Rogue Mate, page 15
part #1 of Rogue Star Series
“You get to prove yourself again,” I said to Maris. She smiled, just a little feral, and stomped away, Lynna behind her.
“Do you think it’s wise?” Kalyn murmured, a crease marking her forehead between her eyebrows.
“Orrin will watch her and argue every step of the way.” I crossed over to sit next to her, taking one pale hand in mine. “Between the two of them battling ideas, they’ll have the bugs worked out before any changes are made.”
She smiled, and a spark hit me in the gut.
My Kalyn. My gorgeous little human, with her strange soft skin. I’d do anything to keep her happy, and to...
Koso. I’d been so busy watching her lush lips move, I hadn’t paid enough attention to her words.
“-they’ll tear the ship apart.”
“Wait, what?”
“I’m teasing, silly.” She leaned against me, comfortable with my presence.
Comfortable wasn’t all that I wanted, but I’d take anything that gave me more contact with her.
Anything.
Kalyn
Dejar and the crew of the Rogue Star worked non-stop to complete enough deliveries to make enough money to support day-to-day operations.
When the ship needed to refuel, we had to make port at the few fuel stations that operated outside of the Dominion’s control.
And despite everything, we still didn’t have enough to afford the parts we’d need to refit the ship.
I sat in Dejar’s office, looking over finances and job offers, rubbing my head.
The auto-tutor had stamped the Shein language into my brain, and I was happy to be able to help, but there were still times the letters squirmed before me, making my eyes ache.
It didn’t make things better when Aavat stormed in.
“Scro!”
“It’s nice to see you, too,” I chuckled, admittedly happy for a bit of distraction.
“What’s the matter, Aavat?” Dejar asked.
“We’ve been blacklisted, that’s what’s the matter.” Aavat threw a stack of films onto the desk, scattering the ones I had been pouring over.
“Hey!” I grumbled. I picked up sheets Aavat tossed. There was a picture of the Rogue Star taken at the port on Dominion Outpost Nine.
“What does this mean?” I asked as I handed the sheet to Dejar. “How is this any different from having our license revoked?”
“The Dominion has forbidden anyone to do business with us,” he explained, rocking back in his chair to stare at the ceiling. “Aavat, this can’t be a surprise.”
“It’s not but it’s going to make things even harder for us now.” Aavat nodded to the console screen.
I looked at the list of jobs I’d been pondering. One by one, they disappeared until only a handful of listings remained.
“Shit,” I muttered. “Dejar, I thought you said people were always looking for services cheaper than what the Dominion offered.”
“I did,” Dejar nodded. “And it’s true. But dealing with a non-sanctioned service is very different from dealing with a blacklisted service. Clients that sought us out when we were simply non-sanctioned ran a small risk of being fined. Using a blacklisted service risks becoming blacklisted yourself. No one is going to want to risk that to save a bit of money on a delivery.”
“What about the ones who are willing to risk it?” I peered at the remaining jobs on the console.
“It’s likely that they’re blacklisted as well,” Aavat explained. “That third job down is from a known pirate horde.”
“Pirates?” I gasped. “Pirates post public job adverts?”
“Only the cocky ones,” Dejar smirked. “The ones that have enough ships and weapons to make the Dominion think twice about going after them.”
“Isn’t the Dominion the most powerful coalition in this part of the universe?” I asked.
“Yes, but that doesn’t mean they’re going to go head to head in a fight against a pirate horde,” Aavat smirked. “We should take that job. If they like our work, they’ll accept us into the horde.”
“You want to bring a ship full of beautiful, exotic, human females into a pirate fleet?” Dejar pressed the palm of his hand against his forehead.
“Where I come from, pirates aren’t known for doing honest business. Is it the same out here?” I asked.
“Yes. If we accept the job, they’ll likely pay us in full only to kill us and take the money off our dead bodies,” Dejar replied.
“I’d like to see them try,” Aavat scoffed.
“We need to have a serious talk about your adrenaline issues.” Dejar gave Aavat a long, weary stare.
“What can I say? I like to feel alive.” Aavat spread his coppery arms dramatically. I didn’t hold in my laughter. I’d gotten used to Aavat’s strange sense of humor.
“Don’t encourage him,” Dejar smirked.
Aavat made a rude gesture.
“I’m going to tell the crew we’re blacklisted,” he said. “Qal should be able to take us to parts of the galaxy Dominion ships don’t often travel through.”
“Don’t bring up the pirate horde,” Dejar sighed.
“I’m absolutely going to bring up the pirates,” Aavat called over his shoulder as he left the office.
“It’s fun to watch you two together,” I giggled. “You’re like brothers.”
“I want to punch him in the face half the time,” Dejar chuckled. “But I couldn’t ask for a better right hand in all of this.”
“Exactly. Brothers,” I repeated.
“I suppose you’re right.” A small smile pulled at the corner of his mouth. “But we’re still not joining a pirate horde.”
“You’re no fun,” I teased.
Dejar and I turned our attention back to the console. “What are we going to do about this?” I asked.
“I had a few thoughts on that,” Dejar replied. “These jobs are for interplanetary deliveries. Local delivery jobs are only posted on the planet where the delivery takes place.”
