“Just trying to take her down a few pegs,” chuckled Jack. “There’ll be no one to wait on her on this ship. Now, do a fella a favor and bring up the schematics for Ilich’s base on Myrios, will you?”
Quinn tapped keystrokes into her tablet, and a hologram of a mountain stronghold appeared in the air in front of them.
“Do you think he’s planning a cross?” she asked.
“Quinn, I always think everyone’s planning a cross. That way I’m never disappointed when they do.”
***
Aria’s post-coital reverie was interrupted by a knock on the door and a crewman delivering a vacuum cleaner. “Ma’am,” he said, and backed out the door.
Aria sat on the bed and regarded the squat machine. Well, Jack did say he was going to send one, and this place is a bit of a mess, it’s true.
She stared at the machine, trying to figure out how it worked. “Stupid bloody thing,” she said to herself, “I’m sure it’s something obvious.”
After a little experimentation, she got the machine working and started to suck up the mess of feathers on the floor. It was, she had to admit, kind of satisfying, seeing the mess disappear.
For the first little while, Aria concentrated on making sure she was doing it right, but then her mind drifted. Unsurprisingly, her thoughts were filled with her recent experiences.
Her whole world had been turned upside down. A few days ago, she had been certain of her place, and her only worries had been about why “Jacques” was not returning her calls.Well, that question’s been answered.
But now? What on Palamar could she even say about it?Dear Diary, I’ve been kidnapped by a pirate who fucks me silly and has stolen my father’s fortune.
Aria frowned as the suction tube got caught on a blanket for what felt like the hundredth time. She fiddled with it and got it to release with a loud pop.
It’s funny, but when I put it that way, it sounds like something out of some girlish fantasy.
But that was the problem, wasn’t it? In the fantasies, the pirate and the lady sailed off into the sunset for a lifetime of happiness and adventure. In reality, the lady got dumped off on some shithole planet, if not sold off to some brothel when the pirate got bored with her.
Do you really think that’s what Jack would do?It didn’t seem to be in his character, but in truth, she barely knew the man. And he had seduced her, back on Palamar, with the express intention of stealing a precious cargo from her father.
But then, he had stolen her as well. He hadn’t had to do that. Did Jack think of her as a passing fancy, to be enjoyed and then cast aside?
What about the words he had spoken to her?You are something special.Was that something he said to all of his women?
How many women had Jack had? He was obviously—shiver—no stranger to the bedroom. Neither was Aria, but if she was being honest, she had never, ever, before experienced anything like her time with Jack.
“Mad Jack,” she snorted as she turned the vacuum off. “Ridiculous.”
She decided to try to make the bed. She soon realized that she had no idea how the servants managed to ensure everything was so crisp and even but wrestled things into a shape that didn’t look too bad. Aria surveyed her efforts with satisfaction. The room was by no means in perfect shape, but it would do.
***
“Right,” said Jack as Quinn deactivated the schematics. “So that should be Ilich sorted. If he tries anything funny, we should be ready for it.”
Quinn shook her head in grudging respect. “Takes a truly bent mind to think the way you do. And I mean that with admiration.”
“Of course you do, darling. Keep ’em guessing, that’s my motto,” said Jack with a grin.
“And your prisoner? Do you plan to keep her guessing?” asked Quinn.
“Right! Now that business is done, perhaps a little play can be justified. You could always join us, Quinn.”
“In the frozen hell of your dreams,” his second-in-command retorted.
“Always worth asking,” said Jack cheerily, as he rose from his command chair. “Right, Wern. We’ve done enough dodging and weaving. Time to set a course for Myrios.”
“Aye, Cap’n.”
