by Ashley Ladd
“So if you didn’t do it, the only other explanation would have to be a twin out there. Since you still have your face, it couldn’t have been a facial exchange.”
“No, there was only me.”
“Well, then someone posing as you, but why? Are you that important?”
“Rich, yes. Important, no. But they don’t seem to be after my wealth. It makes no sense. Why would anyone want to frame or impersonate me? Scan the ship’s database for my name and see if there are any reports.” She elbowed him out of her way and tried to access stored records. Finally, she stared herself in the face, shocked.
Arctic winter stole into her heart and iced her veins. Cold chills didn’t begin to describe the dread overwhelming her. The woman in the picture was her exact duplicate—except for the evil, lifeless eyes.
Shaken, she pointed at the image as she backed away a step. “That’s not me.”
“Identical twins couldn’t look any more alike.” Reason etched Caid’s words, yet his presumptions were wrong. They had to be.
“I’m not a mass murderer. I have no desire to rule the galaxy.” Not even one planet. Her starship was sufficient for her. She lived to serve and to protect, not to destroy.
Her head pounded unmercifully and she shook off her hood and pressed her fingertips to her throbbing temples. What other possibilities were there? “Maybe she’s me from an alternate universe.” Not that she liked to think of her alternate self as being so evil. Would that mean she had a vicious dark side? “Or maybe I’m the one in the wrong dimension.”
“Maybe a time traveler from the future—one of your descendants.” Caid twirled his braids about his fingers, looking back and forth from the screen to her live self.
“No one can time travel or cross dimensions. There has to be a logical explanation.” She searched for further clues, desperate for more information, aware Caid hung over her shoulder. His warm breath scorched her neck, making her tenser than she already was.
Caid snorted, slamming the notepad he’d been using to take notes down on the console. He strode over to Vizzy and consulted quietly with his partner, jerking the occasional thumb her way.
She wished she could read their lips. Caid’s scowling countenance did nothing to ease her fears. She didn’t have to be psychic to tell he regretted rescuing her.
Finally Caid and Vizrael faced her. Caid cleared his throat and the vein popped out on his neck. “Vizzy has persuaded me that our lives are more important than my Sir Galahad complex. We’re dropping you off at the next spaceport.”
“No! You can’t abandon me on some hostile alien world. At least take me to my fiancé, then you can forget you ever knew me and I’ll leave you richer.”
The corner of Caid’s lips quirked up. “Apparently you don’t hear so well. No means no. And don’t go getting all teary-eyed on me—I don’t do Sir Galahad. Nor is it believable on you.”
Actually, that was the furthest thought from her spinning mind. She cocked her jaw and squared off. “If you just leave me and I get caught again, I’ll swear you’re my accomplices.” She was a lot tougher than he seemed to take her for.
Caid swore loudly under his breath, lightning flashing through his eyes. “You dare blackmail me?”
“You would. And so would I.” Standing tall, she stood firm, holding his gaze.
“You’re a lot tougher than you look. Maybe you are the callous bitch you’re reported to be.”
She didn’t blink. She’d been called much worse than a bitch in several languages. A veteran of showdowns with much deadlier criminals than Captain Jeremiah Kincaid, his jibe didn’t faze her. She had plenty of experience shuttering her heart in her profession.
Vizzy whispered in Caid’s ear as he gesticulated wildly with his massive paws.
“You should be careful who you threaten, out here alone with just your blackmailees. You could disappear and no one would have a clue…” Caid’s threat hovered in the air, whisking the wind from her sails.
Cursing herself, Siobhan’s gaze ping-ponged from the large pirate to the fluffy fur ball. She hadn’t acted wisely and now she might never see her fiancé again or get to the bottom of this matter. Backing away slowly, she sought a weapon. “You wouldn’t…”
“Kill you? Disintegrate the evidence?” Menace wrapped Caid’s words and sparkled in his eyes. His lips twitched but his gaze bored into her.
