Pirate's Gold - S.J. Sanders Page 0,15

and shoved several more vansik in her mouth. Fuck him. They tasted good.

“I don’t give a fuck. They’re good.”

“I am glad you think so,” he replied mellowly. “They are an acquired taste on Argurumal. Some like the sweetness, but few can get past that they are round parasites that live in large colonies in the liver of the igwinpek—sandshark, I believe you would call it. It is similar to the shark in your planet’s wildlife catalogs except that it dwells in the sand dunes and has two powerful legs for when it needs to surface above the sand. The vansik bloat themselves on the heavy sugars in the igwinpek’s blood. When they are cooked over intense heat, the sugar-rich organs liquify.”

His eyes fastened on her as he finished his explanation. She knew he was getting some satisfaction from the entire situation considering how many times she gagged and made rude comments about his love of tirichi. But that was different. That literally looked like an enormous beetle laid out, half-circled in on itself and covered in sauce. The smell of dead bug had been just enough to make her want to hurl. The vansik didn’t look or smell like anything she recognized. As long as she didn’t think about it, she would be fine.

Stubbornly, she lifted a handful and threw them into her mouth, letting the sweet round bits burst as she chewed them. Veral chuffed with humor and leaned forward, his two slender tongues snaking out to swipe a drop of sweetness from the corner of her mouth. She flinched, heat flaring to life in her belly as he regarded her, his face inches from her.

“As it so happens, I very much enjoy vansik. I do not think I have tasted it sweeter, however, than from my female’s mouth.”

With that, his mandibles spread wide enough to just graze the sides of her cheeks as his mouth claimed hers. The press of his hot lips sparked something within her. His tongue swept into her mouth, drawing along her tongue and licking at the insides of her mouth until she squirmed with pleasure. He froze, his muscles tightening and his tongue retreating as the sound of a blaster priming filled the air.

“As much as I hate to break up this sweet moment—on your knees, Argurma,” a voice said coldly.

Terri looked up, and she too froze. The Blaithari were no longer in fine robes, their hair gathered into crude knots rather than fussy styles that Veral described. All three males held blasters pointed directly at them. A rattling growl hissed out from between Veral’s lips, increasing in volume as he turned toward them, his inky vibrissae whipping around his dark silver face. Despite his obvious anger, he dropped to his knees, his muscles straining with tension.

The male at the fore, who could only be Egbor, nodded toward her. “Retrieve his mate and bring her over here. She is the tool with which we will control him.”

Terri balked as one of the males drew up beside her. Krono snarled and the male promptly shot the dorashnal, dropping him to the floor. A scream tore from her throat, and her mate whipped around, but stilled when the male set his plasma pistol at the side of her head.

“Do not do anything stupid,” Egbor snorted. “The animal is currently stunned so that it can be safely caged. I would rather not kill until I am required to make my point. It is a messy business… and besides, the animal can be sold for a considerable amount of credits. Bring her here, Irgnar.”

The growl grew more vicious, which prompted Egbor to smile down at him. “Do not worry. I will not be touching your mate, not unless I have to. This is far more effective of an arrangement. You do what you are told, and your mate suffers no harm.”

“Do not come between an Argurma and what is his,” Veral warned.

“Oh, I know. If it were not for the fact that I am in need of a skilled salvager, I would have chosen an easier target. But as it happens, I require your particular skillset.”

“This was a trap,” Terri whispered in horror.

Egbor turned toward her, his expression curious as he yanked back her hood. His brows raised, a red flush streaking through his scales.

“Well, I see why you hide her. Terrible scarring from a fire was a good ploy. So exotic. There are of course worse fates that death for a specimen such as this. I