Page 201 of Gladiators of the Vagabond Boxset

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I woke to the sound of a knock on the cabin door, Noa’s nude body cradled in my arms. I didn’t want to leave our warm, safe little cocoon.

My cocks were certainly of the opinion that leaving this bed was the last thing we should consider, nestled snugly as they were against Noa’s soft behind.

I didn’t want Noa to wake up, though, she’d been through so much; she could use all the sleep she could get.

So, I quietly disentangled myself from the blankets and her delicious body and shrugged into the uniform one of Feralan’s crew had donated.

It was a little snug in the shoulders, but it fit well enough, and it was clean.

I looked at Pato, who was curled up on top of his little pile of treasures, sunstones and other little knickknacks he’d taken from the hotel.

“You watch her, okay? Come get me if she needs anything.”

I stepped out into the small corridor of Feralan’s supply ship and headed for the bridge when I realized the place was empty.

They were all there—the entire crew—sitting at their various stations and talking quietly together.

The conversation stalled the moment I stepped onto the bridge, but I sensed no subterfuge from them.

“We’re out of the Jihari’s system. Our coms came online a moment ago,” Captain Feralan said, and he indicated the station where the youngest male was sitting.

Lights were glowing on the console, indicating the system was running.

I knew just enough about the more complicated ship coms to know it was indicating a live signal.

Stepping up to the young male’s shoulder, I rattled off the Vagabond’s hailing frequency and waited with bated breath as the male worked to create a connection. The Captain, in the meantime, confirmed what I’d already suspected: there had been no ship in Jihari’s orbit. The Vagabond had left.

I knew that Ziame and my other friends would never leave me behind, not in such a manner.

They’d do everything they could to see me safe, like they’d done for Kitan when he and Chloe had been taken and held captive on Sune, or how we’d worked together to free Thorin and Camila from that UAR vessel after they’d been taken.

Similarly, we hadn’t given up on finding Fierce when he’d disappeared in the wilds of Serant, the Naga planet.

The call was preceded by a loud crackling, popping noise, but the connection that followed was crystal clear. “This is the Vagabond. Who’s calling?” Sunder’s rough voice demanded over the line, a short delay indicating they were some distance away.

My heart pounded in relief at discovering that Sunder was able to safely answer a call, that my friends hadn’t run into some kind of disastrous trouble themselves.

“Sunder, this is Luka! Where are you? Are you all safe?” I asked, ignoring the shocked look and the echoing surprise among my fellow Aderians on the bridge at my abbreviation of my name.

It was not done in our culture, a rule meant to create a semblance of respect and privacy in a society where everyone knew what everyone was feeling.

I loved the informality of it, the indication of closeness that came with being allowed such familiarity.

It reminded me that I had to ask Noa about her name, it was already so short.

“Luka! Thank the stars, are you unhurt? We tried to have the Aderian authorities investigate your disappearance, but they refused and made us leave the Jihari system. We’re on Aderia now; we’ve been trying to petition the right authorities to open an investigation.

Ziame and Abigail are in a meeting right now,” Sunder hurried to explain.

Another rush of heat, of relief, at hearing that my friends were all right and that they were really trying their best to find me.

I shared a look with the Captain, then hurried to share our heading with Sunder.

“We’ll meet you there in five days, Marayan Port.

” I hoped we’d make it and briefly debated setting a different meeting point, but a supply ship like this had a busy schedule.

Feralan wouldn’t be able to take the time to bring us anywhere else.

Sunder confirmed that they were stuck in bureaucratic shenanigans for the next few days—some of it regarding the animals they’d rescued—so they would only just be able to meet us at Marayan Port.

After the call ended, with assurances from Sunder that everyone on the ship was all right and that all the animals they’d rescued were safe, Captain Feralan brought out a bottle of Aderian wine, and the lot of us shared a cup in celebration of a successful escape.

“I have a contact in the government. I’ll reach out to get an investigation opened into the practices of your mother at Jihari Resort. ”

They’d have to move fast because one way to get this under control for my mother was to make all the evidence disappear. In other words, as soon as my mother thought the news would get out and she’d have investigators on her ass, none of the slaves would be safe.

“Take this and share it with your girl,” Feralan said, shoving the half-emptied wine bottle into my hands. He smiled hugely, his weathered face crinkling around the corners of his eyes and the creases in his cheeks deepening.

I didn’t need to be told twice, and ignoring the grinning crew, I headed for our temporary bunk.

I was going to share the good news—and this wine—with Noa, and then I was going to make sweet, sweet love to her as often as she’d let me.

We had five days to fill; I was going to make damn sure my girl knew what it was like to be pleasured by a true empath.

With a lightness to my step that I hadn’t felt in years, not even after our initial release from Drameil, I headed for Noa.