by JAX
“You did well, boy,” Carl nodded. “Keep cool and we’ll be able to get out of this one with all of our skins. I know you’ve got old Devil’s temper, but just keep it under wraps. I’m not sure how Red Death interrogates, but it’s probably a normal tactic to piss off men to throw them off their game. Your deadbeat father would never be able to keep his calm, but I know you will for the sake of the crew and the ship.”
Dare knew that Devil had tried to dissuade his only daughter from marrying the young, dashing ship’s pilot who ended up being Dare’s father, but his mother wouldn’t listen and Devil loved her enough in the end to relent and reluctantly give his permission on the condition that she keep her last name and that any children from the union also be MacFadyens. Dare shook his head. What would he have done in that situation? He knew he wanted children someday, but a daughter or a son, either would be fine by him. Women could be just as effective piloting ships and running a business as men, sometimes more so. So who was he to follow in his father’s footsteps and make his offspring feel unwanted for the rest of their existences?
The doorknob rattled, and Dare turned at the same time Carl did to see who would enter the small room.
* * *
2
Dani turned the corner dashing toward her ready room and slammed into a wall of pure muscle. As the wall tried to steady her, they both tumbled into a tangle of arms and legs.
Jared, one of her oldest and most loyal crewmen, might have taken this in stride if not for the fact that her hand landed on his family jewels, and damned if it didn’t want to linger.
What the fuck was wrong with her? When had she become all about being so horny she couldn’t think straight?
“Ahem, Red?” Jared pointedly stared at her hand that still rested quite comfortably on his tender parts.
Dani jerked back and banged her head on the floor.
It served her right. She needed to get her head back in the game.
As she scrambled to her feet, she caught Dahlia rolling her violet eyes as the corners of her mouth twitched upward.
Speaking of Dahlia, where had she come from? Maybe she’d been hanging out with Jared? Dani pursed her lips as she let the possibilities percolate through her mind.
Good for D. Maybe at least one of them was getting some regular cock.
“Status on the prisoners?” Dani barked in her best “nothing just happened” voice.
Jared cleared his throat in a very self-conscious gesture and then took a deep breath before continuing. “They both have the chips, boss. I think you two will be fine, but you hit the alarm if you need anything at all.” Jared held out his hand, showing her two silver control panels the size of an old Earth half dollar. Dahlia stepped between them and took one of the control panels and handed the other to Dani, cementing Dani’s suspicions about Dahlia and Jared.
Pulling her mind back to work, Dani smiled at Jared. Devil MacFadyen had taught her enough hand-to-hand combat skills that she was confident she and Dahlia could handle the two prisoners no matter what, but she appreciated Jared’s gesture and smiled up at him. “Thank you, Jared. You always take good care of us.” She looked meaningfully over at Dahlia and tried not to grin to let him know she was on to them.
Jared blushed and his expression turned sheepish. “Oh, Red. You’re much better than our last captain. You treat us well, you’ve made us all rich, and you’re not unduly vicious with the captives. Not to mention you actually have red hair, unlike the previous Red Death.” He laughed. “You’re a good woman, and we’re all behind you a thousand percent.”
“Me too, boss,” Dahlia chimed in with a grin.
“Thanks, guys. Let’s get this going, shall we?” She headed toward the ready room and tossed a smile over her shoulder to Jared, with Dahlia close on her heels. When the door opened, Dani nearly gasped as both men stood. One of the men was an even better version of her earlier fantasy man. His dark hair was a bit too long on top so it edged over onto his forehead, making her want to push it back. His intelligent blue eyes burned through her, giving her the impression that he saw and catalogued everything, not to mention he liked what he saw. A study in virility, he was muscular without going too far. His face was ruggedly handsome with a cleft in his chin and a dimple in his right cheek that she ached to reach out and touch. The tent in the front of his pants impressed her much more than her dream man’s.
A sudden rush of moisture between her thighs gave her body’s agreement as to his attractiveness, and she bit her tongue to keep her reaction in check. Now was the time to think with her head, not with her aching pussy.
