Corsairs - Straik (Corsair Brothers 3) - Page 46

"But—" Kazex begins again, and he's clearly as dumb as a fucking stump. What on earth does Dopekh see in him?

I reach out to claw at the eyes of the red-skinned a'ani but they both sidestep, and Dopekh puts a hand on Kazex, leading him away. "Buzz if you need something, Captain."

Straik does not reply, just turns and marches down the hall in the opposite direction of the crew.

His shoulder jabs into my gut, and I twist atop him, uncomfortable. There's no clothing to pad me from his skin and his shoulder feels hard and unyielding. "Put me down."

"No. You're misbehaving, too."

I roll my eyes. "How so?"

"You're playing games," he says, his voice bitter and angry. "And I'm tired of it."

"Actually, I'm trying to wrap up my games," I point out. "Or did you not notice that I kinda outed poor Dopekh there?"

"Who cares if he likes males?" Straik says. "No one does. We figured he had some proclivity that way. The other crew members drool over the cantina dancers every time we head to station, but Dopekh does not. It does not affect his ability to do his job so it does not matter."

Excellent point, and I'm glad he sees it that way, too. I don't point out that he's crushing on one of the crew members, though. That's too much of an invasion of privacy, and I have no idea if they all shower together or something. That makes me pause, imagining a bunch of muscular men all washing each other's backs. I…am intrigued. "Do your men have separate showers?"

"What?"

"Nothing, just curious." I tap his back again. "You can still put me down. I promise not to attack Kazex for being a dipshit." When Straik ignores me, I roll my eyes and give up, letting him carry me across the ship. All things considered, I knew he'd be a little huffy when he found out we were deceiving him. This isn't unexpected. "Where are we going, at least?"

"To my quarters. You and I are going to talk."

"We're not talking right now?"

He reaches out and smacks my ass with a light, chastising spanking. I let out a yelp, stunned—and immediately more turned on than I should be. Straik's gait stutters, too, as if he acted automatically and realized what he was doing too late. "Behave," he growls. "My patience is at an end."

I squirm again, backside stinging, and try not to think about his hand on my butt, or how casually he did that. Just boom. Ass-smack. Is he into spankings, then?

Am I? I wonder about this. I don't think I am. I think I like fighting but not the hitting. I search my brain for memories, but it's hard to concentrate when I'm still riding on the guy's shoulder through the damn ship and I have my hands on his bare back.

A door swishes back into the wall, and Straik steps into his quarters again. I look around, wondering where he's going to drop me, and when he heads for the far end of the room, a hot thread curls in my stomach. Is he—

I'm tossed back onto the bed, bouncing on the soft, squishy mattress. I sprawl out, gazing up at him defiantly. "For a man that doesn't want me in his bed, you sure keep bringing me back here."

Straik positively glowers at me. He watches me for a moment, his gaze trailing down my torso and then to my spread legs. Then he turns away and begins to pace rapidly, a sure sign of his agitation. He clasps his hands behind his back. "Explain to me what is going on. I don't like being mocked."

He's mad. Why is he mad? "No one's mocking you."

"What is a beard?" he snaps. "I don't like these little 'in' jokes you have at my expense."

Oh. I sit up, drawing my legs together because that felt…vulnerable. I curl them under me and try to look casual, but I don't get off the bed. "A beard is a term for a woman that poses as a gay man's mate. She pretends that they're together."

He gives me a puzzled look. "Why?"

"In case people don't like that a man likes other men."

"And this is why you pretended?" Straik tilts his head. "Does Dopekh truly think so little of me and his fellow a'ani that he must hide who he is?"

I think it's more about who he likes and their DNA matching versus whether there are multiple penises involved. But I shrug. It's not my secret to tell.

"Is that why you came on board this ship? To help Dopekh pretend?" He crosses his arms over his chest.

I try not to stare. Why am I suddenly noticing his big arms now? Or the fact that his chest is hard and muscled? Or that black, dancing tattoos stretch up his forearms and look as if they're begging to be touched? Fuck. I think I liked it better when I didn't realize I was angrily flirting with him.

Tags: Ruby Dixon Corsair Brothers Fantasy
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