minute?” she asked.
David’s visage remained
unreadable. When he finally pulled his attention away from Dale to look at her,
she wondered if he would refuse to leave, but he surprised her with a small
kiss. “I’ll be outside, in the shade, if you need me.”
“Thank you,” she said.
Maybe if David weren’t standing
right beside her she could think more clearly about Dale’s offer. It wasn’t
exactly what she had anticipated, but six weeks away from David was better than
losing her suite on the Bard and maybe never seeing him again.
“Your pilot’s quite friendly.”
Dale broke into her thoughts. “Or maybe he’s just marking his territory?”
He waited for Mari to respond,
but she remained uncharacteristically quiet. She was afraid anything she said
might make Dale reconsider. Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad if he did. If she
walked away from this job, others would be out there. Isn’t that what David had
insisted when they first arrived?
“He’s not your amour, is
he?”
“No,” Mari said quickly.
“We’re…friends and we share a lot of our time together on the Bard .”
She could feel the heat rising into her cheeks, giving her away. “It’s a
small ship.”
Dale walked closer. “Very intimate accommodations, I imagine.”
She studied the light blue polish
on her fingernails to avoid looking at Dale, but still caught the leer peeking
from the side of his mouth.
“The Thrall isn’t
like your refurbished pleasure cruiser, but you’ll see that it can still be surprisingly
intimate.”
The remark brought that needling
caution back into Mari’s mind. What if Dale wanted more than a hydroponics bay
from her?
“May I have a little time to
think about this?” Mari asked. “I know you’re scheduled to leave
tomorrow, so I would let you know by morning. Please, don’t think I’m ungrateful.
I just have to put some things in order.”
“Not a problem, dear.”
He leaned in to say, “A word of advice, though, Armadans are a pushy lot.
If you don’t show your nav leader that you won’t be ordered about like a
crewman, he’ll expect your obedience to his every whim forever after. Very
similar to the situation you left at home, as I recall.”
Mari didn’t disagree. In fact she
said nothing as she left.
“The Armadan will be a
problem. He already has influence over her. I could see it in their body
language,” Dale said. “He’ll convince her not to take my offer so
that he doesn’t lose her.”
“What do you want to do
about it?” Carlos asked.
“Not give her a chance to
say no. The other women didn’t have that luxury. Why should this one?”
“I don’t think a simple
abduction would be so simple with the Armadan in the picture. He’s an
ex-fleet captain and he didn’t get to that position without a few fights along
the way.”
“You don’t think you can
handle him?” Dale smirked.
Carlos’ fair skin flushed a light
pink. “I can deal with him, but storming their ship and prying the blonde
out of the pilot’s arms would be a huge mistake.”
“We have the best law team
money can buy. I’ve never had a conviction because I pay our Sovereign a hefty
insurance fee, plus he’s family. He’d never let a cousin, no matter how
distant, be caught up in any trouble. ”
“It’s not just the legal
issues I’m concerned about. This would be personal to the Armadan.”
“Who cares? Once we have her,
he can’t do anything about it.”
Carlos shook his head in
frustration. His tone was clipped when he spoke, as though he were holding
back. “With respect, chairman, you have never served in the fleet. It is
its own world, with its own rules and codes of conduct. Its own justice .
You snatch that woman from him outright, you better kill him because he won’t
stop until he finds you. And, if you kill him , he has brothers and
cousins, and men he served with who will come kicking your door down just to
see you bleed.”
Dale snickered, shattering
David’s visage remained
unreadable. When he finally pulled his attention away from Dale to look at her,
she wondered if he would refuse to leave, but he surprised her with a small
kiss. “I’ll be outside, in the shade, if you need me.”
“Thank you,” she said.
Maybe if David weren’t standing
right beside her she could think more clearly about Dale’s offer. It wasn’t
exactly what she had anticipated, but six weeks away from David was better than
losing her suite on the Bard and maybe never seeing him again.
“Your pilot’s quite friendly.”
Dale broke into her thoughts. “Or maybe he’s just marking his territory?”
He waited for Mari to respond,
but she remained uncharacteristically quiet. She was afraid anything she said
might make Dale reconsider. Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad if he did. If she
walked away from this job, others would be out there. Isn’t that what David had
insisted when they first arrived?
“He’s not your amour, is
he?”
“No,” Mari said quickly.
“We’re…friends and we share a lot of our time together on the Bard .”
She could feel the heat rising into her cheeks, giving her away. “It’s a
small ship.”
Dale walked closer. “Very intimate accommodations, I imagine.”
She studied the light blue polish
on her fingernails to avoid looking at Dale, but still caught the leer peeking
from the side of his mouth.
“The Thrall isn’t
like your refurbished pleasure cruiser, but you’ll see that it can still be surprisingly
intimate.”
The remark brought that needling
caution back into Mari’s mind. What if Dale wanted more than a hydroponics bay
from her?
“May I have a little time to
think about this?” Mari asked. “I know you’re scheduled to leave
tomorrow, so I would let you know by morning. Please, don’t think I’m ungrateful.
I just have to put some things in order.”
“Not a problem, dear.”
He leaned in to say, “A word of advice, though, Armadans are a pushy lot.
If you don’t show your nav leader that you won’t be ordered about like a
crewman, he’ll expect your obedience to his every whim forever after. Very
similar to the situation you left at home, as I recall.”
Mari didn’t disagree. In fact she
said nothing as she left.
“The Armadan will be a
problem. He already has influence over her. I could see it in their body
language,” Dale said. “He’ll convince her not to take my offer so
that he doesn’t lose her.”
“What do you want to do
about it?” Carlos asked.
“Not give her a chance to
say no. The other women didn’t have that luxury. Why should this one?”
“I don’t think a simple
abduction would be so simple with the Armadan in the picture. He’s an
ex-fleet captain and he didn’t get to that position without a few fights along
the way.”
“You don’t think you can
handle him?” Dale smirked.
Carlos’ fair skin flushed a light
pink. “I can deal with him, but storming their ship and prying the blonde
out of the pilot’s arms would be a huge mistake.”
“We have the best law team
money can buy. I’ve never had a conviction because I pay our Sovereign a hefty
insurance fee, plus he’s family. He’d never let a cousin, no matter how
distant, be caught up in any trouble. ”
“It’s not just the legal
issues I’m concerned about. This would be personal to the Armadan.”
“Who cares? Once we have her,
he can’t do anything about it.”
Carlos shook his head in
frustration. His tone was clipped when he spoke, as though he were holding
back. “With respect, chairman, you have never served in the fleet. It is
its own world, with its own rules and codes of conduct. Its own justice .
You snatch that woman from him outright, you better kill him because he won’t
stop until he finds you. And, if you kill him , he has brothers and
cousins, and men he served with who will come kicking your door down just to
see you bleed.”
Dale snickered, shattering
Similar Books
