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Chapter One

 

Letting out a sigh, Laken Andara sat back in her seat and fingered the stem of her water glass as she gazed out the window. The sky was a clear blue today, and she watched as ships of every size and shape came and went from the spaceport located near the pub where she was having lunch. As the headquarters of the Merchant Federation, her home planet of Tellune was a very busy place, and she always came down here to watch the ships come and go when she had a lot on her mind.

Watching them had often made her want to just get on one and leave her problems behind. And as bad as things had gotten lately, she would have too, if she’d only had the money. But her father kept a very tight rein on her spending accounts and there was never enough in any of them to actually book a flight anywhere. That being the case, all she could do was come down here to daydream. And shop of course. Her father always allowed her enough money for that, since it kept her busy and out from under foot. She certainly enjoyed shopping, but it bothered her that it was about all he thought her capable of doing.

Ironically, even though her father belittled her for shopping so much, it was exactly what she was down here doing right now. Then again, what else could she do? She needed something to take her mind off things, so she had spent the morning down at the Marketplace. The exotic stores had been just the distraction she’d needed, and after spending a good chunk of her father’s money, she had almost forgotten all of her troubles. That is, until she’d gotten hungry and decided to stop for a light lunch at one of the nicer pubs. A favorite of hers, the trendy eatery was located near the planet’s main spaceport, which not only made it popular with shoppers, but with spacers as well. However, seeing all of the different travelers only reminded her how stuck she really was, which promptly put her right back in her depressed mood again.

Beside Laken, her personal communicator rang, interrupting her thoughts, and she reached for it eagerly, praying that it was finally her boyfriend, Mallin, calling to say that he was on the way back to her. But her hopes were quickly dashed when she recognized the ident-number on the screen as her father’s. Not wanting to talk to him, she placed the com back on the table and let it continue to ring. In another moment, it would be diverted to her message-box anyway. Besides, she already knew what he wanted. He was calling to remind her of the date she had that evening with yet another one of the suitors he was bound and determined to marry her off to. Over the past several weeks, she had managed to chase off every guy he’d tried to foist her off on, but she wouldn’t be able to do that forever, no matter how rude she acted, or how much of a brat she was. Sooner or later, one of them would look past her faults and agree to marry her. Especially since she imagined that her father was offering a very lucrative incentive to any man willing to put up with her. And when one did agree, her father would waste no time announcing the engagement.

She could refuse to marry the guy, of course, but if she did, her father would cut her off without a credit. Which would mean that she would have to find some way to support herself until Mallin came back, or until she could make enough money to go to him. But finding a job would be more difficult than it sounded. Not because she didn’t have any skills, but simply because her father would use his position and influence to make sure that no one hired her. He had that kind of power on Tellune. It wasn’t that her father was a mean man; he was merely controlling. That, and he valued his place in society more than he did his daughter’s happiness, she thought bitterly.

Tellune had a very rigid society when it came to family honor and reputation. Her family had been among the leading merchants on the planet going back a dozen generations. Her father guarded the family reputation as if it were the most valuable thing he owned, much more valuable than a simple daughter. If he cared for her even half as much as he cared for his precious reputation, then he would have understood her need to wait for Mallin’s return. But unfortunately, Mallin had been an off-worlder, which was a very big strike against him. And then he had left without officially asking for her hand in marriage. While Laken was confident that he would propose when he came back, her father saw that as an insult too egregious to overlook. Her father believed that Mallin was never coming back, and he was determined to marry her off well and quickly, before his peers began to whisper behind his back. But she knew that Mallin was coming back, knew it in her heart. Now, she just had to figure out how to hold her father off until he did.

Laken had met Mallin Pemberton at a party several months earlier. Though they were supposed to be social functions, the parties were really just excuses for the merchants of the Federation to get together so that they could continue wheeling and dealing after normal work hours, which meant that most of the women were usually ignored. Laken had only gone to the party because her father had insisted, and she had resigned herself to spending a boring evening when the most gorgeous man had followed her out to the gardens and asked her to dance. Attracted to him immediately, she had accepted his offer without hesitation. If for no other reason, then to simply have something to do.

