by Eve Langlais
“Dammit, Dara.” Don’t cry. She’d only ever cried once in the entire time he knew her. Sobbed after getting a message about some family member being in trouble. She’d left for a few days to handle it.
Then weeks later… He eyed her, the slumping shoulders, the gauntness of her frame. She hadn’t exactly gotten a life free of repercussion. Someone punished her now. Oddly, despite his hatred, he didn’t feel good about it.
“You’re right. I did betray you. You and everyone on the Moth. I didn’t have a choice. But I’ll do it again if it means saving Karo. You’re better off dropping us somewhere and going your own way.”
Did she really think he’d be able to dump her and move on? What about the Gypsy Moth?
What of it? He’d left it in capable hands. Right now, Dara and Karolyne needed him more.
Hate her for what she’d done, he couldn’t help but still care for her. He enveloped her in his arms, a sense of rightness filling him. He rubbed the back of her head, smoothing her hair, giving her a chest to sob against.
He couldn’t have said how long they stood there, him comforting her, but eventually she did move, tilting her face, showing her tear-stained cheeks.
His lips pressed against the softness of her damp skin, tasting the salt of her tears, licking it from her lips.
Then they were kissing, not the frantic and violent passion of before, but a slow exploration. A sensual slide and glide of flesh on flesh. Their breathing quickened, hot exhalations with no beginning or end.
This reaction explained part of why he’d never moved on. No one else inspired him to lose control. To want to lose control.
Having her in his arms eased a tension in him he’d not realized existed until it was gone.
She murmured his name, “Koby.” Sighed against his mouth. “Gods, I’ve missed you.”
Missed seemed too small a word. He couldn’t get enough of her. Their lips fused along with their breaths. He stroked what he could reach, feeling the thinness of her arms, the fine lines of her back, the indent at her waist.
His hands had just cupped her ass when a little voice said, “Why are you grabbing Mommy’s bum?”
Because it was mighty fine. But being a man of eloquent verbiage faced with a curious child, he blustered, “Just checking it for Lhgro leeches.” A space species that were actually born of arachnids, found a host to feed from, and then hatched into twelve-legged furry beasts. Cute little buggers, but they tended to clog the waste lines, which caused maintenance issues.
Two sets of eyes blinked at his stupid reply.
He was outnumbered.
Out of his element.
Only one thing left to do.
He fled. Fled to a room without Dara’s scent. A bed where he slept alone.
But his dreams…they were full of her.
* * *
She walked into the tavern as if she owned it. She certainly owned the attention of all the males present.
Kobrah wasn’t immune. Not overly tall, enough to fit under his chin, the blonde-haired woman—nicely dressed in white Xarnithian leathers—bore a holster with a single pistol on her hip.
She wore her hair in braids crisscrossed all over her head, the thick ropes of them bound in loops and coils. It enhanced the fine features of her face. Her bright blue eyes traversed the whole room, scanning briefly over him—and he meant brief—checking out the Kulan warrior for longer.
The swagger of her hips as she strode to the bar bespoke confidence, and yet there appeared to be a wary energy about her. She never overtly turned to look behind her, but something in her posture screamed she was aware.
Kobrah took a swig of his drink. He’d left his first mate in charge for the night. They’d docked at the space station for a three EC-day layover. The crew needed to relax and unwind somewhere different for a bit.
The first mate insisted the captain needed to take a break, too.
The woman took a seat at the bar, leaving two stools between them. “A vanilla spritzer, please.”
He snickered. Who came to a bar to order the most non-alcoholic drink ever?
“Is there a problem?” he heard her ask.
A moment later someone tapped him on the shoulder. He glanced over to see the spritzer woman standing beside him.
“I said, is there a problem?”
Turning, he leaned against the bartop. “Isn’t a man allowed to laugh?”
“You were laughing at me.”
“And if I was?” he said with a challenging arch of his brow.
“Then admit it. I like a man with a sense of humor.”
Not the answer he expected. His suspicion roused. “What’s the deal, honey?” An old term of endearment, not often heard outside Gaia Federation territory. Yet, he liked it, and it suited her. Her hair shone golden like real honey.
“Deal?” she queried right back.
“Why are you talking to me?”
Her lips quirked. “Because you’re human and cute.”
“Human yes, but we both know I ain’t cute.” Rugged. Handsome. Cute, though? That was for pets.
“I’d say I’m a better judge of good looks than you are.”
“And I still say you’re playing me.”
“Suspicious guy.”
“It’s what keeps me alive. I’m Kobrah.” He extended his hand, and she took it, her skin soft against his. A tingle ran through him, and he heard her gasp.
“Dara.”
“Tell me what you want, Dara.”
A coy smile curved her lips. “You are not easily fooled. Very well, I admit I came looking for a certain captain. The commander of the Gypsy Moth.”
“Let me guess, you want to come work for me?” Which meant she’d be off-limits. He didn’t fuck the crew. Too much paperwork involved to ensure there were no liability charges later.
She shook her head. “I don’t need to work. I can pay.”
A paying client? Still off-limits. “I’m expected elsewhere.”
