Cherished (Intergalactic Loyalties) by Jessica Coulter Smith Read Free Book Online Page A

she could get anywhere with him. If she were lucky, she could convince him to return her before she was missed.
    He brushed her hair back from her face and placed a kiss on her forehead. It was unexpected, something he’d never done before. He’d always been caring, but he’d never shown her true affection. She knew he’d given up his rights to her when he’d talked the Tarnans into taking him to their planet, but did he regret his decision? Lucie tried to read the expression in his eyes, but she couldn’t see anything but their color. She cursed her lack of sight, wishing she had all of her senses to aid her right then.
    “The sedative will wear off in a few minutes,” he told her.
    She stared at him, unable to do much else.
    “When Ghel told me you’d been captured by the Tourmalane they had in lockup, my heart nearly stopped. They still don’t know who released him. Someone managed to get the key away from Bynt and unlocked the warrior’s cell. Don’t worry. They’ll be punished.”
    Punished? They were going to punish her? Her breath caught in her throat. What would they do to her for freeing him? No, they didn’t know it was her right now, but she was certain Rebecca would turn on her sooner or later. Then what would happen? She didn’t just have herself to think about any longer, but her unborn child as well. Dryxel’s child. Her fingers twitched as she tried to place a hand over her belly.
    “Bynt said the last time he remembers having the key was right before his shower. He can’t think of anyone who would come into his room uninvited and steal from him, but it seems that’s what happened. The Tarnans think it might have been one of us, but I have my suspicions. There’s a certain slave who seems discontent with her lot in life.”
    In her heart she knew he meant Rebecca. If he confronted her, she knew the woman would divulge that it was Lucie who had set Dryxel free.
    “You’d think she would be happy with one or two warriors wanting her as their bonded mate, but no… she thinks everyone on the ship should bow and scrape at her feet. Honestly, I think she wants the captain, but Sol doesn’t want anything to do with her. If anything, he seems disgusted by her behavior. You’d think a man who hadn’t been with a woman in a long time would be eager to have Rebecca plaster herself to him, but it seems to repulse him.”
    It seemed the captain had good taste, Lucie thought. She couldn’t imagine anyone wanting Rebecca. The woman was conceited and vile. She’d met snakes on earth with a better temperament and personality. Lucie’s fingers twitched again, moving a little more this time. She was able to wiggle her toes a bit too, which meant the sedative was wearing off.
    “I don’t care what they say,” Cael said. “I’m going to protect you. If you’d been under my watchful eye, he never would have been able to steal you away. Damn Tarnans are lax in their surveillance. Did you know they don’t have a single camera on the holding cells?”
    Well, that explained why no one came after her when she’d freed Dryxel. And what did he mean he was going to protect her? He’d given up his rights to her, had avoided her as much as possible since coming on board the Lynten 12, with the exception of mealtimes, and even then he wasn’t always around. The few times he’d helped her, the Tarnans hadn’t been pleased and had grumbled about it. He was going to buck their authority now? Didn’t he realize how dangerous that was for him? They could put him out at the next space station, or eject him in a life pod to just float in space until someone came along and picked him up.
    “I’m your friend, Lucie. You know that, don’t you? I care about you more than I’ve ever cared for a woman, except my mother. Until you, I didn’t think women were good for anything other than fucking and procreating with. It had never crossed my mind that I might enjoy their company. But I do, enjoy yours that is. I