Like most of the other men she had gone out with, Mallin was handsome and well-educated, but she had never dated anyone that was so attentive to her before. Not only did he give her his undivided attention when they were together, but he was the first man to go out with her that didn’t have an ulterior motive. Because she was the daughter of a prominent merchant, men were more interested in what a relationship with her could do for their career and reputation than because they had any real interest in her. Mallin was different in that regard, though, and she found him captivating. In fact, if truth be told, when the gala had drawn to a close in the wee hours of the morning that first evening, she had already fallen for him.

On Tellune for business, Mallin had only planned to stay for a few days, but after meeting Laken, he had extended his stay. Over the following weeks, he was just as charming and attentive as he had been that first evening, escorting her to numerous parties and Federation-sponsored events on a nightly basis. Though an off-worlder and a newcomer to merchant society, he fit in amazingly well with even the most powerful members of the Federation, and before long they were getting invited to functions some merchants on Tellune could only dream of attending.

When they were out together, she couldn’t help but notice that Mallin attracted interest from others besides herself. She could certainly understand why, of course. He was charming and well-spoken, and told the most amazing stories. Merchants of the Federation would stand around him in a cluster just to hear him speak. Women were constantly trying to garner his attention as well. But he had eyes only for Laken, which made her feel special for perhaps the first time in her life. She had no doubt that Mallin was to be the man that she would spend forever with.

Then, much to her dismay, one day Mallin had announced that he had to leave to take care of urgent business on his home world. Laken had wanted to go with him - they were in love, after all - but Mallin had been adamant in his refusal, telling her that he would be back in a short time. That had been almost two months ago.

Swallowing hard, Laken sipped her drink and tried not to think about how miserable she was. To distract herself, she listened with half-an-ear as the two spacers sitting at the table beside her discussed their travels. Like most people who came to Tellune, the men were on the planet to pick up a shipment of goods, and she paid little attention to their conversation until she heard them mention the name, Marlon Prime. Recognizing it as one of the planets in the Tobagee System, which was where Mallin was from, she listened more closely.

“So,” one of the men was saying. “Did the captain say if we’re picking up anything on Marlon Prime or not?”

The other man shrugged. “Didn’t say,” he replied. “But I think it’s just a drop off. I really hate that because we barely make any profit”.

“Captain knows what he’s doing,” the first man said. “If were going out that far, you can be sure he has something for us on the way back.”

His friend sighed. “I hope so. Marlon Prime isn’t really a great place to be right now.” He looked like he would have said more, but the com on his belt beeped before he could do so.

“Finn, it’s Dev,” a woman’s said as the man reached for his communicator. “Change of plans. We’re leaving ASAP. Captain wants you and Kamran back on board.”

The man named Finn held the com up to his mouth and thumbed one of the buttons. “Roger that, Dev,” he said. “We’ll be right there.”

Laken gave the men a sidelong glance, an impulsive and almost certainly foolish idea suddenly coming to her as she watched them push back their chairs and get to their feet. She had put off going after Mallin long enough, she decided, and it was time she did something about it. If the ship that the men were on was bound for Marlon Prime, then she was going to be on it. She might not have enough credits to book passage on a transport ship, but she just might have enough to convince the captain of a merchant vessel to take her there. After all, the ship was heading there anyway, so it would be just a little more profit for him. And from Marlon Prime it would probably only be a short jump to New Ashanti, where Mallin lived. With that thought in mind, she hurriedly got to her feet and followed after the men.

She had intended to stop them the moment they stepped foot outside the restaurant, but much to her chagrin, they disappeared into the crowd of people almost immediately, and she could do nothing but hurry after them. Fortunately, however, both men were tall, making it easy to keep them in sight. It also helped that she knew the layout of the port pretty well. All of the merchant transports tended to dock in the same area, so all she had to do was keep going in that direction and she would be able to see which ship they got on.

