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 camaraderie 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 put 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?”
“Exactly,” she smiled broadly. “I figured I could use my skills to move up in the world. I’m now a hands-on Aerospace Engineer where my mechanic’s background comes in quite handy. I work for Dunnbarr Industries back on Earth. Or, I used to until I handed in my notice a few months back,” she corrected. “I wanted to finish my contractual judging obligation to the Miss Milky Way pageant and take some time off to see more of the galaxy.”
He actually saw the light of genuine interest shimmering within her stunning blue-green eyes, and knew his subject for conversation could put him back in a more favorable light. “So, Los Angeles was your home then?”
“For the last few years, yes. And when I needed a lot more dough for my doctoral studies and heard that the Miss Milky Way competition had opened for entrants, I signed up and eventually won. The corporate sponsors let me keep up my studies during my reign. Otherwise I’d have never gotten my thesis in on time.”
“And what was your thesis?” he randomly asked as he served himself from several dishes on the table.
She cleared her throat and announced the title in a merrily outrageous, grandiose manner. “The Dynamics Involved in Recalibrating Irundium Engines, and the Gammatron-Nucleoid Combustion Isolation Ratio Comparison to Old Petroleum-Based Ground Transportation. It makes a good read if you need to get to sleep quickly or your date stands you up,” she quipped.
He’d been in the process of sipping some wine he’d just poured, but almost spat it out in shock. The subject of her study was so far above him he might as well be a microbe on some non-sentient planet. While he knew the basics of the Valiant’s engine, it wasn’t necessary for him to understand all the specs of the damned thing to turn it on and make the vessel move. His job, aside from law enforcement in any assigned sector of space, was to supervise his crew and safely carry out missions. The tiny fireball sitting across from him made him feel more like a creature of brawn—dazed by her mechanically-wired super brain.
With every word she uttered, Charlie Grayson enthralled Datron more. Certainly, he’d never met another soul like her in his entire thirty-three years of life as she’d measure them on Earth. Charlie exhibited, in one bundle, a bodacious sense of humor, a sweet little body, and a heinously wicked intellect! Something deep within the vicinity of his chest stirred and reacted with passion. He regretted thinking she was just another contestant looking for a bed partner.
This particular target, as he now considered her, would require a great deal more finesse than the pageant contestants or the assorted barflies he normally consorted with during his free nights in the city.
“How would you like to see an Oceanus starfighter rigged with the latest equipment?”
She swallowed a bite of Oceanus’ version of flounder before responding. “How would one go about getting aboard such a vessel?”
He shrugged. “With all the tourists arriving on Oceanus these days, the Protectorate requires vessels not rigged for duty to be available for visitation. Even school children are availing themselves of the opportunity to see inside law enforcement craft. And, really, there are no secrets. For normal duties, the weaponry and flight capability is public knowledge. But few who see the engines could appreciate them the way a good mechanic might.”
“Would it be possible to watch your engineer recalibrate the fuel ratio?”
Seeing the glimmer of interest in her pretty eyes, he wanted to show her anything she wished to see. “I’ll leave a pass for you at the gate. The Valiant is situated at the far, northern end of the field. It’s quite a walk. But there are shuttles picking tourists up at the entrance.”
“What’s a good time?”
“We won’t be done flushing the old fuel from the system until mid-afternoon.”
She nodded. “I’ll be there with bells on.” Then, she pushed some of the purple, three-eyed flounder toward her guest. “Fish?”
He smirked, put some of his Earth steak on her plate, and traded it for the fish. For the rest of the evening, they conversed about engineering. He found the more Charlie spoke about a subject she clearly loved, the more animated her heart-shaped face became. Her intellect belied the trendy clothing, silver wig, and makeup she wore, and he found himself wondering about the real woman under all the trappings.
Finally, they shoved their plates away and sipped the last of the wine. When she stood and sauntered toward the door, clearly indicating in a not-too-subtle way he should go, Datron held back for a moment.
His petite Einstein wasn’t about to suggest he stay for what little remained of the rest of the night. He hadn’t encountered this situation before. Usually, when women asked him to their abode, the invitation included steamy sexual interludes with the lady begging him to stay until the morning. He’d sometimes declined the offer, using duty as his excuse. With the situation somewhat reversed, he found he in fact wanted to get the little mechanic into bed. Truth be told, he didn’t think he’d ever seduced a woman who came close to Charlie’s IQ.
Charlie clasped her hands in front of her and stood in the vicinity of her foyer. “Well, it’s been a pleasant evening. I think we understand each other much better now.”
He moved closer to her and gazed down into her blue-green eyes one more time. He tried to turn on the smoldering look women seemed to adore, in an attempt to waylay the parting. “Shall we seal this new friendship with a kiss?”
“Good night, Captain. I’ll see you tomorrow afternoon.”
He sighed, glanced down at the hand she offered, and clasped hers in an unrewarding, benign, businesslike gesture. After the handshake he walked through the door she quickly opened, but with one thought on his mind.
Charlie could try to avoid the charm that worked on dozens of other women, but it wouldn’t work. Eventually, she’d give in to him as they all did. He turned in the hallway to say good night, and found the door closing in his face.
Datron put his hand against the door, leaned against it, and smiled.
That’s okay, you miniscule, engineering genius. You may be hard-wired, but I’ve got a few moves to soften you up. In the end, it’s always the same.
He walked away, already plotting how he’d get under her skin, telling himself she certainly hadn’t got under his. Her aloofness was just a ploy—different from those most women employed to be sure. However, sooner or later, he’d get past it and she’d be in his bed. Sadly, once that happened his interest would wane. Duty as usual, came before anything else, and his paramour of the moment would be off to some other man’s bed—like all the rest. That’d been his life for the last few years.
Still the game was afoot. He and Charlie could enjoy it while it lasted. Being smart and lovely were attributes in her favor. Yes, she had captured a deeper interest.
Dalliances and little intrigues aside, what he really wanted had never been uttered to anyone.
He wanted what Keir Trask had obviously found. The elusive need only one woman could fill. If he couldn’t define what he was looking for, then all the women he approached would be found wanting no matter how alluring they might appear at first.
Once again, as he had on hundreds of other occasions, he thought if Electra Galaxy could see him as anything other than a cover operative, or Sagan wasn’t attached, he’d make a permanent play for either. They were the only two females he’d ever found intellectually worthy of a long-term relationship. But one always chose older men who were her contemporaries. The other was in his best friend’s arms, loving him to distraction and about to bear his child.
Simply put, he wanted a woman who lit his heart the way Sagan illuminated his former captain’s. This singularly special female had to be out there.
But where?