by Joanna Wylde
Oh that did it.
Again and again he thrust, pushing her tender flesh apart further than she could have dreamed possible. He seemed incapable of giving her clit the slow, steady stimulation he’d offered earlier, but he kept his hand on her. Now he used it to press her tender flesh against the hardness of her pelvic bone. Each thrust brought new friction, working the nerves with exquisite force. Tension grew in her body, a tight triangle of sensation running from her vagina to her clit and back up to her breasts, which found their own form of stimulation against the harsh fabric of her shirt.
Tessa hadn’t been a stranger to physical pleasure. Her decision to remain a virgin hadn’t kept her from masturbating, and up to that point she’d thought she knew what an orgasm was. But the sound of Daaron’s rasping breaths, the smell of his sweat as he plowed her from behind, the sensation of his hard prick cleaving her open again and again—this was far beyond anything she could have imagined.
Dear heavens, she didn’t want it to ever end.
At the same time, the pounding of her heart and the tightness of her chest made her wonder how much more she could take. She felt her release hovering just beyond the edge of his touch, knew it waited for her, taunted her with its closeness.
She struggled against his weight, no longer seeking escape. Now she wanted to move, wanted the leverage to take what she needed from his body to end this terrible need. If it didn’t stop soon she’d die. Fuck that, if it didn’t stop soon she’d kill him.
Daaron, that bastard, owed her this orgasm.
He was close too, she knew it from the stiffening of his body and the way his cock seemed to be swelling and growing impossibly harder within her. Inspiration struck, and she squeezed him as hard as she could with her internal muscles.
He choked back a groan and then pulled his hand away from her pelvis.
Gripping her hips with both hands, he raised his upper body and knelt behind her. This new position set her free, and she lifted up on her arms to meet the forceful blows of his hips.
Almost there.
Tessa sensed the restrained power in the hands holding her, the hardness of his thighs against her legs, the solid length of his cock. She wanted to answer with her own violent thrusts, wanted to take her pleasure from him the same way he’d taken her freedom and her garnets.
But not even the thought of her lovely gems could distract her from her raging need.
Again and again they came together, until she couldn’t hear for the pounding of her heart, couldn’t breathe for the tightness in her chest—her release lay so close yet still not overwhelming her. He gave one more powerful shove and she exploded in a whirlwind of sensation beyond anything she’d ever approached on her own. Above and behind her, Tessa was dimly aware of Daaron reaching his own release. Then they collapsed together on the bed, panting and exhausted.
Tessa tried to collect her thoughts, blinking and dazed by the force of her orgasm. She’d never experienced anything as magnificent as the last ten minutes. Not when she graduated from college, not when she’d gotten her first job. Not even when she’d found that enormous cerulean star garnet…
Garnets.
She froze, reality rushing back in an instant. She needed to get her garnets and go, quickly. And she would have to take Daaron with her as her hostage, she realized. She might be able to get away from him here and now, but even if she did, he would hunt her down. He’d said he had backup out in the darkness, so she’d have to use Daaron as her shield. It all sounded like something out of a holovid, not the kind of thing real people did, but the alternative seemed to be giving up her lovely, lovely gems and doing what Daaron told her.
Not an option.
Taking a deep breath, Tessa forced a sensuous smile to creep across her face, drifting her hands along his back in the most soothing manner she could imagine. All she had to do was convince him she wanted him again. Daaron’s colossal ego would take care of the rest for her. He rolled over to look at her and smiled. So easy.
“That was good for you, wasn’t it?”
“Yes,” she replied, telling the truth. “But there’s something I’ve always wanted to try.”
“What?”
“Lean back and close your eyes,” she said. He did, and she knelt next to him on the bed, rubbing her hands up and down his chest. His nipples hardened as her fingertips grazed them. She found his chest fascinating—she’d never been up so close to a man before. Well, a naked man. They were far more interesting in the flesh than in books. When she leaned over and licked the skin right above his navel, she told herself it was all part of her ploy to distract him.
