Stranded (Boys Behaving Badly Book 4)

by Delilah Devlin

  Valiya growled when Kade snickered as he turned off the water. The towel he wrapped around his hips did nothing to hide the obvious tenting in front. With one hand he slicked back his wet hair; the other he pressed against the cell’s transparent barrier in front of her.

  Her nostrils flared as she attempted to scent him. Annoyingly, the barrier was solid; no holes or gaps that might let his masculine musk tantalize her senses. At least that’s what she imagined he would smell like: earthy and strong with a subtle overlay of the soap he’d been using. Or maybe the sweet-spicy scent of lust would overwhelm his natural essence…

  “Expecting something more, Valiya?” Kade chuckled, his Adam’s apple bobbing. “I’d be happy to let you finish me off. If you think I’m still too dirty…”

  “Fuck you, Kade,” Valiya grumbled.

  “I would, darlin’, if I didn’t think you’d enjoy it so much. Never thought a sweet peach like you would be such a voyeur.”

  “I am no—”

  “Officer Vos,” came the captain’s voice over the comms. “Your presence is required in med bay. There’s a problem with the healing pod output.”

  With a huff, Valiya tore her gaze from Kade. Quickly gathering her tool bag, she gave him one last scathing glance.

  Another minute passed, and still, Valiya couldn’t decide on what to wear. She needed something to tip the odds in her favor, without getting her cited for inappropriate conduct. Her mood had been foul since leaving Kade. For the third time in a row he’d managed to get under her skin. But his winning streak was about to end. This time, she was going to win their little game of seduction chicken.

  Standard regulation did not allow females to show bare skin below the collarbone or above the knee. Nothing said you couldn’t wear a jumpsuit, one size too small, that left nothing to the imagination. The buttons down the front strained their loops, but as long as she didn’t breathe between her room and the brig, she’d be fine. She’d decided to leave her hair down, with the curly copper tresses tumbling past her shoulders. The curls framed her face nicely; highlighting her crimson irises and complimenting the rich bronze of her skin. With a quick smile and a thumbs-up at her reflection, she picked up her tool bag and headed down the corridor, prepared for battle.

  Valiya found Kade lying on his cot, one arm resting under his head as he dozed. He wore the loose gray slacks the ship provided for sleeping, the waistband resting just below the crests of his hips. She realized this was the first chance she’d had to admire him without him noticing and giving her a smug smile. His dark hair, short at the sides and slightly longer on top, was messy from sleep. Prisoners weren’t allowed access to lasers or blades, but the stubble lining his jaw only made him look more ruggedly handsome. His other arm draped lazily over his chest, which was rising and falling with his breaths. How could he be so attractive sleeping?

  Valiya huffed slightly—the exhale causing the overly-stressed, top two buttons to snap off.

  “Damn.” She dropped her tool bag on the floor and went to her knees to pick them up.

  “What are you doing?”

  Valiya jerked at Kade’s voice. Did it always sound so gravely? Drawing a calming breath, she flipped her hair out of her face and turned her head to glance at Kade. She caught her lower lip between her teeth to stop herself from laughing. Down on all fours, with her ass pointed in his direction, Valiya could only imagine how she looked.

  “Did I disturb you?” She blinked innocently. However, when she stole a look at his eyes, she frowned.

  Brows furrowed, jaw stiff, eyes squinted—Kade didn’t look happy. No, he looked annoyed. Sure, Valiya hadn’t expected him to immediately start panting and licking the screen separating them, but she hadn’t expected him to look as though someone had just pissed in his drink.

  Standing slowly, she turned to face him, knowing the lapels at the top of her jumpsuit had parted far enough to expose a decent amount of cleavage. His gaze didn’t lower a single centimeter. His arms were crossed over his chest, and she could see his nails digging into his forearms.

  Her nose twitched as she sniffed the air; trying to get a sense of his emotions. Nothing. No sharp bitter anger, or sweet-spicy desire, nothing. The screen barrier still wasn’t letting scents through.

  “What’s your problem?” she asked, mirroring his stance.

  He arched a brow. “Shouldn’t you be working?”

