Carbon Copy

by Ashley Ladd

  “You were only supposed to stun her!” Caid yelled, jumping to his feet, approaching the clone.

  “I’ve never seen this happen before,” Siobhan said, the grotesque sight nauseating her.

  Vizzy let out a deep squall, gesticulating wildly with his paws. “You sure it was only set to stun?” Caid snatched the taser from his first mate and examined it.

  The clone continued to disintegrate until only a gelatinous mass remained. Siobhan’s heart fell. “We have no proof to take to the authorities.” She was doomed. No one would believe her now. Even if Minnikow were to tell the truth, who would believe him? “I can’t go back. They’ll send me back to death’s corridor.”

  “Clones obviously don’t react the same way we do,” Caid said, kneeling by the puddle of cells.

  Siobhan turned to the doctor who was emerging from his hiding place. “Are you able to change me back to human appearance?”

  “But you can’t go back to your original appearance. You’ll be recognized.” Caid caught her hands and pulled her to him.

  “I know it’s folly to have my own face again, so I’ll need a new face, but human, please. I can’t abide being Violetian or anything with forehead ridges any longer.” She turned to the doctor, very aware that Caid rubbed the back of her hands with the pad of his thumbs. It was all she could do not to melt against him and beg him to take her with him.

  “Was the diamond I gave you before sufficient to cover my fees? I’m afraid that’s all I have.” She couldn’t count on her family or her post any longer for support. She’d have to find a new means to support herself. An excellent pilot, she would try to hire herself out. Or she could be a bodyguard for a high official.

  Indecision wavered in his eyes for several henseps, and then he smiled and nodded. “It’s sufficient.”

  Caid regarded her with concern. “What will you do now? You have nothing to take to the Confederation. How will you support yourself?”

  His concern touched her, but she didn’t delude herself that it was anything more. He wasn’t going to carry her away and rescue her yet again. He was a pirate, footloose and fancy-free. He liked women too much to be tied down to one.

  She averted her gaze so he wouldn’t read her heartbreak in her eyes. “Something will come up. I’m not without skills.”

  “Such as?” Caid stroked her hair, pillowing it over her arms.

  “I’m a good pilot. I’m handy with a weapon. I’m a whiz at tactical.” Of course, without being able to supply a résumé, it could be hard to convince anyone of her employability.

  Caid shot a glance at Vizzy. “We could use a good pilot who knows how to work tactical, couldn’t we, Viz?”

  The Shellik nodded profusely, his smile wide. He enveloped her in a rib-crunching hug and patted her back.

  Joy suffused her heart, but she clamped down on it. “You’re not just taking pity on me?”

  Caid lifted her chin with his finger and gazed deeply into her eyes, love and adoration blazing in his. “I could never love a woman I pitied. Only a phenomenal woman could capture my heart.”

  Her heart stopped beating as she processed the amazing revelation. “You love me?”

  “The forever after, marrying kind of love.” He kissed her wedding ring finger, then sucked it into his mouth, making her melt against him. “Marry me. Travel the galaxy with me. We’ll live adventures beyond your wildest dreams.”

  The doctor turned to Caid, and cleared his throat discreetly. “Did you want me to perform the procedure now? Or wait ‘til after the honeymoon?”

  Caid waved the alterationist and everyone else away. “Give me a couple hours alone with my bride, first.” To her he asked, “Think you can sail under a pirate’s flag?”

  “I can’t think of anything I’d like better.” His flag was far more honorable than any the Confederation had ever flown. Loving Caid would be an incredible honor. Adventures with Caid would far surpass any she could possibly know as a starship captain. She hurled herself into his arms, and pressed her heart against his, reveling in its purity and strength.

  “Every day will be an adventure with you, my love.”

  Siobhan blinked. She couldn’t have heard him correctly… He had called her “my love”. “Say that again.”

  “Marry me, my love. Make me the happiest man ever to sail the universe.” Caid cupped her chin in his hand. The rough pad of his thumb caressing the line of her jaw sent delectable shivers down her spine.

  Trembling with unrequited lust, she was shrouded in a state of happy disbelief. She turned her lips against his warm palm and kissed it, loving his saltiness. “I didn’t think pirates believed in marriage.”

