Trapped: A SciFi Convict Romance (The Condemned Book 1) (5 page)

This stranger—this criminal—could have hurt her. Instead,
he’d demanded her pleasure and given her the tools to find her own. And she’d
risen to the challenge. Taken something that could have been hell and made it
heaven. Maybe it wouldn’t make sense to everyone, but she’d done what she’d had
to do and ended up having the best sex of her life.

“What’s your name?” She needed to know.

He froze. It almost seemed like he flinched.

The silence stretched.

Her high vanished. “Never mind. It’s not important.”

“673.”

“That’s not a name.” She kept her tone light, unchallenging.
She wasn’t a fool. She understood fucking her hadn’t suddenly made her special.
But they’d made some sort of connection, damn it.

His scowl deepened. “It is here on Dragath25.”

“But you had a name back on Earth.”

His hands landed on either side of her head with a thump. His
fingers steady. No tremor, no trace of vulnerability to be seen. “This isn’t
Earth, fighter girl. Trying to pretend otherwise won’t help either of us.”
 

Her gaze searched his for any sign of the softness she was
almost certain had been there before. Nothing.

Had she imagined the connection to begin with? Attributed
more humanity to him than was there to make the whole exchange more palatable?
“This may not be Earth, but we’re still human beings. That doesn’t change.”

“You’re wrong.” His hard body blanketed her as he drove deep,
making her gasp. “On Dragath25, there are no names. No humanity.” He thrust
deeper. “No selflessness.” Another thrust. “And definitely no happy
ever-after.” His fingers tangled in her hair, restraining her so she couldn’t
look away even if she wanted. “If you want to stay alive, you accept that now.”

She nodded slowly, carefully. The small tug at her scalp
combined with the friction of his thick cock made it hard to concentrate on his
words. But the bleakness in his tone came through loud and clear. As did his
message.

Trying to gentle him with reminders of Earth wouldn’t work.
Imagining he’d felt anything like what she had would only bring trouble. And
whatever vulnerability, whatever humanity, she might have awakened with her
touch had been erased as if it never existed.

 
“I—I understand.”

“You want me to keep you and those two safe?” he challenged.
“The woman and that dying Council Officer?”

“He’s not going to die, damn it.” The fiercely spoken words
flew from her before she could think better of it.

673 stilled, his eyes narrowing. “Is he your man?”

The air was suddenly thick with danger.

“Dr. Winthrop? No. He’s my superior. Nothing more.”

The hold on her hair loosened. “Good. Because I don’t share.”
He started moving inside her again, his hand slipping between them to rub her
already sensitive clit. “As long as you understand what you and I have going on
here and what it will take to keep them alive, we’ll be fine.”

“Oh, God.” Pleasure surged through her, her eyelids sinking
shut. Her arms stretching above her head as her back arched to better meet his
thrust. It was so much easier to lose herself in the moment than think about
what he was demanding—and deliberately holding back. Until a hard tug on her
hair had her eyelids springing open, denying her oblivion.

“Not yet, female.” His dark gaze bore into her, his fingers
stilling against her clit in a deliberate bid for control. “I want this clear.
You use me for protection. I use you for pleasure. That’s the deal you offered.
That’s the deal I’m accepting. Simple as that.”

She forced herself to concentrate. “Agreed.” There was no
choice. No point either in acknowledging that small stab of disappointment. She
didn’t need to feel special. Or exchange names. Or see wonder in his gaze. All
she needed was for him to keep to their agreement.

It wasn’t as if this deal was indefinite anyway. Rescuers
would be coming. She needed only to appease him for the short-term.

As if he sensed her underlying rebellion, he pushed further.
“You do what I say, when I say it. Dragath25 is not an easy place to survive.”

She swallowed hard. “And Cadet Davies? Will you leave her
alone?”

“The injured female?” He frowned. “I’ve no interest in her as
long as you’re around.”

Not exactly sweet nothings, but it would have to do.

“
Th
–then, yes, I understand. I
agree. Anything. When you say it. As long as you keep us safe.”

“Good girl.” His fingers worked her faster now, his thrusts
harder. Tremors radiated from her pussy to her toes and up her spine. His hold
on her hair tightening once again as he exposed her throat, his teeth grazing
the line of her neck until his lips closed over her ear.

