Burnout: the mystery of Space Shuttle STS-281 by Stephanie Osborn Read Free Book Online Page A

she could get to him, thrashing wildly. As the throes of their passion subsided, he smiled in tenderness, wrapping his arms around her and cuddling her against his chest. She snuggled into him, and Anders smiled, delighting in the feeling of her soft, warm body molding itself to his.
    "Damn," he breathed happily, with more than a hint of teasing in his tone, "I have got to make it to Sydney more often." He chuckled before planting an affectionate kiss on the tip of her nose as she looked up.
    Cayleigh grew anxious. "Mike… love, can we… talk about that?"
    Anders felt the sudden tension in her. He held her in place as he rolled them onto their sides, facing each other. He gazed down into her lovely sapphire eyes, letting his own expression become open and curious; somewhere in the back of his mind he was musing on how beautiful she looked, lying there surrounded by flame colored silk, her long platinum hair spilling across the pillows. "Sure, sweetheart. What do you want to talk about?" he asked, his voice soft and low.
    "Mike… I…" Cayleigh's eyes dropped, as her cheeks flushed deep red. "Mike, have you ever considered… settling down here in Sydney?"
    Anders looked bemused. "Well, not really." He paused in thought. "It isn't that I… well, I stay so busy, it just hasn't crossed my mind."
    "I know," Cayleigh sighed her wistfulness. "I've been there myself. But… but, Mike, I'm going to direct the new planetarium. I'll still get to do research junkets and such. We've been a couple so long--ever since grad school--together but never really together, at least not for long. Always on the go. Grabbing little stolen moments with each other, like tonight, but never for more than a couple of days at any given time. Mike, we could be together now. All the time. Not just once in awhile, when we're both in the same place at the same time. I can work the planetarium, and you can head the Anglo-Australian Observatory's Sydney office--they're looking for a director. I dropped your name just to see, and the committee was positively ecstatic at the thought of getting an astronomer of your international stature. And then, we could do our research together, go to the States, or to the Inter-American Observatory, or… or anywhere you wanted…"
    Anders stared at his blushing, intense lover, startled at her ardency. "You've really thought about this."
    "A lot. I… I love you, Mike." She fixed her eyes on his chest, afraid to look at him as she made her admission; he had heard her utter those words before, but never like this, never so fervent.
    A silent Anders continued to gaze at her, thoughtful. Finally, Cayleigh dared to look up, meeting his eyes. At his lack of expression, her own eyes filled with tears.
    "You… you're not interested." A tear spilled over, trickling down her still-flushed cheek.
    That galvanized Anders into a response. "No, love, no, that isn't it. Not at all. I'm just… stunned. I…" Tender fingers brushed a strand of blonde from her eyes. "Do you want to get married?"
    "Are you proposing?"
    "I'm… not sure." He gazed at her, face honest and open, if confused.
    Cayleigh shrugged, diffident. "I'd like to. But, but, as long as we can be together, I'll be happy."
    Anders' expression melted into a tender smile. "You know, I rather like that idea, myself," he considered. "In fact, the more I think on it, the better I like it. I'd been noticing anyway, these long nights at the telescope are telling on me a little more than they used to, when I was younger. Maybe it really is time to settle down, act more like normal blokes."
    Cayleigh smiled, hopeful at his response, eyes still glistening. "You want to, then?"
    "Yes, I do. I love you too, darling. ‘S why we've stayed together all these years. You're my… my other half, I suppose. At the risk of sounding softer than marshmallow fluff, you know the old saying, ‘Home is where the heart is?'" Anders asked, face growing hot. "Well, you're… home, Cayleigh. My home.