by Ashley Ladd
“The only way I’d want you is covered in boiling oil.” Which would be too good for the likes of him. A small voice taunted her—she’d only want him if he was naked to her ravenous gaze, teasing and taunting her unmercifully.
“Your gratitude overwhelms me, princess.” He bowed low before her, rolling out his arm with a flare so mocking, she wanted to scream.
But she was a starship captain so she contained herself, allowing only a disdainful stare in return as she bit back the retort suspended on the tip of her tongue. “And I suppose you’ll be fully clothed while I’m left to freeze?”
“Not necessarily.” He straightened and closed the gap between them in three long strides, his cock flexing back to life, grazing her stomach, sending an electric shock through her. “What’s fair is fair. Tell you what—I’ll strike you a bargain that I won’t wear my skivvies, either.”
She gulped, stepping back from his heat, which threatened to ignite another fire in her. That wasn’t exactly what she’d had in mind. But in hindsight, she should have suspected such a reaction from the scallywag. “What do you say we stop playing games and we both get dressed?”
“You agreed to be my mistress throughout this voyage, to do whatever I say, did you not? Is your word worthless?”
“My word is latinum, but this is preposterous! I never dreamed you would keep me naked indefinitely.”
“Then you mustn’t have very vivid dreams. And here I thought starship captains were supposed to be innovative.” A naughty smile curved Caid’s lips. “Since I’m feeling generous, you can share in some of mine.”
Fabulous! That’s all she needed was to indulge in his brigand fantasies. If she wasn’t hung for genocide, she’d be hung for piracy. At the very least, she’d be stripped of her commission and her post, something even more unsavory than being stripped of her garments. “Thank you,” she said very dryly, her lips curling.
She scowled. But she had been stripped of her commission and her post and she was being pursued for heinous crimes against the Confederation. “We need to worry about our figurative asses instead of our literal ones, and figure out a way to clear our names.”
It was Caid’s turn to snort. “Even if you were to prove my innocence, there are those who would still want to see me hanged for piracy.”
She turned a candid eye on him. “Have you never thought about leaving piracy behind and taking up a respectable position?”
Caid put a finger to his chin and seemed to search deep inside himself. After several moments of careful deliberation, he said, “No. I can’t think of a better life.”
“Better than being hunted down by the authorities? Always looking over your shoulder? Being sentenced to death’s corridor?” Now which one of them was being unimaginative?
“And what would you have me do, now? Be a Confederation commander like you? Captain a space station?” He laughed uproariously.
“A big strapping man like you could haul freight or work on a space dock.”
“Menial labor for a mere pittance?” He shook his head and folded his arms across his chest. “Perish the thought, princess. I’d sooner hang from the noose until I stop squirming.”
She tossed her head and threw up her hands. The image he painted nauseated her. “Impossible!”
“Pirate,” he hurled back, flashing his shiny gold teeth in an utterly devilish grin that made her heart pound in suffocating rhythm.
Why did he have to keep reminding her? He was too in her face as it was. She couldn’t afford to play these ridiculous games with him. “Fine. I’ll find my fiancé without your assistance.” Even if she had to do it in the nude.
Incensed, she made her way to the bridge, the chilly air freezing. She kept a sharp eye out for the Shellik, hoping he was fast asleep in his bedchamber. She breathed a sigh of relief when she peered through the crack of the door and the bridge was deserted. Letting herself onto the bridge, hugging herself in an attempt to warm herself, she made her way to the controls.
The bridge doors whooshed open behind her and Caid chuckled behind her. “This picture would make a fetching recruiting poster for the Confederation.”
She quelled a shake of her head and squared her shoulders. The man was completely, undeniably insufferable. “I’m setting the coordinates for where my ship should be. Hopefully we won’t have any more interruptions. Then I can take my leave and you can forget you ever met me.”
“Did I say I want to forget?” His hungry gaze drank in her nude form, lingering on the vee between her legs. His cock flexed and he chuckled when heat crept up her neck.
