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  She chuckled. “Big talk from a man wearing ice cream on his chin.” Out of a perverse reflex, she reached out and thumbed the white fluff off his chin before licking the thumb she had used.

  He was watching her in astonishment. Zakkar tilted his head. “You touched me casually, but we have only just met. That isn’t in keeping with your traditions.”

  Her lips twitched. “Then you didn’t read very carefully. Terran women get up to all kinds of shenanigans if there are no other witnesses beyond her and the male she is with.”

  Zakkar looked at her and Dina felt her cheeks warm with a blush. There was a wealth of speculation in that look and she wondered how far she would let him take it.

  Chapter Three

  “Well, Zakkar. We have met and we are getting along just fine. What happens next?”

  He blinked at her in surprise. “I have no idea. Would you like to take a tour of this star system?”

  She laughed. “I am still on duty for the next four days. I can’t leave the station.”

  “Then we will have to continue our courtship here. Do you need sleep?”

  Dina blinked at how thoughtful he was. “Yes, I believe I do. Do you want me to ask the station to find you a spare room?”

  Zakkar inclined his head gracefully. “That would be most welcome.”

  Fish appeared at her mental summons and she asked to find space for Zakkar.

  Fish agreed and swam in front of Zakkar’s eyes.

  “What is this, exactly?”

  Dina smiled. “He is an avatar between the ship and me. He keeps me company.”

  “What is he based on?”

  “Oh, a fish from my home world that I had as a beloved pet. He was with me then, so they built a way for him to be with me now. He monitors the station as well as my stats. He can bring me out of a coma if it is necessary.”

  She chucked as Fish did flips in the air in front of them. He loved being the topic of conversation.

  “Does he speak?” Zakkar was examining the hologram on all sides, not so easy when Fish was insisting on swimming around his head.

  Dina started walking to her quarters. “No. He is modeled after a pet I had on Terra. Fish was my companion for his whole lifespan and I missed him when he was gone, so when my dispatcher wanted me to select an interface, he was the obvious choice.”

  “How do you know what he wants to tell you?”

  “We have worked out a set of signals. Colour changes and such.”

  The doorway on her left lit brightly with a blue glow.

  Dina was slightly relieved. “The computer has assigned you to this room. The atmosphere is set to your species specifications, so have a good night’s sleep.”

  Zakkar took her hand and pressed a kiss to the inside of her wrist. Her heartbeat sped up dramatically, but she tried to keep a bland expression on her face. His knowing gaze set the blush in her body to full bloom.

  “Thank you for your hospitality, Dina. I realize that you were not expecting company and you have been a gracious hostess.” He opened the door to his quarters and left her standing alone in the hallway.

  Her body tingled and she rubbed lightly at the spot where he had pressed his lips. Dazed and a little off balance, she headed down the hall toward her own quarters.

  Once inside her sleeping quarters, she quickly went to the com unit and brought up the Arci system.

  Zakkar had indeed been the avatar for Arci for several thousand years. His people were known for their analytical abilities, but with the tunnel vision of many races, they had not been able to interest any of their people in mating when they accepted the danger of their declining population.

  They had simply struck out to create as much intellectual property as they could before their civilization wound to a close.

  Arci had tried to intervene as Zakkar’s people had slowly disappeared, but they were determined to leave nothing but their wisdom behind.

  Arci’s avatar had mourned his people’s loss, but two hundred years later, he was seen again and active in communicating with the Alliance.

  Dina read about Zakkar’s involvement in intersystem negotiations as well as his participation on stellar councils around the system. He really was Arci’s avatar and he really was on the hunt.

  She groaned and leaned back in her chair. He was a nice-enough guy, but she wasn’t sure that she wanted him to pursue her.

  Dina looked to Fish and he flicked toward her to hover near her nose. “What should I do? He’s a nice guy and there is certainly an element of attraction on both our parts.”

  Fish flicked from side to side before doing quick loops and disappearing.

  Dina snorted. “Coward! I listen when you have issues, you little twit!”

  After it was obvious that Fish was not returning for the night, she took her suit off and slipped between her sheets to get some rest.

  Dina groaned as she realized her astral form was flying through space. She hated it when her dreams took her places she had no business going.

  A light started glowing off to her left and when she looked over, a figure was flying toward her.

  “Hello, Dina. Pardon my taking over your dreams, but I wanted to speak with you.” The form was Zakkar’s, but the voice was not.

  “Am I speaking to Arci?”

  He stopped their flight as they were conversing face to face on the astral plane, but controlled by Arci, it was the blackness of space. Environments were selected by comfort levels and if she was truly talking to a star, then it was no wonder their location was highlighted by the darkness of the star’s home.

  “You are. I have been worried about my avatar.” He floated next to her and took her hand.

  The hot tingle that she had felt through Zakkar was a thousand times stronger with Arci’s contact.

  “That was you. You were planting the seeds for contact when Zakkar and I touched.” She wasn’t accusing, merely observing his behaviour.

