Page 128 of The Sky Pirate's Stowaway
“Captain,” I said with a curt nod.
Viper looked up, his dark eyes glinting. “Reaper! I was just about to summon you.”
Something in his tone made the hair on the back of my neck stand up.
“Oh?” I kept my voice neutral, betraying none of the dread pooling in my gut.
“Good news.” He leaned back in his chair, fingers steepled. “We’re out of the wastelands this evening. But even better news, the preparations for the fluxweaver are complete.”
Our eyes locked, and though his words were casual, something lurked beneath his expression—a predatory gleam that set off warning bells in my mind. His lips curled into a smile that didn’t reach his eyes, and I realized with chilling certainty that Viper suspected something.
I maintained my composure, my years of fleet training helping me keep my face impassive despite the panic rising within me. “That’s… efficient,” I said carefully.
Viper’s eyes narrowed, his gaze slithering over me like something cold and venomous. “Turns out these things aren’t so complicated, after all.” He gestured to a crude diagram on his desk. “You don’t seem glad, Reaper?”
I forced a smile, muscles tight across my face. “You know my concerns about rushing the process. We don’t want to lose this gift that dropped into our laps due to impatience.”
“Oh, aye?” Viper leaned forward, his chair creaking under his weight. “I wondered if it had anything to do with losing the boy warming your bed.”
The words knocked the wind from my lungs.
My smile froze, then fractured.
Silence stretched between us, thick and suffocating. The ship’s timbers groaned around us as blood pounded in my ears, a deafening rhythm that matched the sudden hammering of my heart. Every instinct screamed at me to deny it, to protect Kaspar, to shield what we had from Viper’s corrupting touch.
I swallowed hard, my throat dry as desert sand. My thoughts entered freefall, desperately searching for solid ground.
“So youhavebeen bedding him?” Viper asked, dangerously soft.
In that moment, I realized there was only one way through this. I couldn’t deny it—that would only make Viper more suspicious.
“Ghost?” I forced a casual tone. “Yeah, I’ve fucked him a few times. The boy has skilled hands and a wet mouth. If he wants to bed the big, scary Reaper, why would I refuse? Besides, the pair of us have always fucked whoever we like.” I looked at Viper with manufactured confusion, praying he wouldn’t call me out on the statement—that he imagined I might have been bedding random crew members this whole time.
Viper’s brow furrowed. “And you didn’t think to tell me?”
I shrugged, affecting nonchalance despite the ice in my veins. “I didn’t realize you needed to keep track of the notches on my bedpost, Captain. But it’s not a secret. I think Ghost goes around bragging about it. I don’t give a shit, as long as he’s favorable about the size of my cock.”
Each crude word was acid on my tongue. Kaspar—who’d traced my scars with reverence, who’d brought my dead heart back to life—deserved better than to be reduced tothis. But his life depended on this performance.
Viper studied me, his dark eyes probing. “It’s not more than just fucking?”
“More?” I let out a hollow laugh. “What else would it be? He’s just a warm body to pass the time with. When he’s gone, I’ll find someone else. Plenty of birds in the sky, as it were.”
Viper leaned back in his chair, his fingers drumming against the polished wood. “And you’re certain he doesn’t suspect anything? No plans to escape before we put him to work?”
A phantom twinge shot through my missing leg, as if my body was preparing to flee a threat it couldn’t outrun. “Suspect?”
“The extraction rig—”
“Ghost has no idea what we’re planning.” I waved dismissively, fighting to keep my voice steady. “His mind is full of clouds beyond his pretty face. Besides, his mouth is usually too full for conversation when we’re together.”
Viper’s eyes widened slightly, then narrowed with amusement.
“We don’ttalk, Captain,” I continued, the lies souring my stomach. “I don’t want to know his life story or his favorite color. And I certainly don’t want him getting ideas in his head.”
The words felt like poison as I spoke them, each syllable a betrayal. But I kept my face impassive, my posture relaxed, as if discussing nothing more important than the weather.
Viper nodded. “Keep it that way.”
