Ricochet

by Sandra Sookoo

  He’d have seconds to dodge the first blast. Chances were high the second one would tag him, though. A wide grin split the Caringa’s leathery, yellow face as he aimed both weapons. Stratton swallowed, but it did little to force moisture into his dust-coated throat.

  He should gamble on all the luck he had, throw his lot in with the thieves and somehow convince them to give him a ship so he could get back to his life. Bag Chaf, collect the money, start over. That was it. Again, his gaze fell to his racemate, and a hot surge of guilt tore through him. Damn you, Willa. What had happened to his solitary attitude, the one where he didn’t need anyone, the state of mind that had seen him through the bulk of his life? Why was he wasting valuable time on Willa? Shit. No way would he delve into his psyche to figure it out, but he couldn’t leave her. Not now. He gritted his teeth. She’d owe him big for this. Any minute now, those HEPPs would go off…any second…and his ability to do his job dwindled away…

  “Stop. No more fighting.” The leader of the bandits threw up his hands, dropping his dagger into the dust. Perspiration coated the front of his tunic, mixing with the red powder in the air. “Let the woman negotiate. She’s earned the right.”

  Stratton looked from the Caringa to Willa’s tired, triumphant face, then back to his adversary. The weapons lowered, and he crossed two pairs of arms. Stratton’s shoulders sagged in relief, as much as the bonds would allow. “What are the terms?” Finally, he could get the damned ropes off!

  “She can take back whatever she can carry.” The thief wiped his face with his sleeve. “Any woman who can fight with such fury and determination deserves a cut of the take.” He bowed to her from the waist. “Choose wisely, miss. This is your only chance.”

  Stratton took a few steps toward her. “Grab the jewels, kita. We’ll need those later.” For the love of all that was holy, she’d better salvage their winnings. They were worth thousands of dollars and would fund his future.

  Her body gleamed with sweat, and her chest heaved with the effort of breathing. His gaze drifted to her full breasts, focusing on the hardened buds of her nipples. The rose-hued tips thrust insistently against the lace, and blood rushed to his groin. He yanked his attention to her face, a half grin at one side of his mouth. She never lost the stubborn expression he’d been treated to for most of their time together. Stratton swallowed a groan. Ah, hell, she was going to screw the whole thing up. Willa passed the back of one hand over her forehead. “Do I have your word you’ll let me walk out of here with anything I can carry?”

  The thief nodded. “You have it, as far as the word of a thief goes, mind you.” A genuine smile lifted his cracked, dry lips. “What do you choose?”

  She shook her head. “One more thing.” When her gaze passed over Stratton, cool, determined, deadly, he couldn’t help the shiver that shot up his spine. There was no doubt she was pissed. “I want my ship too. Something to get off this rock.”

  “I am truly sorry, lady. That I cannot do.” The thief advanced toward her. Willa’s eyes narrowed. Stratton tensed, his shoulders burning due to his bonds. “Your newer ship will fetch us quite a profit or give us the means to expand our territory. However, you are more than welcome to take one of ours.” He gestured at the round dwelling. “I have two in back. Not much, I can assure you, but they are flight-ready and will get you to where you need to go.”

  Great, they’d give her a piece of space garbage that would probably strand them just outside the Belt without the means to summon help. Stratton shifted his weight, conscious that the Caringa grew restless with the small talk. “Uh, can we speed this along, Willa? I’m getting the feeling these guys won’t honor the promise for much longer.” No way did he trust anyone in the Belt.

  The thief scratched fingers through his scraggly hair. “Your companion is correct. My patience wears thin. What will you carry?”

  “I want our slick gear and the datapad.”

  “Done.” The thief snapped his fingers. Another man came forward with the requested items and threw them near Stratton.

  “And one more thing…”

  “Pushing my good will, Lingorian.” The warning in the thief’s voice hung heavy in the air.

  Willa stared at the thief for what seemed like endless seconds, challenging, assessing and ultimately dismissing him, then moved her gaze to Stratton. “I’ll take him.”

