Captive of Pleasure; the Space Pirate's Woman (The LodeStar Series) (27 page)

“She’s a warrior
and
a partner,” Ringi told Zaë. “Ilya’s a whiz at numbers and anything tech. Her man Var is a warrior, and he’s an ace with weapons.”

“Your life sounds wonderful,” Zaë said to Ilya. She was a free woman, strong in her own right. Maybe Zaë could train to do some of those things, and stay here as one of the group. Her heart thumped with excitement and fear. How and where would she begin the process? Did she dare ask these women for help?

“Hey, you’re a bit of a badass yourself, girl,” Ruth said. “I saw the way you flipped Fee into the panties and bras.” She mimed the other woman’s look of shock, and the others laughed raucously.
 

“That was good,” Ringi agreed.

“But I don’t even know how I knew to do that,” Zaë said, her pleasure at their admiration gone.

“Well, maybe you could practice,” Livie suggested. “Work out, you know?”

“I was there when the slavers auctioned you off,” Ilya told Zaë. “You are damn lucky Stark bid on you. The other two that wanted you...well. You’d be in a brothel somewhere, or worse.”

Zaë couldn’t think of anything worse than being in a brothel, so she merely nodded.

“Well, you’re not, you’re here with us. Damn, hot today, isn’t it?” Ringi asked. Zaë gave her a smile, grateful for the change of subject. She would ask Ringi for advice, later.

“Not as hot as it was last lunar month,” Ruth said. “Thank the goddess summer is on the wane. Being pregnant in the Frontieran heat is no fun.”

“Will you give birth here in camp?” Zaë asked. She thought Ruth beautiful with her round belly and quiet glow of happiness. In her orange dress she looked like a ripe fruit.

“Oh, yeah. Riley’s an excellent medic, and Ringi has birth training.” Ruth patted her belly. “I’ll be glad to get this big baby out, though. Think I’m gonna give birth to a skrog.”

“You have gorgeous hair,” Dano commented to Zaë. “You always wear it braided like that?”

Zaë fingered her braid and blushed. “Um, no. Not always.”

“Nice to get it off your neck in this heat,” Ringi said, fingering her loose up-do. “Pede’s always bringing me hair ornaments like combs and such, Zaë. You can use some if you want to put your hair up.”

“Oh, let me do it,” Dano offered. “Please?”

Zaë didn’t know what to say, but Ringi was already moving to get a brush, comb and hair gadgets. In a few moments Dano kneeling behind her, carefully combing out her hair, and then fastening it up in sections with pretty combs.

“Now you need a sun dress,” Ruth said, eyeing Zaë’s clothing. “That outfit is nice, but a dress is cooler.”

Zaë had to admit the sleeveless, silk dresses the other woman wore looked cool and pretty. Ilya wore pants like Zaë, but with a low-cut tank top and vest.

“But I just purchased an outfit from the transport,” she said.
 

The others laughed as if she’d told a very good joke. “A woman can always use more pretty things.”

“Shopping network!” Dano said. He snapped his fingers. “Ringi, your com.”

“Stark has plenty of credit, honey,” Ringi assured her. “Besides, he told me you needed some new things. In blue,” she added with a significant look around at all of them. “To match those eyes of yours, I reckon.”

“I’m sorry,” Zaë said. She had gotten caught up in her shopping on the transport, but enough was enough. “But I cannot accept any more goods that are purchased with stolen credit.”

The tont went silent. Even the toddlers looked up from their blocks, and little Elliane gave an uncertain whimper.
 

Ringi reached down to soothe her, her gaze still on Zaë.
 

“Stolen credit?” she repeated. “Listen, Miss High and Mighty, what exactly do you think goes on here?”

Zaë’s face and throat pulsed with heat. She clenched her hands together in her lap. “I’m sorry to offend you.”

Dano yanked on a lock of her hair, and Zaë turned to look at him over her shoulder. “Honey,” he said. “You know Stark rescued you from the slavers?”

She nodded.
 

He nodded back sternly. “Right. Turn, I want to finish.”

