by Eva Delaney
My back arched. A moan tore from my throat. I had forgotten how good it felt to have his cock throbbing inside me.
“I want to feel every part of you,” Orion murmured against my lips. He thrust slowly, pulling most of the way out and then thrusting back into me, balls-deep. I moaned and dug my nails into his shoulders.
We locked eyes and stayed that way as he plunged in and out of me. My pleasure built slowly, oh so slowly, under his steady rhythm until I bit his lip and whimpered for relief.
Orion smiled against my mouth. “I want to feel you come around my cock,” he said. He shifted, reaching a hand between us to press his rough fingers against my clit as he thrust short and fast. Pleasure rippled through me. My inner muscles clenched around his slick, hard cock as my whole body arched under him. My pleasure peaked and crashed over me in a wave, drowning out the rest of the world.
“Cali,” Orion said. His cock twitched inside me and he moaned against my ear, a low sound like the engine of a fighter taking off. He spilled his wet heat within me.
I couldn’t manage words or thoughts after that. All I could do, all I wanted to do, was stay wrapped around Orion, listen to the murmur of the men’s voices in the hall and other rooms, and savor that for the first time in three years, I felt relaxed, safe, and loved.
Forty-Six
I strolled down the corridor of Castor’s Invictus. Unlike the walls of the Firebrand, these ones glowed with a soft inner light like on a space station. The Firebrand was rougher and plainer. But for three years, she had been the only thing in the galaxy that was mine.
And now she was gone.
I wondered if that meant my sister, Celene, was gone too. Of course, she was never really on the Firebrand. I had conjured her up to fight the loneliness and boredom that drove many long-haul pilots mad. I had imagined her because I had no one else. Because she had felt as close to home as I could hope to get.
What would happen now that I was on a different ship with a crew?
Maybe Celene had never left me. She had always been a part of me like my bones or blood.
“Commander.” Polaris’s resonant voice pulled me back to the present. I had wandered into the cockpit. He perched in the co-pilot seat, and hyperspace flickered through the viewport behind him. He flashed me one of his sweet, shy smiles. I grinned back.
“We’re heading for Etrea where Agent Winters was last seen,” Antares said. He lounged in the navigator chair with one leg slung over an armrest and Mr. Pancake sleeping on his chest. “It’s a hive of scum and villainy. Should be fun.”
“I don’t doubt it.”
“Don’t doubt what?” Orion said. He wore only jeans as he stepped into the cockpit and pressed a reassuring hand to my lower back.
“There’s lovely shopping on Etrea,” Antares added in a melancholy tone. “You could finally own a shirt.”
“Don’t need one when I look this good,” Orion said, smirking.
Unfortunately, he was right. I turned back to Antares. “We could check out a haunted house for new cloaks.” His frown cracked to a charming smile as he remembered our banter from the first time we met. It was hard to believe that was only a week and a half ago.
Polaris cleared his throat as though nervous to interrupt us. “All systems are running perfectly. The ship is yours, Commander.”
I hesitated.
“What is it?” Orion said.
“This isn’t the Firebrand,” Antares said as though he could read my mind. I remembered he had lost his ship, his home, too.
I nodded and glanced at Polaris. “This isn’t the ship that we used to monitor and maintain together.” His twilight eyes went wide and soft.
Before the moment could last any longer, Antares interrupted. “We don’t need any other firebrands. We got you.”
My stomach leaped. Po twisted his hands together and looked away. I wished I had an easy way to fix things between us. But I felt as lost as he looked when I thought about my feelings for him and the rest of the men. On top of that, I saw all the ways this could go wrong. All the cracks between each of us that could fracture the crew and ruin this fledgling family.
And all the ways The Uprising was on the verge of destruction.
Hamal’s heavy steps sounded in the corridor behind me, and I turned to meet his grinning eyes. “It’s good to see you two happy,” he said softly but there was a sorrow in his eyes that I did not understand. I suspected it had something to do with the call he had received on Star Keeper. Before I could ask, he turned his warm smile on me and winked.
I suddenly felt self-conscious. “Where’s Rux?” I asked to change the subject.
“Sulking somewhere,” Orion said.
“Making sure you lovebirds don’t contaminate the only bed,” he yelled from down the hall.
“Too late,” Orion shouted back, though it wasn’t true.
“Damn it,” Rux said as Orion laughed.
I shot Orion a glare and he shrugged. Sometimes I didn’t know if I wanted to punch him or kiss him. It was a strange feeling to have after years of hating him. It felt like coming home, like if Erow were whole and my sister alive.
Hamal squeezed my shoulder. I looked up at his soft smile and realized that for the first time in a long time, I didn’t feel alone. My crew felt like home.
“Let’s start running drills,” I said. “We have Agent Winters to find, a prince to capture, and a galaxy to save. Together.”
I grinned at my crew, at Orion’s dancing jade eyes, at Hamal’s warm brown ones, at—
The ship jerked violently, throwing me forward. Strong hands caught me and I glanced up at Antares. The warning sirens blared and the lights flickered on and off. Orion cursed as he climbed from the floor.
“Cali…” he said, his voice trailing off.
I stood and followed his gaze to the viewport.
The starlines of hyperspace were gone, replaced with darkness. My breath caught in my throat. We were stranded.
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Acknowledgments from Eva Delaney
Captain Calpurnia and her band of sexy men wouldn’t exist without the help of some kind and generous people.
Thanks to my writing group—Athena Wright, Mia Harlan, and Rally Thomas--for their support, pep talks, and feedback. I love you all.
Thanks to beta readers Sandi, Chelsea, and Andrea for feedback that made the book stronger. Thanks to editor Meg Cooper for providing valuable insights and fixing my many mistakes. Thank you to ARC readers--Joyce, Julie, and Stephanie--for catching typos. With the help of all these people, Star Pilot is as close to perfect as humanly possible.
Thanks to Sophia Rose for giving me the planet name, Zeepfer, when I seriously suck at making up names.
Finally, thanks to the wonderful RH community especially the supportive people of the Reverse Harem Fantasy and Sci-fi Readers and Authors Facebook Group. I couldn’t do this without your support!
About the Authors
About Eva Delaney
Eva combines her love of spaceships, strong heroines, and charming guys into romantic adventures. When not writing, she’s a butler to a cuddly dog and a playful cat.
About Vivi Clarke
Vivi Clarke lives in Toronto where she spends her time writing romance with her friends.
Copyright 2019 Eva Delaney
All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
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