Sail My Oceans Read online

  The panties landed on the floor. Julius surveyed her, seeming to take pleasure in her being exposed to his hungry gaze. When he moved again, it was to take his boxers off. She lifted her head to watch, pleased when his cock sprang free from its confines. He wasn’t monstrously huge, but he was bigger than her vibrator…and alive and warm.

  Lucy was surprised when Julius dropped back down on his knees beside the bed. At her questioning look, he gave her a wicked smile. “I did not, during any of that, use my tongue while taking off your panties.”

  She felt a shiver of delight go through her at his words. She wanted him to do something like what he was insinuating, but hadn’t expected it. The first lick from his tongue was like a ripple of fire against her pussy.

  Julius gripped her hips, sliding her closer to him. He lifted her legs so that they draped over his shoulders, on either side of his head. Lucy shivered in anticipation. When Julius plunged his tongue into her, she damn near came on the spot. She rocked her hips in time to the thrusts of his tongue, trying to fulfill a desperate want for him to go deeper. She needed the kind of depth that only his cock could give her.

  Lucy tangled her hands in his hair, pulling Julius up until she could see his face. At his confused look, she pointed at a nearby doorway. “Condoms. Bathroom. Mirror cabinet.”

  He nodded and stood. Though his pace was hurried, it seemed to take forever for him to get there and come back. Lucy writhed on the bed, ready to scream in frustration. When he came back, after what seemed like hours, she was sitting on the edge of the bed.

  She stood, grabbed the condom wrapper from his hand, and pushed him towards the bed. Julius went down without a fight, a smirk on those kissable lips of his. She straddled him, ripping the foil open with a violent jerk of her teeth. When she started to put the condom on his cock, he stopped her.

  “Allow me, my lady. After seeing your viciousness with that package, my own has become a little gun shy,” he said laughing.

  Lucy pursed her lips, suppressing a smile. He rolled the condom down his shaft with a quick motion, then grabbed her hips and pulled her further up so that she straddled him. She wrapped her hand around his cock, and gave it an experimental stroke. Julius groaned with pleasure, his eyes closing as he let himself lay back on the bed.

  Feeling reassured by his reaction, and not sure she could handle anymore teasing, Lucy used her hand to guide him into her. His fingers clenched into her hips as her moist lips slid down his shaft. She settled onto him, taking a moment to revel in the feeling of a living, hard dick buried to the hilt inside of her.

  She leaned forward, her breasts pressing against his chest, and whispered in his ear, “I’m going to fuck your brains out now, Julius.”

  His eyes opened and he bucked his hips, thrusting deeper into her. “Please do, Captain.”

  She raised her hips, then slid back down him again. Lucy sat up, her hands splayed across his chest as she used her thighs to ride him. Her breath came out in short pants, her heart pounding, as the pleasure built and built into a fiery burst.

  “Fuck yeah, baby.” Julius kept his hands on her waist, his arms lifting and pulling in time to her rocking. “You’re so damned sexy!”

  His praises only stimulated her more, making her pussy clench around him. She felt him grow stiffer, thickening in preparation for coming. The knowledge that he was getting ready to throb inside of her set her off. Lucy threw her head back, letting a scream of pleasure out as every muscle in her body tensed and seemed to clench in chorus. Julius’ hands kept working her hips, making her ride through her climax. It was a pleasure so great that she felt like, if it didn’t stop, she was going to explode like a comet hitting the atmosphere.

  Julius stiffened, arching hard into her as he wrapped his arms around Lucy and brought her against him. His dick jerked, throbbing inside of her in a way her vibrator could only mimic. Lucy climaxed again, her nails raking down his chest.

  They lay there in silence, bathing in the afterglow as they caught their breath. Lucy Verr could feel her muscles shaking as little waves of aftershock rippled through her system. This was what she had been in aching need of. Something this good was well worth the risk of going to Prodigus.

  Julius was as fantastic a partner as she’d hoped for. Tomorrow she planned to put Devon to the test. After that she would make a decision on who she liked better, and spend her last night with the lucky man.

