by Mima
He spun off the low fountain wall and knelt in front of her. “Becca Sharpin, I, Silastran Dhram, choose you. I pledge to marry you with faithfulness and devotion. Choose me.”
She was torn into a storm of contrasting emotions. First of all, she was furious he wasn’t focusing on the fact they weren’t out of danger yet. She was frustrated he was pushing this crazy conversation when she didn’t know basic details of his life. She was concerned he was attaching so much meaning to her only because she’d saved him.
Then there was the fact that he was delicious and amazing and she couldn’t believe he was on his knees, pledging himself to her. Being with this person was easy, so easy it felt like they were a perfect match.
Biting her lip, she didn’t know whether to laugh or slap him. Or kiss him. Say yes, urged a deliriously happy voice inside her. Why is he always rushing you? whispered another, more irritated voice. He looked at her, holding her hands, and the only thing she saw in his shadowed green eyes was a raw, lonely heart. What should she say? Yes? Or no?
“Ahnnggg!” Her throat strangled on the word he was trying to manipulate her into saying. She clenched her teeth and came, muscles rigid, sensation howling out of her mashed clit and spiraling around her ribs. His grip fell from her wrists and her legs slid from his waist. They leaned together, exhausted and melted.
“You’re serious.” Jake spoke into her throat. “You’re really going to go back to Mommy and Daddy and marry some law-abiding fool who’ll work too hard for too little?”
Her palms swept around his shoulders. Echoes of her pleasure still weakened her knees. “It’s been fun, Jake, but I haven’t forgotten Darnell. I don’t want to end up like that.” She didn’t want to end up like Jake, for that matter, able to shut himself off and kill when a job required. “I do like the excitement, but . . .” It would be like betraying her brother, working against the order he’d sworn to defend. She grimaced. “But it’s also a little scary.”
Jake pulled away, bent, and began putting on his pants. He scowled.
She sighed and reached for her navy flight suit. “Don’t be mad. You know it’s a dangerous life. It’s not like you can’t be sure I won’t squeal, with the evidence you probably have against me.”
“Becca. For the last time, I think you should join the Brotherhood. It isn’t a life of chaos and death. We’re a business group, not terrorists. There’s lots of gray in the world, and I try to ride there, in between black and white.”
She shrugged into the shoulders of her jumpsuit and skimmed her fingertip up the seal from her belly to her breastbone, admiring his shirtless state. “I understand. But your place in the gray means you’ll tip into the black when necessary. I’d like to be able tip into the white more often and not have to worry so much.”
He stared at her bleakly.
She laughed. “Jake, you’re taking this too personally.”
He sighed. “Yeah. I am.” Stepping forward, his hands cupped her face while he kissed her. He backed her up against the cargo wall again.
She licked into his mouth, her hands drifting over his back, enjoying the warm strength of his still-damp skin. She was going to miss this, the sex and the danger.
His hands dropped lower, smoothing over her cheeks and jaw, settling around her throat. They tightened.
Her lips hesitated and her lashes flew open. His beautiful eyes appeared empty. Looking at them was like gazing through stained glass. His lips caressed hers, then pulled back. His grip tightened into pain, and horror iced her skin. Her hands flew up to grab at his wrists, scraping and clawing at his fingers. She opened her mouth but couldn’t talk. He was crushing her windpipe. She couldn’t breathe.
She stared in disbelief. They’d just had beautiful sex three times today! Her hands switched targets, flying out to gouge at his eyes. Straightening his longer arms, he pulled his head out of range. Fury swelled with the struggling blood pinching in her jaw. Jake! Killing her! She kicked out at him, but the blow only glanced off his thigh. He remained braced, pinning her against the wall. She beat at his rigid arms. Her fingertips tingled. The sound of the surf she loved swarmed into her skull.
“Did you think the Brotherhood would let someone who knew about a cryo run just walk away, Becca?” Jake ignored the bloody furrows she opened on his face. “Did you think your brother wouldn’t investigate how you suddenly acquired seventy-five thousand credits? As it is, I’m going to set Cal up to satisfy his investigation.” He shifted his grip on her throat, and for one second she got half a wheezing, agonized breath. “I’m so sorry, beautiful.”
Then he snapped her neck.
OH DEAR. You found the ending called Karma Hurts. Click on this link to return to the Choice Index. Dare to decide again!
Becca curled her toes over the edge of a metaphorical cliff, breathed the salt air, and launched herself into the vast space with iron-strong fire. She was alive, she was young, and while this situation was intense, it was real and would never come again.
“Yes.” She beamed at him, the smile threatening to break her face, her love overwhelming all her doubts. “I’ll marry you.”
He burst forward, pulling her into his arms, dragging her down to her knees with him, kissing her hard and wild. There was a burst of laughter and applause, and he jumped, putting himself in front of her. But it was just good-natured passersby. He took her by the hand and pulled her back into one of the taverns. They spent the next few hours wandering, as naturally as possible, from tavern to tavern, waiting for his people to come get them.
