by Dani Worth
He groaned, put his full lips on my neck and pumped his hips against me slowly as one big hand slid under my butt to cradle my lower body closer to his.
“Yeah, you’re okay,” I murmured before carefully rolling him off me so I could sit up. “Lights!”
The room lit up slowly and I couldn’t stop my wince when I could make out Bastian’s face.
“That bad?”
“The bruises got darker.” I leaned over him and spread his shirt open.
He grinned.
I shot him a quick frown, but was glad he seemed to have some spunk. “I’m only checking out this ugly bruise on your chest. Does it hurt when I press here?” I pushed lightly on the dark area around his ribs.
“Yeah.”
“I think you have a cracked rib. You need a doctor, meds.” Scrambling to my feet, I beat on the door. “Hey! We need medical attention in here!”
I stumbled back in surprise when it opened. Hadn’t expected that. Two armed men spilled into the room. The first one took up half the space, his human green eyes were black and swollen, like Bastian’s. The man who followed him made me catch my breath in shock. First it was because his eyes were the same piercing light blue as ones that haunted my memories, his hair the same deep brown of Gowlen nuts. But it wasn’t Jacks. This man had a wide, wicked grin that probably got him anything he wanted. He wasn’t as tall as Jacks either—I didn’t have to look up to meet his gaze.
“Who needs medical?” He raked his gaze over my body. “You look fine to me.”
“I think his rib is broken.” Crossing my arms, I tried to see what the weapons were set on, but I wasn’t familiar with these guns—wasn’t sure if they were stunners, lasers or what. “Why did you take us?”
“Bounty.”
“I don’t think so. I’m nobody important and unless the kid here has a long lost rich relative who survived the explosions on Kithra, you guys have wasted a lot of time and expense on nothing.”
He took a step toward me and I didn’t back up, didn’t show any sign of fear. The man might not be very tall, but I could sense that didn’t stop him from being dangerous. “Bagging the number one Tracker in the galaxies was worth my time and worth my client’s money.” He nodded toward Bastian. “Tell the giant not to try and fight us again and I’ll take him to the med unit for a scan.”
They thought I was Jarana. I looked at Bastian, who stared back, and something passed silently between us. I knew he wouldn’t tell the pirates they had the wrong person even though he had no idea that it was probably my fault they’d come after her. She’d said my search for Jacks had set off alarms. My lungs froze painfully. “Who hired you?”
“As a Tracker, you know better than to ask that. We can’t reveal all our clients, can we?”
Jarana would have known not to ask. I flinched when he ran his finger down my arm.
“Nice ink. Always did like a woman with some color. I’m the captain of this vessel. Welcome to the Ultio Ultionis, which means—”
“Revenge. I know and don’t care.” I jerked away from him. “No touching. Taken.”
One eyebrow lifted as he tilted his head toward Bastian. “By him?”
“Why so surprised? Ever see anyone prettier?”
The space pirate raked that gaze over Bastian, his teeth gleaming again as he grinned. “Come to think of it, no. But there’s something to be said for experience.”
“Don’t know much about Gwinarians, do you?” The big wounded man holding a weapon on us hadn’t taken his eyes off Bastian since he’d barreled through the door. His slithery gaze made my skin crawl. I stepped to the left so I was in front of him. He merely aimed his gun at me. “The boy is mine.”
The captain rolled his eyes. “Short and tough. Just the way I like them. Come on. We’ll see if his rib is broken.” He narrowed his eyes at Bastian. “You shouldn’t have jumped Juniper.”
“Juniper?” Bastian came up behind me, cupped my shoulders.
The captain laughed and slapped the big guy’s back. “He hates the name so don’t use it. Not that you’ll be anywhere near him, of course.” He stepped through the doorway, and Bastian walked around me before abruptly turning to face me. He swooped down, slanting his mouth over mine. Kid had great lips, the bottom one soft and full. But there was nothing soft about the kiss. He took possession of my lips like he couldn’t live without them. He stroked his tongue into my mouth, cupped my shoulders in his long-fingered hands. Shock sent my system into stun.
