Every time he had shifted on the hard floor, he heard her jump slightly. From that assessment alone, he guessed she’d gotten just about the same amount of sleep as he had. None.
He watched her intently. He could make out a tight round butt and luscious full breasts. Gold hair, almost the same color as wheat, fell just above the swell of her ass and had become tangled all around her. Her hair fanned across her face, obscuring most of her features. The highlights gave the illusion of sparkles.
He was almost certain she was from the Zaronna System. The dark-gold skin suggested she came from one of the sand planets this system was famous for.
Her skin shimmered as though it were a million bucks. He would bet his left nut she was worth at least that much. He couldn’t tell her height but he guessed somewhere near his own six foot, five inches.
She yawned and stretched, revealing a small, shapely waist, curvy hips and long, lean legs. He’d been nestled between them a few hours before. And it had felt good.
Her eyes fluttered open. “Eek!”
Yeah, Anna had always teased him he resembled death in the morning but she had never screamed when she saw him.
He leaned back in the chair and stretched his long legs out in front of him. To hide his growing crotch, he folded his hands over it. “Chill out, no one’s going to hurt you.” Yet.
She rested a hand on her heaving chest. Her gaze darted wildly around the room, taking in all the surroundings before finally settling on him.
She caught him staring at her breast and pulled the blanket up to her chin.
He groaned. Aw, don’t do that.
Where the hell had that come from?
“Sa liet fa soeil?”
Kane inhaled sharply. He hadn’t imagined the lyrical tone of her voice or the mesmerizing coloring of her eyes. They appeared more slanted today than they had last night.
“I can’t understand you,” he said. For good measure, he pointed to his head. “No translator.”
“Sa liet fa soeil?” she asked again. This time she pointed to her chest then pointed toward the port view.
He wasn’t exactly sure what she said but… “Can you understand me?”
Her head dipped slightly. “Alo.”
He assumed that was a yes. At least the communication part wouldn’t be as hard as he’d first imagined. “Where are you from?”
She stared at him in silence. Her luscious lips were pursed into a straight line. She wouldn’t be opening her mouth anytime soon. Pity. He could imagine a lot of things she could do with that pretty little mouth of hers.
Shit, what’s coming over me?
He shook the invading thought from his mind.
First things first. Find out which planet she hailed from. Maybe one rich in gold? This could be the jackpot they hoped for.
The only reason they had even traveled to this remote system was because of the rumored gold planets. If he and his crew played their cards right, they could highjack a vessel or two transporting gold. Hell, they would all be able to settle down on some remote planet and finally live in peace.
“What planet are you from?” he repeated, slowing his words.
“Nes,” she replied. Her perfect lips pursed defiantly.
“No?”
She nodded her response.
“I’m sure my crew explained everything to you last night. We’re ransoming you back to your home planet.”
She shook her head slowly.
Is she trying to play hardball? He stood and kicked the chair to the dinette table. Her watchful gaze stayed on him. She ran shaky fingers through the tangles and knots in her hair.
Seconds ticked by painfully slowly as they watched each other in silence. He willed her to turn away first. Her look of defiance told him they would be at this for a long time—until she snagged on a knot. She whispered to herself and finally broke eye contact to concentrate on her hair.
He could give her a comb, if he wanted to be nice. She muttered louder as she pulled at a clump of hair. He made his way to the bathroom. Against his better judgment he was going to be nice, today. Her gaze followed him as he grabbed a comb off the bathroom counter and tossed it on her lap.
She picked it up and squinted. She turned it between her hands and inspected it before setting it next to her. Either he had read her wrong and she didn’t need a comb or she didn’t know what to do with it. He rolled his eyes at the latter thought.
Priceless.
Towering over her, he hooked his thumbs in the waist of his worn, leather pants. “What’s your name?”
Her attention snapped back to him. Feathered lashes blinked once, then twice. A look of boredom stretched across her soft features that were as perfect as a porcelain doll’s.
Okay. She wasn’t going to answer that question either.
He thumbed his chest. “Captain Kane Epps.”
She gave a small dip of her head. Definitely royalty. She straightened on his bed, her brows scrunched together. “Sa liet Moira, Yazmine un Nebin?”
Against his will, he took a step back. Most of the aliens had voices that were harsh on his ears, reminding him of nails on a chalkboard. But hers…he could get used to if he wasn’t careful.
Stunned, he caught himself. Get used to her? What the hell was coming over him? Get rid of her was what he had intended to think.
He assumed she was asking about the others. “The females and your guard are secured.”
She did the regal nod thing again.
“Are you going to answer any of my questions?”
“Nes.”
Okay. “Maybe I’ll have better luck with your crew?” He rocked on his heels. “Do you think they would survive my interrogation?”
She went ridged.
“Ah, I must’ve hit a nerve. I’m sure they’ll be a wealth of information.”
She shook her head.
“We’ll see.”
She turned her head and whispered under her breath.
“Last chance.”
She didn’t acknowledge him.
“Fine, have it your way.” Without waiting for a response, he went to the communication panel. He ignored the feeling of her eyes on him as he pushed the intercom button. “Ryan, meet me in the female captives’ cabin.”
