Voyages of the Solar Wind 1: A Fire in Heaven by Michael Erickston Read Free Book Online Page B

this, but I have to know. Were you jealous when I was with Jen back then? Or Harrana?" I didn't want to hurt her, but I had to know if it had. If so, I would make it right.
    She shrugged. "Yes, but when you broke up, I wasn't, anymore. And with Harrana, I didn't want to piss her off. At least that was just one night with her."
    "Well, you aren't going to have to worry about her again, sweetheart. I just thought of how many times I've called you sweety or sweetheart over the years, but that was just for a female friend. Now it's for the woman I've been looking for since I was old enough to notice girls, and she was right in front of my face and cuddling naked with me every night for ten years." I was babbling, and chuckled at my own tongue getting tangled.
    "I know, Dex. You can be extremely dense sometimes." She slapped my chest playfully. I had to laugh.
    "Yes, Ri. Yes I was." I agreed.
    I smiled at Ri's assessment. She's always been candid about my decision making skills, or sometimes lack thereof. Another reason our friendship works. I value her opinion, and she puts me in my place when necessary. I found that even though we were now much more than the best friends we'd been an hour ago, I still felt the same way about her candid openness, and I loved her even more for it. I'd never been very good with relationships, but with Ri, I thought maybe I'd found in her what I'd been missing with the others.
    'I love her.' The thought came naturally. It meant much more than it did before, but it still came as naturally as breathing. It felt good.
    "I don't know about you, baby, but I could use a beer." She grinned as my face lit up at that. Another reason we're best friends. She loves beer as much as I do. The main difference is the way Gurinkans' bodies metabolize alcohol. They get drunk like we Humans do, but they don't get any of the side effects. No liver damage. No brain damage. No beer gut.
    "Sounds good, kitten." I tried out the pet name, and she purred at it. Then she jumped up and went to the 'fridge unit. She grabbed two Halcyon Darks and came back to bed as I sat up against the headboard. She handed me one and I opened it as she opened hers. As is our alternating custom, I toasted the first swig.
    "To us, Ri. Best friends, and now so much more." I kissed her sweetly, and we clinked and drank.
    She snuggled up to me again and we drank as we talked.
    "Port Royal." Ri said with a shudder. It had been a while since we'd been there. She didn't like the place, and I honestly couldn't blame her. It, like its ancient Earth counterpart, had a rep as a pirate haven nowadays.
    "We have to, Ri. Jeka can help us out with Jen, and our pickup is there for this new job." I soothed her. Jeka was our representative in the FTA, and she was good people... for a Selarian. I don't usually care about someone's species, and I judge them on their merits as individuals. Rilar is a case in point. I don't care what species she is. She's my best friend, and the best damn gunner I've ever worked with. The fact that she's Gurinkan just happens to be there. I now knew that I'd made a huge mistake by not asking her about her people more, but we were working on that.
    But Selarians just creeped me out from the word Go. The first time I'd met one, I'd wanted to grab a stake, garlic, cross, and let in any nearby sunlight! You guessed it. They REALLY ARE blood sucking vampires. They look very close to Human, even more than most species, but the jet black hair, red eyes, wolf-like fangs, and stark white skin are dead (natch) giveaways when dealing with a Selarian.
    Selara is very close to their system's sun. Think Mercury in the Sol System, and you get the idea. Like what was once thought of Mercury, their planet doesn't spin, so only the the dark side is habitable. Unlike Mercury, their planet really IS tidal locked, and it DOES have a habitable atmosphere of oxy/nitro, like most carbon based lifeforms' home planets. It also, thanks to the greenhouse effect