No matter that the salty taste of his skin made the flesh between her legs burn with hunger.
Tessa shifted, trying to dismiss the sensation, and dropped her hand to the hard length of his semi-erect cock. He still wanted her, even though they’d only just finished. She knew that wasn’t the norm; her roommates at college had been clear on that one. Most men were useless after coming, but Daaron seemed to just be warming up. She leaned over and blew lightly on his member. Daaron groaned.
“Whatever it was you wanted to try, you’d better do it soon,” he said, voice strained. “Or I’ll lose patience.”
A wave of pleasure and power washed through Tessa. She loved how he responded to her, and thoroughly enjoyed the idea of using her sexuality against him. She blew again and then flicked her tongue out, catching the flared head of his penis with the tip. Daaron shuddered. Tessa gripped his length firmly in her hand and rubbed up and down, feeling the ridges of the veins within, pulling the soft skin up along his length. She shot a look up to his face to make sure his eyes were still closed before glancing at the floor. The fool had left his blaster sitting right there, next to his clothing. She gripped him harder and he moaned.
This time she didn’t have to force a smile, it came naturally.
Tessa leaned over again, took a deep breath and sucked his length into her mouth. The taste of him, salty and warm, surprised her. She wiggled her tongue against him as her roommate had described doing. Apparently she did it right, because Daaron bucked against her and gave another of those deep moans of excitement. She pulled up. His hand reached down, gripping her hair and trying to push her head back down, but she grabbed it and pushed it away.
“No, this is my fantasy,” she said. “Stay still.”
He did as she asked.
Moving quickly, she leaned over the edge of the bed and grabbed the blaster. As he started to sit up, she shoved the cold metal of the gun into his groin, right at the base of his cock.
“I said stay still.”
Daaron froze, eyes flying open. His face filled with rage, and she realized she could never, ever allow him to overpower her again. If she did, he might kill her.
“You said you had some friends outside,” she said slowly. “I’m taking you hostage. We’re going to get my garnets and leave this damned planet, and your buddies better not try to stop us. Do I make myself clear?”
“You’re my wife, you have to obey me,” he said. “That’s the way it works in the Warrens.”
“How stupid do you think I am?” Tessa snapped back. “Women of the Warrens might have to obey their husbands, but only as long as they’re alive. Don’t push your luck.”
Chapter Four
Daaron took deep breaths, forcing down the anger thundering through him. The situation was his own damn fault. Losing control of your weapon was a fool’s mistake, and if one of his men had done it, he’d find himself cleaning latrines for a month. He’d forgotten just how intoxicating Tessa’s presence could be, and seriously underestimated the woman herself. Being near her all but wiped out his ability to think, and now they would both pay.
Tessa stepped away from him, holding the blaster steady, and awkwardly pulled up her pants with one hand.
“Get up,” she said. “We’re going to walk outside and you’re going to stand in front of me as a shield. I want you to tell your friends to leave
us alone until we get to my cruiser. We’ll be taking the first available transport off-planet, and then I’ll make arrangements to sell my garnets and disappear. If you do everything I tell you, you’ll survive. Do you understand me?”
He nodded his head, not looking forward to the next ten minutes. His team didn’t respond well to threats.
“Pick up your clothes,” Tessa added.
“Should I put them on?”
She gave him a speculative look before offering him a rather dark smile.
“No,” she replied sweetly. “It will be harder for you to run if you’re naked. Now we’re going to leave. I’m going to stand right behind you as we go out. You’ll pause in the doorway and tell your people to let us by. Then we’ll grab the garnets and go.”
He nodded his head, knowing it wouldn’t get that far. Together they moved toward the opening and Daaron stepped out slowly. Tessa nudged him with the blaster, and he opened his mouth to speak. Before anything could come out, a hail of drugged flechettes rained through the air.