  He inclined his head, the silvery white glow was interspersed with red threads of light and it covered him from head to toe. “If I had spoken to you through my avatar and you were not properly shielded, you would have suffered damage. That was not my intent. This seemed the safer option to have a word with you.”

  She smiled slightly. “I appreciate the effort.”

  Arci bowed.

  “Is Zakkar aware of our conversation?”

  Arci smiled. “No, I am allowing him a night of sleep. He does not need to rest when he is on duty for me.”

  “I see. What did you want to speak to me about? I can only imagine it is pretty serious given the lengths to which you are going.”

  He turned and looked out over the expanse of planets and stars before them. “When Zakkar came to me, his people were flourishing. They were only too happy to have him take the position of stellar avatar and when his immediate family passed, he mourned but accepted it.”

  “It sounds like he is a well-balanced individual.”

  “He was, until his people died, leaving an empty world behind. He was lost. The last of his kind. It is a fate that a few avatars have faced, but Zakkar is mine and I want him happy again.”

  Dina flinched. “What do I have to do with that?”

  Arci gave her a look that made her feel like a petulant toddler, which she supposed she was in comparison to him.

  “Zakkar is lonely. He needs a physical companion, so together, he and I began searching for one.”

  Dina swallowed. She knew what was coming next.

  “We found you. After three centuries of looking through every available operative that the Alliance had on its roster, we found you.”

  “I don’t understand. There are a couple thousand Terrans out and about around the Alliance. Why me?”

  Arci reached out and caressed her face, touched her neck and withdrew his hand. “You are unique. A perfect genetic jewel in the tangle of strands from your world. Your mind is ideally suited to accepting a portion of a star within you and your body w
ill adapt well to the changes that I will need to enact.”

  She sighed. “So, I am very utilitarian.” She had to admit that she was disappointed that it was her adaptive ability that had caught their attention.

  He waved his hand in denial. “No, you are purpose built. Since the moment Zakkar saw you on the roster, he didn’t consider anyone else. He has read everything he could about your race, your family, your friends in an effort to make his conversation more acceptable to you.”

  Even on the psychic plane, her face blushed pink.

  “Well, what can you tell me about him?”

  Arci stared into her eyes. “Everyone he has ever loved is dead. He lives his life full of the energy of a star and if he is not careful, his touch can sear you to ash in a second and he wants you and no other. What more do you need to know?”

  She flinched. “Uh, nothing. That’s fine.”

  Arci noticed her expression. “I said something wrong.”

  Dina debated lying to the star and then shrugged. “Death, loss and an offer of companionship as well as a threat of imminent demise are usually not combined in a single sentence.”

  “Ah, my apologies. It has been a while since I have dealt with any living creatures directly. Zakkar usually does my talking for me.”

  The star’s features twisted until Dina recognized the embarrassment.

  “I am still not sure about this. I am just enjoying my job and my assignment right now. Not to mention, I don’t want to leave Fish.”

  Arci blinked. “Fish?”

  “My pet hologram. I am rather fond of it.”

  “You would reject a mate for a pet hologram?” His astonishment was evident in the flare of light around him.

  “Well, no. But if I can keep Fish, it would make my decision easier.” She crossed her arms and scowled at the physical embodiment of the star.

  He seemed to catch on to what she was doing and he crossed his arms to mirror her. “What else?”

  “A home on an inhabitable world. A wardrobe that is suitable to my new station and a com unit so that I can continue to communicate with my pen pals around the sectors.” She extended one arm and examined her fingernails. “And a pony. I definitely want a pony.”

  “I have a world that Zakkar uses as a base. The wardrobe is easy as is the com unit. I will look into what a pony is and let you know.” He extended one hand. “So, you will consider it?”

  She grinned and gripped his hand. “I will keep an open mind.”

  Dina sat upright, her hand tingling, nipples tight and an uncomfortable dampness between her thighs. If the touch of Arci in her dreams could spin her into arousal, actually trying to have sex with Zakkar might blow the top of her head off.

  What a way to go.

  Chapter Four

  Dina put on her standard uniform and peeked into the hall before sneaking to the dining room. It was no use, Zakkar was awake and Fish was walking him through breakfast selections.

  “Good morning, Dina. How are you today?” He was smiling as he turned around and the smile faded rapidly as he got a good look at her.

  He put his tray down and walked up to her, examining her with a glow in his eyes. “Arci spoke to you, didn’t he?”

  She blinked. “How can you tell?”

  He frowned. “I know his energy when I see it and it is all over you.”

  Dina looked at her hands and tried to see whatever it was that he saw. “I don’t see anything.”

  Zakkar touched her face. “It is everywhere on you, shining in your eyes.”

  “We may have had a conversation last night, but I don’t think it had any effect on my physiology.” She frowned and turned on her heel. With deliberate strides, she entered her medical facility.

  Putting herself into the scanning bed, she asked for a complete cellular scan as well as a detailed neurological workup. It was a fairly standard scan for her. In her line of work, it was common to court aneurysms.

  Zakkar and Fish followed her and waited with her while she lay still under the beams.