Her nerve endings screamed for action. Battle and diplomacy were her forte, and she was an expert at thwarting sabotage, so how could she have acted so foolishly? Because she was still inebriated, that’s why. And because she had misjudged him and he was calling her bluff. After his gentleness, she hadn’t thought he would react so harshly.
Then Caid looked at his partner and shook his head before turning and fixing her with a penetrating glare. “We’re not slaughterers.”
She sagged in relief. And then her conscience pricked her. “I’m not a murderer either and I don’t stoop to blackmail. Just drop me off on the nearest habitable planet. I’ll make my own way.”
She sank into a chair and massaged her aching neck, plotting how to proceed on her own. She’d have to acquire another ship to help her find her fiancé after she disguised herself. Usually she detested feminine wiles, but desperate times called for desperate measures and she willed herself to shed a tear and made sure the Shellik saw it. “Just how many people know what my double looks like?”
A frown tugged Vizzy’s lips down and tears pooled in his obsidian eyes. He mewled and tapped Caid’s shoulder.
Caid wrinkled his patrician nose which was far too Grecian and perfect for someone of his social caliber. “I know she looks pitiful. She’s probably doing it to make us feel bad and come to her rescue. Next she’ll bring on the waterworks. I’m far from being Prince Charming.”
Vizzy screwed up his face, roared and thumped his chest, and then crossed to her side and stood behind her, his arms crossed over his massive torso. Compassion glowed in his coal-black eyes.
Amazed that Vizzy would choose her over his captain, gratitude crept into her heart. She squeezed his warm paw and smiled up at him. “Thank you.”
“You’re going to let a pretty face drive you to mutiny? We’ll see how far the wench gets us when our heads are on the guillotine.” Caid swore loudly and punched the nearest console.
Our? So he would back up his mate despite his better judgment and cover-his-own-hide mentality? She couldn’t let such chivalry go unrewarded. Tiptoeing, she kissed Vizzy on his cheek. His fuzzy fur tickled her lips and she had to fight back a sneeze.
Vizzy squirmed, shuffling his feet, and averted his gaze.
“Okay, enough of the feminine wiles and charm. If we’re going to save our collective rumps I suggest we form our strategy.” Caid narrowed his eyes at her and then jerked a thumb at his still moonstruck companion. “Unless you want to be mother of his pupkims I suggest you cool it. Shelliks are known to fall in love with less provocation than a kiss.”
Alarm sizzled through her veins. Procreation had never been part of her agenda and certainly not pupkims. Surely Caid jested. But since she’d never encountered a Shellik before, she’d watch her every move. Some races practiced very odd customs and the situation was already in disarray. She cleared the phlegm from her throat and focused on the scowling man who seemed preferable at the moment.
“First order of business is to disguise you. The monk’s robes only help as long as the hood stays on and no one looks you square in the face. That platinum blonde hair has to go. It’s too eye-catching.”
He liked her hair? And just a few minutes ago he’d referred to her beauty. Perhaps he wasn’t as impervious to her as he pretended. She remembered their deal and shivered, storing the revelation away for future reference. The more knowledge she procured about allies and enemies, the better prepared she’d be. If only she could determine which camp the captain fell into. She’d just have to keep up her guard with him. It shouldn’t be difficult considering how he made her
bristle with his God complex. He had a higher opinion of himself than some kings in her acquaintance.
“When we reach the next port, you get my disguise while I hide.”
“We have to ditch the ship first. Every bounty hunter this side of the universe will be seeking her. You’ll just have to keep a low profile in that robe. At least it hides your curves.”
His attention rapt, Vizzy’s gaze devoured her.
Caid swaggered up to the con, stroking his beard, letting his savage gaze roam her unabashedly. Coming up behind her, he encircled her waist with his remarkably strong arms and nuzzled her neck, sending her senses skittering out of control.
“Take the com, Viz. It’s time for the captain to get her beauty rest. We’re going to retire to the sleeping chambers.”
The Shellik nodded, understanding glowing in his eyes.
Now? She thought she’d have a few more hours before she had to pay her toll. “It’s not time to turn in yet, is it?”
