Page 123 of Gladiators of the Vagabond Boxset

Swinging upright, I still winced when I put weight back on the leg, but as soon as I was striding down the corridor, the pain eased and faded into the background.

Which was fantastic, so I quickly trotted to the primary crime scene, searching for blood, clues, or anything wedged behind a panel.

Akri and I discussed the camera angles we had available in this corridor and how to fix them so that we’d eliminate the blind spot.

I found a few drops of blood, which I took samples of using the kit I’d originally gotten from the Doc for just this purpose.

It was a familiar task, which made me feel more like my old self again.

So when I suddenly sensed a presence in the corridor with me, I was actually grinning when I looked up.

I noticed Camila, barefoot and still in her undersuit, which clung sleekly to all her curves and muscles.

“Olá!” she said. “What are you up to now?”

“Done awing over the baby, are you?” I shot back at her.

That made her smile radiantly, her dark eyes sparkling and a soft flush rising to her cheeks.

She liked kids, which made my skin crawl, because I hadn’t been ready for kids back then, and I certainly wasn’t any readier now.

But I wanted her, and I knew she wanted me, so we could keep this simple enough.

“Novalee needed to sleep, and I decided I’d look you up…

I hope that’s okay?” she asked, and the fact that she seemed uncertain of her welcome made me feel like a heel.

I’d messed up everything so badly since meeting her.

When my frown made her step back—chin and shoulders going up into defensive mode—it was a little like looking into a mirror.

How often did I posture like that, just to make sure I didn’t make myself vulnerable?

I gestured at the drops of blood on the wall panel and floor.

“I am investigating a murder.” Her eyebrows shot up in surprise, so I elaborated.

“Shortly after we left Strewn—about two weeks ago—we began opening up portions of the ship that had previously been inaccessible due to hull damage. When we did, Chloe and Kitan discovered a body in the lounge area of the ship.”

She nodded attentively, so I got into the spirit of sharing, aware she was definitely not a suspect in this because she hadn’t been on the ship at all.

I explained about the pirates who had previously run this ship, our uprising, and our surprise at finding the pirate doc’s body, with a time of death dated after the Strewn shipyard.

“So let me get this straight,” she said, an excited gleam in her eyes, “that pirate doctor hid out on this ship somewhere for more than a week? Now you have footage of him ransacking a smuggling hatch, getting stabbed just out of view here, and then stumbling his way into the lounge around the corner? With no sign of a culprit and everyone accounted for?”

I nodded. “Yeah, pretty much—that was it.” I knew what questions were left to ask, like: What had he taken from the smuggling hatch?

Where aboard the ship had he been hiding all that time?

I had Akri run full ship scans to account for all life signs, and he was also attempting to retrace Miean’s steps even further to locate his original hiding place.

“Mmm,” Camila hummed, crouching next to me to study the blood splatter. I’d finished taking the samples and used the datapad to record images of the arrangement. “Not a lot of it, is there?” she observed, nibbling on the lush pillow of her bottom lip.

Briefly distracted, I nodded. “Luka says he was stabbed with a knife. If he didn’t pull it out, the knife would block the blood from going everywhere. Since he was a doctor, it would make sense that he knew not to do that until he could prevent bleeding out.”

Only, we hadn’t found a knife on his body, and there was no knife visible when he stumbled to the lounge.

So where was the murder weapon? We eyed the corridor up and down, and Camila helped me inspect each panel in the blind spot to check if any were loose, something might have been hidden behind one.

“Yes!” she exclaimed suddenly. “Look here, scratches!” She was crouched in front of a small panel at the bottom of the wall, indicating tiny markings on the edge.

Her sleek body curved as she dipped her head close to inspect her discovery, her round behind deliciously outlined in the form-fitting black fabric of her undersuit.

Hot arousal washed over me; my cock going painfully hard in seconds. This woman was lethal.

“Hmm,” I told her, because she wiggled while she tried to remove the panel. Would she object if I were to run my palm over that smooth curve?

Lost in a fantasy of just what I wanted to do to her from this angle, I didn’t realize she’d noticed my staring until she made a snapping sound with her fingers. “Hey, pay attention here, big guy,” she admonished, laughter coloring her voice.

I felt the pointed tips of my ears heat a little.

“I was paying attention. Delightfully so,” I informed the female, which made her laugh with abandon, throwing her head back so I could stare at the smooth line of her throat, and then at the even more amazing movement of her chest with each peal of laughter.

“You’re terrible,” she said, all smiles, swatting a little at my arm.

Eyes heated, groin on fire for her, I dropped to my knees in front of her, leaning into her space so that she had no choice but to press back against the wall.

She moved slowly, letting our bodies brush together, her brown eyes wide, growing hotter by the second.

Her mouth opened, maybe to object, maybe to urge me on. I didn’t care; I needed to kiss her.

My hand had already curled around her pretty braid, and I used it to angle her face to mine.

When our lips met, she was the one who bit at my bottom lip, nibbling on my piercings.

The tugging sensations sent shafts of desire through my body.

I could so easily imagine her sucking on my cock. Fuck, I wanted that.

Crowding her against the wall, I pressed one thigh between her legs, making her soft body ride against me.

Through my leather pants, I wouldn’t be able to feel her wetness, but I could definitely feel her heat.