Their ship was docked about halfway down the quay and Laken automatically quickened her steps, hoping to catch them before they went on board. They were faster than she was, however, and by the time she got to the sleek-looking spaceship it was to find an older man slowly making his way up the gangway.

“Sir,” she called breathlessly, coming to a stop at the bottom of the walkway. “Excuse me, but I wonder if I could have a word with you.”

At her words, the old man stopped and turned to look at her. Though his skin was weathered-looking, it was also remarkably unlined for someone of his age, which meant that he probably came from one of the worlds in the Vendasian system. She had heard that people from there hardly ever got wrinkles as they aged. That would be so great, she thought to herself.

“What can I do for you, Miss?” he asked, retracing his steps back down the gangway.

Laken took a breath. “Are you the captain of this ship, by chance?”

He shook his head. “No, I sure ain’t. The captain’s inside, though. What is it that you need him for?”

She wet her lips. “I overhead some of the crew talking in the Marketplace about going to Marlon Prime,” she explained. “And I was wondering if the captain would be willing to take on a passenger.”

The old man’s brow furrowed. “We’re a cargo ship. We don’t take on passengers, Miss,” he said.

She took a step closer, her eyes beseeching him. “But you’re already heading that way, and I promise that I won’t be any trouble. Please?” she entreated softly, her eyes start to shimmer with fake tears. They always seemed to work well on her father, and she was hoping for the same effect here.

The man, however, didn’t appear to be swayed by her tears. In fact, he was eyeing her speculatively. “Why is it that you’re looking for passage on a cargo ship when there are plenty of good transport ships, if you don’t mind my asking?”

Realizing that her teary-eyed waif act wasn’t going to have the desired effect, she decided that she needed to pull out all the stops. Putting on an even more hurt expression, she swallowed hard. “I...I’m a little short on money at the moment,” she admitted softly, letting more tears slowly begin to form in her eyes.

But his mouth only tightened more at her words, and she hurried on before he could dismiss her entirely.

“Please, Sir,” she said, a single tear rolling down her cheek. This old guy was tough, she thought. Her father would have caved in long before the tears started rolling, at least on any subject other than her marriage. “My fiancé is on one of the neighboring planets in the Tobagee System, and I really need to get to him. If you could just explain my situation to your captain, I’m sure he would make an exception to his policy and allow me passage...”

But the old man was shaking his head. “His answer’s gonna be the same, Miss,” he told her. “We don’t take on passengers.”

He made as if to turn and head back up the gangway, but Laken’s hand on his arm stopped him. “Please wait,” she pleaded, her voice trembling. “If it’s a question of money, my fiancé will pay...”

Again, the old man was shaking his head. “It ain’t the money, Miss.”

Genuine tears started to well in Laken eyes then as she realized her opportunity was slipping away. “But...”

“I’m sorry, Miss,” the man said. “Captain Karsten has a firm rule when it comes to passengers. You’ll have to find some other way. Besides, you don’t want to go to the Tobagee System right now, anyway. It’s not a good place for a woman like you.”

With that, the old man turned to go, taking with him her one chance to get off Tellune and back to Mallin, and she stared at his retreating form until he disappeared inside the ship. What the heck did he mean, the Tobagee System wasn’t a good place for a woman? What a chauvinist! she thought. Well, while Laken would definitely disregard that bit of advice, there was one thing the old man had said that made sense, and that was to find some other way to get to Tobagee.

As the ship’s engines hummed to life, her resolve firmed. She was getting away from her father and all of his plans for an arranged marriage, and she was going to get back to Mallin. And she was going to do it right now. If her father wasn’t going to stop her, that old man certainly wasn’t.

