by Anna Hackett
Dakota’s heart knocked hard against her chest. “You have a document about it?”
“My brother-in-law had the chance to visit Earth not so long ago. He brought back a lot of documents.”
Dakota knew that had to be the infamous Dr. Niklas Phoenix. Tales of his Earth expedition had reached all corners of the galaxy. “You know what was in the Atocha Treasure?”
“Yes. Over forty Terran tons of gold and silver.”
There were swift intakes of breath from the men. Dakota was so excited she could barely breathe.
“Gold and silver coins, ingots, artifacts. Some of Earth’s highest-quality emeralds. They couldn’t have shifted everything off-world,” Eos said. “But a portion of it could have been aboard the Southwind.”
“The crew member said his captain went crazy. That he was obsessed with the treasure and was duty-bound to protect it. From everyone. He deliberately crashed the Southwind on an uninhabited world.”
Suddenly, a quiet alarm sounded. Dakota frowned and saw the men trade glances. Dare glanced out the window and that’s when she saw that the ship was slowing down.
Rynan pushed away from the wall. “I’ll see what’s going on.” With a nod, Justyn followed him.
On the screen, Eos shifted. “Is there anything else I can help you with?”
“You’ve given us a lot,” Dare said. “Thank you.”
“You’ve been a fabulous help. Thanks,” Dakota added.
The archeologist tilted her head. “May I ask what you plan to do with the treasure if you find it?”
Dakota crossed her arms. “Probably not build a museum for it.”
Eos smiled. “I didn’t think so.”
“But Dare and his brothers will have a share. They can build a museum.”
Eos’ face stayed calm and amused. “There are lots of ways to safeguard our history’s treasures, Dakota. Being in a museum isn’t the only answer.”
Suddenly, a man appeared on the screen behind Eos. And it wasn’t Dathan Phoenix. Dakota took in the man’s black uniform and the silver enhancement at his temple. She blinked, her blood running cold. “Why is there a CenSec behind you?”
Eos waved a hand, unconcerned. “Oh, that’s just Xander.”
Dakota blinked again. Eos was on a first-name basis with one of the deadliest cyborg killers in the galaxy? People whispered about Centax Security cyborgs in dark corners, and if they saw them coming, they got their affairs in order.
Dare made a small sound. “Saros.”
“Phoenix,” the man—or was it machine?—replied.
Another small woman appeared on screen, pressing into the cyborg’s side. “Hi, Dare!”
“Malin.” There was a wealth of warmth in Dare’s voice. “How’s my favorite cousin?”
“Excellent, thank you.” She smiled, her short, dark hair feathered around her cute face.
“You look good. Your CenSec must be treating you right.”
These two were a couple? A tiny human woman and a giant, enhanced cyborg? Dakota’s head spun at the thought.
“How’s the convoy?” Malin asked.
“Great. We just headed out of the galaxy on a run. But we’re considering making a slight detour for a treasure hunt.”
Malin’s nose wrinkled. “Well, you be careful. And avoid any rogue planets.”
Dare smiled and nodded. Dakota guessed there was a story there.
The image flickered, distorting a little from interference. “We have to go,” Dare said. “Great to see you, and thanks again, Eos.”
“My pleasure.” Eos’ gaze landed on Dakota. “Good luck. And if you find it, I’d love to study some of it.” The screen went blank.
Dakota spun. “Your cousin is shacked up with a CenSec?”
“Yes.”
“Interesting family you have.”
“You could say that. So, we know your treasure isn’t worthless.”
She nodded. It felt so good to know exactly what she was looking for.
“Okay, now we make a plan to find it,” he said.
“That means you need to tell me about this world of spires, waterways, and bridges.”
His face darkened. “I think we need to go over all the information in your map. See if there is anything I or my team can pick out that’s familiar.”
“You’re not telling me something.”
“Dakota—”
The comp screen flashed to life again. It was Ry, standing on the bridge. “Dare, we need you on the bridge. We have a problem.”
