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My mood is growing more sour by the moment. I glare down at the controls in front of me, not seeing them. All I see is Sophie's lovely face, smiling at me. Sophie tucked against my chest as she sleeps, the carinoux sprawled on her other side. Sophie holding tightly to my hand as she comes…
Fierce longing tears through me. "Yeah. I'm gonna let her go."
"Idiot." Bethiah leans back in her chair, crossing her arms over her chest. Her braids clack as she tilts her head. "You don't let people just leave you. You have to take action until they see things your way, like I'm doing with Jamef."
Yeah, that's working out great for her, clearly. I put a hand on the panel in front of me, deciding to focus on what I can control—scrap. "I can remove the dark-matter secondary drive and replace a few of the newer parts with older ones. A bad paint job, some fake identification, and this ship is pretty much yours. Sound good?"
She beams at me. "Sounds perfect. How long do you think it'll take?"
As much as I'd like to get my cousin out the door so I can have time alone with Sophie again, the dark-matter drive is enticing. It could bring in a lot of credits…maybe enough to get Sophie the carinoux for keeps. She loves the creature, and it loves her…and it keeps her safe. If she has to leave my side, at least she would do it with a protector. "Give me a few days."
"Am I going to interrupt private time?" Bethiah asks lightly.
"Not at all, because you're going to be staying on your ship with your prisoner."
She mock-pouts. "But we both know Softie isn't using her bed."
"The carinoux might not like you invading it."
"Hmm, excellent point." Bethiah tilts her head, regarding me. "Well, I appreciate the favor, cousin. If you need anything from me, just ask."
"Actually…" I hesitate. "If you happen to run across any human artifacts, I'll pay you for them. And seeds. Flower seeds. For the terrarium."
"Didn't realize you were into gardening."
"I'm not." My neck gets hot again when she titters. "Just…I'll pay you, all right?"
"I'll see what I can do." She pats my arm and gets up. "I'm going to go bother Jamef some more. You need help with anything?"
There's nothing left to do but get started…well, and let Sophie know that we'll be forced to tolerate my cousin for a few more days. "I'm good." I head off the ship, automatically seeking out my human. Not yours, I remind myself. Your guest. She belongs to herself. Still, I like to dream…
Sophie is in my quarters, curled up in my bed, her book in her hands. She looks over at me and there's a concerned expression on her face. "Jerrok, we need to talk." She sets down her book and sits up. "About Bethiah—"
"She's staying for a few days while I fix up her ship," I interrupt. "I hope that's all right."
Sophie gets to her feet and moves toward me. She licks her lips and puts a hand on my chest, as if she needs to touch me. "She…I…she knows we're sleeping in the same bed together. She smelled my pillow."
Immediately, I'm angry at my cousin. Clearly she's made Sophie feel uncomfortable. "She doesn't know anything," I say firmly. "Don't let her bully you into—"
"It's okay," Sophie says softly and pats my chest again. "I'm okay with that. It just means…I'm sleeping with you tonight. Is that okay? She can stay in my bed since I won't be using it."
She looks up at me with such big, earnest eyes, and I realize that this is a big step for her, just like it is for me. It's as if she's marking me as her territory, and I stand a little prouder at the realization. "If you like."
"I do," Sophie whispers, giving me a shy smile. She reaches up and lightly touches the back of my neck, and I automatically lean down. As I do, she presses her lips to mine again—and then licks me with her tongue. "I'm going to show you how to really kiss later tonight."
I stare down at her, dumbfounded. "You mean we've been doing it wrong all this time?"
She just giggles.48SOPHIEHaving Bethiah around is…kind of annoying. I know she's Jerrok's cousin and he's close to her, but man, she does not shut up for five minutes. I'd forgotten just how grating her personality can be, since it's been months since she flew with the va Sithai on the Little Sister. She's nice enough, but she's also a lot. She has a story for everything, and because of that, she never stops talking. She talks through the afternoon as Jerrok works on transforming the exterior of her “borrowed” ship. I put on work clothes and tear away at the scrap backlog from the other pirate ship. I've worked with Jerrok enough that I know a lot of what to look for, and he shoots me appreciative looks when I start working.
