Page 29 of Sloane

"Confuse her?" I lean forward in the chair, unable to maintain my relaxed position. Not that I've been relaxed in days. "I have no intentions of confusing her."

"Then maybe tell her that." Essa's words are harsh as she says them, and I can tell by the twitching in her tail that she's holding herself back from how mad she actually is. I appreciate it. There's nothing scarier than an angry Essa.

I bite down on my tongue to keep myself from ruining everything by telling Essa that I intend to make Sloane my mate. I don't care if we're not bonded, and I don't care about the issues it could cause for Jovi and me with the Intergalactic Alliance. I just know that I want her.

If I tell Essa, she'll report it, and I'll lose everything before I even get it. The mission will be canceled, Sloane will be returned to Earth, and the crew—well, we might not even be a crew anymore. So, I stew in my silence and wait for Essa to calm down and change the subject.

"What will you two do until I can speak with her and make sure she agrees to these new terms?" Essa asks after too much time has passed. Her voice isn't angry. It's more tired and worried now. I can't say I blame her when it's how I feel, too.

Her eyes drift over to where Jovi now has his head leaned against Sloane's, his eyes closed, breathing deeply. His arms are wrapped around her, but he's fast asleep. A smile tugs at my lips, seeing the two people who are most important to me so peaceful.

I kick my feet down on the recliner and stand a bit too fast. There are plenty of blankets around the living room since Essa always says we keep the living areas way too cold. She's from a desert planet, so it makes sense that she's always cold, even though we keep the ship at a pretty neutral temperature.

I grab the softest blanket, open it up, and throw it over Jovi and Sloane to keep them warm throughout the night if they stay asleep out here. I return to the recliner, letting the feet go up and feeling less like I need to throw myself out of the airlock the longer I stare at them.

"I'll probably stay away from her," I answer Essa's question. "I've been having difficulties being around her without doing things I shouldn't." I rub at my temples, trying to fight back the urge to join Jovi and Sloane on the couch because I know I won't stop at just touching and cuddling with them. "I've had Jovi stay away from her, too. I wasn't sure how much he was affected, but seeing him now, it's clear that I'm the bigger problem between the two of us."

"He tried to kill Phial earlier," Essa says, trying to cheer me up.

I snort, knowing full well Phial would have come out on top of that fight. "Jovi had a blaster pulled on him in a second. If anything, he's getting sloppy because of the need."

Essa lets out a soft chuckle, making sure not to wake the two who are now sleeping so close to us. Her face falls after a moment, becoming contemplative. "Are you two able to do this job, or should we call it off?"

My heart sinks, knowing that as soon as one of us calls off a job, it's the beginning of the end for our crew. Sure, the otherscould find new ships to be on, but the company we work for is very particular about who they give jobs to.

High-paying Intergalactic Alliance jobs only go to crews with perfect records. If we call off this mission for the Intergalactic Alliance, we blacklist ourselves from working government jobs. That means no more helping to fight sentient smuggling, no more trying to rescue kidnapped humans. It's what we've been doing since we started this crew, and I don't think any of us are ready to be done just yet.

We could work private jobs, but those require more vetting to make sure we're not doing something illegal. Not that we mind somewhat illegal jobs because we've had to do our fair share of those for the IA when it comes to hiding informants or taking down low-level smugglers. Even our mission we're on now has some morally ambiguous factors.

No, I keep my thoughts about claiming Sloane to myself until we get this job over with so no one here feels like they aren't safe anymore. We're all running from something, whether it be the culture we came from, responsibilities we don't want, or crimes we may or may not have committed on our home planets. This crew is our second chance, our family, and I'm not risking that.

Essa is from an important family on her planet. She's set to marry another when she returns, which means she never wants to return. Phial is a wanted fugitive on his planet, something about a kidnapping that wasn't really a kidnapping that he doesn't like talking about. And Holoth, who… well, none of us know why Holoth joined our crew six years ago, but it's probably for a good reason.

"We're not calling off the job," I say, more certain of that than anything else right now. "Worst case scenario, Jovi and I fuck our hands and spar with one another like we do between jobs."

Essa doesn't even flinch at my crude language. No, she tries to get under my skin instead because that's the kind of female sheis. "You could always fuck each other. I'm sure you'd be a great bottom."

We told Essa once, a long time ago when we were all inebriated, how Jovi and I tried to find pleasure in one another when we first matured into adults and were settling into our bond. I most definitely was not the bottom.

The growl that erupts from my chest is just my own hurt ego acting out, and thankfully, I can keep it quiet even though it refuses to silence. Essa knows what she's doing. She's trying to see how far I can be pushed before I lash out. One of the easiest ways to get under my pelt is to point out how fragile I am in my malehood. I snap my teeth at her, but it only has her covering her mouth, so her horrendous cackle of a laugh doesn't wake Jovi and Sloane.

"You're too easy to mess with," Essa laughs. "Plus, I'm pretty sure you could benefit from getting fucked. It would give you a reason to pull that stick out of your ass for once."

"Enough." I narrow my eyes at Essa, the muscles in my arms tensing as I grab the arms of the recliner so tightly that my knuckles are almost white. "I'm not in my right mind for this teasing, Essa."

"What teasing?" She throws her hands up, feigning ignorance like she loves to do. "Your kind can enjoy the company of males and females. Why would you not enjoy being the one receiving Jovi's cock?"

I launch out of the chair, reaching to my chest for one of my daggers, but of course, we left our harnesses in the bedroom when we left. Essa is on her feet, her own dagger drawn, a smile still on her lips as she realizes she has the advantage over me.

"Is it really that big of an issue for you to have someone think you could submit?" she asks.

The curiosity in her voice is genuine even though everything up until this point has been to work me up into the beastlyversion of myself. I might be ready to attack her, but I'm still fully in control of myself, which shows that I'm not a completely lost cause yet.

The light glistening off the dagger brings me back to Essa's question. I don't know why she suddenly has an interest in mine and Jovi's relationship. Yes, the males of our species often find companionship with their partner, but there's still structure. We have certain ways of doing things, and they extend to all aspects of our lives.

"He submits to me in all things," I growl.

I want to add that Sloane will do the same, but I keep that to myself. Mostly because Essa might stab me but also because I haven't broached the topic with anyone else. Jovi and Sloane will be the first I talk to about it. No one else really matters.

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