Knight, Dee S. - Bride of the Pryde (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour) by Dee S. Knight Page B

first where she wasn’t. Not the bathroom, exercise room, crew lounge, or galley. Silently, he strode to the bridge.
    She stood in little more than a thin gown, silhouetted against the backdrop of open space shown through the viewing window. Removing the robe, he draped it over her shoulders. “You must be cold. We drop the temperature in here when we’re on autopilot.”
    “I’m fine.” But she pulled the edges around to her cover her front.
    He positioned himself behind her and felt a strange sense of contentment when she leaned back against him. Almost without volition, he wrapped his arms around her. As one, they regarded the vastness of space.
    “Does this ever frighten you?” she asked. “Only a thin sheet of metal separates us from a vacuum that would kill instantly. We’re not really safe, and yet we go through life thinking we are.”
    He gave her comments some thought. They didn’t seem to be about space and the ship’s bulkheads. “Like one thin lie separates you from death at the Jackal’s hands. You’re right. We aren’t safe in life. One wrong move brings this about, another move brings that.”
    “We’re fools then.”
    “No, we’re just people trying to do what’s best in the best way we know. It’s who we are, what makes us special. I admire you for the work you’ve done.”
    “What frightens you, John Erik? Anything?”
    At that moment, telling Susan McAllister that he thought he might love her scared the piss out of him. Which was why he wasn’t about to tell her. “When I was little, my mother used to tell me stories about monsters who hid in the deep woods behind our house. We lived in the northern section of the Nordic Region, and the forest was dark and forbidding—a place I could well imagine monsters.” He felt her smile. Rubbing her arms, he wondered if her mother had told her such stories, too.
    “When I grew older, I realized she told me those things for my own good. The woods were a place children wandered and got lost. There were wolves living there and bears. She frightened me to make sure I stayed away from a place where I could be harmed until I was old enough to protect myself. Fear isn’t always a bad thing. Only when we let it rule our lives is it dangerous.”
    “Are you nervous about going back into Jackal’s territory?”
    “Nervous, yes,” Erik admitted. “But I’m not afraid.” Except for what might happen to you, my brave warrior. “You see, I’m not alone. I have Charlie and Adam and you with me. And you have all of us. Don’t forget it.”
    She sighed. “It’s been hard to open myself to you three. Hard to remember that I can rely on someone other than myself. But I’m getting better. I appreciate you three more than you know, and I’m drawing strength from you every day.”
    He squeezed her to him, knowing how much her admission meant. “I’m glad to hear it. You’re one of us, you know, as if you have always been here. You’re part of us.” She nodded. God, just holding her felt good. “Ready to come back to bed?”
    “Yes.” She turned in his arms and kissed him. “Let’s go back.”

    * * * *

    Erik’s Pryde cruised silently up the river Oze, leading to the dock in the middle of Jackal’s empire. Susan knew a dozen or more laser cannons had been pointed at them since they entered the planet’s atmosphere. She hadn’t radioed her presence on board. Instead, she believed Erik when he said Jackal’s men would recognize the ship. Criminy! She hoped this plan didn’t backfire. Though she would have to leave them to return to Earth and discover who had betrayed her, she’d come to love these men.
    The feeling was alien but pleasant. She wouldn’t have traded the time on Erik’s Pryde for anything. The past few days had been an orgy of new experiences, from laughter and intimate talks to wildly intensive sex. Their sexual exploits seemed to shock even Dilly into speechlessness. His snide remarks had tapered off to nothing.