Chapter 8
ALLY
She refused to look away from the explosion. Ally watched as the ship disintegrated, feeling as if the fire on the screen was somehow inside her.
She’d been driven from her home, forced to realize that her beautiful life was nothing but a dream her father had spun, a dream that turned to a nightmare when the creditors had come calling.
Running scared for months, she’d worked long hours to feed herself and her sister, to keep a roof over their heads. She’d protected her sister, protected herself, and when someone had tried to push them around, she’d fought back.
Unfortunately, the person who’d tried to push them around was the Raven, and fighting back had led to something completely unpredictable. They’d wound up on Rigellus’s ship, and again, she and her sister had been expected to suffer.
But they’d fought back. And they’d won.
It was her enemy whose bits were scattered all over that asteroid. Not hers. She turned to face the Raven, her expression like stone. She’d survived all this, and she would survive whatever this pirate and his gang of criminals thought they’d do to her as well.
The viewscreen went black. “Head for the Outer Rim. We’ll lie low and offload this cargo.” His voice was thick with authority, and his men jumped to do what the Raven ordered. Then he glanced at her. “Follow me.”
He stalked off, and Ally felt a flash of frustration at the way he expected her to do what he ordered as well. Ally had little choice however. The Raven was king of his domain, at least for now.
She expected him to take her to where her sister was, but instead, they landed in a large suite decorated in sumptuous furnishings. It was empty. After Ally walked through the door, the Raven turned and locked it behind her.
They were alone.
Tension filled her. Ally had faced down the Raven twice before, but neither time had they been alone and in close quarters. His nearness just served to reinforce his size, his sheer masculinity. His presence intimidated her.
“Where is my sister?”
“She’s safe. Celdrake is a perfect gentleman.”
His voice was deep, resonating through her limbs and filling them with a sudden and strange languidness. Why does he have this effect on me?
“And are you a perfect gentleman?” The words slipped out before she realized it.
The corners of his lips twitched. “You already know the answer to that.”
“You’re a pirate. A scoundrel.”
He moved closer, and she had to crane her neck to meet his gaze. Nodding, his gaze pierced her, holding her in place. “So you say. But I’m also the man who just saved you from slavery.”
“Funny, because where I’m standing, I think I’m the woman who just saved you from a flying pile of garbage. Maybe I should tell your crew how the Raven was brought down by Popkins.”
She expected him to get angry. She could deal with angry. But her words made him smile instead. His hands suddenly gripped her arms, and he jerked her into him until she was pressed against his hard muscles.
“You have quite a mouth on you, little girl.”
Ally grinned, mostly out of spite but also because she considered what he said a compliment. “Oh yeah?”
His gaze was so intense, she wanted to look away. But she couldn’t.
“Yeah. And I just have to taste it.”
His head swooped down, his lips seizing hers in a ferocious kiss that stole the breath from her body. Electric light burst inside her, blazing through her synapses, illuminating every nerve cluster. Ye gods, this man can kiss!
Ally had only been kissed twice in her life. Once after the dance to celebrate her finishing the academy by her teenage boyfriend. And once after a night of drunken revelry with a near stranger.
Both had been exciting in their own ways, but they were nothing compared to a kiss from the Raven. Every inch of her body was singing with arousal. Wow.
When he released her, Ally couldn’t catch her breath. Then she heard his chuckle. Glancing up, she noticed the self-satisfied grin on his face, and a wave of anger hit her. Reeling back, she slapped him with all her might.
He didn’t even flinch. Her palm felt like it impacted against stone, but she refused to show a hint of the pain that was lighting it up now. On his cheek, a bright red imprint of her hand stood out, reminding her of the mark on her own cheek.
“You may be a pirate. You may be a thief. But you will show me some respect. And you will never touch me again without my permission.”
His eyes narrowed. “I could claim you now, throw you on that bed and fuck you for hours, and no one would tell me no. Not even you.”
She shook her head. “You won’t.”
“I know you want me. I could feel it in the kiss. If I kissed you again, you’d be purring like a kitten.”
“Try it and find out. You think Vanfian claws are sharp? Wait until you get a dose of mine.”
The Raven shook his head, unable to hold back his laughter. “Okay, little girl. I won’t kiss you again until you ask me to.”
“Fat chance,” she mumbled. “Now take me to my sister.”
“You sure are a bossy little thing.”
“Says the guy who tells others what to do all day long.”
The Raven smiled wide. “Before I take you to her, I want to know something.”
Ally pursed her lips. If he brought up the damn heirloom again, she was going to lose it. “What?”
“Your name.”
My name? It couldn’t hurt to tell him that. Besides, Evie would be calling her by name soon enough. “It’s Allandria Almorsia.”
“Allandria Almorsia. Quite melodic.”
“What about you? Am I to call you the Raven all the time, like that ancient Territhian poem?”
His eyes were so dark, she wondered how long one could stare into them before becoming completely hypnotized. “You can call me Lyk.”
Lyk. It suited him. Short. To the point. Direct.
“So, Allandria, what were your plans when you reached the Rings?”
“That’s really none of your business.” She had no other answer to give.
Evie thought they’d be able to waltz into a semblance of their old lives, but Ally knew it wouldn’t be easy.
Their plans, so far, had consisted of finding somewhere to stay with the savings they had left after paying for passage.
Lyk’s tone was smug. “So you have no plans.”
Ally fought to keep her temper in check and her expression neutral. “None that need concern you. I answered your question. Now take me to my sister.”
