by Mina Carter
He drove his tongue deep, thrusting it between her silken lips in a crude imitation of lovemaking. He swept a hand down her side, snapping the soft cords that bound her top as if they were no more substantial than mist. Against his enhanced strength, they might as well have been. Tearing the matching ties at her shoulders, he pulled the ruined garment away and cupped the front of her throat.
Her pulse beat strongly against his palm as she stilled. For the first time, something akin to fear entered her pale eyes and his heart wept. He ignored it, bending his head to her breast and sucking a puckered nipple between his lips. She whimpered as he suckled strongly, her back arching to offer more of her body to him.
He was using her, intended to use her worse before the night was over. After everything she’d done it shouldn’t bother him, but it did. Steeling his heart, he moved onto the other nipple and dropped his hand to deal with her pants. The sound of more cords ripping filled the air. He shoved the leather over her hips and yanked them from her slender legs.
Finally she was naked beneath him. His eyelids dropped halfway as he swept a triumphant glance down her body. She was gorgeous, all golden skin and toned muscles where before she’d been all creamy skin and too skinny. He’d planned to feed her up…
Squashing his thoughts again, he pushed a hard knee between hers to part them. She let him, moving easily and turning her head as he settled in the cradle of her spread legs.
“Oh no, you look at me.” His order was as harsh as he could make it, the words almost barked at her.
Flinching, she looked up at him as he rocked his cock against the wet lips of her pussy. She gasped in reaction, but misery warred with the need in her eyes. Despair wrung his heart dry. He was an ass—a complete and utter fucking ass.
Shifting his hips, he brought the head of his cock to bear against her slick entrance. She closed her eyes. He let her. He could pretend everything was okay if he couldn’t see the pain he was causing her—
“Fuck it!”
Snarling a curse, he rolled off her to sit on the side of the bed. He couldn’t do it. If she didn’t want him…she’d lied to him…then there was no future for them even if he wanted one. He shoved a hand through his short hair then grabbed his pants. Hell, he should just admit there never had been a future for them. Shaking his head, he thrust his legs into the pants, then hauled them up and stood.
“Get dressed. We have a delivery to make.”
With that, he walked away from the room he’d finally found a piece of heaven in and didn’t look back.
Chapter Ten
“Coming about, Grey Lady on final approach vector for docking bay seventeen. Port-master, please confirm…”
Nerys’s voice was calm as she maneuvered the ship into the swell around Staten Docks, a fact she was proud of. When Kelwin had left her mid-action in her quarters, she hadn’t known whether to thank the gods or drum her heels against the mattress in frustration.
Now, she just wanted to cry.
The voice of the port-master issued from the comms unit, his tone calming. “This is Staten port-master, confirmed for docking bay seventeen. Bring her in nice and slow. Loaders on standby.”
Nerys slid a glance at Kelwin. He hadn’t said more than a few sentences to her in the two days since their incident in her cabin, and if he’d looked at her more than a handful of times, she’d have been surprised.
“Not long now, twenty minutes tops and you’ll be free of me.” Her voice was bright and cheery. Too bright, the tone in it was strained almost to the breaking point. “For the record, I’m—”
He cut her off, opening a separate channel to port-control as though she hadn’t even spoken.
“Staten Port-Master, this is War-Commander Sayeed, authorization code india-mike-seven-three-niner. I have an individual in custody who attempted to board this vessel for the purposes of kidnap. Also aboard are the remains of his comrades. I will need the prisoner contained until transfer to the Galactic Corp of Justice can be arranged.”
Biting her lower lip and fighting the tears that threatened to spill over her cheeks, Nerys brought the ship smoothly into the docking bay.
Overhead, the crane loaders slid smoothly into place, their claws already open to start grabbing crates. She nodded to the drivers, strapped into the tiny cabins above the claws and dropped the Lady’s shields. With a metallic whir, the canopies retracted to allow them access they needed to start unloading.