As I ground against her mound, I could hear her panting and see the way desire tightened her features.

She’d given up on kissing me, lost in the friction I was creating between her gently muscled legs.

I tugged on her braid, arching her into a backward curve so I could dip my head, nibbling and nipping my way down the column of her throat.

Then I laved against the skin exposed above the zipper that kept her suit closed.

My free hand lowered that zipper in a flash, and then her breasts spilled out, lush and soft, tipped with dark nipples.

A hungry groan escaped my mouth, and I swooped down, sucking first on one and then the other, scraping a canine around the edge of one areola to tantalize her with the merest bite of pain.

She came apart on a husky moan, her hands tightly clenched in my braids.

My name on her lips. Yeah, that was sheer perfection right there.

That post-orgasm expression had her stubborn face all soft and warm, cheeks flushed, eyes sparkling.

When she realized what had just happened, she frowned, pulling away. “Holy Hannah, what just happened?”

No, that wasn’t right, I wanted to bask longer in that sexed-up look. “I believe I just made you come. Hard,” I smirked at her.

She half-heartedly slapped my chest, rolling her eyes. “I know that, jerk,” she laughed. “In a corridor, for everyone to walk in on, no less.”

Making a show of it, I turned to look to the left, then to the right, before shrugging.

“Not much traffic here, is there?” My heart was still racing in my chest, and the air around us was filled with the scent of her arousal.

I licked my lips, tasting her kiss and wishing I could taste her between her legs instead.

Her breasts were still exposed, the zipper hanging just below her belly button.

She hadn’t closed her suit yet, so I took advantage, tipping her head back again and suckling on one perky tip.

She moaned, her whole body sliding against the leg I’d pinned her on.

“Thorin… weren’t you trying to solve a murder?

” she murmured, but she gave in barely a second later, her arms wriggling out of her suit and curling beneath the leather of my jacket.

“Fine, I give in,” she murmured as if it were a great chore, and then she was pulling on my clothes.

Heat surged through me at the capitulation, in moments, I had her spread out on the floor, her suit stripped off her.

She wasn’t shy, undulating, displaying her body for me, and tweaking her own nipples when that made me growl.

I didn’t have the patience to undress, so I just popped the fastening on my own pants and freed my eager cock.

Her eyes went wide at the sight, and I smirked smugly, I knew I was well-endowed.

Testing her wetness, I slid a finger into her hot core and watched as her eyes fluttered shut.

Testing what she liked, I quickly found just the right spot inside to make her pant and writhe.

I pulled my finger free and grabbed both her legs, yanking her close so her bottom was cradled in my lap.

Then I leaned forward on one arm and lined us up.

Her sheath kissed the tip of my cock with heat and wetness, and, with a heartfelt groan, I sank inside her.

*

Camila

As Thorin sank inside me, my eyes could only roll back into my head at the sheer pleasure of the sensation. Who knew he was packing that much heat? And that it would be shaped like that? Holy hell, with ridges riding the base and several piercings to add interesting texture.

He was stretching me almost to the edge of uncomfortable, but each slide of those ridges and piercings, scraping against my inner walls…

sent new wetness gushing out to lubricate his passage.

“Faster,” I told him. “Harder, too!” I wrapped my legs around his narrow hips and used them for leverage, meeting him with every pounding thrust.

We were scooting a little along the floor with each motion until my shoulder and head pressed awkwardly against the wall.

I didn’t care; I could only focus on the magic he was creating with each grunt and slap, the pounding pace he set.

Within moments, I was clutching hard at him, clenching my inner muscles around his intruding member as I came with a shout.

Thorin shifted, leaning over me and grabbing my braid again, tugging sharply on my scalp as he wrapped it around his fist and held on tight.

His motions turned erratic, his green eyes fever-bright.

His face was pulled into a snarl of bliss, canines poking sharply at his lush bottom lip.

He came on a growl, his thick cock kicking hard inside me as jet after jet of come bathed my insides.

It set off another orgasm for me, the sensations and the heated expression on his face were too much for me to offer any kind of resistance to.

He was on his arms, leaning over me, his chest moving in harsh pants as he tried to regain his senses.

I loved seeing him like that, wild and out of control.

Still dressed, while I was naked. The sharp contrast between his power over my body and my submissive position, while somehow he was the one wrecked by this, thrilled me.

I could tell he looked a little shaken, though he quickly covered it up with an arrogant smirk.

When he leaned back on his heels and slowly pulled out, I let out a long sigh, stretching my body because I loved his eyes on me.

Despite the technically public setting, this corridor felt quite private; this was a huge ship, and nobody had much reason to be here anyway.

So I had no issue with remaining nude a little longer.

Being in the Marines, I wasn’t all that bothered by it anyway.

Stretching my hands out above my head for a better full-body stretch, I knocked into the wall and, with a clatter, an entire panel dropped down.

I could only just roll out of the way, partially helped by Thorin yanking on my ankle to get me out of range.

“What the hell was that?” I demanded, clutching my arms around my chest in a belated urge for modesty as I stared at the open pipes now visible.

Thorin appraised those pipes for a moment before saying firmly, “Get dressed, babe. I think it’s time I ask our mechanic for some insights.”