The Amazing Tales of Wildcat Arrows by Dara Joy

her cabin was located.
    Stop looking at that skin, dimwit. Do not even gaze at it. You are heading down a dangerous path, Kerreth vos Volent.
    There was no way he could stop himself.
    She was so delectable… !
    His heart begin to beat with a familiar heavy
thud thud
as he trailed the corridors behind her. Yeah, she had a galaxy-class backside. High, tight, round. A weighty handful.
    Just the way he liked it.
    If that wasn't temptation enough—he added in the curvy shape, small waist, and spirited, bouncy breasts. He had noted earlier that her breasts also looked like a nice palmful for him.
    Not too big. Not too small, either. Just perfect.
    And all that crazy, wild red hair!
    She was gorgeous.
    Best of all, she had none of the boring affectations of the women he was usually put together with—and it would be fair to say he had been with his share. Beautiful women. Sophisticated women.
    So why was
this one
getting to him so much?
    He needed to keep his distance from her. The Heart of the Merchandiser had to come first.
    But that didn't mean he couldn't lead her on for a bit.
    If she (and that ridiculous Floop) wanted to believe that his crotch was explosive—Well, for that she deserved a little teasing.
    Leading the way, Lucky walked into a closed door. "
Ow
!"
    "Ah, are you trying to make yourself unconscious before our big bang arrives?"
    "Don't be stupid." She rubbed her nose. "It was supposed to open automatically. This loony tune ship is nothing but spare, two-bit parts; it never works the way it should!"
    Frustrated, she kicked the door. It smoothly flowed open for her. "Argh!"
    He suppressed a grin. Lucky stormed inside the cabin.
    It was clear she was not too happy about the predicament they found themselves in: a stolen Masterstroke 6000, no jewel, extermination imminent, and Wildcat Arrows suspiciously absent. Where was the tracker anyway? There had been no sign of him onboard.
    Kerreth followed her inside and gazed around the room.
    There wasn't a spare inch of space.
    The metal walls were covered with a draping woven fabric that swooped over the narrow bed in a sort of lopsided canopy. A small desk was cluttered with oddities. Most of them were souvenirs from various worlds—the kind you pick up on a whim at the way station shops. Additional fabrics were draped over a table and scattered clothes were tossed on top of that.
    A holo image drifted back and forth over the wall of a smiling Lucky, a tall man with long black hair, SpinDrift, Clugot… and the edge of what looked to be some other kind of being.
    Metal storage boxes littered the floor. Navigating the room was like going through a maze. Kerreth thought there might be a chair in the corner but there was no telling. And books! He had never seen so many in one place! Most of them looked like love stories.
    He never knew anyone from Earth who collected the old things. Nobody from that planet read anymore. At least not from paper.
    He bent down and picked up one that had a colorful image on the cover. Science fiction was printed on the spine.
    He carefully opened it.
    Inside, on the first page, the words 'House of Sages' were printed. And under that '
Property of Wildcat Arrows
.'
    So her brother was a reader. Who would have thought it?
    By the well-used look of these books, he had passed his love of the written word on to his sister.
    Lucky noticed the old book in his hand. "Do you read?"
    "Not books and not fiction."
    "Why am I not surprised."
    She was referring to him being an android.
    The truth was he never had the time to sit and read. Perhaps he had been missing something? The corporate syndicates were not supportive of the pastime so maybe there was something to it? He made a note to himself to look into it.
    "You know, Lucky, I am not that much different from you."
    "Really. And do you dream of electric sheep?"
    His brow furrowed. "I don't follow you." He felt like an android in that moment. For flickerin' sake, he even sounded like one!
You do not