Garnets or Bust

by Joanna Wylde

  allowing only her hips to meet him. She understood why too. There was no way she’d

  be able to resist him in such a ridiculous position, no question of fighting back at all.

  Daaron held her completely at his mercy.

  Slowly, oh so slowly, his wide cock head took her. Tessa felt every inch of him

  pushing against her sensitive membranes, felt the way he widened her and pressed

  inexorably within. Fortunately her opening was well slicked with her own fluids, and

  he continued to work her clit with both fingers. Long moments passed. The tight pull of

  tension centered between her legs rose so high she felt like she might come on the spot.

  Each time his fingers grazed her she wanted to die, desperate to pull away from him

  and end the near-painful stimulation, and terrified that he would stop all at the same

  time.

  It just wasn’t fair.

  Now he spread her farther open, spearing her until she wanted to shout in

  frustration. Why was he moving so slow? Then he hit the barrier of her virginity,

  pushing against it until pain threatened to overwhelm the pleasure.

  “Hold tight,” he said. His hand left her clit, reaching around her waist to brace her

  body, and he thrust into her hard and fast.

  The bed muffled her shriek.

  Daaron stilled as she screamed, primitive satisfaction washing through him. Now

  he understood why men of the Warrens kept their women chaste—to experience this,

  the total ownership of a woman’s body. Tessa belonged to him, and no other. Despite

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  his need to take her and ease his own tension, he waited, allowing her to adjust to the

  sensation of his prick splitting her moist heat. It was strange—she felt spread open,

  impaled, helpless before him. He had all the power, she couldn’t move at all, yet when

  she flexed her interior muscles, unconsciously trying to push him out, he gave an

  agonized groan and jerked. Her slightest squeeze was enough to challenge his defenses.

  Long moments passed, and then his fingers drifted back to her clit. Tessa shivered

  as he grazed her sensitive flesh. She knew his finger had to be slick with her moisture,

  but his cock stretched her in new ways, and everything felt different now. She

  wondered if it was possible for her to feel every ridge of his fingerprint, if each tiny

  bump could really stimulate her like this. She clenched one more time and he moaned,

  leaning down against her back.

  “Tessa, please,” he whispered, and she wondered what he meant. Then he moved

  and she forgot everything else. His cock pulled out of her slow and steady. Just

  moments earlier she’d thought him too big, but as he pulled away she felt an emptiness

  she’d never imagined. She pushed her hips back at him, wanting him inside again. He

  held his hips steady, but his finger spasmed against her and his breath caught. She

  wasn’t the only one overwhelmed by their union.

  “Tess, I never imagined it could be this good,” he said, kissing her neck. She gave a

  mewling cry, needing him to stop talking and start moving. Her body cried out for

  fulfillment and he could give it to her, no question about that. He pushed back into her,

  still going too damn slow. She wiggled her ass a little, encouraging him, and he lost

  control, lunging into her harder than she could have imagined.

  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

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  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.

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  Joanna Wylde

  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

&n
bsp; 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.”

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  Garnets or Bust

  “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

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  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.”

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  Garnets or Bust

  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

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  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 u
ncertain 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

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  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