“What if I said I’m going in your direction?”
“I’d say what a coincidence.” Except, was it? His dream self frowned at the stray thought. A new thought he’d never had before. How far back did her perfidy reach?
“How do you feel about bar fights?” she asked, grabbing the vanilla spritzer and taking a long sip.
“I tend to avoid them. So don’t expect me to get involved in your shenanigans.”
“Who says it’s my problem?” She leaned close. “There’s a fellow behind me with a pistol aimed your way. I’m the only thing blocking his shot.”
Kobrah peered past her and noticed the cloaked figure. The red spot aiming…
He grabbed the woman and shoved her down, raised his own pistol, and fired. Problem solved. Except the gelatinous alien he killed had friends. Another gun lasered, slicing through the crowd quite literally. Then the bar went into weapon lockout mode, which meant a specialized pulse that killed the electronics on every weapon that used them.
Which led to people pulling daggers.
Always have a backup weapon. Kobrah had a knife in hand and was weaving through the crowd, his hand laced around the woman’s. The crowd went nuts.
Fists flew. Tentacles slapped. Something pinched his ass.
He didn’t have to do too much slicing to get out. Most of the beings in his path took one look at him and moved out of the way.
They exited the main door of the bar onto a metal-grated street. The noise didn’t improve out here with the amount of people milling around and the various other establishments providing brisk trade.
Kobrah pulled her along with him until they found a quieter side street. He paused there with her, checking for pursuit.
When he was satisfied they’d escaped, he glanced more closely at the woman.
Light freckles across the bridge of her gently sloped nose. Straight white teeth.
“How did you know that guy was aiming for me?”
“Because he asked where you were when he walked
in. It’s how I knew where to find you at the bar, Captain Kobrah Jameson.”
“My friends call me Koby.”
“I didn’t know we were friends.” Her words and lips teased.
“You did tell me about an assassin.”
“Which requires a reward, I think.” She stepped closer. “I’ll take my payment now.”
Before he could ask what she meant, she showed him, standing on tiptoe, curling her fingers around his nape, her lips rising, a hairsbreadth from his.
His eyes closed, every nerve ending went on alert. His cock hardened. He waited for the brush of her lips.
Instead he got a soft whisper. “I’ll take your cabin for the next leg of your trip.”
What?
There was no kiss that day. Or the next. Dara made him work for it. But eventually, before the next port, they were at least sharing his bed.
A bed that he burned two years later.
Chapter 8
Despite the arousal that had burned between them the other night, Kobrah made no move to resume the kiss they never finished. And Dara certainly didn’t have the courage to push it.
Seeing him again had brought back all her old feelings. How safe she felt with him. How impressed she was not just by his strength and good looks but his intelligence. His ability to command not only a ship but its crew.
It also meant a return of the fire he could ignite in her body. A hot lust that throbbed between her legs.
Seeing him reminded her of why she’d fallen in love, which—despite what he thought—was real. At least for her.
He made her wish for something more. But obviously her regrets weren’t shared. Kobrah avoided her, obviously unable to forgive. Probably for the best. Getting involved with her wouldn’t be healthy. For him.
Despite the fact Kobrah left the room whenever Dara entered, he didn’t avoid Karolyne. She’d come across them a few times. Heads bent together as he showed her something about the ship. Other times, she’d find Karo in his lap, giggling as her daddy let her drive the ship.
He’d even insisted on doing the bedtime story the previous night. Which she’d watched on a screen in the bridge, tears rolling down her cheeks.
A child and her father bonding. It was beautiful and heartbreaking all at once.
How she wished things could be different.
On their eighth EC day of travel, she thought it an improvement that she entered the bridge and he did not immediately find an excuse to leave.
Karo lay on a cleared space in front of his chair and colored, Kobrah having found an old recipe for colored wax sticks and paper that he programmed into the replicator.
There existed a comfortable silence as they each did their own thing. Dara hadn’t felt this relaxed in years.
Karo broke the quiet. “You don’t have to worry. They don’t know where we are.”
Used to her daughter’s odd statements, Dara didn’t pay much mind as she pored over the data feeding into the ship. Being relaxed didn’t mean she wasn’t watching for trouble. The Rhomanii knew how to hunt.
Kobrah, sitting in the captain’s seat, also perusing data, didn’t ignore Karo’s words. “What do you mean, Sprout?”
Karo took that as an invitation and climbed onto his lap. Unlike the first time that happened, he didn’t freeze. He stroked Karo’s curly hair.
“The domums can’t see us right now. So they can’t follow.”
“Who are the domums?” Kobrah’s brow creased in puzzlement.
Dara thought she knew, though. “Do you mean the Dom’umm Terramyn’oos?”
“The who?” he asked.
“The Dom’umm Terramyn’oos are another name for the Rhomanii priests. True fanatics and part of the sect that originally hunted down the king with a mission to bring him home.”
“Why would priests be chasing you?” he asked.
Dara shrugged, but Karo began to sing. “Sing a song of legend, a citadel full of drones, four and twenty archdukes sent the galaxy to roam. When the home was located, the drones began to sing, we have found the chosen one who will rule us as our king.”
