Pirate's Gold (Argurma Salvager Book 2)

by S. J. Sanders

  “And the tech?”

  “As of yet, no prognosis can be made as to what might be useful against the pirate until we arrive at the main wreckage.”

  “Very well. Keep me informed,” Kaylar grumbled as he signed off.

  Veral lingered at the far end of the crowd, his eyes following Terri as she settled in a vacant spot closest to the wall. The youngling sat by her side, his lips pressed together in a grimace of pain as she wrapped a clean leaf tightly around his hand. The leaf would hold for the night, but as soon as the pirates were asleep, he was going to bring her to the medical bay. He needed the contact with her, for however little time they had. In the morning, she could change the leaf out for clean bandages.

  Leaning against the wall, he watched and waited.

  14

  Terri frowned down at Garswal’s wound as she wrapped it with the clean fibrous leaf that Azan had provided her. The bite was shallow and hadn’t shown any sign of envenomation, but there was still a chance if left open it could get infected.

  “How did this happen again?” she asked, tucking the leaf tightly closed.

  The boy sighed. “I was cutting away a vine and this creature with a long body, a flat head, and many legs fell from the tree onto my hand. I tried to shake it off, but it bit me.”

  She grimaced at the description. It sounded a lot like an insect. She hated most of the ones that crawled through the desert. Scorpions, centipedes… They all could have suffered a fiery death as far as she was concerned. She had dealt with enough scorpion stings that she was fairly certain of what to look for, but she would check the bandage first thing in the morning, just in case, and clean it. It would mean more of their water supply since the pirates weren’t keen on sharing, but she didn’t want to risk his hand.

  Sighing, she patted his hand gently before releasing it. “I think you’ll be all right. Go get some rations before there’s nothing left.”

  Garswal brightened and with a nod of his head shot to his feet and disappeared among the stampede of males vying for what there was. Azan pushed away from the wall.

  “I think I will go make sure that he doesn’t get trampled by that lot. I will bring you back something if you will be all right sitting here by yourself for a few minutes.”

  Terri waved the female off. “I’m fine here. I doubt anyone will try anything.”

  Azan gave her a doubtful look but disappeared after Garswal, giving Terri a precious moment of solitude while everyone was distracted. Her hand slipped to her shoulder and attempted to knead out the tension. She nearly yelped with a hand closed around the base of her neck and began to gently rub.

  Tension drained out of her almost immediately when she recognized Veral’s touch as he hummed to her, his mandibles vibrating with the occasional soft click. The sound was as soothing as his touch. Terri leaned against him, smiling.

  “I’ve missed you,” she murmured.

  “I know, as I have you. It will not be much longer, anastha.”

  Her eyebrows arched as she cast a glance at the male crouching at her side.

  “Not much longer until what?”

  His lips parted as if to speak, but he hesitated until his mouth clamped back down into a determined line. He shook his head. “It is better if you do not know. Not yet. There will be less risk to you.”

  “In case you’ve missed it, this isn’t exactly a party here,” she hissed.

  “I have noticed. Be strong, anastha. I will come for you tonight.”

  His lips brushed over the top of her head, followed by the drag of his mandibles before he retreated so quickly from her side that she almost wondered if she imagined him there. Her eyes scanned the crowd, catching only glimpses of his dark form until he completely disappeared.

  “You look pensive,” Azan said conversationally as she sat at Terri’s side, catching her off guard.

  Terri dredged up a smile as the female narrowed her eyes on her suspiciously. As much as she wanted to confide her worries to the Blaithari, she couldn’t forget that the female couldn’t truly be her friend. The circumstances made them odd companions for the time being. She wouldn’t risk saying anything that could potentially put any sort of suspicion on Veral, so she shook her head and accepted the pair of ration bars that were handed to her.

  “It’s nothing. Daydreaming, I guess. I miss my mate.” That much at least she felt safe to confess. It was a normal reaction.