“Can the Rogue Star make port on any planet anymore?” I asked.
“There’s one planet, Katzul. It’s home to the wealthiest citizens in Dominion space. The Dominion’s influence is almost nonexistent,” Dejar explained.
“They’re wealthy enough to make their own laws,” I nodded knowingly.
“That’s right. Every once in a while, a Dominion official arrives on the planet pretending to enforce regulations, but they collect bribes and leave after a few days,” Dejar said.
“That sounds like our best bet for work,” I replied.
“You should know, I don’t know how safe it will be for us,” Dejar continued. “The planet is breathtaking, one of the most beautiful places in Dominion space. It’s easy to forget that it’s a lawless place where the wealthy have free reign.”
“Sounds like my mother's house,” I muttered.
“I’m serious, Kalyn.” Dejar reached for my hand. “I don’t know how well I can protect you and the others during a job.”
I placed my hand over his, a gesture meant to be reassuring.
“There’s no use worrying about that until we get there,” I told him.
“Didn’t you once tell me worrying was in your nature?” he teased, lifting a brow.
“That was before you started worrying enough for the both of us,” I replied. “Besides, I’ve been blown up, kidnapped, and nearly lost a leg. After that, there’s only a few things that can cause me worry and I know you’ll protect me from every single one of them.”
“You’re putting a lot of faith in me,” Dejar smiled.
“I think you can handle it,” I winked.
Dejar squeezed my hand as his smile softened.
My eyes flickered down to his lips. Heat rushed to my face as a wave of desire I wasn’t prepared for washed over me.
“Tell me more about Katzul,” I quickly changed the subject. The room felt hot all of a sudden. My heart fluttered in my chest. My stomach flipped in a way that was pleasurable and painful at the same time.
Dejar gave me a sly smile and I practically melted on the spot.
“Most of the planet is empty,” he explained. “Everyone lives in one sprawling city. The wealthiest homes are on giant slabs of land nearly suspended in the air.”
“Floating homes?” I gasped.
“More like floating kingdoms,” he corrected. “There are huge buildings, too. Some of them reach higher than the floating residences. The outsides are mirrored so the city can reflect its beauty infinitely.”
“Wow,” I sighed. “I’m excited to see it. Have you been many times?”
“I’ve been only once,” he explained. “There’s an observatory on the highest floor of the tallest building. I’ve always wanted to go.”
“I’m sure you’ll find the time once we get there,” I said brightly. “We’ll be there for a while.”
“If everything works out the way we need it to,” Dejar added, “I’d like to take you to see it.”
“What?” I sputtered.
“There’s a district packed with the most amazing restaurants in all of Dominion space. We could go to one, whichever one you want. Afterward, we can go up to the observatory.” Dejar looked excited.
My stomach twisted again.
“I would like that very much.” I forced myself to say. It was true. Dejar’s proposal sounded perfect. I couldn’t think of anything I’d want to do more. The fear that accompanied all of the pleasant sensations I felt when I was around Dejar didn’t make sense.
“I’m glad.” He leaned forward. His eyes briefly flickered to my lips.
My body was torn with the deep desire to lean into him and the urge to flee the room. Panic surged through me when he was too close for me to run away.
The moment his lips touched mine, the panic evaporated. The urge to run was replaced with the desire to never move again. His mouth was warm and firm. A soft sensation took over my body.
Just like that, he pulled away. I wanted to pull him back to me. Instead, I sat as if I’d been turned to stone.
“Are you alright?” Dejar’s face was a mask of concern.
“Yes,” I said quickly. “I’m sorry, you surprised me. That was lovely. Thank you.”
What the fuck was wrong with me?
I needed to get a grip. Dejar kissed me and it was amazing. I wanted to kiss him again, but I didn’t know how to do this.
Courting was never something human females were prepared for. It was something only found in history books.
We were told that romance wasn’t an option for us. We were partnered with males for the purpose of creating a viable offspring and nothing more. The survival of the species had to be the first priority. There wasn’t room for affection.
I’d told Dejar I trusted him to protect me from the few things I still feared.
I’d been thinking along the lines of torture and death. You know, the usual stuff, now that we were stranded in an alien galaxy.
Now, I had something else to worry about, something Dejar couldn’t protect me from.
Falling in love.
Dejar
Finally, we had the credits we needed.
We arrived at Zolla-T, an interesting little planetoid where the dregs of the cosmos, and those looking for different experiences, went to “hide” from the authorities.
Hooray for interesting.
Most importantly for me, it was one of the few places where the Dominion had no power because the people here didn’t care.
Zolla, the owner of Zolla-T, wasn’t happy to see us.
Then again, that crotchety old woman was never happy to see anyone, until we showed her our credits, then we became like the children she’d never had.
When we arrived, we made sure to let Zolla know we were coming to buy and that we had the credits to afford it.
I let Maris deal with Zolla, to give her the full experience of what that woman was like.
“I like her,” she told me when she returned. “She’s a sweetheart. Loves me.”
