Del's Pirates [Sequel to G'baena's Pirates] (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour) (10 page)

The traitor had very literally given the enemy enough information to kill everyone onboard and take over the ship.

“This is the captain,” Jordan’s loud voice echoed through the ship on the emergency frequency. “Prepare for battle. We’ve been attacked by Keytark for the last time. We’re taking the fight to him.”

“We’re what?” Helborn asked Devlin, looking a little pale. For a guy who grinned through the last attack, it wasn’t the reaction they’d been expecting. The guy lived for the fight. It was why he was a pirate. He was one of the original crew members and had been onboard for years before Sarah, Tee-ani, and the other rescued slaves had joined the ship. It wasn’t the reaction one would expect from a seasoned pirate. It was, however, what they expected from the traitor.

“You’ve got your orders,” Devlin said coldly. “Prepare for battle.”

“But flying into Keytark’s controlled space is suicide.”

“I know,” Devlin said, playing the part of an underling annoyed at his captain’s decision quite well. “But it’s what the captain has ordered.”

“So we what? Rescued the slaves so that we could just get them killed. Dev, this is crazy. The captain is obviously not thinking clearly.”

“We follow the captain’s orders,” Devlin said, looking like a man angry enough to put his fist through the bulkhead.

“At least get your family off the ship, Dev.”

Cooper was wondering if this was Helborn’s attempt to leave the ship before they supposedly flew into enemy space when the signal jammer in his pocket shook. One small vibration and their most likely suspect was off the hook.

Shit!
Someone was trying to send a signal to warn Keytark and it wasn’t the someone they’d thought it would be. He glanced around the area. Only one man was missing and it was the one they hadn’t even suspected.

“Dev,” Cooper shouted urgently as he held up the device.

Devlin immediately dropped the act and swept the area with his gaze. “Damn it!”

“Find him,” Devlin said as he headed in one direction and Cooper went the other.

* * * *

Three hours of interrogation later they were no closer to understanding why Yavef had betrayed them. Even G’ntriel hadn’t been able to sense the man’s intentions and she was the strongest empath Cooper had ever known.

The worst part was that Yavef seemed to be as surprised as they were.

“Go home, Coop,” Devlin said as he also turned to leave the room. “Sarah and G’ntriel will call us if they learn anything new.”

Cooper nodded. Catching the traitor hadn’t given them any answers, just more damn questions, and they weren’t any closer to getting the ship on the ground for repairs or being able to get nonessential crew and passengers to safety.

He was very pleased to find Avery in his quarters, asleep in the bed they shared whenever they could. None of them had discussed anything officially, but all three of them had begun referring to his quarters as home. Avery and Del had gradually moved their stuff into his cabin and they’d somehow managed to end up living together. On that subject at least, Cooper couldn’t be happier.

He’d be far less worried, though, if they could shut down the slave traders and ensure the safety of his lovers and the rest of the people on the ship. He wasn’t silly enough to think that stopping Keytark would solve all their problems. There was still the ship’s original mission—help those who weren’t able to help themselves—but severely interrupting the slave trade would make this entire galaxy safer for everyone.

Cooper stripped off his clothes, had a quick shower, and then slid into bed next to Avery. She partially woke, gave him a sleepy smile, and then snuggled into his embrace. Her sweet warmth settled something inside him and he closed his eyes, determined to at least get some sleep.

* * * *

Avery woke slowly, her foggy brain quickly identifying the man wrapped around her. She had a vague memory of Cooper climbing into bed with her several hours ago.

“Good morning, Avery-girl,” he said as his arm tightened around her waist slightly.

“Morning, Coop,” she said, suddenly feeling very shy. Considering some of the kinky stuff they’d gotten up to lately, it seemed a ridiculous reaction toward a man she loved.

“I’m going to make love to you,” Cooper said in that deep voice that already had her pussy clenching with need. “Is that okay with you, Avery-girl?”

“Yes,” she said as she tried to roll over.

“No,” Cooper said. “Stay like this.”

She could feel his hard cock pressed against her bottom, the gentle touch triggering a fluttering sensation in her stomach. He held her close, almost sleepily, as he rubbed his cock between the flesh of her ass cheeks. She could feel her pussy growing wetter with every soft, sliding touch. Cooper adjusted slightly, his cock moving lower to rub over her pussy, his full length caressing her swollen, slippery lips.

He moaned quietly, his movements faltering for a moment as he pressed the head of his cock against her entrance and pushed in slightly. He resumed his gentle rubbing, this time sliding shallowly into her pussy, the slow, loving, tender movement far more arousing than Avery would ever have suspected.

She pushed back slightly, greedy to take more of him into her body, but he simply held her tighter and continued his shallow thrusting.

“Relax, Avery-girl,” he whispered into her ear as the hand on her stomach slid lower to graze over her clit. But just like the thrusting, his touch was soft, gentle, loving. God, she’d never felt so happy and so frustrated in her entire life. She loved this never-before-seen side of him, this need to hold her close and love her gently, but hell, she needed to come. Her body was growing taut, her pussy aching for relief, every nerve ending screaming for completion.

She whimpered her arousal, almost embarrassed by the needy sound.

“It’s okay, Avery-girl,” Cooper said as he slid just a little deeper. “Come for me.”

What the hell?
With so little stimulation she couldn’t even imagine climaxing, but then something strange happened. Instead of the screaming, shaking, earth-shattering climaxes Cooper and Del had given her before, this time something different happened.