Laken glanced around. While the dock was covered with dozens of people, no one seemed the slightest bit interested in her. Turning to the ship, she looked back up the gangway towards the main hatch and saw that it seemed to be empty of any crewmembers. A chance like this would never come again, but still she hesitated. She had no clothing with her and just the money in her purse, barely more than change. Her father would shut down her credit the moment he realized she was off Tellune. But none of that mattered. Once she got to Mallin, he would take care of her. She closed her eyes and pictured the joyous reunion when she showed up at his door. That image decided it for her. Heart hammering in her chest, she took a deep breath and hurried up the gangway.

Stowing away on the spaceship had been impulsive, not to mention incredibly risky, but it had also been one of her more brilliant plans, Laken told herself as she crouched behind one of the big wooden crates in the cargo hold. Sneaking on board had been easier than she had thought it would be, too. The crew had been nowhere in sight, much to her relief, though she had wasted no time in picking a hiding place just in case one of them wandered into the hold unannounced. About fifteen minutes after that, the ship had taken off and sped away from Tellune. Without a comfortable seat, the take-off hadn’t been very fun, but so far, so good, she thought, settling down with her back to the crate and her arms hugging her knees.

There was still a chance that she could be discovered, of course, and though the thought made her uneasy, she was confident that she would be able to sweet-talk the captain into letting her stay on board. The old guy may have been immune to her charms, but if the captain were like most of the men she knew, all she’d have to do was smile and flutter her eyelashes at him, and he wouldn’t be able to refuse her anything.

But that was the worst case scenario, Laken assured herself. Most likely, she would be able to hide out in the cargo hold for the next day or so until they reached Marlon Prime, without ever being discovered at all. Then she would simply walk right off the ship just like she had walked on. And even if the crew saw her then, it wouldn’t matter if they made a fuss because she would already be there.

Hours later, however, she was beginning to rethink her decision when her stomach growled noisily. She hadn’t thought about what she would do for food, or water for that matter, during the voyage. Then again, she was positive that it would only be a day or so to Marlon Prime. Surely she could go without eating that long. Besides, a reunion with Mallin was worth a little discomfort, she told herself.

Hunger soon gave way to weariness, however, and after a time, she nodded off, only to be jerked awake by a loud voice a few minutes later.

“Who the hell are you?”

Wide-eyed, Laken looked up to find a tall, lanky red-haired man standing over her. Even though she was still half-asleep, she recognized him as one of the men she had followed from the restaurant back on Tellune. Finn, she thought his name was. He looked a lot less friendly now than he had back on her home world, she thought.

Eyeing the man warily, she quickly scrambled to her feet. “I...” she began, but the words were barely out of her mouth before the man reached out and grabbed her arm.

“Don’t bother!” he snapped, dragging her across the hold.

She tried to hang back, fear gripping her. “Take your hands off of me!”

But Finn paid no attention to her, instead giving her arm a sharp tug that had her stumbling after him as he dragged her up a set of metal steps on the far side of the hold.

“Wait!” she protested, but the man only continued to ignore her as he led her deeper into the main part of the ship.

Though they passed several other crewmen as they went, no one came to her aid. After that, Laken gave up trying to plead her case to the man, knowing it would do no good since he would probably just bring her to the ship’s captain anyway. Which meant that she would only end up having to repeat herself. All the same, her heart was pounding frantically by the time they came to a stop outside a door halfway down one of the passageways. Perhaps stowing away on board a ship hadn’t been such a good idea after all, she thought. Nevertheless, she told herself to stay calm. She could talk her way out of this, but she had to stay calm.

Holding onto her with one hand, Finn rapped on the door with the other. “Captain?”

There was a pause, and then a man’s strong voice called out. “Enter.”

At the word, Finn thumbed the button that opened the door before unceremoniously pushing her inside. The room was obviously some type of office, she saw. Actually, with its dark-stained wood paneling and expensive furniture, it looked much like her father’s study at home. But even her father would be envious of the computer system that covered one whole wall. Bent over the computer, the captain had his back to them, and he turned at their entrance.

