Outcast by Cheryl Brooks Read Free Book Online Page A

smiled ironically, as the pillow she chose to give him was the one Sylor had always slept on. Lynx could rip it to shreds with those fangs of his, and it wouldn't matter to her; she had no use for it now.

Chapter 3
    As the Jolly Roger left orbit of Harabba Five, Captain Jacinth "Jack" Tshevnoe sat alone in the cockpit, tapping the console to adjust their flight to Terra Minor. Unlike the barren rock they'd just left, Terra Minor was a pretty planet when viewed from space, all green and blue with swirling clouds — like many others, perhaps, but even the shape of the continents was interesting. One reminded Jack of the shape of a dog — sort of like Tisana's black hound, Max. She looked forward to seeing that world again and visiting with its inhabitants.
    As though he heard her thoughts, Max padded over to place his head on Jack's knee. As Tisana was always in mental communication with her pet, Jack figured Max already knew, but she told him anyway.
    "Hey, Max!" she said brightly. "We're going to Terra Minor! You'll get to see Kipper again."
    Max gave a muffled bark. He knew to keep his voice down, because Jack didn't like loud, sudden noises. It made her react as if the Nedwuts were firing on them. Max hated Nedwuts and wished he could have done more to help Jack fight them, but the hairy, snarling beasts were more than he could take on alone. Not that he hadn't tried.
    In the past, as an honest trader, Jack had never had to fight any battles in space, but harboring a Zetithian was something the Nedwuts apparently considered to be an open declaration of war. After teaming up with Cat, Jack had equipped her ship with weapons, which put them on more even footing, but didn't guarantee their safety. Jack didn't mind the expense or the danger, though. She loved Cat enough to fight for him, and she wasn't about to let a bunch of slimeball Nedwuts interfere with her life. The way she saw it, anyone who threatened Cat got blasted. Period.
    Jack had never asked any of them how much the bounty was on a Zetithian — she'd never left a Nedwut alive long enough to answer any questions — but it must have been a huge amount to keep them out there hunting. The information that the Nedwuts had been responsible for destroying the entire planet of Zetith had spread, with the result that they were refused landing permission on most worlds, but there were still quite a few of them lurking around some of the seedier planets. Jack tended to avoid regions of space where Nedwuts were known to congregate, but you never knew when a pack of them might decide to get adventurous, so she stayed ready with the sensors always on the alert.
    Setting the autopilot, Jack leaned back and absently petted Max. What would her life be like without Cat? Not worth living, she decided — though she did have her three sons to think of. She'd have to keep on going for them, but having loved a man like Cat was guaranteed to make any other man seem pale in comparison. She'd lived a long time without a man, and now, she knew she could want no other — and she wanted him all the time.
    Following the trail of his wife's scent, Cat stole softly up behind Jack just as he had done the first day he spent on her ship. He'd been naked and chained then, but he'd been drawn to her like a magnet. He remembered the feeling of utter loss after she'd purchased him at auction, then freed him and left him in the plaza. She'd asked if he would try to escape if she removed his restraints, and he'd been dumb enough to say what any self-respecting slave would have said: "I am a slave and a prisoner. I will attempt to escape" — and she'd believed him! Hadn't she seen the effect she had on him?
    But Cat knew very well that his Jacinth was impulsive, and though tough and determined, there was a vulnerable streak in her, one that he'd unknowingly hit upon. The way she'd tried to resist him had been pointless, because he could smell her desire for him, and it was strong — strong enough