by Hayes, Susan
“That is a slick bit of programming. Where’d you learn that?” he asked, looking from her to the bot and back again as Tic finished its reboot cycle and activated it’s treads, climbing back down the ramp to the floor of the ship.
“You wouldn’t believe me if I told you…”
“Try me.”
“I worked on intimate companions, remember? Well, one of the major projects I worked on was getting the damned things to work together for three-ways. This was my solution.”
“Wait. You used sex droid programming on our cargo bots? Are they going to start trolling the corridor at night, offering their services?” Deke asked, his words broken up by bouts of raucous laughter that bounced off the walls. Sonja watched in amazement as he transformed in front of her into a younger, happier version of himself.
“No, smart ass. But if you keep laughing, I might add that to their programming. You could have the sexiest cargo bots in the fleet!”
He threw his hands up in mock surrender. “Please, no. And don’t tell Trevar you can do that or he might take you up on that offer. He’d have Tic and Toc turning tricks if it got us our down payment faster.”
“That’s a little disturbing to consider.”
“Trevar’s a little bit disturbed, or haven’t you noticed?” Deke pointed out, lowering his arms to wipe away a few tears of laughter from his cheek.
“He’s not disturbed. He’s just…alone.” Sonja’s mouth engaged before her filter, and she winced as she heard what should have been an inner thought expressed aloud.
Deke didn’t answer right away. Instead he caught her hand and tugged her into his arms. He held her for a long moment, his face buried in her hair as he held her close. “Not many people notice that about him. They get dazzled by the charm and cocky attitude and miss it.”
Sonja curved her arms around Deke’s waist and dropped her head to his chest. “Do you know why?”
“Some of it, yeah, but not from him. Trevar would rather go walk naked through a gamma storm than talk about what happened.”
“Would you tell me what you’ve heard? I know I’m not here for long, but I’d like to know.”
Deke knew it wasn’t really his story to tell, but if Sonja wanted to know, he’d tell her. He wanted her to be connected to them. It wasn’t logical. Hell, it wasn’t even smart, but there it was. Since she had come on board, nothing had been the same. For fucks sake, he had actually laughed so hard he’d cried not two minutes ago. He couldn’t remember laughing like that, or smiling so much, or letting his walls down enough to actually connect with someone. It had taken months for him to grow to trust Trevar enough to consider him a friend, but Sonja had commanded that level of trust within minutes.
It was fucking crazy.
“A long time ago, in a star system far away from earth, a wild and reckless pilot by the name of Thunder was flying patrol. He and his navigator, Cory, were in a two man combat vessel, sweeping an area known for marauder raids. They were one of their battle cruiser’s top teams, destined for great things. At least, that’s how the story goes.” It felt strange, telling this story to someone else. Speaking the words out loud made it more real, somehow.
“No one knows how the raiders got the jump on them, but they did. According to the onboard computer, there were three raiders, and Thunder destroyed two of them before the third one managed to blast through his shields and cripple the ship. He took down the third raider, too, but by then his navigator was badly injured and the ship was barely holding together. There was a lot of damage to the cockpit, and Thunder…Trevar, he couldn’t free himself from the safety harness. He was trapped in that chair, only a few feet away, as his best friend died.”
“Oh, stars,” Sonja whispered and tightened her arms around him.
“After that, Trevar changed. He dropped the nickname, started drinking more and caring less.”
“Which is why he’s out here on the Arca…with you,” Sonja concluded, her voice soft and her arms still gripping him fiercely.
“That’s about the size of it. We’re both misfits, but we fit pretty well together.”
“Yes, you do. I have one more question, and then I have to get back to work on Toc.”
“What do you want to know, sweetheart? I’ll tell you anything you want.”
“Why Thunder? I haven’t figured out yet how these weird nicknames you guys seem to have get assigned.”
“Well, that’s an easy one. His name is Trevar Storm. T-Storm. Which is an old way of saying thunderstorm.”
“You know, that’s really not fair,” she said and pushed back from him enough she could lift her gaze to his.
“What’s not fair?”
“He got a cool name like Thunder….and you got Deke.”
“Actually, Deke’s not my official nickname.” He couldn’t believe he was telling her this.
“No? So, what’s yours?”
“You can take your pick of either Ice Man or Freak,” he told her, his voice tightening as the word left his mouth. Fuck, he’d hated those names. There were no good memories associated to the early years when he’d been called a freak so often the name had stuck, and Ice Man wasn’t much better.
“Freak is not a nickname, it’s an insult, and Ice Man doesn’t describe you at all, not really. They called you that because you don’t show your feelings much, right?” She was frowning now, her face etched in outrage, and Deke felt something click into place deep inside his soul. She was angry, but not at him. Her anger was for the ones who had tormented him.
“That’s right. Emotions screw up the sync. So they picked kids who were quiet and introverted to start with, and then taught us to lock our feelings down. I guess I learned it a little too well.” Sonja saw him as a man, not a freak. It was hard for him to accept, but the truth was in her eyes. As unnerving as it was to have to deal with the emotional turmoil she seemed to cause inside him, he’d gladly deal with it if it meant she’d always be around to look at him the way she was right now. Bowing his head to drop a kiss to her upturned lips, Deke knew he had to find a way to keep her.