Ryan’s voice echoed through the speakers. “Sure thing, Captain.”
Kane stepped out the door and engaged the security lock from outside. If she thought of escaping, she wouldn’t get far.
He made a beeline to the cabin where the females were being held. As he walked, the lights in his corridor blinked on. Since leaving Earth they had all suffered the consequences of a thrown-off circadian rhythm. The Loconuist vessel had been a nightmare. It had been lit brighter than a Christmas tree around the clock.
The Galontaers’ planet hadn’t been any better. It had twenty-seven hours of daylight and four hours of night. If working in the mines hadn’t killed him, the day and night schedule would’ve. But luckily for them, Kyle had been able to set the vessel’s schedule to mimic Earth’s rotation. And from the activation of the lights, it was 6:23 a.m., Eastern Standard Time.
The living quarters on the vessel had a staggering number of corridors, twenty to be exact. The captain’s wing boasted five spacious cabins while the remaining corridors held ten cabins each. That was a lot of room for a crew of six, including the occasional hostages.
He had taken the captain’s cabin. JB had taken one of the larger cabins in his wing. Ryan, Kyle and Eli had taken cabins in the same corridor and Jess had taken a corridor all to herself.
Kyle had cut off the power to all the other corridors with the exception of the one where the captives were being held and the one leading to the bridge, dining hall and engine room.
He finally arrived at the corridor designated for captives. It was empty except for Jess sitting in a chair outside their door. The black protective skin-suit she wore stretched across her muscles, and her elbows rested on her knees. She was staring at her boots and
cradling her chin in her hands.
On Earth she had once been the chief financial officer of a large West Coast infomercial company, but after the invasion she’d been sold to a space brothel, where they’d picked her up from.
“Picked up” was the wrong choice of words. She’d stolen clothes from one of her customers and walked past security. The clothes, along with her six-foot-one-inch frame and short brown hair had gotten her waved through as one of the male patrons. From there, she had boarded their vessel and hid in an unsecured cabin. Because of the sheer size of The Vengeance she had remained undiscovered for almost a month. Kane had finally caught her in the kitchen stealing food.
As the sounds of his footsteps echoed down the hall, she straightened. Since he hadn’t asked her to guard the captives, he approached with a questioning, “Jess?”
She frowned. “Yes?”
“What are you doing?”
“Can’t you take a guess? I’m keeping watch. Shit, someone has to do it. They’ve been fucking all night long.”
He widened his stance. “JB asked permission and personally, as long as the females are willing, I don’t see the harm.”
“So, it’s okay they’re fucking the hostages?” She straightened. “Is this where you came after you left my cabin?”
“If the females are willing, I don’t see the problem. And no, I didn’t. But if I had, it’s not your issue anymore.”
“Don’t get all testy. Besides, you can try to fuck whomever you want. We’re through.” Her gaze boldly met his. “My options are wide open. I might actually get a hard dick now.”
Kane didn’t take the bait. Jess was now free to fuck every man on the vessel if she wanted too. She might just do it to make him jealous. Why would he be jealous? He wasn’t trying to settle down.
“Isn’t there something else you could be doing right now?”
She flicked her head toward the door. “Yeah, interrogating those bitches.”
He stood his ground. “Thanks, but no thanks. Ryan is meeting me here.” Not a moment too soon, Ryan rounded the corner. “If I decide we need to assign guards for the females, I’ll let you know. Right now you’re dismissed.”
She huffed under her breath. He took a few steps away, giving her space. Jess was confrontational to say the least.
She got up and kicked the chair from behind her, where it fell on its side. “Whatever.”
He could have made her right the chair, but honestly it didn’t matter. She’d just go to the dining hall and throw the chairs all over the place. She needed to go to her room and cool off.
While walking past Ryan, Jess lurched in his direction and snarled. Without flinching, Ryan shook his head as he passed her.
Ryan stopped in front of Kane and watched Jess walk away. “What’s her problem?”
His fights with Jess provided the crew with constant amusement. He didn’t want to fuel another round of laughs and jokes. “Nothing, let’s go.”
Kane entered the sliding door with Ryan at his back. Like most of the crew, Ryan also preferred the black protective skin-suit that was made for inner-space travel. The African American was a lot shorter than Kane. He stood five foot nine but his weight of two hundred and twenty pounds made him appear more like a pro wrestler than a pilot. The thirty-two-year-old spoke three different languages fluently and had excellent negotiation skills. But it was his skills as a fighter pilot with two tours in Iraq and one in Afghanistan that had made their escape from the Galontaers possible.
The two females sat huddled together on a bed that could comfortably accommodate five. And from Jess’ assertion, it probably had. Aside from being scared, they were unharmed. They both wore long, formfitting dresses similar to the one the princess wore, but not as expensive looking.
No wonder JB had been all antsy to get in their pants…er…dresses. It had been a while since they’d captured humanoid-looking species. The last three jobs had been pure alien in appearance. Down to their green, scaly skin, antennas protruding from their heads, centipede appendages and awful stench.