  Valiya’s eyes widened, and her cheeks heated. This encounter wasn’t going anything like she’d hoped. Not wanting to dignify his question with a response, she turned and removed a wrench and laser iron from her tool bag and started to repair a damaged lock on the vacant cell opposite Kade’s. She could feel Kade’s gaze on her, but she ignored his presence.

  Sweat trickled down her forehead as she used the wrench again to try and remove a stuck bolt, but it wouldn’t give. Groaning in frustration, she dropped the wrench. She moved towards the cooling unit, loosening a few more of her buttons so she could cool down her chest. Using the lapels of the jumpsuit she tried to fan away some of the sweat collecting between her cleavage.

  A barely audible groan behind Valiya caught her attention. Tentatively, she turned her head. Kade’s forehead was pressed against the screen. His eyes were closed as he tried to subtly shift his pants. Instantly, her emotions soared. She hadn’t failed. Kade was just a sore loser, and she was going to do everything she could to fuel his ache.

  Confidence restored, Valiya turned to face Kade. Holding her hair up in a messy bun, Valiya let the cooling unit blow air onto her neck. Delighting in the refreshing feeling, she sighed contently. “It’s hot, don’t you think?” Valiya arched her back slightly as she slowly ran a fingertip down her neck then between her breasts. She grinned when Kade’s eyes snapped open at her words, his gaze fixed on hers. Her body shivered when a low rumble sounded from his chest as his dark gaze tracked her sliding finger.

  She was about to undo another button when the ship lurched violently. Both Kade and Valiya were tossed to the side. Valiya’s back slammed into a wall, sending searing white pain through her skull. A cacophony of alarms and panicked voices coming over the comms pounded her head until there was only darkness…

  “Come on, Valiya. Wake up. Open those pretty reds for me.”

  Kade’s voice sounded strained.

  “I won.” Valiya’s voice cracked as she spoke. She blinked open her eyes. Her vision was blurry, and she couldn’t feel anything.

  “That’s right sweet peach, you won. Got me all hot and bothered. So, you need to get up and celebrate. Maybe even crack open some wine.” Kade sounded strange. His voice was higher than usual, like he was distressed.

  “Wine sounds good.” Valiya chuckled weakly as her vision blackened again.

  An incessant pounding echoed. Whoever was knocking on her door was going to get a beating. It was her day off, and she wanted to sleep. She kept her eyes closed, refusing to wake up. The banging continued.

  “What?” Valiya shouted, sitting up. The cold hard ground beneath her hands told her that she wasn’t in bed like she’d thought. Looking around her, she realized she was still in the brig. Except some of the lights were out, and there were breaches and cracks in the walls.

  “Oh, my stars! What’s going on?” Her body protested as she began to stand, but she pushed through the pain.

  “I think maybe we hit something. Asteroid. Meteor. God’s ass,” Kade growled as he kicked at the screen. He must have been going at it for a while. There was a crack in it. “Glad to see you up. Mind getting me outta here?”

  Valiya wasn’t sure if letting Kade out was her best course of action if they really had crashed. For all she knew, he could have planned for someone to ambush them.

  Limping, Valiya made her way to the exit.

  “Hey! Hey! Where are you going?” Kade yelled.

  Ignoring him, Valiya continued to the exit. Her panic rose when the hatch didn’t open automatically. “Computer, open brig five door,” she commanded.
>
  “Unable to comply. In the event of emergency, brig doors are sealed to prevent prisoner escape.” The emotionless voice of the ship’s AI shot through her heart.

  “But I’m not a prisoner. I’m mechanical officer, Valiya Vos. Open the door.” Valiya’s mouth rounded, as she began to hyperventilate.

  “Unable to comply. In the event of emer—”

  “Stop. Stop. Stop. Okay. Computer, contact the bridge.”

  “Unable to comply.”

  Valiya was going to punch the computer. She gritted her teeth. “Why not?”

  “No crew detected on ship.”

  Valiya felt her world shift beneath her feet, and her knees buckled. No crew? She couldn’t be the only one.

  “They’re dead?” Valiya fell back against a wall, tears prickling the backs of her eyes.

  “Negative. All crew members exited ship via life pods. No crew detected on ship.”

  “I’m crew!” Valiya shouted at the computer. “Let me out!”