He pulled her onto his lap, sat her between his thighs, or kept his arm around her waist at all times. Their kisses were natural, playful, teasing. It was such a strange sensation, to be so happy and so scared. Time had never gone so slowly, yet she didn’t mind, because he was still all hers.
Finally, while they trailed back out to the fountain, a group of black-uniformed military types showed up, scanning the square. Silas stiffened and pulled her toward them. When they saw him approach, they closed around both of them in a complete wall of black. So much for his disguise. They stayed that way on the walk to his ship. Once there, the soldiers dispersed in an organized swarm. Silas strode into a room in gorgeously appointed bold red and orange, with a mural of a jungle across the cabinets.
He hugged her, rocking. “Home. I’m home. Out. Alive.”
She held him as tightly as she could, stroking his back.
After a bit, he towed her into the bathroom, which was just as spacious and elegant. He stripped her, and she wrinkled her nose at how strong they both smelled. He whisked her into the shower, where they once again shared a desperate soaping. Only there was no water limit, and when his orgasm took him this time, he was deep inside her, and she went with him, tossing her head against the tile wall where he pinned her. His body grinding into hers, their mouths melded together, she didn’t care how crazy it was to marry a man she barely knew. He felt right.
“Becca.” He pressed his forehead to hers. “Becca, my princess.”
She laughed. “I don’t know about that. I’m not that fussy, am I?”
He withdrew from her body. She shivered and tested her knees, slicking her hair back from her face.
“I have to tell you something. Please, please don’t be angry.”
“What is it?” She folded her hands across her chest, suddenly nervous at the way he stood and stared, the water beating over his lean muscles.
“I am a prince of Dhram.”
She had no idea what that meant. She bit her lip, struggling not to laugh. It was a nervous urge. Nothing about this moment was funny. “You’re not kidding.”
“No.”
“And . . . this isn’t an honorary title, some sort of old family thing.”
“No. Have you heard of Dhram?”
She shook her head, visions of gold crowns dancing in her head. He’d look sexy
in one. “I assume it’s far away.”
He nodded. “We’re an urban planet, built over an ocean. You’ll love exploring it, and I have so many places I want to show you.”
She stared at him, shivering in the water. “I thought you were a CEO.”
He shrugged with a crooked grin. “Not too far from the truth. I just have more social duties added in.” He cupped her face, then kissed her until her tongue drowned in his taste. “I love you. I know you love me, the man. I’m so proud to have found you, so grateful. Your brave and generous heart is just what my people need. I will cherish you, Becca, my fairy queen. Don’t fear my station.”
“Hey. I knew you when you were nothing but a puking pile of orange goo.”
He laughed, resting their foreheads together.
She relaxed, stroking his sides. “So that explains your high-powered enemies.”
He wrapped his hands around her, pulling her into his chest. “I’ll use all my resources to keep you safe. Part of the reason I was in danger was my own reckless behavior.”
She burrowed her face into his neck. “I’m not scared of them. I trust you to protect us.” She pulled back to look up into his face. “Silas! I’m no royal! How will I fit into your world?”
His fingers smoothed around her ear. The love in his eyes was clear and steady. “You will fit just fine. You’re beautiful, brave, fiery, funny, kind, and wise. I need someone by my side, a partner. I’ve been so lonely, but there is not one woman I can trust. It’s you, only you, who loves me for myself. My family will see that.”
She turned off the water. In the silence, they held each other. “Do you wear a crown?”
He raised one brow at her question, but nodded.
She had plans to fuck him while he wore it. That would seriously get her off. “What’s next?”
“We’re heading home. My advisors will have gathered. I’ll have much to be briefed on, from my absence. Some of my family will be here, and whoever couldn’t make this trip will meet us on Dhram. I’m not sure how long it will take to cruise there, but I’ll be working much of the time. There will have to be a public revelation, and your presentation.”
She scowled. “In my ratty blue flight suit?” Her mother would be so disappointed in her. That reminded her. “I need to contact my family!”
“Of course. Come on.” He dried her off, more tenderly than she’d done for him that first time, and he gave her the long purple shirt he’d brought in, while he wore burled black pants.
When they left the bathroom, she froze. The room was full of people! A great cheer went up, and a woman hurled herself at Silas, sobbing. Eventually the commotion died down, and he seated the woman, his mother, on the bed, and drew Becca to him. She curled into his strength, his arm steady around her shoulders.
On a deep breath, he boomed out, “My friends, I introduce my miracle, my savior, my wife, my Becca.”
HUZZAH! Felicitations! You found the ending called Happily Ever After. Click on this link to return to the Choice Index. Dare to decide again!
“I’m so disappointed.” Becca knew this was an impossible situation, and the anger tangled inside her. She swallowed it down. “I know there’s been a misunderstanding, and I’m sure we all need to calm down.”
“Fight. Fight. Fight,” the crew chanted behind her.
Turning away from the undeserved rumpy mockery was one of the hardest things she’d ever done. She focused on the grinning faces of the idiots in the front. They gave her rooted feet a reason to move.
She stalked over to them and hissed, “Calm down, morons.”
“Fur-whore,” one of the men cheerfully sang out.
“I know you are, but I’m not.” She sang the childhood taunt right back to him.
