Corsairs: Kaspar (Corsair Brothers 2) - Page 62

I move forward, pulling the cord out of her mouth before she can tear it apart with her razor teeth. "Hang on, hang on. Let it go. It's not food." I manage to pry it out of her grasp and then look up.

Kaspar is grinning down at me from high above. "Please, don't let me interrupt. I liked watching you with the carinoux. You both look so happy frolicking in the dirt."

I brush my fingers over my butt, where some of the dirt is still stuck to my skin. "You threw this down, I assume? You scared the crap out of me."

"Yeah, sorry." He's still grinning, so I suspect he's not all that sorry. "I'm going to use it to make a rope. I think you'll like this place. It's in really good shape, once we get rid of the dead guy."

Goosebumps prickle up my arms. "Dead guy?"

"Yeah, the pilot. Died in his seat, I think. He's still up here, but there's not much left other than a skeleton. You want me to throw him down?"

"No! God no!" I shoot a horrified look up at him. "Are you crazy?"

"So you want to keep him here while we're living up here?"

"No to that, also." I wrinkle my nose, thinking. "I guess if you have to throw him down, throw him down. But we're going to bury him like civilized people."

Kaspar just gazes down at me. "Well, yeah. We're not monsters. And we don't have to throw him down right now. We can do it some other time. Everything up here is good, though. Floors are solid, and the ship's computer's pretty dead but I can play around with it. There's a bed and everything. We can stay here while we wait for rescue."

I shield my eyes, squinting up at him. "You think so?"

"I think it's gonna be fantastic. You wait and see." He flashes another grin at me and then bounds out of the open hatch. "Coming down now, though. Stand back in case I fall."

"That's not funny." I scowl up at him, but he's already climbing down, tail flicking as he braces himself. His stance looks completely precarious as he widens his legs, bracing himself on the trunk as he uses invisible handholds to work his way down. I don't even joke about how I have a bird's eye view of his cock and balls this way. I just hold my breath, my body braced for danger as I watch him work his way back down. His grip doesn't look very solid, and he's favoring one hand. That worries me.

I'll fuss about him when he's on solid ground, I tell myself, and until then I force myself to remain completely still and silent, holding onto Sterre as if my life depends on it.

If he falls and leaves me here alone…I won't be able to bear it. The thought of being abandoned, alone in the universe, makes me hurt, but the thought of Kaspar's silly, daredevil grin and his laughter disappearing forever makes something inside me collapse. I'm practically in tears as I watch him descend the last few feet and then when he hops to the ground with a bounce as if to pretend that nothing was ever easier, I fling myself into his arms.

"Don't worry so much, Sunshine," he tells me in a cheerful voice. "It was an easy climb, really." But his arms go around me and he holds me tight. "I wasn't in any danger."

I want to argue with him—I always seem to want to argue with Kaspar—but right now, all I do is hold him close and press my face to his chest, breathing in his scent and his nearness. The solidity of him. I just feel best when he's around, I'm realizing. I feel safe, and I don't like any threats to that safety. I just—

Something crinkles. A small, hard object presses against my back, surprisingly cool. I pull back in surprise, and Kaspar's grinning down at me like a loon. He holds his hand out to me, and I realize he's been clutching something this entire time. He held it while he was climbing down, which was why he favored his hand. And he presents it to me, a foil-wrapped package no larger than a coke can, and my jaw drops.

He risked his life for this? Whatever this package is? "You idiot!" I smack his gut with my hand, knowing that the blow is ineffectual and more noise than anything. "What the ever-loving fuck? You risked your life to show me this?"

I'm so damn mad at him. To think of all the stupid things he's done, this might be up there with the stupidest. As if that climb wasn't difficult enough as it is? He risked his neck, and I can't believe it. Stupid tears threaten, and I glare up at him, because I am absolutely not going to cry over him and his careless ways.

Tags: Ruby Dixon Corsair Brothers Fantasy
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