No Quarter (Bounty, Book One) (2 page)

“Quite.”

With a deep sigh and a slight pout, Faolan shrugged. “Best we’re off then. Through the bar or out the back door?”

The heavy stress on
back door
elicited another eye roll before Gar dipped his head toward the bar entrance. “Move.”

“We need to work on your conversational skills, bounty hunter. These one-word responses are already getting boring.”

“I wouldn’t want the sound of my voice to get you overexcited. That way.”

Chuckling, Faolan walked past Gar into the crowd. One hand resting on the hilt of his sword, Gar watched as his prisoner flirted with everything on two or more legs as he led his mark out of The Space Jock. He’d even gone so far as to run his hand down the feathered back of one of the waitresses.

“Stitt’s bringing in the captain,” someone hissed as they shuffled past.

“He’s dead,” another agreed.

“But I’ll leave a fucking
gorgeous
corpse.” Faolan winked at them before leaning in, kissing one of the barmaids on the mouth and stepping out the door.

Out on the streets, Gar knew he needed to keep his guard up. He doubted the captain was here alone and it was likely his crew had been alerted to his plight. He needed to get him out of sight and off planet as quickly as possible. He’d deal with the crew only once their leader was taken care of.

Pushing Faolan against the damp stone wall of the dark alley outside the bar, he roughly jerked the captain’s hands behind his back and into a set of electro-cuffs. This section of the station was close to ruin from the years of meteorite showers and high acid rain content. The depressing conditions did little to dampen Faolan’s vivacious attitude. He even laughed as Gar flipped him around so they were now face-to-face.

“God, I bet you have all sorts of cool shit we could use in bed. A little heavy bondage. I bet you’d get off on being the mark for once.”

“If you want to see my gag, keep it up with the smart mouth.”

Gar pressed his com-unit and waited for the connection. “It’s Stitt. I need a cell and a route cleared.”

Faolan’s gaze narrowed, giving Gar the impression the other man was making a quick decision. Whatever it was, it didn’t take him long to come to some sort of conclusion. He licked his lips, his smile slipped back into place.

“Before you and Jason throw away the key on me, aren’t you the least bit curious to know why a man with a bounty as large as the one I have on my head showed up on your doorstep? Because really, stupidity wasn’t in my character profile.”

“One moment please, Jason.” Gar tapped his com-unit again and waited.

Faolan licked his lips again. “While I might be cocky, I’m not an idiot. We raided an Earth Loyalist cruiser a month ago and came across something…interesting. Considering your boss’s reputation, I thought he might be curious to see what the new radicals were trying to smuggle home. He refused to take my calls, so this was the fastest way to get his attention.”

Impatience wasn’t something Gar normally battled with, but Faolan seemed to have the unique ability to test his control. Pressing the barrel of the blaster into the side of the captain’s neck, Gar waited for him to continue.

Instead of showing fear, Faolan simply seemed amused. “I’m not going to tell you unless you ask nicely.”

Leaning his weight into the blaster, Gar shifted his face so it was only a few inches away from Faolan’s.

“Please,” he grumbled.

Faolan sighed, his eyes dipping shut for a moment before he returned his gaze to Gar’s.

“Someday I’m going to make you beg just so I can hear you say that again.”

“If you don’t start talking, you’re not going to live past the next thirty seconds.”

Leaning forward so the tip of his nose brushed Gar’s, Faolan lowered his voice so it barely reached him even in the confines of the alley.

“We found what I thought was nothing more than some trinkets, a bit of jewelry some Loyalist whore might miss when the ship disappeared. Turns out, there was something a bit more valuable hidden in plain sight. A precious stone the size of an energy capacitor.”

“And why should I care?”

Faolan’s breath tickled Gar’s neck as he shifted his face closer. The scent of musk, erotigen and hydro vodka clung to the pirate like a second skin. Gar’s cock twitched again at the scent.

“You should care,
Gar
Stitt, because the stone gives its holder the ability to read another’s thoughts.”

Everything around Gar seemed to narrow. There was nothing but the light contact between them. With his blaster pressed against Faolan’s chin and the captain’s hands locked behind his back in the electro-cuffs, the rest of their bodies were pressed firmly together.

