Knight, Dee S. - Bride of the Pryde (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour) (3 page)

“Fine.” He opened the door to the shuttleway and waited for her to go through. “The rest of your bags have already been stowed. Watch your step.”

“Yeah, sure. I will.” As if she’d never boarded a shuttle before.

One last time, Susan took a chance look behind. Mr. Chunky had stopped midway down the concourse. Legs braced, he pushed back his jacket. With one hand on his hip, he tipped his hat back on his head with the other. His gaze wasn’t disinterested.

With a slight shudder, she accepted her new cover and stepped through the doorway—almost landing flat on her face when she missed the step down.

* * * *

Only Charlie’s quick reflexes saved her from falling flat on her face.
And what a pretty face it is, too.

In fact, all of her was pretty—more than pretty. She was
hot
, which might be enough to mitigate the captain’s anger at the delay. Still, in the shipping business, time is money, and this beauty’s case of premarital nerves had already cost a bundle.

Holding her case in one hand and her elbow with the other, he ushered her down a short, covered walkway to another flight of steps. “I told you to watch your step,” he chided, “but you were busy watching that guy who was coming down the concourse. Is he the reason you were nervous about leaving?”

“Um…yeah. He–he thinks he has a claim on me.”

“But he doesn’t?” Charlie might as well get all the dirt right now. The captain was pissed enough without finding out later that trouble followed their passenger.

“He absolutely doesn’t,” she said. She sounded pretty damn sure.

They exited the shuttleway at the bottom of the stairs and walked to a small hover craft. She squirmed a little, as though uncomfortable.

“I maybe should mention, I have a weapon with me. Did I need to do something with it?”

A nervous woman and a gun. Bad combination.
Damn. This’ll be one interesting flight.
“The captain will want to secure it during the flight.”

She seemed to consider that fact. “All right,” she said after a hesitation.

Charlie stowed her bags and helped her aboard the craft. “I’m Charlie Sheridan, by the way.”

She didn’t acknowledge the introduction. “I’m the last passenger to board, right? I mean, once the doors close that’s it, we’re ready to go?”

That was an interesting question. Whether because of nerves or whatever, Danessa Vanessa was acting strangely.

He got them underway before saying, “Danessa, you’re the
only
passenger.”

“What?”

Charlie took a moment to study her. Her face was small and delicate, highlighted by large, liquid-brown eyes. Under a blonde wig, which had pulled up in back when she stumbled, she’d stuffed shiny, dark-brown hair. Her luscious mouth had full, soft-looking lips that begged to be kissed.

He would fantasize about that—and probably more, considering those tits, practically spilling out of that tight top, narrow waist, and legs that kept going and going. One kiss would set him on fire. He wouldn’t want to stop at a fantasy. And with flaring hips just made to hold onto when she rode his cock, who’d blame him?

She’s on her way to get married, you slug.

He concentrated on business, forcing his thoughts along other paths. “Intergalactic Brides did tell you that our ship is a freighter, right? It’s just you and our crew.”

“Criminy,” she whispered.

“I assure you, we’ll respect your privacy,” he said quickly. He pressed a button on his COMM unit.

“Erik here.” The captain said only two words, but any member of his crew recognized the tightly controlled tension in his voice. The half-hour delay had been hell for a man to whom punctuality was sacred.

“We’re on our way out now,” Charlie said.

“About damn time,” Erik replied.

“Captain, she’s carrying a weapon, a pistol I believe. I haven’t seen it.”

“When you come aboard stow it in the weapons locker. Stow the rest of her bags in her cabin and show her to the bridge.”

“Right. Out,” Charlie said.

“Who was that?”

“The captain, John Erik.
He
prefers to be called Erik,” Charlie said playfully, echoing her words.

“People shouldn’t be allowed to have interchangeable names.”

“As opposed to rhyming names, huh?” He added a smile to show he was teasing. The woman still had her weapon, after all.

“He sounded a bit testy.”

Charlie didn’t answer. He’d worked with John Erik for the past eight years, ever since gaining his pilot’s pin, and the man never stopped at testy. He was either a hundred percent with you or a hundred twenty percent pissed.

“Well, I’ve had a bitch of a day, so I hope he knows his manners. I want to get on board and stay in my cabin. By the way, how long before we get under way?”

“Once we get clearance we’ll be at mach in no time.”

“Good.”

She sounded calm, but one glance at her stiff posture and how her hands gripped the passenger-seat arms showed she was anything but. Charlie didn’t know if marriage nerves still plagued her or the thought of months of flight alone with the crew bothered her.

“We have a long trip ahead of us, so try to relax and enjoy the ride. It will be several months before you meet your husband, and you don’t want to spend all that time stressed out, do you? I promise we’ll take good care of you.”

“When do you expect to arrive in M3859?”

“About three Earth months.”

Her jaw clenched. Slowly, she nodded her head. Charlie could almost see the wheels turn in her head. The woman was calculating something, but what? The days she had to wait until her wedding night, when she revealed what was to all accounts a luscious, ripe body to her new husband?

