picked that up in six weeks?”
“You would be amazed at how fast I learn things.” Jewel chuckled and they located the Guardians. The party began, the music poured out of instruments and the dancing commenced.
* * * *
“Beryl, when you have had the child, do you want to try dancing like that?” Toyo whispered it in her ear.
Beryl watched Jewel and Stormyo moving in sensual synchronization. They twisted, turned, passed and came together again with a sexual tension that excited those around them.
“Toyo, I don’t think that I have ever been able to move like that. Jewel has more active combat experience and far less public embarrassment than I do.”
Stormyo lifted Jewel and slowly let her glide down his body. She hooked her leg behind Stormyo’s back as she came down, and there was suddenly a rash of the same move in the W’lyn dancers.
They whirled, gleamed with sweat and twisted together over and over.
Beryl was exhausted just watching them. Her growing girth was as tiring as keeping up with the supplements was.
Drovin spoke to Wren. “Can you dance like that?”
She chuckled and patted his cheek. “I think the only woman who could dance like that is right there on the dance floor, dancing with the only partner who could make her dance like that. There is something rather wild and exciting about him.”
Beryl nodded and spoke to Wren, “I think it’s the horns.”
Polly chipped in, “Or the eyes. You could fall into those eyes.”
Nanette tilted her head. “I am partial to the shoulders.”
The Guardians growled in unison and the ladies grinned.
Beryl patted Toyo’s hand. “If you help me learn to dance like that, I will make the effort next time I am in shape to try it.”
“Perhaps something more sedate for now?” He brought her hand to his lips.
“Very wise.”
The couples took to the floor and swirled with the other dancers. They might not be as acrobatic as the fighter and the peacekeeper, but they were in good company with the men who matched them, body and soul.
* * * *
Sitting on Stormyo’s lap, Jewel sighed. “That was fun. I haven’t even tried to do some of those moves until tonight.”
“I have to say that if we weren’t in public, I would be trying number eighteen right now.”
She bit her lip. “You think you could hold me upright that long?”
“I am willing to try. There is no harm in a failed attempt.”
“I don’t know. If I got too slippery and fell, I think you would be in pain for a while. I would make sure of it.”
He chuckled and sipped at their wine, handing her the cup. “Fair enough. Do you think your sister will enjoy her gift?”
Jewel laughed. “I think she is getting something that she can’t get on Earth.”
Epilogue
Amanda Springs took the huge box from the man in dark glasses in the dark SUV.
The address on the top of the box read, Amanda Springs, Sister of W’lyn Guardian Jewel Springs, Terra, Sol System.
Amanda’s hands were shaking as she put the box on her coffee table and she found the closures on it. She cracked the seals and opened the lid, frowning at what she saw. She pulled the large piece of leather out and put it on the couch. The width was over two feet, the length two and a half. The edges were folded over and it was a deep burgundy with gold trim.
The puzzle was put aside as she pulled out a dress in deep red. She held it up, and the silky fabric had semi-circles cut out on either side and over the thigh. It was a fun dress but it wasn’t really practical. The multi-coloured shawl under the dress was far more practical, and it wrapped around her shoulders with a sinfully smooth feel.
A small dome with a slot was sitting at the bottom of the box.
A note was attached to a small box of crystals. It read, Close your blinds, Amanda. It will make the images clearer. When that is done, put the first crystal in the small slot.
Following the directions written in Jewel’s hand, she closed
David LaRochelle
Walter Wangerin Jr.
James Axler
Yann Martel
Ian Irvine
Cory Putman Oakes
Ted Krever
Marcus Johnson
T.A. Foster
Lee Goldberg