by Paige Tyler
“Don’t you have any work to do?” he asked, his gaze going from one man to the next. “If not, I can find some. I’m sure the floor of the cargo hold needs scrubbing. There are still a lot of hoof marks left behind from that load of livestock we carried last month.”
At that suggestion, they all suddenly remembered one task or another they had to do. Kam mumbled something about getting back to the bridge and headed off toward the fore of the ship, while the other men turned and went in the opposite direction.
Rade shook his head as he watched them go. He couldn’t blame the men, he supposed. Laken Andara was beautiful, and there weren’t many men who would pass up an opportunity to catch a glimpse of her in the bath.
Knowing he probably shouldn’t spy on her, Rade took a step closer to the door and looked through the window, unable to help himself. It was frosted, but at the right angle, he could still see quite a bit.
She was sitting facing the door, her head back against the tub, her slender arms resting on either side of her. Rade could just make out the swell of her breasts through the bubbles, and he felt himself go hard at the sight of her creamy skin. Almost completely covered in bubbles, she was still a sight to behold.
Although he knew he should leave, Rade found himself rooted to the spot. If she looked toward the door, she would almost certainly see him.
But she didn’t look in his direction. Oblivious to his presence, Laken stretched one shapely leg out in front of her. Picking up the washcloth from the side of the tub, she dipped it in the soapy water, then slowly ran it up and down her leg. Dipping it back into the water again, she repeated the process with her other leg before gently running the towel over her shoulders and down her arms.
Rade had always thought watching a woman bathe was extremely sexy, but he was completely mesmerized by the sight of Laken and what she was doing. He only wished there were less bubbles in the tub.
Painfully hard now, and not wanting to have to explain himself if one of his men, or God forbid, Dev, happened down the hallway, he swore under his breath and tore his gaze away from the glass. Turning on his heel, he strode down the passageway. God, he was glad he had an actual shower in his cabin instead of the sonic type because he could definitely use a cold one right now.
* * * * *
Dev was hunched over the control panel when Laken walked into the communications room the next night. Open books and papers were scattered over every available surface.
“Any time now, Dev,” said an impatient male voice over the ship’s com.
“I’m working on it, Kam!” Dev snapped. A strand of hair had come loose from her ponytail and she swore softly as she tucked it behind her ear. Swearing again, she angrily shoved a stack of books off the desk.
Laken frowned. “Is everything okay?”
Dev didn’t turn to look at Laken as she shook her head. “I’m trying to decipher this code so I can mimic it and send it back out through our transmitter. But no matter what I try, I can’t get it to work. I don’t think I have the software to crack this code.”
“Maybe I can help,” Laken suggested. “I’m pretty good with computers.”
The other woman looked at her in surprise, though whether that was because Laken said she knew something about computers, or had offered to help, she wasn’t quite sure. “Well, I know I can’t do it, so I’ll take any help you can offer. You really think you might be able to do something with it?”
She shrugged as she pulled out a chair. “I can try.”
Laken had no idea what the code was for, but it was nice to have something to do to pass the time. Besides, she felt like she owed Dev something for all the stuff the other girl had done for her. Although Laken had a degree in computer technology, she didn’t use it very much, so it was kind of fun to do it again. Luckily, she’d always been good at code-breaking in class, so she was able to make a lot of headway with this one. The code was still extremely complicated and she couldn’t help but wonder what it was used for. She almost gave into her curiosity and asked Dev, but she didn’t want to seem like she was prying.
When they finally decoded the cipher an hour later, Dev let out a cheer that echoed throughout half the ship. Leaning over, she opened the ship’s com-line.
“Kam, we’re in.”
“Roger that.”
Sitting back in her chair, Dev gave her a smile. “You’re a lifesaver, Laken.”
Laken returned the other woman’s smile. “I’m just glad I could help. What was all that for, anyway?”
Dev hesitated, then shrugged. “Just something for the job the captain’s doing tonight.”
Laken wanted to ask more, but ever since Rade had made it clear she wasn’t to be treated like one of the crew, Dev and the men had been careful not to say too much around her. So, not wanting to put Dev in an awkward position, she changed the subject.
“What kind of planet are we stopping at this time?”
Dev made a face. “Not one you’d want to get off on, trust me.”
Why wasn’t she surprised? “Don’t you guys ever stop anyplace fun?”
The other girl laughed. “We try now and then, but like I said, we go where the business is. As an independent, we get our best business on the smaller planets, where the Federation doesn’t bother going.”
When the ship landed a little while later, Dev didn’t seem interested in going down to the cargo hold with the rest of the crew, so Laken didn’t bother, either. Realizing she was hungry, she announced she was going to the mess to make something to eat.
“Don’t you want anything?” she asked when Dev didn’t get up.