  Caid slid a finger under her jaw and forced her gaze to meet his smoldering one. “When we find our true lady love, the pride of the fleet, or Aztec gold, we don’t want anyone else plundering our find. I want everyone to know you’re mine and the penalty for trying to take you away from me.”

  It felt like eons since he’d plundered her and she couldn’t wait to share in his treasure. “We can’t use my real name, my official documents.”

  “God will know who we are. He’ll know what’s in our hearts.” Caid drank deeply of her lips. His hands blazed a fiery trail down her thighs, setting off a wildfire inside her that threatened to rage out of control.

  Dr. Vignolo cleared his throat and tapped them each on their shoulders. “I can marry you. I’m also a justice of the peace. It comes in handy for fugitives like yourself.”

  Caid burst into a lusty belly laugh against her lips. “Why am I not surprised? If there’s latinum to be made…”

  The doctor grinned, his jagged teeth protruding over his lower lip. “You think you’re the only kind of pirate?”

  Amused, Siobhan couldn’t hold back a grin. Longing to pillage her soon-to-be-husband, she rubbed against, the hard ridge of his cock straining against his garments.

  His eyes pleading and watery, Vizzy poked Caid in the ribs and mewled something unintelligible. Then he linked and unlinked his paws and shifted back and forth on the pads of his feet.

  Caid shook his head at the Shellik and clapped him resoundingly on the back. “Of course, you’re gonna be my best man, Viz. You always have been. What? You think I’d let you wiggle out of it?”

  Without warning, Vizzy hauled her high into his arms, smacked a big, wet kiss on her lips, and swung her around until the room spun at light speed. His furry arms squeezed her so tightly she had to struggle for air.

  Caid rescued her from the Shellik’s arms and held her gently against his chest. “See? Even my best man wants to steal you away from me. We may have to find our own deserted planet to hide away.”

  All the better to keep Caid’s many female admirers at bay. “Were you engaged to that Esmelita who tried to castrate you with the dull knife?” She batted her lashes coquettishly, teasing, yet hanging onto his response.

  “Define engaged.” When Caid’s gaze shifted away, she swore under her breath.

  “So are we truly engaged?” Esmelita was right. Caid was one slippery devil. But he was her slippery devil. Glaring at him, she anchored her fists on her hips.

  The others watched them raptly as if they enacted a play. Their gazes shifted back and forth as comical expressions flitted across Caid’s arresting features.

  “I swear upon my dearly departed father’s grave that we are truly, honestly engaged to be married. In fact, the good doctor is going to perform the nuptials now, aren’t you, doctor?” Caid grasped both her hands in his, led her to stand before the good doctor, and nuzzled her palms with warm, moist kisses.

  Siobhan’s pussy grew moist and tingled with raw need, making her squirm. She yearned for the ceremony to be over so she could taste every inch of her new husband. His scent, his touch drove her insane, she couldn’t wait much longer.

  Caid tilted his head at Vizzy, motioning for the Shellik to stand beside him. “Can’t get hitched…”

  “Married,” Siobhan corrected stern
ly, giving him a sharp squeeze just short of crunching the fine bones in his hand.

  Caid folded his hands in a prayer-like manner and bowed before her as he shot a conciliatory grin up at her. “Married,” he enunciated clearly, his eyes glittering with mischief. “Without my best man, can I?”

  Vizzy puffed out his chest, his fur shiny and fuzzy. He gathered them into another bear hug, lifting them off their feet.

  “Down, Viz. I’m the only one who gets to hug my lady.” Caid turned to the doctor, tucking Siobhan into the crook of his arm. “Let’s do it now before there’s any more interruptions.”

  Like a Confederation reception…

  Caid put his fingers to her lips, the metal of his jeweled rings cool against her feverish flesh. “Don’t even think it.”

  Her eyes widened. She needed to be more sensitive to her superstitious pirate. No. She didn’t want to jinx them.

  “We’re ready, doctor.”

  Way past ready, she was excited to become Mrs. Jeremiah Kincaid. Technically, she’d also be “Captain Kincaid”. But she’d have to adopt a new Christian name to go deep undercover. She’d always wished for a simple bold name like Jane or Mary. She could easily see herself as a Kate or an Elizabeth.