“Confirmed sir. We have holding facilities, dispatching portside security to facilitate prisoner transfer.”
The port-master’s reply was immediate, and the fawning tone almost made Nerys gag. Typical. All Kelwin had to do was wave a military title around and people rushed to do his bidding.
She grabbed her bag then climbed the short ladder onto the boarding bridge and started across it. Kelwin paused at the console, but she ignored him. Two could play at that game.
The double doors on the dockside opened to disgorge armed security officers, and she lifted an eyebrow in surprise.
“Wow, impressive. Just your name has the honor guard out. What do you reckon…red carpet next?” She flicked a glance over her shoulder as Kelwin slid down the ladder, his back to her.
“Ahhh, my darling daughter. Thank the gods I’ve found you.”
The familiar, oily voice froze the blood in her veins. Her neck creaked as she turned slowly. It couldn’t be… Everything moved in slow motion.
It was. Her eyes widened as her gaze fell on the tall figure standing in between the guards on the dock. Tall, with a distinguished appearance he worked hard at and spent a fortune to maintain, Cordon McQuaid was an unmistakable figure. As unmistakable as the hard look in his eyes. It was the hard look she recognized from her childhood—the one that promised payback.
Standing at the top of the descent ramp, she squared her shoulders and looked him directly in the eye. “I don’t know how you found me, Daddy Dearest, and I don’t really give a damn. You can turn right around and get lost again.”
Cordon simply smiled and turned to the thin, nondescript-looking man who stood next to him. “As you can see, she’s totally unreasonable. And a danger to herself…piloting a deathtrap like that with just two crewmembers. With the other evidence I’ve provided of her irrational decisions and inappropriate behavior in several ports, I urge you to approve my case for custody.”
Her heart stuttered to a stop.
“Custody? What the hell are you talking about?” she asked as the man next to her father pursed his lips and studied something on his data-pad. Whatever it was, she knew it wasn’t going to be good—not with her father involved. The stranger looked up at her, his pale eyes almost colorless. She flicked a glance down at his nametag.
Gethan Kerran, Clerk of the Courts. Her heart thundered into life again. She knew what this was about. She hadn’t fallen into line like the rest of the family and done as she was told. Hadn’t fucked the guys she was told to—like her aunt, Cordon’s younger sister had, and no doubt still did.
This was about revenge. Pure and simple.
“Mr. McQuaid has petitioned the intergalactic family courts to gain custody of one Nerys McQuaid, offspring of the petitioner, citing hereditary mental instability and a breakdown in the individual’s ability to care for herself in a reasonable and safely practicable manner.”
“Mentally unstable? Bullshit!” She burst out. “I’m supposed to be mentally unstable because I decided I didn’t want to be related to such a lying piece of shit anymore? That’s total bollocks. Anyway, he can’t put a custody order on me. I’m not a child.”
Cordon smirked as the clerk of the courts opened his mouth again. “In the case of diminished responsibility and as your next of kin, I’m afraid he can. And the evidence he has provided to us is very compelling. Guards, please take Miss McQuaid into custody.”
Several guards started forward, one already pulling free a pair of restraint cuffs.
“Any man who lays a hand on her loses the
hand.” Kelwin’s gravelly voice was soft but held the ring of command. It had the same effect as the bellow of a drill sergeant. The few men who had moved stopped dead, all eyes shifting from Nerys to the tall figure behind her.
He’d changed his clothes since the pirate attack so he wasn’t covered in blood anymore, but the potential for violence clung to him like a cloak, warning anyone tempted to try his patience that retribution was likely to be swift and brutal. A guard to her left—a youngster by the looks of his smooth skin and baby face—snapped his rifle up into the aim.
The clerk lifted his head and squinted at him. “And who might you be?”
Kelwin didn’t hesitate. He stepped in front of her and glared at the young guard until he lowered his rifle.
“I am War-Commander Kelwin Sayeed, Commander of the Fifth Battle-group. This is my wife, Nerys.”
