by Tamsin Ley
Gassy spoke softly. “With the nanites, we may not always be pirates.”
Not be a pirate? The fire inside of Kashatok went out as if all the room’s oxygen had been sucked away. He’d left his planet at sixteen, and was fast approaching the day he could say he’d spent more days on a ship than he had on land. If he wasn’t a pirate, what else was there? Yet he couldn’t stop his gaze from drifting to the dark-haired woman at the foot of Gassy’s bed. He’d found her intriguing even before discovering she was female. How long had it been since he’d craved company of any sort? Ellam Cua, he wanted her as much as he’d ever wanted anyone or anything. And that only made him more dangerous. “You believe that ‘corp bullshit? Their technology is the reason Denaidans need something like the nanites in the first place. Anyway, you know that can’t help me.”
The female’s brows were drawn together. “What kind of nanites are you guys talking about?”
Gassy ignored her. “I know you believe you can’t be around women, but I’ve always said your story has some holes. And consider this—she needs the nanites for her own safety. We can’t risk anything happening to her. She’s the only one who can get this ship up and running.”
The female placed her hands on her hips. “I need them? Kashatok, what’s he talking about?”
Kashatok refused to look at her, his eyes instead focusing on Gassy’s brittle looking skin. “You’re my engineer, old man.”
Gassy lay back against the pillows. “I won’t be returning to engineering anytime soon and you know it. Go make that distress call. Then I suggest you educate your new ship engineer about Denaidan birds and bees. I’m going to take a short nap now.”
Hearts thundering, Kashatok stood there a moment, staring down at the closest thing to a mentor—maybe even a father—he had. Gassy’s assumptions about the female both grated on Kashatok and nurtured a seed of hope; the engineer really believed in the nanite’s potential. Even for a man who’d caused his lover’s death.
Shaking his head, Kashatok looked away. Gassy was wrong. Aiyana had died in Kashatok’s arms. The female was not safe with him, and the nanites wouldn’t change that. Yet he didn’t trust that she was safe anywhere on this ship, either, not with the way the men joked about females. Impossible as it seemed, he’d have to keep her close and keep himself under control.
Reaching out, he grasped her arm, fingers easily encircling her biceps. “Until we reach port, you’re not to be out of my sight.”
“What? Why?” Her flesh trembled beneath his fingers, but she didn’t try to pull away. “Are you going to tell me what’s going on?”
He propelled her toward the door and into the corridor. The physical connection with her arm thrummed through his senses as if her very blood flowed into his veins. Anaq, he wanted rum. But there’d be no escape to the bottle for him, not as long as she was on his ship.
She hurried beside him, breathing hard. “Are you going to tell me what this is all about?”
He turned toward his cabin, praying they didn’t run into anyone along the way. He never invited anyone into his cabin, and if the men saw Joey enter, they’d know something was up. If they don’t know already. Gassy had known and not said a word.
The corridor remained blessedly empty. He pushed her inside ahead of him, closing the door behind them. Alone with her, he realized just how precarious the situation was. Every flutter of her heartbeat brushed his senses like a seductress’s caress, and he couldn’t seem to drag his gaze away from the kid’s… the female’s… Joey’s?… mouth. “What’s your real name?” he demanded.
“Joy.” She lifted her chin defiantly. “I never lied to you.”
His lip twitched, fighting an involuntary smile. Cute. Female or not, she was a little punk. “And why are you on my ship? I specifically told you I forbid females.”
Through his heightened senses, he felt Joy’s body temperature increase. He saw a light sweat break out on her brow. Jhikik, who’d been quietly nestled against the crook of her neck this entire time, perked up and jumped to the floor. Kashatok ignored his querying chirp, refusing to break his gaze.
The pink tip of her tongue moistened her lips before she bit down on her plump bottom lip. Finally, she breathed out, “Shouldn’t you be making that distress call rather than worrying about me?”
