Chapter 2
Cyra Maejzur pressedherself against a tiny bare spot at the back of the docking bay. Captain Auvi barked orders to the team bringing on the new cargo. The captain and Varik had argued bitterly before they’d set a course for this planet to accept the contract. It was the disagreement that had her sneaking into the bay. But the lack of drama disappointed. She’d expected a raging criminal, or a feral beast. Granted the male was tall and muscular and wore a shock collar, but he didn’t make a fuss boarding The Treasure.
Doc Maretine scanned the…prisoner? Passenger? Cargo. The male’s bald head turned in her direction, his yellow eyes narrowed. His gaze left her exposed and fear rushed through her veins. No, not fear it was closer to anticipation, the same feeling she’d had when she’d run away all those years ago and found herself boarding Captain Auvi’s ship for the first time. Anticipation of the unknown and recognition that the events might put her at risk. She warred between boldly stepping forward and confronting the possible threat and pressing deeper into the shadows.
The fact she shouldn’t be there at all kept her in place. Captain would be pissed if she exposed herself after his warning about dangerous cargo. They already had a load of deadly spiders and, supposedly, this male was just as big a risk. Doc finished his assessment and pronounced the male disease free. The crew led him deeper into the ship where he would be confined to a cell in the cargo hold. Captain Auvi turned for the deck. She held her breath.
Varik passed her and paused. “I see you. Should I tell Auvi his precious princess defied his order?”
Cyra bit her tongue. What could she say? Varik would tell or not, either way she had no defense.
His brief chuckle held no mirth. “You don’t fool me with this innocent good girl act. I know you for the siren you are and soon Auvi will see it too.”
His parting footsteps echoed through the empty bay like a death drum.
Cyra rushed back to her quarters. Several minutes later the shaking stopped. Before she could really get herself calmed down, Captain Auvi summoned her to the bridge.
The crew of The Treasure rushed to their positions in preparation for launch. Appendages flew across the digital panels to control the ship. Coms came in from the hangar crew officially authorizing the ship to leave the facility. The ship glided out onto an available launchpad. Captain Auvi, stood in the center, behind the thrust console, and barked orders. “Set a course for Cassan.”
“Aye, Captain,” the navigator replied.
“Engineer Varik,” Captain barked. “All systems ready?”
“Everything but the boost to leave atmosphere, Captain.” Didn’t Captain Auvi hear the sneer in Varik’s voice?
“Cyra, to me.” Captain Auvi sat behind a U-shaped panel of controls.
She hustled over and, as soon as she was within reach, he pulled her into his lap with a single tentacle. “Ready?”
“Yes, Captain,” she said with as much respect as she could to make up for Varik’s slight to his authority.
Engines hummed. Crew confirmed settings, preparing to launch back into space.
“Countdown to launch.” Captain Auvi’s tentacles wrapped around Cyra thighs. He pulled her legs apart, causing her dress to ride up her legs. His turquoise and sand circular markings reminded her of her home planet. Other tentacles held her arms and caressed her breasts under the thin fabric. She leaned her head back against his cool flesh and closed her eyes, shutting out the other crew members, especially Varik. Even before she’d become the Captain’s latest launch assistant, Varik had gone out of his way to make her life miserable in every petty way possible. Somehow, he’d convinced the rest of the crew that she shouldn’t be on the ship at all. That she was useless.
But Varik’s eyes were always on her, even when she wasn’t helping Captain Auvi launch the ship. Varik’s gaze overflowed with lust and jealousy, envy and betrayal, as if he hadn’t been the one to use her and toss her away. His hatred was never so intense as when she was wrapped in her Captain’s flexible appendages, being driven to orgasm. Screw him. He deserved the chance to experience the desperate despair of being discarded by a lover. One more reason she allowed the captain use her to launch the ship.
Energy thrummed through her—core quivering, thighs squeezing, even her fingertips tingled. The engines of the ship revved to full power, the vibrations transferring through her body. The ship lifted from the pad, gaining altitude. Auvi continued to tease and stroke her, occasionally a sucker would latch onto her clit, giving her a tugging kiss. She shook holding back her cries of approval, gripping the arms of the captain’s chair to hold herself together as he took her apart. Auvi was always so careful never to penetrate her. A fact her core regretted and her brain appreciated.
“Ready for exit, Captain,” a pilot called.
Her body went rigid with pleasure.