  Chapter Four

  “She was a comet in the bed, Devon. I’m telling you—she’s beautiful, fiery, and a hell of a wild ride.” Julius grinned at him.

  Devon shook his head at his friend’s enthusiasm. He’d slept in until the wee hours of the morning, when Julius managed to drag himself into the cabin room. The next few hours were filled with Julius’ prattle about the night’s events. Devon was sure half of it was embellished and the other half simply fiction. Finally, just before the chime sounded for breakfast, he told Julius in no uncertain terms to shut up.

  It was noon now. As they finished their meal, Styx explained they could wander around the ship at their own discretion, so long as they didn’t get underfoot. If they were needed, they would be called for on the intercom system.

  Exploring the ship was fun enough. The deck took their breath away and became their greatest discovery. The entire ship was fashioned in the form of an old-world pirate ship. The kind that legends said could only sail in the deep waters of long ago Earth oceans. The deck had a hemisphere bubble enclosing it, so that one could walk out on the deck and feel like they were outside. The bubble was made of merylon; a compound that had both elasticity, making it highly flexible, and durability. Merylon was almost impossible to break.

  When the intercom beeped, Devon and Julius, along with the few workers on the deck, froze and listened. “This is Captain Lucy Verr. We have received a distress signal from a merchant ship. Lucky day for us, boys. We’re going to go offer our hull as a wonderful place to store their cargo. I want everyone on their toes, in case it’s a set up. To your posts, boys, we’ll be boarding them in an hour.”

  Cheers went up from the crew before they hurried off. Julius gave Devon a helpless look. Devon shook his head in response. “Not much we can do about it, Julius. Our priority here is to get home, not risk ourselves berating pirates for their moral behavior.”

  “What do we do then?” Julius looked around at the now empty deck. “I don’t want to go sit in our room, but I don’t want to be involved in the taking of this ship either.”

  Devon shrugged and headed toward the metal door that led back to the cabins. “I say we go to the mess hall and get a cup of coffee.”

  The intercom went off a half hour later, announcing they were preparing to board. Devon and Julius stayed in the mess hall, trying to ignore the fiasco. Neither one believed they could keep their mouth shut if they were involved in it, and neither wanted to risk pissing the captain off and losing their chance to go home. Fifteen minutes later, Chiron filled the doorway of the mess hall.

  “Cartwright! Barbaroy!” Chiron bellowed at them. “Captain wants to see you, now.”

  They both stood, feeling confused.

  They followed Chiron in silence, walking through the corridors and across the deck. As they strode purposefully towards the other door, Devon felt a tug on his sleeve. He glanced over at Julius, his brow furrowed in curiosity. Julius jerked his chin upwards, indicating Devon should take a look.

  Curious, Devon glanced in the direction and did a double take. The merylon allowed him to see the merchant carrier they were pulled up beside. The dull gray metal and blocky shape weren’t anything of interest, but the company name printed on the side was. In bold letters on the side of the merchant vessel, that was still slightly smaller than the Tartarus, were the words,C & B Shipping Co..

  “Cartwright and Barbaroy,” Devon muttered. “That’s one of our ships.”

  Not saying another word, they hurried to catch up to Chiron. He led them to the same cargo bay they entered when boa
rding the ship. The hull door was down, with a tunnel of merylon surrounding it. It was attached to the side of the merchant ship, whose door was also down. Guards, from the Tartarus’ crew, were stationed with guns at intervals along the catwalk formed by the two doors.

  Chiron walked on through, not waiting to see if the men were following him. Julius crossed the catwalk with hesitant steps, alarm obvious on his face. Devon, who had walked a few paces ahead, turned and held an arm out.

  “Even if you fall, the merylon won’t let you go anywhere. It’ll cushion your fall and keep you safe.” He kept his voice reassuring.

  Julius nodded, then gave him a smile of gratitude when they were safely inside the merchant ship’s hull. “Thanks for not calling me a pussy.”

  Devon shrugged. “I figure some things are so obvious, they don’t need to be said.”