Resisting the urge to dip his head and claim her mouth, he frowned more deeply. Unfortunately, she was right. He let out a slow breath. There wasn’t time to get into a game of words with her, not while they were hanging on the edge of an asteroid with limited power and a busted burn drive. Pivoting, he marched to his desk comm and coded a distress call on several secure fleet channels. The sooner he could get the ship fixed, the sooner he could rid himself of this distracting female.
Once he’d finished, he looked up to find Joy bent in front of the open door to his hydroponic system. Her loose cargo pants had spread tight across her ass, revealing the roundness of her hips. He felt his cock stir, something that hadn’t happened in a long time. Ellam Cua, bringing her to his cabin may have been a mistake. He forced his attention to the gleefully chittering netorpok swinging among the branches inside the cage. “I don’t let him do that.”
She looked over her shoulder, one hand still buried in the innards of the hydroponic control box. “Who?”
“Jhikik. He’ll eat every leaf in sight if I let him.”
She straightened to watch the netorpok drop from one limb, suspended only by his tail, only to swing onto another branch. “But he seems so happy.”
He marched over, reaching past her into the cage door. Jhikik chittered and dodged, but Kashatok caught him by the scruff and dragged him out. The little tunrak sunk his tiny teeth into Kashatok’s thumb before scurrying away indignantly. Kashatok couldn’t blame him, but he couldn’t let him have free reign, either. “You know better, Jhik.”
Joy’s breath brushed his arm. “Be gentle. He’s just doing what netorpok do.”
As if she knows what netorpok do. Over the subtle perfume of the naujiar flowers behind her, he picked up a scent like sun-warmed citrus coming off her skin. The heady mixture made his mouth water. He forced himself back a step. “Tell me why you’re here.”
She tilted her head, once again chewing her lip. Her pulse pattered with erratic indecision. Finally, she took a deep breath. “What if I told you I’m filming a documentary?”
It took him a moment to understand what she’d said. Then he laughed. “You’re making a movie? Of us?”
“Not a movie. A documentary for RealTime News. I want to show viewers inside the swashbuckling world of black market trading and deep-space piracy—”
“Hold on. You’re a reporter?” He hadn’t seen that coming. RealTime News was known for sensationalistic reality reporting, but that could be a front. “How do I know you’re not a ‘corp spy?”
She lifted her chin. “You don’t. But I’m not.”
It wasn’t a lie. He could feel it in her heartbeat. In the steadiness of her eye contact.
She continued, “I plan on blowing open that Syndicorp slaving ring after I finish my pirate story.”
He narrowed his eyes. “Fixing ships and making newsreels aren’t exactly complimentary skill sets. Tell me how that happened.”
“I’m not incompetent at either one if that’s what you’re implying.” Her slender throat rippled as she swallowed.
He took a step forward. She’d basically admitted she wasn’t a mechanic. How could she take over Gassy’s job? “If you aren’t going to be able to handle the repairs, I may as well skip all this self-control bullshit.”
She leaned back against the cage wall, her gaze remaining locked with his. Her racing pulse kept time with his own, and her eyes were dilated almost black. “I can fix the ship once I have the part.”
He took another step, senses on fire. She smelled so delectably fine, the faint and familiar tang of mechanical grease overridden by warm citrus and naujiar perfume.
“But who needs self-cont
rol?” She licked those plump lips.
The move was too much. His mouth was against hers before he knew it. Joy’s mouth met his, lips softly parted and ready. She arched her back so her breasts made contact with his chest.
Like awakening from a nightmare, his entire body seemed to recover consciousness. Her lips were like a first taste of a rare drug. The softness of her body against his like the warm kiss of the sun after winter.
She opened to him, melted against him, the tip of her tongue tracing his upper lip. He braced both elbows against the cage on either side of her, molding his body against hers.
Her hands slid around his sides, settling beneath his arms, sending rivers of desire coursing through his newly awakened bloodstream. She tasted as good as she smelled, and he delved into her mouth, snaking one hand to the back of her head to hold her. Her short hair felt like pirelux silk between his fingers.
