by Mima
“Becca, let’s discuss this situation. I need you to be comfortable with it. Don was clear that you get a cut for assisting us, right?”
She nodded. Djetivoch had been terse but clear.
“Well, that cut just rose considerably, because I obviously underrated your intelligence. The service I provide is arranged through the Brotherhood. You know of them?”
She nodded again. The Syndicate liked to think of themselves as a family. A violent, rigid family.
“Well, I’m here to assure you that there are far scarier things on this trader than a person in cryo.”
Her gaze whipped to his. It was impossible to hide her horror. “I’d rather not know.”
The captain smiled at her, his hazel eyes crinkling. “Smart woman. Right answer. I only mention it because I assure you I am prepared for the greater risk of the cryo. The Brotherhood’s power backs this operation. You need to think of the cryo as someone’s private business. It’s just provisions. One of the other containers is full of baliberries. We’re moving through space with some tools and some invisible tools. All you need to do is move the tools off at their appropriate destination and keep them organized.”
Her hand tried to crush the cup. He’d admitted the Brotherhood’s outright involvement, yet he’d brought in an outsider instead of a Brotherhood man. She took a shot at getting more for herself for being jammed in this position. He was trying to use her, lightly threatening her, and she was better than this.
“Excuse me, but I’m also supposed to monitor the manifest’s privacy and the seal integrity. And with these kinds of treasures, that’s a lot more responsibility.” And danger. Deadly danger. Her heart gave a little jump and a tingle of excitement raced down her spine.
“You’d be surprised how honest most people tend to be. Becca, I’ve done this run so many times and I’ve never had an issue. If you’d like me to find another cargo overseer when we reach London Moon, I will. But I’m sure you can do this. Be calm. It’s routine for me.” His hand reached across the table and one of his long fingers stroked her cheek.
Heat sliced down her throat into her chest. She gasped, an audible, harsh rasp. Her gaze jumped to his. The tingle became a raw power rush. Her nipples turned to spikes, throbbing with emergency need.
He leaned in. His smile was gentle, fond. “You’re beautiful, young, ambitious. This is a simple job. I knew you could handle it. The cargo is moving and it’s nothing to do with you. Watch over it, organize it, and you’ll have enough money to hire a private tutor for your master certification five times over.”
He smelled so good. His finger stroked softly back and forth along her jaw. “Talk to me. What’s your concern?”
“What if we’re caught?”
He dragged his chair forward until their knees bumped. He took her numb hands in his. “If we’re boarded, I’ll buy them off. If we’re inspected, the Brotherhood will. See? Easy.”
His confidence began to affect her. She dared to lash out. “Why did you ask me to do this? There must be someone else you knew. You’re right—it’s an easy job. In fact, the guys could have done it themselves, or Djetivoch, who’s already involved.”
He shook his head. “The guys aren’t manager material. Djetivoch has other duties, and I’m so glad I asked you. Because you revealed an issue. I’m relieved you came to me.”
The spiraling tension crushing her since he’d entered sprang and she sagged slightly into his supporting hold. Her fingers convulsively grabbed at his wrists. “You are?” He wasn’t angry! His arms were so strong and his heat contrasted with the space-coolness of the room.
He gave her a lopsided smile. “Well, I’m not glad my suspicions were true, but yes, of course I’m happy you approached me with your concerns.”
“What suspicions? You said you knew about the cryo.”
His thumbs worked around her palms. “I’m really disappointed in the guys. I knew they were a dumb group, and I know you’re particularly clever, but for you to discover the cryo this fast means they’re fuckups.” He sighed. “Can you tell me how you found out? They need more training, and I’ll be able to fix the gaps.”
She shrugged. “Darnell, mostly. His actions in the cargo bay at first, where he was moving cargo by himself before it needed to be. Then later, when he tried to distract me and shifted the cryo out of the placement I’d given it and expected me not to notice. But the fact that a cryo needs constant monitoring is a detriment, because that puts it in the front, when it doesn’t need to be according to its destination.”