Dev shook her head. “I need to keep an eye on this.”
Laken nodded. “Do you want me to bring you something?”
“No, thanks. I’ll grab something later.”
Apparently, Karsten and most of the men had left the ship on whatever business had brought them there, so it was strangely quiet on board, but that meant the mess was completely deserted, which was okay with her.
She was just finishing up when she heard shouts coming from the direction of the cargo hold. Curious, she got up from the table to see what was going on, but then hesitated. If she went down there and got in the way, Rade would be more than happy to spank her, and she’d prefer not to go over his knee again. She was considering whether to go back to her room when the sounds of booted feet behind her made her turn. A moment later, Dev ran down the passageway, not even slowing down as she raced past. Laken hurried after her.
“What’s going on?” she asked as she caught up with the dark-haired woman.
Dev flew down the stairs. “The guys ran into a problem.”
Laken had known all that shouting couldn’t be good. Too curious to go back to her cabin now, she hurried after Dev. As they ran down the passageway, Kamran passed them going in the opposite direction. A moment later, she heard the ship’s engines humming to life. The deck shifted at a sharp angle and the ship took off and Laken had to grab the railing to keep from falling.
Down in the hold, Keir and Finn were hastily securing the personal transport to the deck to keep it from shifting round. Dev muttered something under her breath and ran over to them.
Rade glanced down at her from atop the transport. “Jorn’s been shot. He needs help.”
Laken came to a stop on the steps, her stomach lurching. As much as she wanted to help, something told her she didn’t want to be involved with anything going on down in the hold. As she hesitated, Kellen pushed past her to get down the steps.
“What the hell happened out there?” the first officer demanded. “This was supposed to be a simple transfer.”
Laken’s eyes widened in horror as Vance and Dev help Jorn out of the back of the transport. One sleeve and half his shirt was covered in blood.
“Federation bastards,” Rade muttered. “They must have followed the settlers. The moment we made the exchange, they opened fire on us. He settlers didn’t stand a chance. We were only able to grab a few
things and get them on the transport before we had to get the hell out of there. The Feds weren’t interested in talking, just killing.”
Laken stood frozen at the bottom of the stairs, her blood going cold. “Federation? Why would the Federation be shooting at you?”
Rade swung around to glare at her. “Get back to your cabin.”
Laken ignored him as realization dawned on her. She turned her gaze on Dev. “That code I helped you decipher was Federation, wasn’t it? That’s why it was so complicated.”
The dark-haired woman flushed, her hands stilling in the act of unbuttoning Jorn’s shirt. “Laken—”
Laken cut her off before she could finish. “You used me. I trusted you, and you used me. You figured that since I went to a Federation university it would be easier for me to break their code. Tampering with Federation security codes could put me in prison for the rest of my life, but you didn’t care about that, did you? Why should you? You’re nothing but a common criminal.” She shook her head. “I can’t believe I didn’t see it until now. You said you were independents, but you’re nothing but a ship full of pirates.”
“That’s enough,” Rade ordered.
She whirled around to glare at him, but before she could say anything, he turned his attention to Dev and Vance.
“Get Jorn up to the med-bay, and make sure there’s no one on our tail,” Rade told them.
Supporting Jorn between them, Dev and Vance slowly did as he commanded. When Keir and Finn started to unload the boxes off the transport, Rade told them to leave it. “You can do that later,” he said. “Get up to the bridge and make sure Kam has everything under control.”
The men hesitated, but then gave Rade a nod and went upstairs.
Rade looked at the older man. “Go check on Jorn for me, will you, Kellen? I’m going to have a few words with our passenger.”
Kellen’s gaze went from Rade to her before going back to the captain. After a moment, he gave Rade a nod, then headed for the steps.
Laken swallowed hard as she watched the old man go, angry tears stinging her eyes. She’d known something was off about the crew from the beginning. She should have trusted her instincts. She was on a ship full of pirates who made their living stealing from the Federation. The same Federation her father helped run.
She pinned Rade with a hard look. “I’m not interested in anything you have to say.”
“That’s too damn bad, because you’re going to listen.” He regarded her coldly. “You can say whatever the hell you want about me, but you haven’t earned the right to pass judgment on my crew. Maybe after you’ve lived in the real world a little while, you might learn that things aren’t always so black and white.”
Damn him. The bastard was trying to turn this around on her and make it look like he was the injured party in all of this. “Don’t get sanctimonious on me. You and your crew make a living violating Federation laws. That’s piracy, so what I said was the truth. They’re criminals, and so are you.”
The muscle on the side of his jaw flexed, a sign of just how angry he was, but she didn’t care. She couldn’t back down, despite learning what he really was. Maybe because she knew what he really was. He was a pirate who stole from the Federation, and that made him the worst kind of criminal. It was her duty as the daughter of a Federation merchant to stand up to scum like him.