  “What?” Stratton gaped as she marched across the ground, rapidly closing the distance between them. “What the hell are you doing? Tell him you want the jewels, something that will actually benefit us in the long run.” The woman was out of her mind!

  “Shut up, Sin. I know what I’m doing.” She stooped, gathered the clothing and the datapad in one hand. When she reached his side, she pivoted on the ball of one foot. “I will be taking Stratton with me. If you’ll be so kind as to show me which ship I can take?”

  The thieves erupted into laughter. Mortification burned through Stratton and heated his face. Surely, she didn’t mean to—

  When Willa tucked herself against his side and wrapped her free arm about his waist then struggled to heft his bulk onto her shoulders, the breath whooshed from his lungs in surprise. The little vixen really did intend to carry…him. But why? He half stumbled after her, the toes of his boots trailing intermittently through the dust as she dragged him away from the ring of thieves. He angled his face, putting his lips to the delicate shell of her ear. “You don’t have to do this.” Still, his ego inflated at the thought she valued him more than material things.

  No one who’d been in and out of his life had ever cared, and definitely not enough to remove him from a hazardous situation. Willa’s action made him reel.

  “Don’t tell me what I have to do.” She grunted and toddled forward another few steps, pausing to shift his weight against her shoulders.

  “What made you choose me over the money?” He had to know. What was she thinking? Had it been him in the same situation, he would have taken the jewels and not looked back, not even for her, wouldn’t he? Ten minutes ago, he’d contemplated ditching her to save his own ass. Now…well, now those answers were lost under the sudden murk his mind had become.

  “It’s the only way off this rock. I’m taking it. Besides, I can’t leave you behind. Who would navigate? It’s not personal, you know. Just business. Commerce. A level you can understand.”

  And just like that, the thread of idyllic wonderment snapped, buried under old resentment, newer irritation and something else he didn’t care to identify. “Put me down, Willa, or so help me, I’ll make your life miserable before we can get to the next checkpoint.”

  She dropped him like a sack of dirty laundry. “That makes any time in your presence different how?”

  His knees buckled, but he kept himself upright by sheer willpower. “I…”

  The thieves had followed them and now stood laughing in a tight ring around them.

  “I wonder if the great Sin will be able to live down the details of his rescue, boys.” The leader slapped a hand against his thigh. “You can always try your luck with us instead.”

  He could, but he meant to get even with the woman who’d stripped him of his pride and stomped all over his he-man reputation. Stratton curled his hands into fists behind his back. “I have places to go. Lives to wreck.”

  Willa kept her gaze trained on Stratton. She gave nothing away.

  He ignored the thieves, glaring back at her, the woman who tempted and annoyed him by turns. “Why they paired us together is beyond my limited understanding, apparently. Maybe it’s punishment for everything bad I’ve done.” He pulled at his bonds, but they hadn’t loosened. The skin chafed, hot and raw against the rough rope. “The end of this damned race can’t come soon enough. I live for the day when I can walk away from you.”

  Only someone who knew Willa as well as he thought he did could see the hurt that sprang into her eyes. “I agree. You’ve slowed me down too much, and I have no more time to waste on someone like you.”

 
“At least we’re in agreement on something, finally.” His jaw clenched, a muscle twitching in his cheek as her eyes blazed. Then she blinked and lifted her stubborn chin, flicking her gaze away to single out the thief leader.

  “A ship, please. I’ve had enough fun in this asteroid belt for one day.”

  The thief nodded. He hooked a thumb in Stratton’s direction. “What about him?”

  She shrugged and kept walking in the direction of the domed building. “What about him? If he manages to get his ass on the ship, I’ll take him. After all, somewhere down the line in this race, I can probably use him to barter for a better ship. Isn’t that what you do with scum like him in this section of the galaxy?”

  Stratton stood in place until one of the thieves shoved him forward. Then he plodded behind Willa. Her back remained rigidly straight. A sweet dimple at the small of her back mocked him. Every once in a while, her hips swayed, and his cock twitched, recalling black thoughts and even darker desires. The woman was infuriating and more trouble than any female had a right to be, yet she held all the cards and had the power at the moment. Without her, he’d never leave the asteroid, never reach his ultimate goal of bringing Chaf to justice, never raise the money he needed to buy the sort of life he’d always dreamed of having.

