Desire's Prisoner (Planet Desire Book 1) (17 page)

While Drago digested this bit of information, he kept an eye on the door of the tavern. When Kaspar slipped back inside the doorway, he gave Drago a small nod.

Good.
Everything was in place. Now, all he had to do was convince the woman to leave with him.

“I don’t remember seeing you aboard the ship.”

He detected a note of suspicion and wished he could discern more of her darkly shadowed features. “Finish your ale. Our neighbors are becoming more curious about you by the minute. I don’t want to have to fight my way out of here.”

“A bit on the nervous side, are you?” She straightened and fisted her hands. “I can handle myself in a brawl. Perhaps, I should escort you.”

Drago smiled. The woman had a smart mouth and a bravado way out of proportion for her gender. Her courage was misplaced, but amused him just the same. “I’ll let you lead the way.”

“Fine.” She reached for the glass, drained it, and then slapped it on the counter. “Don’t let me disturb you any further. I don’t need a babysitter. I can make it back on my own.” She turned on her heels and strode out the door.

Nodding to Kaspar to watch their backs, Drago followed her outside.

Drago kept pace with the woman’s long strides, passing warehouses and the ramshackle offices lining the street opposite the docks. The acrid aroma of engine fuel masked the less savory smells emanating from the alleys.

“Are you one of Captain Zingh’s women?” Drago asked, hoping to divert her attention from her surroundings.

“No.” The single word was clipped.

“You sound bitter.”

“I’m a woman. You’d think I’d know better than to believe that just because a man finds his bliss inside me, his heart will follow.”

“Are you in love with him?”

“No. But I had hoped for some small measure of his esteem. Instead, I’m a pariah.”

Drago wondered where the car was. Had Gilbert ducked into an alley to take a piss? “Perhaps you imagine it.”

“No. I see the way the other women look at me. I failed in my primary duty to protect a fellow inmate.”

“You made a mistake.”

“I let Aurelia slip past the security gate. I wasn’t watching the goddamned monitor. If I had…” She drew in a deep breath but didn’t continue.

“Sounds like this woman was someplace she had no business being.”

“I had responsibility for the security of that cell block. I failed.” She dropped her chin. “I just never seem to learn.”

“How was it your fault?”

She glanced toward him for the first time. “Look, drop it. You weren’t there when it happened. You can’t know.”

The cargo ship
Intrepid
loomed in the distance. Its large black hull glistened in the late afternoon sun.

A figure darted out from an alley. Drago recognized Kaspar as he raised a blanket to toss over the woman’s head.

She dropped him like a stone with one well-aimed kick to his groin.

Kaspar rolled on the ground, cursing and clutching his genitals.

Drago winced in empathy and reached down to grab the cover.

“Bloody bastard.” She straddled Kaspar’s body and pounded her fists against his face. “Don’t just stand there,” she threw over her shoulder.

Drago sighed, and then stepped behind her and dropped the blanket over her head.

She reared up, fighting to free her arms from entanglement and butted against his chin.

Drago tasted the copper of blood. “Easy, now.” He tightened his arms around her struggling body. “I won’t harm you.”

“Bastard,” she cried, her words muffled by the fabric. “Let me go. Captain Zingh will kill you for this.”

“I thought you said he didn’t have any interest in you. What makes you think he’ll come to your aid?”

“Because I’m a woman, and he’s a bloody gentleman.”

“Well, sweet girl, you’re mine for now. Best get used to it.”

“When hell freezes over.” She wriggled partway free and drove her elbow into his stomach.

“Damned monkey,” he muttered. “Be still. You’ll only hurt yourself.”

“You think I should make this easy for you?”

Drago wrapped his arms more firmly around her and squeezed tighter. “Kaspar, get up. Gil’s bringing the hovercar around.”

The woman continued to struggle, kicking at his shins.

“Easy, girl. We aren’t going to harm you.”

“Forget Captain Zingh!
I’m
going to kill you.”

