Breakwater: Custer (BBW Bad Boy Space Bear Shifter Romance) Read Online Free

batch, like clumps of coffee grains at the bottom of the cup. It was easier to throw her away.  

    “Sporting of you, I suppose,” she said. “Was there anything else?”

    “Yup. You can go anywhere on the ship except the cockpit, the crew’s private rooms, and engineering. Also, you won’t be able to access the terminals and we’ll get an alert if you try.”

    “So, where exactly can I go?” she asked, raising an eyebrow.

    “The kitchen, where, by the way, you’re not allowed to touch our food. Here. We have several nice hallways,” the captain answered.  

    “Thank you for your hospitality, then,” Delphine said.

    “Yeah, well, you tried to kill my crew. Honestly, I’m not even sure why I agreed to let you out of that chair, other than Custer is disturbingly good at people for some who…never mind. Point is, don’t cross any boundaries, or we’ll nail you to the ceiling until we decide what to do with you. Also, please remember that most of the people on this ship turn into giant carnivores,” he said.

    “Actually, bears are omnivores,” Delphine answered absently, rubbing her wrists.

    “Doesn’t take you off the menu. Remember: nails, ceiling, bears. No funny business. And don’t think you’re ever off camera.” With that, the captain turned and walked back out.

    Delphine considered leaving the cargo hold, but there didn’t seem to be a point. She wasn’t very hungry yet and she doubted she could do anything worthwhile for her mission, so instead she lay on her back, closed her eyes, and forced herself to calm down enough to sleep. Unconsciousness caused by drugs never really left anyone feeling rested, and she could afford to burn energy and waste calories at the moment. It took a few moments of breathing deeply, but soon her body was relaxed enough. Eventually, her thoughts stopped whirring around her head and she slipped into sleep.

    She woke up to someone kicking her gently in the leg. She looked up to see Monroe holding two mugs and two bottles of water.

    “Good morning,” he said, smiling. “I mean, it’s actually about 6 in what would be an afternoon were we not in the depths of space. I just figured you might want food.”

    Want or not, she needed to eat and she knew it. She sat up and accepted one mug from him carefully.

    “What is this?” she asked.

    “I have no idea, but it tastes okay,” Custer cheerfully informed her.

    “Is it poisoned?”

    “Why would I poison it?”

    Delphine sighed. “You have something of a reputation.”

    “Oooh,” Custer said, looking thrilled as he dropped down to sit beside her, laying the bottles on the ground in between them. “Tell me more.”

    “That you’re widely considered to be a homicidal maniac?” she asked, dipping a spoon into the mug, which appeared to contain rice in some sort of sauce.

    “Oh, that’s all,” he said. “I was hoping someone came up with something new.”

    “Why?” Delphine popped the spoon into her mouth. Custer had been right. The food was both unidentifiable and okay tasting.  

    “We’re at the end of an empire, I fear,” Custer said, sighing dramatically. “Imagination has died out. Instead, we recycled old grudges and old insults from our forefathers. It all gets boring very fast. We are witnessing the inevitable decline.”

    “That so?” Delphine asked.

    “It is. We can travel at the speed of light, but we can’t be interesting. Ah, civilization, you meant well, I suppose.”

    “You know,” Delphine said thoughtfully, chewing. “I’ve met a lot of guys like you to cover up the fact that they’re secretly a mess.”

    “Oh?”

    “Yeah.” She swallowed and scooped up more rice-and-mystery-sauce. “You’re not one of them.”

    Custer laughed. “Thank you.”

    She studied him. He was unlike anyone she had ever met, and she had yet to decide if that was a good or bad thing. She was sure he wasn’t actually a psychopath, just a dramatic asshole, but he had a