  Azan’s expression closed, but her lips pressed together as if thinking of something unpleasant. She sighed and took a large bite of ration bar. “A good reason to never take a mate. It makes you dependent on them. Even for those who are not weak, it still makes one vulnerable. Out here, being vulnerable to any kind of personal attachments is dangerous.”

  “You miss out on a lot though,” Terri said quietly.

  The female beside her snorted. “And what would that be? Someone hoarding all of the bedding? A male who snores so loudly that it is impossible to sleep? Or would it be the bossy male who demands that you follow his every whim—all for your own good of course? No. By myself is far preferable.”

  “What of someone to love you? To be strong so that sometimes you can be allowed to feel weak and remind yourself that you need someone other than yourself? A companion in life, someone who’ll bring you the heads of your enemies as love tokens,” she threw out there, recalling Veral’s attempt to do just that when he was courting her.

  “Then I will save my credits to purchase a great northern vingnol,” Azan snorted mirthfully.

  “Do I want to know what that is?” Terri asked, amusement creeping into her voice.

  The pirate leaned in close, her eyes sparkling with laughter. “It is a domesticated companion animal for hunting and other tasks. It has eight legs, and its body stands as high as my waist. They have huge squared heads with three eyes and four prominent fangs among a great many sharp teeth. Generally, they possess nasty dispositions to everyone including their masters. But they are loyal and make excellent bedwarmers once you get past the drool. Absolutely lovely breed,” she chuckled.

  Terri slapped a hand over her mouth to muffle to unexpected laughter that bubbled out of her. “That sounds absolutely horrific,” she chortled around her fingers.

  Azan smirked. “Says the female who has a rabid monster trying to chew its way through the metal door of her quarters.”

  “Krono is great… He just doesn’t deal well with being locked in—or locked out, for that matter.”

  She tried to think of an intimate moment that she and Veral had that didn’t involve Krono lying somewhere in the room. Not one came to mind, except when the dorashnal had be put out at night while strangers were on the ship. Even then, he hated being shut out and had snarled and attempted to get through the door more than once when he got tired of sniffing through the corridors.

  “Maybe he needs a mate,” Terri muttered to herself.

  “Ah, you want two insane males on your salvager then—or are you hoping that regular fucking will calm him down? I hate to tell you, but it is rarely the case in males who I have personally know,” Azan observed.

  “The males in the crew talk about needing to fuck all the time,” Garswal piped up from where he sat at Azan’s other side, steadily devouring his rations.

  Terri nearly choked on her food. She hadn’t seen him there and had forgotten that he was there, likely listening as they talked.

  “You are right,” Azan agreed, casting the boy a grin. “Most grown males have only one thing on their mind and little sense besides. Those who have brains tend to be pretty awful. Not you, though. You will be too intelligent for all of that,” she said, patting him on the head.

  His smile in reply was so wide it nearly split his face as he devoured the last of his rations. He then proceeded to eat half a ration that Azan and Terri each gave him. Seeing him in such good spirits, and obviously not bothered by the bite on his hand, eased her concerns.

  She still hated that Egbor had put him in that situ
ation and was likely going to do it again tomorrow.

  Brushing the crumbs from her hands, Terri pulled out her ponytail to finger comb the unwashed length. Although the quarters provided for her on the pirate ship had a cleansing unit, she missed her own soaps and cleansers, not to mention the relaxation tub that could be summoned up from the floor and filled with hot water perfumed with whatever scent she had filled and programmed. The pirate ship didn’t have the little luxuries that Veral painstakingly provided for her, like basic cleansers, but the hard spray had at least got her clean. Marching through the bogs left her desperately in need of a bath and made her think fondly on even that basic unit.

  She frowned as she thought of all the credits that they were losing on this trip. She was going to have to trim the luxuries down until they got another assignment.

