Total pages in book: 112
Estimated words: 105936 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 530(@200wpm)___ 424(@250wpm)___ 353(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 105936 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 530(@200wpm)___ 424(@250wpm)___ 353(@300wpm)
It was burned into my memory forever. But what came next was worse.
41
JESSINA
Finally we were far enough to turn our backs and start walking normally. I expected that now that we were out of danger, Turk would start asking me questions. But my Fated Mate was silent. There was a grim look on his face as he held me by the elbow and hurried me towards the spaceport in the dying light. He didn’t say a word as he guided me through the crowded place, filled with aliens and strange smells and sounds.
“Turk?” I said tentatively, as we finally came in view of The Illyrian which was docked in a wide berth near the end of the port.
“Not a word,” he ground out, glaring down at me briefly. “Not one…fucking…word until I get you back to my quarters!”
“But, I—” I began but another glare from him shut me up. I began to realize that he wasn’t just angry—he was furious. I felt my heart wilting inside me. Goddess, what was he going to do with me? Had I ruined everything between us? Would he ever forgive me?
It certainly didn’t seem so. Turk practically pushed me through the ship and up into his bedroom. Then he pointed a finger at me.
“Clean up and get dressed.”
He started to go but I called for him.
“Turk, wait! Where are you going? Can’t we just talk?” I pleaded.
His bronze eyes flashed.
“I don’t have time to fucking talk right now. I have to make sure the rest of the crew is on board so we can get the fuck out of here! Since you offended our trading partners, they’re talking about taking legal action and grounding The Illyrian.”
“Oh, no!” I put a hand to my mouth. “I…I’m so sorry! But how could I know they would smell me out?”
“How could you come on board my ship in the first place?” he growled.
“I just—” I started to explain but he put up a hand to stop me.
“No. Not right now. First we have to get the fuck off this planet.” He poked a finger at me again. “Clean up and stay in here. Don’t come out on the Bridge.”
“All right,” I said humbly, but he was already out the door and slamming it behind him.
It was clear I was in trouble. Deep trouble and I didn’t think there was anything I could do to get out of it.
I took a shower and thoroughly cleaned the wound in my arm where the implant had been. Then I bandaged it and put on my pink-flowered pajamas. They were my only clean clothes since my uniform was cut up and covered in blood and dirt. I didn’t bother with the compression tank—why should I? The jig was up—at least as far as Turk was concerned. So there was no point in binding my breasts and being uncomfortable. Then I sat on his bed and waited.
After a little while, I felt the ship begin to move and breathed a sigh of relief. Good, at least the Salashions hadn’t been able to keep The Illyrian on the planet’s surface! She was a fast ship—I was betting she could outrun anything they sent after us.
It seemed to take forever but finally Turk came back in. But any hopes I’d had that he might have cooled down in the time we were apart were instantly dashed by the expression on his face. He looked like a thundercloud about to burst as he came to stand across from the bed where I was sitting. Legs apart and arms crossed over his broad chest, he stared down at me.
“All right—what the Hell do you think you’re doing here? How dare you stow away aboard my ship pretending to be something you’re not?” he growled.
“I didn’t stow away,” I pointed out. “You hired me!”
“Only because I thought you were male!” he exclaimed. “How could you do this? Sneaking off like this—your brother is worried sick!”
“I know he is, but I couldn’t risk telling him what I was doing!” I said. “I couldn’t tell anyone—not even you. Because I knew if I did, you’d just return me to my father and stepmother and the horrible old man she picked out for me to get Bound to!” I leaned forward, trying to appeal to him. “Please, Turk! They already had the Binding Contract signed, without even asking me. And he’s old enough to be my GrandSire!”
“Goddess of the Four Faces!” He ran a hand over his curling horns distractedly. “They already have a Binding Contract?”
“Yes!” I nodded emphatically. “So you can see why I had to get away!”
“All I see is that you used me and my ship to run away from a legally authorized Binding with a man that your father—the Chieftain of Clan Cruel—set up for you!” he exclaimed. “Do you have any fucking idea what he’s going to do to me when he finds out his daughter was on my ship the whole time they thought you were kidnapped?”