I make myself a bowl full of noodles, because it gives my hands something to do. “Would you tell me?”
“Bounty hunting,” he admits. There’s a rueful note in his voice. “I’m not a fan of it, but it’s big money and the crew’s been waiting on me to go after one particular target.”
“Ah.”
“After that, I’ll have all the money I need to get back on my feet again. Maybe buy myself a small pleasure cruiser, visit a few scenic planets, take in the sights.” He shrugs.
I say nothing, poking at my noodles.
“You could come with me,” he says after a long moment.
I look up, surprised.
There’s heat in Vordigar’s gaze. He reaches over and touches my hand, his thumb brushing over my palm. “I know we just met. I know I’m not every female’s dream, but…I like you, Piper. And I don’t like the thought of leaving you. I want you to come with me.”
I blink at him. If I was a younger, more foolish Piper, I’d be head over heels excited at this offer. Leave Risda and a life of farming behind? See the galaxies? Be at his side forever? But I’m not that girl—she died a long time ago. The Piper of today has seen a lot of the universe, and none of it’s safe for humans. I shake my head, slowly. “This is my home. I haven’t had one in forever, and now that I have one again, I don’t want to abandon it.”
“You said you never wanted to be a farmer,” he cajoles me, a twinkle in his eyes. Like this, he’s so handsome—even though he’s a big, blue, horned alien and covered with tattoos and scars and I should be terrified. But I know Vordigar, and I know he’s safe. I’ve given him every opportunity to use me and take advantage of me, just so I know who he really, truly is—and he’s been nothing but teasing and kind.
He’s making this so hard. “You don’t understand,” I say stiffly. “Humans aren’t welcome anywhere but Earth. If I go with you, I’m not safe anywhere. There’s always going to be someone that’ll touch me, or try to steal me away, because humans aren’t important. You won’t be able to protect me. Not every minute of every hour of every day.” I shake my head. “Even if I wanted to go with you, I can’t.”
Vordigar nods. “I get it.”
I don’t know if he does. I don’t know if he ever will. But I smile at him and eat my noodles, because there’s nothing else to say. We eat in silence, and I keep thinking about his offer. To leave with him. To just…go. It’s so tempting.
“Thank you,” I say to him quietly. When he looks up at me, confused, I add, “For offering to take me with you.”
His mouth quirks in a devastatingly sexy smile. I don’t know if he’s handsome by mesakkah standards, but I love his grin and I love how ready it is. That makes him handsome in my eyes. “I admit my reasons aren’t entirely unselfish.”
I chuckle, toying with my noodles. “Does that mean you want to have sex again tonight?”
“You offering?” His tone gets low. Husky. Erotic.
I don’t trust my voice to answer. I look up at him and nod, my heart pounding. When he puts his hand out toward me, I take it.
I’ll think about the future in the morning. For tonight, there’s only Vordigar and pleasure.
VORDIGAR
I wake up with Piper in the bed next to me, watching me sleep. Her pretty face is always so serious, but she smiles shyly at me when I reach for her. I think about last night, how she came eagerly into my arms, full of trust and excitement at my touch. I made her come hard several times, and then took her roughly over and over, because I couldn’t help myself. There’s something about her that appeals to the feral side in me. Maybe it’s those little cries she makes when I’m deep inside her, or the look of wonder on her face as she comes. Maybe it’s the way she gazes at me when we’re done. As if I’ve made everything in her world just a little bit better.
I’m getting far too addicted to that feeling.
“Will you go into port with me today?” she asks, watching me.
I rub my eyes, wanting to drag her back down against me for another round of sex. Her gaze flicks to my mouth and she blushes, and it’s clear she’s thinking the same thing.
“You don’t want to stay in bed?”
Piper smiles. “I do. But I can’t. There’s too much to do.”
I grunt. I guess on a farm, there’s always something that needs to be done. No sleeping late or rolling around in the bed here. “All right. I’m getting up.”
“And you’ll go into port with me?” she asks again.
“What do you need in port?” I think about the shops there. “Supplies? Parts?”
She doesn’t hesitate. “I need to look for a new husband, and I’ll feel safer in port if I have someone at my side. So I can’t get taken advantage of.”
I stare at her, a little stunned. “You want me to help you go find a keffing husband? After leaving my bed?”
Her cheeks flush. “What we have together is…wonderful.” Her voice catches. “But it doesn’t change the fact that I’m in danger.”
“I said I’d send some credits back. Give me a month or two.”
Piper shakes her head and looks down at her hands. “You don’t understand, Vordigar. I might not have a month or two. The moment you leave…” She purses her lips, cutting off her own words. “It isn’t important. Look. I like you being here. I like it more than I ever thought I would.” She fusses at a piece of lint on the blankets. “But it doesn’t change my situation at all. You’re leaving in two days—one day—and if I don’t find someone to take me up on my offer, I know I’m going to lose my farm and my freedom. I can’t let that happen.” She turns those big brown eyes on me. “Please understand.”
I hate it.
I hate that she needs to go from my arms right into the arms of another. To marry him so he can get her pregnant. Last night we used plas-film again, and she gloved me in it without question. She won’t push her needs on me. She won’t trap me into getting her pregnant. She’s giving me a choice, because freedom is important to her.
Piper is mine. The timing’s all wrong, and even though this is fast, my mesakkah blood knows that she’s my female. The thought of giving her over to someone else fills me with helpless rage and frustration…but how can I ask her to risk her life? If she says two months is too long, I can’t ask her to wait for me.
She needs help right now.
And even though I’m going to hate every moment of it, I’ll go into port with her and help her find a new keffing husband. But first…I grab Piper around the waist and drag her back into bed. “I’ll go with you…soon.” And I slide my hand between her thighs so I can pet that silky soft cunt. “For now, you’re mine.”
“For now,” Piper agrees breathlessly, and clings to my neck as I touch her.
I’m in a keffing bad mood when we head into port a few hours later. Piper’s dressed head to toe in heavy, concealing clothing, and she pulls a buff-colored hood over her head as the air-sled lands. It hides her face and her expression, so I can’t see if she’s as openly frustrated to be here as I am.