by Tamsin Ley
“Oh.” Joy bit her lip and noticed his gaze shift to her mouth. Her stomach fluttered. “Have other women tried?”
Kashatok turned away. “Not that I’m aware of. But it’s not like I’m tracking it.”
“But you’re wanting women to try.”
“I’m wanting nothing.” He slammed a palm against his desk, shaking the nearby bottle. “Now can we stop talking about this?”
She gave Jhikik another leaf and ran her fingertips over the maroon petals of a flower, watching it close in response to her touch. She’d get no more out of him right now. “Thank you for telling me.”
“Will you lock yourself up, now?”
“No.” Joy raised an eyebrow. This guy had a single solution for everything. “But I will go to engineering and wait for the other ship.”
When the boarding tube connected, she planned on being front and center. She had few questions for this Captain Qaiyaan.
Kashatok paced the room, waiting for an update from the other ship. Every few minutes he strolled down the corridor and past the open door to engineering, worried about Joy alone in there with his crew mucking about. He’d warned her to keep up her disguise as she’d left his cabin, but for all he knew, Gassy was babbling the secret to everyone in his drug-induced stupor. The old engineer had been sound asleep every time he passed the med bay.
Damn that woman. She had no idea how close she’d come to becoming a turnip with that kiss. The memory of it laced a fiery trail through his veins and settled with low, hard heat in his cock. It had been hours, yet he throbbed against his pants. If he hadn’t been interrupted, he had no idea how far he might’ve taken things.
How long had it been since he’d even wanted a woman? Really wanted one? The few he had to interact with while in port never lingered in his mind. He glared at the bottle on his desk. Then again, he usually drowned himself in rum. He knew how to ride a fine line with the intoxicant, drinking enough to dull his desires but keep him functional for duty.
But desires were easy to dull when the object of them was far out of reach, and he made a point of never staying in port long enough to crack his reserve. With Joy right here on the ship, it was all he could do to keep himself from storming into engineering and taking her hard against the control panel. Or in the parts locker. Or on the floor… He glanced into his open bedroom and imagined her splayed out on the crisp, clean sheets.
Whirling, he grabbed the bottle and threw it, shattering it against the far wall. Even sober, he could barely keep his mind and his hands off her. He couldn’t afford to have the stuff sitting around taunting him.
Closing his eyes, he sighed, remembering her small frame pressed against his back during the jump between ships. Now he had the sensation of her limbs seared against his front as well, her soft belly pressed against his raging hard-on. The wet and willing pressure of her mouth—oh her mouth—he wanted to devour her.
If he wasn’t careful, he would.
One wrong move from him would empty her mind of all its content forever. Much as he preferred not to, he forced himself to picture Aiyana’s blank stare. Why couldn’t he remember her face? When he tried to recall those dead eyes, that slack mouth, all he could see was Joy’s liquid brown eyes and the delightful way she was always chewing her bottom lip. Very alive.
Jhikik, sensing his distress, chirped and clawed his pant leg. Out of habit, he picked the little creature up and set him on his shoulder. The long tail with its suction cups curled up under his arm and gripped his chest, making him think of Joy’s hands against his sides. What if the nanites worked? Could they possibly make her strong enough to withstand the passion of a killer like him?
No. The idea was nonsense, and thinking about it would only invite trouble. As soon as Captain Qaiyaan arrived, Kashatok would transfer her. Get her out of danger. She was a good mechanic. Maybe Qaiyaan would swap his engineer for her.
As soon as Kashatok came up with the idea, he rejected it. No way he’d put her in Qaiyaan’s hands with the nanites right there. What if the bastard slipped them to her? The man was obviously dead set on making mates. Those damned Syndicorp machines could fry her brain as easily as Kashatok would if he took her on the floor in engineering.
The comm pinged. Kashatok stalked to his desk, his mind in a fury.
A bearded face appeared on-screen. “Captain Kashatok, we’re approaching the asteroid belt.”
Holding back a string of unwarranted curse words, Kashatok replied, “Acknowledged, Captain. I’ll turn on our locator.”
