by Paige Tyler
Teyla smiled, his words warming her more than they should have. “You do the same to me.”
“Is that so? Let me see.” He slipped his hand between her legs to run his finger along the lips of her pussy. “Mmm, you’re all wet.”
Between spending the morning thinking about what they did last night and having his erection snuggly nestled against her now, she didn’t wonder why. She smiled at him over her shoulder. “A good slave should always be ready to please her master, correct?”
After all the naughty things she’d said last night, she shouldn’t be embarrassed by her forwardness, but she blushed just the same. If Slayter noticed, he didn’t mention it. He let out a soft, sexy growl that had her forgetting about how shy she was and instead thrusting out her ass in invitation when he positioned the head of his shaft at the opening of her pussy. She held her breath, half afraid, half hoping he would tease her like he’d done night before, but instead he sheathed himself deep inside her in one smooth motion.
She moaned into the pillow as he reached around and found her clit with his fingers. She rotated her hips as he made leisurely circles around it, matching his thrusts rhythm for rhythm.
Slayter brushed her ear with his lips. “Do you like that?”
“Mm-hmm. Don’t stop.”
He pressed a kiss to the curve of her shoulder. “I won’t. I’m going to keep touching you like this and fucking you like this until I make you come just like I did last night. Would you like that?”
“Yes,” she breathed.
She thought he groaned, but she couldn’t be sure because he buried his face in the curve of her neck. He kept his thrusts slow and deliberate as he continued making little circles on her clit. Unable to help herself, she reached down to cover his hand with hers, urging him to speed up the pace.
“Mmm,” she moaned. “Just like that.”
She closed her eyes and thrust her ass back against him, silently begging him to take her harder. He must have understood her silent plea because he moved his finger faster on her clit while at the same time pounding his cock into her pussy as deeply as he could go.
As always, the combination tripped her pleasure trigger, sending her skyrocketing into orbit so fast and so furiously she could only hang on for dear life while her body shuddered in ecstasy. Slayter went over the edge with her, letting out a hoarse groan against her neck as he climaxed.
Afterward, Slayter didn’t pull out right away, but stayed buried deep in her pussy as he continued to tenderly move his fingers on her clit. As much as she didn’t want him to stop, even that light touch soon got to be too much on her sensitive nub, and she stilled his hand with hers. Rolling over, she looped her arm around his neck and pulled him close for a slow kiss.
He brushed her hair back with gentle fingers. “I could stay here with you all day.”
Her pussy spasmed at the prospect of spending hours on end doing what they just did. “Then why don’t you?”
He let out a heavy sigh. “Because I have a ship to run and a crew that’s bound to come looking for me if I don’t make an appearance.”
Of course. In the afterglow of their lovemaking, she’d completely forgotten where they were. She tried to hide her disappointment behind a small smile, but it mustn’t have worked because he reached out to caress her cheek.
“You’re more than welcome to come with me while I make my rounds, if you want.”
She blinked, surprised by the invitation. “Really? You wouldn’t mind?”
He flashed her a grin. “Of course not. It’ll give me a chance to give you a proper tour of the ship.”
Teyla’s heart did a little backflip.
“Unless you’d rather stay here and read,” he added.
“No!” she said quickly. “I’d much rather see the ship.”
Actually, she wasn’t all that interested in the ship. She just wanted to spend time with Slayter. Which went against all common sense, of course, especially since in a few days time, she’d never see the handsome pirate again. But maybe that was exactly why she did want to accompany him. It was like stolen time.
Teyla didn’t want to keep Slayter waiting, so she hurried through her morning routine in the bathroom, then dressed as quickly as she could. When she walked into his study a little while later, it was to find him at his computer. He looked up at her entrance.
“Ready?” he asked.
She nodded, as eager to take the tour of the ship with him as she would be if he were taking her out on a date.
They stopped to get something to eat in the mess before beginning their excursion. Since it didn’t look like any dining room she’d ever been in, however, Teyla supposed it should probably be considered part of the tour. She was both surprised and pleased that they had the place to themselves.
“The crew’s been up for hours already,” Slayter said when she remarked on it.
She sipped her tea thoughtfully, wondering if the men would be curious as to why their captain hadn’t eaten breakfast with them. Did they suspect she and Slayter were sleeping together? She wanted to ask him, but couldn’t figure out how to broach the subject.
As Slayter showed her around a little while later, Teyla had to admit she didn’t pay much attention to the ship or its components. She was too caught up in the man himself to listen to what he was saying. Even though she couldn’t remember where the engine room was or which direction was aft and which was fore, the one thing she learned was that Slayter not only loved his ship, but that he cared very much about its crew. They were like a great big family to him.
Oddly enough, the men didn’t treat her like an outsider. To a man, they were polite and gracious, pointing out things they thought she might be interested in when she and Slayter stopped by. Even Genoone didn’t have a curt word or a harsh glare for her. She suspected the ale she’d gotten for them was partly responsible for their attitude adjustment. Having Slayter beside her almost certainly had a lot to do with it, too.
“I think the only place you haven’t really seen yet is the bridge,” Slayter said as they walked along yet another passageway. “That’s where the magic really happens.”
