Read Online Blackjack Wayward (The Blackjack Series) by Ben Bequer - Free Book Online Page B

large part by the volumes of alcohol they had all consumed. They were unafraid of the alien, whose furred arms were as thick around as my midsection and whose canines were like eight-inch daggers. When his part in clearing the fore sails was done, the ape dropped down among us; though he was hunched over, his bulk dwarfed me.
    The crew was silent for a moment as the ape glowered among us, his gaze finally settling on me.
    “You’re lucky they sent that weakling Zann to fight you instead of me. I would have eaten your brains and fucked your headless corpse.”
    He took a few steps closer to me and arched his back to seem taller, though it wasn’t a natural posture.
    “You think you can beat me?” he snarled.
    I smiled. “Easy.”
    Skeetrix’ men laughed, to the detriment of our newcomer, who scowled at them all as if taking names.
    “I’d like to see that,” he said.
    “Anytime you’re feeling lucky,” I said, the cocky smile still there, taunting him, egging him on, but I could tell that he was play-acting. Maybe it was how aggressive he was, something that wouldn’t last long on a ship with these many men, or perhaps it was the raucous laughter of the whole crew. It was an act, maybe a big joke. Or so I hoped, because this guy was bigger even than Epic.
    “I’m always lucky,” he snarled, brushing back the pale white hair on his arms. “Ask Darmelia.”
    “Not even in your dreams, Morloki,” she snapped.
    “I would be gentle with you at first,” Morloki started, ignoring me and our stand-off at once and moving toward her. “But after time, I would revert to my ways, I would have to make love to you like my people do. You could not handle it.”
    The men laughed at Darmelia’s expense, but by the smile on her face, it was clear that this was an old joke.
    “My last lover’s heart exploded when I was only half-satisfied,” Darmelia said, waving him off.
    “Then you shouldn’t have chosen one of Blackjack’s people to sleep with, woman,” he said, and the crew’s laughter now included me.
    While this was happening, Captain Nicatrix ordered the ship turned to port as the thrusters shot us forward, closing the gap between the two warships. Again I almost lost my balance and would have fallen to the deck if not for Darmelia.
    “I think it was one of your kind, Morloki – a big, useless ape. Sadly, I had to finish myself.” She mocked tears, gripping my shoulder tight. “I think if my dear Blackjack shows the courage to withstand the Drookah love embrace, he would be up to the challenge.”
    She eyed me, taking her time, and I felt like a well-cut piece of venison. It was provocative and demeaning at the same time.
    “His hips are narrow,” she said. “But I’d rather take the risk of poor Blackjack dying on me than endure the boredom of love-making with a tiresome ball of white fur.”
    She won that round, and the crew let Morloki know it, but he took it all in stride, leaning over to me.
    “You’re going to want to be careful with that one,” he said, matter-of-factly despite our previous stare-down, confirming that it had all been a joke. “Her idea of mating is more like slow, torturous homicide.”
    Meanwhile, the Lady’s Nightmare was coming to top speed, chasing the foundering Vershani vessel. Fires roared aft on the enemy ship, consuming, sails, masts, crew and materiel alike, a long column of smoke trailing behind it as she slowly descended away from us. Our pilot, Dal’naeth, kept us in the chase, but it wasn’t hard to stay with the stricken ship.
    “So you’re Blackjack,” Morloki said finally, as if now was the proper time for introductions.
    “I remember this bastard,” the new alien said. He was similar to an Earth lesser primate, like a hunched over macaque or lemur, but man-sized, perhaps five-feet tall if he were to straighten up. His fur was patterned with subdued colors, with a long tail that was ringed with black and light gray. He wore a ridiculous trench coat