  Though she didn’t really understand how the tech worked, especially not the replicators, she understood that everything cost credits. Even Veral’s salvaging served a purpose. Sometimes he sold directly to individuals who were looking for parts, sometimes it was brought in to artisans who melted it down for their creations, and sometimes salvage was taken to processing establishments that broke the matter down into its basic elements that were loaded into one of a great many tubes that went into replicators. That pretty much ruined the magic of the whole thing for her, but it helped to understand how what they did was important.

  The fancier and more expensive the replicator, the more it could potentially do, and the greater amount of raw material those units required, because apparently the units couldn’t fabricate stuff out of absolutely nothing.

  Veral, because he was often in space for long periods, had an expensive one. Even then, however, he had far less of the pricey raw material tubes for creating mechanical pieces or fibers and more for creating food, which was something that they did need plenty of.

  Something that they would run uncomfortably low on if they could not restock soon.

  She froze at the thought, her stomach dipping as she imagined a long, miserable stretch of going hungry. Of having no credits for…well, anything. She held onto the hope that the meager amount of credits that the pirates transferred would still be waiting in their accounts. Please let it still be in our accounts!

  15

  The hand that settled on her shoulder woke Terri out of a deep sleep, her entire body jerking with surprise until another hand, warm and familiar, settled over her mouth. Her eyes searched the dark, and she relaxed as she met Veral’s glowing eyes. The cybernetics under his skin faintly illuminated the darkness, but his eyes were always visible unless he covered them. She smiled against his hand as she patted his arm.

  Slowly, his hand slid away from her lips as he touched a finger to his mouth in a gesture for silence. She nodded and quietly pushed up to her feet. Her mate didn’t give her an opportunity to walk. Probably a good thing, since she had never mastered any form of stealth. Instead, she wrapped her arms and legs around Veral as he lifted her up and proceeded to carry her from Azan’s side.

  A shiver of apprehension rolled through her as they moved further away from the group. Ever since they had been captured by pirates, they hadn’t even dared to be alone together.

  Terri didn’t say anything nor make any sign of objection. She couldn’t summon the energy to care about anything more than the feel of him against her body and the soul of his heart beating beneath her ear as she rested her head against his chest.

  She wasn’t unobservant, however. Despite the darkness obscuring her vision, she felt the brush of a doorway against her shoulders as they entered another room. She almost thought he would put her down then, but instead he strode further until he stopped. Sweeping her arm out, she felt the cold metal wall behind her.

  “Veral?” she whispered uncertainly.

  “Wait,” he replied softly.

  The cybernetics in his hand were visible as he brought it up and set it against the wall. A light flared, and a soft sliding sound met her ears as a musty scent filled the air. He had opened… something. She nearly squeaked in surprise when Veral started walking again without warning—into the wall.

  A room!

  The wall whispered as it shut behind them. It was only then that Veral gently set her on her feet. He detached a disc from the shoulder of his armor and pressed the top of it. A soft blue light started up in its center, growing steadily brighter until the entire lamp glowed, lighting up the room.

  Unlike the rest of the ship, this room had random personal items scattered throughout—literally. Shelves had fallen over, dumping their contents on the floor, and a utilitarian table lay on its side just in front of what looked like a cushioned platform for resting. Everything else was a litter of broken items spread on the floor.

  “What is this?” she murmured.

  “It is just off the medical bay. The logical conclusion would be that it was the doctor’s private office. Where, apparently, he also must have slept at times,” he added.

  Terri slowly turned to face her mate, her eyebrows going up. “Slept, huh? Did you bring me in here for sleep, Veral?”

  “Impossible,” he growled unhappily. “As much as I want you with me, it cannot be risked. I just needed some time.”

  Terri ran her hands over his broad chest, concealed beneath his armor. She understood how he felt. It seemed as if time served their enemies, striving to keep them apart. A stolen moment or two to enjoy even the briefest of contact was worth it. Despite how much she tried to stay optimistic that they would get out of everything fine once the pirates got what they wanted, she wasn’t so naïve as to believe that there wasn’t an equally good chance that they wouldn’t be walking away from the remains of the Evandra.