Teyla wanted to tell him that all the magic happened in his bedroom, at least as far as she was concerned, but she only smiled.
She and Slayter were just about to step onto the bridge when the ship suddenly bucked under them. Teyla stumbled, automatically reaching out to steady herself, but Slayter caught her before she could fall.
He swore under his breath. “What the hell was that, Salo?”
The pilot didn’t even bother to glance over his shoulder. “A cloaked ship just locked onto our foredeck, Captain. They’re trying to board us!”
Teyla’s eyes went wide. She looked at Slayter. “But you’re the pirates. Who would try to board your ship?”
He clenched his jaw. “Other pirates. They must have heard about the platinum chips we picked up in Thrace. It’s the only thing we have that would make someone ballsy enough to attack us.”
“Captain, they’re trying to get in the main airlock,” Salo shouted. “They’re coming in the loading dock on C-deck, too.”
“Shit,” Slayter muttered.
Teyla opened her mouth to ask what they were going to do when the interior of the ship went dark. A moment later, emergency lights bathed the bridge in a red glow. A split second after that, an alarm went off.
“They’ve gotten into the life-support system,” Salo reported over the shrill sound. “The power’s going down and I’m losing control of the helm.”
Slayter swore again as he yanked his pistol from the holster on his thigh. “Do what you can to get back manual control. I need to get Teyla back to my cabin.”
He didn’t wait for a reply, but grabbed her hand in his free one and quickly led her down the passageway the same way they’d come.
She had to run to keep up with him, taking two steps to every one of his long strides. “I can help,” she shouted over the noise. “Just tell me what to
do.”
Slayter threw her a quick glance over his shoulder. “I want you in my cabin where it’s safe.”
“But I know how to shoot a gun!” she insisted.
Slayter ignored her as he led her down a set of stairs and along another passageway. They just rounded the corner at the far end of it when they ran into Genoone and Olin. Both of them had their weapons drawn and would have continued past her and Slayter if he hadn’t stopped them.
“Take Teyla back to my cabin and stay with her,” he ordered. “I need to get to the main airlock.”
Genoone’s mouth tightened at the command, clearly not happy to be put on babysitting duty, but he didn’t argue. Instead, he gave Slayter a curt nod and took her arm.
As he and Olin hustled her down the passageway, Teyla threw a worried glance over her shoulder to see Slayter running toward the main airlock. Her heart had been pounding with fear ever since Salo announced they were being boarded, but it wasn’t until now that she realized she wasn’t afraid for herself, but for Slayter. The thought of something happening to him terrified her so much she could barely breathe. It didn’t make her feel any better when she heard the sound of laser fire coming from the direction he’d gone.
Heart in her throat, she looked over her shoulder again, expecting to see the intruders coming after them, but the passageway was empty. She bit her lip, wondering if she should tell Genoone and Olin that she could make it to Slayter’s cabin on her own when she heard a loud grinding noise ahead of them. In front of her, Genoone skidded to a halt.
“What…?” she began just as Olin stopped short behind her, but the rest of the words ended in a startled cry as the hatch at the end of the passageway blew open and black-clad men bearing weapons stormed onto the ship. At the sight of her, Genoone and Olin standing there, they immediately started firing.
Genoone darted into the connecting passageway on the left, then stuck his laser rifle around the corner to fire at the enemy pirates while Olin grabbed her hand and pulled her into the passageway on the right. She ignored the urge to protect the teenager and instead crouched down behind him, pressing herself against the wall.
Olin didn’t start shooting, though. Confused, she looked up to see him holding his hand to his side, a stunned expression on his face. Oh no. He’d been shot.
The wound didn’t bleed, but instead hissed and steamed, as the fire from the laser burned his skin. She’d never seen anything like it before, but she knew it had to be bad.
Olin gritted his teeth against the pain, ragged determination in his blue eyes even as he dropped to one knee.
“Run,” he told her, his voice so low she could barely hear it. “Genoone and I will hold them off so you can get back to the bridge.”
Tears stung Teyla’s eyes. The knowledge that the fifteen-year-old boy was determined to protect her when he was almost assuredly going to die a hideous and painful death himself stunned her. She wasn’t anything but payment for a debt, meant for the auction blocks of Arkhon, and yet he was willing to give his life for her.
Well, she’d be damned if she was going to let him do it. He had as much right to live as she did. Blinking back the tears, she reached down and grabbed the laser rifle out of his weak hand. Ignoring his feeble attempts to stop her, she stepped around him and poked her head around the corner. While the handful of pirates lying motionless on the floor of the passageway was no longer a threat, the dozen men still shooting at her and Genoone were. Tightening her grip on the laser rifle, she aimed it in their direction and pulled the trigger.
Thanks to the mandatory weapons training everyone on her planet received, she had handled a gun before, and while she hadn’t ever had to use one to defend herself, she knew how to fire the thing. More importantly, she could hit what she was aiming at. Unfortunately, whenever a man went down, there were two more to take his place. They kept coming and coming, slowly working their way down the passageway toward her and Genoone. Twenty more feet and the pirates would reach the intersection protecting them.
