Not the Man She Thought (8 page)

Laken surreptitiously reached a hand back to rub her bottom
again. “I don’t like butting heads with him, but I’m not going to back down,
either.”

“That’s up to you, but even you have to admit that walking
into town wasn’t a very good idea. Seguu is a pretty dangerous place.”

“Tell me about it. Why would you even go to a planet like
Seguu anyway? The place is a complete hellhole.”

The dark-haired woman shrugged. “We go where the business
is. We have to make our money wherever we can.”

“What kind of business would you have on a backwater place
like that? It didn’t look like anyone there had much money.”

“It’s not always about the money,” Dev said. “Captain’s
really good at bartering for stuff that we can sell on other worlds.”

Laken considered that. Her father talked about
interplanetary trade all the time, but she had never heard him mention
bartering for goods. “What kind of stuff?”

Dev looked away. “This and that. Whatever we can get.”

Laken had a feeling the woman was hiding something, but she
didn’t feel like pressing her for more information. Dev was one of the only
friends she had on this ship and Laken wanted to stay on her good side.

“Well, I hope that all the planets you stop at aren’t like
that one because I need to do some shopping. According to your captain, it’s
going to be six or seven days before we get to Marlon Prime, and these are the
only clothes I brought with me.”

Dev smiled. “You can borrow some of my things. I’m a little
taller than you are, but we look like we’re close to the same size, so I’m sure
I’ll have something that’ll fit you. Why don’t you come to my cabin and pick
some things out?”

Laken was grateful for the offer, but hesitated. “Are you
sure?”

The other girl laughed. “Of course I’m sure. It’ll give us a
chance to talk about girl stuff. I live on a ship full of men, remember? Not
much opportunity for that.”

Laken laughed with her. As it turned out, Dev’s clothes fit
her better than either of them would have thought, and she ended up borrowing a
pair of pants, a couple of sleeveless tops, and a dress. Dev only had two
dresses, so Laken knew it was a pretty big deal when the other girl offered to
let her borrow one.

Laken wouldn’t normally have been so modest when it came to
changing in front of another woman, but since she wasn’t sure if her bottom
would still be red or not, she ducked into the bathroom to try everything on.
Which turned out to be a smart move because her ass cheeks were still very red.

“Brute,” she muttered.

* * * * *

Rade hadn’t been in his cabin for more than a few minutes
when someone knocked on the door. Not in the mood for company, he ignored it.
Walking over to the sideboard, he splashed whiskey into a glass. The knock came
again, more insistently this time, and he swore under his breath.

“Enter,” he growled.

The door slid open and he glanced over to see Kellen come
into the room. His first officer eyed the glass in Rade’s hand, but made no
comment about it.

“Keir told me things on Seguu got a little heated,” Kellen
said.

Rade threw back his head and downed the whiskey in one
swallow. “A little. They thought they could renegotiate the deal. I had to
disabuse them of that notion.”

The other man folded his arms and studied Rade thoughtfully
for a moment. “In our line of work, it’s hardly surprising that our customers
attempt to renegotiate. It’s not like we had a contract for those generator
parts, after all. I don’t remember you ever losing your cool during a deal like
that before.”

Rade’s hand tightened around the glass. “Did Keir say I lost
my cool?”

His first officer sighed. “Of course not. He’s in the mess
now, telling everyone who will listen how you backed that guy down just by
staring at him. But I know you, and you normally wouldn’t quibble about a few
credits one way or another. So, what’s really bothering you?”

Rade turned back to the sideboard and poured himself another
drink. “Nothing. I’m fine.”

The other man was silent for so long that Rade thought he’
left. He should have know better.

  
“Are you
sure it’s not this job coming up on Marlon Prime?” Kellen asked. “We’ve made
blockade runs before, but never on a planet this tightly guarded. Do you think the
profit is worth the risk this time?”

Rade turn to look at Kellen. “The profit is good, but
there’s more involved. You know that.”

Kellen nodded. “I know. It’s just that I’m not used to you
getting involved in something like this.”

Rade shrugged. “Everyone gets involved sooner or later. I’m
just doing my part.”

Kellen sighed. “Well, at least you were able to get the girl
back safely.”

Rade let out a derisive snort. “Do you know where she was
when I found her? She was in the saloon fending off two of the locals. The
little fool almost got herself raped back there. You think she’d be grateful I
came to her rescue. But no. Instead, she spent the whole time telling me how
she could take care of herself. Hell, she didn’t even want to come back to the
ship with me. I practically had to drag her out of there.” He shook his head,
his mouth tightening. “I should have left the ungrateful brat.”

“Somehow, I don’t think you could have done that,” Kellen
said. “She may act like a spoiled brat, but we both know that deep down, she’s
just a naïve girl who ran away from a controlling father to be with her
boyfriend.”

The old man was right. After the episode in the cargo bay,
Rade had been suspicious Laken might be a Federation spy, but after seeing how
naïve she had been back in the saloon, he was convinced she was simply the
spoiled, rich girl she appeared to be.

Kellen was also right about him not leaving her to fend for
herself on a planet like Seguu, either. Even though she irritated the hell out
of him, it was hard not to be protective of her. Even so, he’d been surprised
at his reaction when he had walked into that bar and found those bastards
groping her. He had wanted to beat the shit out of each and every one of them,
and it had taken more effort than he cared to admit to get himself under
control. That wasn’t like him. This job on Marlon Prime had him on edge.

“Yeah, well, she sure has a way of getting herself into
trouble,” he said in reply to Kellen’s comment. “That worries me. I don’t want
the crew getting distracted with the job we have coming up.”

