TAREKH

That human female is going to kill me.

I grab my cock in my hand while in the water closet and give it a fierce tug. It doesn’t take much to make me come these days. All I have to do is imagine Cat smirking up at me as she teases the zip down the front of her tunic a little lower so her teats practically spill out when she leans over in the mess hall. Or I listen to that audio file she sent me, the one I’ve already listened to so many times that it’s permanently ingrained in my mind. Or I think of the sexy little gasp she made when I accidentally brushed up against her in the hall…and how she deliberately stopped so she could rub up against me again.

She’s a cruel little thing and I love it.

Cat’s games are making me wild with need. I love the boldness that’s come out of her over the last few weeks as we head toward Rii Ketta, another distant station several galaxies away. It’s not as seedy as Haal Ui, but it’s still not what I’d call classy by any means. I’m a little worried about what’s going to happen when we get to the station. Is Cat going to leave? Is someone going to give her shit when we’re there? I feel incredibly protective of her.

Of course, I also want to kef her brains out. But her security comes first.

That’s why I don’t touch no matter how much she torments me. That’s why I rush back to med-bay to tug my own cock several times a day. It’s either that or do something we’d both regret, and I’m not about to scare her. Bad enough that I have this big ugly face and hulking body. I’m not going to do a single thing that will make her bad memories resurface. I like seeing happy, flirty Cat far too much. My whole world changes the moment she walks into a room, and to think that a male like me is lucky enough to have her attention is humbling.

I won’t do anything to put that at risk.

Just thinking about her is enough to make me spill with a few jerks of my wrist, and then I stand in the spray of water, washing away my seed and taking deep breaths.

Sentorr’s calm voice comes over the comm. “Rii Ketta in sight. Docking shortly.”

I bite back my growl of frustration. It’s too soon. What if Cat decides to stay? I’ll smile and be happy for her, but everything inside me will die. I wouldn’t stop her, but I wouldn’t be the same if she left.

But if it’s what she needs, I’ll make sure she gets it.

By the time I emerge from med-bay a short time later, I’m fully dressed in a ship uniform of The Distance, which I think was a water hauler, given the logo over my pocket. Fits pretty good, and if there’s any misbehaving, it doesn’t follow me back to the Fool. Kivian comes down the hall, adjusting his fussy sleeves. He’s dressed in a new outfit bedecked with baubles at the hem and more folds in his sleeves than an entire fleet of mesakkah fashion models would wear. Fran just rolls her eyes with amusement when I look over at her. In contrast to her mate’s ornate clothing, she’s wearing a simple pale green jumpsuit, zipped up to the neck.

It makes me think of Cat and how she unzipped hers, showing skin. I start to sweat a little more.

The others are on the bridge, but all I see is Cat. She’s dressed in a pale pink, filmy sort of tunic that glimmers when she turns. It makes me think that it’s something Fran’s held into for a while, waiting for the right moment to wear it. It suits Cat and her pale coloring, and the sight of her makes my mouth dry with want. Cat has her face close to the port screens as if they’re real windows. She’s staring out at the slowly spinning diamond that’s Rii Ketta. I’m drawn toward her and notice that the hand she has clamped down on the rail is trembling a little.

I bet she’s scared. Excited, yes, but scared. We’ve been in a little bubble for months, making this long-haul delivery. Haven’t had to think about the outside world or anyone other than the people on this ship. I brush my fingers over hers and she looks up at me, a faint smile on her face. “I’ve never seen a space station. I guess I’ve been in a few, but I never got a chance to look…” She pauses and then glances over at me again. “Are they all so pretty?”

“Pretty on the outside, same old shit on the inside,” I tell her cheerfully. “Nothing to worry over.”

She smiles at me, but she doesn’t look convinced.

“Well,” Kiv says and clasps his hands together. “We about ready to go? Our buyer won’t be here until tomorrow, so tonight’s all about enjoying ourselves. That means refreshment dispensers, music, and an open tab at the cantina.” He rubs his hands together with glee. “Maybe even a few rounds of sticks.”

“Just don’t bet anything you’ll regret this time, love,” Fran tells him, bumping her hip against his gently. His tail immediately curls around her waist.

“What about the humans?” I ask, because it doesn’t seem fair for the rest of us to escape the confines of the Fool for a while and them to be stuck on board. If that’s the case, I’m staying at Cat’s side. I wouldn’t leave her.

Fran pulls a bright metal collar out of her pocket and snaps it around her neck, handing Kivian the decorative chain. “Arf arf,” she jokes, pretending to be some human animal. “Got one for Cat, too, if she wants to play along. It’s the easiest way to have no questions asked and stops you from being messed with.” Fran pulls out the second collar and holds it out to Cat. “If you’d rather stay on the ship, that’s fine, too. You and Sentorr can hang out.”

Sentorr just mutters something about peace and quiet.

Cat takes the collar, fingering it lightly. It’s on the tip of my tongue to tell Fran that the collar is a bad idea, that it’s going to give Cat bad memories. That she doesn’t need something so humiliating, even as a disguise. That she’s all dressed up and so pretty we shouldn’t ruin tonight for her. But then Cat snaps the collar around her neck and hands me the chain. “Wanna be my owner?”

My mouth goes dry. “You…sure?”

Her eyes flare with that flirty heat. “Might be fun.”

“Cat, you could have a safe word,” Fran suggests. “If things get too much for you, just speak it out loud and someone can take you back to the ship.”

“A safe word,” she muses, fingering the collar on her neck. “That’s a good idea. Something human?”

Fran says, “That works.”

Cat gives me another playful look and I feel like I’m about to break into another cold sweat. “Leather daddy?”

Fran snorts.

“What is that?” I ask.

“A man that ties his woman up and gags her for fun.” She shrugs and holds the end of the chain out to me. When I take it, our fingers brush and I can feel her trembling again.

“Let’s pick a different word,” I suggest. Something less fraught with sexual meaning. Something that won’t scare her by thinking about it. Because Cat is fragile and even now, I want to protect her with everything I am.

Cat gazes up at me with those unusual human eyes and then just smiles. “Sandwich, then.”