Steel Dominance Read Free Page A

Sten had the final say. His fringe of messy blond hair swayed across his eyes while he poured a mean stare over Dankyo.
    “Shall we let them aboard?” Kaysana cocked an eyebrow at Sten.
    “Sure. Might liven the Princess Kay up if we get them to walk the plank.”
    Dankyo drew in a long breath.
    Is he going to get angry? And he wants me to be low-key? Panicking, she lurched forward into his back, rocking him. No one would know it was a deliberate distraction.
    “Excuse me.” Dankyo swung around and inserted a finger under her collar. “Thank you for allowing us aboard. I must attend to my clumsy slave’s punishment.”
    What? She’d been trying to help him. Being towed up the ramp with his finger hooked under the collar was the last straw. Her temper shot to boiler level.
    She hissed. “You are not—”
    His palm clamped over her mouth, but he kept urging her upward. “You need to control yourself.”
    She bit him, hard, and though he glowered, he left his hand there.
    By then Dankyo had tucked her into his body and held her even tighter. His hip and hard muscles rolled against her as they walked. That no one stopped him gagging her was alarming, but what worried her more was the way she warmed between her legs. A couple in long, flowing Eastern dress watched wide-eyed.
    “It’s just a slave,” the man muttered to his partner, and they turned away and entered the airship door.
    “No matter how you feel about this, no owner would allow that to go unpunished. You should be crawling to the cabin.”
    Embarrassment, anger, and confusion flooded her. She so wanted to kill him. This was taking the pretending too far. By the time they reached the cabin door, Sofia had stopped biting, and his palm was moist and hot on her lips.
    “I’m letting you go so I can open the door. Are you sensible now?” He loosened his hand.
    Just to annoy him, she licked his palm as he lifted it away, then wiped her mouth with her fingers. While he turned the knob, she dragged her wet hand down the pretty finery of her clothing as if getting rid of something distasteful.
    “Enter.” The word came out like a growl. On his palm she caught sight of the red and white marks from her bite.
    Oops.
    “Why, thank you, Sir.” She walked in feeling lost and cross yet determined to keep her head.
    Her two lonely suitcases waited next to a neat brown bedroll. A row of tiny bottles in a timber carry case was perched next to it. Another suitcase lay on the bed, which was covered with a peach quilt. There was a chest of drawers, and a door to the right that must lead to a bathroom. Along the far wall behind the bed ran a row of small brass-rimmed portholes. The scents of lemon and furniture polish teased her nose. She sneezed.
    “Gesundheit.”
    The door clicked shut behind her, and Dankyo strode past. He sat on the bed, making it dip and creak, and crossed his legs, showing black socks above his black shoes. As if she wasn’t ready to strangle, emasculate, and claw him to pieces, he unlatched his suitcase, pulled out a revolver, and proceeded to check its mechanisms.
    The pistol made her pause only a second. He wasn’t going to shoot her. “If that’s for me to kill you, I don’t need it. My fingernails will do.”
    He grunted and unloaded, then reloaded the gun.
    Two sleeping places.
    Wrong, wrong, wrong . Alarms rang in her head. “Um…” She almost didn’t want the answer. “Where are you sleeping?”
    “Here.” He raised one eyebrow. “I’m here. You are there.” He pointed at the bedroll.
    When she only frowned and pulled a face, he added. “Again, you are a slave. I can’t do otherwise. There’s no other room in any case. And there are servants and passengers here. I trust no one.”
    “And if I said you were taking this too far? That the chances of anyone watching are infinitesimal.”
    “Infinitesimal is bigger than zero chance. The reason Theo is still alive is because I’m thorough. One day, you’ll thank me.”
    Uh.