***
Dare strode out onto the bridge with Dakota by his side. There was a tense atmosphere, all his crew looking his way with worried faces.
The Nomad wasn’t moving.
Dare automatically checked the screens. The convoy ships were all still in line, waiting on the Nomad.
“What’s going on?”
Nissa stood from the captain’s chair. “A power distributor failed. We’ve lost most engine power, and there’s no way we can travel at interstellar speed.”
Dare sucked in a breath, conscious of Dakota watching him. “What happened? When was the distributor last checked?”
“Before we left Galaxy’s Edge,” Ry answered. “It was in perfect condition.”
There was silence.
Dare didn’t like the implications. “You’ve got someone down there looking at it?”
“Geneva is down there, swearing at it.”
The ship’s engineer. The woman loved starships more than she loved people.
A muscle in Ry’s jaw ticked. “Right now, she’s thinking it’s been tampered with.”
“Fuck.” Dare was mad. No one tampered with his ship. Out here, it could mean death. “You’ve checked security footage.”
“Sayer’s in the security room. Hasn’t found anything.”
Dare looked at Dakota. She lifted her hands. “Wasn’t me. I wouldn’t know a power distributor from a spark plug.”
“Do we have a spare?”
Nissa shook her head. “Geneva says one is listed in inventory, but it isn’t there.”
“Dammit,” Dare bit out.
“Good news is that we’re pretty close to two planets that would have the parts.”
Dare had spent time cultivating relationships with most of the planets along the convoy routes. For situations just like this.
“Rostrum,” Nissa said.
Rynan crossed his arms. “No. It’s a safety risk. Its people have been locked in a civil war for decades.”
“And Sulla,” Nissa said.
Dare’s chest locked. Damn.
Dakota was watching him. “What is it?”
“Looks like you’ll get to see your city of spires and bridges up close, after all.”
“It has the parts you need?” Her eyebrows had risen. “And this world is close by, and you hadn’t mentioned it yet.”
He heard the hardness in her voice. “I was going to.”
“I thought they were a low-tech world.”
“No, but they do like to give that impression. Come on, we’ll have to get dressed for the occasion. My friend, Vero, will welcome us, but it is imperative we follow their rules.”
Dakota wrinkled her nose. “I hate rules.”
“Maybe you should stay aboard the Nomad while I—”
“Don’t even think about finishing that sentence, Phoenix.”
Yeah, he’d guessed as much.
Ry crossed his arms over his chest. “I don’t like this.”
Dare didn’t either. Sulla was pretty on the outside, but with an undercurrent of ugliness and danger beneath. He’d prefer to leave Dakota on the Nomad, but she’d never stay put. Better to keep her close than have her run off on her own.
Hell. Who was he kidding? He wanted her close.
“We’ll be fine. We’ll go in, negotiate for the parts, find out anything we can on Caleb Stock and be back.” He strode off the bridge, heading for his cabin.
“What aren’t you telling me?” Dak
ota demanded.
“On Sulla, men are in charge.”
She gave an inelegant snort. “So? Men think that everywhere. Another backward world…it’s not like I haven’t seen them before.”
“I mean really in charge. Women are…submissive.”
She jerked to a stop. “Submissive?” She said the word like it tasted of trash. “All of them?”
He turned to face her. “Whether they like it or not. They’re raised that way. Most believe they like it, that they’re liberated and protected by their submission.”
Dakota shivered. “Sounds like brainwashing to me.”
“Some of them are submissive and some of them aren’t.” It was why Dare hadn’t visited for a long time. Seeing a woman straining against the chains of an upbringing forced on her was more than he could stomach. “To visit, you’ll have to dress like a Sullan woman. And you’ll have to walk behind me, and sit at my feet.”
Her mouth dropped open. “You’re kidding me.”
He offered her a faint smile. He’d finally shocked Miss Unshockable. “No.”
She ran a hand through her hair. “Okay.”
“I have a contact, Vero. Someone I trust…mostly.”
