Bloodlust Voyage: Cosmic Lovers 1, page 1
Bloodlust Voyage
Cosmic Lovers 1
Leda Palmer
Copyright © 2023 by Leda Palmer
Published by Werner Ink
Norristown, PA
All rights reserved.
No portion of this book may be reproduced in any form without written permission from the publisher or author, except as permitted by U.S. copyright law.
Cover Art by Miblart
Paperback ISBN 978-1-960073-03-7
Library of Congress Control Number 2023917489
Contents
1. Twisted Desires
2. Worlds Collide
3. Torture in the Med-bay
4. All Around Invasive
5. Dousing Flames
6. Bedroom Humor
7. Spilling Tea
8. Rubbing Both Ways
9. Elite Treatment
10. Widespread Blowout
11. Coded Secrets
12. Frantic Distress
13. Tricks and Lessons
14. Sneaky Deals
15. Notorious
16. New Accommodations
17. Mad Plans
18. One Thing Missing
19. Who’s Counting
20. Nice Moves
21. Out Of Tricks
22. Sweet Dreams
23. Devious
24. Bad News
25. Expectations
26. Drained
27. The Outer Rim
28. What If
29. The Detour
30. Change of Plans
31. Surprise Delivery
32. Perfect
33. Speed of Light
34. Signs
35. Heads or Tails
36. Last Chance
About the Author
Also By
Twisted Desires
*Arda*
“Get back here, you little bitch.” Ren swiped at the air, a wide grin peeking out beneath the visor of her VR goggles.
“Cheeky little buggers, ain’t they?” Zenda said beside her, her own arms moving just as wildly.
I chuckled lightly, blowing on my tea. It was a chai blend tonight. The heady aroma of cinnamon and licorice wafted toward me. Tea was my one indulgence. I brought real Earth-grown leaves on every voyage. Others might be happy with the micro-spliced variety, but if you ask me, it tasted like watery garbage.
“Ugh, get off me!” Zenda shook her leg to dislodge whatever virtual fiend had accosted her, the teal fabric of her skinsuit flashing in the deck lights.
These long voyages hunting for jesillium in the deepest reaches of space tended to be pretty boring, so the VR sets were a welcome distraction. Most of the time, at least. When you’re hoping to relax with a delicious mug of chai—not so much.
I took a tentative sip of my hot brew, eyeing the hatch to the sleeping quarters. Perhaps I ought to leave the cheeky bitch fighting to Zenda and Ren and head—
Smack.
Ren yelped. “What the hell was that for?”
I whipped around and spotted Ren cradling her jaw on the ground. She tugged the VR set off and shoved her short blonde curls off her sweaty forehead.
Zenda kneeled beside her, rubbing her knuckles against her chest and grimacing as she pulled off her own helmet. Her brown eyes widened, her mouth agape, looking for all the world like she’d killed our tech wiz instead of just clocking her. “Gods, Ren. I’m so sorry! We must’ve gotten too close. I’m so sorry.”
“You all right, Ren?” I kneeled beside her. When she swung her head in my direction, my nostrils flared and electricity hummed through my veins. The mug shook so badly I nearly spilled my precious chai.
“Yeah, Capt. I’ll be fine.” She forced a smile around her cracked, bloody lip.
She might be fine, but I wasn’t. The pounding of my heart picked up speed as more blood pooled on Ren’s lip, rolling down her jaw and spilling onto the neck of her skinsuit. “You’re bleeding.” I forced out the two words, beyond surprised my voice hadn’t hinted at the roiling inferno beneath my skin.
Zenda grabbed Ren’s arm and tugged her to her feet. “Capt’s right. You’re bleeding like a hemophiliac. Let’s fix you up in the med-bay.”
“Med-bay? It’s just a split lip, Zenda. Stop getting your panties in a twist.” Despite her grumbling, Ren allowed Zenda to lead her through the porthole toward the med-bay.
With her out of sight, my speeding heart slowed. The damn thrumming faded everywhere on my body, except for one spot. Right between my thighs.