She turned away obediently but lowered her gaze to avoid the unfriendly looks from the women.
 

Dano went back to work again as he talked. “Well, you’re not the only treasure they left the auction with. Ilya here is not just a good tech, she’s a tech
genius
, and she very skillfully relieved those evil slime-sucking bastards of nearly all of the profits from their auction.”

Ilya bowed graciously like a diva thanking her audience for applause, though she still glared at Zaë.
 

“Oh,” Zaë breathed. “So you—you steal from other thieves?”

“Now she’s getting it,” Ruth said.
 

Ringi was still frowning at her.
 

“I’m so sorry I offended you,” Zaë repeated. “But Stark simply said he was a thief and so I thought—I’ll go, if you wish me to.”

Ringi rolled her eyes. “Well. Reckon I understand now. Arrogant males, don’t think they need to explain anything. You don’t need to go anywhere, silly girl.”

“And, you haven’t known us but a couple of days,” Livie added. She gave Zaë a wry smile. “My mother’s a preacher, and my parents don’t think much of how I choose to live. They think reiving and stealing’s wrong, no matter who and how.”

This was true, but stealing from slavers and other thieves didn’t seem quite as bad to Zaë. That was like punishing them for their wrong-doing in a way, wasn’t it?

“Done,” Dano said with satisfaction. He brought up a mirror with his com and Zaë regarded her reflection in the holomirrors that surrounded her.
 

Her hair was coiled in intricate twists, the jeweled combs glinting among them. The style made her neck look slender and graceful, and emphasized the shape of her eyes, and the curve of her cheekbones. It also emphasized the collar.
 

“Thank you,” she said. “It looks very nice.” Even though she had to curl her hands tightly in her lap to quell the urge to yank it all down and pull it forward around her throat like a shawl.

“I am good,” Dano said smugly. He leaned forward and pressed a moist kiss to Zaë’s cheek. “Just tell Stark who to thank for your new look, sweetie.”

“We have a link,” Ringi said, snapping her fingers to draw attention to the holovid of a fashion boutique. “Time for some shopping, people.”

Ilya groaned. “If I have to watch you shop, I need a drink.”

Ringi brought out wine for everyone, and snacks and juice for Ruth and the children.
 

“That one,” Ruth called as a modelbot in a lovely blue gown the hue of water posed gracefully before them.

“Wait, wait.” Livie waved her arms to stop them. “I have a dress just like that. Not my color. It’s yours if you want it, Zaë.”

“Of course she wants it,” Dano said. “It will be perfect! So sexy, Stark won’t be able to resist you in that.”

“Oh, no, it’s not that,” Zaë began, shaking her head. “I think he views me more like one of the baubles he has in his tont—he doesn’t like plain things. He’s not interested in me sexually at all.” She told them about Stark bringing Fee to his tont.
 

Ringi sneered. “Fee doesn’t count. And I don’t mean because she’s with a lot of men; who cares about that? But she made a play for my Pede. Let him know she was available, and she didn’t care that he’s with me.”

“That’s awful. What did Pede do?”

“Oh, honey, it wasn’t what Pede did. I put a knife to her throat and told her I’d use it on her enhanced face if she ever so much as looked at my man again.”

“Oh, my.” Zaë wanted to cheer at Ringi’s fierceness.
 

Dano laughed. “Haven’t seen Fee trying it on with Pede again. Not that he would, anyway, with a delicious morsel like Ringi in his bed.” It hadn’t stopped her from taunting Zaë, though.

Ringi smiled at Dano and leaned over to give him a long kiss.
 

Zaë watched this with fascination.
 

Dano chuckled. “We’re shocking our little friend.”

Ringi winked at Zaë. “It’s okay. Pede knows Dano and I are close. In fact, we shared once—before Orson put his ink on Dano, of course. Orson is the jealous type.”

Dano chortled. “And you’re not?”

“Not with you, gorgeous.”

Zaë took another drink of wine—a long one. Then she tried not to gape at them as she pictured the two of them and the very masculine Pede together, perhaps in this very room. It was very arousing, which confused her. But then she shrugged. “That sounds very interesting. Did you enjoy it?