Bastian was staking a claim.
A strong one.
My eyes flew open to find he stared at me, amusement warring with the intensity of his claim. I glared. Bit his lip.
He stepped back, grinning, then slowly licked his lips.
Desire uncoiled within me to lick through my body with deep relentless strokes. I could only hope my shock wasn’t showing on my face.
“Nothing broken,” the captain said as soon as the door panel opened about an hour later.
I stood slowly. I’d spent the last hour worrying. Worrying about Bastian out there with Juniper. Worrying about Yaira and how upset she’d be when I didn’t return home. Worried about Jarana and Lux. Worrying pissed me off. I ran my gaze over Bastian, who looked paler than when he left. “You okay?”
He nodded. “Just bruised and tired.”
I advanced on the captain, halting when Juniper lifted his gun. “Think we could have a couple of chairs in here?” I lifted an eyebrow. “Maybe a bedroll or two?”
He smirked. “Two? After that kiss earlier?”
I didn’t answer, merely stared and crossed my arms.
“Uh-oh, that’s the ‘none of my business’ face. I get that one from my brother a lot. Doesn’t work on me. My nosy is strong.”
“Strong don’t even begin to cover this man’s nosy. Think never-ending, crazy…”
The slow drawl came through the doorway before the man did. Nearly as tall as Bastian, the sandy-haired god stopped by the captain and rested his elbow on the shorter man’s head. The captain scowled, shot him a nasty look and stepped away.
The tension that instantly filled the room with these two clogged my throat. Then, I looked closer, took in the tightening of the blond’s lips as he glanced at the captain.
Ah, sexual tension. And it was fucking hot.
The blond held out his hand. “Name’s Anders. Anders Sullivan.”
The captain rolled his eyes. “When are you going to understand that pirates don’t share their names?”
“I’m no pirate. That’s your gig, babe.”
“Don’t call me babe. And really, Anders, why do you stay on this ship if you aren’t going to get with the program?”
Anders winked at him. “I love it when you talk twentieth century earth colloquialism. Makes my dick hard.” When he turned his head, I noticed a thick scar bisected his right eyebrow. It didn’t take away from his looks, only gave him a rakish air. “I believe we can offer better accommodations than this. It isn’t a short trip and the boy should be able to lie down. His ribs might not be cracked, but Juniper’s meaty paws left some painful bruising.”
“Trip to where?” Bastian asked.
“Never Never Land.”
The captain shook his head. “Damned Peter Pan fetish. You do realize Peter Pan was a boy, right? One who never grew up. Are you a pervert?”
Chuckling, Anders winked again. “I can be for you.” He leaned in close, voice low. “And I don’t like boys. I like men. Especially short ones.”
The captain glared, but I noticed the tic in his jaw. He turned back to me. “You won’t be awake for part of the trip, so it’s not something you need to worry about. Ignore the asshole.”
Anders grinned. “Oh, I never ignore the asshole.”
I couldn’t help but bite my lip. I was pissed they’d taken us prisoner, but I wasn’t getting any dangerous vibes from any of these men. I also had a feeling about who hired them. “You are a bad, bad man, aren’t you?” I asked Anders, tryin
g not to grin. These men were not going to hurt us.
He turned toward the door. “Only in matters of the heart.”
I watched him step out before I turned to the captain. “Look, couldn’t you just take us back. I won’t file charges. I can promise there is no bounty on either of us.”
“Oh, but there is.” The captain followed Anders. “Come with us. And no funny stuff. Juniper is still pissed.” He glanced back at my hand before meeting my eyes. “Nice ring.”
Chapter Three
Four days later, I was climbing the walls. They’d moved us to a ridiculously small cabin with one bed and not only was I dealing with fear, but having to share the tiny space with the overly beautiful Bastian had turned me into a walking hormone. Their leader hadn’t come back and the only change in monotony came in the twice a day opening of a small panel in the door for food trays. For a pirate ship, they ate shit food.