Daaron went down first, tranquilizers blazing through his system in a mere heartbeat. His last sensation as he fell was the punishing hit of a blaster bolt. She’d done it, he marveled. Soft, sweet Tessa had just shot him in the back. He heard her shriek and the world turned black.
* * * * *
Tessa awakened slowly, her mouth tasting metallic and bitter. She took a deep breath. The air smelled odd, recycled, like the air on a space station—or in the deepest reaches of the Warrens. Not the fresh, clean breezes of her camp, certainly. She opened her eyes and looked at the ceiling, finding bare metal punctuated only by endless rows of rivets. The bed upon which she lay was soft but far from luxurious, although the fabric of the covers had the smooth, perfectly inviting feel that only natural fibers could create. Expensive, like everything else Daaron had ever owned.
Daaron.
Memory flooded back. Dear Goddess, she’d killed Daaron. Shot him point-blank with his own blaster. Tessa felt sick, completely disgusted with herself. She’d killed a man over a handful of stupid garnets.
Daaron had given his life for a pile of fucking rocks.
How could she live with herself? Of course, her continuing survival probably wouldn’t be a problem, not after his people got through with her. She’d enjoyed threatening Daaron, liked the idea of him feeling uncertain and scared, the way he’d always made her feel. But dead? No, never that. For long moments Tessa lay back on the bed, trying to think.
Finally she sat up listlessly, wondering when her executioners would arrive. Her cell was sparse. Bed, metal basin with water spouts and a fresher. Some drawers with a mirrored surface on the wall above them. A small table beside the bed. Everything one piece, everything bolted to the floor. She stood, trying to detect any signs of artificial gravity. If they were in space, it was on something big and powerful enough to have the best gravitrons money could buy.
Of course, money had never been an issue for Daaron.
The door pinged, and she watched it slide open without interest. Then Daaron walked in and she froze.
“You’re alive,” she said, stunned.
“Obviously,” he replied, his voice tight. “Good thing you didn’t check the blaster to see if the charge was lethal.”
It hadn’t even occurred to her.
“For the record, I’m sorry I shot you,” she said, meaning it. “I think I panicked. I didn’t want you dead… Just out of the way.”
“I find that tremendously comforting,” he replied, tone dark with sarcasm. “Getting shot with a blaster, even on the lowest setting, hurts like hell. And my men are pissed. You’re lucky they didn’t kill you.”
“Why didn’t they?” she asked, trying to figure out her next move. She supposed that as long as they kept talking, she’d stay alive. Anything to buy time.
“Because I gave them strict orders not to,” he replied. “And they always obey. I’m not so sure I believe in the whole Warrens subservient wife thing though. Clearly it didn’t sink into your psyche growing up.”
She fell silent, unsure of her response. According to the traditions of the Warrens, they were married and she should obey him. She just didn’t want to though. And why should she? He sure as shit wasn’t from the Warrens, she couldn’t expect him to love and honor her in return for her obedience. No, he’d just use it against her.
“You said you had to marry me, to keep me from testifying,” she said after a long pause. “What did you mean by that? Honestly, I don’t know anything about you or your people. I just want to take my garnets and leave. Surely you can understand?”
“There are bigger things in play here than money,” he said. “I can give you money. Your financial worries are over.”
Tessa tensed.
“I don’t want your money any more now than I did at school, Daaron,” she replied. “I shouldn’t need it. I used my skills and education to find my own way of making money. The garnets. They’re all the rage at court, now that the Emperor has expressed a fondness for them. They might have been worthless this time last year, but they’re more than enough to set me for life today. All you have to do is give me my rocks and let me go. You do your own thing and we’ll both live happily ever after. Or you’ll do whatever weird thing it is you want to do, and I’ll live happily ever after. We can pretend this didn’t happen.”
“Let’s sit down,” Daaron said, gesturing toward the bed. He seemed to fill the room, crowding her. Daaron had always done that to her—every place he went, he filled. He stepped toward her, crowding her, and she slid to one side of the bed in an attempt to put space between them. He gave her a knowing smile. She hadn’t fooled him. He plopped down on the bed, depressing the mattress so she had to fight to keep from falling into him.