He shifted, placing one leg between hers. She widened her stance to accommodate him, and the heat from her core radiating against his thigh made him groan. Cock throbbing with desire, he broke the kiss and trailed his mouth along her cheek to below her ear.
She exhaled his name, tilting her head back and wrapping her hands around his shoulder blades to pull him closer.
Her feminine scent was stronger here, enveloping him until only this moment existed. Only Joy existed.
“Kinship, this is the Hardship.” A man’s unfamiliar voice caused him to jerk away from her as if he’d been electrocuted. “We’ve received your distress signal. Please send coordinates to your location.”
Chapter Seven
Joy reeled in the aftermath of Kashatok’s kiss. Her lips tingled and her skin craved his nearness and warmth. After telling him she was a reporter, the last thing she’d expected was a kiss, especially a kiss like that. Damn. She should’ve told him the truth a long time ago.
Across the room, the captain had his back to her, shoulders rigid as he brought up a holo image on his desk comm. A copper-skinned face appeared, hovering above the desktop with a shaggy mane of hair rivaling Ekwok’s tawny mess and twin-braided beard. Did all Denaidans look so barbarically hot?
Kashatok’s fingers danced across the desktop controls. “Good to see you, Captain Qaiyaan. Relaying exact coordinates now. Keep an eye out for that trooper vessel.”
Qaiyaan’s beard swayed as he looked down, presumably at his screens. “Looks like we can reach you in a few hours. We don’t have a frequency inverter for a K-class vessel on board, but I think we can figure out how to piggyback your ship to the nearest station for repairs.”
The face of a gorgeous human woman with charcoal eyes and dark hair appeared over the other captain’s shoulder and whispered something in his ear. Apparently banning women from ships wasn’t a Denaidan thing or a pirate thing. Did that mean it was personal?
Joy straightened her baggy shirt, watching the familiar way the woman laid her fingertips on the captain’s shoulder as she spoke. A strange yearning broke open inside Joy’s chest, forcing her to swallow, hard.
The man on the holo nodded, then turned back to the screen. “Captain Kashatok, we’re still hoping you can track down information about a secret ‘corp test lab in this sector. Have you had a chance to look into it?”
Kashatok glanced over his shoulder at Joy. “Now’s not a good time, Captain. I’ll see what I can pull together before you get here.”
“You understand how important this is?” Qaiyaan’s eyes glittered with intensity. “That lab may hold the only key to our people’s survival.”
“I said it’s not a good time.” Kashatok killed the connection.
Joy frowned at Kashatok’s back. “Was that a good idea? We kinda need him to help us.”
“He’ll come.” He continued to stare at the spot the holo image had occupied.
She mulled over what she’d heard. The pirates were looking for a corporate test lab. Did it have anything to do with the destruction of their planet? Why was he being so secretive? He must still believe you’re a spy. “I’m not recording, just so you know. I told you I’m not a spy. How can I convince you?”
He turned slowly, his gaze raking her from head to toe. Her own gaze flicked downward to the obvious bulge at his crotch, and her lower region tightened in response. The sudden return of sexual tension in the room made it difficult to breathe. She licked her lips, remembering the kiss. Hot guys didn’t usually look twice at her, but he was definitely looking. Maybe she did know a way to convince him…
“You need to go in there,” he pointed to an open door to his right, through which she could see a large bed. Tingles washed across her body and her panties heated with dampness. Yes, please. She turned toward the door to comply, and he continued speaking. “And as soon as we reach port, I want you off my ship.”
She halted, looking over her shoulder. “Wait, what?”
He stood in the same spot, hands clenched into fists at his sides. “I can’t have you around me.”
Understanding dawned on her. She slowly turned to face him, her desire burning into anger. “What is it you’re afraid of, Kashatok? Is it all women, or is it just me?”
His eyes sparked with repressed anger. “I am not afraid of you. I’m afraid for you. Do you have any idea how close you were to destruction a few moments ago?”