She moaned as liquid fire swelled through her, the sensation overwhelming. Without moving, without shaking, without any of the other things she’d come to associate with orgasm, Avery found a new way to completion. Cooper continued to stroke in and out of her pussy, his movements still gentle, his penetration still shallow, the touch on her clit still barely there, but her body went into meltdown.

She closed her eyes as wave after wave after wave of heat flowed through her, over her, around her. She felt Cooper’s cock begin to pulse inside her, his cum flowing into her body, his love filling her heart. Judging by his soft grunts, his orgasm was no less intense than her own.

“I love you, Cooper,” she said minutes—hours, days, maybe weeks—later as she caught her breath and her body finally relaxed against his once more.

“I love you, too, Avery,” he said in a very serious voice. “And I promise to protect you and Del with my life.”

“Hey,” she said as she rolled over to see his face, “where is this coming from?”

He shook his head. “Sorry, it’s nothing. Go back to sleep.”

“Coop?” It wasn’t nothing. She’d always known he was a protective sort of guy, but it went both ways. She’d die to protect her men as well. It was the way love worked as far as she was concerned. Her parents might not have set a very good example, but she knew in her heart what she wanted in life and she’d found that with Cooper and Del.

Cooper sighed, gave her that smile that said she knew him better than he knew himself, and then pressed a kiss to her forehead.

“The captain wants to move all nonessential crew members onto the support ships and park them on a planet until we can deal with Keytark.”

What? No!
She ground her teeth together, ready to argue her case. There was no fucking way she would let them shuffle her aside. “I don’t care if I’m considered essential or not, I’m staying on this ship.”

“I know,” Cooper said, surprising her. Wasn’t this the part where he argued all the reasons why she should sit on the planet and wait for him and Del to come back for her?

“You know?” She didn’t want to seem like she was arguing—he was giving her the victory before the fight had begun after all—but she needed to understand why.

“I know,” he said, rolling her over so that he could spoon up against her back once more. “I know that this mission is very personal for you and Del, and I know that you would hate to be relegated to the sidelines.” He pressed a kiss to the top of her head and pulled her closer. “I also know that you would find a way to stay involved even if Jordan ordered you off his ship. So, yes, Avery-girl, I know, and I promise to do everything in my power to keep you safe.”

“Coop,” she said as she felt tears well in her eyes. She had no idea what she wanted to say, but he’d just proven that he knew her as well as Del did. Even without the horrible memories of being held as a slave that she and Del shared, Cooper had somehow managed to see who she really was and love her anyway.

“Go back to sleep, Avery-girl. We can talk about it later.”

She snuggled closer, instinctively knowing that Cooper needed to hold her as much as she needed to be held. She also knew that the conversation was over. Despite telling her they’d talk about it later, it was very unlikely that Cooper would ever broach the subject with her again.

Avery woke hours later to find Cooper making love to Del much the same way he’d made love to her. She watched their faces, her eyes filming with tears as she witnessed the intense emotions of their joining.

And when they were done, she lay in the cradle of Del’s body, Cooper’s arms around both of them, and felt more complete than she ever could have imagined.

* * * *

Del watched sleepily as Cooper and Avery got dressed for their shifts. He’d worked the late shift last night so he still had a few hours to get some more sleep.

Avery raced over, kissed him softly, and as always, left in a hurry.

Cooper came and sat on the edge of the bed, his demeanor almost as tense as Avery’s. The difference was that Avery was running late—Avery was
always
running late—but Cooper still had at least a half hour before his shift started.

“What is it?” Del asked. Last night had been truly amazing, but he couldn’t shake the feeling that something had happened with Cooper that he hadn’t told him about.

“We caught the traitor,” Cooper said on a deep exhale.

“And?” Del asked, realizing that there was something really bothering Cooper about it.

“And I can’t shake the feeling that the guy is innocent.”

“How so?”

“We caught Yavef in the act of sending a message to Keytark. He’d already recorded our location, direction, and most likely route to Keytark’s headquarters, even our supposed intention to attack him directly. We actually caught him doing it, but it’s like we were dealing with a complete stranger. I’ve known Yavef for years, but the man we caught seems like someone else.”

“You think he might have been brainwashed like the slave who blew herself up?”

“I can’t see how. Yavef hasn’t been off the ship in months.”

“What about an incoming communication? A video recording or even the correct sound wave pattern could affect the brain of several different species on the ship. Humans are usually less susceptible than some other species, but they’re not immune.”

“So I’d probably be looking for a data stream sent around the time of an earlier attack?” Cooper asked. Del felt both excited to have a possible explanation and terrified by what it might mean.

“That would be my guess,” Del said. “Tee-ani or Sarah would probably be more familiar on what could affect the human brain, but I suspect it would be something visual.”

“So I’m looking for a data stream with a visual component, received before, during, or immediately after an attack on this ship, and knowing Keytark, probably with a self-encrypting or a self-deleting sub command.”

“What will you do when you find it?”

“I don’t know, yet. Analyze it. Break it down to code. See if we can find a way to reverse it.”

Del nodded in agreement. “Just don’t watch it.”

Cooper gave him a warm smile, leaned over to kiss him lovingly, and then turned to leave the room. “Thanks, babe. Get some sleep. Hopefully, I’ll catch up with you at dinner.”

“I love you,” Del said as his lover reached the door.

Cooper turned, gave him a wide smile, winked in his usual manner, and then left the room. Feeling truly loved by both his partners, Del actually managed to fall back to sleep, his head filled with plans for a future with the three of them together.

* * * *

Cooper stared at the offensive little piece of code and prayed for patience. He couldn’t open it, so he couldn’t be one hundred percent certain it was the one they were looking for, but it contained the self-deleting command that he’d suspected Keytark’s message would.