Her gasp was echoed around the dock. Several of the guards took a step backwards. The thoughts going through their heads were easy to read in their expressions—it was one thing to handcuff the possibly insane daughter of a wealthy businessman, but quite another to try to take the wife of a decorated war-commander into custody. Especially when that war-commander was present.
“Lies!” Her father surged forward, face red with anger. “They were married, but it was a sham. She left him within hours and she’s been unstable since. She ran away from home less than a week later. Left the bosom of her loving family, for what? To live a dangerous life on the solar roads? I maintain that is more than enough evidence and supports my application for guardianship.”
Fury overtook her panic as her father fixed her with a steely glare. She’d angered him with her defiance and by running away, but she doubted the loss of a daughter would have seriously upset him. More likely, he’d already sold her again. And when she’d disappeared, had been forced to return some poor sap’s money. The hard look in his eyes was easy to recognize. Now she would pay, but unlike when she was a child, she doubted her punishment would be confined to being locked in her bedroom without dinner.
Like. Fuck.
“Actually I left when I found your new best-friend-forever in my bed. After you told me to ‘be nice to him’ so he’d agree to whatever deal you were trying to con him into.”
Her voice rang out clear and calm across the dock. Any tears and histrionics now would only play into Cordon’s hands. Cordon, not her father. Not anymore. She refused to think of this walking piece of crap as her father. All eyes, including Gethan’s, swung to him.
“Is this true?” The clerk’s lips pursed as he waited for Cordon’s answer.
“Not at all…the little slut had been flirting with the guy all evening. Looking the way she does, you can’t blame the man for reading into that, now can you?”
In front of her, Kelwin clenched his fists, his entire body tight with anger. Her chest constricted as she willed him to turn around, to look at her and see the truth in her eyes. He didn’t. Instead, he faced forward—a legal guardian with a proven history on the battlefield—standing between her and her father.
“I suggest you don’t talk about my wife that way. Ever.”
She couldn’t see Kelwin’s face, but her father paled, the flush of his anger draining away as fear filled his eyes for a second before he rallied.
“She’s not your wife. She left you, remember?”
Kelwin lifted one shoulder. “Maybe. But I didn’t file for annulment.”
The walkway yawed beneath her feet. Grabbing at the rail, she looked at her father. His shocked expression mirrored the confusion swirling through her. Why hadn’t he filed for annulment? They hadn’t…she’d left. Why would he leave himself open legally like that?
Cordon cleared his throat, visibly shaken. “Yeah, but the marriage wasn’t consummated. My dau—”
Kelwin started down the ramp, each movement measured as he approached her father and the clerk. With every step he took, Cordon stiffened, his body language screaming that the tall, dangerous former soldier was way too close for comfort.
Kelwin didn’t look at him. Instead he reserved his attention for the clerk, who merely looked interested rather than scared out of his wits. “Wasn’t consummated then. The marriage is, however, now fully consummated.”
The clerk nodded and made a notation on his pad. He looked at Nerys as she made her shaky way down the ramp to her husband’s side. Husband. Warmth filled her as she reached him and slid her hand onto his arm.
“Is this true?” Gethan asked, his expression serious.
Managing a smile, she nodded. “It is. We’ve spent the last week together.”
“Wait, no! She filed for annulment,” Cordon screamed, face now purple with fury. “This marria—”
She ignored him and looked directly at the clerk. “I didn’t file for annulment. Ever.”
In truth, she hadn’t even thought of it—she’d been too busy surviving. And any attempt to initiate legal action would have clued her father in to where she was.
The clerk nodded and made another notation. “Then it’s settled. The courts acknowledge the marriage of Kelwin Sayeed and Nerys McQuaid. Mr. McQuaid, your application for guardianship is denied.”
Kelwin cleared his throat. “I would like to make a further application. I want an injunction to prevent Cordon McQuaid coming within ten light years of my wife.”
Gethan raised an eyebrow as both Nerys and Cordon gasped. “Your evidence?”