She forced herself to stand tall and proud, refusing to give him the satisfaction of showing him how nervous he was making her. “Return my clothing so I can talk to him.”
Caid’s lips turned down and he wrapped his fingers around the hilt of his ancient sword. “Do you really want to send a message out to be intercepted?”
“Scramble it. Use the Ofractra Code.”
“Now you really don’t want to be trusting our lives to some snippet of code that may have been broken. You’re on the run now. We don’t have the firepower of one of your Confederation starships. We must rely solely on our wits. Paranoia will save your life.” He dipped his hand into a bag by his side and extracted her clothes, and handed them to her. “You look cold. Put these on.”
“Thank you,” she said, biting her tongue to cut off any sarcastic comments and to stop her teeth from chattering. They wouldn’t get anywhere if they kept bickering. As much as she hated to admit it, she needed him, so it was imperative she keep him on her good side. She turned her back on him and quickly dressed, relieved to feel normal again.
He replaced the com and dressed himself. Then he swaggered over to his captain’s chair and claimed it regally, his head held high. His fingers flew over the navigational controls, his heavily ringed hand clicking against the metal. His brows drew together and he muttered, “Eighty-three parsecs to the Kaloba System.”
She joined him, watching over his shoulder. Examining the space charts, she spied an interesting anomaly, one she’d only seen once. Excitement thrummed through her veins and she pointed at it. “See that? It’s a wormhole about fourteen parsecs from here. We can cut off a week’s travel using it.”
Tapping his chin with his forefinger, he squinted at it. “Is it stable?”
She couldn’t guarantee anything. “I don’t know. But how safe are we on our present course? The Confederation has probably assumed I’m seeking out my fiancé.”
“Then why would you still set course for him?”
“Because I can’t trust anyone else to give him a message. And he may need my help.” Caid had been right. She shuddered to think of it falling into the wrong hands. Not only would it be her death warrant, but Dennis’ as well. She added as an afterthought under her breath, “I need to know where his loyalties lie.”
A mask fell over Caid’s features. “Then you’ll need to disguise yourself to slip by the authorities.”
“You mean we’ll need to disguise ourselves. They must be on the lookout for you, as well.” She wondered how far they’d have to go to disguise themselves. Change their hair color and style? Wear colored contact lenses? Different clothing? Or would they need something drastic, like plastic surgery?
“I know of a little out-of-the-way planet where we might be able to obtain disguises.”
“We’ll need a different ship, too. They know this one already.”
Caid wrinkled his nose as he patted his ship consolingly. “I find myself liking this little ship. Few have hyperdrive like her.”
“Maybe we can disguise the ship.” How long that could take would be prohibitive. “Set course for the planet where we can change identities.”
“They’re not shaving off my beard.” He fingered the faded beads woven into the braids on his chin as if they were badges of honor.
Heaven help them. She didn’t care what they did to her hair. They could shave it all off as far as she
was concerned. “No one would recognize you without all your hair.”
He jumped to his feet, twisting around. Holding his fingers in the sign of the cross, his eyes glowed wildly. “I’m not parting with my glorious hair. I’ve been growing it since I was knee-high.”
“It’s your freedom.” She hoped it wouldn’t be their funerals. Even if she changed her appearance, if he was caught while she was still with him, they were both dead. Unless she could find someone else to transcart her. She’d have to question the locals discreetly and not divulge her purpose—after her disguise was in place.
He grimaced, and his eyes grew darker with sorrow. “Supposin’ I cut off my locks and shave my face, what kind of disguise do you suggest?”
She was no expert, but she considered him closely, wondering what he looked like underneath all the hair. “We could have our ears and foreheads surgically altered. Ridged foreheads would change our intrinsic look. You would need to shave off all your hair, ditch all the jewelry, and I would need a different style and color.”
He rubbed his forehead. “You’ll need to have your micro-implants distorted as well.”