The vulnerability of her position sent a different kind of
tremor rushing through her.

“And fighter girl? You want to call me something other than
673? Call me Convict. Because from here on out,” he whispered, his breath a
warm rasp against her ear, “that’s who owns your ass.”

Chapter Five

Bella came awake a few deep breaths at a time. Had something
made a sound? She stifled a moan, her body protesting even that subtle
movement. Convict had taken her more times than she could count and made her
come even more than that.

She’d never seen that look of wonder again, but there’d been
a desperate quality to his touch, as if he thought she might disappear any
second. He’d been relentless, fierce, his hands and mouth on every part of
her—except her mouth. He’d never once kissed her.

Rolling onto her side, she scanned the room. She was alone.
Not that she hadn’t already known it. After hours of having him above her,
inside her, behind her—his scent and power seeping into her very pores, his
hands and mouth marking every part of her—she was acutely attuned to the man.

A tremor of panic settled in her gut. Had he deserted them
already? Gotten what he wanted and taken off?

She was scrambling to her knees when she saw a pile of neatly
folded clothes near where her head had been. Her dirty uniform was nowhere in
sight.

Her heart slowed. He wouldn’t leave clothes if he wasn’t
keeping his word, right?

Moving toward the pile, she cocked her head, listening,
unsure if the rocky cavern was playing tricks on her. Had she just heard
another odd noise? The same kind that had woken her from sleep?

Only the slow drip of water echoed back at her. She dismissed
it as nerves and kept moving. Convict hadn’t given her any instructions so she
could only hope doing what she liked wouldn’t anger him. She had so many
questions. About the cave. How he’d found it. If he lived here. About the
clothes. Who’d made those terrifying shrieks? But he clearly hadn’t been in the
mood for conversation the last couple of hours. She got the unfortunate sense
he might never be.

The clothes were surprisingly soft, and though way too big,
she was able to roll the pants up underneath the large long sleeve shirt. It
took her a while of fumbling to figure out the closure mechanism. The latest
Command Council Earth suits were made of rough synthetic material and affixed
with magnetic bonds that required only a finger pad along the seam to close.
Like the soap, the clothes Convict had left were likely old toss offs from
Earth. But they were warm and clean and a lot better than her bloody uniform. It
didn’t escape her notice he hadn’t left her bra or underwear. Thankfully, her
boots were still there.

Once dressed, the vibrant plants drew her eye, but she forced
herself past. Of primary importance was checking on Davies and Winthrop. She
needed to make sure they were okay. Plus, after a lifetime spent under Command
Council protocol accounting for her movements with hourly productivity reports,
it was disorienting to be suddenly so unregulated. Though meeting Davies’
knowing gaze wouldn’t be easy, she’d just have to brave it out. Like Convict
had said, different rules for Dragath25. Cadet Davies would have to understand
and—

A low hiss reverberated through the passageway. Eerie.
Inhuman.

Bella was running before the noise came to a silent, abrupt
end.

*****

“Stay back!” Convict’s furious command had Bella skidding to
a halt.

Her breath strangled in her throat.

Davies cowered against the far cave wall, an unconscious
Winthrop and a spilled bucket of water at her feet. Convict, dressed only in
his loincloth and boots, a bleeding claw mark on his bare chest, stood in front
of them. His legs braced wide apart, a large spear in one hand.

Only three arms lengths away stood an eight-foot tall,
hissing, four-legged beast with huge claws. Even bigger fangs. And a striped
muscular hide that looked like it would easily break the spindly piece of wood
in Convict’s hand.

A musky, rank odor permeated the cave. Bella’s primitive
intuition recognized it as the scent of an animal, but she had no way to
confirm. Earth animals had died out long ago.

Determined not to panic, she scanned the space for some kind
of weapon. A sharp rock? An even sharper stick?
Damn Pogue and those other soldiers
. If they’d left her a gun, she
could at least have given them a chance against this creature.

Swooping down to grab a few loose nearby rocks, she took a
cautious step toward the beast’s other side.

“I told you to stay back.” Convict’s low hiss made the
animal’s ears flatten farther. “Get to the water. They won’t go near it.”