The second man was older, but looked hearty and spunky … and oddly reminded her of Devil MacFadyen. She wondered briefly if he was Captain MacFadyen, or if the tall, dark hunk next to him held that title.
Only one way to find out. She stepped forward with her hand extended. “Gentlemen, welcome.”
The tall hunk took her hand and shook—a firm, dry grip. No he-man tactics or sweaty palms for this one.
“I’m Dare MacFadyen, ma’am, and this is my first officer, Carl.”
One mystery down. The sexy man before her had to be Devil MacFadyen’s grandson since she knew Devil only had one daughter and no sons. Now that she studied him again, he did have Devil’s stubborn chin and blue, blue eyes.
Her nipples were tight and sensitive, it was as if they were pointing at what they wanted—straight at Dare MacFadyen. And while she couldn’t argue with their logic, now was not the best time to voice or act on that preference.
Carl shook hands with Dani as well, and then remembering they were in the middle of introductions, Dani motioned to Dahlia. “This is my first officer, Dahlia.”
Dahlia shook hands with both men; then the sexy hunk cleared his throat. “When can we expect to meet Red Death?”
Dani couldn’t help the grin that curved her lips, and she smiled wider at the small laugh that sounded from Dahlia beside her. She was used to men not expecting Red Death to be female. But many of them took that as a sign of weakness and didn’t realize their colossal mistake until it was too late and they were writhing in pain on the deck. She hoped that wouldn’t be the case here.
“I’m Red Death, Mr. MacFadyen. And, no, there’s no Mr. Red Death waiting in the wings. I’m the one you’re looking for. But please call me Dani.”
She watched as confusion and then acceptance played over both men’s features.
The men stepped back near their seats as if to look more nonthreatening. Carl raised his gaze to meet hers. “If you don’t mind, ma’am, you look very familiar. Have we met before?”
“I’m not sure. But you remind me of Devil MacFadyen, even though I’m assuming Captain MacFadyen here is his direct descendant.”
Carl grinned. “You were one of his projects, weren’t you?” Dani laughed as out of her peripheral vision she caught the dark confusion on Dare MacFadyen’s handsome face.
Carl turned his gaze toward Dare. “Your grandfather would find underprivileged people or those down on their luck and he’d help them however he could. He did it so often that I dubbed them his projects. I’m sure he helped hundreds of people over his long lifetime, and Dani here was apparently one of them.”
Dani nodded, thinking back through all the valuable lessons she learned from Devil MacFadyen. “Let’s sit, shall we?” She gestured for Dahlia and they all sat around the sterile metal table.
“I grew up on Gavin 1. Devil caught me trying to steal bread one day and took it upon himself to teach me to fend for myself. Not by stealing, but by fixing ships. He also taught me to defend myself, to barter with the shopkeepers for what I needed to survive, and to think for myself.”
A small sound from Dare had her glancing his way. The look of awe and reverence on his face showed Dani that even though he’d most likely already thought a lot of his grandfather, she and Carl had just raised the man in Dare’s esteem a bit further.
Carl gave her an appraising nod and then shook his head as
if he were having his own internal argument. “Well, now, I’m glad old Devil was there to help you when it was needed. But what are you doing marauding the skies and boarding one of his ships? That’s not the best way to repay him for his kindness.”
Dani sat back feeling like she’d been struck. But Carl did have a point, and she felt compelled to give both men an explanation.
“After Devil left to return to his life, I stayed on Gavin 1 and watched the pain and suffering of the populace—especially the children. So when the original Red Death put in at Gavin 1 for repairs, not only did I repair his ship, but I charmed my way on board and promptly engineered a mutiny. That was five years ago, and ever since I’ve been trying to end the war between the Gavin planets the only way I know how—by blocking the weapons to either planet and trying to right the wrongs done here.”
