nearly too late.
But how could he explain that to Alyaca?
When I found Janofer, he said, I already knew how much I needed her.
And the others, too Skan and Legroeder. He turned his head, biting his lip,
and looked at her. Her eyes were dark, her hair tousled, her bare shoulders
hunched together. Does that make sense to you?
She pulled her hair back, in frustration, from her eyes. I understand, sure.
She filled a need.
She doesn t understand at all
It s the same with anyone. But you have to let go when the time comes.
Not a word. How could she possibly know what I m saying?
She gazed full into his eyes with what seemed too much like raw curiosity to
make him comfortable. Then she reached over him, her breasts hanging oddly
before him, and she adjusted the sparkle-pattern in the darkened
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STAR RIGGER S WAY by Jeffrey Carver room to a more erotic setting. When she
slid back down, he started slightly. He felt naked, vulnerable and aroused.
And then he felt embarrassed.
In a sudden confusion of impulses, he buried his hands in her hair and pulled
her close, pressing himself against her hip and the top of her thigh.
Her eyes flickered and she responded with her own movements, rocking him and
entwining her legs around him.
The erotic ringlets of the sparkle-pattern flashed about the room,
distractingly.
When they stopped moving, a little later, Alyaca drifted off to sleep, but he
did not. She slumped close to him, and when she rolled over he encircled her
loosely with one arm, closed his eyes, and pretended to sleep. Though they had
completed their lovemaking, he felt that he had been a failure, or that it had
been wrong.
Alyaca, still rising and falling slightly on the fluid bed, sleepily moved her
arm up to cover his.
Over the next few days, he began to think how ironic it was. The more he felt
the distance between them, the more he was enchanted by her body, her beauty,
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and her company, and the more determined he was to continue the affair
regardless of painful consequences.
But the future was growing slimmer. He wondered what Alyaca thought she was
getting out of the relationship, and if her continuing interest wasn t just
some distorted impulse to know a rigger any rigger. She was having to spend
most of her days in the office, and one night she was recalled to Jarvis and
did not return until the following afternoon. But she got a Kloss aircar the
evening she returned and took Carlyle out to a spot known as Gloander Bluff, a
hill of exposed bedrock which was considered one of the best scenic viewing
spots in the area. They missed the sunset but watched the stars come out in
the sky over a shadow-deepened land.
They re out there somewhere, aren t they? she asked pointedly. The words
sent a stab through his heart. That was about all he knew, based on the latest
word from Freyling and the Guild; his friends were out there somewhere. It
would be a long trail for him to follow, if it came to that.
But why had she asked that question, here and now? Was she deliberately
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STAR RIGGER S WAY by Jeffrey Carver trying to hurt him? Was his pain of an
alien sort to her?
She looked at him intently, her brows furrowed. She shivered and moved closer
to him, touching him. Are you going to go looking for them? she asked in a
low, not quite accusing voice.
Can she care that much about me? Does she love me, or does she just not want
to lose the rigger she s finally found? He cleared his throat and shrugged
slightly. I might have to, yes. He was acutely aware of her body close to
his, and he began to ache and tremble, wanting her. What was he doing to
himself? He looked up, and the stars pulled at his soul. He looked at her, and
she pulled at him, too.
Well, she said, disguising what might have been anger or just
disappointment, I d like to meet your friend Cephean, anyway, before you go.
Her face was dim and beautiful in the starlight.
Is she trying to make me fall in love with her?
I don t know if I ll even see Cephean again myself, he said uncomfortably.
He could see Cephean standing beside him right now, hissing and muttering, and
he felt a strange sorrow that the cynthian was not really here. He was also
filled with desire for Alyaca or for somebody and he was sure that she knew
it.
Janofer, what am I doing here?
To his surprise, Janofer came, peering wonderingly at him.
Gev, what s the matter? You want her, don t you? And she wants you
.
How have I gotten myself into this?
Into what? She s attractive to you, and she wants you in her bed
.
But
What? She s not a rigger? So?
She doesn t understand. She doesn t know why I have to come looking for you
.
Well, ease her down. Don t ruin it. Why not stay with her for a while?
I have to get back into space, or I ll lose your trail
Gev? Alyaca was prodding him. When he focused on her, she slid her arms
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around him and kissed him. What s wrong? she whispered.
He shook his head. The curves of her body pressed against him, bringing
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STAR RIGGER S WAY by Jeffrey Carver him back to the present. [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]