Moonbeams and magic by Janelle Taylor Page A

I've never been tempted to go after a woman for serious reasons. Maybe that's a warning to avoid her before I'm snared in a crazy trap."

    "Just take it slow and easy until you decide. Don't hurt
    her."
    "I'll take that good advice. I guess I better turn in; it's
    late and I have to meet with Tochar in the morning. Been
    enjoyable talking with you."
    "Same here, Dagan, and good luck."
    "With my meeting or with Starla?"
    "You'll need plenty of it to succeed with both."
    After Sach stood and left, Dagan pondered the Icarian's
    parting words. He had a suspicion he was in for a huge
    surprise tomorrow.
    It had been three horas since Starla took a seat in the Skull's Den to await news about Dagan. She didn't know if she wanted him to pass Tochar's Thorin test or not. If he failed, that meant he wasn't evil like the other villites or— even if he was proven to be just as wicked—wouldn't truly subject himself to the head flendal But failure meant his extermination. Yet, if he passed the truth and loyalty queries, he would become one of her targets to defeat and destroy, and would prove he was no different from them, prove her favorable impressions of him were wrong. By passing, he would be alive and in close proximity, until and if her mission succeeded. She felt trapped between two black holes in space, floating in peril, wondering if or when she would be sucked in and crushed by either one.
    She knew from experience that the drug-induced interrogation and full recovery lasted for horns: thirty preons to be dazed completely, several horas of lengthy and detailed questions to learn his ftill history and motives, and one hora to return to complete awareness, plus travel time to and from the flendal 's abode. According to that schedule he should have been finished five horas ago. Even if he had been taken on a tour of the defense sites and colony after he passed scrutiny, she reasoned, he should have appeared

    by now, if for nothing more than to have a drink and relax following his ordeal and perhaps to see if she and/or Yana awaited him. He wasn't with her Yana identity, but he could be celebrating on the second level with a Pleasure Giver. She attempted to quell the rash sparks of jealousy and anger that troubled her. It was a fact that most men believed they must have sex on a regular basis and, often, the face and name of the woman beneath them did not matter. Those carnal drives were strong in Tochara, where men lived and thrived on sating physical needs and thought only of the present.
    She had played two games of rest with an off-duty Enforcer. She had eaten a rather tasty meal with the slowness of a yema 's pace to stall for time. She was on her second drink, the weakest type Radu stocked, as it seemed appropriate behavior for her Starla Vedris character to imbibe a little, and it gave her a plausible reason to remain in the place for a long period.
    When she saw him enter the dome, her heart leapt with relief and happiness, uncontrollable reactions to learning he was alive. Of their own volition, her green gaze softened and almost misted; her heart beat faster; her lips parted. He was clad in a sleeveless top with a V neck in the front, the same shade as his blue eyes, a garment which displayed his muscled arms and shoulders and sun-darkened flesh. It fit him like a second skin, so his broad chest and flat abdomen were noticeable. His pants were snug, black like his boots and windblown hair, and hinted at sleek and strong legs beneath them. A weapon's belt was secured around his waist and hung low on the left side where a laser gun rested in a holster secured to his thigh. A sheathed knife was attached to the belt's right side. He was the epitome of a virile and handsome man, a pinnacle of strength and courage.
    As Dagan's roving gaze found her and he smiled, Starla returned the gesture without awareness, her wits scattering.

    Without taking his eyes from hers, she watched the Kalfan head toward her with an agile and