Read Online Tor (Women of Earth Book 2) by Jacqueline Rhoades - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Jacqueline Rhoades
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attractive and his body... Wynne shook her head to set it on another path.
He knew this place and the people Mohawk was talking about and he knew from the moment they landed these people weren't his friends. Were they former fiends? Were these the pirates from the ship, the ones whose uniform he wore?
"This one's mine."
"Fuck you."
"You already did."
Had Tor been rescuing her or claiming her as his part of the prize? She'd thought his 'You already did', was literal, that the reptilian female was a former sexual partner. Bitter blood and all that. Had she let herself be swayed by a charming smile and bedroom eyes?
Fuck was such an odd word and could mean so many things. Odder still was that the Godan used their word in many of the same ways, though the men rarely used it in front of women. Mohawk's mouth wasn't equipped with such a filter except when it came to children. Most of what she knew about alien cursing came from him. So yes, pota or fuck could mean betrayal, too.
"Who are those women? Am I one of them, too?" she asked as she stepped from her listening post.
"Fuck," both men muttered at the same time.
Wynne stood with her arms folded across her chest, staring them down. "That isn't an answer," she said and then tapped her foot impatiently. "I'm waiting."
Mohawk grunted and flung the raw meat into a bush a good twenty feet away.
"How much did you hear?" Tor asked.
"Why? Would it make a difference? Of course it would," she sighed. "I heard all of it and I want to know what's going on."
"Leave it alone, Wynne."
"Whose side are you on, Mohawk?"
"Yours. It's enough that he's going to let you go." He turned the stick threaded with meat. The coals sizzled with the dripping juices.
"And what about the others?" she asked.
"Not my assignment. My job is to get you safely to Mishra."
"Not without those women." She turned to Tor. "That's what this is about, isn't it? That's why you were on the Romer. You were with those..." She waved her hand. "Those pirates or whatever they are. They cut you out of the deal, didn't they? You were after the Brides Brigade and when you couldn't get them, you took me. That's who those women are, Mohawk. Those women he's talking about are the Brides."
"No, they aren't your Brides Brigade." Tor made a wry face at the term. "This was a high risk, high profit haul and Honarie and Orax know the value of a credit. The Brides are worth too much. They wouldn't have pulled this off if they didn't have a buyer on the other end and you can't sell damaged merchandise." His voice was flat, practical, and wrong.
He sounded as if he was talking about cattle, or sheep, or bolts of cloth.
"These are people, not goods." She wouldn't let him reduce those women to the status of cattle or cloth.
"Not to Honarie and Orax," Tor argued back. "Nor is it relevant. Your Brides Brigade isn't here."
"Then who are those women?"
"I think they're part of my crew."
"Your crew?" She was thinking of the female pirate on the ship. "The crew on the Romer?"
"That wasn't my crew."
"Then why were you dressed like them?"
"Because it was a bad idea that got worse." Tor stood and faced her. "Listen to Mohawk, Princess. Stay out of it. I got you here, I'll get you out. The rest of it is none of your concern."
"How do I know I can trust you?"
"You're alive aren't you? Or don't escape pods, sea monsters, and man-eaters count?" His eyes dropped and he gave her a sexy grin. "Not to mention I behaved myself when I didn't have to," Tor added with a wink.
"Don't think you can flirt your way out of this," she huffed, hands on hips. "I'm well aware that you rescued me and kept me safe, but I have to ask why. There were thirty or forty people trying to get through those doors. Why choose me?"
"As I recall, you were being dragged off at the time. I rescued you."
"No, you claimed me. This one's mine, you said. You thought I was one of the Brides Brigade, didn't you?"
It was a conclusion, not a question, and she was
He knew this place and the people Mohawk was talking about and he knew from the moment they landed these people weren't his friends. Were they former fiends? Were these the pirates from the ship, the ones whose uniform he wore?
"This one's mine."
"Fuck you."
"You already did."
Had Tor been rescuing her or claiming her as his part of the prize? She'd thought his 'You already did', was literal, that the reptilian female was a former sexual partner. Bitter blood and all that. Had she let herself be swayed by a charming smile and bedroom eyes?
Fuck was such an odd word and could mean so many things. Odder still was that the Godan used their word in many of the same ways, though the men rarely used it in front of women. Mohawk's mouth wasn't equipped with such a filter except when it came to children. Most of what she knew about alien cursing came from him. So yes, pota or fuck could mean betrayal, too.
"Who are those women? Am I one of them, too?" she asked as she stepped from her listening post.
"Fuck," both men muttered at the same time.
Wynne stood with her arms folded across her chest, staring them down. "That isn't an answer," she said and then tapped her foot impatiently. "I'm waiting."
Mohawk grunted and flung the raw meat into a bush a good twenty feet away.
"How much did you hear?" Tor asked.
"Why? Would it make a difference? Of course it would," she sighed. "I heard all of it and I want to know what's going on."
"Leave it alone, Wynne."
"Whose side are you on, Mohawk?"
"Yours. It's enough that he's going to let you go." He turned the stick threaded with meat. The coals sizzled with the dripping juices.
"And what about the others?" she asked.
"Not my assignment. My job is to get you safely to Mishra."
"Not without those women." She turned to Tor. "That's what this is about, isn't it? That's why you were on the Romer. You were with those..." She waved her hand. "Those pirates or whatever they are. They cut you out of the deal, didn't they? You were after the Brides Brigade and when you couldn't get them, you took me. That's who those women are, Mohawk. Those women he's talking about are the Brides."
"No, they aren't your Brides Brigade." Tor made a wry face at the term. "This was a high risk, high profit haul and Honarie and Orax know the value of a credit. The Brides are worth too much. They wouldn't have pulled this off if they didn't have a buyer on the other end and you can't sell damaged merchandise." His voice was flat, practical, and wrong.
He sounded as if he was talking about cattle, or sheep, or bolts of cloth.
"These are people, not goods." She wouldn't let him reduce those women to the status of cattle or cloth.
"Not to Honarie and Orax," Tor argued back. "Nor is it relevant. Your Brides Brigade isn't here."
"Then who are those women?"
"I think they're part of my crew."
"Your crew?" She was thinking of the female pirate on the ship. "The crew on the Romer?"
"That wasn't my crew."
"Then why were you dressed like them?"
"Because it was a bad idea that got worse." Tor stood and faced her. "Listen to Mohawk, Princess. Stay out of it. I got you here, I'll get you out. The rest of it is none of your concern."
"How do I know I can trust you?"
"You're alive aren't you? Or don't escape pods, sea monsters, and man-eaters count?" His eyes dropped and he gave her a sexy grin. "Not to mention I behaved myself when I didn't have to," Tor added with a wink.
"Don't think you can flirt your way out of this," she huffed, hands on hips. "I'm well aware that you rescued me and kept me safe, but I have to ask why. There were thirty or forty people trying to get through those doors. Why choose me?"
"As I recall, you were being dragged off at the time. I rescued you."
"No, you claimed me. This one's mine, you said. You thought I was one of the Brides Brigade, didn't you?"
It was a conclusion, not a question, and she was
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