by Joanna Wylde
Dani could feel herself growing hot and wet again, and when Drake started moving his hard length slowly back and forth within her moist opening, she sighed in satisfaction. He thrust steadily, each motion causing delicious friction against her skin. The twists of desire sprang into life, sending tingles of pleasure through her. She could tell that it was getting harder and harder for Drake to control himself. His breathing grew harsh as he moved, then he was on his knees again, bracing himself against her shoulders as he pushed into her hard enough to rock the couch that cushioned them.
The entertainers were coming close to their own end. The woman had come one more time, her gasps ringing through the room. As her body tensed, the man behind her threw his head back and shouted as he came, his butt pumping into her spasmodically. This was too much for the man beneath them, who came with a moan. All three collapsed into a gasping pile of silky arms and legs, a tangle of satiated and exhausted flesh.
Watching them achieve their orgasm seemed to spur Drake on, and he moved more quickly. Again the sensations were climbing up through her body, dancing along her spine until she stiffened and twitched from the intensity of her feelings. The orgasm washed over her like a tidal wave, slamming her against the cushions with a force she’d never dreamed was possible. Drake gave a low, harsh groan, and then he was coming too. She could feel his hot seed pouring into her, filling her with his essence and pummeling her internally. He fell down onto her, crushing her down into the cushions, and struggled for breath.
She lay there, completely unaware of her surroundings for several moments. Then she felt him rolling off to the side. He turned her toward him, pulling her up onto his chest as easily as he might move a lifeless doll.
His pale skin was flushed, but his eyes were cool and dark. Assessing, even. He looked at her without expression, and a chill came over her. He seemed to be unaffected by what had just happened between them, as if this was no more than any other tumble between the sheets. She was dazed by the experience, the power of her climaxes. Sex had been her business since she’d become a woman. How was it that things would be so different with this man?
“Kiss me,” he whispered.
She dropped her lips to his with unfeigned enthusiasm. His lips were soft against hers, and where before he’d been the ravisher, the seducer, this time it was her turn. She nipped at them, allowing her tongue to dart out and slip between his lips, then playfully retreat. She kissed him along his jaw line, down his neck and against his powerful chest.
What had happened to his clothing? she wondered. He was naked now, yet she couldn’t remember him taking the time to undress. She was still wearing her gown, although it had been pushed to her waist. She was naked beneath. His clothing was unimportant, though. All she cared about was touching him.
She kissed along his chest, visiting each nipple and laving them with her tongue until they stood in stiff peaks. One of his arms was draped casually over his head, and his eyes were closed. His breathing was slow and regular now, and his look had softened into one of contentment.
She felt a stirring against her hip, and realized he was becoming aroused again. She dropped her kisses lower, drifting across his stomach towards his manhood below, just starting to awaken again. He stopped her, pulling her back up his body for another long kiss.
“Let’s go to my chamber,” he said, pulling her to her feet. He seemed to be completely comfortable with his nudity, something she appreciated. She liked a man who was self-confident and unashamed of his sexuality. The musicians and dancers had disappeared, leaving them alone in the dining room.
“I’m afraid I didn’t take the time to enjoy the meal,” she said, smiling at him and feeling almost shy. The sensation caught her off guard. When was the last time she’d felt shy? Yet with this man it felt as if she were embarking on something new and wonderful. It was hardly the usual client encounter.
“Are you hungry?” he asked, gesturing toward the table. “We can stay and finish if you like.”
“I’d rather go with you now,” she replied, allowing some of the longing he inspired in her to touch her face.
He nodded, then took her hand and pulled her across the room. A door opened before them. More guards, clad in black, carefully avoided watching them as they strode down the hallway. Another set of doors opened before them, and they entered a room that was large and formal. He pulled her across to another set of doors, leading her through a series of rooms that became smaller and more informal the further they retreated.
Finally, they entered what had to be his chamber, a large, airy space decorated in simple yet lush furnishing. Against one wall was a bed. One entire side of the room was taken up in windows overlooking the city. She hadn’t realized how much time had passed, but it was full night out, and the buildings spread out before them sparkled like thousands of gems.
“These are my people,” he said simply, gesturing toward the city with a sweep of his arm. “My family has ruled this system for a thousand years. Our family has been in power longer than the current imperial dynasty.”
What could she say to that? Dani wondered. She was a courtesan, trained to deal with men of power. But somehow, spouting out one of the light-hearted remarks she usually affected, seemed so inappropriate to the moment. They were alone in his room, she realized, the most private place in his palace. Yet not a single personal item seemed to be kept here. It was lovely, but completely devoid of personality.
There were no other people around, either. No guards and no sign of a spouse or children. She hadn’t heard of any other family members, she realized with a start. Usually ruling families were surrounded by courtiers, hangers-on and distant relatives. This palace seemed all but empty.
“Where is your family?” she asked before she had time to think better of the question.
“I don’t have any family,” he said, looking at her with amusement. “Didn’t Guildmistress Karya give you any background on me before sending you to spy on me?”
Her breath caught.
“You were monitoring our conversation?” she asked tightly, fear filling her. What would he do to a woman he’d caught spying?