All the surrounding tables roared with laughter and she felt the tension drain away. Carrying her tray with its ruined juice like it held the president’s crown, she crossed the mess hall with burning cheeks and chin held high. Her brain spun with what would happen now. Should she wait by Gage’s room? Should she file a complaint with the security master? Should she just try to show up to work on the systems tomorrow and brace for more abuse?
Dropping off the tray in the collection bin at the exit, she continued on to the stall in her pod bathroom and cried some more. Then she washed her face and lay down in her bunk under Snoring Lump. Bixy came by a short while later and patted her on the shoulder. “Your boy is in the hall. Go see him.”
Stuffing her hair into a ponytail, Becca hopped out of her bunk and went to the hall.
Gage leaned against the far wall. Even after the horrible scene in his room and with his people, he was still beautiful to her. “Walk with me?”
She nodded, dreading this conversation. When he stood, she moved in beside him.
“All I told them was that we’d had a moment, but it didn’t work out. I was in the back room picking up from the planetswing. When Denise told me what happened, I chewed their heads off.”
Becca bit her lip to keep from laughing. She didn’t want to laugh with Gage. “I hope not really. Murder carries a stiff sentence.”
He huffed. “I was almost ready to. I can’t believe they did that to you.”
“They’re loyal.”
“They’re proud.”
She noticed they were headed toward the mess hall. “I’m not hungry, Gage.”
He touched her elbow. “Come on.”
“I don’t need an apology.” It wouldn’t undo the gossip churning through the ship. It wouldn’t undo the aggression she’d have to face from her peers and the general speculation.
He snorted, tail flicking. “Well, that’s good. My people aren’t real good at it.”
When he led her through the almost vacant mess hall where the bots were busy whirring the floor clean, she glanced over at the empty counter windows, then shivered. He led her into the kitchen.
Roscoe was sitting on one of the prep islands, tapping at a plax-page. He looked up. “Hey. I hear you’ve got third-level certification on food systems.”
That wasn’t anything she’d shared with Gage, but she nodded. Her jaw hurt and she focused on unclenching it. The gall of the man, talking to her like nothing had happened.
“We’ve got a small fleet we’ve started up. It’s only a few years old. We’re trying to support the network of rumpy businesses, along with rumpy-friendly ports. They’ve been having a hard time getting service. Would you like to sign on to Huntress Shipping?”
Becca stared at the man. His tail was definitely more canine than Gage’s, with a plume of long gray fur that curled with a permanent bend. She made a point of looking at it as he sat in profile to her, and then looked back at his face. “I don’t have clearance to work solo. I need two more certifications. And I’d rather not work under the table.”
He nodded, calm in the face of her assessment of his tail. “We’d apprentice you to one of the senior chiefs we’ve got. I figure with hard work, you’d be solo within six months. Pay’s not fantastic, but you’ll make a solid living.”
She folded her arms to contain her jumping heart. “And you’re offering me this placement because . . . ?”
“Because I can tell you’ve got a proud nature and a good spirit, and I was impressed with the way you held yourself down today. Working with rumpies means you’ve got to control your temper. And Gage tells me you’re definitely not a bigot.” He shrugged and hopped down off the counter. “We need the help, and word is you’re already off this ship. So you’ll join?”
She took a moment to breathe. A new internship, with a promise of work attached! Meeting Gage’s warm, smiling eyes, she nodded and felt his smile spread to hers. “Yes. I’ll join. Huntress Shipping, here I come.”
YAY! You have found the ending called No Guts, No Glory. Click on this link to return to the Choice Index. Dare to decide again!
“Silas, I can’t make this kind of decision now. It’s crazy.”
He dropped her hands. Something about him staring at her like that on his knees hurt her heart. “This is the only time to make this kind of decision.”
She went hot with bubbling ire. “If you’re only going to want to marry me at this moment, then I guess you don’t really want me. How dare you try to manipulate me like this!”
“I see.” He stood and looked off into the distance, his face blank.
She pulled him down next to her. “Don’t stand so tall.” She scanned the halls surreptitiously. “Honestly. You’d think after being stuffed in cryo once you’d have more care.”
He sat stiffly, silent.
She sighed. “Silas, you know I care for you. We’re lovers, and I’m looking forward to being with you.” She waved her pink-sparkle plax-page. “Upright, in the open.”
“As you say.”
His patronizing, passive-aggressive murmur made her grit her teeth.
For the next few hours, they wandered into dark corners of taverns, waiting. Everywhere, there were men who clearly searched the crowds, but Silas stayed slumped and she kept her annoying, painful hairdo she’d copied from the waitress. Six tight ponytails bobbed around her face, making her itchy. The tension between them was more painful still.
Finally, during one of their passes near the fountain, he caught sight of a group of armed soldiers in black uniforms. A few moon security guards hovered nearby. He stiffened, took her arm, and quickly walked toward them. “Stay by me and don’t speak.”
As he approached them, the soldiers snapped into motion, flowing around both of them. Without anyone saying a word, they began to walk toward one of the port entrances as a unit, keeping Silas in the middle of their group. She was jostled but remained quiet.
