Starblind (Starblind #1)

by D T Dyllin

  “You have a twisted sense of humor. You know that, right?” For about the billionth time I wondered if all Galvrarons shared Zula’s weird sense of humor. I hoped it was just her, or that I never had to be around more than one of them at a time. That kind of non-humor humor was enough to drive anyone insane.

  Zula studied the blade in her hands, turning it over slowly. “You’re really going to do it? You’re going to kill Ash?”

  “I don’t really have a choice, do I?” My chest tightened with a sense of foreboding. His blood wasn’t something I wanted on my hands.

  “You always have a choice. Always. You just have to be prepared to deal with the consequences.”

  I snorted. “Isn’t that just the clincher, huh?”

  “So what’s the plan then?”

  “I’ll wait until he comes to me again and then I’ll … ” How the hell was I going to be able to stab him when I couldn’t even bring myself to say the words out loud? “You know …” I wiggled my fingers. “So hand it over.”

  Zula extended her arm slowly and I snatched the blade away from her. My breath caught in my throat when the cool metal touched my skin. Without another word I slunk off to my quarters. I couldn’t help but feel like something on the bottom of someone’s boots. Sure, I was a bounty hunter who would bring in practically anybody for a price. But cold-blooded murder? That was something I never thought I’d sink to.

  Oh well ... I guess there’s a first time for everything. Survival sometimes comes at the price of one’s morals.

  It had been two grueling days since I’d received the means to kill Ash, and I hadn’t heard anything from him. Not a dream, a whisper in my mind … nothing. Was there a possibility that he knew how I planned to betray him?

  Betray him? I internally scoffed. What am I thinking? I owe him no allegiance—no loyalty of any kind. Our pseudo relationship had only begun because I’d decided he was a hot piece of ass that I wouldn’t mind taking for a spin before turning him over for the bounty on his head. It wasn’t my fault he’d become infatuated with me. Just because you have sex with someone doesn’t mean you’re suddenly in a relationship.

  “Zula!” I yelled into the intercom. “Are there any rules that say we can’t take another bounty in the meantime while we’re waiting for the asshat to show up?”

  “Yes,” her voice buzzed back. “It’s what’s called an exclusive contract. It works both ways.”

  I slumped against the wall. “Great.” I was a nanosecond away from losing it. I couldn’t take the waiting. I just couldn’t take it. “Aaaaah!” I tipped my head back, screaming in frustration. “I wish I’d never laid eyes on him. Universe, you fucking owe me.” I pressed the intercom again. “That’s it. We need to stop at a supply space station … or something. I can’t take this for one second longer.”

  Tamzea seemed to just appear beside me. “Jane, do you want me to do something to help you?”

  “Liiike what?” I slurred.

  “Like sober you up. You’ve been hitting the firejuice hard for the past two days. Maybe—” She made a grab for the brightly colored bottle and I lurched to the side.

  “No. What I need is to mingle with some people who are not on this ship. The non-judgmental kind.”

  “I don’t think that’s a good idea,” Tamzea stated gently, still eyeing my bottle.

  “Don’t care. I’m the captain and I’ll do what I want.”

  Tamzea perched her hands on her hips, her lavender eyes steeped in annoyance. “Yes, that sounded like the mature musings of a captain to me.”

  “Shut up.” I hit the intercom. “Zula! We’re stopping at the nearest space station port supply thingy!” Wait, that’s not right. Eh. Close enough. I’m sure Zula could figure out what I meant with that big brain of hers. “That’s an order!”

  Tamzea shook her head, leaving me to my own devices when she exited in a huff. Wise choice.

  I’d donned another outfit from my Earth Steampunk collection. This one was an all leather pants and corset combo. I’d even taken the time to apply a full face of makeup. Hopefully I didn’t look like a clown. I’d had a little trouble with the eyeliner … and the lipstick … and quite possibly the blush. It’s difficult doing your own makeup with a belly full of firejuice. Why have I never invested in one of those thingies that applied makeup for you? Oh yeah, because I hardly ever wear it. But still …

  “Jane, please. I don’t think you should go out in public in your condition.” Tamzea worried her bottom lip and wrapped her arms around her middle. Her lavender eyes beseeched me, but I ignored her.

