Chapter 29 Penny
PENNY
Please? The word felt like surrender, giving up in a way I’d never do with anyone else. But with Varok, it was different. With him, I felt safe enough to be vulnerable, to give in to his control.
He rose over me, a titan of silver skin and black hair, rivers of water running over his gleaming form. The fire of passion that burned in his eyes mirrored my own, and I pulled at him, eager and achingly empty.
But he refused to be hurried, and I might as well have pulled at a steel statue—moving him was impossible. My core ached as he pressed the tip of his cock against it, positioning himself just right.
His first thrust, sudden and violent, pushed me close to the edge again.
His second, accompanied by a hungry snarl, sent me into a gasping arch, and I shook there, my whole body filled with intense sensations rippling outward from my pussy.
I hung there for a moment before our combined weight forced me back down, and Varok pulled back to slam himself into me again.
With a paradoxical mix of tenderness and brutality, my alien lover pounded me down onto the warm hard tiles.
Climax followed climax, and I squeezed down around his beautiful, incredible cock, making him shudder above and within me.
He kissed and caressed me as we panted for breath under the constant storm of hot water.
His firm lips and sharp teeth drove me wild, his powerful hands and clawed fingers teasing and scratching.
I gave as good as I got, biting his shoulder, my nails digging into his back and urging him on. Locked together, we cried out in the same moment, and the world dissolved around me as I fell into the white light of ecstasy.
How long we lay there together, the water washing around us, I don’t know. I came back to myself, a haze of joy filling my mind and an ache in all my muscles.
I opened my eyes slowly, groggily, snuggled up against Varok’s glorious silver body. My shifting weight was enough to draw the alien’s attention, and he lifted his head to smile down at me.
It was an expression that lit up my soul, but I felt a shadow fall too.
“What is wrong, my little one?” he asked, the wonderful depth of his voice vibrating through me so that I felt it more than I heard it. I shook my head.
“We have too much to do,” I said, dodging his question. “God knows where our ship is, or if the Collectors are—”
“No.” His smile was still there, and he squeezed me gently to him, but the tone of his voice was an unmistakable command. “Beloved, if there were an emergency, the crew would have come and rescued us.”
“Crew? We have a dozen random people who chose to become Collector servitors. We don’t know them; they don’t even know each other. They certainly don’t work for us.”
“Nonetheless, they are our crew.” He spoke with such conviction that I couldn’t doubt him.
Instead, I sighed and pulled myself up. It wasn’t easy, both because my muscles complained with every movement and because leaving Varok’s embrace hurt.
The water cut off at a gesture from him, replaced by a whirlwind of air hot enough to make me gasp as it dried us both in seconds.
We dressed in silence, making our way back to the bridge.
We found it in chaos. Amyral still sat in the captain’s chair, surrounded by shouting ex-servitors and looking like her temper would snap at any moment. The others looked frightened, angry, and confused, clamoring for explanations and orders.
Their masks were dull now, lifeless. Our transition to hyperspace had severed their connection to the Hive completely, and now they had no hope of returning.
No wonder they were struggling. And the chaotic bridge, everyone shouting over everyone else, a dozen languages rendering each other incomprehensible, only made things worse.
Varok’s piercing whistle cut through the anarchy. Silence fell, every head turned toward us, and he waited a moment before speaking.
A moment that felt like a century.
“Our plan is simple,” he said, once he had everyone’s full attention. “We are traveling to Earth, returning a priceless human artwork. At that point, you can each take your share of the reward and find your own way onward. Or you can stay aboard and we’ll do more art recovery work, freelance.”
A nice euphemism for piracy, I thought to myself, almost smiling. From the captain’s chair, Amyral raised an eyebrow.
“And what if I want to take my ship back to the Protectorate?” she asked, her tone dangerously sweet.
“Then we’ll charter another ship,” I said. “I hope you’ll stay, though, and I’m not sure you want to go home before you find yourself a suitable mate. Who knows, maybe he’s hoarding stolen Earth art?”
“A chance to run a ship, to build my legend like Grand-mama did?” Her grin couldn’t have been wider. “And to pick a husband while I’m doing it? I’m in.”
That’s shaping up to be the strangest gap year I’ve ever heard of, I thought.
“Why’s it matter what you’re planning? Who put you in charge?
” The speaker was a bulky Prytheen female, all hard muscular edges under scarred skin.
Definitely tough enough to challenge Amyral and even put up a fight against Varok.
She bared her teeth in something only a fool would have called a smile.
My alien mate surprised me by not leaping to meet the challenge. Instead, he placed his hand on my shoulder with a gentle squeeze. “Penelope Halford did when she named me Chief Operations Officer of her new venture.”
The Prytheen frowned, and everyone on the lavishly decorated bridge turned their gaze to me. It took an effort of will not to melt under the intensity of their stares, but I’d learned long ago to keep my emotions hidden when faced with an angry crowd.
“She’s the one with the contract from the Terran Hegemony, and she’s the only human aboard.
She’s the only one who can get the reward we’re all going to share.
Aside from Amyral, who here has money to restart your lives?
Once we’re in human space and you have your shares, you can stay or go as you please. ”
Ex-servitors exchanged looks, and a few smiles spread. The Prytheen nodded slowly, and Amyral clapped her hands with glee. Just like that, my mate had chartered me a pirate ship—albeit one staffed by a crew of former servitors.
The bridge’s tension melted away, and Captain Amyral started the unenviable process of sorting out her new crew.
Varok watched for a moment, then took my hand and led me across the lush carpet to a side chamber.
A planning room? I didn’t give it much thought; the important thing was that we had relative privacy here.
As the door slid shut, I rounded on him.
“What the actual fuck do you think you’re doing?”
His wicked grin was unmoved by my tone, and the sparkle in his eyes made me suspect he was enjoying this. My eyes narrowed, and he relented.
“I have no intention of losing you. Nor am I fool enough to think you will abandon your vocation to join me.”
I’d have objected, but he laid a finger across my lips. “That is not a complaint. If I dragged you away from your quest, there would be no happiness for either of us. Instead, I will join you. There are many other stolen works of human art in the Reach.”
He dropped to one knee in front of the captain’s chair, and my heart leaped into my mouth.
“Penelope Halford of Earth, I claim you as my mate, and gift you this ship and this crew. All knowledgeable about art, willing to take risks, and in need of a fresh start. And I shall be by your side to protect you on your quest.”
There was no question in his voice, no doubt.
If I refused his offer, he’d honor that, but he knew I wouldn’t.
A smug, presumptuous bastard, he didn’t need to hear my racing heart or my shallow breath to be certain of my feelings.
That should have pissed me off, but the wave of relief that washed through me drowned my anger.
“You, Varok Amzar, are an arrogant asshole,” I answered, meeting his gaze though my eyes stung. “More importantly, you are my arrogant asshole. My mate.”
His roar of triumph shook the room, and he swept me into his arms, spinning me around. I clung to him, laughing and crying, and wishing the moment would never end.