Fuck! I snatched one of the abandoned VR sets off the deck and strode to my quarters. The lock shut with a gentle snick. I slammed the mug down on my desk, tugging at the neck of my gray skinsuit.
That was so close. It had taken every ounce of self-control I possessed to stay calm back there. My stomach pitched, and I drew a hand down my face. They could never know. If the rest of the crew found out my dirty secret…
No—they wouldn’t. I’d been careful. I just needed to keep being careful, that’s all.
I flopped down on my double bed, taking the VR goggles with me. Shaking fingers grasped the zipper at the neck of my skinsuit. But before I surrendered to the fire in my blood, the metal box on the otherwise bare wall in my cabin caught my eye.
“Verne,” I barked out between heavy breaths.
“Yes, Captain Arda. How can I help you?” The ship’s computer’s masculine voice rang out, and a green light flickered on the box.
“Set a ‘do not disturb’ on my quarters. Emergencies only.”
“Of course, Captain.” The light blinked off.
I tore down the zipper, wrenching my skinsuit open. My overheated flesh only seemed to burn more with the action, the tan sports bra pressing against my heaving chest much tighter than usual. But I ignored it, for the moment. Instead, I plunked the VR set on my head.
A barrage of color and sound bombarded me instantly. I was transported from my plain quarters to a scene from a zombie apocalypse, rife with all the moaning and screaming one would expect. Only strangely, these zombies were not of the human variety but—spotted, short-eared bunnies?
“What the hell were they playing?” I mumbled.
Huge block letters scrolled before my eyes at the same time a menacing voice proclaimed, “Beware of Cuniculus’ Curse. Do you wish to continue?”
I rolled my eyes beneath the VR set. “No. End game.”
The scene shifted to an endless expanse of pure white light. It wasn’t blinding, merely empty. A disembodied voice called out, pleasant and androgenous, “Do you have a program in mind, or would you like to browse the menu?”
“Play Arda3.”
“This program is password protected. Enter the code to continue.”
“Oolong56.”
A chime sounded, and the scene shifted again, returning to the plain rectangular quarters I knew so well. The bare walls stared down at me as I reclined on my bed with my clothes half undone.
Not many people would create a VR program to model the very room they sat in. But there was one significant change.
“Hey, beautiful.” A tall, exceptionally well-made man greeted me, wearing nothing but a smile. His dark-brown eyes zeroed in on mine as that smile spread across his chiseled cheeks. He stalked toward the bed, his gaze slinking across my open suit and shooting back up, full of heat.
VR was a sad excuse for a real warm body. Even a sexbot would be better, but when you’re stuck out in the middle of space, you can’t afford to be too picky. A bolt of lust settled in my belly as I watched the virtual stud prowl closer. Yeah. This oughta scratch that itch. I was just missing one thing.
“Pause program.” The hunk stopped mid-stride, the tip of his tongue just darting out to lick his full lower lip. “Open inventory.”
The entire arsenal of tools and items I’d programmed into the VR rolled past me. “Stop.” I grasped the handle of a wicked looking serrated knife. The sharp metal glinted in the overhead cabin light as I tucked it behind me.
“Close inventory. Resume program.”
The bed shifted beneath me as the hunk set one beefy palm down beside me. “Mind if I join you?” The rumble of his deep voice reverberated in my ears.
“You better.” I grinned up at him, ignoring the blank stare that greeted me. VR might be close to perfect, but they could never get the eyes quite right.
Luckily, there was plenty to keep my gaze occupied. I watched the ripple of muscle flex as my nameless lover sank further on the bed, straddling my thighs. Fuck, he was hot. My lips curled up into a smirk as his first teasing caress traced down my belly.
He grasped the sides of my skinsuit and wrenched me up to meet his lips. With my eyes shut, I could almost forget this was all in my head. The heady, masculine scent of him filled my nose. The rough graze of his teeth caught my lower lip, then his tongue sank into my mouth. My thighs quivered as a big hand landed on my breast and tugged my nipple roughly. But it was still missing something.