Qaiyaan ran his fingers down the twin braids under his chin. “Have you discovered any information about that lab?”
Uminaq. The lab. Back when Captain Qaiyaan first contacted him with the request, Kashatok’d done a quick overview of his informant’s notes, mostly out of personal curiosity. But he hadn’t bothered to actually offer to pay the cartel to dig up the information not already out there on the darkweb. That kind of Intel was expensive, and Qaiyaan wasn’t a wealthy captain. Even his bucket-of-bolts ship was worth less than Kashatok’s usual payout.
Now the Hardship was going to pull his ass out of the fire. He guessed he owed him. “My initial assessment doesn’t show excessive trooper activity in any of the systems that might indicate they’re guarding a secret lab. I do recall a couple that have a suspicious lack of Syndicorp traffic. Sometimes that’s as good an indicator as excess vessel movement. I’ll ask my informants as soon as I reach a port.”
Qaiyaan’s eyes narrowed. “Is this the first you’ve looked into it? You know how important this information could be. Not just to me. To all of us. We need a renewable source of nanites.”
Kashatok cleared his throat. “Yeah. Have you infected any other women, yet?”
A muscle in Qaiyaan’s jaw bulged. “No. And it’s not an infection.”
“My mistake.” Kashatok didn’t hide the sarcasm in his tone. As he’d suspected, the nanites were a hoax. Still, if information was what the guy wanted, it was a fair price for a ride out of here. “I’ll contact you when I have information.”
“That’s what you said last time.” Qaiyaan’s holographic face grew larger as he leaned forward. “How about you send out that request right now? I’ll wait.”
Sighing, Kashatok shook his head. None of the so-called pirates in the fleet really understood what it meant to be a criminal. “I never put cartel requests out via comm or the darkweb. Not even on secure channels.”
“Awful convenient excuse. Maybe I should leave you here to think about it while I go track down your part. How much juice do you have left for life support?”
Kashatok grit his teeth. He had to admit, he’d basically ignored Qaiyaan’s previous request. He wasn’t exactly a pay-it-forward kind of guy, and he’d owed the captain nothing. “Listen, that Intel’s going to be expensive. I couldn’t front the money when you asked before. This time I owe you, so I’ll make sure I follow up. The sooner you get us out of here, the sooner I can work on it. If there’s a Syndicorp lab around here, you’ll know in a few days.”
Qaiyaan cast him a disgusted look over the holo, gave a curt nod, and cut the transmission.
Kashatok stood staring at the empty space above his desk for a moment, then he hit the comm and told the bridge to engage the ship’s locater. He prayed Qaiyaan didn’t make him wait out of spite.
Chapter Eight
Joy’d been mulling over her options for hours while she puttered in the cargo bay waiting for the other ship. Kashatok’s sudden and urgent kiss had left her breathless. Never had a guy as hot as this broody alien pirate even batted an eye in her direction. He made her feel stupid and giddy like she was thirteen again with dreams of movie star boyfriends.
Don’t get involved. He’d just kissed her because she was the only woman around. She wasn’t glamorous. Even Mother called her plain. Her few sexual encounters had been nothing worth mentioning and she had no spectacular skills in that department. Give Kashatok a selection of other women and she’d surely b
e the last pick.
Besides, on board this ship, she was a reporter, and she needed to think like one. How many filming opportunities had she missed already? No more. If she had to keep her camera rolling until the resulting headache knocked her out, she would. Her gritty pirate exposé had shifted, becoming the heartbreaking story of a species’ hopeless cause, of cover-ups and revenge, of stolen technology and sex. It was going to blow her ratings off the charts. As for the nanites, well, if the chance came along, she’d take it. The mechanic in her was intrigued by the little robots. She’d thought her camera was the coolest thing ever when it was installed. What would it be like to have tiny computers at her beck and call?
The comm lit up with a call from the bridge. “All hands, prepare to be boarded.”
Excitement surged in her chest. She wiped her hands on a nearby grease rag and engaged her camera. Two pirate ships meeting had to be something special, and she wanted to be sure to capture every interaction. Hurrying to the cargo bay, she joined the rest of the crew. As she panned their faces, she realized that although they seemed relaxed, every one of them was armed.
