Pirate's Gold - S.J. Sanders Page 0,10

is.”

“The ship is going at maximum drive speed. Anything faster could not be maintained for long distances without potential damage to the ship.”

“I could compensate you generously for the costs…”

“No,” Veral snarled, terminating the conversation with that one word.

“You really are a most disagreeable male. Is this typical of your species, or do you strive to be unpleasant and difficult in general?”

“The Argurma do not care what outsiders think, so we make no special effort to be either agreeable or disagreeable,” Veral said coolly before flashing the male a hard smile, baring his sharp teeth in a manner that disturbed most other beings. “That you find it personally offensive is merely a detail that I individually savor.”

“Well,” the Blaithari huffed indignantly, “I shall retire to my quarters then with a cup of orshan tea.”

Veral curled his lip but did not reply. Instead, he watched the male, tracking him with his eyes as well as the vids throughout the ship as the Blaithari flounced back to his quarters. He stopped at the corridor junction to stare down toward the room where Terri was hidden before resuming his irritated pace of the remaining distance to his quarters. Moments later, one of his attendants scurried out to the galley, filling plates and replicating a pot of tea that he hastened back to his master’s quarters.

Though he watched for considerable time, the males did not emerge again until a single attendant rushed back to the galley with the dishes to wash and store for the next meal period. After the conclusion of their meal, he noted that one would slip out every so often to pace up and down the corridors. They often took breaks to stare out the viewing ports scattered along their route, and they never failed to miss the port just within the junction that led to Terri.

There was a certain purposeful stillness to them as they looked out the ports that Veral did not like. It was as if they were intentionally positioning themselves at regular intervals close to his mate as if he would not notice if repeated. If that was their intent, they failed. Instead of shrugging off the repeated behavior, it made him increasingly anxious of the distance between himself and his mate.

Unable to stand the torment of separation a moment longer, his entire body vibrating with territorial aggression, he left the flight deck. His mandibles clicked and a low growl churned continuously in his throat. He hoped to meet with one of the males as he made his way to his quarters. He would relish the opportunity to strike terror of promised pain upon them. Unfortunately, the male who had been lingering at the junction returned his master’s quarters moments before Veral arrived. His eyes narrowed at their noted absence before striding into his cabin, his vibrissae hissing around him.

Terri looked up from where she was sprawled across their bed with a datapad clenched in her hands. Her eyebrows winged up. As he stood there, his eyes fastened on his female, his entire body wound tight with aggression.

There was no fear within his little mate, however. As he stalked toward her, he scented her desire bloom and ripen as he drew closer. The protective menace he projected seduced his mate and sharpened her arousal almost as much as it would have done had she been Argurma. He needed that acceptance while the whole of him burned to mark his mate thoroughly. Her breath came out in a sharp gasp of pleasure when he stopped just in front of her only to reach down and grip her thighs. With one smooth move, he lifted her up and tossed her gently further back on the bed.

He did not wait to follow. With a press of his finger twice in rapid successions against the high collar of his suit, it promptly split open and slid off his body to pool at his feet. Stepping free of his suit, his civix stirred and slid free from his genital pouch. The long shaft writhed and twisted eagerly as the hooked head sought his mate’s entrance, the narrow tubes running up its length dripping with a steady flow of lubricant.

Veral’s back bowed as he fisted his civix with a rough snarl. Eyes dragging back up to his mate’s expectant gaze, he climbed over her body eagerly. His female was equally aroused, and she held her arms out for him, her thighs opening to accept the girth of his heavily muscled body.

As his