Sonja belonged with him. Better still, she belonged with both of them.
Hearing Trevar’s history made Sonja’s heart heavy, but the pain in Deke’s voice when he told her his nicknames had her furious. “I will never call you that, Deacon Wilde. You are not a cold blooded freak.”
“Many others might disagree with you, sweetheart, but I thank you for saying it anyway.”
“If anyone ever calls you that in my hearing, I swear to the stars above I’ll….I’ll… do something to make them regret it!”
“You are adorable when you’re furious, has anyone ever told you that?”
“Not and lived to tell about it, no. Care to take it back?” she poked a finger into his chest and waggled her brows at him, pleased to see another smile light up his handsome face.
“Hell no, I’m not taking it back. You are adorable. Especially when you’re trying to be all intimidating and don’t know that you’ve got smudges of grease on your face that make you look cute as hell instead of scary. I think we should leave Toc alone for now and go get you cleaned up.”
“Why do I need to get cleaned up? It’s not like I’m going anywhere. I’m stuck on board tonight while you two get to go roam the station. At least, I think it’s night. This no sun, no moon thing is very disorienting.”
“It’s late afternoon, ship time. And yes, we’re going out tonight, but you’re coming with us. As long as it’s safe for you, that is. Trevar’s errands include finding you some decent clothes so you can join us on the station for dinner and more shopping.”
Sonja squealed with joy and bounced in place, hugging Deke so hard his ribs creaked under her hands. “I’m going with you? I get new clothes? Why didn’t you tell me sooner?” She glanced down at her too big shirt and the pair of pants they had modified by cutting the legs much shorter and using a bit of cord as a makeshift belt.
“Well, Trevar wanted to take
a look around first and make sure it was safe. If there had been a bunch of Alliance personnel around we wouldn’t have risked you being seen, but as it turns out, there aren’t that many on the station right now. It’s about as safe as we can hope for.”
Still bouncing, Sonja nodded and beamed. “It’ll be fine, I’m sure of it.”
“Promise me that you’ll listen to us out there. This based is run by the Reema, and that means things are little different than you’re used to.”
Sonja was surprised by the note of concern in Deke’s voice. Trevar had described Jikrat as a trading post of sorts, where races and ships from a myriad of worlds came to do business. “Care to explain that in a little more detail? How different could it be? I mean, apart from the fact that it will be full of aliens.”
“For starters, assume everyone you see is armed. We’re still in Alliance space, but that doesn’t mean things are exactly like they’d be on Earth. Whatever you do, don’t get separated from us.” He lifted his hand to trace the lines of the tattoo that marked her face. “Back home, this protected you. Out here, Trevar and I are your only protection.”
Sonja felt a thread of ice weaving through her veins at the thought of being alone and unprotected. For the first time since she’d fled her parents’ shuttle, she felt the full weight of her decision. She was going to have to learn to take care of herself, and quickly. “Before we get to X2, will you teach me how to protect myself?”
“I’ll teach you. And we’ll make sure the Krytos that run the bar there will keep an eye on you. T’karra is something of a friend. She’ll see to it that you’re safe. I don’t like the idea of you being alone out here in the big black. What if something happens and I’m not there to protect you? What’s worse is knowing that by the time we get sent back here, you might have left. I want you to swear to me that if you decide to leave the station, you will tell T’karra where you are going.”
“You going to check up on me?”
Deke’s arms tightened around her as he walked her backward a few steps until her back hit the work table. “No, sweetheart. I’m not going to check up on you, I’m going to come get you.”
Sonja opened her mouth, but nothing came out. What the hell was he talking about? This was only temporary, wasn’t it? Looking up at him, his eyes full of determination and his jaw set, she suddenly wasn’t so sure. He pressed his body into hers, letting her feel the thick ridge of his erection against her stomach. His mouth crashed down on hers a second later, hands tangling in her hair as he claimed her lips in a kiss that made her toes curl in her woolen socks.
Damn, the man could kiss. There was nothing cool or calculating in the way he touched her. Lips mated and tongues entwined as he ground their bodies together, fucking her through their clothes. Clothes were suddenly a barrier, frustrating her sudden need to be naked and in his arms.
Deacon heard the whimper of frustration from the angel in his arms and grinned. She wasn’t arguing against him coming to get her someday. It didn’t matter that she was a scroll and he wasn’t authorized to claim her. One way or another, she was going to be his.
There was no way he was going back to the way things were before she’d stowed away on their shuttle.
Stepping back, he scooped her into his arms and headed for the door, leaving the droids, tools and everything else scattered across the workroom. For once, he didn’t give a fuck about keeping things organized or about ship protocol. All he wanted in the worlds, all he cared about, was in his arms. When they passed the door to his quarters Sonja stirred, breaking their kiss.
“I thought we were going for a shower?” she asked.
“Later,” he growled and kept walking, using the lower gravity to his advantage as he lengthened his stride to a pace that would have been impossible on Earth. He carried her to the lounge, barking orders to the computer as he went.