  Then why did he want to strangle her and kiss her into submission at the same time?

  Chapter Seven

  “The Stellar Drift? That’s the ship’s name?” Stratton couldn’t help the scoff that escaped him once the thieves showed them to their new vehicle. He walked around the dull-gray craft, pausing at a black panel near the nose, which was obviously not a part of the original vessel. It seemed to have been fit to this one from a similar ship. No one bothered to paint over it. “This thing’s a wreck.”

  “Maybe so, but it’ll get us to Megaris-8, so shut your mouth and power up the datapad.” She came around the port-side, which was littered with dents and small dings, zipping up her slick gear in the process. The belt encircled her waist, mocking him by touching her when he couldn’t.

  His gaze focused on the creamy expanse of cleavage she’d left showing—just enough to tease him into remembering what she looked like under the covering. He ground his teeth, knowing she’d done it on purpose. The thin cut marching across her skin reminded him of their circumstances. Later, he’d come back and kill the thief for daring to mark her in such a way. “Small problem with that, kita. Still tied, remember?” He glared, despising her ease of movement, hating his body’s reaction to this troublesome female.

  “Oh, poor Stratton, trussed like a pig at the spit.” She caressed a hand along the length of the ship, stroking the metal like a lover. “You know, aside from its unfortunate name, the ship’s not bad. Scout class, several years older than ours, but it looks to be sound.”

  “It’s a poor excuse, and you know it. No bells and whistles. Doubtful it can make hyper-light without shaking apart. Most people would have retired this wreck a long time ago.”

  “Maybe.” She caught her bottom lip between her teeth in the signature gesture she made while contemplating. “It deserves another chance to do a good deed.” Abruptly, her gaze shifted and caught his, hard, confused and mostly determined. “I’m wondering if it’ll choose to rise to the challenge or if it’ll disappoint me like I expect it will.”

  Stratton stared, a muscle in his jaw jumping like a caught fish. Somehow, he got the impression she wasn’t talking about the damned ship anymore. Guilt tore up his insides. An apology for his earlier words sat heavily on the tip of his tongue, but pride kept him from uttering it. Why the hell should he? It wasn’t as if she’d come out of this situation smelling of flowers. Trapped in her scrutiny, he shifted his weight, his soul as vulnerable and naked as his body.

  After endless seconds slid by in silence, he cleared his throat. “Sometimes a battle-scarred ship can surprise you with the things it will do.”

  “I hope you’re right.” The tension eased. Willa slipped behind him, and he felt her nimble fingers work the knots of his bonds. “Though I’m tempted to leave you tied, I figure even the worst-behaved dog should be allowed freedom once in a while.”

  Her warm breath skated over the skin of his back. He sucked in a breath as awareness prickled every hair on his body. Need heated his blood, flirting with his groin until he wanted to whip around, shove her against the hull of the ship and get lost in her sweet pussy. Saliva evaporated in his mouth, and he swallowed. Say something, you idiot! Pour on your trademark charm.

  He couldn’t move, couldn’t breathe. Gentle fingers massaged his wrists as the ropes dropped to the ground; then they moved away, taking the warmth of her body with them. A cry of protest hovered on his lips. At the last second, he bit it back, loath to show how she affected him. Don’t give her a weapon to use later.

  “Remember the datapad.” She delivered a friendly slap to his ass that sent shock waves to every nerve ending. “And get some clothes on. You might injure that thing, what with all the sharp, hot metal around here.”

  The back of Stratton’s neck heated. He glanced down at the front of his jockeys. Of course his arousal had sprung, rampant and ready, from her little show of victory. “Yeah, I’ll do that.” At least she’d noticed. The knowledge made his chest tighten. “I’m still not getting in this piece of crap. There has to be another way.” His shoulders ached as he flexed them. A soft sigh escaped him at the joy of the simple movement.

  A shadow of annoyance flickered across her face. “We’re using the ship.”