“It’s time to turn in whenever I say it is.” He swept his incredibly erotic tongue along the length of her throat as his hands kneaded her waist, sending her thoughts out of control. “But I can sanction any desire to bed me.”
Siobhan quelled the urge to lick her suddenly dry lips. “I’ll keep that in mind,” she mumbled, trying to figure out how to escape Caid’s clutches without getting herself killed.
“Vizzy’ll let us know should an enemy vessel come within two parsecs. I’m a pro at jumping back into my attire.”
So he had a lot of experience in undressing and dressing lightning quick. Although she wasn’t surprised, a twinge of pain gnawed at her.
Why? She didn’t care a hoot for this pirate. She was here only until she could escape. Adopting a cavalier stance, she quipped, “I wasn’t joking about plying me with liquor.”
“Imbibe any more spirits and you’ll be falling asleep on me.” Caid led the way to the sleeping chambers, lowered himself into a roomy chair, and held his arms open wide for her to enter. “Like you said, we need to keep an alert eye. Come here, sweetheart.”
At his endearment which she was sure was generic, she tingled all over. Compelled more by the flirtatious look in his eyes than his command, she made her way to him. Unable to snuggle up in his lap as if it was the most natural thing in the world, she towered over him, gazing down her nose at his rakish appearance.
“Mark my words, you’ll be begging for more.” Capturing her hand in his larger one, he tugged on it and pulled her onto his warm lap.
“Never!” She sincerely doubted that, but writhed nevertheless when the corsair buried his face between her breasts, his beard tickling her so deliciously she had to remind herself to breathe. It was all she could do to stifle a moan of pure pleasure when his satiny hair caressed her bare limbs and slipped inside the vee of her robe.
The tease tossed a wicked smile filled with mischief her way as he nibbled a blazing hot trail from one side of her neckline to the other, pushing the flimsy material aside with his tongue. “Never say never. You’ll only end up eating your words.”
“This is merely a business arrangement. Any dubious pleasure I might gain, and I do mean dubious, is just a bonus. You’ll get your lay and I get to keep my life.”
Caid pulled back, eying her as if she was an alien lifeform. “Now who is being unromantic? Eat, drink, and be merry, I say. You never know when the Confederation will catch up to you.”
The lascivious glint in his emerald eyes didn’t lead her to think he meant actual food or water. This was one horny scallywag who acted as if he hadn’t made love to a human female in several twenseps.
Caid licked his glossy lips, and pushed her robe off her shoulders, his thirsty gaze never leaving her quite obviously fascinating chest. “I don’t sanction sloppy drunks, or drugged out nevvias. And I want to please you as much as you’ll please me. Relax and enjoy. I’ve never logged any complaints before.”
“How generous,” she drawled, trying to conceal the unsolicited thrills pulsing wildly through her. A generous brigand? That was one for the history ledgers. Her own fiancé, an honorable, upright man, often drifted off to sleep once she’d pleasured him. Perhaps her idea of honorable and upright required fine-tuning?
Caid’s fingers pushed her tunic down to her waist and unclasped her bra. His eyes shining, he dipped his head to capture a beaded nipple. Murmuring against her flesh, he murmured huskily, “Absolutely gorgeous.”
His lips so warm and moist on her sensitive flesh, she squirmed deliciously, forgetting what Purgatory this was. Not easily charmed, she was flattered by the appreciative gleam in his passion-glazed eyes as he adored her bared chest.
It was probably just a well-rehearsed scene. He probably kept honeys in every port of call between here and Roubla Khan, and knew his lines by heart. Still, they rang with a sincerity she never would have expected from a pirate.
“You are strikingly beautiful for a Confederation commander.” Caid’s fingers explored her, delving beneath the waistband of her slacks. “You make me so very hot.”
And he was no slouch, either, but she wasn’t going to swell his head any more than it already was. She looked askance at him, trying to remain aloof as her barriers slipped dangerously. “What does beauty have to do with the ability to command?”
“Or pillage and plunder.” Sly intelligence danced in the pirate’s eyes and quirked around his lips.
