They remained silent when they finally reached their climax, and she took the time to explore the rings of his vindril, the sharp cut of his cheekbones, and the skin that would vanish against the ocean caves of his home world. He scraped his claws down her outer thighs, reminding her that she was ticklish, and he laughed with her, a sound she had forgotten how much she truly enjoyed.
“Why did you keep running?” There was hurt in his voice, a tone she had not heard before, and the abrupt change took her by surprise. That he chose to ask this while softening inside of her, the sweat from their bodies refusing to dissipate due to the heat of the room, wasn’t lost on her either.
“Everything,” she began. Under normal circumstances, she would have avoided the conversation entirely or perhaps hurled a few well-timed accusations, but his thumb traced the skin of her collar bone before settling on her pulse point. “Why do you do that?”
“The human heart betrays its owner when you lie.” His eyes trailed over her face.
Natlea lifted her chin. That wasn’t fair at all. “And what tells do Dyriixians have?”
“If we’re speaking, we’re probably lying.”
Natlea chuckled and licked her dry lips.
“You’re very good at distracting me,” Yael purred into her ear. He withdrew, and Natlea winced as he gently lowered her legs back down to the floor. The euphoria of passion began to ebb as reality set back in. “But not this time.”
“Everything happened so fast.” Her words spilled out faster than she could catch them. “One day we’re having a swim, and the next my entire life is gone.” His mouth opened to speak. “I know
She interjected, “Your kin attempted to make me comfortable, but humans don’t work that way. I needed more time. I needed an actual choice.”
She wondered how many Dyriixian females voiced their own misgivings about the custom. “You could have stopped at any time.”
Yael shook his head. “A Dyriixian never gives up a rare find, and you were my greatest treasure.”
A statement said with such honest sincerity, she wondered why she never heard the words from him before. She worried her bottom lip as she tightened her belt around her hips. She hadn’t burnt any bridges with Anaxas Corp when she last stormed their office, but there were no guarantees they would take her back. Even with the union dissolved, who knew if that was just another taboo she would need to contend with?
On the other hand. “I laid out all of my cards.” Natlea crossed her arms. “Now it’s your turn.”
She would be lying if she said, in that moment, she was glad to not be the only one vulnerable and off kilter. But that she was able to tell that at all from him threw her for another loop she didn’t need right when she was about to find out the truth regarding who he was.
Natlea would let him squirm, and when he finally spoke again, she was all the gladder for causing him distress.
“I am Yael the Swift, of the Clan Veratyrinix and Privateer Captain of the Algean Fleet.”
Natlea’s head tipped to the side, and she closed her eyes. Perhaps if she wasn’t looking at him, she could rewind time to a point where he did not say he was, essentially, a pirate. Privateer was the fancy term, used by corporations and governments to justify the routing of resources based on petty grievances.
“Which is why a syndicate is after you.” Perhaps she should have known. Most people on the straight and narrow wouldn’t feel a need to hide their employment. Yael walked the border of legality and had obviously crossed it, if a narrowly escaped hyperbubble was anything to go by. “I’m sure the last thing Anaxas wanted to deal with was the threat of a pirate fleet attacking one of their operations.”
“Our reputation may precede us.”
That was putting it lightly. No one she spoke with had even hinted at her betrothed’s occupation. It was suspected plenty of corporations made use of the services of privateer fleets, but even Natlea knew to speak of it out loud was the epitome of bad taste. As though to speak of them could conjure them out of space.
“You owe me a job,” she finally said. Regardless of what happened between them, he owed her that much. She had already gotten a taste for the rush of putting her knowledge to a different use. Whether passage to a new planet or credits to begin a new life, she may have enjoyed their game, but it had very real costs.
He approached, and Natlea squared her shoulders. If he was going to fight her on this, she wasn’t going to back down. His large hands curled around the meat of her hips to pull her against him.
“Our ship requires new magnetic dampeners.”
This was an irrelevant—and random—change in direction. “What does that have to do with anything? Besides, you said the dampeners were fine when Alixyn brought them up.”
He shrugged. “I lied.” His fingers stroked the fine hairs at the nape of her neck. “Generally, the first mate would be responsible for handling maintenance and repairs.”
Natlea frowned. “So why haven’t they taken care of it?”
“Alixyn made him quit,” Yael grumbled, and it took a moment for her mind to catch up with the implications.
“Wait. Who was the last First Mate?”
“Graesen.”
Okay.
“Why did she make him quit?”
There was a momentary pause before he replied, his tone decidedly sheepish. “She accused us of abusing our positions for personal matters as opposed to attending to the needs of the ship.”
“Your engineer made your first mate quit because you were using working hours for bro time?” Natlea covered her mouth and pressed her lips together to keep from bursting out in laughter. Tears pricked at the corner of her eyes at the image of Yael and Graesen struggling to explain to Alixyn how maintenance orders were missed when the two males spent so much time together.
“She was not so keen on joining our crew when she arrived, either,” Yael continued.