  Julius punched him. While Devon was rubbing his arm, Julius took a moment to look around the ship. “Oh fuck, this is our ship.”

  “I know,” Devon groused. “I said that when we were coming across the deck.”

  “No, no.” Julius pointed at a trunk in the corner. “I mean this is the ship we left Prodigus on.”

  Devon let out a growl. “That means that bastard, Krautz, is on here.”

  Before Julius could stop him, he headed straight for the bridge. They passed Chiron, who started to reach out a hand to stop them, then shrugged and let them go on. Apparently, the bridge was where they’d been headed anyway.

  He shoved the door open with force, his features dark and foreboding. “You son of a bitch,” he snarled.

  Lucy turned, an impish smile tugging at her features. “Technically, Mr. Barbaroy, I’m the bitch of a son.”

  Devon took a moment to glance around. The piloting crew were all lined up, their hands behind their heads as they stared at a wall. The advisor, Leon Krautz, was standing in front of Lucy with her gun pointed squarely at his chest.

  “Mr. Barbaroy, you’re alive!” Leon stepped forward, his face full of relief. “You’ll negotiate with these pirates, won’t you?”

  Before Devon could say anything, Julius inserted himself between the two men. “Advisor Krautz, fancy meeting you here. You’ll forgive Mr. Barbaroy’s manners. You see, he thought you left us for dead in Dremes on purpose.”

  The advisor’s features clouded, his face becoming angry. His fists curled up at his sides as he took a menacing step forward. Lucy pressed her gun against his chest, stopping him before he could go much further.

  “Now, now,” she crooned, “let’s not allow our personal feelings to get in the way. After all, this is still a robbery.”

  When he took a few steps back, she nodded. “You are going to go quietly onto my ship. Your crew members will do the same. Once I have you in holding, I will load your cargo, which you no longer have any rights to. Everyone can get through this alive, if you all cooperate.”

  “What will happen to us?” asked one of the crew members.

  “You will be sold into slavery. If you do not cause me much trouble, I will sell you at a higher paying market. Most of the slaves there go to pleasure houses or territory lords who need regular workers. If you do not behave we’ll be going to Madari.” Lucy waited in silence as her words settled in. “Anyone who tries to act brave will promptly be shot.”

  “Captain, a word please?” Julius motioned her over.

  She gave him a long considering look. “Chiron, make sure everyone conducts themselves to my standards.”

  “Aye, Captain.” Chiron approached advisor Krautz. The pirate held no gun, but Krautz paled visibly at his approach.

  Julius walked out into the hallway, Devon and Lucy following close behind. When the door was shut and secured, he turned and regarded her thoughtfully. “You were aware, when you called for us, that this ship was one of ours.” At her nod he continued. “What did you expect to gain from calling us here?”

  Her lips came together in a grim smile. “Maybe I just wanted to make you squirm?”

  “Bullshit,” Devon spoke up. “You don’t do anything without expecting to make some sort of a profit.”

  Lucy eyed him for a moment before swinging her gaze back to Julius. “What is it worth to you?”

  “It?” His stare was blank for a moment. “You mean the crew and cargo?”

  When she remained silent, he shook his head. “I don’t give a damn about the merchandise. It’s replaceable, regardless of what the company thinks. The people are replaceable to the corporation, but not to me.” When Devon started to protest, he held up his hand. “To me, the people in there are worth the entire cargo on this ship going straight to your hull.”

  Lucy Verr narrowed her eyes as she issued an unfeminine snort. “I was going to get the cargo anyway. What are you willing to pay for your people?”

  “Oh ho, but that’s where you are wrong.” Julius shot her a smug smile. “You see, what’s to keep us, once we’ve landed on Prodigus, from reporting you as the one who raided the merchant ship. The ship is like any other; it has a scheduled time when it’s suppose to land. If it does not land on said scheduled time, then contact is attempted. If contact is not made, authorities are sent out to investigate.”

  Lucy opened her mouth, but closed it again as Julius continued his speech. “Now, normally, you’d get away free and clear. What was not seen cannot be reported. But it has been seen, and there is nothing to stop us from reporting it.”