“I am a starship commander, sworn to protect the Confederation and its citizens! I would never harm a law-abiding citizen…”
“Only scalawags and rabble-rousers like myself?” He laughed uproariously, undaunted by her elevated station. “Now, would you really want to harm the man who saved your pretty little neck?” Without waiting for her reply, he trailed his hot lips up her neck, and parted her lips with his insistent tongue, drinking deeply of her.
Siobhan’s world rocked and she opened her mouth wider, her tongue eager to duel with his, her breasts eager to mold against his chest. So when he pushed her unceremoniously to the floor, fury boiled up in her. “What kind of joke is this?”
Growling, Caid brought up the view screen, and bared his teeth, his narrowed black gaze pinned to the scene outside the vessel. “No joke. Vizzy sounded the alarm. We have uninvited company.”
Her startled glance darted to the command screen, and she sucked in a sharp breath. Damn! The Zicordians had caught up to them!
Chapter Three
Caid grimaced and threw her shirt at her. “I can’t get a break.”
The tunic hit Siobhan in the face and she grimaced but didn’t waste words on recriminations. Breathless, she pulled it on haphazardly as she sprinted for the bridge. An expert of demolition and strategy, her fingers itching to work the tactical com, she said, “Let me handle weapons.”
Phatons exploded in a brilliant ball of light, rocking the ship, tripping alarms as they reached the bridge. The life support system flickered and sparks flamed from several consoles. Deafened by the roar of battle, she positioned herself at the tactical station, and coaxed her fingers to work the controls. When the ship lurched again, she was tossed to the side. Determined to blast their attackers out of the sky, she grabbed onto the rail and used it for support to fight her way back to her post.
“Bye-bye suckers,” Caid said, glee dancing in his voice. “Hang on tight. We’re in for a ride.”
Siobhan barely had warning and she clutched the railing, as the ship jumped into hyperdrive leaving the Zicordians far behind. The force of the unexpected jolt threw her backwards against Caid, rendering her breathless.
His strong arms enclosed around her and he pulled her against him, his smile roguish. “That’s more like it.”
Her mind worked furiously. If this ship could hyperdrive across the galaxy, she could strike out on her own with fair assurance of success. Extricating herself from his possessive arms, she faced off against him. “Well it’s been a pleasure, but seeing that we’re safely away from the threat, I’ll be takin
g my leave at the next space dock.”
Caid’s brow arched as he stroked his chin. “Are you hearing this, Viz? She wants to leave the party with every Confederation agent on the lookout for her? Before she’s compensated me for my valiant efforts on her behalf?”
She did not feel at all guilty for leaving this debt unpaid, but how was she going to hide from the Confederation? Her only course was to find her fiancé so he could help her solve this mystery and clear her name.
Scowling darkly at her hosts, she had the strongest urge to strip off her clothes and tell him to get it over with. Maybe if she laid deathly flat, he’d tire of her and excuse her debt. She was sure he liked his women to pleasure him, despite his professed largesse. “So if I cooperate, you’ll take me all the way to my fiancé?”
“Play nice, sweetheart, and I’ll give it a go. And as a bonus, I won’t tell him how you paid your passage.” He twirled the ends of his mustache around his fingers dramatically, reminding her how deliciously they had tickled her breasts.
Angered that she was a quivering mass of gelatin, she clamped down on the memory, trying to shut the door on it with great difficulty. “How altruistic of you,” she drawled cynically, thrusting out her chin.
“I’m a good man. Just don’t let the word get around. I delight in my fearsome status. It’s rescued me from a lot of binds.”
It hadn’t saved him from the last one. Cold firepower had done that. Plus she still entertained doubts about what a good man he was. Last time she checked, pirate did not equate to gentleman. And wasn’t he guaranteeing safe passage in exchange for sex?
Yeah, right. He was a good man all right. He’d better be careful if her fiancé discerned what had gone on between them.
Caid’s brows pulled together in a straight line, making him look even more like Satan’s brother. “You seem awfully eager to reach this grand fiancé of yours, but where was he when you needed him? Why was the white knight falling down on his job?”