“No, because you won’t tell me.” She crossed her arms. “This could all be resolved by talking.”
He bared his teeth. “You want me to tell you? All right. How’s this? The Denaidan mating ritual is deadly to humans.”
Her mouth fell open. Well, that was unexpected. “Uh, mating ritual?”
“During intercourse, my species creates an empathic connection so strong, it kills non-Denaidan females.” His gaze was so intense she almost believed him.
Almost.
She shifted her weight to one hip. “So that explains you banning human females. But why don’t you just bring Denaidan women on board?”
He looked longingly at the rum bottle sitting on the desk. “Our females are all dead.”
Her brows drew together. All dead? Gassy’d told her a bit about the destruction of his world in between the last couple of burn cycles. She still had trouble believing Syndicorp would do such a thing, but he was fairly convincing, and she’d grown to trust the old man in the short time she’d known him. Strange he’d neglected to mention this business about mating rituals, especially since he apparently knew her secret all along. “Are you saying all your women were destroyed with your planet?”
“Our women’s empathic abilities were too sensitive. They were incapable of interacting with other species. There were none off-planet.”
She realized she should be recording this and engaged her camera. “Have you ever actually reported any of this?”
He scowled. “Not personally.”
“Then humor me.” She took a step toward the desk. “I’ll make sure the galaxy knows.”
His eyes tightened and he held up one palm. “Stop right there. How about you humor me, first? It took a lot of nerve to disguise yourself as a boy and board my ship after being warned about the consequences. Why do you want to film us so badly?”
She stopped. If keeping her distance got him to talk, she’d shout from the moon. Not that she felt she could stay away from him for long. He drew her like a magnet drew iron filings. “I’m a reporter. That’s my job.”
“No. You’re a mechanic. A damned good one if you’re keeping up with Gassy. A real reporter would’ve had her camera running this entire time. You just began recording a moment ago.”
The heat infusing her face grew nearly unbearable. How did he know? “I… was trying to be polite.”
He laughed. “A polite reporter. I buy that even less than your disguise.”
She put her hands on her hips. “Hey! It took several days and a jump across open space for you to figure it out.”
“I was drunk.” He picked up the nearby bottle and rolled it between his hands. “Besides, Gassy figu
red it out.”
“He’s smarter than you are.” The dig made him blanch. Good. He needed to learn she wouldn’t put up with bullying. Jhikik tapped her pant leg with one paw and she bent to pick him up. “I’ve told you the truth. Lock me up if you need to.”
He looked up from the bottle, one eye twitching slightly. “I just tried to and you refused.
“You did?”
He gestured toward the bedroom.
“Oh. That. I thought you wanted me in there for another reason.”
Now it was his turn to blush, an adorable bluish green. Had she seriously just thought this fierce alien pirate was adorable? He cleared his throat. “Now you know better.”
She watched the blush fade. “That other captain you just talked to. He had a woman on board.”
The softness that had come with Kashatok’s blush solidified into the familiar angry lines she was used to. “Not you, too.”
“Me too, what? Does this have something to do with the nanites Gassy was talking about?”
“The nanites are a false hope.” Something about Kashatok’s expression made her think he wanted that hope, even if he kept pushing it away.
Much as she wanted to smooth the furious lines from his face, she knew better than to approach him. Instead, she plucked a leaf from inside the cage and offered it to Jhikik. He nibbled it delicately, purring in her ear. “Please don’t stop talking.”
He exhaled slowly. “Stop recording.”
She’d forgotten she was. Nodding, she stopped her camera. Her personal curiosity was stronger than her need to film.
Looking closely at her face, he seemed to decide she’d done as he asked. “That woman you saw supposedly stole some Syndicorp biotech that made her telepathic to computers or some such bullshit. As a side effect, the nanites changed her synapses enough to allow her to bond with a Denaidan.”
Joy broke into an involuntary grin. “That’s great news! How many of you have bonded?”
“She’s the only one. And she almost died during the process.”