Dahlia sniffed. “Now wait just a minute,” she aimed at Carl. “I’m sorry if you don’t feel Devil would approve, but I think in an odd way he would. Dani has used the skills he taught her to make a difference, and the new regime of Red Death doesn’t kill indiscriminately or torture. Yes, our men are now rich from the bounty off of the ships that would help bring more death to this system.” She glanced at Dare MacFadyen, who suddenly looked sheepish. “But whereas you and your ship were transporting a hold full of munitions, I’m sure for a very large profit, Dani here is trying to end a bloody war that has lasted for four generations. Which one of you do you think Devil would approve of more, Mr. MacFadyen?”
Silence fell inside the little room, and it took a long while before Dare MacFadyen broke it. “I don’t think Carl meant anything by his remarks. It’s just very odd to find a benevolent space pirate, especially since the name Red Death is synonymous around the galaxy with death, destruction, and profit.”
Dani studied Dare as her body continued to react to his close presence. The electricity in the air was so thick she was sure Carl and Dahlia could physically see it. She knew she felt it and was pretty sure from the way Dare held her gaze and continued to shift in his chair, most likely to find a more comfortable position for his rather large erection, that he was experiencing something similar.
Her smugness lasted until she looked down to where he’d directed his gaze. The girls were noteworthy, but not her best feature.
Crap! Her uniform had come undone during her tussle with Jared.
Dare sucked in a large breath and tried to wrestle his traitorous body under control. He’d been thrown for a loop to find out that Red Death was not only a woman but had known and been helped by his grandfather. Now that he’d heard her story, he could see that Devil would be proud she was using the skills he had taught her to do some good, even if it was in the guise of a vicious pirate with a sweet set of tatas.
“So what happens now?” he couldn’t help but ask as she wrapped her arms around her chest to hide what she’d shown when she propped her arm on the table.
Dani smiled and the entire room seemed to light, or maybe it was just Dare’s libido. It had been a long time since he’d had a woman, and this one was definitely intriguing and attractive. And who knew? Maybe he could work out some better circumstances for him and his men. After all, women had been using sex as a bargaining tool for centuries, so what was wrong with a man using it for once?
“My men are offloading the munitions as we speak, and I’m assuming you’ve already missed your delivery window to Gavin 2. So we discuss like civilized human beings what’s next. Any preferences, gentlemen, other than returning your munitions ?”
The cultured words rolled from her lips and made Dare think of nibbling those lips like the finest chocolate until she sighed beneath him. Perhaps bargaining with Dani using sex wouldn’t be such a bad thing. He’d taken one for the team under much less enjoyable circumstances.
Heat burned up his neck and into his face as she caught him staring, and he forcibly dropped his gaze.
Carl made a small noise in the back of his throat and Dare turned toward him, happily turning the conversation over to someone who had more blood in his brain than his cock right now. Dare knew it had been a while since he’d had a woman, but for some reason this particular woman sent his libido into overdrive. He’d tried to reason with his body, to remind it that this woman had hijacked his ship, kidnapped him and his crew, and made them miss out on a small fortune, but his erection only tightened.
“I assume since we’ve come this far that you’ve decided not to kill us.” Carl smiled and raised his brows, which made his comment sound almost wistful.
Dahlia laughed. “That would be awfully rude at this point, don’t you think? Speaking of rude, Carl, was that you doing the flying over there? I’ll admit, some of those moves you were executing made me curse in very unladylike ways.” She grinned to remove any sting from the “rude” comment. “Any way you could give me some flying tips while you’re here?”
The corners of Carl’s lips slowly curved as if the smile was reluctant, but he couldn’t help himself. Dare knew what he was going through. These two women were charming, even though they were supposed to be ruthless pirates and they’d caused him and his crew a whole lot of trouble. Time to use his manly wiles to turn the situation in their favor. He caught Dani’s gaze and held it before letting his lips curve into an inviting smile.
