Without awaiting Zzjipadien’s reaction, he darted over to Kat.
“Get your feelers off my female,” he growled in the Zzjitzzeën’s tiny ear, his eyes dark with anger, “or I will slice them off with my claws.”
He extended his claws, holding them out threateningly right in the Zzjitzzeën’s face. Immediately, the Zzjitzzeën stepped back, releasing Kat so quickly she stumbled. Dykan took hold of Kat’s elbow so she wouldn’t fall, dragging her to the corner of the bridge for some privacy. The Zzjitzzeëns had very bad hearing due to their extremely small ears, so Dykan wasn’t at all worried about being overheard.
“What in the demons’ moons are you doing?” he snarled quietly, pushing Kat into the corner, caging her with his body.
“What do you mean? I’m only doing what I’m supposed to do: creating a distraction,” she whispered. “Did it work?”
Dykan nodded with an angry scowl on his face. “Yes, it worked. Too well.”
Kat’s brow furrowed. “What’s that supposed to mean?” she asked indignantly.
“You seemed to like distracting them a bit too much. You could have been a little less…exuberant.”
Kat did a double take. “I seemed to like it?” she huffed, giving him an incredulous stare. “A little less exuberant?” She closed her eyes for a moment and took in a deep breath. “Do you really think I enjoyed doing this? For your information, those tentacles actually have suckers. Nasty, creepy, sticky, sucking suckers. They made my skin crawl. I almost threw up. Twice.”
She pressed a finger to his chest. “I did what I had to do, so you could do your thing. And you were just standing there gawking at me like a thirteen-year old schoolboy who accidentally walked into a women’s changing room and saw boobies for the first time. So don’t you tell me how to do my job when you suck at yours. Or the next time you can prance around in nothing more than a loincloth, districting the aliens, and I’ll do the easy part. Furthermore, I heard everything you said about my so-called tiny human brain. Males’ locker room talk or not, that was not cool, mister.”
“Are you done disciplining your slave?” Zzjipadien asked wearily, still standing in the middle of the bridge.
Dykan ignored him and looked down at Kat. She in turn stared up at him with a defiant gleam in her eyes. He cursed inwardly, knowing everything she had said was true. He had been mad about his own behavior and actions and about the fact that she had to touch other males to help him, even though she found it revolting. And she had that Zzjitzzeën’s disgusting smell on her, which also drove him crazy. The only male’s scent on her should be his. Her behavior might have been effective, distraction-wise, but it had vexed him extremely. And in response, he had lashed out at her when she had been so brave from the very first moment they had boarded this ship. He felt absolutely horrible. Yes, he indeed sucked. Big-time.
Frustrated, Dykan sighed heavily, stroking his fingers through his hair.
“Makaen?” Zzjipadien called out with an insistent tone.
“Your friend, Commander Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah or whatever his name is, wants an answer,” Kat said annoyed, her arms crossed.
“Yes, I’m ready,” Dykan answered over his shoulder.
“Fine. Well, with your permission I’d like to examine the female, to formally establish she’s indeed a human/ Cassidi hybrid. And there are some other medical tests I’d like to do. I have instruments to determine how much she…can take. After that, we can negotiate about the price. Follow me to the medbay.”
Kat stiffened and her eyes went wide with anxiety.
“Instruments? Medical tests? I don’t think I want to go to the medbay,” she whispered. “I’m not that much of a method actor.”
Dykan had no idea what that last part meant, but he felt Kat’s distress. The thought of that fucking Zzjitzzeën putting his dirty hands on his Kitten, examining her with his perverted instruments, filled his veins with rage.
“Don’t worry, I won’t let him come near you,” he growled low, his eyes dark. “I’ll kill him first.”
The Zzjitzzeën walked to the doors and turned around in front of them, anxiously waiting for Dykan and Kat to follow him.
“You can’t attack him,” Kat murmured softly, holding on to Dykan’s shirt. “Not yet. We need to stall for just a little bit longer to give your crew time to board the ship. Please, Dykan, stay calm.”
Dykan blinked, breathing in and out deeply a few times, and lifted his hand to caress Kat’s cheek with his knuckles.
“I’m calm.”
“Great. Now, we need to talk ourselves out of this one, not fight. We can’t risk them getting aggressive. They might retaliate and decide to shoot at your freighter, killing everyone. So don’t freak out, but I need to do my thing again to buy us some time. Okay, big guy?” She patted him on his chest with her flat hand. She felt his heart racing under her palm.
“Makaen, I’m getting impatient. What are you waiting for?” Zzjipadien snarled.
Dykan gazed into Kat’s eyes and she gave him an encouraging smile. He didn’t look happy about it, but he nodded and stepped aside.
Chapter 18
Kat lowered her head and walked toward the commander.
“My master wants me to apologize to you for acting so disrespectful in front of you, my soon-to-be master,” she said softly, bowing her head, a demure smile on her face. “Please accept my sincere apologies. I didn’t mean to be impolite. It’s just, I’ve never been on a ship this…big before and I got a little too enthusiastic.”
The Zzjitzzeën pulled up his upper lip in what seemed to be a snarl, showing his razor-sharp teeth.
“Oh, you delicious little thing. You don’t need to apologize for that. Like I told your master, we Zzjitzzeën males don’t mind sharing within our tribe. Not even our females. I found watching you intriguing, especially how you interacted with my crew members. It’s very exhilarating.”
His tongue flicked over his pointy lips. Kat grimaced on the inside but gave the Zzjitzzeën a sultry smile.
So, he had voyeuristic tendencies, Kat thought. She could work with that.
“You must be a very powerful man, owning a big ship like this.”
The Zzjitzzeën grinned smugly. “It used to belong to an alien race called the Gerzon. Huge bastards, almost ten feet tall, but total weaklings. We stole this ship right out from under their noses, and I personally led the attack. They had no idea what hit them until it was too late. Their bodies might still be floating somewhere in space.”
“Wow, that is so interesting,” Kat purred, hiding her disgust. She had known Zzjitzzeëns were heartless criminals, but they actually seemed proud of their cruelty. “No wonder your chair is so…large. It must be very exciting to sit in such a chair A chair made for royalty.” Kat twirled a lock of hair between her fingers.
“Would you like to sit in it for a moment?” the leader suggested. “I don’t mind. After that, you and I can have some fun together.”
Kat bit her lip. “Really? May I?” She didn’t want to think about what the Zzjitzzeën considered to be fun.