Kashatok strode between them without a glance in her direction and proceeded to the bay door just as it hissed open. Her ears popped at the sudden change in pressure.
A tall, shaggy-haired man she recognized as Captain Qaiyaan stood on the boarding tube’s other side, just as broadly imposing as all the other Denaidans. “Permission to come aboard, Captain?”
Her captain was armed, as well, she noted. “Granted.”
Qaiyaan crossed over, followed by a younger Denaidan with hair as copper as his skin.
Joy focused in on the younger man’s bare feet, curious, panning upward to meet his gaze. He grinned at her, and she couldn’t stop herself from grinning back.
Captain Qaiyaan asked, “Who’s your engineer?”
Kashatok shook his head. “Gassy was injured.” He gestured Joy’s direction without looking at her. “The kid and I’ve taken the repairs as far as we can.”
The younger copper-skinned man strode right over and stuck out his hand. “Hi, I’m Tovik. You’re an engineer? Assirpaa!”
She had no idea what assirpaa meant, but he seemed genuinely excited. “Mechanic, actually,” she said, holding out a hand. “Name’s Joey.”
“Nice to meet you, Joy. I thought Kashatok didn’t allow women on his ship!”
Joy froze, her attention sliding to Kashatok. The entire cargo bay went silent and the crew seemed to turn toward her in slow motion. She felt like a mouse in a den of cats. Apparently oblivious, Tovik kept grinning and she realized she still held his hand. She dropped it and backed up a step, scrambling for a comeback. “You trying to insult me?”
But it was too late. Cooper and Moore had their heads together, muttering. Manopup’s tentacles writhed like snakes around his chin. Aleknagik stared at her with predatory eyes. Chignik laughed and slapped Ekwok on the back. “I thought there was something off about the kid.”
Kashatok closed in, forcing Tovik to take a step back. “How did you know?”
The poor young man’s mouth hung open. He looked over his shoulder at his captain. “Isn’t it obvious?”
Qaiyaan took a step forward. “Come here, Tovik.”
Tovik slumped back toward his captain. “I knew I should’ve just stayed in engineering. I’m never going to find a mate.”
All around her, the crew continued murmuring. The word “nanites” surfaced several times, along with “sex” and several more obscene references.
“So who does she belong to?” Qaiyaan asked, looking around at the Denaidans.
Joy stiffened. “Belong to? I belong to myself.”
Qaiyaan looked from her to Kashatok and back to her as if verifying she was telling the truth. Then he dipped his head toward her. “My apologies, Joy. Knowing Kashatok, I assumed…”
“You assumed wrong,” Kashatok said.
Joy’s stomach churned. Knowing Kashatok? What did that mean? She looked at her captain, but he kept his focus on Qaiyaan, his fists like hammers at his sides. She’d have to grill him for answers on that later. For now, she stepped in between the two captains. “It’s a long story, Captain Qaiyaan. But I’m the closest thing the Kinship has to an engineer right now.” Reminding the crew of how important she was couldn’t hurt. “How about I escort Tovik to our engine room and start working on getting us out of here?”
“I believe Tovik needs you to go with him, first.” Qaiyaan stepped to the side and held a hand out in invitation. “To go over our ship’s burn schematics so you can match up during piggyback. I’d hate to get the alignment wrong and fling you into another galaxy.”
“If you send the schematics over, we can review them here,” Joy said.
Qaiyaan shook his head. “We won’t release specific details about our ship,” his gaze cut toward Kashatok. “Especially not to a cartel informant.”
Gassy’d mentioned Kashatok was the only cartel member in the fleet, but Joy hadn’t realized there was animosity about it. Shrugging, she took a step forward.
Kashatok’s hand on her arm halted her. “I’m coming, too.”
Qaiyaan thrust out one hand, his other close by his pulse pistol. “I’d prefer you stayed aboard your own vessel, captain.”
Kashatok’s grip on her arm grew firmer. “I’m not comfortable letting her go alone.”
Joy gently pried his fingers loose. “I’ll be fine, captain.”