“Pede certainly did,” Ringi crooned. “That man nearly came unglued with both of us taking care of him. And he thanked me very nicely. Can’t even remember how many times I came.”

Blushing fierily, Zaë turned back to Dano. “Orson put his ink on you? What does that mean?”

He smiled roguishly and fluttered his thick lashes at her. “Want to see?”

She nodded, and his hands went to his belt.

“Ooh,” Ruth called. “Dano’s gonna show off his tattoos.”

“And our little immi’s eyes are gonna pop, they get any wider,” Ilya added.

The tont rang with laughter and calls of encouragement for Dano, who rose onto his knees to writhe sensually as he lowered his pants—just enough to display the design on one side of his groin.
 

“What is it?” Zaë asked, leaning closer.

“Orson’s initials in Earth speak. That’s where he’s from. I have more, but I’ll show you those another time...with Stark’s permission.”

She looked up. Fascinating as the ornate design was on his pale skin, the mention of their leader was more fascinating. “Is that what you call him, Stark?” she asked.

He nodded quizzically. “Yeah, that’s his name. Storm is just for laughs with us, although it says danger to outsiders.”

“Why, what do you call him?” Ilya asked.
 

Zaë’s cheeks burned as all eyes turned to her. “Um...nothing, really. That’s why I wondered. I will call him Stark too.”

Ilya and Ringi exchanged a look. “Nah, call him by his first name,” Ilya said, nodding to add emphasis. “Joran. He’ll like that.”

Ringi rolled her eyes and some of the others laughed.

“This is a joke? I shouldn’t call him by his given name?”
 

Dano patted Zaë’s arm. “You call him whatever the hells you want. He’s a man, not a god.”

“Yeah, no matter what he thinks,” added Ilya, an edge to her voice now.
 

“Our men know that, honey,” Ringi soothed the prickly blonde. “They can think for themselves. They all just like reiving with Stark, ‘cause he thinks up the best operations.”

“Right,” Ilya said. She levered herself to her feet. “And I need to link Var, see how today’s op is going. Should be with them, but he had to go all protective on me, tell me to stay safe at home for him. Bastard knows I can’t say no when he asks sweet.”

“They’re somewhere dangerous?” Zaë’s stomach dropped..

Ilya eyed her as if she couldn’t believe her naiveté. “Yeah, you could say that.”

“I’ll be glad when they’re home,” Ringi agreed, smile gone. “I don’t like this new gig, not one bit.”

The others nodded somberly.
 

Ilya left the tont, letting in a wave of heat and sun as she opened the door to slip out. Zaë looked up at the surveillance holovid, which showed no activity, the camp battened down against the heat of the day. But Stark was out there somewhere with his warriors.

“Where are they today?” she asked. “Please tell me.”

Dano and Ringi exchanged another silent communication.

“She should know.” Dano explained Commander’s Cerul’s edict.

“You mean Stark and your partners are meeting with the slavers?” Zaë asked, horror and fear sliding over her skin like an icy draught.
 

Dano nodded, and Zaë tucked her knees to her chin and huddled in the cushions, shivering. Joran Stark might not be a thief, but he was a reckless man who raced straight into danger instead of away from it, like normal people.

Of course that was why he’d been at the slave auction. Not to stop it, nor to arrest the malefactors and throw them in prison, but to steal their profits.He’d saved her, but he hadn’t gone there intending to do so.
 

“Why did he rescue me?” she whispered.
 

Dano nudged her with his elbow. “Oh, honey. Did you not look in the mirror a few moments ago? Stark is all man. Trust me, he didn’t want those other randy males to have you.”

Oh. Well, she had been practically naked...not that this was a guarantee of attraction.
 

She blinked as the scene before her blurred and another shelter, far simpler and plainer took its place. A male voice snickered in her ear.
 

“These Tardosian females need to cover up. All that leathery blue flesh on display—ugh. Now if only a certain human female I know would walk around nude, I’d be a happy man.”