Page 269 of Gladiators of the Vagabond Boxset

“Am I sharing all those bunks with anyone?” she asked, my brain firing images at me of the two of us sharing a bunk.

My eyes darted away from the soft, warm expression on her face, hoping she couldn’t read what was going through my mind.

There were still four bunks in this room; we hadn’t converted it to a single room because we hadn’t needed to.

“No,” I grunted sharply, anxious to get away from here. I was fast losing control of myself, and I couldn’t have that. I didn’t want her to realize what I was feeling. She didn’t need a grumpy asshole like me hovering over her when the rest of the crew could fill her social needs.

Her expression faltered a little, and I took a desperate step back.

“You can rest here. Should you get hungry, you can ask the ship AI to guide you to the mess hall.” My eyes snagged on the lines glowing purple on my lower arms. Damn it, I was losing it.

I needed to stick my head into a mindlessly boring job—testing the engine over and over again now that we’d made it. That’s what I should be doing.

“Oh, I can’t call you?” she asked, and despite the fact that I was backtracking out of those quarters, she followed me.

Her hand landed on my chest, her chin tilted up, eyes on my face.

If she stepped any closer, she’d feel my hard cock press against her soft belly.

I stifled a groan, fighting the urge to close the gap myself.

“No,” I growled at her, trying to shrug off her hand gently.

“I need to check on the engines.” I turned, not caring that it was rude at this point, and started to jog down the hallway.

Behind me, I heard her draw in a deep breath, and my tail lashed angrily back and forth.

Look at what I’d done now, I was acting like a total ass.

I should offer an apology, invite her to share dinner later, something to make her feel like I wasn’t just abandoning her.

My com chimed on my wrist, and I leaped at the opportunity not to have to deal with any of this.

Thumbing the accept button before I’d had a chance to check who it was, I answered with a curt “Da’vi,” and that was it.

Arianna deserved better than what I was giving her, but my brothers could handle it.

“This is Or’tal. We met back on Arakon, briefly,” a voice said in the deep, sub-harmonic tones only someone of my own species could make, not one of my brothers at all.

My mind flashed back to the planet from which we’d rescued Sunder, his mate, and their children a few months ago.

There had been a Kertinillian Spy First Class by that name there.

I’d tried to avoid him, but I knew he’d recognized me.

Wouldn’t surprise me if that was why my former captain had tried to contact me a few weeks ago.

“What the fuck do you want?” I demanded, not hiding the angry tone of my voice. Here was someone I could snarl at without feeling guilty. I had no loyalty left for them and didn’t need to attempt to be civil.

“Whoa, who bit your tail?” the spymaster joked, as if we were friends who’d known each other a long time.

I hoped he got to the point soon, or I’d hang up on him.

Then my body shivered, my skin twitching at the point of contact.

Arianna had somehow snuck up on me and placed her hand on my arm, peering at the com device strapped to my wrist with a curious expression on her face.

“What do you want from me, spy?” I said, and though I tried not to, my tail swung around to curl around Arianna’s hip, anchoring myself to her, or was it her to me?

If I gave in to my baser urges right now, I’d toss her over my shoulder and drag her straight into my domain, into the engine room, and I wouldn’t let her out until she knew she was mine.

“Nothing, just offering a warning, Ertague,” was the response.

“You’re about to have company you don’t want.

I suggest you get that Star Class Cruiser into an FTL jump, or you’ll find yourself forcefully drafted.

” The words sent a chill down my spine, arousal forgotten.

I shifted my body to curl one arm around Arianna’s shoulders protectively, as if it were her they were after, not me.

“ETA?” I asked, but the line had already gone dead.

This Or’tal had no business warning me about the arrival of a Kertinillian vessel, it would be the opposite of what his superiors wanted.

It was a kind of betrayal, even. General Allignon would see him court-martialed if he found out, which meant this was either an elaborate scheme or Or’tal felt he owed us after Arakon.

“Akri, long-range scans, any ships approaching our location?” I called out, well aware that the ship AI was always listening. Our sensors were good, better than those on most ships, since this had once been a scout vessel. If there was anything approaching, Akri would confirm it.

“Checking scans now, Da’vi,” he intoned, and I saw how Arianna’s eyes went wide at the sound.

She’d stepped closer as soon as I’d wrapped her in my tail; now both her hands were on my chest, her soft curves pressing against my hard muscles.

She mouthed something at me, but without sounds, the translator implants couldn’t do their job.

“Affirmative, one ship fast approaching. It appears to be a Raptor Class ship.”

“Does that mean that guy’s warning was correct?

” Arianna asked. I nodded before rushing into action.

The last thing I wanted was to be here when the Kertinillian Army came to collect me.

It was only a rumor, but I’d heard about those who didn’t do as they were told, about secret facilities where they’d do whatever they wanted with you until you gave in.

That would be my fate if they got their hands on me.

“Akri, guide Arianna to the bridge,” I ordered the AI, then leaned in and pressed my forehead against hers, breathing in her scent, letting it fill my lungs until they ached. “Stay safe. This might get a little rough.”

I started to pull away, but she halted me by throwing her arms around my neck, her body colliding with mine, soft breasts pressing against my chest. Her lips were pressed so suddenly against my own that I froze, too startled to properly respond.

Then she was pulling away, one hand gliding along my tail so that lightning shot up my spine and my cock ached. “Stay safe, Da’vi.”

It took me more than a few seconds to unglue myself from the spot and drag my head out of the gutter.

My eyes focused on her swaying hips and the flirty way her skirt swirled around her ankles.

When she turned the corner, there was a big, satisfied smile on her face, which shot another sharp spike of heat down my spine.

I didn’t have time for this. I needed to get this ship in motion. Calling both Ziame and Kitan on my com device, I started running for the engine room. “We’ve got a problem, we need to get out of here, now!”