“Arca, turn off all light sources in the observation lounge. Increase air temperature by three degrees and prepare to deactivate artificial gravity in that section of the ship only.”
“Why no gravity?” Sonja asked, squirming lightly in his arms.
“Because, sweetheart. I thought it’s time I taught you how to fly.”
***
CHAPTER EIGHT
Most of the ship was set to slightly less than Earth standard gravity, but so far Sonja had not experienced full weightlessness either. Before she had time to think about it much, Deke had carried her into the darkness of the observation lounge and she was simply too stunned by the view to think about anything at all.
They were docked so that the Arca was facing into the station, fastened to one of the many jetties that spanned the outer docking ring. The ship’s observation deck was lower than the ring, however, giving them an incredible view of both the station and the planet they were in orbit around.
Roisa was a gas giant, the surface of the planet whirling with multi-hued storms and striations that dazzled the eye. It was also a ringed planet, encircled by bands of red and gold. It looked like a work of art created by a long forgotten god and left to hang forever in a gallery of stars. The glowing colors of the planet cast Jikrat Station into stark relief, the black metal structure highlighted by twinkling lights and encased in the arc of the docking ring that echoed the planetary rings beyond.
Deke carried her to the window before setting her down, and Sonja simply stared at the view. The lounge was full of light, a flickering festival of glowing hues that shifted as the planet wheeled beneath them, and she realized with a start that this was the first time she’d actually set eyes on another world.
“It’s beautiful,” she breathed.
“So are you. I’ve dreamed about seeing you like this, you know.” His hands were already busy stripping her out of her clothes, and she was thankful he’d turned up the heat a few degrees. She tried to turn around to undress him, but he firmly turned her back around. “You enjoy the view, sweetheart.”
“What are you going to do while I do that?”
He laughed, and it occurred to her again how much more often he seemed to do that now. “I’m going to be enjoying the view, too, only mine’s a little different from yours.” His voice was rough with desire, the sound of it washing over her like a physical caress. He tugged the oversized pants down over her hips easily, his breath warm against her back as he eased the fabric down her legs. She stepped out of them, keeping her eyes on the dazzling view, but her senses were all attuned to him. Where he was, how close, the sound of him unzipping his uniform and the soft rustle as he stripped naked somewhere behind her.
Her breasts were heavy, nipples tightly beaded as she deliberately rubbed the fevered flesh against the cool surface of the window. She was already so aroused that there was already a trickle of moisture sliding down her inner thighs.
“Ship, is everything in the lounge secure?”
“Yes, Officer Wilde.”
“Good. Deactivate artificial gravity.”
Sonja felt a strange sensation in the pit of her stomach, a sort of twisting lurch that left her feeling unsettled, but then that faded and all she felt was…lighter. Aware of the way zero gravity worked, at least in theory, she very carefully pushed herself back from the window and found herself floating up and away. “Deke! Now what do I do?”
A pair of strong arms twined around her waist from behind her and she was drawn up against his very naked, very hard body. “Well, you can flail around like a drunk monkey, which will look really adorable and get you absolutely nowhere, or you can stay right here.”
He bearded jaw grazed the tender skin at the back of her neck and he sucked the lobe of her ear into the heated depths of his mouth.
“And if I stay with you, what happens?” she asked, and a sense of déjà vu hit her so hard it made her breath catch. There were rare times, like this, when she saw more than the immediate future, but she rarely recognized it until the moment actually happened. Sometimes she saw everything in a moment of perfect clarity, other times it was i
n dreams that faded as she came awake. Either way, what she saw always came to pass. And she knew that she’d dreamed this moment before, just as she knew that the answer would change the course of her life, forever.
“If you stay with me, then I’ll make love to you until the stars fall,” he promised, every word exactly the way it had been in her dreams. In that perfect moment, there might have been other answers and other futures out there for her, but Sonja didn’t see any of them.
She only wanted one future. The one where she didn’t have to leave Deacon and Trevar behind and face the universe without them.
“Then I’m staying here, with the two of you.” As she spoke, she could actually sense the lines of probabilities collapse around her, vanishing one by one until only one was left. It was terrifying, exhilarating, and like nothing she had ever experienced before. Sonja still didn’t know what the future she’d chosen would look like, how they’d manage or if they’d even succeed. That wasn’t what her choice was about. Her choice was Trevar and Deacon. The rest…they’d have to figure out for themselves.
Deke felt her tremble as she spoke, and then she was turning in his arms, her movements sending them both tumbling slowly through the air. Her mouth found his, kissing him with a passion that burned away every thought, save one. He had to have her. Now. He’d imagined her naked and painted in starlight the first night she’d been on board. Seeing that fantasy made real was a memory he would cherish forever.
“You’re mine,” he told her, the words lost in the sweet warmth of her mouth, but real nevertheless. She was going to be his. He just didn’t know how—not yet. They floated up toward the ceiling and he stopped their flight with an outstretched hand, steadying their wild tumble so they were gently floating once more. He ended their kiss so that he could show her the other delights of their zero-g environment, deftly guiding her so that they were positioned head to toe. She caught onto his idea quickly, her gleeful giggles only stopping as she wrapped her lips around his dick and took him deep into her mouth.
