Liberating Lacey

by N. J. Walters

  “Marks. Garth Marks.”

  His name was blunt and strong, much like the man himself. “Pleased to meet you, Garth Marks.”

  He tilted his head to one side and studied her intently. She feared he could see inside her to her very soul, to all the hope and despair that resided there.

  “What do you want, Lacey Freshlan? Because you want something.”

  The man may look like nothing more than a muscled bodyguard, but he was proving to be both intelligent and astute. “I do want something.”

  “Credits?” He seemed disappointed. He set her down quickly, as though he couldn’t get away from her fast enough. Well, he was in no position to judge her, not while skulking around with ulterior motives. He didn’t know her story.

  She buried her hurt, not knowing why she cared what he thought of her. He was no one. A possible conduit to freedom and nothing more.

  “I want off of this godforsaken planet.” She couldn’t help but glance around, terrified to have finally admitted her biggest dream out loud. She expected Ian or a member of the community’s security force to come charging out of the surrounding forest and snatch her away for daring to say such a thing. It would be considered blasphemy of the highest order. The sentence for such a thing would be harsh. Most likely a forced marriage since they couldn’t kill her. Her skills were too valuable to lose.

  “And what will you do to get what you want?” Sheer menace coated every word.

  Lacey swallowed hard, her mouth and throat dry. Then she looked him straight in the eye. “Anything.”

  Chapter Two

  Garth had known someone was following him almost from the start. They were good at stealth tracking, but he was better. He’d assumed one of Reader’s men had been covertly watching him. They might act like they were above such things, but the defense protocols on this planet were no joke. They were there, just well hidden.

  The last thing he’d expected to find when he doubled back around to confront his stalker was a woman. He’d had his doubts at first because of her size. She was a tiny thing. He’d assumed some kid had been curious. He was a stranger, after all. Garth doubted they saw too many outsiders here.

  But Lacey was all woman. She acted younger at times, but it was just that, an act. He’d glimpsed calculation and intelligence in her gaze. There was no doubting she was fully grown. She might be small, but it was impossible to disguise her feminine attributes. Plus, her stare was much too bold, too knowing for a younger person.

  Her green eyes seemed to dominate her face. Her skin was pale, in spite of the relentless sun beating down on them. She either spent much of her days inside, which didn’t seem likely given her ease in her surroundings, or she coated herself in some sort of sun block. Her hair was cropped short. It was brown, but not like any brown he’d ever seen. It was a mixture of colors from caramel to honey to mahogany streaked across a bed of rich, dark oak.

  It was suddenly important to know. “How old are you?”

  She tilted her head to one side. He could tell she thought about lying, maybe for a split second. Then she straightened her shoulders and met his gaze. “Twenty-two.”

  She looked younger, but seemed older. He figured she was telling him the truth, at least about her age.

  He heard someone coming down the path. If she yelled out for help, his cover was blown, the mission compromised.

  Moving quickly, Garth slapped his hand over her mouth, wrapped his free arm around her waist, and lifted her right off of her feet. He slipped behind a large tree trunk and listened.

  “Who are the outsiders?” a man asked.

  “I don’t know. We’ll have to keep an eye on them. That bodyguard has disappeared. We need to find him.”

  As the voices began to fade, he realized the woman was still in his arms, listening intently. She wasn’t trying to fight or get anyone’s attention. In fact, she was almost preternaturally still, like an animal sensing danger.

  When it was quiet once again, and he sensed they were alone, he lowered her back to her feet and slowly removed his hand, keeping it close enough to silence her again if it became necessary.

  She wiggled her jaw, and he was hit with a momentary pang of regret. He hadn’t hurt her, but he hadn’t exactly been gentle either. It wasn’t in his nature. Still, his intention had never been to do her harm.

  “Security detail,” she whispered.

  Now that was a surprise. He hadn’t expected her to admit such a thing existed on this supposed paradise. “Thought this was Eden and you didn’t need one,” he quietly mocked. “Get much crime?”

  Lacey snorted, and her nose scrunched up in the most adorable fashion. Why the hell was he noticing such a thing?

  “They’re more snitches than anything. Making sure all the faithful are just that. Wouldn’t do for anyone to have an original thought. Or heaven forbid, want to leave.”

  His battlesuit seemed unusually warm, and tight. His cock was suddenly at attention. Frustrated with himself, he snapped at her. “So why do you want to leave?”

  She frowned but didn’t seem overly disturbed by his anger. That in itself was unusual. He was accustomed to keeping his emotions in check, having been told since he was a young man that he was scary when he was upset.

  Lacey sighed and sat down on a fallen log. She looked tiny, like some woodland sprite from a children’s book of fairy tales. That would make him the ogre—big and violent and, while not ugly, he was scarred.

  His arousal grew, and with it his fury with himself for wanting her. And with her for tempting him, for making him forget his mission for even one second.

  “Well?” he demanded.

  “Why do I want to leave? Because I can’t. Jasper Freeman is a dangerous man. You need to warn your employer. He isn’t what he seems.”

  Now this was an interesting development. She was either telling the truth or the canniest spy he’d ever encountered, and he’d run across more than his share over the past decade of traveling in space and dealing with everyone from royalty to space scum who would sell their own mothers for profit.