  Dar and Masha were lingering behind Zula, who was standing beside Tamzea with a scowl on her face. However, she was smart enough to remain silent. Maybe she really is as intelligent as she claims.

  “If I’m not back in a few hours … I’ll be longer.” I chuckled to myself.

  I strode off The Pittsburgh into a supply space station. It looked pretty much like all the supply space stations that were UGFS sanctioned. I made my way hastily to the bar … or at least tried to. It was a bit slow going in high-heeled boots when my vision was a bit fuzzy around the edges. There were a few close calls with the walls and the ground. Finally, I managed to reach my destination. It was a good thing too because I’d start to sober up soon if I didn’t get some more firejuice in me pronto.

  “Jane,” a familiar voice purred in my ear just as I’d managed to pour myself into a bar seat.

  “Jassen, you seriously are stalking me, aren’t you?” I waved the bartender over, which wasn’t a droid—a rare occurrence in a supply space station bar. I squinted up at the humanoid with orange scaly skin. “A firejuice.” I slammed my palm down on the counter for effect.

  “I think you’ve had enough,” the bartender replied immediately.

  “You’ve got to be fucking kidding me!” Leaning over the bar, I snagged the bartender’s shirt. “I say when I’ve had enough, got that, buddy?” That’s when a large hand palmed and then squeezed my ass. I stilled, shock rolling through my system before it was quickly replaced with anger. Releasing the bartender, I slowly turned around. “That better not have been you, Jassen.” I ground my teeth together as I stared down the large warrior who was still seated.

  He grinned. He seriously didn’t just fucking grin at me. “I couldn’t help myself. It was right there in front of me begging for attention.”

  My chest tightened, all the frustration I’d been feeling for the past few days roaring through me. Before I made any conscious decision to, I’d already launched myself at Jassen. I hit into his stomach with my knees and his chest with my elbows. We toppled to the ground with me on top.

  “Don’t ever touch me without my permission,” I hissed, sliding my hands up to encircle his throat. “You really don’t want to mess with me right now.” Jassen’s eyes darkened, and he reached up to cup my breasts. It took me much longer than it should have to process what he’d done. My response was to bring my knees up to press into his chest as I dug my thumbs into the soft part on the front of his throat.

  Jassen coughed, but his lips hitched up at the corners. It made me want to smack the smirk right of his face … so I did. With one hand still around his throat, I hit him as hard as I could across the face. It didn’t make me feel as good as I’d hoped, so I decided to do it again … and again, until I was hitting him with my fist instead of an open palm.

  “Don’t ever touch me without my permission again,” I growled, while still beating Jassen’s face. I knew I had to be right about him enjoying pain because I may have been drunk, but I wasn’t stupid. If Jassen really wanted to make me stop hitting him he could. My skill set didn’t lie in brute force, and I would never take down someone like him on my best day without using my weapons.

  But then something changed. As I continued to pummel Jassen, venting my frustrations on his flesh … warmth surged up my arms, and quickly morphed to heat only someone like me could bear. I watched in a dissociative state as flames erupted from my
palms. Jassen screamed, throwing me off of him in the next heartbeat. My handprints were visible on him in the form of third degree burns.

  Jassen regarded me with wide-eyed terror, and I glanced around to see that the other patrons of the bar had suddenly given me a wide berth. “What the fuck, Jane?” Jassen croaked.

  Pulling myself to my feet, I crossed my arms over my chest. “I told you not to touch me. Maybe now you’ll listen.”

  Cursing loudly, Jassen hastily made his exit. I was guessing he was hightailing it to get medical treatment. If he got there fast enough maybe he wouldn’t even scar. Not that I really cared. He should have listened to me when I’d said hands off. I slid back over to the bar where the bartender gave me my firejuice … finally. I slammed the whole thing down in one go.