“Tell me what’s going on here,” she said. “I need to know.”
“All you need to know is that you’re my wife and I can’t allow you to leave with those garnets,” he replied.
“You’re right,” she said. “I misspoke. I don’t care what’s going on. I just want to go.”
“And I want to fuck you,” he replied. “And unlike you, I’m in a position to take what I want.”
“Oh yes, the great Daaron Von Saur’rel,” she snapped. “It doesn’t matter if a woman actually desires you, you can do whatever you want. Of course, if you were an ordinary mortal, maybe nobody would sleep with you. Have you ever wondered if your success with the ladies has more to do with your money than your cock?”
He froze, and she knew she had him.
“Think about it, Daaron,” Tessa continued, her voice cold. “Maybe your daddy paid them to fuck you. After all, the only woman who couldn’t be bought didn’t sleep with you. What does that really say?”
She knew how hateful the words were, and she knew they weren’t true either. But she had to attack him any way she could, because otherwise she was dead in the water. Maybe she could goad him into action and use it to her advantage.
He laughed, and her hopes sank.
“I haven’t talked to my father in five years,” he mused. “I suppose the possibility exists that he interfered at school, but since then I haven’t exactly been celibate, unlike you. Ever wonder if you missed out on the best years of your life?”
Her breath hissed out. Bastard. She didn’t have a comeback for that one.
“So you want to call a truce?” he asked. She nodded her head. Fighting wasn’t getting her anywhere. Time to gather information and think through her next move.
“Do you admit that we’re married by the customs of your people?” he asked.
She pondered it, then nodded her head.
“Although, when you consider that the customs of my people have never been held in high esteem by nobles like yourself, I’m not sure that means very much.”
He gave her an icy smile.
“Are you trying to get yourself killed?” he asked. “As my wife, you can’t testify and aren’t a threat. Otherwise you are. Which would
you rather be? Remember, I said you have a choice to make.”
She fell silent again.
“As my wife, you’d sleep with me.”
She had to laugh.
“You’re right,” she replied. “Of course, as you nicely pointed out to me earlier, sleeping is different than fucking.”
“You’d fuck me too.”
Silence fell between them, thick with tension.
“So let’s get this straight,” she said finally. “My choice, as you put it, is between being married to you and death, right?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because we can’t afford to have anyone poking around on this planet,” he replied. “As soon as those garnets hit the market, the consortiums would be after you. Sooner or later they’ll find you and you’ll tell them where you got the gems. Things would get ugly after that. There’s more at stake here than just you and me.”
“I won’t tell them.”
He laughed, the sound anything but amused.
“They aren’t nearly as nice as I am. Eventually everyone breaks under torture, Tessa. It doesn’t matter how good your intentions are. The only way to ensure your silence is to make sure nobody ever finds you. The easiest way is to kill you; instead I’m offering you marriage. As my wife, you’ll be under my control. And as I said, you can’t testify against me, just in case you learn too much.”
Tessa shivered, the reality of her situation sinking in for the first time.
Daaron reached one arm around her and pulled her close.
“Don’t be afraid,” he said. “You’ll find that being married to me isn’t that bad. Remember, I’m rich. You’ll never want for anything again.”
She leaned against him, momentarily defeated. He rubbed her shoulder comfortingly before moving to her back. His hands stroked steadily, lulling and soothing her. Tessa took a deep breath, inhaling his scent. Desire stirred again. Dear heavens, just being around the man was dangerous.
After long moments, he kissed her, this time slow and gentle—completely different from his angry, manipulative touch earlier. His lips nibbled at hers softly, teasing her with unimagined pleasures and waking new desires. Her nipples tightened, and Tessa reached up to wrap her arms around his neck, eager for more of this new sensation. Why not just give in for just a little while?
