Dangerously Yours: 2 (Loving Dangerously) (5 page)

The day he was scared of a princess was the day he might as well turn himself back in to the Galontaers and get out of this business altogether.

“If she wants to stay alive, I’m sure I won’t have any trouble out of her.”

“Good, because I have business to finish.”

Kane noticed he wasn’t the only one dealing with a massive hard-on. JB shifted from foot to foot, adjusting and readjusting his crotch.

“We’ll talk about her sleeping arrangements in the morning,” Kane said, dismissing his friend before JB burst right in front of him. “The other two are all right?” he asked as JB turned to leave.

“Oh yeah, they’re a handful.” JB grinned and pointed to the scratches.

Whatever
, Kane thought. Nodding curtly, he dismissed JB again.

Kane turned back to the female as his door closed. At some point during the conversation, she had put her arms stiffly to her sides. Her gaze was still locked on the ceiling. He had no doubt shocked her real good. But she could have stopped him.

Right now he needed to find some release for his purple member. Going back to Jess’ cabin was out of the question, especially since she had told him she was through with him. Actually she had screamed it, right after she had begged him to spend the night and he chose to leave. The screaming had been followed by flying boots aimed directly at his head.

What would have been the reason for staying with Jess? He hadn’t been able to keep it up anyway. A problem he had been plagued with since Anna’s death. The guilt of losing his wife always surfaced during sex, causing him to go limp within minutes of beginning.

The only way he could ever finish was with his hand. Hell, he was surprised Jess had put up with him and his performance issues for as long as she had. But truth was, their relationship had run its course.

Kane let out a huff and walked into the bathroom and closed the door. He had business to take care of. He grasped his cock and closed his eyes, pumping hard and fast. He wasn’t going for anything but relief. His swollen cock erupted after less than three minutes.

Satisfied, he left the bathroom, bypassed his nice big comfortable bed and lay on the makeshift pallet JB had made for her. He planned to fall asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow. Wrong again. The eerily quiet room kept him awake.

Is that thing in my bed going to strangle me while I sleep?

He was going to fuck JB up in the morning. As tired as he was, he now had to keep one eye open because of
it
.

She shifted and settled in his comfortable bed while he lay on the flimsy pallet and flat pillow. The meager cover did nothing to warm him against the biting chill. After ten minutes, he heard her rhythmic breathing. He listened for a few minutes more before deciding she had finally fallen asleep.

Rising early as always, Kane dressed and sat on the uncomfortable metal chair he had pulled from his dinette table to watch the princess sleep. She had curled into a tight ball, undoubtedly to avoid any more late-night touchy-feely on his part. The thought made him snort. That wouldn’t have stopped him. That’s
if
he wanted her, which he didn’t.

Every time he had shifted on the hard floor, he heard her jump slightly. From that assessment alone, he guessed she’d gotten just about the same amount of sleep as he had. None.

He watched her intently. He could make out a tight round butt and luscious full breasts. Gold hair, almost the same color as wheat, fell just above the swell of her ass and had become tangled all around her. Her hair fanned across her face, obscuring most of her features. The highlights gave the illusion of sparkles.

He was almost certain she was from the Zaronna System. The dark-gold skin suggested she came from one of the sand planets this system was famous for.

Her skin shimmered as though it were a million bucks. He would bet his left nut she was worth at least that much. He couldn’t tell her height but he guessed somewhere near his own six foot, five inches.

She yawned and stretched, revealing a small, shapely waist, curvy hips and long, lean legs. He’d been nestled between them a few hours before. And it had felt good.

Her eyes fluttered open. “Eek!”

Yeah, Anna had always teased him he resembled death in the morning but she had never screamed when she saw him.

He leaned back in the chair and stretched his long legs out in front of him. To hide his growing crotch, he folded his hands over it. “Chill out, no one’s going to hurt you.”
Yet.

She rested a hand on her heaving chest. Her gaze darted wildly around the room, taking in all the surroundings before finally settling on him.

She caught him staring at her breast and pulled the blanket up to her chin.

He groaned.
Aw, don’t do that.

Where the hell had that come from?

“
Sa liet fa soeil?
”

Kane inhaled sharply. He hadn’t imagined the lyrical tone of her voice or the mesmerizing coloring of her eyes. They appeared more slanted today than they had last night.

“I can’t understand you,” he said. For good measure, he pointed to his head. “No translator.”

“
Sa liet fa soeil?
” she asked again. This time she pointed to her chest then pointed toward the port view.

He wasn’t exactly sure what she said but… “Can you understand me?”

Her head dipped slightly. “
Alo.
”

He assumed that was a yes. At least the communication part wouldn’t be as hard as he’d first imagined. “Where are you from?”

She stared at him in silence. Her luscious lips were pursed into a straight line. She wouldn’t be opening her mouth anytime soon.
Pity.
He could imagine a lot of things she could do with that pretty little mouth of hers.

Shit, what’s coming over me?

He shook the invading thought from his mind.

First things first. Find out which planet she hailed from. Maybe one rich in gold? This could be the jackpot they hoped for.

The only reason they had even traveled to this remote system was because of the rumored gold planets. If he and his crew played their cards right, they could highjack a vessel or two transporting gold. Hell, they would all be able to settle down on some remote planet and finally live in peace.

“What planet are you from?” he repeated, slowing his words.

“
Nes
,” she replied. Her perfect lips pursed defiantly.

“No?”

She nodded her response.

“I’m sure my crew explained everything to you last night. We’re ransoming you back to your home planet.”

