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  All heat drained from Siobhan’s face as his questions echoed her thoughts too closely. “He must’ve been detained.” That was the only possible explanation.

  Unless…the Confederation was holding him in another jail? They could be trying him for treason. He could be on death’s corridor, if the unthinkable hadn’t already happened…

  Panic fluttered in her heart. Although she couldn’t tamp it down, she did her best not to show it. “We have to find him. Make sure he’s not up on bogus charges, too.”

  “We have to? And what’s in it for me?”

  A disgusted snort tore from her lips. “You’ve got my services, remember?”

  “How do I know your services are any good? I’ve barely sampled them.” He stared straight through her, antagonizing her further.

  “You seemed to like what you saw.” And tasted. Traitorous quivers skipped up her spine and she wished she could douse her memories.

  “Appreciating the beauty of a vessel is one thing…enjoying the ride is yet another.” The pirate swaggered to her, his gaze bold on her. Bolder still, he traced her lips with his finger, ever so delicately, an expert in seducing women. When he trailed his fingertip provocatively along the column of her throat to the swell of her breast, she became a mass of shivers.

  “Good start,” he complimented, closing the gap between them so that merely a breath lay between them and his heat seeped into her. Judging by the fire radiating from his finger, he must be a furnace inside. “I like my women bold. Surely a starship captain, scourge of the galaxy, is plucky.”

  She wasn’t the scourge of the galaxy! Primitive rage boiled deep inside. How dare he doubt her innocence!

  She would show him just how daring starship captains were. He wouldn’t remember another woman’s name when she was done with him.

  “You think I can’t please you?” Ire bubbled in her. She never failed at anything she set her mind to. She’d always been top in her class and she was damned if a pirate was going to best her, even one who had saved her neck.

  “You know what they say, sweetheart. Show me the money…” Caid sat back and linked his fingers together in his lap. A smirk on his devilishly handsome face, he eyed her speculatively.

  She’d wipe that smirk off his face and replace it with passion so hot he’d drool for her. Too bad she couldn’t set the scene for seduction, dim the lights and let candles flicker about them, play soft romantic music, ply him with chocolate and strawberries, so she’d have to make do with the assets God had given her. “Vizzy, take your turn in the sleeping chambers. You must be tired.”

  The Shellik looked askance at his captain, shrugging.

  “Do as the lady says. You need to replenish your strength.”

  Vizzy skulked away as if he’d prefer to stay and watch the show.

  Once they were safely alone, she began to shimmy out of her tunic. Humming to music in her own head, she swayed sensually in a seductive striptease. Dennis had always grown rock-hard and was panting for her within moments when she had stripped for him. Surely a pirate who lusted after anything female would succumb to her feminine charms.

  Her gaze glued to the pirate’s darkening gaze, she wet her suddenly parched lips with the tip of her tongue. She shimmied up to the console and danced with it. Feeling decadent, her flesh so feverish she was about to explode, she rubbed her breasts against the cool, slick metal pretending she was sliding along his hard, muscled length.

  The music flowed through her, and she moved to its sultry rhythm, wishing Caid could hear its seductive strains. Thrusting her breasts at him, she massaged her nipples, glowing with pleasure as his smoldering gaze devoured her every movement. Quivering with lust, she gyrated her hips, thrusting them at him in a primeval dance as she lowered the garment inch by excruciating inch. On fire, she danced wantonly for him.

  Caid clapped, his gaze ardent, his breathing labored. Laughing uproariously he waved her clothing in her face. “Be careful to whom you give your attire, sweetheart. You may not get it back.”

  Vexed, ready to curse him out, she dove for her outfit, but his slight of hand hid them behind his back, out of reach. “Give them to me.”

  “In due time. You won’t be needing it for a good long while.” His gaze smoky, it sparked answering fire in her. He brushed against the swell of her breasts as he closed the gap between them. His hot breath rasped over her bare flesh as he gazed darkly down at her from his superior height. “You look so fetching. So how about my test drive?”