I opened my eyes and slid the blade out from behind me. Loverboy released my lip with a pop and smiled, one hand still working my breast, the other sliding down my thigh, ever closer to that spot that throbbed with need.
“Do it,” he demanded gruffly.
I lifted the blade.
Buzz.
I sighed. “End program.” I tore off the VR goggles and wrenched up the zipper to my skinsuit. “What’s the emergency?” My feet hit the floor, and I sucked in a deep breath, shoving off the last vestiges of lust.
“You’re needed on the bridge,” Verne’s flat voice replied.
Fuck. I took a second to compose myself, then shoved the door open. A few quick strides and I was back at the bridge.
“What is it?” I asked, tamping down the annoyance spiraling through me with that damn itch still very much unscratched.
Ren and Zenda were both there, gazing at the display. Ren turned to me, excitement in her eyes. Thankfully, all signs of blood and her battered lip were gone, and my shoulders loosened a fraction. Good thing the med-bots worked quickly.
“Capt, you’re gonna want to see this.” Ren pointed to the display. “We’ve detected a rogue asteroid in our path. Scans confirm it’s loaded with jesillium.”
I cocked a brow, leaning closer to the navigation port. “Out here? Hm. Well, what are you waiting for? Send some mining drones over there.”
“That’s the thing.” Ren leaned back in her chair. “The ship already did, hours ago. It’s one of the auto-programs I told you about.”
My brow furrowed. “So, what’s the emergency?”
“They’ve come back empty, but scans are still showing jesillium. I want to take the hopper over there and check it out.”
“And I don’t think that’s wise.” Zenda leaned forward and adjusted her retro black cat’s eye glasses. “The radiation out there is increasing the closer we come to the red giant star at the heart of this system. We’re safe inside the Verne, but the hopper isn’t as well insulated.”
I frowned and turned back to the terminal. My fingers flew across the panel as I scanned all the data. Within a few moments, it was clear the facts lined up with the crew’s story. My heart raced. There was enough jesillium on that rock to pay off my debt, and then some. Maybe even enough to splurge on a night at that sleezy brothel in the outer rim.
“Looks like we have about an hour before the asteroid moves into the deadly radiation zone,” I said.
“So, I can fly over there?” Ren grinned. “It won’t take that long to figure out what made the drones return empty-handed.”
“You’re right. Only, I’m going.” I took a step toward the shuttle port.
Zenda sputtered and jumped in my path. “Capt, you can’t. What if something happens?”
“You’re second in command. I trust you to run things in my stead.” I sidestepped around her and briskly strode down the hall. Ren and Zenda fell in on my heels.
“I don’t mind going. I—”
I cut Ren off before she could finish her plea. “Ren, I need you here to reprogram the drones. If we can mine that jesillium, we’ll be ahead of schedule. Way ahead. But I don’t want either of you risking your health to get it.”
I might risk my own skin for a night with a sex-bot, but what kind of captain would I be if I forced my crew to endanger themselves? A pretty shitty one. This was my debt. My twisted desire. I couldn’t exactly explain it to them in so many words, but it was worth the risk for my continued sanity.
Zenda grabbed my arm. “Arda. You don’t need to risk it either. We can head for sector G like we’d planned.”
“C’mon Zen. You don’t let a gift like this go to waste. It’s exactly what we’ve been hunting for.” The door to the shuttle bay slid open, and I stepped through the hatch, flashing a reassuring smile. “Nothing will go wrong. I’ll be back in less than an hour.”
Worlds Collide
*Lux*
“What in Dral’s name is going on?” I shouted, clutching my aching skull. The alarm blared. The emergency lights flashed, and I groaned, tossing my legs over the side of the stasis pod. “Destiny, shut off the alarm!”
The ringing halted, and the lights returned to their normal muted yellow. I spun around, shoving my feet into my boots and standing on wobbly legs. “Status report.”