She shook her head slowly.

Is she trying to play hardball?
He stood and kicked the chair to the dinette table. Her watchful gaze stayed on him. She ran shaky fingers through the tangles and knots in her hair.

Seconds ticked by painfully slowly as they watched each other in silence. He willed her to turn away first. Her look of defiance told him they would be at this for a long time—until she snagged on a knot. She whispered to herself and finally broke eye contact to concentrate on her hair.

He could give her a comb, if he wanted to be nice. She muttered louder as she pulled at a clump of hair. He made his way to the bathroom. Against his better judgment he was going to be nice, today. Her gaze followed him as he grabbed a comb off the bathroom counter and tossed it on her lap.

She picked it up and squinted. She turned it between her hands and inspected it before setting it next to her. Either he had read her wrong and she didn’t need a comb or she didn’t know what to do with it. He rolled his eyes at the latter thought.

Priceless.

Towering over her, he hooked his thumbs in the waist of his worn, leather pants. “What’s your name?”

Her attention snapped back to him. Feathered lashes blinked once, then twice. A look of boredom stretched across her soft features that were as perfect as a porcelain doll’s.

Okay. She wasn’t going to answer that question either.

He thumbed his chest. “Captain Kane Epps.”

She gave a small dip of her head. Definitely royalty. She straightened on his bed, her brows scrunched together. “
Sa liet Moira, Yazmine un Nebin?
”

Against his will, he took a step back. Most of the aliens had voices that were harsh on his ears, reminding him of nails on a chalkboard. But hers…he could get used to if he wasn’t careful.

Stunned, he caught himself. Get used to her? What the hell was coming over him?
Get rid of her
was what he had intended to think.

He assumed she was asking about the others. “The females and your guard are secured.”

She did the regal nod thing again.

“Are you going to answer any of my questions?”

“
Nes.
”

Okay.
“Maybe I’ll have better luck with your crew?” He rocked on his heels. “Do you think they would survive my interrogation?”

She went ridged.

“Ah, I must’ve hit a nerve. I’m sure they’ll be a wealth of information.”

She shook her head.

“We’ll see.”

She turned her head and whispered under her breath.

“Last chance.”

She didn’t acknowledge him.

“Fine, have it your way.” Without waiting for a response, he went to the communication panel. He ignored the feeling of her eyes on him as he pushed the intercom button. “Ryan, meet me in the female captives’ cabin.”

Ryan’s voice echoed through the speakers. “Sure thing, Captain.”

Kane stepped out the door and engaged the security lock from outside. If she thought of escaping, she wouldn’t get far.

He made a beeline to the cabin where the females were being held. As he walked, the lights in his corridor blinked on. Since leaving Earth they had all suffered the consequences of a thrown-off circadian rhythm. The Loconuist vessel had been a nightmare. It had been lit brighter than a Christmas tree around the clock.

The Galontaers’ planet hadn’t been any better. It had twenty-seven hours of daylight and four hours of night. If working in the mines hadn’t killed him, the day and night schedule would’ve. But luckily for them, Kyle had been able to set the vessel’s schedule to mimic Earth’s rotation. And from the activation of the lights, it was 6:23 a.m., Eastern Standard Time.

The living quarters on the vessel had a staggering number of corridors, twenty to be exact. The captain’s wing boasted five spacious cabins while the remaining corridors held ten cabins each. That was a lot of room for a crew of six, including the occasional hostages.

He had taken the captain’s cabin. JB had taken one of the larger cabins in his wing. Ryan, Kyle and Eli had taken cabins in the same corridor and Jess had taken a corridor all to herself.

Kyle had cut off the power to all the other corridors with the exception of the one where the captives were being held and the one leading to the bridge, dining hall and engine room.

He finally arrived at the corridor designated for captives. It was empty except for Jess sitting in a chair outside their door. The black protective skin-suit she wore stretched across her muscles, and her elbows rested on her knees. She was staring at her boots and cradling her chin in her hands.

On Earth she had once been the chief financial officer of a large West Coast infomercial company, but after the invasion she’d been sold to a space brothel, where they’d picked her up from.

“Picked up” was the wrong choice of words. She’d stolen clothes from one of her customers and walked past security. The clothes, along with her six-foot-one-inch frame and short brown hair had gotten her waved through as one of the male patrons. From there, she had boarded their vessel and hid in an unsecured cabin. Because of the sheer size of
The Vengeance
she had remained undiscovered for almost a month. Kane had finally caught her in the kitchen stealing food.

As the sounds of his footsteps echoed down the hall, she straightened. Since he hadn’t asked her to guard the captives, he approached with a questioning, “Jess?”

She frowned. “Yes?”

“What are you doing?”

“Can’t you take a guess? I’m keeping watch. Shit, someone has to do it. They’ve been fucking all night long.”

He widened his stance. “JB asked permission and personally, as long as the females are willing, I don’t see the harm.”

“So, it’s okay they’re fucking the hostages?” She straightened. “Is this where you came after you left my cabin?”

“If the females are willing, I don’t see the problem. And no, I didn’t. But if I had, it’s not your issue anymore.”

“Don’t get all testy. Besides, you can
try
to fuck whomever you want. We’re through.” Her gaze boldly met his. “My options are wide open. I might actually get a hard dick now.”

Kane didn’t take the bait. Jess was now free to fuck every man on the vessel if she wanted too. She might just do it to make him jealous. Why would he be jealous? He wasn’t trying to settle down.