  Ooh! The rogue positively infuriated her, but she didn’t want to give him the upper hand by letting him know. She wasn’t a new spaceship in case he hadn’t noticed.

  Closing his arms about her, he held her captive as if her struggles were no more than mere flutterings. To prove his point, he buried his face between her breasts and swirled his tongue around one nipple, then the other until both were taut beads. His hand palmed her pussy, and his finger began a slow steady assault on her clit.

  Unwelcoming ecstasy poured through her, making her moan and writhe against him in abandonment. His heart beat strongly beneath the palm she laid flat over his heart.

  Hoisting her into his arms, he carried her lithely to his bedchamber where he laid her down reverently.

  “But what about the Zicordians? The Confederation?” she asked breathlessly.

  “We’re half a million parsecs from the Zicordians and the Confederation won’t be able to track us so quickly, but I’ll order Vizzy back to the bridge if it eases your mind.”

  She nodded, hoping they didn’t confuse the Shellik too much with ordering him back and forth. The Shellik mind was a thing of mystery.

  He instructed his first mate to take the helm and then relieved himself of his clothing, before joining her on the bed. Crimson flowed through his very impressive cock that stood straight out, pulsing.

  God help her, she was an engaged woman. But she couldn’t wait to test drive him. She had no choice in the matter, short of rendering him unconscious, and that was the last thing she wanted him to be right now. She yearned to ride his throbbing cock that would fulfill all her fantasies when she was an old married woman, her Confederation days but a misty memory. How many women could boast making love to a pirate? How often did she let herself succumb to anyone or anything, she who was always in command?

  A snort hovered on her lips. Like she’d been in command in the first place at any time during this entire bizarre situation.

  He folded her into his arms, and molded her to his heated chest. His silky waist-length hair cocooned them, wrapping them securely together as the tip of his tongue gently parted her lips and played an erotic dance with hers as their passion spiraled out of control. His kisses grew wilder as their desire mounted.

  Phatons pulsed through her as his tongue pillaged her mouth, his mustache impossibly erotic against her tender flesh. Taking no prisoners, he demanded complete surrender, his body rock-hard against hers, the ridge of his cock rubbing against her wet, eager pussy with sweet torture. His calloused fingertips skimmed over her, eliciting quivers of delight.

  Savage flames tore through her veins, and she rubbed against him wantonly, eager to feel his cock slide deep into her cunt. Prevailing over men most of her life, she had always longed to find a man domineering enough to be her perfect match. She longed to give herself to him completely, but she couldn’t bring herself to trust a pirate, even one as sexy as Caid. The only thing he demanded of her was her body, and that was all she was required or willing to give to keep up her end of the bargain. But that didn’t mean she couldn’t savor the fleeting enchantment.

  Caid’s roguish smile whispered over her when his beard made her quiver with uncontrollable lust. She wondered how that incredibly silky beard would feel caressing her pussy? Luscious, she was sure, and was about to suggest it when he swirled his tongue slowly around her nipple. With tender kisses and licks, he moved to its twin, sucking it slowly, lovingly into his mouth. “You don’t taste like a starship capta
in.”

  “How do starship captains taste?” Her voice sultry, she entwined her fingers in his sumptuous hair and gazed into his darkening jade eyes, getting lost in their murky depths. Just how many starship captains had he made love to that he could make the comparison?

  “Not like you.”

  What kind of non-answer was that? The sexy rogue lived to torture her. “You’ve tasted many?”

  “Just you. I make it my life’s mission to avoid Confederation officers.”

  So he had made an exception for her? She felt extremely honored.

  He rubbed her juice over her clit, doing a lousy job of avoiding her, but an incredible job of making her lust for him. She should feel lucky that his highness had deemed to rescue her, especially at such peril to himself. Should she feel special that she was his first Confederation lover? Of course, he was her first pirate…

  Licking her lips, savoring his taste lingering there, she squirmed against his hand. When he slid one, then two fingers inside her cunt and masterfully stroked her slick velvety walls, she bucked and wriggled wantonly.

  “Not yet, darlin’,” he drawled, pulling back, leaving her bereft. Chill air tickled her pussy, and she craved the return of his juicy heat.