Ignoring him, she took another careful step. “I’m not leaving
my colleagues here. If I can get around it, I’ll distract it while you take
them to safety.”

“No.” Convict’s refusal was absolute.

She took another step anyway, dirt from the rocks sticking
uncomfortably to her sweaty palm “How fast can this thing run?”

“
Tigos
are too fast. You’ll never
outrun one. Get. Back. Now.”

The tone of his voice had her wondering if she should be more
afraid of him or the beast. “I can help.”

“I don’t need it.”

Then before she could disagree, Convict leapt forward, he and
his spear soaring straight for the
tigos
’ vicious
fangs.

The creature’s paws swiped forward, its mouth opening wide.

She was already running forward, a scream on her lips, when
Convict flipped, dodging the
tigos
’ claw. He slid to
a halt beneath the beast. In the next heartbeat, his spear shot upward,
piercing the creature’s vulnerable belly.

Hit, the creature reared back, letting loose a terrible,
piercing scream. On an answering roar, Convict seized the end of the spear,
jerking it out of the creature’s belly. Blood splattered onto the cave floor.
It’s sickly sweet smell made Bella’s stomach jolt.

Convict raised his arm to pierce again.

But the animal was already backpedaling, slamming against the
cave wall—barely missing her—before it turned and raced outside.

 
Resounding silence
filled the cavern.

Bella leaned an arm against the cave wall, her knees weak.
Thank God for Convict. That had been too
damn close
.

Then something clattered to the ground, and before Bella
could turn, rough hands seized her shoulders and whisked her around. Convict
stared down at her with dangerous, dark eyes. “I told you to get back.”

She ignored the tendril of fear winding up her spine. “I
wanted to help.”

His hold tightened. “You said you would listen. Don’t you
know how easy it is to die out here?”

“I’m beginning to understand all too well, but—”

“You broke our deal.” He dropped his arms as if he couldn’t
stand to touch her.

Relief whispered through her. He’d looked so fierce. She
half-expected to share the fate of the
tigos
.

Instead, he seized his spear and stalked to his dirt-colored
pack.

Her gaze shifted to Davies, huddled against the wall,
guarding Winthrop. Davies was pale, her expression worried, but her face was no
longer streaked with soot and a new bandage surrounded her leg. All in all, she
looked better than when Bella had seen her last.

Winthrop, too, looked better, though he was clearly still
unconscious. His face had been cleaned and there was a wrap around his chest
that hadn’t been there before.

Convict had been busy while she’d slept.

“You’ve got about a half an hour.”

Bella’s gaze flew to the entrance of the cave.

Convict stood in the opening, his back to them. Not even
turning around, he slung the backpack over his shoulder. “I left another shirt
you can use for bandages and a few bars, but I’d eat them on the run.
Tigos
can scent another’s blood. There’ll be more coming.
That was a
tigos
male. The females are five times
that size and a hundred times more fierce. Not to mention that 225’s pack will
have heard the fighting. You don’t want to be here when they come to
investigate.”

“Wait.” She rushed forward. “Where are you going?”

“Wherever I want.” Jaw clenched tight, he stepped through the
cave entrance.

“No, please.” She hurried after him. “I’m sorry. I didn’t
mean to make you mad.” She raced to keep up, but he bounded over the rocks on
his long legs, easily lengthening the distance between them. “Don’t go. We’ll
die here without your help. Please.” The last of her plea clogged in her throat
as he rounded a bend and disappeared from sight.

He’d left. Fucked her and flat out left without even a hint
of hesitation.

“Fine! Go!” She screamed at the spot where he’d been. “I
should have known you wouldn’t keep to the deal. You’re nothing but a lowlife
Dragath25 criminal. Who needs you?”

She was turning back toward the cave when the ground shook.
Reeling around, her eyes went wide. Convict was steamrolling toward her, a
murderous look on his face.

She’d only just begun to run when powerful arms jerked her
back against hard, warm steel. Clawing, kicking, she tried to break free, but
it was no use. Caged by one thick arm around her stomach and one tangled in her
hair, she was trapped.

“That’s right, fighter girl. I am nothing but a lowlife
Dragath25 criminal.”