“I do not know her well, but she doesn’t seem like the type who would be.” Natlea worried her lower lip between her teeth. “In fact, why even do this? Couldn’t we just make your lives hell?”
“The rewards are worth the risks,” he said softly
“Spoken like a pirate,” Natlea said. She caught the subtle downturn of his lips and smoothed it away with her thumb.
“The chase is in our blood,” Yael said, tracing a claw over the exposed skin of her collarbone. “As it is in yours.”
Natlea huffed and pushed her damp hair back from her forehead. “It’s boiling in here. We should probably get back to the bridge.” She moved around him in an attempt to put some space between herself and their last wave of admissions.
“And Dyriix III.”
She stopped and rested a hand against the metal door frame. They swept open, and cool air washed over her. She basked in it for a few moments, although she was unsure of whether it was entirely the artificial arctic blast or the rush of the unknown that caused goosebumps to peak across her skin.
“We need to stop by the nearest depot for repairs, and I want to see whatever you and Graesen were passing off as maintenance logs.” She looked over her shoulder. “Unless, it’s not my job to make sure we don’t blow up due to our own incompetence?”
He appeared momentarily shocked before breaking into a relieved grin. “I’ve been told I’m an awful employer.”
Natlea laughed. “I’ve had needy bosses before.”
She smiled down at the steel plating of the floor when he approached from behind and slid an arm around her waist. “Let’s hope you can keep up, then.”
“I told you it was a better investment to join with a first mate instead of hiring one. Pay up!”
“Gods-damn you, Graesen,” Yael groaned.
“Coastal males are notoriously cheap,” Alixyn said, leaning over to mutter into Natlea’s ear, although it was said loudly enough for the entire bridge crew. Anyone outside of their little band would have assumed there was animosity driving Alixyn and Graesen’s constant bickerin
g, but the secret smiles of teasing lovers passed between them before they returned to their perspective duties.
Between accepting her new role on the Opportunity and now, Natlea had begun to bond with much of the crew, save Clipper, a crotchety, older human who thought it was bad luck to have females aboard a ship. There was Olyren, the ship’s mechanic. Bina, the ship’s cook. Cirion, Graesen’s nephew and second in navigation.
The longer she stayed, the more she came to consider her new crew a ragtag sort of family.
“We have a rendezvous scheduled with Saemo the Wise at Exoplanet 873BGita,” Yael continued, choosing to ignore the momentary interruption. After spending a few days in neutral space, they were able to establish contact with Saemo, the syndicate commander tasked with apprehending them on behalf of the port authority.
It was a blatant shakedown, but they had little choice. A trade of service would keep his entire crew out of a work colony. When a substance became illegal to transport, it was illegal regardless of when during the transport process the change in the law took place. Natlea still doubted whether Yael was entirely ignorant of the pending legislation when he accepted the contract to shuttle live Vulcyrian Dream Root samples through neutral space, though.
It was either bad luck or a set up.
“Who knows?” Alixyn began, her eyes trained on the readout in front of her. “Maybe it will be easy.”
Yael snorted. “Hn, I doubt it. If they’re resorting to extortion, it’s either insanely dangerous, or they’re desperate.”
“Likely both,” Graesen replied. They would be reaching 873BGita within a few hours, and the easy camaraderie vanished just as quickly as it arose. This would be her first mission with the crew, and while she wasn’t necessarily expecting a softball, on-the-job training was going to involve far higher stakes than a stern talking-to next to a filtered water dispenser.
The air on the bridge was thick with tension. Everyone else on the crew was experienced with what they were walking into, with years of experience under their belts, and they all seemed to be in agreement that working for a syndicate was right up there with signing a deal with Djruaki soul eaters.
“We’re disposable to them.”
“But the rewards are worth the risks,” Natlea said. She turned in her chair and took in the large battle cruiser on the viewscreen.
“Spoken like a pirate,” Yael replied, and their eyes met.
“Privateer,” Natlea said, a small smirk tugging at her lips. “In service to the syndicate.”
Alixyn snorted and ripped her headset off, tossing it down onto the console. “You two are just...”
“Nauseating,” Graesen finished.
“My break is coming up, anyway.” Natlea rose and winced when a bone popped in her back. To call them a skeleton crew was generous, and she had been hunched over her console for hours. She had plans for this ship, and they were far more profitable than privateering, but she would need to gain Yael’s buy-in first, and she wasn’t sure how keen he would be on trading one form of servitude for another.
She shot Yael a look full of promise as she exited the bridge. He usually worked a later shift than she did, and they passed through each other’s lives like ships in the night, despite sharing the same bed. He would need to return to the bridge. They both would, but for now, she hoped he would catch her hint and join her.
It had been too long since they had had a few moments alone.
The ship’s halls were far more familiar to her now, as opposed to the confusing maze of metal corridors she caught snatches of during their tumultuous courtship. She nodded to crewmates who passed and was glad they didn’t require the kind of cajoling a human crew would have. Dyriixians were nothing if not pragmatic; they were all well aware of the danger that lay ahead of them.