  “Just how long do you intend to make me wait?” She wrapped her fingers around the base of his shaft and tugged it gently toward her throbbing, greedy core.

  “I love to hear you beg. Just how badly do you want it?” He nestled his cock between her legs, pulsing against her pussy, teasing her unmercifully. Writhing, wanting him to slam it into her, she rubbed against his warmth and moaned into his mouth. Yearning to fill the aching need deep inside her, she opened herself to him. “I’m waiting, tease.”

  “Me? A tease? Hardly. I’m a pirate. On my honor I plunder and pillage to my heart’s content.”

  “So plunder me,” she begged, thrusting her hips toward his.

  “What a horny little wench you are.” Instead of driving that hard, throbbing cock into her pussy as she’d pleaded, he licked and nibbled his way down her body. To her utter delight, he lifted her bottom off the bed and buried his face in her pussy. His tongue laved her clit and then swirled over her slick lips. His braided beard tickled her, driving her wild.

  Her pleasure built to dizzying levels, and she soared toward heaven. She was almost to the peak when he pulled away and chill air whooshed against her searing flesh, cooling her ardor. She reached for him, intent on pulling her back to finish his mission, when he mounted her and plunged his huge cock into her.

  Primitive need filling her, her lips locked around his cock as his balls slapped her behind. Greedily, she sucked in his shaft, then released it just long enough for him to drive impossibly deep into her. Liking her sex hard and rough, she clutched him. “Harder!”

  Dim starlight cascaded through the window, bathing their entwined, writhing bodies in its shimmering glow as she watched. He drove into her with deep, lusty thrusts so that the screams gurgling in her throat erupted and she clawed at his back.

  She thrashed wildly beneath him as he ravaged her mercilessly. It took her last vestige of sanity to hold on tightly for the most thrilling ride of her life, as she careened toward a crashing orgasm.

  Rapturously, she floated back to earth slowly, snuggling into his strong embrace, uncaring that he was supposed to be the enemy. Not the number one enemy, but a dangerous adversary nonetheless. She ran her hands along his muscular chest and arms, surprised that he was in such wonderful physical condition, and that his buccaneer rags had hidden his extraordinary physique so well. The musky aroma of their lovemaking filled her senses.

  “I didn’t know Confederation commanders could kiss so well,” Caid murmured against her lips, his mustache tickling her, sending exquisite shivers through her.

  “Now you know we excel at everything we do.” Obviously, he excelled, too. Still quivering from his magical touch, she looped her arms behind his head and opened her mouth for more of his intoxicating kisses, unable to slake her thirst. Trembling deliciously, she did her best to swallow a wicked smile. No one else had brought out the devil within.

  Unwilling to relinquish her hold on him as he joined her in rapture, her slick walls clenched his cock tightly. Bewitched by his musky flavor, she licked the salty moisture from his chest, giving extra attention to his puckering nipples, and spread her palm against his hammering heart.

  Still basking in the afterglow, she gazed deeply into his formidable eyes. Stroking his satiny hair, she asked laughingly, “Did I pass the test drive?”

  He stroked her pussy reverently, gazing at it with adoration as if he had struck priceless treasure. “With a little fine-tuning…”

  Fine tuning? Fire flashing in her soul, his insult stung as she tore herself from his suddenly hateful embrace. “Such as?” No one had ever complained about her lovemaking skills before. How dare a lowly rogue insult her so grievously!

  “Sweet, yes, but not particularly adventuresome like I would expect from a dashing starship captain. Where were the acrobatics?”

  Sweet? Acrobatics? Kitlups and pupkims were sweet. She was a grown, virile woman. As for acrobatics, she’d give him acrobatics if he wanted them so badly. Growling, she bunched the muscles in her legs and shoved him away with all her might, pushing him off the bed so that he landed with an unceremonious thump on the hard floor. “You weren’t so exciting yourself. I expected more creativity from a pirate.”