The Confederation had mandated she receive the chip. It was one which hadn’t alarmed her as long as she was on the right side of the Confederation, but now that she was the enemy, they could be tracking them by the device. Holding up her hand to the light, she saw the faint shadow of her chip. “Think you can remove them?” Or somehow deactivate them?
“I had mine removed long ago.” He wriggled his fingers, and then clenched his hand, his jewels sparkling. “Some say there’s a toxic chemical inside that will be released if tampered with. Only an expert can change these.”
He knew someone with the capability to remove the chip safely? “How far is that planet?”
“If we engage the hyperdrive, about half a day.”
“Do it.” She walked toward the view screen, gazing at the stars that never failed to awe her. Her ship, her bridge, her crew seemed so very distant.
His brow tented. “I’m commander of my vessel. We’ll do it if I say so.” He set the controls and gave the command. “And I say so.”
She bit back a smile so he wouldn’t see her lips quiver with mirth. If he was captain, where was his crew? He only had the first mate to her knowledge. Her crew had numbered more than four hundred as she had captained a constellation-class vessel, one of the fleet’s premier crafts.
“Hold onto something. Here she goes.”
But she didn’t have enough warning and she was flung backwards onto his lap, knocking the wind from her lungs. Dazed from the sudden jolt, mist shimmered before her eyes.
Caid’s arms crept around her, holding her tight. “I’ve got you, darlin’. Are you okay?”
She stared at the hypnotic light on the view screen, as if a billion pins were flashing by, and nodded, unable to find her voice. The G-force would have pulled her against Caid whether he held her or not.
After a dizzying spell, they lurched out of hyperdrive with another sharp jolt which sent them flying to the floor. Caid fell on top of her, his weight more than she would have guessed. “Does it always do that?”
“Pretty much. I’m used to it. My old ship was equipped with hyperdrive.” Blinking, he rolled off her and sat up groggily, his pupils dilated.
“Right.” Then why had he been thrown to the floor? Had the ship no restraints built into it? She tried to clear the cobwebs from her fuzzy brain, but it still whirred from their recent encounter.
* * * * *
A planet came into view and within moments, they were drawn into its orbit.
Siobhan couldn’t recall seeing this celestial body on any of her star charts. Nor had she heard a single rumor about it. That begged the question why. “Why is this planet hiding?”
Caid narrowed his eyes as he hailed the planet. “It’s a safe harbor for fugitives and people who don’t want to be found. If you so choose, you could stay here. But be warned, it’s a rough place.”
She leveled a steady gaze on him. “Aren’t you afraid to divulge your hiding place to a Confederation officer?”
Shadows flickered across Caid’s eyes. “You mean an ex-Confederation officer.”
Yeah, right. She winced, detesting the sound of “ex”. She was the most wanted criminal in the galaxy with a huge price on her head.
“Stay close to me and don’t make direct eye contact. If anyone asks, you’re my woman.” Caid escorted her to the transcarter and set the controls.
“I’m well versed in the art of diplomacy.” As was every starship captain. It was a well-known fact even pirates should know.
“Whatever you do, don’t let your warrior instincts take over. You need to keep a very cool head down there.”
She could do cool. She wasn’t a green ensign on her first mission. “Affirmative.”
He closed the gap between them and stood within kissing distance, his breath warming her face. His gaze raked over her. “You’ll need to be a little less frosty if they’re to believe you’re my woman. And you’ll need more provocative attire.”
She glanced down at her prison garb, missing her crisp Confederation uniform. She quirked a brow, dreading his vision of provocative. He’d probably have her go topless with only a G-string on her lower torso. “Provocative?”
Caid took her hand and led her to a very feminine chamber and threw open the closet doors. “Let’s look at the dresses in here to outfit you more appropriately.”
The ultra-feminine costumes went against her military grain. She didn’t appreciate short skirts that rode up her ass. And she didn’t like tops that dipped past her cleavage. She watched as Caid thumbed through the rack, and was horrified when he handed her the frilliest, sexiest dress in the closet. This wasn’t her. She bemoaned her military frock.