Laken blinked in surprise. She had expected the cargo ship’s captain to be like most of the others she had seen at the spaceport back on Tellune, which meant middle-aged with a slight paunch and a receding hairline. But this man was nothing like that at all. In fact, with his dark hair, rugged good-looks and well-muscled build, he looked more like he should be a vid-actor or a model. An extremely attractive one at that. The only thing that detracted from the picture was the scowl he was sending her way. And the gun he was wearing at his hip, she thought. She wouldn’t have expected a merchant captain to carry a weapon.

“What the hell...?” he growled, his dark eyes flicking to the man behind her.

“I found her hiding in the cargo hold, Captain,” Finn explained.

The captain said nothing for a moment, and then nodded for Finn to wait outside before he turned back to his computer. Laken’s eyes narrowed as she waited for him to say something. Whatever she had expected, it hadn’t been to be ignored, and for some reason, it really bothered her. She knew she should have waited quietly, but she just couldn’t.

“This is all a misunderstanding,” she said into the silence. “I boarded your ship by accident and just got lost...”

“Bull!” the man snapped, turning his head to look at her. “What were you doing? Looking for a bathroom?” he scoffed. “Lady, this is a cargo ship and you are a stowaway. That’s a very serious crime, in case you didn’t know!”

“I’m not a stowaway!” she said hotly, even though she knew that was exactly what she was.

Laken wasn’t used to men shouting at her, and she didn’t like it. It was considered inappropriate on Tellune for a man to even raise his voice in a woman’s company. It was obvious that this Captain Karsten was used to people being intimidated by his rank and gruff manner, though, and she pitied his poor crew. Well, she was just going to have to show him that he couldn’t treat her that way.

Taking a step closer, she lifted her chin defiantly. “I came aboard to speak with the captain about booking passage aboard this disgusting vessel, but got turned around and couldn’t find my way out of the cargo bay. The next thing I knew, the ship was taking off.” She gave him a disdainful look. “You really should have more lights in there, you know. And exit lighting, too. In fact, I’m of a mind to sue you for putting me in such a dangerous environment!”

Laken stepped closer to him, intent on continuing her verbal assault. After all, her father had always said it was best to go on the offensive if your back was to a wall. But now that she was so close to the captain, his broad shoulders and masculine scent had suddenly put her at a loss for words. Not to mention had her pulse fluttering wildly. No, she told herself, it wasn’t him. It was just the situation that had her heart racing like this.

“You can cut the load of crap that you’re attempting to shovel!” he snapped. “I already know that you attempted to book passage with my first officer.” Folding his arms, he regarded her coldly. “And when that didn’t work, you snuck on board, thinking you could stow away instead.”

Her face colored at his words. Damn, but she was attractive, Rade Karsten thought, taking in her long auburn hair, full pouty lips, and curvy figure. If he weren’t such a scrupulous man, he might consider taking advantage of a woman like her in this situation, perhaps even offer passage in return for warming his bed, like some merchant captains he knew. But unfortunately, he was a gentleman. At least as much of a gentleman as a part-time pirate could be.

It was probably just as well, he thought, because he didn’t have the patience to deal with a spoiled brat who was obviously used to getting her way all the time. Even if she was sexy as hell. But he’d seen more than his share of her type, and he knew how to deal with women like her. They might pout, make a show of tears, even shout a little bit, but they always backed down when a man refused to give into their demands. And he certainly wasn’t of a mind to give into any demands right now.

Rade swore under his breath. It wasn’t every day that his crew found a stowaway on board, but of all the days she could have picked, this was probably the worst. Against his gut instinct, he had just agreed to take on a job that had the potential to risk not only his life, but the lives of his whole crew. Even worse, he hadn’t even told them about it yet. But he would have to deal with that later. First, he was going to have to figure out what to do with this stowaway.

