her think of tangled sheets and limbs. One of his hands drifted along her side and she tensed immediately. It took a great deal of effort to relax into his touch, and she started to rethink whether she could climb into bed with a total stranger, even if he was hot enough to make her blood boil.
He slowly lowered her feet back to the floor, though he kept his arm around her waist. The Xaravian caught her shoulder and turned her toward the damaged doorway. “We can explore that later. Perhaps after we speak to the captain.”
EJ’s heart sank and she set her heels, not wanting to go quietly, but the Xaravian picked her up again like she weighed nothing and strode through the corridors without another word.
Chapter 4
Nokx
Nokx wasn’t often surprised, but the Earther managed it when she tried to seduce him. He would have laughed it off but didn’t want to offend her. He’d often observed Violet and Gemma getting prickly when their mates laughed at their behavior or something they said. He pondered whether he should even care if he offended her. She was a stowaway and likely to be a pain in the spikes for the foreseeable future. What did it matter if her face scrunched up in concern when she opened the water closet door and found him much closer?
She squawked like a trapped marmox when he picked her up; he didn’t fancy chasing her or fighting with her, mostly because she looked easily breakable. She could be hurt accidentally if he turned too quickly or swung his arms with too much enthusiasm. Nokx grew even more concerned about her fragility when he got his arms around her and felt the flicker of her heartbeat against her spindly ribs. She was made of practically no mass at all.
Although she smelled enticing. Suspiciously enticing. Perhaps there was some pheromone the Earther females emitted that drew Xaravians... There was nothing else to explain how Faros and Wyzak were both ensnared by their females. He pondered the possibilities as he half-dragged, half-carried the stowaway through the corridors toward the bridge. Harzt, the security officer, would meet him there, and they could decide what to do about the girl.
Nokx paused to adjust his grip as she wormed around and tried to break free. Parts of her were quite soft, despite the lack of overall mass. Quite promising and soft. His thoughts strayed to ponder her earlier offer to stay in his quarters. The deal had likely expired with his decision to hand her over to the captain, but perhaps she would get bored and seek out company.
He finally sighed in exasperation and tossed her over his shoulder. “There’s nowhere for you to go, Earther. This is a small ship and you won’t be able to use the escape pods. Just deal with the consequences of your actions.”
She dangled over his shoulder and punched his lower back. “You don’t have to do this. No one else knows I’m here.”
Nokx took a breath to explain to her how pirate ships worked but stopped when Harzt came up behind them, his expression hard. Nokx tilted his head at the Earther dangling over his shoulder and patted her hip to try and reassure her. No need to panic the girl. “Picked up a stowaway at the last port.”
Harzt growled in irritation, his scales flashing with orange-red as his temper ignited. “Easy solution. Jettison her out the waste chute. Done.”
The Earther went still and quiet. Clearly she hadn’t considered that as a possible consequence of sneaking aboard a strange ship. There was no way Violet would let such a thing happen, but the Earther over his shoulder didn’t know that. Perhaps the threat would convince her to behave herself. “Thought we’d run it by the captain. Seems like an easy solution.”
Her breathing turned strangled and her fingers curled in the fabric of his robes. Nokx felt a little bad, but at least she stopped flailing around. Harzt stormed ahead onto the bridge, muttering under his breath, and Nokx waited a moment before following. He squeezed EJ’s ankle where it bumped against his stomach, comforting her absently, as he maneuvered through the doorway to the bridge.
Harzt stood next to the captain’s chair, still scowling, and Faros leaned back in the posture he usually had when he wanted to punish someone. Nokx swallowed a groan and put the Earther on her feet in front of the captain. Nokx kept a hand on her shoulder, just in