  Siobhan savored every word of their beautiful wedding vows except for the “’Til death do you part.” Caid was her soul mate. They had a timeless eternal love. She couldn’t believe or accept that they’d ever be parted.

  Caid removed an exquisite ruby and gold ring from his finger and slid it onto hers. “To show the universe you’re all mine.”

  She tingled deliciously, knowing her newfound glow would also show the universe, but delighting in the official sign. She wished she had a ring to give him, but would do so soon enough.

  “You may now kiss your bride.” The doctor beamed upon them, wringing his hands in glee.

  “Don’t mind if I do,” Caid murmured huskily against her lips. Sweeping her into his embrace, he bent her over his arm, plundering her lips. His tongue explored every nook and cranny of her mouth as his silky tresses tickled her irreverently.

  A whirlwind of joy and lust, Siobhan clung to her new groom, eager to rip the suffocating clothes from his luscious frame. “Take me somewhere we can be alone, Mr. Kincaid.”

  “Aye, Mrs. Kincaid.” Caid swung her into his arms, cradling her against his rapidly beating heart.

  Vizzy guffawed and slapped his thigh heartily. Laughter chortled on his lips, a perfect foil to Caid’s darkening scowl.

  “What did he say?” She promised herself to become fluent in Shellik. She hated being out of the loop. There was only one situation in which she didn’t have to, or want to be, in command.

  Caid snarled and took a menacing step toward his first mate. “He says I’m whipped. I’ll whip his ass!”

  Siobhan held him back. He was going to need every ounce of his strength for their honeymoon. She nuzzled her husband’s ear and ran her fingers through his silky hair. “Ooh! Whip me instead, lover.”

  Caid’s brow shot up and a smirk danced upon his lips. “You want me to whip you?”

  Siobhan tapped into all her fantasies, oddly free to act on her deepest desires for the first time in her life, to seek her own dreams. She trailed a fingertip down his throat to the open vee of his shirt. “More like spanking. Maybe some handcuffs. Some chains…”

  Furious heat crept into Caid’s cheeks astonishing her. “I’m allergic to being handcuffed and chained. You could say it brings back traumatic memories.”

  Eager to erase his pain, she licked her tongue across his lips. “You’ll be the one in control when you tie me to the bed…”

  A primitive growl rumbled in Caid’s chest. His cock tented the robes, flaming her desire. “Point us to a bedchamber,” he said gruffly to the alterationist.

  Vignolo looked up from laying latinum into his assistant’s hand. He pointed to the top of the stairs. “Third door on the left.”

  “Looks like the good doctor lost his bet that I would ever settle down with one woman.” Caid grunted and carried her up the stairs, taking two at a time.

  “Eager, my love?” Siobhan enjoyed her newfound power over her husband, admitting to herself she was just as eager to ravage his sexy body.

  “Ravenous…” When he reached the door he kicked it in. Then he kicked it shut again behind them and set her on her feet. After he dead-bolted the door, he beckoned her to him. “Truth be told, my love. How many men have spanked you? That traitor, Minnikow?”

  Gazing up at her love with adoration, she didn’t want to think about past loves and mistakes. She wanted to make new memories and forge new alliances with the one man who mattered most to her in the entire universe. Burning up, she stepped seductively out of her robes, letting them pool to the floor at her feet. When her husband’s eyes sparked with hunger, she ran the tip of her tongue along her lower lip. “No one…yet.”

  Steamy, Caid’s gaze drank her in as he bent and took a pert nipple into his mouth, making her squirm in delight. His hands spanned her waist and dragged her hard against him. “Just how did a starship captain develop a spanking fetish? More importantly, why not confess it to me before?”

  She trembled when his lips tickled her feverish flesh. About to burst with desire, she tugged at his robes, yearning to feel his hot naked cock press against her belly. “Always being in command, having all the men subservient to me all my life, I longed for one strong man to dominate me. I gave up hope long ago—until I met you, until I came to love and trust you.” She should have realized Dennis wasn’t her soul mate when she didn’t trust him enough to reveal her deepest held fantasy to him. The knowledge that she could share it with Caid assured her that she had truly found him.

