HEARTSTORM
Book
3 of the HeartFast Series
A
Sensuously Erotic Sci-Fi Romance Novel
by
Linda Mooney
Word
Count: 65.2K
$3.99
They
were the Guardians. Seventeen special men and women with incredible powers, who
had sworn their lives to the protection of their galaxy, while upholding the
laws of their world.
With
the birth of their daughter, StarLight and Master Hunter prepare themselves for
their most difficult mission yet - as parents. Until a person from Star's past
intervenes, bringing with him chaos and heartache.Amid this turmoil, an old foe rises. An enemy the
Guardians believed they had conquered. An enemy ready to strike again, now that
all of Guardian Command is compromised.
* * *
Homecoming
Deceiver wouldn't tell her what the
outcome of their mission had been, which both confused and worried her. She was
always given a report, good or bad. And if someone was seriously injured and
needed immediate medical help, he was very adept at sending ahead the person's
specs, so she would be ready to provide expedient care.
But not this time. Other than the
cryptic “We're on our way home,” she'd heard nothing. Worse, it was taking them
longer than usual to get back, even though the Guardian leader had told her
they had sustained damage to the ship, and weren't able to use the hyperlight
drive. What was delaying them?
A shiver went through her. A warm
tear slid down her cheek. She allowed herself to cry when no one was around to
see her. She didn't want the others to see her weakness, afraid it would cast
her in an unfavorable light among the superheroes. Which was why she'd done as
much crying as she needed these past few days, since the rest of the Guardians
had left to pursue reports of pirate activity in the Caperonda cluster. She
figured that if she got it out of her system, there would be no more tears left
when they returned. No tears for the others to see. Her professional
countenance would remain intact, and give them the reassurance they needed from
her that they were in very capable hands.
Another tear glided down in the path
of the first. Silently, she cursed herself.
Commander was gone. Forever gone.
Sucked through that wormhole. That was almost five months ago, yet every time
she thought back to that day, her heart caved a little bit more. Just when she
had hoped she had turned the corner and was ready to walk the long road of
recuperation, something would remind her of him. A look, a sound, a memory, or
the mere mention of his name, and her carefully constructed mask would come
crashing back down around her.
I
think what hurts the worst, the reason why I can't resolve myself to you being
dead, is because I never saw you die. Neither did anyone else. One moment you,
and Hunter, and Seeker, and Disaster were fighting those pirates. Moments
later, the wormhole ate Transport Two, and it was as if you had never
existed.
Her soul
felt fragile. It had shattered at the news of Commander's demise, and only
existed now because she'd somehow managed to hold it together with pieces of
determination and strings of practicality. Her last hope at finding some kind
of consolation had hung its head in shame and shrunk away to the darkest
caverns in her heart, leaving her as barren as a lifeless planet.
Overhead, the enormous bay doors
ponderously began to open, sliding back to reveal a cloudless blue sky.
Somewhere above Guardian Command, the largest ship in its fleet was descending.
Wiping tears from her face, Devorah
sniffed and got to her feet. She pulled on her stoic face, then signaled the
emergency cart to hover nearby in the event someone had to be lifted to the
clinic.
She heard the big ship before she
spotted it. After several seconds, the shiny silver hull appeared, long,
tapered, and magnificent looking. Before long, the upper half of the ship came
into view. As it always did, the Guardian crest emblazoned on the tail sent a
little thrill of pride through her. It reminded her of the miracle that had
brought her to Guardian Command, and sealed her fate to become the group's
first on-site physician. So far she couldn't spot who was piloting the craft,
but it didn't matter. Right now, her primary concern was StarLight and her
unborn child.
The ship slowly settled into its
cradle before it began to power down. Devorah moved closer, bringing the cart
with her, to wait for the hull door to open.
Seconds ticked by without any sign
coming from the ship. Frowning, she wondered what was preventing them from
exiting. She glanced over at where the communications console was located, and
debated whether or not to call over and see if there was a problem, when she
heard the familiar hiss of the airlock. The door slid to the side, but no one
appeared to be waiting to disembark.
Devorah took another step toward the
ship, now that it was safe to approach, when Disaster halted in the doorway. He
stared at her for a moment, then walked onto the small platform and took the
short flight of stairs to the floor. Her eyes widened when he began striding
toward her with an unfathomable look on his face. This behavior wasn't like the
Guardian leader. That realization raised her level of alarm.
"What's wrong? What's
happened?" she whispered, and glanced at the ship, but no one else
appeared to be leaving the vessel. She gave another good look at Disaster, this
time with her medical eye. Other than exhaustion, she could see no outward
signs of injury.
"Doctor. Dev." His voice
was low, soothing. A little smile quirked the corners of his mouth.
By this time, her temper was beginning
to flare. "If there's something you need to tell me, spit it out. What's
wrong? Is there anyone needing my assistance?"
"Nothing's wrong. In fact,
everything's right. I just..." He stopped and took a deep breath. "I
just don't know how to tell you this."
"Tell me what?" A thought
raced through her mind, and her heart sped up. StarLight and the baby.
She had vehemently protested Star going on this mission because of the risk
involved, and the possibility of her losing the baby. "Did Star give birth
out there? Is she all right? Is the child all right?" She started to
advance toward the ship, when a figure appeared in the hull opening. A figure
that shouldn't have been there. That shouldn't have existed. That hadn't
existed in nearly five months.
Her mouth dropped open, and the
blood rushed from her body as Commander walked onto the landing platform, then
paused to stare at her. Her mind refused to acknowledge his return, his
presence. What she was seeing wasn't really him. He was a part of her fevered
imagination. Or a hologram. Or something not of the flesh.
The figure took the steps, his boots
making little hollow sounds. At some point, Disaster moved away, giving her
room to take it all in. Giving her space to breathe, although her lungs were refusing
to cooperate.
"Devorah."
It was his voice. His face. His eyes
that were riveted on her. That thin little worry line he always got above the
bridge of his nose was present.
"Devorah?"
He reached out, and warm hands
grasped her arms at the shoulder. This close, she could smell his sweat and the
tang of old air that always surrounded them whenever they had spent a long time
inside a spacesuit.
"Devorah, speak to me."
"Paol?"
"Yeah. It's me. Don't faint on
me, woman," he added softly, teasingly. He cupped the side of her face to
connect with her, letting her adjust to his touch. Feel him. Accept the truth.
Tears fell over her lower lashes,
but she was unaware of them until his thumb brushed one of them away.
Carefully, almost fearfully, she placed a hand on his jaw.
"H-how?"
"Long story. I'll tell you all
about it later. But now, I need to get something off my chest."
She couldn't wait for his
confession. Throwing her arms around his neck, she lifted herself up on her
tiptoes and hungrily pressed her lips to his. His muscular arms surrounded her,
the warmth his hard body engulfing her to the point that her mind whispered, It
doesn't matter the story. You're back. Another miracle has been granted, and
you've come home. My Paol. My love.