In silence, he reached out and snatched the small purse from her hands. Ignoring her look of surprise and the loud protest that came with it, he rummaged through the handbag until he found what he was looking for. Taking out her ident-card, he tossed the purse onto the desk without a word, and then turned back to his computer. Inserting the slim piece of plastic into the reader, he waited while the computer brought up his unwanted passenger’s personal information. He could just have asked her what he wanted to know, of course, but he figured she’d probably only lie to him.

Bringing up her personal information only took a matter of seconds, and in a moment, a picture of the beautiful Laken Andara was gazing back at him from the computer screen. Forcing his attention from the photo, Rade read the information beside it. Age twenty-five, she’d been born on Tellune to a merchant and his wife, both of whom still lived on her home world. Educated at the finest and most expensive university on the planet, she held a degree in computer technology, but had no job, which only reinforced his initial impression that she was no more than a rich brat. She had probably gone to school to get away from Daddy, he thought, but when it came to actually getting a job, her father’s money had looked a whole lot better.

Behind him, Rade heard her fidget nervously. “Okay, you’re right. I did stow away,” she admitted softly. “But I had a good reason.”

Turning back to her, Rade lifted a brow. She was following the bratty-girl handbook, chapter and verse. Being loud and belligerent hadn’t worked, so now she would try fake sincerity. He couldn’t wait to hear what story she was going to try and feed him next.

The girl wet her lips. “I...I’m meeting my fiancé on New Ashanti, which is in the Tobagee System.”

Rade knew where it was. “And what? You couldn’t find a transport ship that was going there?” he asked sarcastically.

A blush colored her cheeks as she lowered her gaze. “I...I couldn’t afford passage on a transport,” she said softly.

This was getting better by the minute, Rade thought, his eyes narrowing. “What? Daddy didn’t want to pay for it?”

She looked away. “He doesn’t know.”

“Oh? So, you’re running away from home to be with the man you love.” He couldn’t keep the sneer from his voice. “And your fiancé? Is he as penniless as you are?”

Her head jerked up. “Of course not!”

“Then why didn’t he pay for your passage?”

She hesitated. “He...he doesn’t know that I’m coming.”

Rade’s brow furrowed. “Excuse me?” That was unexpected. As attractive as she was, he could imagine a man trying to lure her away from home. But since she was the one doing the chasing, that didn’t seem to apply in this case. Against his better judgment, he was interested to hear what she would say next.

The girl lifted her chin a little higher. “He doesn’t know that I’m coming,” she said again. “He left Tellune two months ago on important business, and I haven’t been able to get in touch with him. I thought I’d surprise him.”

Rade stared at the beautiful girl before him in silence, not sure if he should feel sorry for her, or be embarrassed for her. She was obviously as naïve as could be. After a moment, he shook his head. “Oh, he’ll be surprised all right.”

She frowned, her hands on her hips. “What is that supposed to mean?”

“It means that your fiancé dumped you, sweetheart, and that you’ll only be making a fool of yourself by chasing after him,” Rade replied.

Laken felt her face flush. It wasn’t anything that she hadn’t already heard at least a dozen times from her father, and even though she refused to believe that about Mallin, the words hurt more than she cared to admit. “My fiancé did not dump me!” she told him hotly.

The captain lifted a brow. “Really?” he countered. “Then why haven’t you heard from him?”

Her color deepened. “I never said that I hadn’t heard from him. I said that I hadn’t been able to get in touch with him,” she shot back. “And it’s like I told you, my fiancé’s on New Ashanti on very important business.”

He snorted. “If he’s even on New Ashanti at all.”

Laken’s mouth tightened, her dislike of the captain evident for him to see. “This was a mistake!” she said coldly. “In fact, I think it would be best if you turned around and took me back to Tellune!”

“No.”

Laken blinked. “Wh-what do you mean, no?” Her father had disagreed with her frequently, but he hardly ever come out and bluntly said “no” to her. No one had.

