Tren snorted and Megan grinned as she perused the storefronts that made her think of home. Well, if you discounted the fact the garments on display owned several sleeves and the shopkeepers all resembled mad science experiments.
Adrenaline from the fight wore off and she hid an internal quiver as she pretended interest in the wares offered by creatures straight out of Men in Black. Her mind whirled as it finally hit her. She'd not only stabbed something living, she'd watched it get killed for just touching her. While she didn't regret her actions-and still found his hot-it made her wonder exactly how violent she could expect her new life to end up. Judging by the occasional grunts and thumps that she heard from behind her where Tren followed, probably often.
A savage part of her approached the concept with glee. No more false politeness or putting up with bullshit. But then again, as with all things, only the strongest would prevail. Currently, Tren protected her, but what about when he relinquished ownership of her-not something she wanted to truly think of, but she'd always been a realist. What skills did she have to survive other than an acerbic tongue? In a battle of fists or weapons, speech wouldn't gain her a thing.
In sudden inspiration, she whirled to speak to Tren and almost bit her tongue, trying to hold in laughter. She found him with one fist cocked while his other hand held up a goblin-like creature by the neck. He appeared sheepish at having gotten caught.
"Don't mind me. Finish what you were doing." She waved magnanimously.
Flashing a savage grin, Tren turned back to his blanching victim. A few smacks and a toss later, he swiveled back to face her. Megan shook her head at him as she took in the devastation that seemed to follow in their wake. "Does this happen to you often?"
He shrugged. "More or less. I told you to stay on the ship."
"I didn't say I minded. It does, however, explain your arsenal, and it is part of what I wanted to talk to you about. I wanted to know if you'd teach me how to protect myself. I'm starting to realize I can't count on cops and laws to really protect me out here."
"I will protect you," he growled, his gaze narrowing in displeasure.
"For now. But what about once you sell me? You won't be around. " His face darkened, but she forged on. "So, please, would you teach me something so I'm not so helpless?"
"You are far from helpless," he barked as he strode away.
She hurried to catch him. "Oh, come on. You and I both know I wouldn't stand a chance against a real bad ass."
He stopped suddenly and whirled. "A real what?"
"You know a thug. Bad guy. Vicious killer. I'd be toast in a second." She drew a finger across her throat and made a choking sound.
He snorted. "I don't think you have much to fear. You've stood your ground fairly well against me."
Megan rolled her eyes. "Now I know you're placating me. You don't count. I mean, you might be a pirate and all, but that doesn't make you a bad guy. I'm talking about super mean, cold hearted dicks. The kind who would hurt me in a heartbeat."
Tren choked. "You don't consider me a danger?"
"Well, duh. You're a nice guy for a buccaneer. I mean, sure, you're big and annoying, but you've never actually done anything to hurt me."
"And what about this?" he asked splaying his arm to showcase the limping forms, and in some cases, corpses, that littered their path.
She snorted. "We're in a den of iniquity. Attacks are to be expected. Self-defense is not a crime, so don't feel bad."
Her words made his face twist from disbelief, to humor, to smoking intensity. A hand shot out and he grabbed a hold of her, yanking her toward him until she reeled against his chest. "Silly female. Don't you realize I am the most dangerous thing you will encounter?" he whispered before hoisting her up for a kiss that stole her breath.
Megan forgot they stood in the middle of an alien marketplace. Forgot the violence trailing them. Forgot even her own name as his lips slanted over hers in a possessive embrace that turned her knees to jelly and sent moist heat to pool in her cleft. She curled her arms around his neck and tugged him closer. Sliding her tongue between his lips, she shuddered as he sucked it and then grazed it with his teeth.
Kissing him just never grew old. No matter how many times they touched, she could never get enough. Arousal flushed her body and made her wish for a more intimate setting, especially when a sarcastic voice intruded.
"Well, well. Isn't this cozy?"
