give her a son, he thought, to hold a child of his own in his arms again . . .
AnTares . . . His grip tightened on the hammer until his knuckles went white. After his arrest, the council had refused to let him spend any time with his daughter. He had begged them to reconsider, to let him tell her good-bye, but to no avail. The counsel's only concession had been to allow his parents to bring AnTares to the docking bay the morning his ship was to depart.
He closed his eyes, remembering the day he had seen his daughter last, her clear gray eyes awash with tears. She had reached out to him, begging him not to leave her. The sound of her cries had followed him as he was led to the ship. He had yearned to go to her, to try to explain why he was being sent away, why he would never see her again. In desperation, he had turned to the head of the counsel, pleading for DaTra's understanding, begging to be allowed to hold his daughter one last time, to tell her he loved her, but DaTra had adamantly refused. On board the spacecraft, Alex had stared out the ship's view port, his gaze fixed on his daughter's face, until all ports had been sealed and she had been lost to his sight forever.
Alex hammered the last nail in place and righted the table. After all these years, the thought of her still had the power to cause him pain. AnTares, forgive me. . .
"Alex?"
He looked up to find Kara watching him. "I'm sorry, did you say something?"
"I asked if you wanted a cup of coffee, or maybe a glass of water."
"No, thank you."
"Is everything all right?"
"Fine."
She tilted her head to one side, her expression doubtful. "You don't have to tell me if you don't want to," she said quietly. "But you don't have to lie, either."
"I'm sorry, Kara. I was thinking about my daughter."
She nodded, not knowing what to say.
He carried the table into the kitchen and put the chairs in place, one on each side.
"Will you sit with me while I eat?" Kara asked. She placed her plate and a cup of coffee on the table and sat down.
With a nod, Alex sat across from her.
"What shall we do today?" she asked.
"I don't know. I'm afraid there isn't much to do up here." He glanced at the empty bookcase. Even reading was no longer an option.
Kara regarded him over the edge of her coffee cup. "I have an idea."
He looked at her expectantly, and then, watching her cheeks bloom with color, he knew what she had in mind.
"Kara . . ."
She looked at him through wide, innocent eyes. "We can't go out while the sun's up," she said, smiling seductively. "So we can't go for a swim, or a walk." She shrugged. "We can't sit and read because you burned up all the books. So, can you think of a better way to pass the day?"
"No."
"Good." Pushing away from the table, Kara stood up and took his hand.
Heart pounding, his body humming with awareness and desire, Alex let her lead him into the bedroom. He stood passively, the blood rushing through his veins, thrumming in his ears, as she began to undress him.
When he reached for her, she swatted his hands away. "Not yet," she murmured, and so he stood there, his body trembling with longing, while she ran her hands over his flesh, pressed her lips to his chest, bent to explore his navel with her tongue.
He groaned as the ache to hold her grew painful. "My turn," he said with a growl, and with slow deliberation, he began to undress her, his hands sliding seductively over her flesh until she, too, was quivering with need.
Swinging her into his arms, he carried her to bed. He felt her gaze on his back as he took the necessary precautions, and then she was in his arms, whispering his name, urging him to hold her, to love her, and never let her go.
And he was more than willing to oblige.
They spent the afternoon in bed, making love, sleeping, making love again, until darkness settled over the mountain.
Later, after a leisurely bath at the hot spring, they went for a long walk through the woods.
"Alex, do you think Barrett's given up yet?"
"I doubt it."
"I need to call home."
"I know, but it's too soon. Maybe in a couple of weeks."
Kara nodded. As eager as