Growling, I dropped the piece of dry bread that had come with our powdered soup and stomped into the bathroom. I’d already programmed the shower to my palm and a few seconds later, the bathroom filled with steam as seriously hot water poured from the ceiling spouts. I stepped in, clothes and all, and let the water pound my face. I was worried about Lux and Jarana, desperate to know if they were okay. Not being able to contact people drove me crazy.
At eighteen, when all my dreams had been blasted to pieces along with Kithra, I’d rebelled. Started hitching the solar systems. But I’d always checked in with my family. By now, they all had to know we’d been taken.
Frustration stung my nerves and I pounded my hands on the wall.
“Hey.” Big, gentle hands wrapped around my arms and turned me.
I blinked water out of my eyes, stared at the pretty kid I was stuck with. The swelling on his eye had gone down, but an ugly bruise remained. He was so quiet most of the time. It was as if he had an inner world he’d rather hang out in. I knew a little about his past—he’d ended up in an orphanage on a rotten planet—but that was it. The rest I’d heard was gossip and none of it good. At least I hoped the things I’d heard were gossip. He seemed too sweet to have ever been through those horrific things.
A glossy strand of auburn hair had stuck to his eyelid. I wanted to pull it loose. Suns, who was I kidding? I wanted to touch him. Everywhere. I really, really wanted to mess up that quiet of his. “I have to get out of here. I’m not good with confinement.”
“I figured that out the second day.”
“I don’t know how you can stay so calm.”
“It’s not so bad. I’m with you. Maybe not in the way I’d like, but we’re still together, and…I like that.”
I shook my head, pushed wet strands of hair off my cheeks. “I don’t get you.”
“You don’t try to get me.”
“So tell me about you. I know you like to read. I noticed you like old books instead of the vidscreen.”
“I like the way they smell. Plus the paper feels nice on my fingertips.”
“So what do you like to read?”
“Everything.”
I sighed, swiped wet hair off my face. “You do realize your short answers aren’t helping in this ‘get to know you’ thing you want, right?” My shoulders slumped. “I really can’t stand being locked up.”
He stared at me a long time before he let go of my shoulders and stepped back. When he reached for the hem of the long-sleeved shirt one of the pirates had thrown into the room, I held my breath. He tugged it over his head and reached for the connectors on his pants.
“Bastian, that’s not a good idea either.”
“It’s a way to pass the time.”
“I don’t have sex as a way to pass time.”
“You don’t have sex. I’ve been watching you a long time. You never take anyone home with you and plenty have tried to take you with them. You always turn them down. Why?”
It wasn’t that I didn’t like sex. I did. It was just that Jacks had made me careful. I didn’t want to lose my heart again like that. “That’s my business.”
He nodded, kicked off his pants and stood before me. Naked. I had to clench my jaw to keep my mouth from falling open. He’d revealed a surprisingly toned body with long, graceful lines and hard, masculine grooves. Bastian stepped under the water with me and slid his fingers into my wet hair. He tilted my head back, stared. I wanted to do something to stop him, but I didn’t. Couldn’t really. Nerves had taken over my body, and I suddenly wanted to have sex with him more than I’d wanted to with anyone since Jacks.
The thought of Jacks nearly ruined it, so I kept my eyes open so I could see Bastian’s pale, golden skin, his auburn hair. I made sure my mind knew I was with someone who deserved my attention. Deserved it more than Jacks ever had.
A slight arrogant smile tugged at the corner of his lips before his gaze dropped to my mouth and all signs of humor fled. Again, that heat, that intensity, filled his expression, and just like that, fire scorched my belly.
“This is going to happen, isn’t it?” I whispered.
“Let go. Trust me.” He slanted incredibly soft lips over mine and all thoughts of Jacks fled in the wake of another kiss that needed no lesson. There was nothing else soft about the body that pressed to me. His tongue sought entrance and I opened my lips, groaning at his strong, sure stroke into my mouth. I had to touch his hair, so I lifted my hands and slid my fingers through it. Even soaked, his thick hair felt like silk. Heavy silk. Bastian was a study in textures with his hair, his warm tongue…the faint stubble of new whiskers on normally smooth cheeks. My heart pounding from an excitement that threatened to suffocate me, I lifted one leg and wrapped it around his thigh.