“You booked passage with Rigellus. How did you pay?”
“You sure you’re not a detective instead of a pirate?” Ally knew what he was getting at, knew he was bringing up the credits he’d given her, but she didn’t want him to know what a windfall that was for her.
Ally might not have appreciated everything that had happened to her since they fled the Rings, but one thing she did value was the sense of independence it had engendered.
She was the mistress of her own destiny now, and admitting that she’d needed the help of this pirate to get off of Gamma-17 was not something she would do lightly.
He eyed her, then sighed. “I’m not your enemy.”
“Then prove it. Take me to my sister.”
Lyk stared at her for another beat before finally stepping away. He unlocked the door to his quarters and exited into the corridor. Ally rushed to keep up, feeling suddenly and strangely disappointed.
Why? I asked him to take me to Evie. Why would I feel disappointed at getting my way?
Ally didn’t want to admit that maybe she’d liked that kiss a little too much. Having that man’s attention focused solely on her filled her with a sense of excitement that was heady. She would have to watch out for that, lest she become addicted to that feeling.
It wasn’t long before they reached the small lounge where Evie was sitting with Lyk’s crewman. Evie waved when Ally entered. Her sister’s color had returned to her cheeks after the scene on the bridge, and before her sat a plate of pastries that was half-empty.
“I saved some for you,” Evie said as Ally took a seat at the table with her. “Even though I wanted to gobble up every one!”
“She’s got a big appetite for such a small thing,” Celdrake said with a chuckle.
Evie blushed, pushing the plate in Ally’s direction. Ally picked one up, studying the small puff pastry filled with cream. Her stomach screamed at her to eat it and every other scrap of food in the room, but she fought back against the temptation, putting the pastry back on the plate.
She didn’t like the way Lyk was watching her, didn’t want him to realize what an enormous treat the sweets were for them. Ally had no idea what their situation was, and anything that could be interpreted as a sign of weakness must be hidden until she could figure out if the pirate could be trusted.
Lyk finally looked away from her, his focus moving to his crewman. “How are things in the mess?”
“Holding steady,” Celdrake responded. “Rigellus’s men don’t seem the type to foment rebellion. Most of them seem like they’re strictly service oriented. They were employed to keep Rigellus content, not duke it out with pirates.”
“You’re telling me the fat man had no security? How is that possible?”
Celdrake smiled. “Payoffs, mostly. He had a skeleton security crew of three men, one of which is the guy who gave me all Rigellus’s information.
The inside man told me that Rigellus mostly depended on the interstellar police to have his back.
In fact, they’d planned to rendezvous with the cops about a third of the way into their journey. ”
Lyk nodded. “I want to talk to those three and the rest of Rigellus’s crew. Let’s head down to the mess and see if we can change some hearts and minds.”
Celdrake chuckled. “Sure, Captain. I know how persuasive you can be. I’m sure you’ll win them all over.”
Ally expected Lyk to bask in his crewman’s compliment, but a grimace crossed his handsome face instead at the word persuasive. She wondered why, but before she could find out more, the two left the room, not before Lyk turned back to address her.
“Stay put,” he said.
The door closed behind him, and she heard the click of a lock. Ally frowned. “I’m getting really tired of being locked up.”
Evie shrugged. “At least we’re not in chains this time.”
“And we have food.” Now that Lyk was gone, Ally grabbed a pastry and popped it into her mouth, shoving in another one before she’d completely swallowed the first. “Mmm, these are divine!”
Evie stood, moving over to a counter that was lined with cupboards above and below. “Those pastries aren’t the only treats.” She started opening cupboards, exposing more food than Ally had seen in months.
She joined Evie at the cupboards, pulling out things that she hadn’t eaten in ages. “Let’s have a feast! We don’t know how long it will be before we have this opportunity again.”
Evie giggled, and they proceeded to grab whatever they had a desire to taste. Soon, a healthy pile of food sat before them on the table. And not long after, Ally leaned back in her chair, holding her swollen belly.
“If I eat one more bite, I’ll explode these coveralls.”
Evie laughed, then groaned. “I think you’re going to have to carry me to our quarters.”
Ally’s good mood started to evaporate. “Assuming they assign us quarters. We might have escaped from the slaver, but now we’re stuck on a pirate ship. Who knows what they’re going to do to us?”
Evie frowned. “The Captain doesn’t seem like a bad guy. Even if he did send Rigellus to his death. The fat man deserved it, even though I couldn’t watch it happen.”
“We have no idea who the Raven really is. So until we do, we watch our backs.” Ally looked around at the massive quantities of food still surrounding them. “It also wouldn’t hurt to stash some of this away, just in case.”
Evie nodded, and the pair started hiding packets of food on their person. “These coveralls might not be the height of fashion,” her sister said as she helped Ally fill her clothes with food, “but they’re definitely great for smuggling snacks.”
Ally laughed, then took a deep breath and held it as they fought to get the zipper up. It might not be comfortable, but at least they wouldn’t be going hungry again anytime soon.
Her belly full, she realized she had yet another debt she owed to the Raven.
He’d paid their way off Gamma-17, then saved them from a slaver.
And now, he was feeding them. Ally vowed to get off this ship and as far away from Lyk as she could, as soon as she could.
She didn’t want to go back to depending on someone else to meet her needs. Those days were over.
No pirate is going to take better care of me than I can take of myself.
She desperately wished those words were true, but deep down, she had her doubts.