge and flew down.

“There’s at least a dozen more inside,” he told her tersely. “I think the ceiling’s about to give way. Can you keep it from caving in until I get them all out?”

She nodded. “Not a problem. Let me get that kiln out first.”

A flash of understanding passed between them, and Hunter lowered his voice. “Are you sure you can manage?”

A soft smile came over her face. “Reach inside me, my love. Feel my strength.” Giving him another smile, she lifted off. He continued to watch her for a moment longer when his thoughts were interrupted by the sound of the fire marshal jogging up to intercept him.

“Is it true? You’re Master Hunter and StarLight?”

“You’ve got casualties and survivors inside,” Hunter answered instead. “Star’s going to lift out the kiln first before she tries to keep the ceiling suspended long enough for me to retrieve all the bodies. Have your men pull back from the center of the blaze so the weight of the water won’t collapse the roof.”

The marshal gave him a sharp nod. “My men will keep drenching the nearby school buildings. We’ve already evacuated everyone within a three-block radius. We’ll concentrate on the periphery.”

“Sounds good.” Giving the man a nod, Hunter disappeared.

The bodies closest to the kiln would have to wait until the massive container could be removed. The heat was just too intense for him, as the core had super-infused to nearly a thousand degrees.

There were at least a half-dozen survivors coming around behind a large insulated wall. One at a time Hunter took them outside to where a med lab had been erected. On his third trip out, the reaction of the crowd drew his attention overhead.

Star had drawn the kiln through the roof by negating the planet’s gravitational hold on it. Keeping the overheated oven well away from others, she slowly maneuvered it with her hands until it rose a hundred yards over their heads. She drifted above them, keeping one eye on the massive metal monster. “I don’t suppose you have a very large body of water sitting conveniently nearby, do you, my love?” she called down to him almost playfully.

He could almost groan from the tone of her voice. This was the StarLight he had known for the past two years. The StarLight he’d fallen in love with and never knew it until a world’s impersonal law and an evil man’s interference made him realize it. “Unfortunately, no,” he called back up to her.

“Think Plo Corra would mind an extra satellite?”

He gave her a backhanded wave. “Make yourself happy.”

“Oh, I plan to!” She giggled. The crowd below may not understand the full gist of her reply, but Hunter sensed her deeper meaning all too well, and his mind briefly flashed back to the way her warm hand played havoc with his concentration a short time ago on the slider. He ducked back into the building as Star literally threw the kiln into the sun, letting the star’s natural gravity lift it into its solar flames until the oven melted into nothingness. The moment she let it go, she turned back to take care of the ceiling.

Three more unconscious but alive victims were inside a hallway. Hunter reached for them when he heard an ear-shattering screech overhead. The roof lifted a few inches, and a handful of embers drifted downward. Quickly he took the three men to where they could receive medical attention. As the med techs relieved him, he let them know there were three left. The most critically injured, who had been in the same room when the kiln had exploded.

A quick pause to look up showed Star flooding the worst hit part of the roof with negative gravity. It was a dangerous, tenuous balancing act on her part, as too much would cause a shower of embers to fill the rooms below. Too little, and the roof would crumble into bits. Hunter hurried to finish his retrievals, knowing she would be quickly tiring.

Once he got the last the victims out, he saw that Star was waiting for him to appear. He nodded to let her know the building was clear, and she shut down her power. The ceiling and roof promptly crashed inward, throwing a cloud of smoke and cinders high into the sky.

“We can’t thank you enough,” one of the med techs approached and told Hunter.

“I second that,” the fire marshal walked up to add. “We eventually would have been able to get everyone out, but I seriously doubt we would have had any survivors.” He paused as Star landed nearby and joined them. “StarLight, thanks for your help.”

She shrugged and smiled. “All in a day’s work.” Her eyes lit on her husband, and she giggled, reaching out to rub his cheek with her fingers. “You’re covered in soot. You need a bath.”

Hunter bit back the first thing that came to mind, and grinned. “Are you all right? You didn’t push yourself, did you?”

“No.” She shook her head, her long, thick hair brushing her back. “I feel fine. Maybe a bit tired, but, hey, I just tossed a giant toaster into the sun. I could use something to drink, but otherwise, I’m fine. Honest!” she added, her dark, violet eyes wide and insistent.

Hunter laughed softly and turned to face the fire marshal. “Think your men can handle the rest of it?” he asked.

The marshal nodded. “Thanks again, Master Hunter. StarLight. What a stroke of luck you were here when this happened.”

“Don’t thank us,” Star remarked, rolling her eyes at her husband. “Thank the two police officers who pulled Mister Let-Me-Show-You-Around-Town over to serve him a traffic citation.”

Hunter feigned hurt. “Hey! It’s not my fault the city got re-zoned while I was away!”

“Yeah, well, next time you decide you want to take a short cut, don’t.” The corners of her mouth curled up, taking the sting out of her sharp words. Hunter laughed out loud.

“All right, woman. I need a good scrubbing, and you need something cold to drink. Come to think of it, that sounds good, too. If you’re still feeling up to snuff, want to race back to the house?”

“No fair, Hunter. You know I can’t best you when you pop out.” She winked at him. “But I can give you better odds if you take that little scooter.”

“I’ll have you know that ‘scooter’ can best up to four galactic miles a second.”

“Yeah, and I can haul ass alongside Transport Three until it hits hyper light,” she snapped back.

Transport Three Around them the firefighters, police, and the crowd were laughing, enjoying the little drama being played before them. This was a rare sight they knew they’d never see or hear on the vidscreen—two Guardians clearly in love as they stood around joking, their bodies almost touching. Hunter, with his hand on Star’s waist, and Star playfully poking him in the chest. The cheering didn’t start until the couple turned away and headed toward the other side of the parking lot where a long, sleek slider was hovering.

Less than a minute later, the two were streaking through the sky, quickly disappearing from sight as they slipped into the gathering clouds.