Fated Mate Conquered - Luna Voss Page 0,38

an enormous space station orbiting a poor industrial planet in Imperial space.

“Isn’t it weird that we’re in an Epeshi pirate ship?” I ask as we dock in the casino hanger. “Do they allow pirates?”

“They don’t care who gambles here, as long as they pay up,” Rojan tells me.

When we exit the ship, we’re greeted by a pair of armed casino security guards.

“Welcome to the Tajiki Comet,” one of them greets us. “Will you be staying long?”

“A couple of weeks,” Turan grunts.

“Any weapons will have to stay on your ship,” the other guard says apologetically. “Casino policy. I’m sure you understand.”

Turan scowls, but follows them, putting an arm around me. We take our luggage and head through the hangar, past the security checkpoint, and into the main part of the space station.

The Tajiki Comet Casino is huge, almost the size of a small moon. Walking through the space station is like walking through an indoor city, not just a place for people to gamble. I see restaurants, stores, swimming pools, everything. It’s really just an all-inclusive resort with a casino at its core.

We check into three suites right next to each other. Turan and I share one, while Geddion and Rojan each have their own.

“This place is swanky,” I remark as I enter with my mate. I’ve gotten used to a certain level of luxury living with the Vostra, but I’m still not quite adjusted to being around wealth all the time. I grew up with nothing.

“It is nice,” he agrees. “If we weren’t on business, you and I could have a nice little vacation here.”

We go into the bedroom, and I practice bending over the bed, making sure to give Turan a good view of my ass. “Is this where you’re going to send me into punishment position?” I tease him, putting a sexy pout into my voice.

“Not if you’re good,” he replies, winking, and gives my ass a little pat. “Although you can stay like that as long as you want. I’m appreciating the view.”

I giggle and cuddle up against him on the bed. “So now that we’re here, how are you planning to capture Rizban Gordulla?”

“Between Rojan and I, we have a couple of contacts at the Casino,” he tells me. “There are 200,000 people on board this space station, and right now, we don’t even know what section Rizban is staying in, much less what room or suite. We’re going to need to find out where he is, what his patterns are, and then plan from there.”

“Can I help?” I offer.

“I really don’t think you can. Rojan and I need to work on our contacts. It’s probably best if you stay in the suite for now, until we can verify Rizban’s location.”

“I’m going to have to stay in our suite?” I ask, dismayed. The idea of not getting to see or explore this beautiful space station at all is incredibly disappointing to me.

“Kora, we’re here for business, not pleasure,” he reminds me. “You weren’t even supposed to be on this mission at all.”

“But I mean, I am on this mission,” I argue. “And if you didn’t have me along, you’d still be trapped in space in the middle of nowhere with a broken hyperdrive.”

“That’s true,” he admits, “but now that we’re at the Tajiki Comet, the stakes are very high. Kora, part of being a Vostra wife is knowing when to let Family business become the most important thing. This is one of those times.”

I don’t like it, but I don’t press the issue. A little while later, Geddion and Rojan knock on the door bearing some boxes of food, takeout from a nearby restaurant. We all eat together, making conversation. I like the group dynamic that we’ve developed. It’s comfortable.

“I didn’t realize how big this place was,” says Geddion after dinner.

“Yeah, it’s huge,” Rojan agrees. “And filled with every degenerate in the galaxy.”

“Every rich degenerate, apparently,” I chime in. “No way this place is cheap.”

Turan laughs. “No, it definitely wasn’t cheap.”

“What do you want to do about the Red Star Boys?” Geddion asks him, referring to the Dajorkan mob group that runs the Tajiki Comet.

“They must know that Rizban is here,” he replies, “which means they’ve betrayed our alliance.”

“Are you sure?” I ask. “They don’t know that you’re here, right? Didn’t we check in under a false name? Maybe Rizban did the same thing.”

“It’s technically possible,” Turan tells me. “But I know Rizban. He wouldn’t be using this as his base if the Dajorkans weren’t friendly.