Reckless Bounty (Intergalactic Justice Book 1)

by Marly Mathews

  “Would you just stand in one spot, asshole?”

  She felt as if she were playing dodge ball. She sighed, and waited for a few moments before she finally dropped the other one as well.

  “Phew, just made it!” she breathed, looking down at the pistol that no longer had any charge left on it.

  Well, perhaps she’d been a bit sloppy. But that could only be accounted to her lack of sleep. She turned around expecting to see her sister smiling back at her and her jaw dropped, when she realized who had assisted her out of her rather life threatening situation.

  “Good morning, Samantha. So we meet again. You have quite the glow to you…I guess I can claim all the credit for that,” Lord Devlin murmured, in his silky tone.

  She resisted the urge to throw herself into his arms. She didn’t want to do anything like that to him in public. She didn’t want anyone to know about how close they once were and how they’d picked up right where they left off.

  Her life was too damn complicated. Why did she have to love him so damn much? Why? And why did he have to be the one person who saved her, showing that she didn’t need to worry about protecting him, he only had to worry about protecting her?

  Why couldn’t another person hell, she didn’t care who, come to her assistance by giving her a weapon? She groaned loud and long. She slapped her forehead when he smiled and flashed his perfectly straight white teeth at her. Now, it was going to be incredibly hard to break things off with him. He was pleased as punch with himself.

  He would remind her of this moment until the day that she died.

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  “I must say, Samantha that you don’t seem to be in top form at the moment. However, I greatly enjoyed that remarkable performance of yours. May I ask for an encore?” he remarked, staring her up and down. She flinched, beneath his unwavering gaze.

  So, he was going to play like they didn’t know each other as intimately as they did. She had no issue with that even though it did sort of bug her.

  “Oh, why don’t you, piss off!” she frowned and attempted to push past him. She didn’t want to be anywhere near him if he wanted to treat her like she was just another person in his life. As always, his smug little grin made her want to smack him.

  He put out a restraining arm and took the useless phase pistol from her. She didn’t fight him for it, as he was the one that gave it to her in the first place.

  “I am not in the mood for your asinine arrogance this morning,” she decided between clenched teeth. “I like the side of you that I saw last night a whole lot better.”

  He pulled her back toward him and she gave him a dirty look.

  Sighing, she allowed him to hold her close. Still irritated on how he was treating her, she kicked him in the shin just for the hell of it. He groaned out in pain and she muttered, “You got off lucky. You are very fortunate that I didn’t make your balls do a disappearing act.”

  He regarded her with a raised brow, and cautiously removed his arm.

  “I doubt you’d really want those to disappear, darling,” he lowered his voice. “You’re just as attached to my equipment as I am,” he said softly.

  Warmth spread throughout her as she recalled their night of passion. He was right, she was all talk and no action on her threats against him. “I know I quite love everything about you,” he said.

  She resisted the tempting urge to smile.

  “Get in the hover car,” he ordered loudly, all softness disappearing from his voice. He pointed toward his parked vehicle.

  “The hell I will. Why don’t you take a long drive off a short bridge?” she retorted, moving farther away from him. For some reason, Devlin thought he could have everything his own way when it came to her.

  He must have been a spoiled child.

  She slammed up against his bodyguards and let out a muffled grunt, realizing with trepidation that instead of the hulking Amazon women, they were even larger men. She couldn’t possibly fight her way out of this situation without being injured or worse, embarrassed and exposed.

  “Don’t touch her,” Devlin said sternly to his bodyguards.

  “Does it come with a mini-bar?” she shot back, moving toward the vehicle of her own accord.

  She scowled at the men and snorted, when Devlin waved them away.

  “I am no damsel in distress,” she grumbled, staring hatefully at the black limousine.

  “I know you aren’t, sweetheart,” he retorted, grinning widely. He was playing with fire. “Come on, you know you’re safer with me than anywhere else. Besides, you belong to me, and only me.”

  Samantha heaved out a long sigh. She knew that losing her temper wouldn’t accomplish her anything, but she just had to express her fury at him in some way. If she didn’t, she’d explode. She was fully capable of taking care of herself and him not openly recognizing her as the woman he loved, ticked her off just a little bit and then he called her his possession? He had to be freaking kidding her.

  As a result, she did the only thing that she could think of. She went straight up to him and hauled off and belted him one, right in the kisser. She cradled her throbbing hand to her chest watching with satisfaction, as blood spilled down his face.

  Man, he had a hard face.

  “The next time, you refer to me as someone’s possession even if you are the one I belong to, I will focus on a much more sensitive part of your anatomy!” There that would teach him.

  Without saying anything further, she dove into the hover limo and began simmering. He climbed in after her and sat across from her. He had become silent. As silent as the grave. Unfortunately, the silence didn’t last for long.

  “I may be a great many things, Samantha, but you had better count your lucky stars that I don’t strike women. Don’t touch me in anger ever again…I won’t be so kind hearted the second time around. If you want me to treat you like one of the guys, I will.”

  “Oh, I’m like shaking in my boots! And don’t worry, I won’t be touching you—ever again.” She glared at him. He served her with a look that nearly froze the air between them.