Kellen shrugged. “ I suppose we could confine her to her
cabin the rest of the time she’s on board. I’m sure we could rig up a lock on
her door.”

Rade looked at him in surprise. “I think that’s a bit
extreme. Besides, it won’t be necessary. I had a talk with Ms. Andara when we
got back. She’ll behave herself from now on.”

Of course, Rade didn’t mention to his first officer that the
entire conversation with Laken had taken place with her over his knee. Though
with all the fuss the girl had been making while he’d spanked her, he wouldn’t
be surprised if the entire crew knew exactly what kind of conversation they had
been having. He hoped not. While Laken Andara had deserved every stinging smack
he’d given her for risking herself so foolishly, he didn’t want to embarrass
her in front of his crew. They could be a bit rough around the edges when it
came to their sense of humor and they would be quick to tease her if they knew
about the spankings. Besides, he liked to think that after that most recent
spanking, she had learned her lesson.

Part of him hoped she hadn’t so he would have an excuse to
spank her again. While he had originally put her over his knee to punish her
for being such a spoiled brat when, the moment he’d yanked down her panties,
all thoughts of correcting her bad behavior had disappeared. The moment he’d
seen those gorgeous ass cheeks of hers, all he had wanted to do was run his
hand over her reddened skin before sliding it between her legs to touch her
pussy.

Maybe that explained why he had kissed her. He thought of
how she had looked standing before him, her long hair a wild tumble around her
shoulders, her full lips parted as she’d glared up at him. What man wouldn’t
have kissed her? And she had returned his kiss, at least for a moment.

  
On the
other side of the cabin, his first officer cleared his throat. Rade forced his
attention back to Kellen, who was looking at him as if he knew way too much.

“You’re sure about not wanting her confined to her cabin?”
the older man asked. “It would certainly keep her out of trouble.”

Rade shook his head. “Like I said, I don’t think that will
be necessary. I’m sure she’s learned her lesson.”

The old man looked at him with an expression that said he
that was highly unlikely, and Rade couldn’t help but silently wonder if his
first officer was right.

* * * * *

Laken found herself settling into a routine over the next
couple of days, and though she didn’t go out of her way to avoid Rade, she
didn’t seek him out, either. And when she did run into him, they made a point
of ignoring each other. It helped that the rest of the crew had started to warm
up to her a little bit more. With them acting as a buffer between her and the
captain, even mealtimes were tolerable.

She spent most of the time in the communications room with
Dev. She and the other woman were becoming very good friends, and Laken knew
she would miss Dev when she left.

Even so, Laken couldn’t deny she would be glad when they
finally got to Marlon Prime. Living on board a ship was definitely not for her.
Not only was it confining, but with little to do except wander the passageways,
she found it extremely boring as well, and she didn’t know how Dev could stand
it. She said as much to the other woman when they were sitting in the mess one
night after dinner.

Dev shrugged. “It’s not so bad once you get used to it.”

Laken sipped her tea. “Maybe not for you. But I’d go out of
my mind if I had to live on a ship. I can’t wait to get back to civilization.”
She gave Dev a smile. “No offense.”

The other woman laughed. “None taken. So, if you were back
on Tellune, what would you be doing right now?”

Laken propped her chin on her hand and thought a moment.
“Hmmm...something relaxing. Like getting a spa treatment or soaking in a nice
hot tub.”

Dev grinned. “I can’t help with the spa treatment, but I
think I might be able to help you with the tub.”

Laken blinked. Since coming on board, she’d had to use the
strange waterless, sonic shower that was in her cabin, and she couldn’t stand
it. Relaxing in a hot bath was something she’d been dreaming about ever since
coming back from Seguu. “Are you saying you have a real, honest-to-goodness tub
on board?”

The dark-haired woman nodded. “You’re welcome to use it, if
you want.”

Laken chewed on her lower lip. “Are you sure the rest of the
crew won’t mind?”

Dev waved her hand. “They won’t care.” She pushed back her
chair and got to her feet. “Most of them never use it anyway. They think it’s a
waste of water. Come on, I’ll show you where it is.”

Still unable to believe there was actually a tub on board,
Laken followed Dev out of the mess and down a few sets of stairs to a hallway
she hadn’t seen before. At the far end, was a frosted glass door. Dev opened it
to reveal a small bathroom with a free-standing tub.

“The captain had it installed to entice me to join the crew.
I would have done it even without the tub, but it was a nice gesture,” Dev
explained. “I have some bubble bath you can use if you’d like.”

Laken couldn’t help but smile. She wouldn’t have thought Dev
was the bubble bath type. She gave the other woman a smile.

“I’d love it,” she said. “Dev, this is perfect.”

Dev smiled and opened up a small wall locker. “The bubble
bath is in here, and there are some towels up there, too,” she said, pointing
at another locker. “Take as long as you want.”

As Laken sunk down into the tub several minutes later, she
wondered if Dev had realized just how much she’d needed this. Sinking down even
further into the bubbles, she rested her head back and closed her eyes. After
four days on the ship and three run-ins with its ill-mannered captain, she
wanted nothing more than to forget about everything else and focus on Mallin.
She let herself relax into the water, fantasizing about her fiancé leading her through
one of the complex dance steps back on Tellune, playing with the idea of how he
would grab her hand in the middle of it and run off somewhere private with her.
Then he would lean in to kiss her and...

Suddenly, Mallin’s face was replaced by Rade’s. She frowned
and replayed the scene in her head, but to her annoyance, every time she got to
the part where Mallin kissed her, Rade’s image intruded.