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"Doesn't matter. Feels better already."
Jerrok's fingers lightly move up my spine. His new hand again, I realize. There's no welcome creak to his movements, no slightly-too-heavy heft to his hand, and it fills me with a twinge of longing. I liked all those small things about him because it always told me that this was my Jerrok. It's selfish to miss them, because I know more than anyone else how much they pained him. I'm just going to have to get used to his new hand.
I press a kiss to his neck, my mind automatically thinking of filthy things we can do with that hand.
Sleipnir makes his impatient coughing bark again, and this time, Jerrok sighs. "I should check out the station before it's safe for you to go in, love. Just to be on the safe side."
"Mmm." I'm sleepy, curled up in his arms, and comfortable. Not yet ready to move. "What do the computers say?"
He presses a light kiss to my forehead. "They say everything's fine, but after what happened, I don't trust the computers, do you?"
Fair enough. I whine only a little as he gets to his feet and carefully sets me back in the chair again. He checks his weapons, strapping them to his waist, and as he leans over me to tap at something on the comm panel of the ship, his crotch is practically in my face.
It gives me so many ideas. I run a hand lightly up his thigh, humming to myself.
Jerrok groans, his fingers brushing over my jaw as he straightens. "I don't know about you, but I'm more than ready to have some time alone."
"I am," I whisper, leaning in and pressing a kiss to his flat stomach through his clothing, even as my hand moves to his cock.
"Let me check out the station, love. I'll get Sleipnir settled in the terrarium with a new chew and then you and I can be alone together. Sound good?"
"Sounds perfect." Reluctantly, I drop my hands and watch him as he touches the carinoux's head, scratching at the perfect spot just behind Sleipnir's ears. I'm not entirely surprised to see the carinoux go down the ramp with Jerrok as he heads into the station. Sleipnir's becoming just as possessive of Jerrok as he is of me, which I love. We're a perfect little family, just the three of us.
Smiling at that thought, I curl up in Jerrok's chair—it's still warm from his body heat—and wait for them to return. My eyes drift shut and I yawn. Hopefully they won't be gone too long, and we can have dinner, and a shower, and some toe-curling sex…
I’m asleep before I realize it.86JERROKI check every room in the station twice, just because I'm paranoid about failing Sophie again. She doesn't blame me for what happened on the Little Sister, but it doesn't matter. I'm going to forever blame myself, and the sound of her weeping as she was held captive will forever be etched into my mind. Sleipnir's not the only one that's been clingy and paranoid since the incident.
But all is as I left it, and I check the logs of the station as well as the surrounding satellites that monitor the area. All has been silent, and the only thing that wandered close was a freighter that changed courses the moment it got close to the asteroid belt. Suits me just fine. I return to the Little Sister, Sleipnir at my heels…only to find that Sophie is fast asleep in the same spot I left her in.
My heart aches at the sight. I know she hasn't been sleeping much lately. It's all the more reason I'm glad that we've returned to my station. Sophie needs a place where she can feel safe, where she can relax without worrying she's in danger. I would never tell her that she can't help the fight to find the brothers, but I'm relieved that she's decided we should take a step back. We can keep our ears open for communications that come through, or check in with other pirate ships that move through the area. The Jabberwock can take up the front lines; we can do other work quietly in the background and still contribute. If nothing else, we can add funds to the pool.
I carefully lift Sophie from the chair and carry her out of the ship. My mate doesn't even stir, just curls up against my chest, lost in dreams. I deposit her in my bed—our bed—and when Sleipnir immediately jumps into the bed next to her, I pull the blankets over both of them. "You watch over her while she sleeps," I tell the carinoux. "I've got some work to do."
There's a million things to be done now that we're back. The station's an older one so there's always something going offline or malfunctioning, air filters to replace, systems to power back up now that we've returned…plus the Sister has to have maintenance so she can sit in the dock, unused, for as long as necessary. It's a staggering amount of work that's been piling up while we've been gone, but I don't mind it. We're home, and Sophie's safe.