  “You aren’t wearing any boots,” he pointed out, gingerly pressing his handkerchief to his bloody lip. “And if I wanted you to…you’d be begging to touch me. We both know that. You’ve only found a shoddy replacement with Tyler.

  You know you’ll always have a thing for me—and in return—I will always have a thing for you. I would give you Tyler’s life if you promised to come back to me. You could divorce the bastard and do what we should have always done—marry each other.”

  “I will figure out a way to clear his name, Dev. I already told you, we’re not good for each other, and last night doesn’t change anything.”

  “I disagree, Samantha. It changes everything,” he said.

  Sighing, she looked out the window and tried to figure out when she had become so dependent on others. She was an independent, capable woman. She didn’t need anyone to help her. Yet, here she was with Devlin saving her ass. If she didn’t stink so much, she’d probably be on his lap right now. Whenever he was close to her, the only thing she ever thought about was taking advantage of him, and since he didn’t mind…

  Every which way she turned the last few days someone did something to effectively put the screws to her and she was fed up.

  “It changes nothing, Dev. I don’t want to be with you. You gave me a nice little bit of pleasure last night, and I thank you for that—but I don’t want to spend the rest of my life with you.” Oh, damn. Who was she bloody well kidding? She couldn’t stop thinking about him, and how he could drive her to the heights of passion, she couldn’t leave him yet, and he knew it, smug little bastard.

  Hurt glimmered in his eyes. “I will make you mine for the rest of time, eventually, Samantha. My persistence knows no bounds.”

  She held her chin up high, and tried to forget what she smelt like. He was staring angrily at her and looked as if he needed a few shots of New Monaco Whisky. She cringed but met hi
s gaze head on.

  “You need a bath. I could assist you with that when we return to my mansion.”

  She chewed her lip and bit back her caustic reply to him. So, she smelt putrid. If she just ignored the smell, maybe he would too. But she wouldn’t hold her breath, even though it would be better than breathing in her rather interesting aroma. She fought the urge to gag.

  She could never figure out what she continued to see in him. She’d never been able to resist his charms. He had those brooding dark good looks and his eyes, oh, his eyes, she could drown in them. She watched him as he dabbed at his puffed up lip again.

  “You should kiss this better,” he said.

  She resisted the temptation to smile. “I doubt you’d want me that close to you. I smell like a dump.”

  He smiled at her. “I wouldn’t care as long as we could do what we did last night again once we reached my residence.”

  She crossed her legs, and instinctively crossed her arms over her chest. She had to fight the urge to throw herself at him. He was right, he could bring her to glorious heights of passion.

  “You don’t need to shield your body from me, Samantha. I know every single inch of you already, it’s all committed to memory,” he said, tapping his temple.

  She had to change the subject and fast before she was jumping him right in the car.

  “Tell me more about Red, Dev.”

  “Danny was nothing when I finally found him. He was a street kid and I rescued him from his living hell. In return, he showed me that you don’t always have to be concerned about yourself.

  I’m appallingly selfish, and yet when I had a ten-year-old boy to look after I had to make some compromises. I taught him everything, and he repays me at every given opportunity. He would do the same thing for me, if the woman I loved were in danger—he did do the same for me.

  After all, he did save you and your sister’s lives, when those pirates were attacking you. I intend to happily attend their executions tomorrow morning. You may think I’m not worthy of being your husband but I assure you I would never let anyone hurt you--ever. Whether you choose to believe it or not, I would have treated the woman I truly loved as if she were a queen—I would be your everything.”

  Something in his tone made her think he wasn’t exactly telling her the truth about Jordan, but she shook it off.

  “Yes, but you wouldn’t have given her what she really needs,” Samantha countered matter-of-factly.

  “Tell me, what exactly that would have been?” he asked, leaning forward. His eyes glittered.

  “Freedom. You would have put me in a crystal palace and your dangerous life would’ve ultimately been the undoing of me. And, if you’d married me, I would be in Lady Devlin’s unfortunate place right now. Because if you didn’t have her murdered, then it was most undoubtedly your life that killed her.”

  Her words cut him deeply. She didn’t believe anything of what she’d said. She was the dangerous one in the relationship, not him.

  “I would not have allowed that to happen. I didn’t give a toss about her…she was nothing to me. She didn’t have the protection detail you would have had, Samantha.”

  Chapter Thirty

  “I seriously doubt Tyler would’ve killed you. I married that bitch in the hope that you would be jealous. We both know that I’ve always loved you—and you have always loved me.

  We have loved each other since we first met. You know it. I know it. Only when you’re back with me, will you ever have any semblance of peace. I am not a man accustomed to losing the thing he cherishes most in all of the known worlds.”

  “Guess we’re going to play that game again, huh,” she grumbled, suddenly remembering she hadn’t brought the dog with her. She should’ve run after him.

  The mangy mutt had saved her life, and she had repaid him by leaving him behind. Suddenly, she felt quite nauseous.

  The dog had just disappeared. She’d seen him leave…but then he’d just vanished in the crowd.

  Damn, she needed some coffee. That just might jumpstart her brain.

  “We have to go back…” she began, nearly pressing her nose to the window.

