“Um…Captain. I hope you don’t take this the wrong way, but maybe it’s best if you finish this conversation in your quarters,” the smallest, but still gigantic, Makaen put forward. “I assume you are not willing to share the female, but we can smell she’s in heat, and even though she’s human, her scent is very arousing. Isn’t it, Boda?”
“Human or not, her scent makes me hard,” the Makaen Boda snarled.
Kat gazed at the two Makaen, her eyes drawn involuntarily down to their trousers. They were stretched a bit more in a certain place. The Makaen didn’t seem embarrassed about it in the least. Lirid and Mitha, on the other hand, grimaced and looked as if they were one sexual remark away from barfing. Apparently, even full Cassidi didn’t like hearing their sisters or cousins talk so explicitly about sex. Or was it the way the captain—someone they regarded to be scum—talked to her that made them want to vomit? Whatever it might be, seeing all the faces fixed on her made Kat’s cheeks flush in shame.
The captain laughed, showing his fangs. “You’re right, this female is mine and mine alone. After we’ve dropped off our cargo we’ll take them to Cassidiri. Escort our two guests to the brig. And you are coming with me, Kitten. We’ve got ourselves a business deal.”
The captain grabbed Kat’s wrist and dragged her with him. Kat glanced over her shoulder to see the worried face of her brother.
“It’s okay,” she mouthed before she went around a corner, hoping her brother wouldn’t worry too much.
Kat had to run to keep up with the captain’s pace.
“If I’m supposed to scream out your name, what is it? Or do you want me to call out ‘O Captain! My Captain!’?” Kat giggled nervously.
“Dykan,” he said without slowing down. “My name is Dykan.”
Suddenly, he stopped and opened a door by flinging his hand over a panel on the wall. “These will be your quarters for the next rotations. After you.” He gestured her to enter.
Kat walked into the quarters and looked around. The quarters weren’t very big, but she guessed these were considered spacious for quarters on a freighter. Most of the space was filled by the bed, but there also were some chairs covered by clothes and a small table.
“You’re a slob,” Kat remarked, gazing at the piles of stuff scattered around the room.
“I’m sorry, Kitten, but I wasn’t expecting company.” He scooped the clothes up from the chair and threw them in a closet. “If I had known you were coming, I would have cleaned up, milady. But the bed is free and that’s the most important thing, isn’t it?”
Kat took a deep breath. “What do you want me to do now?” she asked shakily.
His glowing eyes sparkled, and he stepped toward her. She flinched when he lifted his hand, but he only brushed a lock of hair back behind her ear.
“Is that your real hair color?” he asked.
“Yes, it is.”
“This must drive males crazy,” he said hoarsely.
“Not really. Lots of women on Cassidiri have red hair. I’m nothing special. Moreover, in comparison to most Cassidi women, I’m rather plain.”
Dykan shook his head. “Oh, my delicious Kitten, you are anything but plain. You are so sexy. I can’t wait to taste you.” He swiped his thumb over her bottom lip. “I have to inform my crew about the current situation first. If you wish, you can wash yourself. The bathing cubicle is there.” He pointed to a narrow door. “I’ll be back as soon as possible. Be ready for me.”
He turned around and left his quarters without a backward glance. Kat just stood there for a moment, all alone.
Anxiety rushed through her body. It suddenly hit her. She was going to have sex for the very first time in her life. With an alien who was supposed to be her mortal enemy. And a stranger. A stranger who looked like a demon. A very hot demon who made her go all gooey.
By Cassidirian standards, she was an oddity, still being a virgin at her age. On her home planet, having sex was as common as a handshake on Earth. If you wanted sex, you did it—that was the Cassidi mentality. Having an emotional connection with the person you had sex with was seen as a plus, not as a necessity. But maybe Kat was different because she was half-human. She needed more than just the physical attraction, and up until now, she had never felt that. There was some sort of odd connection between her and the captain, a connection she couldn’t explain or understand—he was a Makaen, and she had been practically conditioned to run away from them—but somehow she felt the need to be with him. Share herself with him. This went deeper than attraction. She didn’t know him, had never met him before, but still he didn’t feel like a stranger.
“Dykan.” She rolled the name over her tongue. “Dykan.”
She had absolutely no idea where this would lead. Like her brother had said, he was nothing more than a space pirate, and he would probably have forgotten all about her as soon as she left his ship, but she didn’t care. For now, this was what she needed. Later, she could always pretend she had done it exclusively to save their lives and help Lucas. And what was the big deal? She was Cassidi after all. Cassidi were sensual. They were even trained to become good lovers. Well, she hadn’t been, because she had been on Earth when she’d reached the age for such training. But in theory she knew what to do. No, it really wasn’t a big deal, she told herself. No need to feel nervous, right?
“Okay,” she murmured encouragingly, “bring it on!”
Kat blew out air and stepped into the bathing cubicle.
Chapter 5
Dykan had informed his crew about their guests and the payment they would receive on arrival. Hearing they would go to Cassidiri after they had finished their dealings on Apron III, his crew practically begged him for some shore leave. Cassidiri was seen as a pleasure planet, with lots of delicious foods, exotic spirits and willing females. Considering that he himself was going to relish the body of a very tasty and willing female for the next few rotations, Dykan thought it only fair for his crew to enjoy themselves too, so he’d granted their request for a longer stay on Cassidiri.
Walking back to his quarters, Dykan was still baffled by how attracted he was to the female. She was a human, and he hated humans so intensely just the thought of them made him ferocious. Yes, a peace treaty had been signed recently, but that didn’t lessen his hate for the species. A while ago his father had commanded him to bond to a human female, the future ambassador to Makaen. That had been the last straw for him. He would rather die than bond to a human. Selvin had come up with another, better option. And that was why he had decided to buy this freighter—an idea he and his friends had had for quite some time—and had turned his back on his planet and family.
Even though it wasn’t honorable, they had no problems with transporting questionable goods. Credits were credits, and the more illegal the merchandise was, the better they got paid. With the payment for the minerals and the fifty thousand credits from their guests, they had made some extremely profitable business deals.
But it wasn’t the credits he was excited about right now. He couldn’t stop thinking about his little Kitten. What in the Great Goddess’s name had this human done to him? Her brother’s attitude had made him so mad that, in that moment, he’d had absolutely no scruples about throwing them all out of the nearest airlock. Maybe he would have reconsidered just in time, but truthfully, he couldn’t say that for sure. If he hadn’t turned around when the female had called out, he might not have changed his mind. In the past ten years, so many had died. Three more wouldn’t have made a difference to him.