  “Where do you plan to go if you leave?” The thought of someone as young and seemingly innocent as Lacey running around the universe without protection was enough to make him break out in a sweat. She obviously needed a keeper. His cock flexed in agreement, more than ready to take on the job.

  She shrugged. “Anywhere but here. With my skills I should be able to get a job easily enough.”

  “And what are your skills?” He ran his gaze over her slender shoulders and small breasts down to her gently curved hips.

  She met his gaze unflinchingly. “I’m a master gardener.”

  He almost called her a liar. That was a title that took years, if not decades to attain. But something told him she was telling him the truth.

  He whistled under his breath. To steal her would cripple Eden. It would also make a powerful enemy out of Jasper Freeman. As much as he wanted to help her, he wouldn’t put his family in jeopardy.

  And speaking of which, “What about family?” If she was born here, she had parents.

  She shook her head. “Dead of a fever.” Her lips thinned, and for a brief second, she appeared older and harder. “One that could have been cured.”

  Garth felt bad for her, truly he did. He couldn’t imagine having to watch any of his brothers die, knowing he could save them, but being unable to do anything. He understood what it was like to be helpless. The years he’d spent searching for his sister, having to wonder and worry about what was happening to her, if she was even still alive, had been a master class in helplessness.

  But it was for that very reason he knew he would lie to Lacey. There was no way he would allow his brothers to be hurt further. And aiding her in getting off of Eden would do that. While he understood her better than she probably thought, he’d use her and then leave her to her fate.

  That made him the lowliest of bastards, but that didn’t mean he wouldn’t do it. Protecting his family was hi
s life’s work, his mission. It was what he’d lived and breathed since he’d woken in the medical building back on Quaros after the mine blast.

  And no one, not even a beauty like Lacey, was going to stop him.

  Shoving down the fury and self-hatred filling him, the sense that he was making a huge mistake, he nodded. “I’ll help you if you help me.”

  Those amazing eyes of hers went luminous. He feared she was about to cry, but not a single tear fell. Somehow that made him feel even worse. Sorrow bled from her pores.

  She slowly pushed to her feet and straightened her shoulders. “No, you won’t. But I’ll still do my best to help you find whoever you’re searching for.”

  ****

  Lacey knew the second her fate was sealed. She watched myriad emotions flit across Garth’s face. Oh, he was good at controlling them. Most people would have seen nothing, but she wasn’t most people. She’d been reading the subtle signs of plants and animals her entire life.

  He believed her, but he wasn’t going to get her off this planet. So be it. She’d help him do whatever it was he was doing and find some other way off Eden. Or die trying.

  A sense of inevitability settled over her. And with it, a freedom she’d never experienced before. From here on, she was going to live however she wanted, no matter the cost.

  “Lacey,” he began, but she held up a hand to silence him. She didn’t want him to lie to her again. That hurt her on a visceral level in a way she couldn’t fully explain. She’d just met him. It shouldn’t matter to her what he thought or said. Yet it did.

  “No. Just don’t.” He looked like he wanted to say more but gave a hard nod and kept silent. “You’re looking for someone?”

  He nodded again. She thought he’d been intense before, but it ratcheted up to a whole other level. Whoever this person was, they were extremely important to Garth.

  What was it like to be that vital to someone?

  She’d never know. And that was the tragedy of her life. Her parents hadn’t cared about her well-being, only what value she’d brought to the community. Jasper prized her for her skills in making him money. And Ian and some others simply lusted after her, not so much for her body but for the prestige that came from her job, not caring about her as a person.

  But this unknown woman was valued by someone, by Garth. For that reason alone, she’d help him. “Who?” she asked.

  He took a deep breath, but didn’t relax, alert to any possible danger. She could have told him that the animals and trees would warn her of anyone’s approach but figured he wouldn’t believe her, would probably laugh. And on top of everything else, she couldn’t take that. Best to get down to business.

  “I’m not sure she’s here.”

  Now that was a shock. Considering the risks he was taking and his intensity, she assumed he’d known for certain she was on Eden.

  Lacey kept silent while he gathered his thoughts, deciding how much to tell her and how much to keep to himself. She wasn’t hurt by that. It was instinct to protect oneself. And humans were really only animals when you got down to the core of it.

  “It could have been any time in the past decade.” He swiped the back of his arm over his forehead. Even in the shade of the thick foliage the relentless heat of the sun was apparent. But he kept his hand on the large blaster he carried. He’d released it only to subdue her. And even then, she’d known he could grab it given a second’s notice and destroy whoever threatened him.

  This man was a predator, but an intelligent one, not a mindless beast out for destruction.

  “I need more than that. A lot of women and girls have come and gone.” Some had disappeared, vanished like a breath of wind. Lacey didn’t know if they’d been killed or had managed to find some way to escape. She hoped for the latter, but expected the worst. The ones who remained eventually lost their spark of defiance and became as downtrodden and accepting as the rest.

  But she was no domesticated goat to be led docile to her own slaughter. She would fight back.