“In fact,” she continued, “you’re worse than they are. You make your money off their sweat and blood and you don’t even give a damn. Tell me, did you throw Jorn in the transport and come back her right after he got shot, or did you make him wait while you grabbed a few more boxes of stolen goods first?”
Rade didn’t answer, but she could tell from the hard glint in his eyes that he was furious. More furious than he’d been even after he had caught her snooping in the hold the other night. Suddenly, standing up to him didn’t seem like it had been such a good idea. Her pulse racing, she took a step back, but it was too late. Rade reached out and grabbed her arm, pulling her against him.
“I’ve had it with you,” he growled. “You’re a spoiled brat who stowed away on my ship, which is a crime in any corner of the galaxy, and yet you have the nerve to call me a criminal. Well, I’m tired of your condescending attitude, little girl, and I’m not going to put up with it anymore.”
Tightening his grip on her arm, Rade dragged her across the hold to a big wooden crate. Laken fought against him, but it was useless. He gave her arm a jerk that sent her tumbling forward and over the crate in one swift motion. She tried to push herself upright, but he put a hand on her back to hold her in place.
“I thought I got through to you with the other spankings I gave you,” he ground out. “I guess I was too soft on you. When I get done with you this time, you’ll be lucky if you can sit down for a week.”
Laken opened her mouth to tell him to go to hell, but all that came out was a gasp as Rade flipped up her skirt and yanked down her panties. Her face went hot with embarrassment. She thought that being over his knee was mortifying, but being bent over the crate like this was absolutely humiliating. Not only did the position give him a perfect view of her ass, but it let him see her pussy, too. She reached back with one hand to cover herself, but he caught her wrist and pinned it the small of her back, then did the same with the other. She was as helpless as if he’d tied her up.
She threw him a murderous look over her shoulder. “Let me up, you bastard.”
Rade only answer to press her more firmly against the rough wood of the crate and deliver a sharp smack to her ass. Like with the other spankings he’d given her, the smacks came hard and fast, with him moving back and forth from one cheek and the other until her entire bottom was blazing.
“Owwww!” she cried. “Damn you, that hurts!”
“Good,” he said. “That way, maybe you’ll stop acting like such a brat.”
Laken cried out as his hand found her tender sit-spots. She danced from foot to foot, attempting to get away from the smacks, but it didn’t do any good. His hand kept coming down on her ass cheeks over and over and over.
“Please,” she begged. “I promise not to say anything about your or your crew ever again. Just please stop spanking me.”
Considering she’d made him so angry, she didn’t think her words would have any effect on him, but to her relief, after once more hard smack to each cheek, he released her.
Pushing herself upright, Laken she reached back to cup her red-hot ass cheeks, and gasped at how tender they were. Rade had obviously wanted to make good on his threat about her not sitting down comfortably any time soon. She waited for him to say something, to warn her to behave herself, or promise her an even harder spanking next time she stepped out of line, but he only gazed down at her, his face unreadable. A moment later, he turned on his heel and strode out of the cargo hold.
Chapter Five
He had spanked Laken too hard, dammit. He’d realized it the moment she’d begged him to stop. The other times, she had called him names the whole time he’d spanked her, then jumped up with defiance in her beautiful, green eyes when he’d released her, but this time, she’d barely looked at him at all. It had made him feel like shit and he’d almost taken her in his arms and apologized. He doubted she would have appreciated the gesture, though, not after everything that had just happened between them.
“You were a little hard on the girl back there, weren’t you?” Kellen said. He was standing outside Rade’s cabin, leaning back against the wall, arms folded.
Rade clenched his jaw. He doubted his first officer had hung around to watch him spank Laken, but if anyone knew what had gone on in the cargo hold, it would be Kellen. There wasn’t much that went on within the ship the older man didn’t know about.
“She’s a naïve, spoiled brat,” he muttered.
Kellen nodded. “The girl is that, but that wasn’t what pissed you off. It was the fact that she called you a pirate.”
“That didn’t bother me,” Rade said, opening the door to
his cabin and leading the way inside. “I know I’m a pirate, and I’ve made my peace with it. She had no right to say the same about my crew.”
Kellen’s mouth curved into a smile. “The crew is aware of what they are, and you can’t take blame for that. Every one of them follows you willingly, and it’s not because of the money, either. You do the best you can to take care of them. None of them can ask for more than that. If the girl wants to call them pirates, none of them will care.”
Rade ground his jaw. “Maybe not, but it pissed the hell out of me anyway.”
Kellen regarded him thoughtfully. “I wonder. Would Laken’s accusations have bothered you this much if you weren’t so attracted to her?”
