Adiron (Corsair Brothers 1)

I try not to roll my eyes.

"I am glad we are all here now," Straik says in a stiff voice. His accent sounds different from the others, even through the translator, and I wonder if he's speaking a different dialect than the others. Different country? Planet? I wish I knew. "We need to discuss the matter of the discovery of the Buoyant Star and its…ahem, cargo."

"We also need to discuss the weapons we'll be receiving, since we're now part of this crew," Alice says boldly. "If Jade has a weapon, I want one, too."

"I am not arming you," Straik continues. "Now, can we discuss—"

I watch as Kaspar leans toward her. "I will," he mock-whispers. "After this." And he winks.

Alice fights the smile that curves her mouth, but she looks pleased, and a new thought occurs to me…we set a seduction trap for these men. What if they're playing the same game with us? Feed us, clothe us, seduce us with weapons and promises of safety…and then what?

I wish I could trust someone. Anyone.

I look over at Adiron as Straik continues speaking, and I notice he's not paying attention to the others. He's watching me, and there's that weird mixture of pride and affection in his eyes as he regards me. I don't know what to make of him…but I wonder if he's the one I can trust.

After all, he DOES have a terrible poker face.

23

JADE

"Let us discuss the Buoyant Star now," Lord Straik demands in a pompous voice. "We've wasted enough time as it is."

Suddenly, I'm tired of this. I'm tired of being bossed around by men all the time. I'm tired of being afraid and not being respected. I feel like a ping-pong ball that's been bounced back and forth between parties ever since I woke up to find myself in deep space instead of on Earth. First, it was the crew of the Star…or at least, a crew. Then they fractured and split, and we were left with two grope-happy idiots, and when we made it clear we were not submitting as simpering bed slaves just because they had the keys to the ship, they left us behind.

Now these blue guys think they can run roughshod over us, and I'm tired of all of it. I'm tired of being pushed around this universe just because I don't have a penis.

And it ends now.

I lift a hand into the air before Straik can say anything else. "I need to know a few things before we go on." And I wait, calmly.

Straik makes a blustering noise, but Mathiras watches me with sharp eyes. Maybe he senses I've been pushed to the edge of my limits. "What is it?"

I clear my throat, feigning a serenity I don't quite feel. "Before we discuss anything, I need to know if my ladies are all right. If they are still cuffed or they've been harmed in any way, then none of this…"—I gesture at the table we're seated around, as if we're holding a very civilized sort of meeting—"…matters."

Straik opens his mouth to speak.

I lift a finger, silencing him. "I didn't ask you." I point at Alice and Ruth, then at Helen. "I asked them."

At my side, I hear Adiron huff in what has to be laughter, and I discreetly kick him under the table. Now is not the time.

For a moment, Straik looks as if he's going to burst a blood vessel in his eye, and I suspect no one talks to him like I just did. I don't care, though. I'm tired of people bargaining for me or around me. I have nothing left to lose, and so I'm going to bet it all. I'm not a warrior. I don't win my battles with a gun or elite skills. I've got jiggly thighs and a fear of heights, so I have to win my wars with smarts. And I know right now that if I let these men make plans around me, I'm never going to be on equal ground with any of them.

If they don't like it, they can just send me back to the other ship. It's probably safer there for us anyhow.

"Alice?" Kaspar asks, and for a moment, he looks just like Adiron, because he's doing his best to hide a laughing smirk behind a hand…and doing it poorly.

Alice licks her lips and gives me a proud smile that tells me she's thrilled I've taken charge. "I have been treated well enough," she says. "No torture, no rape, and while I would like some clothes, I'm content to wait a little longer." She lifts her hands to display her wrists. "No cuffs, either."

"Ruth?" I ask.

"Fine," is all she says.

I turn to Helen. "Are you all right?"

Her smile is broad and sweet. "I'm wonderful, thank you for asking."

"No one tortured you or hurt you? Did they touch you inappropriately?" I have to push it, to make sure Helen grasps what I'm referring to.