Stardust Dreams Read Online Free PDF Page B

back?"
    Gallant frowned at her. He
was doing his utmost to keep thoughts of Cherry out of his head. It was vital
that he think of her as an inanimate object, rather than a living, breathing
person. He could not afford to let his decisions concerning her be influenced
by one of the troublesome emotional responses that perpetually simmered just
beneath his image. "You know how important this mission is. Ill take her
back as soon as it's convenient."
    "What will you tell
her?"
    "I'll stick to my
first excuse—that I'm trying to keep her safe from any possible repercussion
from Frezlo. That should hold her for a while."
    Mar asked, "Do you
think there is any chance he is aware that the Weebort spoke to her?"
    "Not one. If he had
seen what I saw, her ashes would have landed on top of the Weebort's." Gallant
leaned back in his chair and stroked his chin, as he often did when an idea was
hatching. "But what if he found out about it… after the fact. Wouldn't he
come looking for her… to verify the rumor?"
    "No," Dot said
firmly. "You must not do what you are thinking. Frezlo would come looking
for her all right. To incinerate her."
    "I'd protect
her," Gallant countered confidently, already fleshing out his idea. "I'd
only use her as bait to draw him out, then I'd put her safely out of the
way." He slowly swiveled his chair around a full circle as he formulated a
plan that would allow him to use Cherry and protect her at the same time. He
knew Dot wasn't going to like it, but he counted on her loyalty and Mar's
persuasiveness to keep her from objecting too loudly. "Tell me, Mar, do
you still have that slave collar we used on you during the Orvanian
uprising?"
    Cherry felt so much better
after taking off her costume and getting cleaned up, she was even considering
forgiving Voyager for abducting her… if he apologized nicely enough. He had
made excuses for what he had done, but had not actually said he was sorry. As
she pulled on the stretchy white jumpsuit and slipped on the sandals she had
worn with the peasant costume, she decided he would have to rectify that
oversight.
    After a few minutes of
looking around the facility chamber, she found a drawer of grooming
necessities, including a hairbrush with some long, black hairs in it. She only
hesitated a second before using it. After all, she figured she'd already slept
in the man's bed. How much more intimate could a couple get?
    She quickly fluffed her
short hair back into its usual simple style and took a look at herself in the
full-length mirror on the back of the door. The jumpsuit was very different
from the loose-fitting attire she normally wore. She noted that it was just as
comfortable, since it fit like a second skin without being constricting, but it
failed to leave any portion of her anatomy to the imagination. She always
abided by the theory that the less a person revealed, the more curious everyone
else became.
    The outfit was completely
seamless with long sleeves and a rounded neckline that scooped low enough to
prove she was a woman, albeit a modestly blessed one—unlike her dearest friend,
Aster, whose pregnancy only exaggerated what nature had already bestowed on
her.
    Cherry remembered the first
time she and Aster met. If ever there were two opposites, the two of them fit
that description. Aster stood over six feet tall in heels and her body set the
standards for the word voluptuous. Where Cherry was outgoing and uninhibited,
Aster was shy and retiring. Even their backgrounds were a world apart.
    Cherry was born and raised
on a dirt farm in Georgia where a low-income bracket would have been a step up.
She and her nine brothers and sisters slept in the same room, and none of them
ever laughed, or played, or listened to music for fear the devil would possess
their souls.
    At an early age she learned
that
love
was the reason her parents had too many mouths to feed, and
love
was the motivation behind the rigid rules and severe punishments the children
received. Their