“Ship’s functions are operating at 63% nominal capacity,” the soothing computerized female voice replied.
“63%! What happened?” I staggered up, leaving the med-bay and pacing through the cramped hall toward the bridge of my ship. I didn’t make it more than two steps before I halted, eyes widening. A sickening scent wafted through the air.
Is that smoke?
“There’s been a collision in the docking bay.”
“A what?” That couldn’t be right. We were in the middle of nowhere. I’d set the route myself, ensuring we weren’t traveling through any populated regions before I’d settled down in the stasis pod.
“A foreign shuttle attempted to land on the hull. The auto-defenses contained it within a tractor beam before the collision occurred at approximately 12.345—”
“Enough.” I turned on my heel and headed for the docking bay.
A foreign shuttle? I had to see this for myself.
Smoke curled through the air in the hall. I sucked in a deep breath, preparing myself for the worst. “Is life support stable in the docking bay?”
“Life support is at 85% and rising.”
Well, that was encouraging. Thankfully the auto repairs seemed to be intact. But there was only so much the computer could handle alone. I shoved open the door and all hope that this collision would be dealt with swiftly faded.
Bent and twisted metal littered the dock, sticking out from the thick layer of foam that encased everything. I coughed, the astringent stench of the fire-retardant stinging my throat.
But I guess it was better than burning to death in a fiery ball in my sleep.
I gritted my teeth when I spotted my only shuttle, torn to pieces. The foreign craft—a big lumbering clunker that barely looked like it could fly—had ripped my sleek little shuttle in two.
“What is this thing?” I growled.
“There is a life sign onboard,” Destiny announced.
“That hunk of junk was manned?” I hustled forward, determined to fish the poor fool out of its innards. I would save the idiot, then I just might kill him for wrecking my damn shuttle bay.
Kicking foam out of the way, I nearly slid racing across the dock. The clunky shuttle seemed even more strange up close. The back section sported a variety of tool attachments, half of them dangling off at odd angles, likely ripped off in the crash. I spotted drills, gripping arms, and what might have been a crude laser cutter in the mix before turning my attention to the cockpit.
The front of the shuttle appeared to have taken the brunt of the damage. I coughed again, catching a whiff of smoke still lingering around the charred, mangled vessel.
I might not need to do any killing after all. The crash might have done the job for me.
“You sure there’s a life sign in there?”
“Affirmative.”
Only one way to find out. I located what looked like a hatch on the craft’s side and pounded on the frame. “Hey. You alive in there?”
No answer. How did this thing open? I slid my hands along the edges, searching for a way in. Might need to find some leverage and muscle it open. As I turned to hunt for a tool, a mechanical whirring bled into the air, then a hiss. I spun back just as the hatch cracked open.
The first thing that struck me was a sound. A voice called out, repeatedly, in a language I didn’t recognize. From my vantage, I still couldn’t see anyone, just a closed hatch that likely led to the cockpit. The garble of static made me quickly realize the noise was not coming from the occupant, but through speakers in the vessel.
“What language is that?” Tucking my elbows tightly to my sides, I managed to squeeze into the narrow hatch. Whatever species this ship belonged to, they were much smaller than Pherians if they built such puny hatches.
“The language is a variant of Terran, from the planet Earth—English.”
“Earth. That’s where we’re headed. Why didn’t I learn this English?”
“English is one of hundreds of Terran languages. Your lessons focused on Mandarin, spoken by one third of the planet’s population.”
“Great. Update my translator with English.” I paused outside the second hatch, waiting for the confirmation.
“Download complete,” Destiny chimed.
“Arda,” I could understand the words leaking out of the comm’s system, finally. “Arda, come in. Are you all right?”
Arda didn’t respond. Surely that didn’t bode well for what I was about to find when I opened that hatch.
I slid my hands along the edges again, searching vainly for a handle, switch, or something to force the damn thing open. “What’s the secret to these doors?” I grumbled.