“Of course,” he said, his tone mocking. “I have to be very careful, you know. I find myself in a delicate position dynastically. My brother is dead, killed in the war against the Saurellians. I was his only heir, and now I’m alone. He served on the front, at the Emperor’s personal request.” He paused for a moment, allowing his words to sink in.
“If I were killed now, this entire system would be forfeit to the Emperor,” he added.
She had no idea what to say in response to this revelation. Surely Karya had known that, but they hadn’t had time to discuss the situation in depth. After all, she was a courier and courtesan, not a spy. Her only experience was bringing pleasure to others she thought frantically.
“I see,” she said, stalling for time. He turned away from her again, and her eyes flew around the chamber, looking for an escape route, or something to use as a weapon.
“I doubt very much that you do see,” he said, his face dimly lit by the lights of the city. There was bleakness in his voice that made her heart twinge. He looked so alone, standing there above his home.
“These people are utterly dependent on me,” he said quietly. “There are more than forty billion of them living in my territory, between the various planets, moons and stations. It’s not a large system, but we’ve always enjoyed a high quality of life. There’s no slavery here. My people are happy and healthy—hardly any choose to emigrate to other worlds. We were even spared the worst of the war. My brother and his men paid a high price to keep our young men out of the hands of Imperial recruiters.”
She nodded, starting to understand.
“You’re afraid that if something happens to you, your people will suffer,” she said softly.
“Afraid?” he asked, laughing with a harsh, barking sound. “Afraid doesn’t begin to express how I feel about the Emperor taking control of th
is system. If I die, it passes into his hands directly. Then he can start slowly milking my people of everything we’ve worked so hard to accomplish. Of course, if he decides I’ve committed treason, things will get far worse. He has the option of liquidating the entire population, you know.”
“No,” she whispered a wave of nausea washing over her. “He wouldn’t do that.”
“Oh really?” Drake turned back to her, and for the first time that night she could see some real emotion in his face. “You don’t know what he’s capable of doing. I am. I was raised with him, attended school with him in the Imperial Capital, Tyre. He counts me as a friend, at least for now. That’s why I’m still alive. But he won’t tolerate my refusal to cooperate with him much longer. I’ve refused to go along with his plans; I’m the only one of his nobles with the courage to stand up to him. He’ll kill me just as easily as he had my brother killed.”
“What plans?” she asked, afraid of the answer.
“Well, he feels that the Saurellians have gotten too much power. He wants to start fighting them again, to end the truce,” he said. “That would be a disaster for our people. We don’t have the strength, or the right, to continue fighting. Do you know how the war started?”
“I’d heard the Saurellians attacked several systems in the disputed region,” she replied. “That they were seeking new territory.”
“No, that’s just imperial propaganda,” he replied quietly. “I think you know better than to believe that. Didn’t you hear another story while you were in Saurellian space?”
“Yes,” she said quietly, looking out over the city. “I’d heard that the Emperor had liquidated an entire planet because their assembly refused to pay a new tax, and that the systems in the disputed regions asked the Saurellians to protect them. I didn’t believe it, though, at least not the whole story. The Saurellians are very aggressive, and I had trouble believing the Emperor would kill billions of people over taxes.”
“The Saurellians are aggressive, but they aren’t greedy,” he said quietly. “They started fighting the Empire because those people came to them, pleading for their lives. They knew they’d be next if the Emperor had his way. He’ll do it to Von’hotten, too, if he feels we’re defying him. I have to stop that from happening.”
“And how do you plan to do that?” she asked, turning to look at him directly. There was a sorrow there, and deep compassion in his face. Compassion for her, she realized. A new wave of horror and nausea swept over her, and she fell to her knees. She suddenly realized that the only way he could afford to tell her this much was if he planned to kill her.
“Oh, no, I don’t want to know,” she whispered. He came and knelt before her, tilting her chin up with on finger. He leaned forward and gently kissed her, then sat back on his heels.
“It’s too late, Dani,” he said quietly. “I think you already know that.”
“Why did you tell me?” she asked. To her surprise, the horror was passing. In its place was a new emotion, anger that he would drag her into this. Her voice grew stronger. “Is it because I dared to come here and spy on you? Are you out to destroy the Guild, in addition to committing treason against the Emperor? We’re not part of your Empire, we don’t want anything to do with this. Take care of your own problems.”
“Oh, it’s a Guild problem, too,” he said.
“How do you figure that?” she asked, her voice cold with disgust. “We’re neutral. We don’t need your crap.”
“No, you were neutral,” he replied. “Until twenty-five-thousand licensed Pleasure Guild workers were killed when the Emperor liquidated the planet of Kelvani. The action took place without warning, and they weren’t given the option of using their diplomatic immunity to escape.”
She gasped, shaking her head in disbelief.
“I didn’t hear anything about that,” she said. “If that was true, I would have known. The Guild takes care of their own. Our Council wouldn’t just let the Emperor get away with killing our people.”