The alien females in front of him were different as night and day, even though they both were more dishelved than JB had been. One appeared like a spinster schoolmarm and the other resembled an exotic supermodel. They had the same gold coloring as the princess but the supermodel was a shade or two lighter.
Once their gazes settled on Ryan, they both visibly relaxed. Ryan winked and chuckled. He quickly straightened when Kane cut his eyes at him. No matter what had recently transpired, Ryan was on duty now. All fucking had to be put aside for the time being.
“They both have Universal Translators, Captain.”
Kane pulled up a chair and sat in front of them. Their gazes shifted from Ryan to him. They both smiled invitingly.
Not in a million years. “What are your names?”
The spinster schoolmarm put a hand on her chest. “Moira.” Then she pointed to the other female. “Un Yazmine.”
“What’s the princess’s name?”
“Princepetta Sa’Mya,” Moira replied.
Sa’Mya. “What planet are you all from?”
Moira and Yazmine exchanged surprised glances. “Di’et los holos?” Moira asked.
“She’s asking if the princess told you,” Ryan translated.
“No.”
The females exchanged another surprised glance.
So they were hiding their origins too.
“Loset tu li fasa Princepetta Sa’Mya?” Moira asked.
“She wants to know when you are taking them to Princess Sa’Mya.”
I’m sure they would want that. Put them together so they can concoct a story. “No. You’ll stay here for the time being.”
Both of the females opened their eyes wider. “Nes, nes,” Moira said, shaking her head. “Princepetta Sa’Mya neset tik lois.”
“She says they will need to attend to Princess Sa’Mya.” While Ryan translated, Moira continued talking. “She’s saying Princess Sa’Mya can’t take care of herself. Apparently that chick is really helpless.” Ryan snorted. “She’s pretty stressed out about it.”
“Hmm…well, the princess is going to have to take care of herself, isn’t she?” He didn’t know what game they were playing but he would get to the bottom of it.
Chapter Four
The audacity of these humans made her so mad she could spit. They could have killed her. What if she hadn’t been wearing her safety harness? She would’ve been splattered across the ugly transporter walls. That would not have been a good way to die. It had been bad enough their little stunt caused her to pass out, but to awaken with blasters aimed at her head—well, that had been unacceptable and just plain rude.
Didn’t these ignorant humans know how to treat royalty?
The human who called himself JB had frisked her then pushed her in a room that was as cold as a block of ice. And to make matters worse, he expected her to sleep on the floor. Princesses do not sleep on the floor, Sa’Mya scoffed.
She hadn’t even attempted to lie on the blankets that looked as though they had come from the servants’ quarters. Why had he pushed her to the floor when there had been a bed? Too exhausted to do anything but sleep, she had crawled into the bed. Only to be awakened by a groping human.
Her first thought had been to wake him and send him to the floor. But as his body began to radiate heat, she decided the bed was large enough to accommodate both of them. Her plan had been to stay as far away from him as possible until she could rectify the human male problem in the morning.
But then… The warm rush of heat spread across her face. He touched her and she had touched him back.
She had allowed herself to indulge with his flesh, play with the fine hairs on his chest, his nipples and…
She could still remember vividly how he had felt in her hand. His shaft had been so hard but yet so soft. She had touched, stroked and tasted his nectar. She had displayed herself so wantonly. Her body had betrayed her on the most intimate level.
She should have pushed him off. She shouldn’t have let him caress her as he had, nor put his lips on her. She had responded, wanting and needing his touch. Tissues swelled that had never reacted to a male. She had wanted him in more ways than one, in her mouth and inside her.
His manhood had been big. Too big. Would it fit? She would have tried. She chewed on her lower lip. Males and females mated all the time. It was supposed to fit. Wasn’t it?
Maybe she should ask Nebin when she saw him, just to be sure. She scowled. No, not him. He would reprimand her for thinking of such things. While he allowed her to indulge with females, he would kill any male who thought to touch her.
Moira? No, she had never seen her assistant remotely interested in males or females. Yazmine? Yes, Yazmine would explain male-female coupling.
Next time she would know what was expected of her. But why had he stopped? While she had, against her better judgment, been more than willing?
Oh, he had been expecting someone else.
She winced at the memory.
Maybe she shouldn’t have struck him?
What am I thinking? That human is holding me captive, for Ancients’ sake. Sa’Mya shook her head in disgust.
Her breath caught in her throat. They had missed the transport. Now how were they going to get to Prysvinta? These fools didn’t even know what they’d done. If she was forced to stay in this system, her uncle would surely find them.
Or would he?
She doubted Moira had been able to get a message to her uncle before they had been caught. While aboard the transporter, Nebin had sat next to her the entire trip. He hadn’t allowed Moira the opportunity to be alone at the helm at all.
This could work out in my favor.
Uncle Umar wouldn’t find her on this floating death trap. This would be the perfect place to hide.
Sa’Mya pressed the hard, small, round indentation on the back of her hand. The current date and time on Laconia projected directly above her hand. The time-keeper read twenty-one rotations until her twenty-fifth birth cycle. She would need to stay out of sight. Everything would be fine after then.
Dangerously Yours: 2 (Loving Dangerously) Page 4