  “Since when do you have Class 3 capabilities?” yet another familiar voice asked in a sharp tone. This one, though … this one I hadn’t heard in a very long time. Since I’d left New Earth to be exact. Fuck me. I was so not in the mood to deal with Maddox, my first and last real relationship. I’d thought I’d been in love with him until he turned his back on me when he found out I was only a Species Class 1.

  “What the hell are you doing here, Maddox? Slumming? The last I heard you were heading up the New Earth special ops task force. Protect and serve and all that bullshit.”

  He leaned over into my field of vision. His dark chocolate eyes narrowed in on me. “Why would you do it? Why would you keep something like that a secret?”

  “It’s new.” I tried to ignore him, waving my hand for another drink.

  “Yeah, right.” My arms were abruptly wrenched behind my back and laser cuffs clicked into place. “You know that I have to take you in, right? Hiding your true classification as a New Earth citizen is against the law.”

  “I’m not a New Earth citizen, remember? They didn’t want me,” I grated, as Maddox yanked me off of the stool and propelled me forward.

  “We’ll see about that. I should have known you’d try to shirk your responsibilities as a citizen.” His fingers dug into my forearms painfully. “I’m taking you back so that—”

  I really didn’t hear what he said after the ‘I’m taking you back’ part. There was no way in hell I was ever going back to New Earth, and Maddox had no right to force me to. “If you don’t let me go right now you’re going to seriously regret it.”

  “I doubt that,” Maddox snapped.

  “You can’t just kidnap me!” I screeched, and twisted around, attempting to bite him.

  “You haven’t changed one bit, have you?” Maddox’s eyes flared with annoyance as he grappled with me. “I used to think it was cute when we were kids, but not so much now.”

  “Help!” I screamed. “Help! This man is trying to kidnap me!” Like I had a chance in hell that anyone in a place like this would do anything to help me. Unless—

  “I’ll pay anyone who helps me! I’m Captain Sevis of The Pittsburgh and I’m good for it!”

  A chorus of chairs scraping on the floor stilled Maddox. We both looked up at the same time as almost everyone in the room ambled towards us in various states of intoxication. I grinned. “Should have let me go when you had the chance.”

  “Release the woman,” a creature that resembled a big black slug commanded. I wasn’t even sure he had a mouth, but I heard him speak clear as day.

  “You think you’re going to collect the reward?” a camo-colored humanoid who couldn’t have been over four foot tall challenged.

  “I’ll wipe the floor with the two of you and still get to her before anyone else does,” a mountain of a man with flesh-toned scales declared.

  I’ve always had a sixth sense when it comes to bar brawls or just fights in general. It’s a gift, really. And there was about to be a huge one at any moment. Shit. I hadn’t thought that part of my plan through. I shook my head, trying to clear my vision. I was also still suffering from the effects of my firejuice binge. The truth was that I was lucky I was still functioning at all.

  Maddox dragged me off just as my failed saviors began beating the crap out of each other, the sounds of flesh meeting … scales, and other various matter, meeting my ears. Fabulous. “I’m serious, Maddox. Let me go, now. I didn’t hide anything from anyone and I’m not a New Earth citizen so you have no right to do this to me.”

  I twisted, kicked, and did everything in my limited power all the way to his ship. I would have burned him if I knew how I’d done it to Jassen. Fresh panic rose up in me as his New Earth Cantrell grade ship loomed in front of me. “I’m not going back there, Maddox. I’m not!” I let myself become dead weight and I dropped to the ground. Once there, I rolled over on my back, trying to use my legs to fight him off. A few kicks later and I found myself flung over his broad shoulder. He really has filled out since the last time I saw him.

  “No use fighting me, Jane,” Maddox grunted. “I know all your tricks.”

  Really? I bet I still had a few he hadn’t seen. Ash for one. Desperate times call for desperate measures. Ash was my mate, and we shared some kind of connection. I wasn’t exactly sure of the extent, but weren’t mates supposed to know when the other was in a time of need or some shit like that? Or maybe that was just in the old romance novels I’d read from Earth. Either way, it was worth a try.

