Pierce sighed and stroked her soft blonde hair, wishing he didn’t have to go. Wishing he could stay here forever with her. He was tired of the life he’d lived up ‘til a month and a half ago—always on the run. He wanted to retire.
Then it hit him—why couldn’t he stay here with Leita? It wasn’t like he was leaving anything behind. No family or friends or commitments that had to be honored. At one time the idea of giving up his footloose life to settle down on the edge of an asteroid belt would have bothered him—but not anymore. It was time to face the fact that he loved Leita—loved her like crazy. The sweet little blonde had gotten under his skin like no other woman ever had and Pierce realized he’d be crazy to let her get away. No, it was time to come clean and admit who he really was and how he really felt.
The only thing he really wanted from his former life was his little Titan Jaunter— the ship he’d left on Osiris. It was sleek and modern and more maneuverable than the clunky droid ships Leita had collecting ore. It could also go superlight which was definitely a feature they didn’t have. That would be a real asset to have out here at the edge of the system—especially if they wanted to go get supplies from another planet and not shut down the entire operation for a whole month.
The more Pierce thought about it, the more excited he got. He wanted to wake up Leita right then and there and tell her the truth and how he felt about her. But one look at her sleeping face convinced him otherwise. She looked utterly exhausted in the dim light of the bedroom. Tonight’s encounter had really taken a lot out of her. Out of him too, Pierce realized, with a huge yawn. He loved playing extreme sex games with Leita, but it tended to push the emotions involved into the stratosphere which meant pure exhaustion afterward. Of course, that didn’t mean he didn’t want to do it again. Just the memory of how she’d submitted to him, of how she’d opened herself and given herself entirely had him half hard all over again. Oh yes, Pierce was looking forward to many more years of playing the master to Leita’s submissive little slave girl. But for tonight, he decided, it was better just to get some sleep.
He pulled her closer and breathed in her sweet scent, vowing to tell her everything in the morning.
Chapter 7
“Leita, I think you’d better come see this.” A cold nose was poking the palm of her hand, nudging her from the depths of sleep.
“Huh?” Leita opened her eyes groggily and glanced at the blue numbers displayed by the chronometer above her info cube. “What do you want, Schneider?” she asked in a whisper so as not to wake Pierce. “It’s the middle of the night.”
“Well, I’m sorry, sleeping beauty, but this can’t wait.” Despite his sarcastic words, Schneider sounded really worried.
“What is it?” Leita sat up in bed, peering at the small figure standing by the side of the bed. It was hard to tell in the dim light, but Schneider’s fur looked puffy and disordered and his tufted tail was as big as a bottle brush—a sure sign that he was feeling threatened.
“Just come on. And bring that tazer pen that belonged to your father,” her friend directed in a quiet voice. “Hurry and don’t wake up Pierce.”
Just the fact that he hadn’t called Pierce “Captain Dildo” or any derivative of dildo at all put Leita on the alert. And the idea that he wanted her to bring the only weapon she owned disturbed her as well. Moving slowly and quietly, she got out of bed, pulled on a robe over the topless bustier she was still wearing and grabbed the palm-sized tazer pen from its hiding place in the headboard of the bed. Pierce turned over and sighed deeply and she and Schneider both froze. To Schneider’s obvious relief, he didn’t wake up. She followed her friend from the bedroom, carefully shutting the door behind her.
“Okay, now what is this all about? Why did you make me bring the tazer and why are we sneaking around Pierce like he’s a mass murderer in the middle of the night?” she demanded, the minute the door was securely shut behind her.
“Shhh!” Schneider put one tiny black-furred finger to his lips—a very human gesture. “The reason we’re treating your boyfriend like he might be a mass murderer is because he might—he might be anything at all,” he answered in a whisper. “But one thing he’s not is a Companion.”
“What?” Leita frowned at Schneider, angry at him for making such wild accusations and even angrier at herself for continuing to keep her voice down as though she actually believed them. “That’s crazy,” she said, in a half-whisper. “What do you mean he’s not a Companion?”