Tren kept one arm wrapped around Megan as he pulled and aimed a pistol at the only other male in the universe who could hope to sneak up on him. His damned brother who also doubled as his worst enemy.
The cold gaze of his only sibling didn't flinch even though Tren kept his gun level with his smirk.
"What do you want, Jaro?" Tren's voice came out low and tight. Megan, for once, said nothing, but she did turn in his grasp, her back plastered to his front. He bit back a grin as he felt her hand move to grip the end of the eating prong. She certainly didn't lack courage.
"Want? Does a brother need a reason to exchange pleasantries? It's been a long time, Tren. Forgive me if I find myself curious as to how you've been."
"I am fine. Now leave and get on with your business." Tren muttered the words through gritted teeth. Jaro just smiled at him coolly.
"Do you always hold family members hostage?" Megan's voice pierced their impasse and he held back a groan as she drew Jaro's attention.
"And who might you be?" Jaro asked with a sneer.
"On Earth, I'm called Megan, but according to Tren, I'm probably known as a new pair of shoes. Or maybe a shirt depending on the price he can get for me when he sells me. Apparently, I'm annoying, so I might not fetch a good price."
Her outspoken declaration, which Jaro unfortunately understood given he also wore a translator, was almost worth the dropped jaw and wide eyes on his brother. But it didn't last and Jaro's gaze quickly narrowed. "I didn't know you'd taken to slave trading, brother."
Tren would have answered with a scathing remark, but Megan was on a roll.
"Oh, he didn't intend to. He accidentally abducted me when he was fishing on my planet. See, my boyfriend decided to kill me and tossed me into the ocean. Lucky me, I got kidnapped by a pirate and now I get to look forward to being auctioned off as a sex slave, or an appetizer depending, I guess, on the buyer's taste."
"Megan!" Tren growled her name and she turned in his arms to smile up at him with false innocence.
"What? Did I say something wrong?" With a smirk, she turned back to face his nemesis.
"Nothing wrong at all, dear Megan," Jaro interjected smoothly, drawing her attention. "I apologize for my brother. Personally, had I discovered a gem like yourself in my hold, I would have dressed you in fine fabrics and wooed you as obviously befits someone of your beauty."
Tren growled. He couldn't help himself as his brother flirted with Megan, and she seemed to soak it up even though the touch of his kiss surely still lingered on her lips. It angered him, rousing a possessive jealousy he'd never known before.
Megan tittered and Tren gritted his teeth. Surely, she doesn't fall for his flowery lies?
"What a load of crap," Megan crowed. Her laughter turned derisive and Tren watched in satisfaction as Jaro's face tightened in anger. "You didn't seriously think I'd believe that load of drivel, did you?" She snorted. "I might be considered a barbarian, but even I'm not that gullible."
"You should watch your tongue, else you might find yourself without it," Jaro growled.
Tren didn't like his menacing tone, but apparently Megan liked it even less. In what he was coming to realize was her signature move, she kneed his brother between the legs. As Jaro gasped, she smiled at him sweetly. "That's for being a dick to your brother. And this-" She kneed Jaro again in the stomach. "Is for being an asshole in general." Megan turned to face Tren and stood on tiptoe to brush her lips over his. "I'll see you back on the ship for my punishment," she announced with a wink. She pulled away from him and made her way back to their vessel, her buttocks wiggling enticingly. Tren tracked her passage while his brother straightened with a wheeze.
"I will kill-"
Jaro never finished his sentence because Tren grabbed him around the throat and slammed him up against a wall. "I wouldn't finish that sentence if I were you, else I might just forget the promise made to our mother and end you right now."
Jaro's eyes widened, incredulity blatant in his expression. "Don't tell me you care for that crass, barbaric female?"
"Of course not," Tren scoffed. "She is a female, and one slated for sale once I find the right market for her."
"I look forward to bidding on her then. I think she'd look splendid spread eagle on my bed-naked. She won't be able to say much with my cock stuffed down her throat."