  Joy flooded her. She had discovered a diamond in the rough, the most precious gem in the universe. But greedy, she wanted so much more than his sultry kisses. She wanted his sandpapery tongue to lave her pussy, to make her shudder and scream with ecstasy. She wanted to ride that wild, wicked cock until she’d exhausted every ounce of her energy, until he’d drained every bit of her juices.

  First, she longed to be spanked. “I’m all yours. Do with me as you wish, lover. I trust you.”

  Scooping her into his strong arms again, he gave her a very wet, intimate kiss. His warm hands slid down her bare back, along her ribs, to cup her bottom. His tongue tangoed with hers as they drank deeply of each other, sucking hungrily at each other’s tongues.

  Laughing with glee, he tossed her onto the bed, and dove on top of her. His erection pressed against her deliciously, titillating her breasts, moistening them with his seed. “We pirates plunder and pillage. We’re not accustomed to being gentle.”

  Heaven! “Perfect,” she purred, flicking her tongue over the velvety tip of his penis. She closed her eyes on a whispery sigh. He tasted so absolutely, incredibly wonderful, she’d never be satiated. “The rougher, the better.” Rolling over, she presented her ass to him to be spanked, titillated by the anticipation.

  He didn’t disappoint, paddling her backside ‘til she quivered from the excruciating torture. Hypersensitive, she would come with one stroke of his tongue, one thrust of his hot cock. “Fuck me, now.”

  The tip of Caid’s penis rubbed along the crease of her buttocks. Then he pulled away, eliciting a squeal of protest from her lips.

  Bereft of his warmth, of his tingling touch, she asked breathlessly, “What’s wrong?”

  “I’m in charge, comprendez? I say when we fuck. If we fuck.”

  If? She cursed herself under her breath for making such stodgy rules. She’d tie her tongue from here on out—against speaking anyway. It needed rest for much more provocative duties. Her juices flowed freely as she longed for him to enjoy her treasures.

  “You’re in charge, Captain.” She watched him closely through the thick veil of her lashes, loving how his rippling muscles flexed.

  “I think you need a little more discipline.” He rolled her to her side and swatted her bottom.r />
  The slap stung, and she became lost in a sexual delirium. He was so very strong, so delightfully powerful and possessive, her mouth watered.

  “You like that? You want more?” He stood on his knees above her, his hand lifted in the air, his muscles bunching in his powerful shoulder.

  “Oh, yes!” The words hissed from her lips. When she was quivering uncontrollably, gasping for air, he flipped her over and she drank in the exquisite sight of his shiny, raging erection pointed at her eager pussy lips.

  She ran her fingers tenderly up and down his long cock eliciting a husky moan from him which coaxed more glistening liquid to spurt from his cock. Her head spinning, she dipped her fingers into the creamy sap hovering on the tip of his velvety shaft. Slowly, with her hand trembling, she carried it to her lips. He tasted so incredibly good, she couldn’t get her fill as waves of love swept her away.

  “You’re very tasty. So juicy.” Fire burst in his eyes as his gaze adored her.

  Hell yeah! What did he expect? He was only driving her to distraction. “Fuck me hard.” She needed it so very desperately. Spellbound, she lifted her hips off the mattress, aching to feel his large shaft slide into her. She met his hips, and pressed wantonly against his hot sex.

  His cock plunged to its full hilt, wielding it expertly, catapulting her to dizzying heights of rapture. His breath came in quick, shallow bursts and he propped himself up with his hands on either side of her to gather more momentum.

  A little whimper escaping her lips, she squeezed his cock with her vaginal walls, keeping it prisoner deep inside her. Completely one, perfectly harmonized, they were as a resplendent symphony. Exquisite pressure mounted inside her, and she raked her fingernails down his back. Shock waves shuddered down her body as a tremendous climax roared through her, sending her into such spasms of delight she thought she would faint of pleasure.

  His breath raspy, his brow beaded with perspiration, Caid pounded his length into her. He pumped into her with one final, mind-blowing thrust and then collapsed against her, his heart pounding furiously against her. His flesh slick and musky, his cock flexed inside her as he ground his hips against her and his thumb caressed her clit, stirring the embers of her unquenchable desire.