On the other side of the passageway, the red-headed man ducked behind the wall for a much-needed breather, only to do a double take when he saw it was Teyla doing the shooting and not Olin.
“Olin’s been shot,” she shouted as she darted behind the wall for cover.
Shock flickered in Genoone’s eyes, along with something that looked like concern, though she couldn’t be sure. “How bad is he?”
She glanced down at Olin. He was pale as a ghost and lying as motionless as the pirates in the passageway. For one horrified moment, she was afraid he might be dead, but then she saw his chest slowly rise and fall. He wasn’t going to last much longer without medical attention.
She looked back at Genoone. He was shooting at the enemy pirates again and she had to shout over the sound of the laser fire.
“Not good. If we don’t get him to the medlab soon, he’s not going to make it.”
Genoone glanced at her. “Go ahead and take him. I’ll hold off these bastards until you can send reinforcements.”
Teyla darted around the corner to get off a few quick shots, then took cover again. “The medlab’s two decks down. There’s no way I can drag him that far. You’ll have to take him.”
Genoone’s eyes went wide. “And leave you here alone? The captain would have my hide if I did that.”
“And Olin will die if you don’t,” she insisted. “I can take care of myself. Go.”
He stared at her, indecision in his gray eyes. “Are you sure you can hold them off?”
She nodded, hoping she looked more confident than she felt. “Yes. Go!”
With a swiftness she didn’t think the big man possessed, Genoone darted across the hallway while she fired at the intruders. Dropping his rifle, he picked up Olin, cradling the teenager in his arms. Teyla heard the boy groan. That was a good sign at least.
“I’ll be back with reinforcements as soon as I can,” Genoone told her. “Good luck.”
Giving her a nod, he ran down the passageway toward the stairs, Olin in his arms.
Teyla took a deep breath, then chanced a quick peek around the corner. There were still plenty of pirates left and from the triumphant look on their faces, they had figured out she was alone. They probably thought she’d drop her weapon and run. They didn’t know her very well.
She crouched down, keeping most of her body behind the wall for protection, then fired at them, squeezing the trigger as fast as her finger would go. The ferocity of her attack must have surprised the pirates because the ones she didn’t hit immediately ran back to the hatch they had come through without bothering to return fire.
While her frenzied shooting forced them to retreat, it also had other unintended consequences. Within seconds, her rifle began to beep, warning her that the power charge was low. Unfortunately, the pirates must have heard it too, because they left the safety of the airlock and headed in her direction again just as her rifle died with a sputter.
Dammit!
Heart pounding, she spun around to grab the rifle Genoone had left behind. By the time she got back into position and started to fire, however, the pirates were halfway down the passageway.
She tried to force them to retreat just as she’d done before, but they were so close she couldn’t get more than a few shots off before having to duck for cover or else risk getting hit with laser fire. Not that it mattered much anyway since Genoone’s rifle had already begun beeping to alert her that it, too, was low on power.
She leaned back against the wall, panting for breath as she tried to figure out what to do. She could stay here and keep shooting for as long as she could and pray she could take out the rest of the pirates, or she could run and hope she made it to safety before they caught up with her.
Teyla darted a glance around the corner again. There must have been fifteen dead pirates scattered along the hall, with at least twice that many coming her way. If they had attacked the other parts of the ship with this many men, then Slayter and his crew had
almost certainly been overrun, too, or soon would be. The thought of him getting hurt—or worse—was almost more than she could take.
Not that she was probably going to be around to see what happened to him since her rifle was out of power. The pirates would be on her in seconds.
Getting to her feet, she turned and ran down the passageway. The pirates followed, their booted feet echoing on the floor behind her. Her breath coming fast and hard, she turned down the next passageway, and bumped into something very solid and very unexpected. Gasping, she automatically took a step back, afraid one of the pirates had somehow gotten ahead of her, but instead she found herself gazing up into a familiar pair of amber eyes. Slayter.
Teyla probably would have thrown herself into his arms right then if the pirates who had attacked the ship hadn’t come around the corner. The men immediately froze, shock clear on their faces. They had clearly expected to find a defenseless woman with a burned-out laser rifle. Instead they walked into a pissed-off captain with a half dozen of his own crewmen backing him up.
Slayter grabbed her arm and pulled her behind him, firing point-blank at the enemy pirates before the men could move. His crew did the same. The intruders tried to return fire as they scrambled back down the passageway to the hatch they had come through, but Slayter and his men followed them relentlessly, taking them down one by one. Slayter probably would have followed them into the airlock, but the com on his ear hissed and he paused to listen while the rest of his crew moved past him to secure the hatch.
Teyla couldn’t hear much of what was being said over the alarm that was still blaring besides Slayter demanding to know what the hell was taking so long to get life-support back up, but whatever the person on the other end of the link said, it mustn’t have been what he wanted to hear because his face turned to flint. He muttered something curt in reply, before closing the link.
Turning to her, he put his hands on her shoulders, his eyes intent as he gently turned her this way and that. “Are you okay?”
She nodded. “Yes. But Olin got shot. Genoone took him to the medlab.”