  When the computer began to digest the information, she sat up and rubbed her head.

  “Are you all right?”

  She chuckled at the worry in his face. “I have no idea. I feel fine, but if you see stellar energy in me, I need to know for certain what it is doing.”

  Zakkar sighed. “I apologize. Arci is simply making sure that I get what I need.”

  She blinked. “Wait. No one has ever said that you needed a mate.”

  He scrubbed a hand through his hair. “With Arci inside me, I have aged very slowly. Extremely slowly, but even stars have to give way to time and I am entering my mating time with no female of my own kind. That meant we had to begin a search before it became a desperate matter, but time is rapidly running out. In another ten years, without bonding to a female, my body would degrade and Arci would have to seek out another avatar. He doesn’t want that and so I believe that he is working to adapt you even before official authorization has been granted.”

  “You seem pretty sure that it will be granted.”

  “I am the last of my kind and a stellar avatar to boot. There is no doubt in my mind that they will authorize your match to me.”

  She twisted her lips and nodded. “It is likely and it was part of my original contract with the Alliance when I volunteered.”

  “Tell me about that, over breakfast.” Zakkar smiled and offered her his arm.

  “I would like to wait for my results.”

  “They will still be there when you have eaten.”

  “Good point.” She took his arm and together with Fish, they walked back to the dining room.

  She was smiling and having a surprisingly good time. “So, what did you do next?”

  Zakkar was leaning back and having a cup of tea. “Well, I nodded to the bartender, sent out a flash of light and flew the hell out of there.”

  She cackled with laughter. His tales of the first few years as avatar were hilarious. His people had been wild and the Valoi were considered untrustworthy across the sector, so when he came to worlds where his folk were known, it had often caused a problem.

  The Valoi had made a conscious decision to turn their pursuit of pleasure and knowledge into a simple focus on knowledge. To do that, many of their oldest and wisest had forgone their reproductive lives and when they discovered that they could accomplish much without the distraction of the opposite sex, they split their population in two and communicated via teleconferencing.

  The population had dwindled rapidly and in the course of a few centuries, a once-great civilization collapsed and died out.

  Dina had heard of similar events as well as whole planets being destroyed by disease. It seemed that the only way to ensure that your species didn’t get wiped out was to get citizens to colonize other worlds.

  Scientists back home had a similar postulation. If humans could get one toehold out in space, there would never be a chance for them to all be destroyed by any natural or stellar disaster.

  She blinked and grinned. “I wish I had amusing tales to tell about my first time on assignment, but I don’t.”

  He chuckled. “Not to be nosey, but I read your file. There were several training incidents that you were involved in.”

  She blushed and laughed at the same time. “True. Okay, once upon a time, there was an astral projector who was working on pushing herself out of her body at will.”

  “You.”

  “Exactly. Now, I was working on engaging in projection when an idle thought flitted through my head. The next thing I knew, I was in the men’s quarters at the Citadel, in the locker room of the gym to be precise.

  “The men who were showering were a little surprised, but I wasn’t the only one who got an eyeful. I had been meditating naked and so when I snapped back into my body, I was still only half dressed when the instructor knocked on my door.”

  He snorted. “What happened then?”

  “I was written up for failure to comply wit
h the Citadel uniform codes. It was the least harmful statement that they could put in my file, but due to the complaints or compliments depending on your point of view, they had to report something.”

  He chuckled. “I can only imagine your surprise and their surprise.”

  “Some of them reacted rather quickly to my presence and I don’t mean that they grabbed for a towel.”

  Zakkar let out a low growl of displeasure and she blinked in surprise. Without thinking, she reached out and took his hand in hers, the spark of energy along her skin growing more violent as she maintained the contact.

  She shivered intensely as the waves moved up and down her skin, waking nerves and pulsing randomly in the most pleasurable of ways.

  He noticed her reaction, but instead of withdrawing his hand from hers, he turned his palm and gripped her forearm.

  She started shuddering. The electronic pulse was more intense than anything she had ever gotten from her vibrator and the energy pulses grew in strength the longer that she kept contact. Her clit throbbed, her thighs flexed and her breath came in pants.

  With a low moan, she shuddered as the sensations overloaded her system and pleasure broke over her in heavy, violent waves.

  With a light caress on her skin, Zakkar let her go, but he leaned forward to press a kiss on her lips.

  The light slide of his lips against hers sent sparks through her that caused an aftershock to go through her that had nothing to do with stellar energy and everything to do with Zakkar. As he backed away from her, she opened her eyes to watch the silver gaze look at her with a quiet and very masculine satisfaction.

  “I think your reports will be ready by now. Do you want to see what they say?”

  She blinked and gave him a slow smile. “I know very well what they say. Arci has already begun the transformation and there is nothing that I can do about it.”

  His shock was evident. “You don’t seem upset.”

  She laughed. “I am far too pragmatic to be upset. Since I came to the Alliance and got my training in the Citadel, my life has not been my own. I agreed to it openly and freely. I am required to submit to their choice of mate when they found one for me. I never suspected that one of them would come looking for me.”