Page 40 of Savage Union

“Maybe if you hadn’t spread lies about me you wouldn’t have been whipped!”

Gurflug started to say something in return, but I held up a hand to stop him.

“Enough. Get back to your bunk right now. Not another fucking word unless you want to spend the night in the brig. And next time, think before you lie!”

Still muttering angrily to himself, the big Galafruxian finally left my ready room.

Then I was left alone with the boy and a problem—what was I going to do with him?

18

JESSINA

Isat silently as I watched Turk whip both Jerx and Gurflug. The way he dealt out punishment was terrifying to behold. The pop and hiss of the pain whip and the stench of burnt hair while he was whipping Jerx especially made me sick.

But at the same time, I couldn’t help watching the muscles of his back and shoulders as he wielded the whip. They rolled and bunched in a mesmerizing way.

I was amazed that he was going to such lengths to punish my attacker! And I couldn’t help taking some satisfaction when I saw Gurflug get what was coming to him too. He was an arrogant, lying ass and he deserved every stroke.

Still, I couldn’t help feeling uneasy once both Jerx and Gerflug were gone and I was alone in the room with Turk. Would he be mad at me too, for causing the situation in the first place? I mean, I hadn’t reallycausedit, but I hadn’t handled it well, either. I should have told him what the other crew members were saying about me.

He seemed to think the same thing because he turned to me, the whip still sizzling in his hand, and frowned.

“Why didn’t you tell me they were calling you a Catamite?” he growled, frowning. “I could have stepped in and kept the situation from escalating.”

I felt as though all the blood had rushed from my head and was pooling somewhere in the vicinity of my stomach.

“I…I’m sorry, Captain,” I said in a trembling voice. “I know I should have told you but I was afraid you’d think I was complaining—not acting manly enough.”

He sighed and his bronze eyes softened.

“All right. I know this is your first time on a ship and you’re trying to find your way, but I’m afraid that this situation is truly and thoroughly fucked now.”

I felt myself go cold.

“What…what do you mean?”

“I mean Jerx and Gurflug both hate you now.” He sighed. “I can’t send you back to bunk with Gurflug again—not after this fucking mess. And I don’t dare to put you in the common quarters with the crew either—that’s where Jerx is bunking.”

“Maybe you could put me with either Snuffy or Yorrin?” I suggested. “Neither of them has ever, uh, tried anything. I mean, I feel safe with them.”

Turk shook his head.

“Unfortunately Yorrin is forbidden by his religion to sleep with anyone else in his room. And besides, one of the perks of being the ship’s pilot is a guaranteed private quarters.”

“What about Snuffy then?” I asked.

“He sleeps on the floor in a storage closet,” Turk said bluntly. “His species likes tight, confined places when they rest. There’s no room for you in there.”

“Then what am I going to do?” I asked. I was beginning to feel hopeless. “Is there anyplace else on the ship I can stay?”

Turk sighed and ran a hand over his horns.

“Only one place I can think of,” he growled. “For the rest of the mission, I’m afraid you’re going to have to bunk with me.”

19

JESSINA

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