“No evidence. Code Julia-three-seven-nine-Lima.”
Surprise filtered across the clerk’s features—the first real emotion Nerys had seen on his face—as he punched in the code. The light on the top of the pad blinked green.
“Oh my. Granted without the need for evidence. Commander Sayeed, you have your injunction.” The clerk turned to the guards and motioned toward Cordon. “He’s in violation of an active injunction. Slap a restraint cuff on him and take him away.”
Nerys stood gaping as the guards strong-armed her protesting father across the dock.
“Wait! You can’t do this. Don’t you know who I am?” Cordon demanded, trying to free himself from their clutches. It didn’t work; the guard on the left twisted Cordon’s arms behind his back and slapped a pair of cuffs on him.
“You fucking bastard, Sayeed… I’ll get even for this!” he screamed as they bundled him through the door. ”You’d better not sleep. I’ll make sure you’re ruined…fucking ruined, do you hear me?”
The clerk watched as the door slid closed and then turned back to them. “Forgive me for saying, but what a totally unpleasant man.”
She snorted. “Why do you think I hightailed it out of the family home?”
The ghost of a smile crossed the man’s lip. He pulled a thin strip of plastic from the back of the pad. “Hold out your wrist, please.”
When she did, he snapped the clear plastic over it. The strip curled around her wrist like a bracelet. As soon as the two ends met, the plastic dissolved and she felt a light mist descend onto her skin.
“Okay, once his cuff is in place, he will not be able to access any transport or order a ship piloted within the injunction distance. If he does, he will be picked up and charged with violation of the order.”
Relief rolled through her. She didn’t need to hide anymore. She was free.
“Are we done here?” Kelwin demanded, and stepped away from her.
Confused, she looked up at him. His face was set like granite, no warmth in his eyes as he looked at the clerk.
“I think so.” She looked at the clerk for confirmation. He nodded. “Good, we just need to get the cargo unload—”
He turned and walked off. No explanation. Nothing. Just started to walk toward the door. Her heart stuttered as the bottom fell out of her stomach.
“Kelwin? Where are you going?”
He didn’t reply, just kept walking, and she had her answer. He’d given her his name for protection, but he didn’t intend to claim her as his wife. A tear welled up and rolled down her cheek
to splash onto the deck-plating at her feet.
She barely felt the clerk catch her as she collapsed, screaming after her husband.
“Kelwin!”
Chapter Eleven
Six months later
Nerys was in hell. She sat at a table tucked away in the corner of the expansive—and expensive—Darkside Restaurant on the Uvarian Four orbital platform. Deep in the bowels of the station, it had a stunning view of the desert wasteland below, well away from the triple suns. They were the system’s primary tourist attraction, but she hadn’t come to see them.
After months on the roads running cargo and avoiding any and all contact, she was sick and tired of damn sunlight, from any sun. Her skin was so golden now she doubted it would ever regain its original pale hue.
The ice was gone, melted into the vivid blue fluid in her glass. She hadn’t a hope in hell of pronouncing the name, but the bartender assured her it was the strongest stuff they had.
Lifting the glass, she knocked back what was left in the bottom and tried to remember how many she’d had. Four, or maybe five? Could even be pushing six now. She didn’t know and decided she didn’t care. She had a week until her next run was scheduled and neither bribery nor threats had rustled up even a small job to fill her time. Without work to occupy her mind, all she wanted to do was crawl into a hole and forget the last six months of her life had ever happened.
Wanted to forget how much of a cock-up she’d made of everything. Forget that she hadn’t told Kelwin the truth. Forget that her father had tried to have her declared insane and reduced to mere property. His property. If Kelwin hadn’t been there…
Her glass slipped from her nerveless fingers and clunked down on the table louder than she’d intended. The metallic clack caused the diners at the tables nearby to turn in surprise. Similar expressions of resignation crossed their features as they took in her golden skin and turned away. She could read their body language as they ignored her. Just another drunk sailor.