She entered their shared quarters that were far homier than the stark room she had been thrust into when she first arrived. It wasn’t furnished to the hilt, but the bed was larger and covered in a number of pillows Natlea had teased Yael mercilessly about for hours.
His large shadow appeared in the doorway just as she had finished removing her boots and was pouring herself a drink.
“How can you possibly drink at a time like this?” Yael asked with a chuckle, although his admonishment was the words of a hypocrite. He fished a glass out of the kitchenette cabinet and slid it over the counter towards her.
“They’re not going to kill us,” Natlea replied, although she was struggling to convince herself as much as him. “They’ll let whatever hellhole planet they send us to do that for them.”
Attempts to not let their imaginations run wild were proving futile. She took her first small sip and hissed when the liquid burned a hot trail down her throat.
“And this is the life you want?” he asked.
“Is this why you hid what you were from me when we met?” It was the single question she never wanted to ask, but it came, unbidden, at possibly the worst time imaginable.
His shoulders sagged, and he rolled the tumbler between his hands. “I could see the chase in you, but I did not know if you would accept me, knowing the truth.”
She finished her drink, her eyes never leaving his as she lowered the glass to the counter and cocked her hip against it. “And lying by omission was the easiest way to obtain what you desired.”
If a Dyriixian was speaking, they were probably lying. It was human in execution and foreign in its honesty. “You can’t lie to me like that.” She walked to the bed and threw herself on it. Thirty minutes of sleep should be more than enough. Any longer, and she would be useless.
Her vision was beginning to blur as she set the timer on her wristcom. The bed shifted, and Yael’s heavy weight settled next to her.
“If I can’t trust anything you say...” Her sentence trailed off, but her breath hitched when the thick meat of his palm encircled her ribcage to pull her closer, tucking her back against his chest.
“Whatever it will take to have you return to these quarters,” Yael murmured into her hair. Wrapped in his arms, she could almost forget the danger hanging over them. His hand drifted over her breast, causing her breath to catch in the back of her throat. “And when the chase calls you…” It dipped further before finally cupping her between her thighs. “I’ll answer that, too.”
“And those times in between?” When the day-to-day called them. When there was no danger or excitement to be found but ship maintenance and avoiding the prying eye of the port authority and syndicate commanders with hidden agendas.
“We’ll take them as they come,” Yael replied, his sentence slowing as sleep’s fingers stilled his tongue.
Her breathing soon matched his own, and her wristcom beeped its first warning. Another fifteen minutes. She squeezed his arms closer and turned her gaze to the rapidly passing stars in their quarter’s view screen. So many possibilities lay ahead of her and all of them featured the same pair of black eyes.
Yes, this was definitely the life Natlea Desmon wanted. They would begin the chase anew in a few hours. This time, they would hunt together.
About the Author
Dani Morrison writes enticing Paranormal, High Fantasy, and Science Fiction Erotic Romance featuring diverse heroines, memorable settings, passion, and adventure. She has been an avid reader of romance since her youth and seeks to create hours of fantastical escape for her readers. If you’re interested in more of her work, visit: https://danimorrison.home.blog/
Sirei in Exile - A New Sirenx Romance
By: S.J. Sanders
Sirei in Exile
A New Sirenx Romance
S.J. Sanders
A species on the verge of extinction, the remnants of those who survived the death of their own world, the Sirei are losing all hope for salvation. In their darkest hour they come across a perfect blue world with oceans sustainable for their kind and gamble on their ability to survive on the planet they have subbed New Sirenx. A commander who never wished to be in charge must lead his people t
o make their way in a new world, and yet is distracted from his task by a lone female from a strange land-dwelling sentient race. He will risk everything to be with her.
Chapter One
Their ship had moved into an unexplored quadrant of space. After five generations of searching for a habitable world, the morale of those on board was grim. Their ship held the remnants of their civilization and no more than one million descendants of those who survived an extinction event on Sirenx.
Ocean and stone meant life to their species, but no one on board had ever seen the wide crystalline green seas of their world, nor the rocky islands that once dotted the planet.
The sirei had been abandoned in the cosmos for far too long, each generation after the next searching for a suitable world without success. Although their forefathers had built the spherical ship for the sole purpose of being able to endure a long flight, no one could have guessed that they would have been in space so long. All of the logs of the scientists who worked on the project had been saved and countlessly reviewed. Everyone had assumed that they would find a watery planet within the first generation, or the second at latest. The ship had been designed to serve every amenity necessary to their species’ health, comfort, and recreation, but only intended for a limited time. The majority of its primary functions were in stasis, awaiting landing. Its true purpose was as a colonizer. Theoretically, when engaged for colonization, the sphere would break apart before entering the planetary atmosphere to spread out to different parts of the world where the colonizer pod vessel would lock onto sea-beds at habitable depths.
The problem arose when it became apparent that no one had realized just how far apart habitable planets were, and most of them unsuited to the needs of the sirei who required large bodies of water and access to land. The second generation had been optimistic still. The third generation had remained hopeful though skeptical. The fourth generation adopted a grim resignation, and the fifth generation had fallen into complete despondency.
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