“Where did you learn that?” Dara exclaimed.
“The domums sang it to me.”
A claim that only served to perplex him further. Kobrah raised his gaze to Dara. “Who, or what should I say, did you expose my daughter to?”
But Dara looked just as confused. “I don’t know what she’s talking about or where she learned that song. She’s never met them.”
“Are you calling her a liar then?”
“Do you believe every word out of a child’s mouth?” Dara gave Karo a pointed look. The imp just grinned and snuggled deeper into her father’s lap. “She’s a kid. They claim stuff all the time. They also have imaginary friends.”
“Raffie is real,” Karo huffed, crossing her arms.
“Who is Raffie?” he asked.
“The friend only she can see,” Dara said pointedly.
“Oh.” Kobrah glanced down at Karo.
Her features screwed up in indignation. “Raffie is real, even if no one but me can see him. He says it’s better this way, so people don’t take a van…” Her face screwed up. “A van…
“Advantage.”
“Yes! That’s the word he uses.” Karo’s face lightened.
The expression Dara shot Kobrah was of the told-you-so variety. Hopefully he bought it.
Fact of the matter was, whether or not Karo actually spoke to ghosts, she couldn’t say for sure. What Dara did know was Karo could sense things others couldn’t. She especially could predict the proximity of drones and citadels. Part of her specialness, and probably the reason why she was hunted by the Rhomanii.
I was warned what might happen if I had a child.
It was why she’d been so careful. She’d gotten the birth control implant.
Except the implant failed. She found out she was pregnant after she fainted in a marketplace. She’d recovered quickly but not before a local witch doctor drew her blood. Blood that went into a database. Dara had scrubbed it as quick as she could once she found out. Mustn’t leave a trace.
She thought she’d done a good job hiding. Which meant she could deal with the other bit of news the bloodwork imparted.
Pregnant, despite all her precautions. She didn’t know how she felt about that. She spent a few days dealing with it. Having taken the Yellow Spacemachine on a reconnaissance mission for the Gypsy Moth, she had time before she’d see Kobrah again. Time to decide, keep it or not?
You can’t have it. It’s too dangerous. She could hear her teacher’s voice.
So very dangerous. Yet every time she put a hand on her stomach she realized anew there was a life in there.
She couldn’t get rid of it. Once she realized that, her heart lightened, and she couldn’t wait to tell Kobrah. She knew he’d be excited.
The ambush happened the day before the Gypsy Moth was due to dock. They tranquilized her as she browsed the marketplace and stopped in a fabric shop. When she regained consciousness, in a bed at a hotel, she immediately knew the fetus was lost. A victim of a harvester. There were many delicacies available on the Obsidian Market. Fertilized eggs of any species, alien caviar as the humans liked to call it, were in high demand.
She silently mourned the loss of her unborn child.
Then weeks later, her attackers sent her an image. One of a baby, fully formed and floating in a steel womb.
She never once doubted it was her child. She caved to their demands.
Had to. She betrayed everyone for the baby she was told not to have.
Why didn’t she tell Kobrah, though? It was his child, too.
Dara lied because she feared what he’d do. Feared that, unlike her, he’d think the jumble of cells stolen from her womb wasn’t worth the price.
As for Dara, she couldn’t not act. So she did what the kidnappers asked. Fucked over a whole bunch of people and killed a friend. To rub salt into a festering wound, those who blackmailed her tri
ed to renege on the deal. After all they’d done, all they’d taken from her, they thought they could keep her baby. Sell her to someone who would pay them dearly.
When the Rhomanii arrived to buy Karolyne from the kidnappers, they found only bodies.
And Dara had been running ever since. It wasn’t a life for a child.
Sensing her melancholy, Karo slunk off her father’s lap and made her way onto hers. The weight settled in under her chin and bolstered her flagging spirit.
“It’s okay, Mommy. It will soon be over.”
“Don’t say stuff like that.” She hugged her tight. “I can’t lose you.”
“You won’t lose me. Raffie says he’ll keep me safe.”
If only her child did have a magical guardian to protect her.
Later that evening, after she put Karo to bed, her restless feet took her to the exercise room. She needed the exertion to forget everything else.
The punching column gave her an outlet for her worry.
It was where Kobrah found her.
“Where are we going?” he asked, stalking in, body bristling with agitation.
“You know exactly where we’re going. The Jerminian system. You punched in the coordinates yourself.”
“And then you changed them,” he accused.
“What are you talking about?” She stopped hitting the dummy to fully face him.
“I’m talking about the fact you reprogrammed our course and then locked me out of my own navigation system.”
The words gave her a chill. “What are you talking about? I didn’t change anything. We need to go to Jerminian. I’ve got a connection there who will help me and Karo get new identities and hide.”
“Well, that’s not where we’re going. According to the computer, it was your code used to make the changes.”
“Impossible because I didn’t do it.” And she was getting mighty peeved about being accused. “Computer, video footage of the person inputting the new destination coordinates.”