  He yanked his slick gear, as well as the datapad, from the ground. “It’s not exactly what I want to do at this moment.” In fact, the desire to bury himself deep in Willa’s core had ratcheted into cataclysmic levels.

  She shrugged and stuck a boot on the first rung of a metal ladder attached to the side of the ship. “I wanted you to go float in the middle of a space-junk debris field. I guess we don’t always get what we want.” She disappeared into the ship. “I’m leaving in five—with or without you.”

  “Too bad you need a two-person team.” He’d never been with someone so irritating. “I get to be the pilot!” He stalked to the ladder and glanced up.

  Willa poked her head out. “Hmm, that’s a little hard to do since you’re still mostly naked with a boner the size of a small missile. Get your ass up here and stop goofing around.” Again she vanished into the cockpit. The roar of firing engines filled the air. Apparently, Willa wasn’t kidding.

  “Yes, ma’am.” At the last second, he resisted the urge to salute her. If she wanted to give him the cold shoulder, he could take it. Sure, he hadn’t slept with a woman for months now. No big deal. He could shake it off. His reaction to her was nothing more than desperation—and not for her personally. Couldn’t be. He’d be insane to take her on in bed—or anywhere else.

  Yanking on his slick gear, he growled out an obscenity when he realized he’d put it on over his damned gravity belt. Almost ripping off the suit, he tore it off, removed the belt and redressed, carefully maneuvering the suit around a cock that refused to settle down. Stratton zipped the suit, grabbed the belt and the datapad, then climbed the ladder. Once inside the dated cabin, he groaned at being presented with Willa’s rounded backside as she bent over the pilot’s seat, searching for a lost object, from the sounds of her cursing.

  His groin renewed its quest to leave the suit. The slick gear did nothing to hide his personal compass that pointed at Willa’s true north. “Uh, you know, the sooner we get to the checkpoint and take the MRP, the better. I’m, uh, real tired. Need the rest.” Sleep was the furthest thing from his mind. Thoughts of playing infinite rounds of mattress-wrestling with Willa, however, couldn’t be shaken.

  “Don’t worry, Ace, we’re on our way.” She righted herself and attached the safety harness over her chest.

  He did the same while tossing the belt beneath the console. When will the Nebulon Trike be over? Time to redouble his efforts to capture Chaf.

  Stratton fl
ipped through screens on the datapad, reading off coordinates for Megaris-8 as Willa guided the Stellar Drift through the remainder of the asteroid belt. In the late-model Scout ship, there was no such thing as an HUD or even the star-map display on the windscreen. They had to do things old school, which they would by following triangulated blips on a radar screen, as well as by relying on the datapad.

  Throughout the few hours they’d been aboard the craft, Willa had maintained a frosty silence that Stratton couldn’t—or wouldn’t—break. Now, the quiet had turned oppressive, and he needed to hear her voice, if only to banish the erotic thoughts that looped through his mind. “Rally rules state all race participants need to check in to the Hive. It’ll be the tallest structure on the asteroid. Racers in the top three slots get the penthouse suites. All others are assigned standard rooms. Don’t look for many amenities. Marker should be attached to the entry door.”

  Willa snorted, jerking a cracked, leather-covered joystick. The ship responded to her touch, albeit grudgingly. “Can you get any sort of reading on our position in the pack? That delay with the thieves really hurt us.”

  He pressed a couple of buttons. “Nope. Too much interference from the Belt itself.” Worry gnawed at him. If Chaf had gotten one of the top slots, had pocketed the money that should rightfully belong to him, he’d need some serious alcohol to soothe his frazzled nerves. Chasing Chaf, riding around in a junker and spending time with a woman who tripped his sexual trigger had set him on the razor’s edge. Something had to give. Soon.

  “There’s nothing we can do about the delay.” She flipped a red switch on the dusty console. The ship surged forward with a burst of speed and a more ominous series of creaks and groans. “Thrusters have been engaged. Prepare for descent in fifteen minutes.”

  “That’s my job.” As much as he detested being relegated to navigator for a second time, the fact she overstepped her bounds set him off. “Does your need for control extend to everyone you’re with, or is it just me you want under your thumb?”