  “Unable to comply. In the event of emergency, brig doors are sealed to prevent prisoner escape.”

  Valiya screamed and punched at the door. With each hit, the computer repeated the phrase, and with each repeat, Valiya hit harder. Her knuckles were bleeding, and her ankles were aching, but nothing hurt more than the thought that she’d had been left behind.

  “I’m not going to die. I’m not going to die,” she chanted as tears streamed down her cheeks. It took a few minutes, but she began to believe her own words. Picking herself up, she went to her toolkit.

  “So…” came a drawled voice. “Now that we’re stuck here, and all hope is lost…you going to let me out?”

  She shot Kade a deadly glare.

  He cocked his eyebrow, unperturbed by her irritation.

  “Hope is not lost,” she bit out. “I’m going to rewire the circuitry on the comm here and send out a distress signal.”

  “I still see no reason not to let me out,” Kade said, his voice a sensual slide.

  “Buddy, you’re still a prisoner. Why should I trust you?” Valiya turned her back to Kade and began to work.

  “Well, darlin’, seeing as you’ve seen me naked, I can truthfully say I have nothing to hide.”

  Kade's smooth self-assurance irked Valiya. “Smart ass.”

  “Not sure if I’d call it that. Firm maybe or irresistible. Come on, darlin,’ let me out. I won’t bite. I might even have better luck with that door. Alt strength and all that.”

  Valiya turned to face him. “You want me to trust you? Tell me something. What was your crime?” Valiya turned to face him. Her gaze was piercing—watching for any sign of deceit.

  “If I told a sweet thing like you all the things I’d done, you’d be blushing six ways from Sunday.”

  “I don’t know what that means,” Valiya snapped. “You want out of the cell; you tell me what got you there in the first place.” She might actually have to rely on Kade’s strength to escape if the emergency signal didn’t work. But she wasn’t going to let him out until she was certain he wouldn’t hurt her first.

  “Just a simple misunderstanding.” Kade grinned.

  She rolled her eyes. “Fine. You won’t tell me.” She pitched her voice toward the ceiling. “Computer! Show the file for Prisoner 498-3.” Valiya’s lips twitched as she watched Kade’s façade crack slightly.

  “Accessing file P-498-3,” the Computer responded. The file opened on the comm screen on the wall. Valiya was expecting to see a few serious crimes, but what came up was an exhaustive list of over fifty different charges. Her gaze swept the long scrolling list. “By the moons of Volpora, how have you lived long enough to do all this?”

  “It’s a gift.” Kade shrugged.

  “You stole the Nevoxatine Princess’s necklace?” Valiya scoffed at the impossibility of the crime. Surely, it was a mistake.

  “Actually, if I recall correctly, it fell into my lap around the time the rest of her clothes did.” Kade’s arms crossed over his chest, daring Valiya to question his words.

  “You killed five Roshin diplomats?” Valiya couldn’t believe the crimes he was being charged with. No single person, Alt or otherwise, could possibly do all of it.

  “They fell on a de-atomising bomb.”

  “Breached the Tezian security vault? It’s impenetrable.” Valiya stared incredulously at Kade, but with each answer, she was becoming more convinced. His body language showed no hint of deception.

  “So long as you treat it nice, and use enough lube, you’ll get in easy.” Kade winked.

  “Wait, illegal possession of bio-upgrades? I thought the Alliance performed the alt procedure.”

  “Oh, they do. They pluck you right out of your home, jab you with a motherfucker of a needle, then watch as your body turns inside out,” Kade said with a bitter smile. “Then they tell you they own you, and you gotta do whatever they say—or else you spend the rest of your life knee-deep in shit trying not to be somebody’s bitch.”

  “But why are the upgrades illegal?” Valiya took a step closer to Kade’s cell.

  “Once they burn you, everything you’ve done for them is suddenly a crime. All the shit on that list were jobs I did for the Alliance.” Kade’s body was tense, his muscles flinching with contained rage.

  “So, it’s true. You’re a deserter, and you stole data from the Alliance.” Valiya stepped closer to Kade.

  “Now, hold up. I never deserted shit. I had no choice in the matter to begin with, and I sure as hell didn’t steal Alliance data.”