He carried her easily over to a large rock, absorbing her
blows like she was nothing more than a pesky insect. Her hands were stinging,
her hair stuck to her cheek, her breath coming in gasps by the time he shifted
her around, sandwiching her between him and a large boulder.

“Stop.” She shoved against his chest. It was as unmovable as
the rock at her back.

“Criminals don’t stop.” He fisted her shirt, drawing her onto
her tiptoes, bringing her face in line with his. His knee slid between her
thighs, forcing them wide. “We take.” The hand fisted in her hair jerked her
head back while his other hand skimmed down her body. “We violate.”

He ran the pad of his finger along the waistband of her
rolled up pants. Back and forth. Like the
tigos
’
twitching tail. Danger evident in every deliberate pass of his hand. “We
kill.”
 

Heartbeat slamming against her ribs, she tried to fix this.
“I—I shouldn’t have said what I did. I’m sorry.”

“That’s right. You shouldn’t have said it.” He wrapped his
wrist tighter in her hair. “Just like you shouldn’t have ignored my direct
order.”

“I understand that now.”

It was as if he didn’t hear her. “You think it’s easy to
survive out here. You think this is a joke. You think I made it on this fucking
hellhole this long out of sheer luck.”

“No.”

“I’ve seen things you wouldn’t believe. Done things I can
barely stand to think of.” Echoes of those horrors stretched tight across his
face. “But I’ve made it here eight years and I don’t intend to die now.”

Her chest grew tight. She didn’t think she could bear even
another few days on this place. She couldn’t imagine surviving eight years.

“I’m sorry. You’re right.” She spoke fast, the words spilling
from her, more genuine this time. “I wasn’t trying to get you killed. I was
trying to help. I–I should have listened. And–and I shouldn’t have called you
a…a lowlife. I was scared and angry. I appreciate all you’ve done. Hiding us in
the cave. Saving us from the
tigos
. Even the water
and bandages you gave my colleagues.” She cleared her throat. “You were keeping
to the deal. I was the one who screwed up.”

He didn’t acknowledge her words, but his grip loosened, the
tension in his body lessening. “It’s easy to die out here.”

“But people make it.” Her voice shook. “You’ve made it. I
will, too.”

He shook his head, something that looked a lot like regret in
his gaze. “You’re soft. Delicate.” The finger that had been so predatory
against her skin now felt like a caress. “Keeping you alive will be next to
impossible. Even without the added stubbornness.”

A new and astonishing idea flooded through her, a live wire
of awareness to her brain. Could it be that it wasn’t cold-heartedness that had
promoted his departure, but the exact opposite? He didn’t want to watch her
die.

“I’m stronger than you think. I know you don’t know me, but I
am.”

His fingers stilled against her, proof he was listening.

“When the last wave of famine hit Earth, I was fourteen,” she
continued. “My parents died from the blight within months. Orphaned, alone,
everyone said my younger sister and brother and I wouldn’t make it another
month. But I kept them alive. Stole when I had to. Worked whatever job I could
get. Studied every spare moment. All so I could earn the scores that would get
me a Council Academy scholarship and my baby sister and brother the right to
live off my pension. And that’s what I did. And all three of us were doing just
fine until I crashed on this planet.” She sucked in a deep breath. “I am going
to survive this as well. Trust me.”

“I don’t trust anyone.” His hand fanned possessively across
her belly while his nose skimmed along her throat. “But you smell good, female.
Unlike anything on Dragath25. Taste even better.”

After so many hours in his arms, she knew that rasp.
Recognized the hunger. Understood too that he was offering her a second chance.
Something she suspected he rarely did.

Her body responded, her skin flushing hot while her nipples
tightened and her pussy throbbed. “I won’t give you any more trouble. Touch me,
Con—” she didn’t want to call him that. Not anymore. Not after he’d come back
despite what she’d hurled at him. He might be a Dragath25 prisoner, but he was
also a man. One whom she was coming to believe had retained more of his
humanity than he realized. “If you won’t tell me your name, I’m going to call
you Hero. It fits better.”

He froze. “It doesn’t fit at all.”

“You’ve saved me and my friends twice already. That makes you
a hero.”

She thought he’d be pleased.