She backed away from the abhorrent dress, her arms breaking out in gooseflesh. “You’ve got to be kidding.”
He tossed it to her. “You want to fit in, put it on. You want to stand out, cause trouble, ignore good sage advice. Wear fatigues and khakis. Just don’t expect me to be buried with you in the grave you’re digging for yourself.”
“Do their women really wear such revolting costumes?” She shuddered at the thought of traipsing around in public in such irreverent gear.
“This is modest.” He winked, his dimple reappearing. “And revolting is in the eye of the beholder. I find it quite fetching.”
He would, the Neanderthal!
Chuckling and twirling his beard between his fingers, he advanced on her with a hopeful gleam in his eyes. “You’ll be needing help?”
Now she was so incompetent she couldn’t don a simple garment? She couldn’t handle a zipper? Still, she wanted to keep contact as minimal as possible. Her reaction to him earlier shocked and dismayed her. For her to feel such passion for any man but her fiancé was totally unacceptable, but for a vile pirate? It was downright nauseating. She definitely didn’t want to feed such a rancid flame.
“I’ve got it.” She ducked into the lavatory and locked the door. Of course, he could still transcart in, but she doubted he would. Especially since he was too busy laughing raucously, probably deliberately infuriating her.
Grimacing, she disrobed and stepped into the piece of dental floss, cursing it profusely. “Scandalous,” she murmured, shaking her head at her reflection in the mirror. She felt wicked, and the gauzy shift didn’t change her opinion, it was so diaphanous.
“You alive in there? You didn’t transcart out now, did you, sweetheart?” Caid rapped his knuckles on the door, his husky laughter subsiding.
A growl rose in her throat, and she gritted her teeth against it. She flung open the door, and treated him to her most withering glare. “I can’t believe any self-respecting woman would wear this. I’ll be laughed out of the fleet if anyone ever found out.”
Caid licked his lips, his gaze heating up several degrees. He fingered the gauzy material of her dress. “Be glad I allow you to wear that bit of
fluff,” he said, running his fingers over the G-string, making her pussy quiver uncontrollably. “Most Barukian men won’t permit their women to wear any form of undergarments.”
“That’s barbaric!” Contrasting with her words, her pussy quivered uncontrollably. The idea of traipsing about in public without any undergarments secretly thrilled her. She and Caid could enjoy a lap dance whenever she wanted, even in public.
“It has its advantages.”
“What, no shoes?” Her tender soles would surely be punished by walking on rough terrain.
He stroked his braided beard, then rubbed the beads between his fingers. “I suppose I can find something in the closet.” He rummaged through it and tossed a pair of fluffy mules to her. “I hope these fit.” Two sizes too small, they pinched when she slipped her feet into them, and she winced.
He hurried her back to the transcarter. “Time’s wasting. Let’s have our alterations done before the Confederation tracks your chip. It’s a miracle they’ve not yet.”
“I thought no one knew of this planet?”
“And I advised you to remain paranoid. You never know what will happen. My motto is to stay alert and keep ahead of the authorities.”
The transcarter was old and worn and Siobhan didn’t like trusting her atoms to it. Once they were unscrambled, would they be reassembled correctly? She eyed it dubiously. “Is there a shuttle?”
“Not a space-worthy one.”
Wonderful! “Perhaps the Barukians can transcart us with their equipment?”
Caid scowled. “Do you not trust my captaining skills? I’ll vouch for your safety with my life.” He touched his earring and stared into space. When Vizzy replied, he said, “Vizzy, we’re transcarting to the surface. We’ll stay in contact.”
And how much was his life worth? Whatever price was on his head… Well, a the device just like this one had managed to transcart her out of the prison and put her back together. Boldy, she stepped onto the transcarter pad and gritted her teeth. “Let’s get it over with.”