  “But the last charge… It says you killed a male on Proxtus-8. He was an informant—”

  “Can’t believe everything you hear. He wasn’t trading Alliance information. He was selling incriminating evidence showing the Alliance’s participation in Terran sex trafficking.”

  “Impossible!” Valiya backed away.

  Kade’s jaw tightened. “Believe it, Valiya. The so-called beacon of order and peace in the universe ain’t nothing but a fucking joke. Punishing pirates and slavers, just to turn around and do the same thing to people. My people!” Kade slammed his fist on the barrier. Cracks erupted around his fist, but the barrier stayed intact.

  “So, what did you do?” Valiya’s pulse was thundering in her ears, but she had to know everything.

  “I gutted the bastard where he stood, took the evidence, and ran.” Kade fisted his hair in his hands, obviously fighting off the urge to hit the barrier again. “I didn’t get very far before the Alliance found me.”

  “What did you do with the evidence?”

  His mouth slid into his usual smirk. “That, darlin’, is a secret, but if you’re lucky I might let you convince me to tell you.”

  Valiya didn’t want to believe him. Everyone grew up with the idea that the Alliance was the only entity standing between the universe and war. That they were the fibers of moral righteousness holding the fabric of the universe together. She sniffed then bit back a snarl of frustration. If the barrier were open, she’d be able to smell the acrid tang of deception if he had just lied. With nothing to scent, and only gut instinct to rely on, Valiya decided to believe him.

  She drew a deep breath. “I’ll let you out.” She hovered her hand over the barrier release. “But if you try anything, I’ll tear you to shreds.” She extended her claws, allowing the dim light to reflect off their sharp points.

  “Consider me warned, Ma’am.” Kade gave her a mock salute.

  Valiya was a little surprised the barrier released without the computer bitching at her. Maybe the ship didn’t care if he wondered around the brig, or perhaps it just hated her.

  She watched as Kade stepped out of his cell, taking a deep breath of freedom. She took a cautious step away from him. Although her claws were sharp enough to cut through flesh, Kade was an Alt and a dangerous criminal. Not the type of person you want to be trapped with inside a small space.

  Kade’s gaze trained on her. “Regretting your decision already?”

  She shook her
head, but for every backward step she took, he took one towards her. Suddenly, there was no more space behind for her to escape. “Back off, Kade, before I –”

  Kade’s head lowered, and his mouth enveloped hers, his earthy masculine taste invading her senses.

  Valiya would never have believed she could become addicted to the taste of someone, but she wanted to soak herself in his essence. Instinctively, her arms wrapped around his shoulders. Strong hands intercepted her, forcing her arms back against the wall. Both her hands were pinned by his larger one.

  Valiya glared at Kade. She tried to wriggle against his hold, but he was stronger.

  “Kade,” she mewed, her fingers twitching. He must have mistaken her tone as a rejection because a look of hesitation flashed over his face. “I need to touch,” she gasped.

  “Patience.” A low chuckle escaped Kade’s lips at Valiya’s annoyed growl. “Just a bit of punishment for earlier. You don’t know what seeing you in this tight jumpsuit has done to me.” Kade leaned in, his lips caressing her throat.

  The sensitive skin flushed at the feel of his tongue lapping at her neck. Valiya’s thighs clenched together; she was sure that a puddle was starting to form at her feet. She watched as the rest of her buttons went flying as Kade opened the jumpsuit. The rational part of her brain, that cautioned her against sexual encounters with convicted felons on spaceships stranded in space, was strangely quiet. Instead, the overwhelming need to feel Kade’s super-Terran cock pumping inside her pussy controlled her decisions. They’d teased each other too long to resist the arousal they’d stoked.

  “I hope you weren’t attached to this bra,” he murmured.

  That was all the warning Valiya got before she felt the material rip in half, freeing her breasts. Her nipples tingled and hardened at their exposure to the cold air. The chill didn’t last long as Kade’s warm mouth feasted upon a breast.

  Stars exploded behind her eyelids when he drew on the hardened nipple and his tongue grazed the tip. The hand that had been holding hers moved down to steady her body when her legs weakened. She clung to his shoulders, her body quivering beneath his touches.