“Ah.” The captain gripped her hands. “Thanks. That helps a lot.”
Yesterday she never would have guessed she’d be thanked for identifying gaps in a cryo-smuggling operation. The giggle could be swallowed, but the smile couldn’t. This was so weird. It was a horrible situation, but this man made her feel valued.
He sat back and shoved his hands into his hair, scrubbing at his scalp. The motion emphasized his features and fluffed his soft hair. “Well, are you able to finish the job? Let me know if the stress is going to be too much. At this point, I’d give you a small token of thanks, but there’s an awfully sweet payoff for doing nothing more than the ordinary overseer work you planned on if you continue.” Idly, he tapped something into his wrist-plax.
For some reason, his offer to back out of the project made her sit up straighter. He wasn’t evil. Everything about this conversation had been rational and civilized. She wouldn’t come to harm from his angle.
He nodded at her. “That’s the way.”
Those words settled her spine even more. Her chin lifted, even with her mind still a jumble. That was the power of this man’s leadership.
The captain’s face changed. It was subtle, but the shift around his eyes and the tension in his jaw caught her breath. He stared. She held his gaze. His lips parted. Hers did too. Heat flew up her core. He leaned forward. Her breasts swelled, throbbed. His lids lowered and his head canted slightly.
She stopped breathing.
He whispered, “Shit.”
Swooping forward, he kissed her. She pressed her mouth into his. Shocking, the warmth of him, the juice on his breath, the slickness of his tongue along her lips. His hands cupped her head, which was good, because her neck gave out. His lower lip stroked against hers, again and again, and then he demanded entrance with a surge of his jaw.
This was her captain. He was a smuggler. He was too old for her. And she melted against him, her hands bracing on his thighs and kneading the wonderful, masculine breadth of his muscles. Her mouth stretched and her tongue played with his. A tiny moan eased from her throat and he went wild, twisting his head in the other direction, nipping at her lips. His kiss was hard and his tongue was fast. He drew on her mouth like she was—
“Delicious,” he groaned. He kissed her again, softer, slower. “Becca.”
“Yes, sir?”
He laughed, kissed her, and rested his forehead against hers. They were both breathing heavy. Her hands couldn’t stop shaping his legs, happy to touch him.
“Becca, I want you.”
It was almost impossible to focus, she wanted him so badly. She kissed his mouth, capturing his lower lip and sucking gently. His hands stroked along her nape. The hairs at the base of her ponytail stirred with sizzling slashes of heat.
“Becca, I need to know your answer, and I don’t want to force—”
“Yes. I’ll watch your stupid cargo. And if I get caught and go down for that cryo, I’ll kill you.” Her brother would kill him, but she wouldn’t mention that little tidbit. It wasn’t important, because he was good at this, experienced, and she’d be fine. Rich and fine, for a short little side trip. “Please, please say you have time for sex now.”
Her crotch was suddenly soaked. Swiveling her hips, she ground on her own chair, watching his pulse jump. She blocked out the mental turmoil she wanted
no part of and fanned the hungry heat roaring through her. Everything had been by-the-book for years. This was her time. One off-course decision and she was on the wild side of space.
He kissed her, and she kissed him back strongly enough to wipe the smile off his face. When they parted, her lips were swollen and damp.
He growled, “Yeah. Now.”
His hands lowered to her flight suit, and hers went for his tailored captain’s jacket. She stripped him out of it first, but he had a thin shirt underneath. He fought with her plain, sturdy bra while she shoved the shirt up to his neck and pulled it roughly over his head. Her breasts pulled on her chest when they were freed from their support and throbbed eagerly. He didn’t disappoint. By the time she swiped her hands over his surprisingly hair-coarsened chest, his hands were cupping both while he thumbed her nipples.
