Page 33 of A Mate for Vasek
What if they weren’t as trustworthy as Vasek thought they were? Now that she’d had a taste of freedom, even with Vasek, or was that especially with Vasek, she didn’t want to ever end up on the auction block again. Not even if her new owner was on his way to Earth.
Yup, that was right, sometime in the last few days, freedom had trumped seeing Earth again, which was huge to Dawn. And it was all because of Vasek.
But that didn’t mean that getting back to Earth wasn’t still at the top of her list of to-dos. It was. It just meant that she now had a secondary goal, which was to remain free.
Dawn had known that the ship coming to get them was big from the shadow it cast. But it wasn’t until Vasek moved aside the bough overhead that she finally saw it in the late afternoon sun. She gasped. This thing wasn’t just any old ship. It was a Dominion warship!
Chapter 17
Dawn
Dawn didn’t know who she expected to greet her at the top of the rescue cable, but it certainly wasn’t the multicolored-haired woman currently helping her out of the makeshift harness Vasek had made for her with his belt.
“Hi, I’m Roxy. You must be Dawn. Welcome aboard theNew Horizon.”
The woman wore a jacket with the ship’s name on it, a jacket that was very clearly tailored for her body. No Tallean female was that busty. She looked and acted like a part of the crew, so Dawn assumed she was. The woman held out a hand.
As the door of the ship closed behind her, Dawn reached for the offered hand, but instead of a shake, the woman pulled her in for a big hug. As she looked over Roxy’s shoulder, she realized Roxy wasn’t the only human on board.
Dawn gawked at the very human grins and faces that stood in the next room, waiting to greet her. Vasek had told her that a few of the males onboard, including the captain, had human mates, but he’d failed to tell her that half the crew was human.Well, maybe not half the crew, unless this was a very small crew. Maybe the humans were just all here to greet her?
Dawn and Vasek found themselves ushered into the larger common room, and she realized she was staring and being rude. Oops.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to stare. I’m just a bit shocked.”
She knew Trenton’s ships were manned by humans, but Vasek hadn’t mentioned that this was one of them. And of course, there were the Wildview starliners, but this wasn’t a cruise ship either. Were there others as well? It would make sense considering how many Earthlings had ended up in the outer planets. Of course there would be other ships with human crew. Duh!
“Vasek didn’t tell you we’re a half-human crew?” asked a man in a polo that looked like it belonged more in a business casual office back on Earth than on a Dominion warship in the outer planets. “I’m Dex, by the way.”
He offered a hand, and this time when Dawn reached for it, she braced in case it was another hug. But instead, the man kissed her hand.
Behind her, Vasek let out a low growl. In an instant, he was between her and the new man. Dex danced away behind one of the biggest Talleans Dawn had ever seen. It was the male on the screen, except he was even bigger in real life. That guy was a mountain.
“Dex,” the captain said, still leaning against a wall, his muscular arms crossed over his chest. “Try not to antagonize our guest.”
Then Dex proceeded to name everyone. Vasek seemed unfamiliar with many of the crew, so it must be his first time meeting them as well.
The giant guy Dawn had seen in the video feed was Berus; he was easy to remember because he was huge. Next to him was a pretty human woman with light, reddish brown hair and brown eyes named Camila. The captain was Uzzar, and his mate, a dark-haired woman in coveralls and a pair of pruning shears sticking out of one of the pockets, was Lana.
Dawn tried, but couldn’t catch many of the other names. She was still too much in shock. She’d even forgotten Roxy’s mate’s name, though Dex had just said it a moment ago.
“Why don’t I give you a quick tour of the ship?” Dex offered with a wide grin. He’d somehow gotten next to Dawn again. He offered her an elbow with a wink.
The guy was a bit of a flirt, but Dawn didn’t get any bad vibes from him. He didn’t come off as sleazy or anything, just fun and playful. Dawn wasn’t exactly interested in a fling or anything else right now, but she wouldn’t mind a tour either. She’d always wondered what the inside of a Dominion warship looked like.
But Vasek was in between them again before she could even react.
“She does not need a tour,” he growled.
What the fuck. Why was Vasek acting like this? Was he… jealous? This wasn’t the reaction of someone who just wanted to drop her off to fulfill his promise.
The captain stepped up, and Dawn took an automatic step back. He positively reeked of power even though he looked older and past his prime.
“Dex, your job is to put those brain cells of yours to work and get his shuttle out from the tree in one piece. Roxy can give her the tour.”
“Aww, fine. Roxy gets all the fun jobs.” But Dex didn’t seem that upset at all as he gave Dawn a flirty wink.
“Ignore him,” Roxy said, taking her aside as Dex, Uzzar, and one of the other Talleans disappeared into a side room. “Dex is harmless, but he does get kinda annoying over time. Come on, you’re going to love the greenroom.”