Orrin, who had gone with her, acknowledged that. “She’s not lying. Zolla absolutely adored her, even gave her a discount on half the stuff she requested.”
My eyes bugged out. Zolla didn’t love anyone, and certainly didn’t offer discounts. Maris surprised me more and more every day.
When I talked to Kalyn about it, she was at a loss, as well. “Maybe they’re kindred spirits,” she said, shrugging.
“She doesn’t even love her own children,” I argued.
Kalyn just kissed me on the cheek and went to talk to Lynna.
I looked at Orrin, who shook his head in disbelief. “I was there, and I still don’t know how things happened. I have work to do if we’re going to change the registry,” and with that, he walked away, leaving me to wonder how Maris got Zolla to like her.
And how soft Kalyn’s lips had felt.
We were going to be sitting here, changing the ship, for nearly a week…it would take four days for a new engine core regulator to arrive, and another day to install it.
During that time, we had to fix up and clean up the Rogue Star…she was going to need to look new, sleek, and expensive if we wanted any clients on Katzul.
Two days into the refit, Kalyn walked in where I was working.
“Hey, I thought we were going to paint this room a light blue to elicit calm feelings in our passengers.”
I stopped painting and looked at her. “No, this room was supposed to be this off-white and green combination. The blue was for the med bay.”
“No, I just came from the med bay. Lynna wants the green and white in there. We’ve been looking for it all morning.” She stifled a laugh as she explained.
I glanced down at my arms. I was covered in paint, little spots everywhere. I looked like I was suffering from some unusual, overly colorful form of Philaxian pox. I dropped my head and shook it.
When I looked back up, she was looking away from me, her hand over her mouth as she tried not to laugh. “Sorry,” she blurted out, her voice at a high pitch.
It was my turn to turn away from her and fight a grin. The squeak in her voice was hilarious and it took everything I had not to laugh.
And then I failed. I started laughing so hard I snorted, then hiccupped, which caused her to start laughing.
Which started me up again. I ended up laughing so hard that my sides hurt. After catching my breath and doing my best not to laugh every time I looked at her, I finally managed to ask my question. “Are you sure about the paint color?”
“Mmm-hmm.” She was still smirking, and I had trouble keeping my composure with how she looked.
“How about blue and white in the med bay and we make this the green room?” I asked.
She shook her head, like I knew she would.
I dropped my head, let out a mock sob, and surrendered to defeat.
Kalyn put her hand on my arm. “Let me help you.”
“Okay,” I said sheepishly. I knelt down to pick up the paint tray, put my finger in the paint, and put my finger on her nose.
Her jaw dropped, eyes wide.
“Wha…how…but…you son of a bitch!” she stuttered then yelled at me. She grabbed a paint brush, dipped it into the paint pan, and chased me around the room. I made a break for it once I was close to the door and ran.
But not too fast.
I looked behind me and the paint brush landed in my face.
She’d thrown it.
I fell to the floor and rolled down the hall a bit, her laughter trailing me all the way. Several of the crew, men and women, looked away from whatever they were working on to watch us.
My gold skin got a bit darker as I grabbed the brush and ducked back into the room with Kalyn, laughing the entire way.
I held her as we laughed, and when my face ended up close to hers, I leaned in for a kiss.
When my lips touched hers, the world was perfect.
“Come on,” she broke away awkwardly, eyes on the floor. “Let’s get this fixed.”
We repainted the first room, then helped with the med bay, but all through the rest of the day, I felt her eyes on me.
I couldn’t be the only one that felt the sparks every time our hands brushed against each other.
Finally, the long, frustrating day ended.
“Meet you in the mess hall?” Lynna called over to Kalyn as she scrubbed at her hands and face.
“Actually,” I jumped in, “I was wondering if you’d care to join me for dinner in my quarters.”
We’d eaten together before.
Nothing had happened.
Nothing much, at least.
That didn’t explain why the soft look in Kalyn’s eyes, the slight opening of her mouth, set me on fire.
Lynna laughed and headed out with the others. “We’ll see you later.”
“Maybe,” Maris added, but I didn’t care.
I don’t remember what Sars sent up for dinner. All I could think of was the sound of her voice, the brief taste of her lips she’d granted me earlier.
All too soon, she pushed away from the table.
“Thank you, but I should be going.”
I reached for her hand, drawing one finger up and down her lower arm until her breath became soft and ragged.
“Stay.”
She kept her gaze locked on me for a long time before giving a shaky, tentative sort of nod. The darting glances to the side made it more than obvious that she wanted to look away.
Almost as if working through a skittering fear, she held my gaze with a fierce sort of determination.
I'd never seen her quite so apprehensive, but the glowing crimson of her cheeks and pounding of her heart made it clear that nervousness wasn't the only thing she was feeling.
I turned to face her straight on, and she slid her hand into mine, our fingers intertwining. I thought about asking her if it would be alright to kiss her, but the slight pursing of her lips and incline of her head were all the indication I needed.
I leaned down to press my lips to hers, marveling all over again at how soft and warm they were. Just as much as they yielded to mine, they seemed to claim them.
I flicked my tongue between the seam of her lips, coaxing. Hesitantly, sweetly, she opened for me.