He shrugged. “You decided to stow away on board a merchant cargo ship that has a schedule to keep.” Turning back to the computer, he checked something on the screen before adding, “Which means that I don’t have time to go back to Tellune just because you changed your mind. You’ll just have to be stuck on here until we can find someplace to dump you off.” Reaching out a hand, he pressed the button for the ship’s intercom. “Dev, I need you to escort our...” he hesitated, glancing over his shoulder at Laken before continuing, “...passenger to her quarters.”

“Sure thing, Captain,” came a woman’s voice.

Laken felt her anger rise at the captain’s high-handed manner. “You can’t keep me here against my will! That’s kidnapping!”

He turned on her, dark eyes glinting as they met her green ones. “Actually, it’s not. I’m the captain of a ship that you decided to stow away on, sweetheart, which means that I can do anything I damn well please,” he growled. “And you should be grateful. If you were a man, I’d treat you like the criminal you are and have you locked in the hold instead of putting you in a cabin.”

She gasped. “We’ll just see about that!” Hands trembling, she yanked open her purse and pulled out her com. “My father is a very influential man back on Tellune,” she said, her finger finding the button she sought and pressing it. “And when he finds out that you’re keeping me prisoner...”

Her tirade came to an abrupt halt as the ship’s captain grabbed the com from her hand and snapped it closed. “Don’t be an idiot! We’re in deep space. That communicator won’t do you any good. Not that I’d let you use it anyway.”

Undeterred by his glower, Laken automatically reached for her communicator, trying to wrestle it from his strong grip. He was lying. Her com would still work; it was the best one on the market. “Give that back to me! It’s mine!”

One minute, she was struggling with him for possession of her com, the next she had pulled it out of his grasp, only to have the stupid thing slip out of her hand and fall to the floor with a metallic clatter as pieces went every which way.

Laken stared down at what was left of her communicator in stunned silence for a moment before she lifted her head to glare at him. “Damn you!” she swore. “Look what you did!”

His jaw clenched. “I didn’t break it; you did, by being such a brat,” he growled.

For some reason, the way he said the word, “brat,” made her even madder than the fact that he’d broken her com. Her eyes narrowed as she spied something on his desk. “Fine!” she snapped. “I’ll just use yours, then.” This wasn’t about whether the com would work anymore. It had gone way beyond that. She would show him that he couldn’t boss her around.

As she spoke, Laken brushed past him and reached for the communicator on the desk, but he grabbed her arm before she could do so and spun her around to face him.

“Let go of me!” she demanded, struggling to free herself. She had never been manhandled like this in her entire life. She had berated men until they were purple in the face, but they had never dared lay a hand on her.

But the captain held her fast, his grip like iron. “It seems that I didn’t make myself clear before,” he said, his voice deceptively soft. “While you’re on board my ship, you will do as I tell you, when I tell you.”

Her green eyes flashed. “Really? Well, here’s a newsflash for you, you jerk! I’m not one of your crew!” she told him hotly. “Which means that I don’t take orders for you!” She tried to jerk her arm free again, to no avail. “Now, let go of me!”

His mouth tightened. He thought he had dealt with brats like this before, but he’d been wrong. She was in a league all her own. And her behavior required extreme measures. “That’s it!” he snapped. “I’ve had it with you!”

Before Laken could reply, he turned on his heel and dragged her across the room. Her brow furrowed in confusion. “What are you...?...Oh!”

The word came out in a rush of breath as, in one quick motion, he sat down in the chair behind the desk and unceremoniously yanked her over his knee. The position was as humiliating a one as Laken could think of, with her bottom in the air and her long hair hanging down to cover her face. It didn’t help that she had to put her hands on the floor just to keep her balance. Or that he put a strong hand on her back to hold her in place when she tried to push herself upright. She’d never been spanked before in her life, but she knew that’s what this despicable thug was about to attempt.

“Let me up!” she demanded, craning her neck to look at him over her shoulder. She kicked and squirmed as much as she could, but his grip was like steel. Amazingly, just that one hand at the small of her back was enough to keep her trapped.

