Crystal Singer Read Online Free

were”—his eyes shone with what Killashandra chose to interpret as admiration—“having a bottle of wine as coolly as a queen. Or”—and he leaned over her, grinning maliciously—“were you just gathering enough courage to step under a shuttle?” He kept hold of her hand which, at his outrageous suggestion, she tried to free. “No, I can see that suicide was furthest from
your
mind.” She subsided at the implicit compliment. “Although”—and his expression altered thoughtfully—“you might inadvertently have succeeded if that shuttle had been allowed to take off again. If I hadn’t been here to stop it—” He flashed her his charmingly reprehensible smile.
    “You’re full of yourself, aren’t you?” Her accusation was said in jest, for she found his autocratic manner an irresistible contrast to anyone of her previous acquaintance.
    He grinned unrepentantly and nodded toward the remains of their exotic snack. “Not without justification, dear girl. But look, you’re free of commitments right now, aren’t you?” She hesitantly, nodded. “Or is there someone you’ve been seeing?” He asked that question almost savagely, as if he’d eliminate any rival.
    Later, Killashandra might remember how adroitly Carrik had handled her, preying on her unsettled state of mind, on her essential femininity, but that tinge of jealousy was highly complimentary, and the eagerness in his eyes, in his hands, was not feigned.
    “No one to matter or miss me.”
    Carrik looked so skeptical that she reminded him that she’d devoted all her energies to singing.
    “Surely not all?” He mocked her dedication.
    “No one to matter,” she repeated firmly.
    “Then I will make an honest invitation to you. I’m an off-worlder on holiday. I don’t have to be back to the Guild till—well”—and he have a nonchalant shrug—“when I wish. I’ve all the credits I need. Help me spend them. It’ll purge you of the music college.”
    She looked squarely at him, for their acquaintanceship was so brief and hectic that she simply hadn’t had time to consider him a possible companion. Nor did she quite trust him. She was both attracted to and repelled by his domineering, high-handed manner, and yet he represented a challenge to her. He was certainly the exact opposite of the young men she had thus far encountered on Fuerte.
    “We don’t have to stay on this mudball, either.”
    “Then why did you come?”
    He laughed. “I’m told I haven’t been on Fuerte before. I can’t say that it lives up to its name, or maybe you’ll live up to the name for it? Oh come now, Killashandra,” he said when she bridled. “Surely you’ve been flirted with before? Or have music students changed so much since my day?”
    “You studied music?”
    An odd shadow flickered through his eyes. “Probably. I don’t rightly remember. Another time, another life perhaps.” Then his charming smile deepened, and a warmth entered his expression that she found rather unsettling. “Tell me, what’s on this planet that’s fun to do?”
    Killashandra considered for a moment and then blinked. “You know, I haven’t an earthly?”
    “Then we’ll find out together.”
    What with the wine, his adept cajolery, and her own recklessness, Killashandra could not withstand the temptation. She ought to do many things, she knew, but “ought” had been exiled someplace during the second bottle of that classic vintage. After spending the rest of the night nestled in Carrik’s arms in the most expensive accommodation of the spaceport hostelry, Killashandra decided she would suspend duty for a few days and be kind to the charming visitor.
    The vidifax printout chattered as it popped out dozens of cards on the resorts of Fuerte, more than she had ever suspected. She had never water skied, so Carrik decided they’d both try that. He ordered a private skimmer to be ready within the hour. As he sang cheerily at the top of a good, rich bass voice,