Lucky bastard.

“I don’t suppose the captain would consider a slight detour, would he?”

That was strange. Guess she hadn’t been wishing the time away until she was in hubby’s arms, after all. “You can ask, but I’d wait awhile. As you mentioned, he’s a bit pissed right now.”

She considered this and then nodded again, this time as though she’d made a decision. “Tell me about the crew.”

“There are three of us, all pilots. I’m the newest, and I’ve been on board for eight years. Adam Phelps, he’s the XO—that’s executive officer—has been with Erik for almost fifteen years, since Erik first bought Erik’s Pryde.”

“The Pride?”

Didn’t she know the name of the ship where she was about to spend the next few months of her life? “Erik’s Pryde. P-R-Y-D-E. He’s from some place in the Euro grid, and it’s their old-world spelling of pride, the emotion. The ship has a little age on her, but she moves right along.” He checked to see how she was absorbing all this. In actuality, she seemed almost disinterested.

“Anyway, there’s me, Adam, and the captain.”

“Who wants to be called Erik instead of John.”

“Right. He says John’s too ordinary a name.”

She snorted, making him look her way again. She faced him with brows raised. “And he’s
extra
ordinary?”

“Yes.” He said it without hesitation because he meant it. John Erik was one of the most amazing men he’d ever met, comparable to his two brothers, Walt and Dan, and that was saying a hell of a lot. “You’ll see.”

“Yeah,” she said, sarcasm hanging heavily on the one word, “I’ll see.”

Charlie decided to ignore the attitude. She was under pressure, after all. “I think you’ll find there’s plenty to do on board. There is an exercise room, of course, and lots of holographic movies, books, and games in the ship’s library.”

“Is there a firing range? And access to the I-Net?”

Okay, she had a weapon, so he could see why she wondered about a firing range, but the Intergalactic Net? The government-controlled database allowed only restricted access. “We use the NewsNet to keep up with what’s happening in the worlds, but you need special permission for the I-Net.”

“The remarkable Captain Erik doesn’t have an access code I could use?”

“I don’t know,” Charlie said honestly. “You can ask, but I’d wait. Right now he seems pretty—”

“Pissed,” she said. “I get it.”

She turned toward the window and sank into silence, an action Charlie adopted. In a minute or two they’d be locked into the hover craft portal. Then she’d be the captain’s problem. Nice as she was to look at, Charlie wouldn’t be sorry to pass the responsibility of the strange woman.

A couple of minutes later, she spoke again. “That’s
Erik’s Pryde
? She hardly looks able to stay alight, much less navigate the universe.”

“Don’t discount her. She pulls through when she needs to.”

He lined the hover craft up with the portal and smartly locked it in place. He cut the engine and scrambled back to open the hatch and gather Danessa’s cases. “Let’s get to your cabin, then secure your weapon, and then we’ll go to the bridge. The captain insists everyone be on the bridge during takeoff.”

“Okay.”

Before he could move, she laid a hand on his arm. “I’m sorry for the way I acted. It’s just…” She sucked in a deep breath. “It’s been a long day. I have a lot on my mind.”

Charlie smiled. “No worries. Come on. The sooner we get into space the sooner you can settle in and get some rest.”

“Absolutely. The sooner we get into space, the better.”

Somehow, Charlie didn’t think she meant it the way he had.

Chapter Three

“Captain, we’re ready.” Charlie ushered Susan onto the bridge.

She took in the environment in a matter of seconds. The front window opened onto the brightly lit holding area. Other shuttles parked around them, lights flashing, fueling vehicles and hover crafts moving between them. The bridge itself looked well used, to phrase it kindly. She hoped the bucket ran a lot better than it looked.

Three men turned almost as one and stared at her. Charlie moved forward, made a chagrined face, and scratched the back of his neck. “Sir, this is Shanna Ziegler.”

“Danessa Vanessa,” she corrected.

Even without the uniform designations, she knew immediately which of the men was Captain John Erik. Power flowed from him. His narrowed gaze relayed tightly corralled impatience. He took her in with one up-and-down, studied look. She felt his examination with every inch of her body. Her nerves vibrated as though his gaze raked her with electricity.

He pointed to a seat attached to the right wall. “Pull that down and strap yourself in.” Then he turned to one of the other men. “Let’s get going. Adam, tell the tower we’re finally ready.” He cast an accusatory glance her way at the last words.

“Charlie, did you get her weapon stowed?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Good. Set the thrusters.” Erik faced her once more. “I don’t appreciate people booking flight on my ship without full disclosure, Miss Vanessa. Your papers stated clearly that you were coming on board without regulated materials. That includes weapons, or didn’t you know that?” His tone said he knew well that anyone cleared to own a weapon also knew the regulations concerning it.

“I know more about weapons than you’ve ever known,” she said. Then, turning her back, she pulled down the fold-up seat, sat down, and slipped her arms through the straps before clicking the lap belt closed.