“They don’t intend to,” he said, his expression growing fierce. “Don’t you realize that even the Guild isn’t strong enough to confront the Emperor directly? Neither are the nobles of the Empire. Do you think we like seeing him do things like this? Our civilization has flourished for a thousand years, and now one crazed idiot is going to bring it crashing down around us. The Saurellians aren’t going to stop him. They don’t want to break the truce. It’s up to us.”
“Who is ‘us’?” she asked suspiciously.
“The nobles and the Guild,” he said. “Why do you think you’re here?”
“I thought I was here to pleasure you,” she said quietly. He gave her a mocking look. “Well, to spy on you then.”
“Karya sent you because she believes we can trust you,” he said quietly. “You’re uniquely qualified to help us. You’ve been in Saurellian space, and you have contacts there. We know you’ve already helped at least one Imperial slave escape. Don’t bother to deny it,” he said, holding up one hand when she started to protest. “Dani, you’ve been very careful, but we know you’re smart and you’re loyal to the Guild. You’re also the perfect go-between for the Saurellians and us because no one will suspect you. You aren’t a Guild functionary, you hold no office and you have no power. In short, you’re not important enough for the Emperor to suspect you.”
Dani snorted at his description.
“No, don’t be offended,” he continued. “That’s what makes you perfect for this role. Karya has had her eye on you for a long time. She trusts you, and I trust her.”
“That’s not what she says,” Dani said, her anger growing. Who the hell did he think he was?
“Well, that’s what she says when she’s being spied on by the Imperial intelligence service,” Drake said. He reached forward, clutching her shoulders in his hands and pulling her toward him. He stared into her face, as if he could make her believe him by sheer force of will. “This whole evening is a set-up. Karya and I have been building toward this moment for a year. We’ve carefully created a rift between me and Guild so that no one would suspect us of collaborating.”
“What is the point of all this plotting?” she asked harshly. “What are you going to do, overthrow the Emperor?” she asked, laughing at the idea. As if anyone could topple a sitting emperor. The thought was ridiculous.
“I can’t tell you that,” he said, dropping his hands from her shoulder and sitting back. “I’ll only tell you what you need to know. It’s safer for everyone that way.”
“Oh, Goddess,” she whispered, searching his face as the realization hit her. They were planning to do that very thing. “You’ll have to kill him.”
“Yes.”
“Oh, Goddess,” she whispered again, and sat back heavily on the floor. Life had suddenly gotten far more complex than she could ever have dreamed. “I’m supposed to be on vacation, you know.”
“Yes, I know,” he replied. “I’m sorry, Dani, but it’s already too late for you. You’re part of this whether you like it or not. You’re the only one who can help us.”
“Why me?” she asked quietly. “Why did you have to pick me? There are thousands of other pleasure workers who’ve been in Saurellian space. Why couldn’t you pick of them for this? I don’t want this!”
“Because to carry out our plans, we’ll need to work with the Saurellians,” he said. “And you’re the only pleasure worker with the connections we need. That slave you helped escape, her name was Calla? She’s more than an escaped slave. She’s become the daughter-in-law of the Saurellian Federation Council’s President. She’s going to be in Tyre over the next six months with her husband on a diplomatic mission, and you’re the one woman in Imperial space she’ll trust.”
Chapter Four
He stared earnestly into her face, willing her to believe him. They were almost out of time. He’d managed to arrange a temporary power failure that would keep the Emperor’s spies from listening in on them, but they would suspect something if the power d
idn’t come back on soon.
She bit her lip, staring up at him with those stunning, unreal blue eyes. Despite the seriousness of their situation, he felt a twinge of desire for her. It filled him with dark amusement. Here he was, plotting to overthrow an emperor, and still all he could think about was bedding this incredible woman.
He was so caught up in his thoughts that it never occurred to him she would hit him.
The blow took him in the jaw, and he hit the ground with a thump. He gasped for breath as it had knocked the wind out of him. She stood over him, hands braced on her hips and glaring in anger.
“I may be a pleasure worker, but I will not let myself be used,” she said with bitter venom. “I have no reason to believe you. You may kill me for this, but I’d rather be dead than betray my friends and my Guild. I have no reason to believe a thing you say.”
“I can prove it to you,” he said, fingering his jaw.
“How?”
He stood, watching her carefully. He wouldn’t make the same mistake again, he thought.
“Take off your earrings.”
“What?”
“Take off your earrings,” he repeated. “Karya gave them to you earlier today, didn’t she? For tonight.”
She nodded, reaching up to take out the delicate silver baubles.
He reached out to take them from her. She handed them to him, and he turned them over in his hands. They appeared to be a random twist of silver wires and pearls, but he knew there was a pattern. There it was…he found the right spot and allowed them to interlock with each other. Then he held them up for Daniella to see. They had formed the delicate outline of a dragon, the mythological beast which was part of the Von’hot family crest.
“Where did Karya say she got these?” he asked quietly, handing them back to her.
“From her son,” Dani whispered, looking up into his face.
“I gave her the earrings,” he said quietly. She opened her mouth, but he cut her off. “I’m not going to tell you the whole story. There’s no need for you to know any more, and too many people could suffer if anyone found out. But Karya is my mother, and we have been working together for years. Before he was killed, she planned all of this with my brother. Come over here.”
