Garnets or Bust (5 page)

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?”

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Garnets or Bust

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.”

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Joanna Wylde

“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

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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?

Together they fell back on the bed, hands restlessly exploring beneath each other’s

clothing. Daaron pulled his mouth away from hers, running kisses down along her chin

and nuzzling at her ears. She lay passive beneath him at first, but after a while she

didn’t want him in charge. She could acknowledge that she wanted to have sex with

him. Now she needed to take back what mastery she could. Tessa jumped up,

straddling him and leaning down low. This time she took control of the kiss.

Daaron didn’t mind at all. He let himself relax, savoring every moment as she

kissed him for the first time. He enjoyed the smooth, steady rocking of her hips across

his even more. Tessa might have been a virgin until recently, but her instincts were

good. Very good. He felt her heat through his pants, could imagine the sucking warmth

of her warm slit pulling him deep inside. Just the thought of that crevice, so tight and

slick, made his head want to explode. He reached down and cupped her ass, pulling her

close.

He couldn’t wait much longer. She seemed to feel the same way, because when he

reached for the clasp of her pants she pulled her mouth from his and helped him with

the clothing. Within seconds they were both naked, and Tessa climbed back atop him.

She caught his gaze with hers, expression inscrutable. Daaron looked deep into her

eyes, fiercely satisfied to have her safely trapped in marriage. Inch by inch, Tessa

lowered herself down over his heated cock, until they were half joined. Then she

paused with a gasp.

“You feel a lot bigger this way.”

“Every man likes to hear how big he is,” Daaron replied. He ringed her waist with

his hands, steadying her and holding her in place. “Take as much time as you need to

feel comfortable. I’m pretty happy right here as we are.”

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Joanna Wylde

She gave a choked giggle. His heart swelled unexpectedly; he’d heard laughter so

few times from her. Her life had been governed by hardship. He’d make her happy, he

vowed. Short of betraying his cause, he’d do whatever it took to make up for her

suffering.

Daaron’s noble thoughts evaporated as she abruptly dropped down over him,

impaling herself on his length. He gasped, awash in sensation. Tessa closed her eyes,

head falling back, apparently lost in sensation.

Long seconds passed.

Then Tessa began to move. Slowly at first, she rocked back and forth on him, riding

him, clutching him with her inner muscles and driving him crazy. He reached down

between them, pressing his thumb against her clit. She shuddered and moved faster.

Despite his own mounting need, Daaron couldn’t take his eyes off her face. Her newly

shorn hair curled around features abandoned to pure desire. Her breath came in short,

hard gasps. A drop of sweat rolled down her temple and across her cheek before falling

against him with a splat.

He pushed down hard with his thumb and she came with a loud cry as every

muscle in her body clenched and froze, including those cradling his cock. He thrust up

at her once more, just enough to push through the vise of her pussy and knock him over

the edge. Then Daaron’s own orgasm hit and he shouted his release. Tessa collapsed

across him, panting, and he wrapped his arms tightly around him.

A knock sounded at the door.

“Everyone all right in there?” a man’s voice asked, tone harsh. “Daaron?”

Daaron grunted, trying to catch his breath.

“Yes,” he managed to gasp out. “We’re both doing fine.”

“I guess we got their attention,” Tessa whispered. “Nice to know someone was able

to take a break from counting my garnets long enough check up on random screaming

in the compound. This
is
some sort of compound, right?”

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Garnets or Bust

Daaron heaved a sigh as he sat up to look at the incredible, sexy, belligerent woman

who was now his wife.

“I wondered how long it would take us to get back to that,” he said, running the

situation through his head, trying to figure how to explain things. “Sex is only going to

distract you for so long, I take it?”

“I’ll admit it, you were right,” she answered. “Sex between us was good, just like

you always told me it would be. And I really enjoyed it, so you can just stop gloating

over that right now. But I want to know how you found out about my garnets. And

why the hell you married me. You say you can’t tell me, but I’m not some puppet wifey.

Either prepare yourself to watch me every moment for the rest of your life or tell me

what’s going on.”

“I suppose you won’t believe this, but I really didn’t want to take them from you,”

he replied, choosing his words with great care. “We simply can’t afford to have

Imperials crawling around this planet.”

“Um, ‘Imperials’?” she asked, giving him a look of disbelief. “Daaron, you
are
the

‘Imperial’, don’t you realize that? What kind of game are you playing here?”

“No game,” he replied. “You may find this hard to believe, but I’m actually a

federalist. I don’t believe in Empire.”

She burst out laughing, falling back on the bed. To his delight, he could actually see

the exact moment she realized she was naked. Her face flushed bright red, and then she

scrambled to dress. He watched in silence as she pulled on her pants, amused when she

couldn’t find her breast band. She pulled on her shirt, clearly annoyed. Finally she faced

him again.

“Stop messing with me. Why are you here? Flattering as it may seem, something

tells me you didn’t just marry me so we could…sleep…together,” she said, blushing

again. “You must be doing something big here, and I want to understand.”

“Sex. We had sex. Fucked. Banged. Boinked. We have not slept together yet,” he

said, drinking in her embarrassment. Then he grew serious. “You may not believe me,

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Joanna Wylde

but I really am federalist. I don’t believe that the Emperor should have absolute

authority, I think each planet should form its own government. I don’t even believe in

the nobility.”

Silence hung between them.

“Daaron, in the entire time I’ve known you, you’ve taken your rank and status for

granted. You never gave any indications at school that you felt this way. Why should I

believe you?”

“I suppose you have no real reason to,” he replied. “And I doubt that just hearing

the truth will make you believe. But these are the facts. The year after we finished

school I attended court with my father, who is one of the Emperor’s advisors. We went

on progress with him to a small planet called Danube. They hadn’t ever had a royal

visit, and their protocol minister wasn’t up to the task. The first night they insulted the

Emperor, my father and several other high-ranking members of the court by providing

a pathetically inadequate banquet that featured an improper seating chart.”

He took a deep breath, willing himself to keep calm as he finished the story.

“The Emperor was so angry that he ordered the noble house that ruled Danube

executed, right down to the last child and elderly servant. He had the planet

interdicted—completely cut off from all civilization—and blockaded. It still is, and will

be for the next fifty years. Danube wasn’t a highly developed place, Tessa. They didn’t

have a medical or scientific infrastructure, let alone the ability to produce enough food

to feed the population. The entire economy was based on arts and crafts exports. People

started dying within weeks. There were ten million living there when it happened.

Imperial observers now estimate that at least half of them have died from disease and

starvation. Slow genocide.”

Tessa’s face grew cold as she listened.

“We got regular reports at court,” he continued. “The Emperor felt Danube

provided a very good example to the rest of his nobles. But it had the opposite effect on

me. I’ve never been so angry. I’m still angry. I decided to do something about it.

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Garnets or Bust

“When I graduated from university, my parents gave me my inheritance. It

included a small fleet and this system, which has four habitable planets. I’m a third son,

so it wasn’t much compared to my brothers. We’re well beyond the normal range of

Imperial travel or protection. Nobody lived here. My family considers it a token, but it’s

been perfect for my needs. None of the Danubians were able to break the blockade, but

thousands of them were off-planet during the disaster. I collected as many of them as I

could and brought them here. They’re the colonists you saw at the spaceport.

“That’s the real reason you can’t have your garnets—if the Imperials discovered