“Well, Miss Dahlia. Don’t discount your skills. That was some damned good flying.” Carl broke into Dare’s thoughts. “I’ve been piloting for thirty years and you gave me a good run for my money. Why don’t you and I retire to your control room and we can discuss flying tactics and possibly some next steps while we leave these two alone? I’m afraid if we stay here much longer, we’ll be caught in the aftermath of the fiery explosion that’s sparking between these two.”
Carl sent Dare a meaningful look and Dare got the distinct impression that Carl was all for plan “taking one for the team.”
Dahlia laughed as more heat burned into Dare’s neck and face. So the old man was on the same wavelength? At least it didn’t seem like Carl would disapprove. One glance toward Dani showed him a blush burning brightly on her cheeks. She hadn’t exactly been subtle about her attraction to Dare, so being called out on it probably would cause some embarrassment.
Dahlia stood signaling an end to this portion of the conversation and Carl followed suit.
Within seconds Dare and Dani sat alone staring at each other across the expanse of the metal table. Dare wasn’t sure which one of them would break the ice, but he had to clench his hands into fists to keep from reaching out for her and pulling her against him—probably a great way to find out firsthand how the shock collar worked. But he wasn’t sure how to smoothly break the ice in this instance. It wouldn’t be a hardship to seduce and bed her, but getting his ass kicked in the process didn’t seem like a good part of the plan.
“So, Dare …” Dani trailed off and then wanted to bang her head against the table. Very smooth, Dani. Not!
Dare grinned back at her, making her think he was just as affected as she. Not to mention the way he’d been staring at her as if she were a tall drink of water and he was a man dying of thirst.
“Dani, I know this is highly unusual, but I tend to be very straight talking.” He took a deep breath and held her gaze with a sensual smile curving his lips. “I know I’m your captive and we still haven’t determined what you’re going to do with all of us and my ship, but you’re the most attractive woman I’ve ever seen. And it’s not just that you’re physically attractive, or that you learned all your skills from my grandfather, but also that you took a very bad situation and turned it into an altruistic one. Not that I appreciate being robbed of quite a bit of credits that we would’ve received from Gavin 2, but I do understand why you did it, and even think my grandfather would be proud of the way you’ve taken the twists and turns in your life and made them into something good.” He shook his head. “Don’t get me wrong. I have no intention of getting involved in the politics here in the Gavin system, I was just deliverin
g ordered goods, but I can see your side. Anyway, as I was saying, I just can’t stop staring at you like some teenage idiot. I would apologize, but I’m not the least bit sorry.”
A smile blossomed across Dani’s face that instantly brightened the entire room and made Dare’s heart skip a beat. If he had that smile to wake up to every morning for the rest of his life, he’d be a happy man.
Where the hell had that thought come from?
Sure, he expected to settle down someday. But someday was a long way off. He was still a young man, and there was plenty of time for domestics later on.
She really was an enchanting woman. He wished he could be practicing this seduction, inept as it was, under better circumstances. But then again, how would it look for the owner and operator of MacFadyen Shipping to suddenly take up with an infamous pirate. It wouldn’t matter if she was the second Red Death or not, his business would most likely take a hit, and that he couldn’t allow. The news of his flagship being captured and him not making his delivery would already require quite a bit of reputation repair. After all, the Universe’s wealthy hired MacFadyen ships for safe pleasure cruises around the galaxy—with safe being the keyword. Although Dare suddenly wondered if there would be a market for excitement cruises where millionaires got the experience of being hijacked by a gorgeous and more friendly version of Red Death. He smirked at the thought.
Dani stood quickly, her chair scraping against the floor with a loud screech.
Dare braced, not sure what would happen next, but then Dani leaned across the table, grabbed the front of his shirt in her fist, and held him still for a fiery kiss.
Her lips were warm and insistent against his, and his gasp of surprise allowed her entry. She didn’t waste time slipping her tongue inside his mouth. Dare slowly stood so as not to spook her and edged around the table so he could hold her in his arms. She melted against him, and his body silently sent up thanks for every luscious, warm curve that pressed against him.