  Rubbing his backside, he rose to his feet and towered over her, light glinting off his swaying tresses. He quirked an ignominious brow down at her from his superior height. She had second thoughts about domineering, dominating males. Apparently she only liked them in bed. “Was that before or after all the moaning and back-clawing, sweetheart?”

  “When did you decide I was so sweet? Before or during your orgasm?” She smiled up at him with sugary sweetness as accused, almost making herself sick to her stomach. Sweet had never been in her nature or her vocabulary and far greater men wouldn’t dare call her such. Bitch more aptly described her nature—babe in total control of herself, not that anyone would dare call her babe, either, except maybe this imprudent pirate. He surely harbored a death wish.

  “I didn’t say I wasn’t turned on.” He grasped her hand and yanked her up against him and lifted her chin with a finger so that she was forced to gaze into eyes dancing with suicidal mischief. “Any naked strumpet with a figure like yours would turn me on.”

  How dare he call her something so derogatory! Or imply she was common! A strumpet indeed! Fury blazed through her like a shooting star. The man absolutely, positively infuriated her! “For someone who lives beneath the law, you certainly bandy about derogatory terms!”

  When she wrenched out of his arms and started to huff past him, he caught her wrist with lightning fast speed and held it fast in an iron grip. “While you’re mounted on your high and mighty horse, don’t forget you’re running from the law yourself. That you’re the most wanted criminal in the galaxy…dead or alive—preferably dead.”

  Dead… Starship captains faced death daily. They laughed in the face of death. Although usually they had the backing of the Confederation, the honor of a glorious, dutiful death. Pushing aside her reservations, she thrust out her chin regally and squared her shoulders, too aware that her naked perky breasts jutted out as well. “And did you forget that I was falsely accused?”

  He yawned as if unimpressed with her declaration of innocence or maybe he didn’t care one way or the other. “So you say.”

  Exasperated, she seethed at his cavalier response. “I do say! And you’re a self-professed pirate who was on death’s corridor.”

  “As I explained to you previously, I merely borrowed a vessel and accidentally blew up the station. They refused to accept my apologies.” He stroked his beard, a devilish glint in his eyes daring her to refute him.

  “How ungracious of them,” she drawled. If it had been one of her father’s stations and he had gotten his hands on
the pirate instead of the Confederation, he’d have been castrated first and then hung. “Piracy is a crime against the Confederation. It’s only a matter of time before they catch up with you—again.”

  “For your sake, you’d best hope it’s not while you’re still my traveling companion, me being a pirate and all. It might taint your lily-white reputation.”

  “And for yours,” she said through clenched teeth, her annoyance stoking the flames still smoldering inside. “They might think you’re my accomplice.”

  He pursed his lips and thought for several moments. “Good point. Perhaps I best drop you off at the next hospitable spaceport.”

  “Fine! That’s the best idea I’ve heard come out of your mouth.” Seething, she yanked her wrist away from him, the past several henseps feeling like a dream instead of reality. Holding out her hand palm up, she demanded, “I’ll take my clothes now if you don’t mind.”

  The scallywag leered at her, his lips still swollen from her kisses, and glistening from her juices. “But I do mind. I’m enjoying the view immensely. Did you know your nipples pucker when you’re angry?”

  Bristling, cursing her traitorous nipples, she rummaged through his compartments, uncaring that she made a mess of his things. “Is this how you treat all your women?”

  “Oh, now you’re my woman? One little roll in the sack and you possess me now, is that it?” He regarded her superciliously, his gaze darkly unfathomable on her.

  “I have a fiancé with whom I’m ecstatically happy. Besides, why in this universe would I want to possess you? Especially when you won’t even allow me the dignity of wearing my clothes?” The little voice in the back of her head niggled at her. She’d never been more ecstatically happy than she had been during the past several henseps.

  “Not until you admit how much you want to jump my bones.”

  Her pussy quivered remembering how she had burned for him a scant time ago. Heat settled in her cheeks at her total loss of control with, of all men, a pirate. But she was damned if she’d let him know or he’d be even more insufferable. Few men of her acquaintance had a higher opinion of themselves than this buccaneer. That included many a pompous king and ambassador.