  I closed my eyes and pictured Ash’s handsome face in my mind. “Ash … can you hear me? Ash, I need your help.” I didn’t get any kind of response. “Please,” I tacked on, just in case he was pissed at me or wanted me to beg. That was about as close to begging as I could get under any circumstances. After all … even drunk captains being carried over their ex-boyfriend’s shoulder and hauled back to New Earth against their will should have some pride. “Aaaaasssh!” I hissed out loud.

  “Janey.” Finally his baritone voice slid across my mind, warming me. “You really think I’m going to drop everything to come rescue you when I know about the dagger? I know about everything, in fact.”

  “You can’t just let him take me back there! You can’t!”

  “Actually, I can. And I will.”

  “I’m your mate!” Wow. Had I really tried to use that card on him? What a joke. Unless it worked.

  “They won’t kill you or cause any permanent harm—that kind of treatment I would stop. But I find I’m looking forward to you suffering a little bit, as long as your suffering is emotional only.”

  “Bastard!”

  “Maybe next time you’ll reconsider when someone asks you to kill me,” he spat. Okay, so he was really pissed. “If you’re not free by the time I’m done with … my job, then I’ll consider coming for you. Or at least telling your crew where you are.” His deep chuckle resonated in my head, bouncing around and causing me to shiver despite myself.

  Ash’s words were still ringing in my head when a cell door was slammed in my face. I was left with the soft hum of the security system and nothing else. I leaned over and puked all over the floor before passing out.

  Large, firm hands slid up my belly, pausing just under my breasts. I squirmed in an effort to continue them on their journey. “You want me to touch you?” Ash’s deep voice tickled the side of my face and I arched towards him.

  “Yes,” I murmured.

  But then it hit me … I remembered his terse words, and how he’d let Maddox take me. I stumbled forward, breaking all skin-to-skin contact before whirling around to face him. “You think you can just waltz in here and try to seduce me after what you did?”

  Ash’s eyes blazed with a mixture of desire and anger. “You were planning to kill me.”

  I brought my arms up to cover my naked breasts. “Yeah, so? Maybe next time you’ll think twice before mating someone against their will.”

  Ash was inches away from me in a flash, his hands buried in my hair to hold me steady. “Sweetheart, you want everything I have to offer, even if you haven’t let yourself accept that fact yet.”

  “Arrogant asshat,” I spat. “I don’t want you, and I most certainly a
m not in any kind of denial.”

  “Liar.” His lips twisted up into a smirk. He released my hair only to grab my hips. He held me steady as he ground himself into me. My breath hitched and I tried to stifle a moan … very unsuccessfully.

  “Me being physically attracted to you means nothing. I would have probably let you fuck me long and hard before I plunged that blade into your heart.” I wanted to hurt him, to piss him off as much as he had me. The thing that worried me, though, was that if I wanted to hurt him … did that mean I was starting to care? I certainly hoped not.

  “Well then … I guess I’m going to have to fuck you so long and so hard that you can’t imagine ever being with anyone else ever again. When I’m done you won’t be able to bear the thought of a life without me.”

  “Puuh-leeaze. You’re good, but not that good.”

  “You already think about me when you don’t want to. How many more times do you think it’ll take before your want turns to true need? After all, I do have the mating process working on my behalf.” He cupped my ass roughly and buried his face in my neck, inhaling deeply. “And I’ll start—”

  Loud banging sound shot me straight up, breaking me out of my apparent dream. I had officially lost the ability to tell the difference between reality and dream-state with Ash.

  “Wake up, Jane,” Maddox’s angry voice assaulted my ears. My head was pounding and nausea punched through my stomach.

  I glanced up to see that Maddox had a large handheld gong in his hands. “Seriously? Whaaa—whyyyy?” I cradled my head and dropped my face down between my knees.

  He set down his instrument of torture and addressed me. “If I give you something to cure your hangover will you take it?”

  “I don’t know. Will it kill me?”

  “No,” he snapped.

  “Then probably not.”

  Metal on metal sounded as Maddox pulled a chair up close to my cell. “We need to talk.”