  “Julius.” Devon’s voice was a growl of warning.

  Julius shot Devon an angry look. “Unlike you, I’m not going to just look the other way. These people don’t deserve slavery. The pilot, I know him, he’s got a wife and kids. The cook; her first grandchild was born two days before we pulled out of Prodigus.”

  Lucy tilted her head , a smile playing on her lips. “Very moving. But what is keeping me from changing the plan? What if I just never take you to Prodigus at all? I could easily throw you in the brig with the rest of that crew and make a merry profit off your ass.”

  Julius moved against her, causing her to back up until she hit a wall. With his arms braced on either side of her head, he leaned forward and kissed her. It was a hard kiss, an angry kiss. It was dominant and aggressive. Within moments Lucy was moaning, her arms wrapping around the small of his back.

  Julius pulled away from the kiss, his face barely inches away from hers. In a soft voice he said, “Because you want us to fuck you too bad. If you break the deal, we won’t touch you again. You want the cargo, take it. We’ll sanction it and you can freely sell it where ever and however you wish. But those people in there, they're mine.”

  “Except for Leon,” Devon commented. “You can sell him, and I can only hope it’s to Madari.”

  “Yes,” Julius agreed. “You can have Leon. Deal?”

  Lucy smiled ruefully up at him. “As long as you keep your crew in line, deal.”

  “Just one thing,” Devon interjected, “I want some alone time with Leon. I want to know why he did this.”

  “Agreed,” both Lucy and Julius chorused.

  ****

  Captain Lucy walked along the deck, lost in thought. When had she become so soft? Pirates didn’t make deals based on their sex drives. Well, at least not pirates who made the kind of money she did. She’d given up quite a bit of gold today, all for the sweet promise of getting fucked the next two nights. It was ridiculous!

  “Captain?” Styx eyed her with a wary expression.

  “Do you ever question why I do things?” She turned to look at him, wondering if her face was a reflection of her self doubts.

  Styx laughed, catching her by surprise. “No, Captain. Never. You’ve let those two put you in a doubt about your role as our leader, haven’t you?”

  She turned away from him, silently letting her gaze return to the stars. “Lucy, your dad was fearsome indeed. He was a pirate that everyone feared, and no one ever doubted. But do you, in all your young years, remember him ever killing anybody?”

  She thoug
ht back, but all she could recall at the most were a couple of beatings. “No,” she replied, uncertain where Styx was going with this.

  “You can have a set of morals, spare the lives of people, and still be respected. If anything, we’ll love you the more for it. We serve you, Captain, because we respect you. Not because we fear you. The crew that fears their captain is the one that jettisons the body in the deepest parts of space.” Styx patted her shoulder with a gentleness that reminded her of her father. “Have your fun with the lads, my girl. Not a one of us will blame you.”

  Feeling better, Lucy Verr smiled at him. “Styx, have dinner set in my room for three tonight. Then inform our lordlings that they’ve been invited to dine with me.”

  “Aye, Captain.”

  Chapter Five

  Devon and Julius settled the rest of their crew into the cabins that Chiron allotted them. It was an eight person crew, so they only needed four rooms. Most of the crew was a shaking mess, looking at Devon and Julius with almost worshipful gazes. Not a single one of them questioned where the advisor went. They did, however, question why the two men never got back on board at Dremes.

  “Some wrong information was given to the local authority,” Julius improvised. “But it's all straightened out.”

  Everyone, to their relief, was told they would be docking in Prodigus in a day. “As payment to our ride, our company will be allowing the Tartarus to keep the cargo. We will not spread rumors of ill will towards this ship, crew, or the captain. You will all be compensated for the extra days you were out.”

  When they dropped on Devon’s bunk in their own room, Julius let out a deep breath of relief. “I can’t believe she’s letting us keep the crew.”

  “I’ll truly believe it when we’re all walking off this ship in port at home,” Devon said. “You think they’ll stay occupied and out of everyone’s way tonight and tomorrow?”