“You don’t laser your chest.” She ran fascinated fingers through the sparse hairs, delighting in the muscle underneath. There was a weight to him the boys her age didn’t have. The pattern of hair narrowed down his belly, and she dove for his waistband.
“I don’t fuck my crew. It’s a rule I have. I shouldn’t be doing this.” He stood. With one pull and twist, she was up too, but draped backward over his arm, hanging from his shoulders as he sucked at one crest.
She wailed. His mouth on her nipple scalded, and stabs of pure pleasure streaked through her torso. The sound set his teeth harder against her softness, and he pressed firmly with his tongue. Her nipple pressed back, demanding, and she arched, encouraging the sweet strike.
It went on and on. The room dipped under her as she hung from his strength, and her breast swelled taut, aching. The pleasure echoed between her legs and she danced restlessly, trying to brush up against his hips. He switched breasts. The grunt her throat involuntarily gave up was far from sexy, but once again the sound excited him.
He thrust his hand down over one hip and then the other, shoving the flight suit, and then her underwear, down to her knees. She lifted one leg and pulled her boot free of the tangled clothes. Wrapping her arms around his neck and her leg around his hip, she clasped him tighter, blood pumping hotter than ever. Without any fanfare, he bit her nipple and shoved two fingers between her labia. Her breasts and pussy tightened in unison. She shrieked. His hand shoved farther between her legs. When his fingertips rimmed her vagina, her knees trembled.
“Captain!” she choked.
He froze. His mouth lifted from her, hot breath flowing over her pebbling skin. His fingers burrowed inside her, a decisive attack. She clamped and writhed.
“Say that again.”
“Captain . . . fuck me.”
His fingers pumped inside her, stretching and rasping over her soft, wet flesh. He used his strength and her breasts rocked, her body struck with desire.
“Again.” His thumb danced across her edges and found the perfect spot. His thrusting fingers slid deeper. Her world spiraled tight around her clit.
“Captain!” She came brutally, staring at his triumphant, flushed face.
He spun her and sat her on the table. While she gasped and shook, the cold metal under her ass lengthened the pleasure. He kicked his pants off. His erection was lovely, very thick. He sat down in the chair and pulled her into his lap. With a toss of her hips he slid inside. They both grunted and he wrapped his arms around her, pulling her down tighter, packing himself in deeper.
He worked her over him while she struggled to find her breath, to gather her liquefied muscles. Then he pushed her back from his furred chest and once again lavished wet kisses and licks on one shocked nipple. A hand supported the small of her back, and his other hand came up to massage the neglected breast. It was then, while their hips were sealed together, and her pelvis lit up from the pressure and small, digging drives, as she stared at his mouth lapping at her tip, lost in shuddering bliss, that his wrist-plax caught the light.
One simple message blinked on the screen for the length of a nibble and suck at her tip. Her body already tightening toward another orgasm, she stared at his hand holding the weight of her round breast, thumb pressing her swollen nipple, and struggled to understand the words she’d read. DARNELL GONE.
The captain buried his face in her neck, both hands on her ribs, and pinned her in place while his hips ground hard up against hers. She came, body shivering and tight. He shouted, and moaned, his body jerking under hers. He collapsed against the chair back, and she slumped against his chest, her cheek on his shoulder, staring blindly at her untouched personal crate sitting by the bed.
Over the next half hour, the captain talked to her about the upcoming planetswing, where ships went dark and used the centrifugal force of a planet’s mass to conserve power and alter course, cleaned up with her, and generally seemed to be the same cool, intelligent man she’d admired.
She watched his chin lift to expose his strong throat as he drank more red juice. They were sitting at the table again. She licked her lips, remembering his taste mixed with the juice. “There was really no one else on board you wanted on your cargo team?”
He shrugged, giving a faint smile. “Best gut decision I ever made.” He reached for her, his hand gripping her shoulder, his fingers finding tension at the edge junction of her shoulder and neck, then magically rubbed with just the right pressure.
