Pixie Hazard by Archibald Bradford (top young adult novels .txt) 📕

“You are the only person in the entire universe who can get away with calling me that you know?”

“Thanks!”

With pursed lips, the captain lightly swatted her pert ass by way of chastisement.

“Wasn’t a compliment, kitten.”

Bunny giggled.

“You can play with my tushy if you want, but I think you should get some more sleep first. We’re safe now, don’t worry.”

She spoke with such blithe confidence it was hard to address her lack of actual knowledge on the subject of the ship’s security. She also wasn’t wrong about the sleeping thing: Billy wasn’t the only one dead on her feet.

But going all the way back to her military days Donnie struggled to find proper rest after an op.

Whether it was maintaining her gear, dictating after action reports, or doing dishes she had no business doing, she found it necessary to completely exhaust herself physically and mentally before her brain would let her rest.

Always her mind dwelled on all the could-haves and might-have-beens, or worse: the still-might-bes.

Within the last few days Maria, Eva, Bunny and Kyle had all nearly bought it, and it wasn’t Donnie’s stellar leadership that carried them through.

They were relying way too much on luck these days.

These were the thoughts that consumed her in the quiet moments when the rest of the ship was asleep.

Impulsively she pulled Bunny around and pressed herself against her, leaning her head down and mashing her lips into the surprised cat’s as their breasts did the same.

The embrace wasn’t so much sexual or intimate as it was needy and desperate as the captain indulged in a rare moment of weakness, seeking a reprieve from the torment of her own anxieties.

Whatever the human’s motivations, the K’or-Macka returned the kiss happily and it was several intense seconds before they broke apart.

Donnie drew in a shuddering breath as she rested her forehead against Bunny’s.

“I’m really glad that damned nightmare turkey didn’t eat you on Kentis baby.” She said thickly.

The feline woman didn’t say anything right away, just held her close for several moments.

When she did speak, her words shot a jolt of nervous arousal to Donnie’s core.

“My hubby is asleep now, do you want me to come to your quarters and give you some nice things to dream about?”

It was exactly that kind of humble earnestness that made the K’or-Macka so popular.

Despite the well-earned reputations of the marines that Donnie had once commanded, few of them outside her present crew would have lain down on a mine for her, but she knew without a doubt that Bunny would do so in a heartbeat.

It was written into her DNA: she belonged to a race of givers.

Deep down, the cynical captain felt that kind of selfless love was too good for a mere human like her.

But coming from a race of takers, she wasn’t about to say no to the proffered lifeline.

“I would like that very much Bunny. Though I’ll have to pass on any funny business. My eyes are already drooping.”

Bunny kissed around her mouth and chin several times before nuzzling their cheeks together, her purr reverberating into Donnie’s weary bones.

“Okee-dokee. No funny business, just sleepy business. Promise.”

Hand in hand, they headed for Donnie’s quarters.

Chapter 13:Stormy Happenings

While Donnie and Bunny settled in for a good spooning, not far from the wreckage of a certain Junker frigate a light cruiser painted in gaudy scarlet was docked with the only surviving lifeboat from the disaster.

In the airlock an awkward conversation was taking place between the former captain of the wrecked ship and a thickly bearded man dressed in a red sequined dress.

“You mean to tell me they stowed away when you blasted off from Kentis and not a one of you sumbitches caught on?”

“They weren’t on the ship Commodore!” The frigate’s skipper insisted; “I made sure we checked all the hatches afore we launched! This ain’t my first radio!”

The imperious drag-queen rolled his eyes.

“Rodeo, this ain’t your first rodeo you danged idjit!”

The chastised man’s face drew back in confusion.

“The hell is a rodeo?”

One of the three crewmembers who had managed to escape with him before the frigate blew raised his hand in a bid to be helpful.

“It’s that Old Earth game with those cow things, I think...”

He trailer off nervously when it became clear that his help was not appreciated, his superior knowing that it only served to make him look worse in the drag-queen’s painted eyes.

“When did you become a damned math teacher?! Shut it! I’m still captain here!”

The commodore brought his four-inch heeled foot against the deck with a sharp snap that silenced everyone.

“Captain of what? You got one of my frigates blowed up! So far as I can tell, you ain’t fit to captain a bathtub.”

Now the Junker captain turned to wheedling, recognizing the desperate nature of his situation.

“Please Commodore, that weren’t my fault! We was ambushed! Three times they jumped us!”

But his pleas fell on deaf ears.

With deliberate movements the garishly dressed man pulled his pulse-pistol from the rhinestone-encrusted holster hanging low on his thigh and shot him in the face.

Silence reigned as the dead man crumpled to the deck, his former subordinates drawing back instinctively as the commodore’s people leveled their burners at them as well.

Lowering his pistol to his side, the regal queen shook his head slowly.

“You lot had one job: lie low on Kentis until the heat died down from the raid. All you had to do was do nothin’ and you couldn’t even do that right. Now we lost the ship, the crew, and cargo worth more than both.”

None of them dared speak, fearing that doing so would result in them receiving the same as their former captain.

The bearded queen sucked air sharply