Drago grinned. She talked tough, but she’d be purring like a kitten once she understood her good fortune. He pressed his arms around her ribs, constricting her tighter until she stopped struggling.

The hovercar turned a corner and drove toward them. When it came to a halt, Gilbert leapt out. He spared a glance at Kaspar. “What the hell happened to him?”

Kaspar sat up and groaned, one hand still covering his crotch. “Watch out for her feet,” he said, his voice strained.

“Kaspar, just get into the car,” Drago said. “Gilbert, get a rope from the trunk.”

While Gilbert tied her feet, Drago wound a rope around the blanket, binding the woman’s arms to her sides. “That’ll keep her out of trouble until we’re out of the city. Let’s get her stowed.”

After dumping the cursing woman into the trunk, the men climbed in and drove away from the docks, through the city to the outskirts of Aghora.

Under the cover of darkness, they parked the hovercar in an abandoned barn. After instructing Gilbert and Kaspar to saddle several
llamyx
for the trek into the desert, Drago carried the woman into his makeshift office. He sat her down on a chair, and then turned on a light. “When I free you, you’ll have to behave,” he warned her. “You’re in my territory now. There’s nowhere to run.”

He knelt beside her and removed his knife from the scabbard on his thigh. “I won’t harm you. I’m going to cut the rope away.”

Moving slowly, he sliced through the rope binding her torso and unwound it from her body. Then he pulled away the blanket. “Let’s get a look at you.”

He sat back on his heels and stared. Her hood had fallen to her shoulders, and despite her dishevelment or perhaps because of it, Drago admitted she was the most sensual creature he’d ever seen. Her hair was a soft, golden cloud, her lips full and rosy, her nose was slender, and her eyes were large windows into her sultry soul—sharp silvery flecks floating on deep blue pools.

“By the gods, you’re a beauty.”

Chin held high, she glared back, her sky-blue eyes glittering with outrage.

“I’m going to remove the rope around your feet. Then we’re going to talk.” He cut the last rope, and moved back a little, half expecting her to erupt in a blur of swinging fists and deadly-aimed kicks.

She did neither and stared stonily.

He sighed and sat on the edge of the desk behind him. “I wasn’t lying when I told you I mean you no harm. You’re an escaped convict, aren’t you? And I don’t know what Captain Zingh offered you, but I gather you aren’t happy.” When she didn’t respond, he continued, “I don’t know if you’re aware, but women such as you are highly prized by Arturian men.”

Her eyes narrowed. “I don’t give a damn what Arturian men want. I’m leaving this planet.”

He continued as if she hadn’t spoken. “Arturian women vie for places in the
ha’arems
. With your beauty, you’re sure to find a favorable position. Perhaps even in the
Hazar’s ha’arem
.”

Her brows drew together in a frown. “You’re sending me to a
ha’arem
? You’d have me exchange one prison for another?”

“You don’t seem to understand. Life in the
ha’arem
is desirable. You’ll be pampered and petted. You’ll have everything a woman could want.”

“And I’ll just bet you’re doing this out of the goodness of your heart,” she said, sarcasm dripping from her lips.

Heat painted his cheeks. “I’ll earn a commission,” he admitted.

“You’re a slave trader?”

“I trade goods,” he enunciated slowly. “Sometimes, I place people in better circumstances.”

“I’ll lose my freedom. How is that a better circumstance?”

Drago began to take the woman’s measure. She wasn’t just stubborn—she was as obstinate as a mule. He’d have to gentle this one slowly…for her own good. “Think about this, blue-eyes. Do you really believe Zingh will outrun the Dominion fleet? He’ll be captured, and the women returned to the New Attica. But you won’t be among them. Isn’t that a better fate?”

“And if he isn’t caught? How is my situation bettered?”

“You’ll be a concubine, perhaps even a wife, to a powerful man. And if you use your assets wisely, you may wield tremendous influence. Your every want will be granted.”

“And if all I want is freedom to leave?”

“You say that now, but someday you’ll thank me. Don’t fight this. I’d rather our time together be pleasant. If you force me, I’ll tie you to a
llamyx
for the journey.”