  “She was twelve when she went missing.” Garth took a step toward her, towering over her like one of the mighty Janta trees that filled the land around the settlement.

  Lacey could well imagine the shock of the poor girl at being taken from her family. “Where are her parents?” Because no way was Garth old enough to be her father.

  “Dead.”

  She figured Garth was in his late twenties or early thirties. It was difficult to tell, even though she was usually good at estimating such things. There was a sense of timelessness about him, along with a hardness that came from years of suffering. If the woman had been missing for a decade it meant he’d been in his late teens or early twenties when she’d been taken. Who was this woman, and why was he here, fighting to find her? Friend? Sister?

  She was already attracted to him, but this just made it worse. She admired him. Any man who would spend a decade searching for someone they cared about, someone who was probably dead, understood loyalty and commitment. He obviously loved this person in a way Lacey had never experienced. Her parents had been indifferent, at best.

  He slowly raised his hand. She kept watching his eyes. There was no threat of violence there, only a bone deep yearning. Curiosity got the better of her, so she simply stood there in the middle of the forest and waited to see what he’d do next.

  He gently pressed his palm against the side of her face, cupping her cheek. She sighed and closed her eyes, savoring the sensual contact. She’d been so alone for so long.

  ****

  What the hell was he doing? He needed to interrogate Lacey, find out what she knew, and, he hoped, rescue his sister.

  So why the fuck was he allowing himself to be sidetracked?

  She looked so forlorn, so resigned to her fate. She hadn’t begged him to change his mind, had seemed to accept his decision not to help her. His jaw flexed as he ground his back teeth together, and a muscle pulsed under his eye. What had she been through in her life that she expected to be denied, to have to figure things out on her own?

  Garth was being torn apart by the conflicting emotions battling inside of him. Finding his sister was the goal. That, and the protection of his brothers, was what drove him. He didn’t have a place in his life for a woman, especially not one as soft and small as Lacey.

  But he couldn’t help being drawn to her. She was the beauty to his beast. It was an old Earth tale his mother had read them as children, the pages of the book worn and the ink faded from years of use. He’d always sympathized with the beast. Even as a kid, he’d been broader and stronger than those of his age. They didn’t dare bully him because of his size. Not only that, but his older brothers would have kicked their asses. But he’d sensed their eyes on him, heard the names they’d call him. He’d ignored them and concentrated on getting even stronger, determined to use it to protect himself and his family.

  Lacey was as delicate as a flower, her body supple and lovely. But there was an underlying strength there as well that drew him. Like a flower, she’d sway with the breeze, surviving a hurricane where a mighty oak, refusing to bend, would crack and fall. It didn’t escape him that he was the unbending oak.

  Her skin was softer than the finest Darkatan silk. And Darkata was lauded throughout the Alliance galaxies for their superior fabrics. He rubbed his thumb over her cheekbone, savoring it. He was a rough space trader, a mercenary with little conscience. Before that, he’d been a miner on a dusty, hard-rock planet. He’d had little softness in his life. It was something to be treasured and protected.

  And he was going to leave her here.

  As if sensing the slight change in his emotions, she opened her eyes. They were pale green gems, exquisite and rare. And he should know, having been both a miner and a trader. He’d seen his fair share of precious stones over the years. Not one of them matched the beauty of her eyes.

  This was probably the stupidest thing he’d ever done. His older brother Flynn would likely kick his ass when he got back to the
ship, but Garth knew if he didn’t kiss Lacey he’d regret it for the rest of his godforsaken life.

  He leaned down, giving her plenty of time to object. Lacey rested her hands against his chest. For the first time since he’d gotten his battlesuit, he cursed it as it kept him from fully experiencing her touch. Then she slid her hands upward. He bent down until she was able to wrap her hands around his neck.

  He groaned, banded his arms around her, and lifted her right off the ground. She weighed no more than a child, but she was all woman. And in this brief second in time, she was his.

  He wanted to eat her alive, to strip her naked, and plunge his aching cock into her welcoming warmth. The urge to tear her clothes from her body had him panting like he’d run a race in the midday sun. He forced himself to lightly skim her lips when he yearned to devour her whole. The last thing he wanted was scare her or, worse, do her harm.

  Her breath was soft against his mouth. A light puff of air. Then they were kissing.

  It had been a long time since he’d gotten laid. He’d paid some of the finest independent professionals for sex over the past decade, but nothing compared to this innocent, almost chaste kiss with Lacey.

  She tasted sweet, like a treat long denied that when finally granted needed to be savored. The scent of sunshine and earth permeated her entire being. She made a small sound in the back of her throat and surged closer.

  Garth was dimly aware of her strong legs wrapping around his waist, her small hands clutching at his hair.

  He moved until he was leaning against the trunk of one of the largest trees and simply gave himself over the embrace. He canted his head to one side to get closer. Lacey was enthusiastic, but she also hadn’t been kissed much. Her movements were awkward, and she kept her lips closed.

  How had she lived to twenty-two without being kissed? Or maybe it was him she didn’t want to kiss.

  That made his cock deflate slightly. He pulled back and studied her. Her skin was flushed a bright pink, her slips were moist, and she appeared dazed.