Her head fell to the side, her loose, damp hair shifting. Goosebumps flared across her skin.
“Have dinner with me tonight.”
She hauled her lids up and looked at him.
He smiled at her, let his gaze slide to the deep V of her gaping flight suit, and then return. “The food in my quarters is a damn sight better than the mess hall’s.” He leaned in and brushed his lips across hers, a polished but sweet thrill. He softened his command. “I really want to see you later.”
“I think I can find the time.” Her brain was coming online again, whirling, a mess of circuits. His eyes, his strength, his experience—she wanted him now and later. Still, she hesitated to commit.
“Duty calls. Try to catch some sleep. Enjoy your first day.”
He left. The room was very empty. Very quiet. She studied the chiller and called up a piece of fruit, then sat and waited for the end of Darnell’s morning shift. Sleep was not an option.
She went down to the cargo bay five minutes before Joe’s shift started, the same way she’d planned. Joe was already there, sitting at the monitors.
She walked up to him, wondering who the captain would tell and what he would say about having sex with her. “You’re early, Joe. Did you already relieve Darnell?”
“I guess.” He stared at the monitor.
“Well, he was still on duty when you got here, right?”
Joe shrugged. “Don came and got me at breakfast, took me down here. He took Darnell and they never came back.”
“Huh. All right. Well, things look clear?”
“If they didn’t you’d know. You’re not gonna stand here the whole time are you?”
“No, no. I’m just making sure the rotation is working. I’ll see you.” She left but went to Darnell’s assigned pod.
There were two people there, both sleeping. She looked at the other bunks. Three were a jumbled mess. One was still made up neatly. Walking to the lockers, she began to open them. When she got to the fourth locker, it was empty. She stared at it. Then she went and shook one of the women awake.
“Who the fuck are you? Get away from me!” The brunette scowled at her.
“Which locker is Darnell’s?”
“I’m not talking about him. I don’t know shit.” She rolled over.
Heart pounding, Becca went to the first locker and started to throw things on the floor.
“What are you doing! Get out of Mot’s stuff, you stupid bitch.”
“If you won’t tell me which locker is Darnell’s, I’ll find it myself.” Becca was so angry she did
n’t care when the other person sighed and rolled over. Let them wake up.
“It was the fourth, but they took it all and said we’re not to talk about him to anyone.”
“Who’s they?” Becca glared at the steel-eyed woman.
“Fuck you! You want to get space-trashed, too?”
So it was true. Becca stared at her. The woman shifted her eyes away and rolled over, pulling the covers over her head. She mumbled under the blankets but Becca couldn’t make it out.
Blindly, she walked out of the pod and back to her own room. The captain had had Darnell killed while he’d been having sex with her. Djetivoch had probably done it. She was supposed to play cards with him tonight. She was supposed to have more incredible sex with the captain in just a few hours.
Ever since she’d taken this job on the lure of a new experience and easy money, everything had gone wrong. Now a man was dead, another man was frozen in her care, and she was supposed to manage three thugs. She realized she was sitting at the table, which made her remember the morning’s incredible pleasure, and she jumped up to move onto the bed. Flopping backward, she flung an arm over her eyes.
It wasn’t her fault. She knew that. But from now on, going forward, she had to choose. She could be in with the thugs for money, running the edge of danger that could destroy her reputation, enjoying a sexy adventure she’d never imagined. Or she could risk her life to bring them down. She could document, and scheme, and try to back out of this mess she was already crotch-deep in. It seemed impossible. What would her brother say if he saw her now? Oh, man. Her brother . . .
One woman against a Brotherhood-backed operation? Like the captain said, it was all in place. She had to do hardly anything except keep her mouth shut and shuffle boxes. It wasn’t even so much about the money now. No matter what, she couldn’t go back to being a systems intern on this ship. If she just hung out for one starcourse, she’d live, and learn about the back end of space travel.