He dropped his hand, but she could see by the heaving of his chest he didn’t agree. Spearing her with a dark look, he said, “I need to speak to you. Now.”
“Of course.” Acting more self-assured than she felt, she followed him to the far corner of the cargo bay. Ekwok bobbed his tawny head thoughtfully as she passed by, his eyebrows high. She refused to notice anyone else, but she could feel their attention like lasers following her movement.
Rounding the nose of the shuttle, Kashatok turned and gripped both her biceps. “I don’t trust him not to take off with you once you’re on board. Without functional drives, I can’t follow you.”
At the physical contact, her nipples had hardened involuntarily, yearning for his thumbs to spread inward and tease them. How did this man banish all sense of reason within her? Perhaps his caveman-like attitude was pushing her biological buttons. Whatever it was, she liked it, but now wasn’t the time for such things. “Why would he take off with me?”
“He has the nanites.”
She waited for more explanation, but he apparently believed he’d said enough. Shrugging free of his grip, she tried to give him a reassuring smile. “Kashatok, there is no reason he would steal me away. There are countless numbers of women throughout the galaxy he can give nanites to.”
“The nanites are stolen Syndicorp tech. He can’t just give them to anyone.”
“If that’s true, he won’t force them on me. Stop trying to hide me away.”
His jaw muscles bulged as he ground his teeth and his chest still heaved, but he obviously couldn’t argue. “I don’t like it.”
A warm feeling welled up inside her. She’d never felt protected by someone before, had never thought she’d like it, especially since her mother was so overbearing. But Kashatok’s emotion was so raw and genuine, it wasn’t about control for the sake of control. He was truly worried for her.
She checked over her shoulder to be sure no one could see, then playfully tugged the end of his beard. It was too bad he’d left Jhikik back in his cabin; the little netorpok might’ve given him comfort. “I know you just want to keep me safe, but Captain Qaiyaan came all the way here to help us before he even knew I was aboard. I don’t think he’ll harm me.”
“What if he doesn’t let you come back?”
“Why would he do that?”
“The other pirate captains don’t trust me.”
Joy tilted her head. “But he came to help you.”
Kashatok rubbed his forehead, his face tight. “Denaidans help other Denaidans. T
here’re too few of us left not to. But they don’t trust me with women, and for good reason.”
She made a show of turning off her camera. This was something personal, and she wanted him to feel free to talk. “Tell me why. Please.”
Tiny muscles twitched on his cheeks as if it took everything he had to keep himself in check. “It’s complicated. Now’s not the time or place.”
She leaned closer, making sure she had full eye contact. “When I get back?”
He closed his eyes, letting out a shallow breath before nodding sharply.
“All right. I have an idea.” She leaned around the shuttle to look at Qaiyaan. Aleknagik had moved forward and was talking to the other captain. Tovik laughed at something they said, and the rest of the crew joined in. She turned back to Kashatok. “Ask him to leave one of his other crewmen behind as collateral. He won’t abandon his own man.”
Kashatok inhaled slowly and released it. “You’re suggesting a hostage, of sorts.”
He didn’t move for a long moment, just looking at her, and her heart threatened to beat out of her chest. It felt like he might want another kiss. He smelled so good, like nutmeg and smoke. She licked her lips.
Gazing at her mouth, he reached out and brushed her lips with one thumb. “Don’t let them talk you into anything stupid. All right?”
She nodded, every nerve ending alight with his nearness.
Then he pulled away and stalked toward the gathered crew.
Regaining her presence of mind took a moment. When her legs felt steady, she hurried to catch up, trying hard not to stare at his amazing backside. The irony wasn’t lost on her; she was ogling him while the crew was obviously thinking similar things about her. Sweat prickled her skin under the crew’s watchful eyes, but she kept her head high.
Kashatok stopped several feet from the other captain. “She’ll go with you, but we need one of your crewmen to stay here while she’s gone.”
Moving into place at Kashatok’s side, she caught Tovik’s eye and winked. The stiffness in the young man’s shoulders eased and he winked back. This could all be worked out if she could just keep them talking.