His groan rumbled into my mouth as my hands slid over the hot, wet skin of his back.
“Gods!” Bastian pulled back, mouth open as he sucked in air, dark eyes suddenly fierce.
An answering shiver ran through me as I realized I’d underestimated his appeal. Fire lurked under that quiet exterior. My breasts suddenly ached to feel his hands, his mouth. “This isn’t happening in here.” I pushed on his chest and couldn’t take my eyes off the taut, sloping muscles of his abdomen. I stepped out of the shower and peeled off my wet clothes. This time I didn’t give him time to look at my body—I advanced on him and stood on my toes to wrap my arms around his neck.
He groaned again when my breasts brushed his chest, then he picked me up and carried me into the other room. Laying me on the bed, he stood beside it, gaze following the lines of my body. “You’re more beautiful than I imagined.”
“Imagined me naked, hmm?”
He bent, ran one finger over my collarbone then down to lightly stroke it over the hard nipple of my left breast. “All the time. It doesn’t matter what you’re doing—suddenly, you’re doing it naked in my mind.”
I remembered him watching me on the virtual weight machine, repairing a hover craft…dumping waste receptacles into the recycle dome. I grinned.
He returned it. “Yeah, I’ve pretty much imagined you naked everywhere.”
“It’s not that unusual for someone your age, you know.”
He frowned. “Do one thing for me. Forget my age. At least for now.”
“Okay,” I whispered, holding up my arms. “I want you inside me.”
“That’s my destination.” But he didn’t crawl on top of me and go for it. Instead, he held up my left arm and looked at my ink, turning the arm slightly to follow the patterns. “I’ve never seen anything more beautiful. I’ve become obsessed with your tattoos, wondered if they were on the rest of your body.” He leaned to the side and ran his hand down my chest, cupping my breast before sliding his palm down my stomach. “I’d hoped the ink would be everywhere, but seeing you like this, I’m glad it’s not. Your skin is beautiful with and without it.”
I narrowed my eyes. “For someone who barely spoke to me before this, you sure are talking a lot.”
He chuckled and lowered to suck my nipple into his mouth. I shut my eyes, loving the warm c
avern of his mouth. He surprised me by sticking two fingers in his mouth along with my nipple, but in the next instant, my eyes flew open wide as he slid those wet fingers inside me.
A long, low moan escaped my throat and I lifted my hips so he could go deeper. I was already so wet, his fingers slid right in. But he pulled them back out quickly. I started to frown but stopped when he replaced them with his mouth. My eyes rolled back into my head. I arched up off the bed, and he slid those big hands under my ass to cup me closer. He licked me in one long, slow swipe before closing his lips around my clit. He flicked me with his tongue, added pressure until I saw stars. So many sensations—his soft, damp hair against the tender insides of my thighs, his hot tongue on my slit, his slightly callused fingers cradling the cheeks of my ass—all of it rolled together to create a perfect storm of desire. It didn’t take me long. Within seconds my entire body drew tight, I held my breath and let the waves of pleasure wash over me, biting my lip to keep in noise. I had no idea who stood guard outside the door.
When I went limp, Bastian sat back, his Gwinarian eyes softly glowing with both pleasure and pride.
“You’re pretty good at that.”
“Was the first time.”
My mouth dropped open. “I don’t believe that for a second.”
“Lots of imagination and vids.”
Heat filled my cheeks at the mental image of him watching porn. I sat up, eyed the hard ridge begging for attention. “Come up here and lie on your back,” I whispered.
He did, shuddering when I ran my hands over his chest.
“Suns, Bastian, look at this body of yours.” Reverent, I ran my hands over a chest I couldn’t have imagined. Muscled and ridged and narrowing to a waist framed by that sexy V of muscle some men had. The bruise on his ribs had faded, but I avoided that section in case it was still painful. Silky, auburn curls the same color as the hair on his head framed a nice, long dick.