Being nearly the same height, their swollen cocks rocked against each other’s through the fabric of their clothing. The pressure was pleasant, more enticing because of the erotigen. Strangely, Gar knew if he were to release Faolan’s hands, he could easily relax into the other man’s embrace.

Instead of giving in to the temptation, Gar reached up and tapped his com-unit, reestablishing communications with Jason.

“Did you get that, sir?”

A pause as he listened to his instructions, keeping his gaze locked on the amused expression of the pirate. He waited as Jason changed his orders, nodding despite the fact no one but Faolan could see him.

“Of course I’m sure. I’ll report back once I have it.”

Faolan looked surprised as Gar leaned in and disengaged the lock on the cuffs. “I assume this means your boss is interested in what I’m selling.”

“My boss wants me to check out the stone. See if it does what you claim. If so…I’m authorized to make arrangements to obtain it.”

“And if your boss doesn’t give me the price I want? Half the galaxy would kill for this thing.”

“Half the galaxy can’t remove the bounty from your head and set you up with enough credits to last a lifetime.”

Faolan nodded once. “Fair enough. I need to take you back to my ship.”

“Lead the way.”

Gar stepped back to let Faolan by, but the pirate had other ideas. With unexpected speed and grace Faolan grabbed Gar by the wrist and spun him around. Now his back was against the alley wall. Pinning him in place, Faolan thrust his knee between Gar’s and pressed the top of his thigh against Gar’s balls and shaft. Instead of attacking, Faolan’s mouth crushed Gar’s lips. His tongue pressed inward, the taste of vodka and the promise of pleasure invading his mouth. Large hands roamed over Gar’s chest, fingers forced their way under his overcoat and vest, only to be thwarted by his shirt. Faolan let out a low growl and broke the kiss with a gasp.

“You wear too many clothes, Stitt.”

“And I’m armed.”

With a flick of his wrist, the long black knife sprang from its sheath, the handle landing smoothly into the palm of his waiting hand. Gar pressed the blade to Faolan’s throat and cocked an eyebrow in question. Good kisser or not, Gar wouldn’t hesitate to kill the captain where he stood. Faolan recognized this, but didn’t seem intimidated by Gar’s ruthlessness.

“Definitely too many clothes. We need to work on that.”

“Your ship?”

Faolan brushed his lips softly over Gar’s once more before stepping away. “Well, you see, I’m going to need your help there.”

For the love of all that’s good, why did he make things so difficult?

“Mutiny, Captain?”

Definitely the wrong thing to say. Faolan straightened to his full height, lowering his chin to look down his nose at Gar. His shoulder-length brown hair swept forward, framing his face and partially covering his eyes. In the blink of an eye, Faolan changed from casual pirate to deadly adversary.

“I trust my crew with my life and they trust me with theirs. Mutiny is the last thing I’m worried about.”

It was the first serious thing the man had said since Gar walked through the door of the bar. “Then why would you need my assistance?”

“I didn’t want to risk the ship or my crew by landing on the station. I couldn’t trust your boss not to kill me on sight for invading his pleasure port. They dropped me off. I’m to meet them at a specified rendezvous four light jumps from here in three days.” Leaning forward, he winked at Gar. “Fancy a trip?”

If
anyone
but Jason had asked him to take on this assignment, he would have walked away, wanting no part of the man in front of him or the trouble he was sure to bring. Instead, Gar tucked his knife back into its sheath and pushed his blaster back into the holster. Straightening his vest and pulling his overcoat closed so the hem brushed the top of his boots, he spun on his heel and stalked out of the alley in the direction of the landing docks and his ship.

Faolan silently fell into step beside him. Gar was irritated to see the man was grinning. No, this wasn’t going to be a pleasant experience. Gar forced his body to relax so he would at least stop grinding his teeth long enough to lay down the law. He rarely brought anyone on board the
Geilt
unless it was bound, gagged and in a cage. Or as a corpse. Guests were an anomaly.

“There are rules I expect you to follow. If you get out of line, I’ll kill you.”

Faolan chuckled. “Oh, this is going to be fun.”