For a moment her lips trembled, before she thinned them into a straight line and lifted her chin. “Fuck you.”

Relieved she hadn’t given into tears, which would have annoyed the hell out of him, Drago said, “Before we leave, I’ll need to see what we’ve got to work with here—if I’m to get you into the catalog in time.”

Her eyes narrowed. “You’re going to list me in a catalog?”

“You’ll be sold at auction. The auctioneer will want advance notice of your attributes to stir interest and attract the highest bidders.”

“You’re going to sell me in an auction?” Her voice rose. “I’m not an animal.”

“It’s the custom here.”

Her face as black as an angry storm cloud, she rose from her chair. “No. Forget it. I’m not going anywhere with you. I won’t cooperate.”

“Sweetheart, you’ll cooperate. If you don’t, men will assume you’re playacting and that submission is your game. Do you want some S&M freak to purchase you?”

“I’ll tell them I was abducted and have no wish to be sold.”

He laughed. “They won’t believe you. No woman on Arturia would pass up an opportunity to catch the
Hazar’s
eye.”

She didn’t answer, but her scowl deepened. Reddened cheeks and the stubborn set of her chin said she wasn’t going to make his life easy.

Drago straightened. “Let’s get started. Take off your clothes.”

She folded her arms over her chest.

“You can take them off yourself, or I’ll assume you prefer I do it.”

“Oh yeah? You and what army?”

“Oh, I’ll get them off, but they’ll be in shreds. And tomorrow, you’ll spend the day on the back of a
llamyx
buck naked.”

Drago waited while the woman’s thoughts paraded across her face. Stubborn resistance, followed by a desperate desire for escape. And finally resignation. Her shoulders slumped. She reached for the neck of her cloak, unfastened it, and let it slide down her body to the ground.

His gaze flickered over her lithe form, defined by the sleek, black reclamation suit that conformed to her curves. His attention was arrested by her chest. Her breasts were enormous, and while he stared the tips jutted against the fabric. His mouth grew dry, and his loins stirred and tightened.

Her expression set in stony rebellion, the woman lifted a hand to the fastener at the top of the suit, and opened it, peeling it down her body until she stood nude before him.

Drago couldn’t drag his attention from her breasts, noting the unusual peach color of the areolas that framed rosy-brown tips.

His breath grew ragged, and he realized the woman should fear his intentions. His erection pressed uncomfortably against the placket of his breeches. Although accustomed to the company of nude beauties, this one stirred him more than the others. Not willing to acknowledge his interest might be for more than a quick ride, he reluctantly forced his gaze to descend past her slightly rounded belly to the triangle of blonde hair. This was a woman a man could spend a lifetime exploring. A twinge of regret was all he allowed himself to feel. Ruthlessly pushing away that emotion, he forced himself to remember she was merely a commodity.

Reaching into his pocket, he removed the small transmitter, placed the earpiece in his left ear and pointed the microphone toward his mouth. “What’s your name?”

“Calandra. Calandra Jones,” she spat the words at him.

“Gentlemen,” he said into the microphone, “Calandra is a natural blonde.”

Sm{B}itten

Love Bites!

Emmy Harris knows she’s not perfect. She has a little extra padding and isn’t the brightest bulb, but you’d think she was a sexy rock star the way everyone at a certain night club treats her from the moment she walks through the door. In fact, the two sexiest men there can’t seem to keep their hands off her, until one of them sweeps her away to his private domain. A girl like her isn’t going to waste a chance like that! So he’s a little rough and likes to take a nibble or two while he pleasures her. For a girl who didn’t know she’d never experienced a full-blown orgasm before, Dylan’s eccentricities are delicious!

Dylan O’Hara only wants a night of passion to slake his lusts, but finds Emmy is a full-bodied, red-blooded siren whose innocence and humor draw this Master vampire like a moth to a red-hot flame. When Emmy attracts the attention of a serial-killing vampire, Dylan vows to protect her, but he fears he’ll lose Emmy once she discovers he’s not human.