  She could see by the skyline that they hadn’t gone very far. It wouldn’t take them long to return.

  Devlin threw his bloody handkerchief away.

  “Why, so that you can make even more of a spectacle of yourself? Or were you going to add some special effects to your performance? I heard that your abilities haven’t been the same since we broke up. It’s fitting you know, as I am your one true love and you are my world. So were you going to pull out your bag of tricks?”

  “No, you certified jackass. I wanted to save the dog that helped me,” she blurted out, wondering why she was trying to explain herself to him. She didn’t owe him an explanation about that.

  “I didn’t see any dog. I believe Samantha that you have gone quite loopy. I would suggest that you allow me to take care of you, and nurse you back to health. Dog,” he muttered. “Now I have heard it all.”

  “Oh, shove it,” she whispered, falling silent. “Wait, you actually didn’t see the dog? For real?” she asked.

  He solemnly nodded his head.

  Well, if Devlin hadn’t seen the dog, then where had it come from? She hadn’t been imagining or seeing things. She was tired, but not crazy.

  Why did unexplainable not to mention ultra-weird shit always seem to happen to her?

  For once, just once, she’d like to have a logical explanation for the different things she saw.

  Her sister Charlotte would tell her that it was her ‘gift’ resurrecting itself. But there was only one kind of sight that she wanted. She would continue to smother the other sight as long as she could.

  “I’ve forgotten how charming you are,” Devlin said, settling himself back against the black leather seat.

  “I was born with my charm,” she smirked.

  He shrugged his shoulders and let out a throaty chuckle.

  “Your poor mother.”

  The hover limo shuddered and began descending toward his opulent mansion. It was constructed like a fortress, and she shivered keenly wondering how Tyler had managed to break into it. This was a new mansion, totally different from the one he’d lived in five years ago.

  Tyler was talented all right. She wouldn’t know where to begin in infiltrating Devlin’s home. It looked as if it could fight off a bloody army.

  The door to the limo opened and Devlin stared back at her in expectation.

  “Well, are you coming?” he asked, tapping his foot restlessly.

  Well, that was a loaded question.

  “You don’t have to seem so eager,” she muttered, sliding across the seat. She wrinkled her nose and noticed for the first time that she had rusty lettuce stuck on her. Her stomach rolled for what seemed to the fifth time that morning. She was a bloody mess!

  “I can hardly wait,” he retorted. He watched with a sour grimace, as she flicked the lettuce off of herself.

  “You smell,” he muttered, “and like, I said I can help you with that bath.”

  She groaned. She couldn’t let him back into her life that much. She’d taken the pleasure he’d offered last night because she’d needed the distraction—she’d needed the comforting.

  “We all know how much help you are in the bath or in the shower,” she muttered, swearing when she hit her head on the roof of the car.

  “Don’t worry, no damage will have been done,” he muttered, as she staggered back. “Your ass is still quite unharmed.”

  “Why don’t you pucker your lips up and bust it a big one?”

  “I will, once it’s clean,” he said, quickly reaching out a steadying hand, she pulled back away from him.

  “Don’t touch me, you know what that will do to me!”

  “Would that be such a bad thing?” he asked.

  She gave him another creative glare.

  “Yes,” she muttered.

  They walked up to the massive front door
.

  “You can use one of my bathrooms to clean yourself up, I’ll join you in a bit. I’ll contact Danny, and your sister. They will, in all likelihood, be quite worried about you. Later, I will take you back up to The Emerald Star. Even though I’d rather keep you with me, as always I will bow to your demands.”

  “Don’t bother. I don’t think that I could stand one more minute of your company. You make my ass ache.” She tried not to let her jaw drop onto the black and white marble floor. Their playful banter made him smile, and she smiled too.

  She’d willingly given this all up. Damn, she was stupid.

  Her heart sank as she realized the kind of lifestyle that a certain someone could be living. She never would’ve had to worry about how they were going to pay for things. She was so bloody stupid.

  Boy oh, boy, maybe she had royally screwed herself. But then all form of guilt left her, when she saw the three painted women sitting in the front parlor on the couch.

  They looked like cheap whores. Maybe he’d gotten a group rate.

  “Really? You needed them after you had me?”

  *****

  Samantha studied the women with interest and nearly stuck her tongue out at them when they suddenly glanced her way. They all frowned at her and then Samantha was reminded that she was still wearing her bright red pajamas.

  Not knowing of anything else to do, she gave them a wacky grin, as they all put constipated expressions on their faces. “Say, aren’t they stuck up pieces of crap,” she murmured, instantly disliking them.

  “No,” he said in a low voice. “I did not require any other woman but you. These are my late wife’s friends,” he muttered.

  Huh. So, that explained why they reminded her of whores. They must have been friends from the good old days.

  Ah, nostalgia.

  “That would explain why they look like brainless wonders.”

  He scowled down at her and she grinned back.

  “Exactly how long have they been Lady Devlin’s friends for?” she asked.

  She returned her attention to the women completely ignoring the perturbed glare that he gave her. She just had to know, if they’d worked with Lady Devlin. She wanted to know everything. Suddenly, Devlin’s life seemed more than mundane.