Not the Man She Thought Read Online Free PDF Page A

home to us,” Keir said.    Her brow furrowed. “You live on here all the time?”
    It was Kamran who answered. “Twenty-four seven.”
    Laken was surprised by that. She couldn’t imagine living on
a ship. “What about your families?”
    Kamran shrugged. “We see them whenever we get around to our
respective home planets.”
    “How often is that?”
    “Every couple of years or so.”
       Her eyes
went wide. “Every couple of years? Wow. That must be tough.”
       She
wasn’t exactly on speaking terms with her father right now, but she couldn’t
imagine not seeing her parents on a regular basis.
       Kamran
shrugged again. “It is what it is. Work keeps us busy.”
    Laken nodded. “The Federation is always shipping something
somewhere.”
    “We don’t work for the Federation,” Dev said.
    Laken frowned. She thought every cargo ship worked for the
Federation. Well, all the reputable cargo ships anyway. But then again, she
really didn’t know that much about it. “Oh. Who do you work for then?”
       “We’re
independent,” the dark-haired woman said.
        She learned something new every day.
“What do you transport?”
    From where he was sitting on the other side of the table,
Jorn shrugged his broad shoulders. “Pretty much anything and everything. You
name it, we’ve probably hauled it.”
    Keir grinned. “We’re hauling something really valuable on
this run. Captain says...”
    “That you should learn to keep your damn mouth shut.”
    Laken jumped at the sound of Karsten’s voice. She turned to
see him standing in the doorway, his first officer at his side. The old man’s features
were inscrutable, but the captain’s handsome features were marred by a scowl as
he glared at his crew.
    Across from her, Keir flushed and sat up straighter in his
chair. “Captain?”
    Karsten’s brows drew together. “Our cargo is none of
anyone’s business, especially not a stowaway. Just because I didn’t confine her
to quarters doesn’t mean I want you treating her like she’s one of the crew
because she’s not. Is that understood?”
    Laken’s hand tightened on her spoon. She couldn’t decide if
she was more embarrassed or angry by what he’d said. He was acting like she was
a criminal.
    “Is that understood?” Karsten repeated when Keir didn’t
answer.
    The other man nodded, his color deepening. “Understood,
Captain.”
    She watched as Karsten make his way over to the table and
took the seat. So much for staying out of his way. Part of her wanted to tell
him exactly what he could do with his nasty attitude, his precious cargo and
his damn ship, while the other part wanted to storm out of the room. In the
end, she did neither. Telling him off would just start argument, which she
didn’t want to do in front of the crew. And she’d be damned if she would let
him have the satisfaction of chasing her off. Especially since she hadn’t even
eaten half of the stew in her bowl.
    Laken stayed as long as she could, but it was impossible to
eat in the awkward silence that followed. Finally unable to take it anymore,
she pushed back her chair and got to her feet.
    “I’m rather tired so I think I’ll return to my room,” she
said quietly. “It was nice meeting all of you.”
    She didn’t wait for them to return the sentiment, but
instead turned and left the room, her head held high.
     
    * * * * *
     
    Rade Karsten watched her go. As did every other man in the
room, he noted irritably. The way his crew looked at Laken Andara, it was like
they’d never seen a woman before. He could understand why. With her long red
hair, full pouty lips and curvy figure, she was gorgeous. If he were a less
scrupulous man, he might consider taking advantage of her and offer passage in
return for warming his bed like some merchant captains he knew. But
unfortunately, he was a gentleman. At least as much of a gentleman as a
part-time pirate could be.
    Dev was the next to leave, saying something about needing