“Now, Cyra” the captain spoke in a low voice, for her ears only. “Place your hands now.”
Cyra tilted forward and slapped her palms onto the two red circles of the control panel just as her orgasm hit. The circles illuminated and a sensation of being sucked into the console traveled up her arms. The ship lurched up, fire erupting from the engines. Captain Auvi continued to rub his sex organ against her until she burst. Energy exploded through her body and out her hands, providing the boost required to break the atmosphere around the planet.
He held her in place as the gravitational forces pressed her into his rubbery flesh. The pressure made her pleasure more intense than anything she could create in the privacy of her quarters. She clenched her jaw to hold back the scream her body naturally tried to release. She might be fine with being an exhibitionist, like Captain Auvi, but she doubted the rest of the crew liked being forced voyeurs. If she kept quiet, they could concentrate on their jobs and pretend there weren’t two beings having sex behind them.
He soothed her as she floated down, petting her hair and stroking her skin until her gills quit flapping and she relaxed completely. “Perfect,” he whispered in her ear before letting her go.
“Varik,” the captain snapped at the engineer who still stared at Cyra. “Go check the cargo.”
“Is that really the best use of my time, Captain? Shouldn’t your Med crew or your transport crew be in charge of your creepy crawly cargo?”
Cyra shivered, both at Varik’s snide tone and the thought of the poisonous spiders running around the ship. Technically, they were confined to the cargo hold designed for the purpose, but she still recoiled at the idea of having such dangerous creatures on board. They weren’t the only dangerous beings on the ship. The Captain could be just as deadly as the spider’s bite, if he was in the wrong mood to put up with an impudent crew member. Something Varik should keep in mind.
“I gave you an order.” Auvi released her, and she rushed from the deck to avoid the brewing fight. The wet room would provide the relief she sought after a successful launch. On any other ship, she would struggle to stay healthy, coating her skin in salt water washes as many times a day as she could. Captain Auvi, also from Chalcanth, had fitted the ship with its own special tank, the salt water chemically altered to remain in gel form until it was warmed with body heat. He was kind enough to allow her to use it freely. But she only did so when Varik was on duty. She dreaded ever running into him in the closed rooms.
In the wet room, she removed her dress, closed the watertight interior door, and slipped through the seal into the tank. The gel liquefied around her, allowing her to swim underwater without ever encountering a solid spot. Captain Auvi often complained that the medium didn’t liquefy sufficiently, but she still found him in the chamber more often than not. Would he stay on deck or join her?
She preferred solo swims, using the private time to think and imagine. To dream of what her life might be like when she was a transport ship captain. How would she deal with crew in-fighting? How would she run the ship? What changes would she make? One thing she’d decided: she would have a water chamber on her ship, no matter the cost.
What would have happened to her if Captain Auvi hadn’t taken in the ragged runaway five galactic years ago? She owed him her life. He’d taught her everything about running a ship from maintenance to navigation. Only recently had she become his launch assistant. The first time he’d wrapped his tentacles around her and explained what he was going to do, she’d nearly come just from his description.
“Take off your panties, Cyra. Don’t wear them on deck again. Now, I will wrap you in my arms and stroke every bit of your skin, covering you in my oil. It will excite you, lighting up every nerve ending until my touch won’t be enough, you’ll beg me to touch you more intimately. Beg me to fuck you. I won’t, but I’ll make you come like you’ve never experienced. And all of that energy will be transferred directly to the ship’s launch engines. You will power us into space.”
Since then, she’d been eager to help the Captain every chance she had. She loved him. Not in a romantic way, despite their interactions, but in a hero, savior kind of way. It was messy, not entirely healthy, but she’d left her planet to avoid having a mate. Captain Auvi provided the perfect excuse to hold herself aloof from the crew and she still got her needs met. It was a perfectly, imperfect compromise.
Cyra roused herself to exit the water chamber. In the ante-chamber, she dried off and dropped her dress over her head and reached for the door. A sharp pain razored through her taking her to her knees. She ran her hands over her clothes, panting to release the terrifying pain, searching for a source. There was nothing physically wrong with her. But she’d been stabbed in the brain and the heart simultaneously. As quickly as it hit her, the pain passed. An empty ache remained that made no sense. Silent tears fell from her eyes. The urge to curl into a ball on the floor was nearly overwhelming. But the risk of being discovered in a weakened state by Varik gave her the motivation to drag herself to her quarters.