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“Fuck you.”
“All you have to do is ask. But seriously, they can smell your release. You will use my personal cleansing unit, end of discussion.” When she looked like she would protest again, he added, “What? Are you afraid the door will never open again, and you’ll be stuck there forever as my sex slave?”
She narrowed her eyes at him. “You know it.”
“Are you afraid of it happening? Or afraid you’ll like it too much?”
She held her middle finger up, making Ulrek chuckle.
There was a knock at the door.
“That will be Emil now. I swear, I’ll let you out of my quarters once you are done. Unless you want to explain to my comms specialist why you think I’m going to keep you there.”
Emil knocked again, and a muscle in Delaney’s jaw twitched. “Fine.”
“Wonderful.” Ulrek ordered the shipboard computer to open the door. He introduced the two and explained that Delaney had been working in the greenroom and needed to use his cleansing unit. “Can you bring her over to the captain's quarters? I’ll program the door to let you in.”
“Of course.” Emil jerked his head toward the hall. “Follow me.”
Alone again, Ulrek ran a hand through his hair. He ordered the ship to filter the air in his office. He needed to get a hold of himself, and the first step toward doing that was to remove her scent. Something about it made him make horrible decisions—like cuddling.
He didn’t survive the Dominion’s scheme to use him as a martyr, and the despair when he found out his second-in-command was in on the plot, to get himself killed now years later because he was distracted by a female.
Ulrek dragged his fingers through his hair.
His exodus from the Dominion started when he found out the real reason for his father’s death. Ulren had been a galaxy-famous Dominion Captain and was Ulrek’s personal hero. He was the textbook example of what a male could make of themselves if they worked hard for the Favored, the Dominion’s ruling class.
The history books claimed that pirates had killed him. His devoted admirers rose up and demanded justice. Donations came pouring in, and young males joined the military, hoping to continue his fight. His heart aching from the loss, Ulrek had been one of them. His mother had been so proud of him.
As the son of the legendary Ulren, Ulrek had been a bit of a celebrity right from the start. The Dominion broadcasted his achievements to every corner of the galaxy. By the time he became the captain of theStellar Fortune, he had replaced his father as the people’s hero.
But unlike his straight-laced father, Ulrek had friends in many different places. It had been a shock the day he learned that pirates hadn’t killed his father; the Dominion had. In the Dominion’s eyes, Ulren had done his service for them, and they no longer needed him alive. He served them better dead as a martyr.
And that was to have been Ulrek’s fate too. Imagine the uproar if Ulrek, still young and in his prime, was murdered by the same pirates who had killed his father! The donations would overfill the coffers, and young males would sign up in droves.
Memories of the betrayal had him checking the scanners over and over for ship Gritarr captained for the Dominion. They were each hunting the other. Gritarr wanted to capture Ulrek and collect his bounty, to make up for letting Ulrek escape the first time. Ulrek just wanted Gritarr dead. He wanted revenge, pure and simple.
Gritarr usually didn’t travel so far out of Dominion airspace, especially now that New Rhea and Vosthea had been liberated. But Ulrek knew he would risk it just to have a chance to drag Ulrek in for his punishment.
The last Ulrek had heard, the traitor was using Aton Station as a launching pad into the outer planets. Aton Station had been without an official ruler since Jotah, another “friend” who’d tried to backstab Ulrek, had been taken out.
Not by Ulrek, though. That honor had gone to Zharor, one of Kean’s friends.
Zharor and Ulrek didn’t always see eye to eye, but they got along tolerably well for Kean’s sake. Kean was like a brother to Ulrek. They’d gone through the academy together and had taken turns saving each other’s hides ever since. Kean had also been wronged by the Dominion and had responded by joining a band of pirates. He taught them how to make Euphora and started a drug empire on Vosthea.
Their friendship had survived the test of time. There weren’t enough credits in the galaxy to drive a wedge between them—unlike Gritarr, who’d taken the first chance he got to stab Ulrek in the back so he could rise to the rank of captain.
Since Jotah’s death, Neyala, the female who’d been his partner of convenience, had taken over the station. Gritarr and Neyala had a history, and Ulrek wouldn’t be surprised if his former second-in-command had promised Neyala a cut of the bounty if she helped bring Ulrek in.
They weren’t the only ones looking to snag his bounty, but they were the most dangerous. He had to keep his wits sharp. He couldn’t do that when he was constantly thinking of Delaney.
Maybe Delaney was right. Maybe they should just dissolve their contract before things went too far. The problem was, he really did want to get his greenroom working again, since he’d invested so much to have it put in, even though it wasn't essential. Most warships functioned perfectly well without them. They just had to deal with subpar air quality and run the CO2 scrubbers more vigorously. That’s what they were doing right now.
Maybe he could pay one of his existing crew members to learn the basics of greenroom maintenance. Or put a call out for people to work on it whenever they could, and do the rest of the day to day themselves. Ulrek wasn’t sure that would work though. He didn’t trust temporary workers on his ship. Not to mention, Groden had left the greenroom in pristine condition, and somehow it had been fucked up beyond repair.
Ulrek really doubted it was deliberate sabotage. Not this crew, on this ship. Some of them had chosen to leave the Dominion and everything they had behind—family, friends, riches and rank—to join him.
At first, not everyone who had sided with him had done so out of loyalty. Some had simply found out the Dominion had planned to sacrifice them along with the captain, and had joined for revenge. Hence the name of their ship.