“Not until we get a few things straight,” he ground out. “First, I’m the captain of this ship, and you’ll treat me as such. Second, as a stowaway, you can and will be punished as I see fit. And third, if you continue to act like a spoiled brat, this spanking will only be the first of many.”

Outraged at the idea that this man actually thought he could spank her like a child, Laken opened her mouth to tell the loathsome Captain Karsten that she would continue to act any way she pleased when she felt his hand come down hard on her upturned bottom. Stunned speechless, she gasped, her eyes going wide as heat spread across the offended area. While she’d realized that he was going to spank her, and that there was little she could do about it, she had never thought that he would do it hard enough to actually hurt her. But her bottom was stinging after only the first smack!

She suddenly stopped struggling, hoping that if she didn’t continue to resist he would end this with just that one spank. But unfortunately, he took no notice of her surrender one way or the other, and his hand connected with her bottom again, harder this time.

“Owwwww!” she yelped, resuming her struggles to free herself. But all her fighting ended up doing was making her already short skirt to ride up even higher. The next smack landed on her partially exposed cheek, and the sting almost made her go rigid across his lap. The second she got her breath back, she began screaming at him again. “Let me up right now, you...”

Another smack interrupted her, only to be followed by another and another until she couldn’t think about anything but each stinging spank and the heat that accompanied it. The embarrassment of knowing that he was getting a pretty good glimpse of at least a portion of her bottom was almost as bad as the spanking itself.

Captain Karsten stopped spanking her momentarily, and she thought he was done, only to discover that he was just repositioning her more firmly across his thighs. Then he began to methodically spank her again.

“Owwwww!...Owwwww!...Owwwww!...Owwww!”

Somewhere in the back of her mind, she knew she should be concerned that the rest of the crew would hear her protests and be able to figure out exactly what was going on, but the spanks stung so fiercely that she didn’t care. She just wanted it to be over with.

Then, as quickly as it had begun, and much to her relief, it was over and Laken was back on her feet, the ruggedly handsome captain towering over her. Face flushed, she glared up at him. Torn between wanting to slap that smug look off his face and rubbing her freshly-spanked ass, she thought that giving into the urge to slap him might only earn her another trip over his knee, and so she reached her hands back to cup her sore bottom instead. She couldn’t help but let out a gasp. Even through her skirt, she could have sworn that she could feel the heat from the spanking he’d just given her.

“How dare you spank me!” she said indignantly, her voice trembling. “I’m not a child!”

His dark eyes were hard as flint as he glowered down at her. “No, you only act like one! And like I said, I won’t put up with it on my ship. You’ll behave yourself while you’re on board, or I’ll do it again.”

Laken lifted her chin and was about to tell him in no uncertain terms that there was no way in hell she was going to let him spank her again when the door abruptly slid open. Startled, she turned her attention in that direction to see a pretty, dark-haired girl standing in the doorway. The girl gave Laken a curious look, her brow furrowing slightly. Suddenly realizing that she was still cupping her bottom, Laken colored and quickly took her hands away. Glancing at the captain, Laken found his gaze on her.

She wasn’t surprised when he didn’t bother with polite introductions. “Devorah will show you to your quarters,” he told Laken.

With one more scathing look in his direction, Laken turned to follow the girl.

“One second, Ms. Andara,” he said.

Almost against her will, Laken turned at the command in his voice to see him take a step toward her.

“Don’t forget your purse,” he said, holding it out to her. “And don’t forget to behave yourself. I expect you to keep to your quarters and the common areas of the ship. Which means that I don’t want to catch you wandering around anywhere.”

Laken wished could come up with something cutting to say, but nothing would come to mind. Settling on a glare instead, she reached out and snatched the purse out of his hand. As she followed Devorah out of the room, she told herself not to look back, but as if it had a mind of their own, her gaze darted over her shoulder. Her face colored even more as she realized Captain Karsten must have been waiting for her to do just that because he flashed her a mocking grin just as the door slid closed.

 

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