  If this was possibly her last opportunity to touch and share her love with her mate, then she wasn’t going to pass it up.

  She knew that he felt the same. She heard it in his fervently whispered praises as he peeled her armor from her body. Every word reverent, making her aware of just how much he needed her and treasured her presence in his life. He wasn’t as skilled with words as a poet, but the honesty in what he spoke moved her heart.

  “Perfection,” he hissed as he gazed upon her. “I would kill all of them for you and lay them vanquished at your feet that you would be adorned in the glory of the blood I shed in your honor. Never has a mate been more deserving of such honors.”

  “Fuck, I love it when you promise to do horrific things to my enemies,” she whispered as she slid her hands over his taut pectorals.

  “I would feed you delicacies from their bones.”

  “Okay, a little much there… but I can get definitely get down with feeding me. In all ways. Gods, I need you,” she ground out as her hands continued their upward movement.

  A low rumble met her touch, and his eyes slid shut with pleasure as she slowly ran her hand up to the tab at his collar that sealed his armor. Pressing it, she hummed with delight as the material split beneath her hand, falling away from the dark silver scales of her mate’s chest.

  “Anastha,” he hissed as her hands trailed down his body to cup the swollen sack that his cock—rather, his civix—rested inside.

  At the pressure of her hands, his dark civix slipped out in a rush. It was so thick that she couldn’t even close her fingers around it. It slipped and writhed in her grasp, the hook at its tip twitching as the tiny tubes that ran up the length of his sex began to drizzle lubricant into her hand. Veral’s face pinched, his hips twitching with need.

  She began to drop to her knees, wanting to taste him on her tongue and drive him crazy with her mouth, but his hands on her arms tightened, stopping her. Instead, he drew her closer until her bare chest was plastered against his, his vibrissae vibrating and twitching as they coiled against her breasts, along her neck, and into her hair.

  All of her attention, however, was fastened on his hotly glowing eyes as his head dropped and his lips claimed hers.

  The feel of his two tongues invading her mouth sent
a bolt of desire punching through her. She sank into him, her single tongue tussling eagerly with his slender pair. As her arms twined around his neck and his vibrissae clung to her, their bodies slid together, simulating the instinctive movements of mating. His hands dropped, sliding down her sides to cup possessively for a moment over her still flat belly before sliding down to the back of her thighs. With one swift movement, he yanked her up into his arms and walked to the edge of the sleeping platform.

  Holding her firmly against him, he slid onto the bed. Though the movement kicked up clouds of dust, neither of them paid any attention to it. They were far more interested in the contact points between their bodies that had been touch-starved for days since their separation. Terri could feel the energy between them, that connection of their bond, practically hum with intensity as they grew increasingly frantic.

  At some point, her legs crept around his hips, pulling him tightly against her until they were pelvis to pelvis. Veral’s back arched to maintain their kisses despite their height discrepancy. At the contact of his civix gliding along her sex, a shudder ran through her, and Terri gasped into his mouth. He pressed tighter to her, swallowing every sound that she made, muffling it so that they wouldn’t be discovered.

  His sex slid against hers several times, flicking her clit with each pass until she was jerking her hips against him in a silent plea, her arousal a slick coating on her pussy and the inside of her upper thighs. He pulled back, looking down at her, eyes hooded with desire. His lips parted, the tips of his tongues pushing through as the tip of his cock notched at her opened. With a jerk of his hips, he slid deep within her.

  Terri’s hips rose to meet him, a strangled sound barely escaping her throat as she felt his civix glide and twist within her as he began to move. He clutched her ass at an angle off the bed as he drove into her with every snap of his hips. Dazed, she watched as his large body moved gracefully above hers, the muscles in his jaw tensing with effort as he picked up into a hard rut, his mandibles slowly stretching wider as his breaths puffed from his lips in eager pants.