and caught him dressed only in pants, his shirt still in his hands. He turned those clear blue eyes her way, his expression too smooth for her to trust. What did he plan? Was he even now plotting how quickly he could sell her? And why did she want to cross the room and play with the silver rings piercing his chest?
“The place I am going to is not safe for females.”
“But I’d be with you. Besides, what if you don’t come back? I’d be stuck here and probably starve to death since I don’t know how to work any of your damned buttons.” She slapped the mug down on the table.
He sighed as he pulled his shirt on over his head and hid his magnificent torso. “You are truly trying my patience, Megan. There is nothing in this way station dangerous enough to keep me from coming back.”
“Says you,” she replied mulishly, crossing her arms over her chest.
“Yes, says me. Besides, how do you expect to join me when you have nothing to cover your feet?”
Megan looked down at her bare toes and bit her lip. Her lack of foot apparel hadn’t occurred to her. “You’re a pirate. Aren’t you supposed to have like booty on board? Surely, you can find me a pair of shoes to wear.”
Was that the sound of him gnashing his teeth? “I am not a pirate. I am an acquisitions specialist.”
Megan chuckled. “You’re not serious, are you?” She caught a glimpse of his austere mien, and laughed harder. “Oh my god, you are. That’s funny. I hate to break it to you, my giant, purple buccaneer, but on my world, the plundering of items and people without purchasing them first makes you a pirate.”
“You are aggravating me again,” he growled with narrowed eyes. She kind of liked it when he did that, not that she’d admit it aloud.
“What are you going to about it? Make me walk the plank?” Megan cracked up so hard, she fell onto the chair, and thus she missed him leaving, but she did catch his parting remark.
“I’ll be back to pillage you later.”
What should have sounded like a threat, made her tingle instead. Totally unacceptable, but forewarned, she had time to prepare.
She wouldn’t give in without a fight.
Tren entered the pit station in a foul mood. Pirate indeed.
While the task of refueling his ship was accomplished with ease, a lack of parts for his vessel meant he’d have to delay the repair of the thruster engine, which in turn meant another stop before he could offload Megan.
Perhaps he should invest in some ear coverings to shut out her ranting? He chuckled as he imagined her reaction, then he caught himself. He did not find her amusing. Not in the least. With a scowl plastered to his face, he stalked through the almost deserted space station, barely noticing the sparse inhabitants that scattered from his path. A bright swath of color at a vendor’s stall caught his eye and he pivoted.
Too many credits spent later, he returned to the ship with a package tucked under one arm.
Before heading to his quarters and the feisty earthling, he made a detour to his bridge. While setting a course for their next stop and answering communications received while he visited the barbarian galaxy, he also ensured the ship provided a meal for his captive. He wanted her well-fed when he next visited her. She’d need energy for what he planned. Or hoped to have occur. Making assumptions in her case could prove erroneous given she didn’t react like any female he’d ever known. It was admittedly the most frustrating thing about her and also the most fascinating.
His work in the command room took longer than expected, but when he finally did make his way to his room, anticipation coursed through him. He refused to examine his eagerness to see her. A few times, during his tedious work, he’d though of asking the computer to provide him a video link to his room. He’d abstained. It smacked too much of desperation and he refused to succumb to that type of pitiful weakness.
But when he stepped into the room and discovered it in shambles, he cursed his lack of foresightedness. Then cursed again as something hard hit him in the head.
“What in frukx are you doing?” he bellowed.
Megan about to swing his boot at him again, stopped and scowled. “I was trying to knock you out so I could escape this room. And it would have worked, too, if you didn’t have such a bloody thick skull.”
Curiosity made him ask, “And then what would you have done after you rendered me unconscious?”
She shrugged. “I don’t know. Made it to your bridge and commandeered the ship I guess.”
Tren tried to hold it in. Truly he did, but the laughter burst free from him, and got louder the darker her look became.
“I don’t see what’s so funny,” she muttered, crossing her arms in a way that pushed up her delectable breasts.
Tren snorted. “Firstly, you’d need something harder and require a lot more strength to subdue me with a simple blow. Secondly, my ship would never have responded to you.”
“What about three?” she asked.
“There is no three. You would have never made it past the first two.”
“Good to know. I’ll make sure I revise my plan for next time.”
She said it so seriously that Tren chuckled again. She truly had a warrior’s heart in that lush body of hers. A part him recognized he should punish her, that he at least display some sort of anger that she’d tried to hurt him and escape. Instead, he found it vastly entertaining. And besides, if she did manage to somehow slip away, he’d have hunted her down, thrown her over his shoulder and… What a shame she hadn’t succeeded. Perhaps the next time he’d allow her to think she had just so he could enjoy the chase.
He tossed the package he’d carried in with him at her. She didn’t catch it, even though it hit her in the stomach.
“Hey,” she yelled. “What was that for?”
Tren rolled his eyes. “You were supposed to catch it.”
“Did it ever occur to you to just hand it to me?”
“No. Now be quiet and open it.”
“And if I refuse to shut up?”
Tren’s cock swelled and his lips curved into a partial leer. “Then I have something I can shove in your mouth to quiet you, so go right ahead.”
She didn’t back away or cringe in fear. On the contrary, her breathing hitched, her cheeks flushed and her nipples hardened into points under the thin linen of his shirt. “Pig,” she replied without any rancorous heat so the word sound more like a term of endearment. “What’s in the package?” she asked changing the subject. She eyed the bundle suspiciously and shook it.
“Something you don’t deserve after your antics,” he retorted.
She stuck her tongue out at him and vibrated it, making a strange noise. He shook his head at her antics. Why he didn’t kill her, he didn’t know. She aggravated him to no ends with her arguing, but he still watched her avidly as she tore open the package and pulled out its contents.
She found the shoes first, more like sandals, but she still grinned as she slid them on her feet. “Awesome. No more freezing feet on your cold floors.”
Her smile of pleasure turned to incredulity as she held up the other item he’d bought. She shook out the red gown and Tren leaned against the wall with his arms crossed over his chest as he waited for her reaction. She didn’t disappoint.
“Are you out of your fucking mind? I am soooo not wearing this-this
“You requested clothing and shoes. Being a kind and generous male, I have provided items I feel will increase your worth when it comes time to sell you.”
The red fabric sailed through the air to hit him in a silken flutter.
“I am not dressing in that.” Her emphatic statement went well with her heaving chest and sparking eyes. It