“Sounds encouraging,” she said sarcastically.
“You have to have a sponsor to land on Sulla. In the past, they let outsiders in and they had problems. Women were kidnapped and items stolen.”
“So this contact of yours can help us get the part you need. But what about info on Stock and the Southwind?”
“I’ll see if Vero knows anything. Sulla has a huge central library. If they have the info, it’ll be stored there.”
“A library. Okay, that sounds promising.”
“I’ll have an appropriate outfit delivered to your cabin. In the meantime, I’m going to call Vero.”
Dakota nodded.
“One last thing. Sullan men require women to wear strong scents.”
Dakota sighed. “I hate wearing perfume.”
He reached out and touched her cheek. “I like how you smell, but for this trip, find a scent.”
She tilted her head. “There’s something else?”
“They also remove all their body hair…except the hair on their heads.”
“You’re kidding me.” She held up a hand. “No, you’re not. All their hair?”
Dare thought for a second about smoothing the hair off Dakota’s slim calves, thighs, between her legs. He felt his cock throb. “Yes.”
“Stars, this treasure better be worth it.” She turned and stalked away.
He watched her. She had a faint saunter to her stride. Like she was daring the world to take her on.
Dare wanted to take her on. He shook his head. She was nothing like what he enjoyed in a woman, and she was distracting.
Focus. For now, he needed to get the part for the Nomad and to find the information on Caleb Stock. And he had to keep Dakota safe while they did that.
Chapter Seven
Dakota was fuming. She fiddled with her outfit again and when she heard the chime of the cabin door, she spun around, hands on her hips. “You cannot be serious about this get-up—”
“I warned you,” he said.
But all her righteous indignation at her garb tangled in her throat. His outfit was… Stars, the man was put together like a woman’s wet dream. Long and lean. Dark and dangerous. Black leather trousers encased his strong legs and lean hips. His shirt was a drape of royal-blue fabric that dipped low in front in a wide V, leaving most of his chest and his muscled arms bare. Her gaze went straight to his hard abs, tracing the defined ridges.
She swallowed. How could she keep resisting him if he looked like this, and if he kept helping her? She sucked in a breath and mentally imagined shoring up her internal walls one brick at a time.
She had to remember that once this mission was done, and she had the treasure, she’d be leaving Dare Phoenix behind. She wasn’t putting herself in a position where she made herself vulnerable to him.
His gaze ran over her. “You look…”
“Like a harem girl from some teenage boy’s fantasy?”
His lips quirked. “Yes, that’s a pretty accurate description.”
The twist of copper metal barely covered her breasts. The waistband of the skirt was made of the same metal and was draped with floor-length panels of fabric in the same deep blue as his shirt. She was showing a whole lot of skin, and when she moved the fabric panels shifted, showing her legs.
Dare walked closer and her belly went tight.
“Not only a teenager’s fantasy,” he murmured. “You look beautiful, and although I hate the idea, every man on Sulla will be mesmerized by you.” He reached out and tucked a tendril of her hair back. She had piled it all up on top of her head, but a few dark strands were loose.
“I don’t want every Sullan man mesmerized by me.” She huffed out a breath and lifted a panel of the skirt. “Besides, this is not me.”
“I think you look better in your synth pants. They hug your ass in a way that makes me want to bend you over and touch it. Touch you. All over.”
She felt the air between them turn hot. He didn’t move any closer, but those few centimeters between them felt like nothing. She could so easily imagine the touch of his hands on her. Dare wouldn’t be gentle.
Her breathing turned fast. “I don’t want to get involved with you.”
“You already are.”
Dammit. He was right. So, why didn’t he close the distance and touch her? Her skin felt itchy, her belly full of flutters.
“The first move is yours, Dakota. You have to make the choice.”
Damn him. He was going to force her to face her desires. “We have to go. We have a job to do.”
Neither of them moved. She knew Dare Phoenix was dangerous, a risk she couldn’t take—shouldn’t take—but damn, she wanted him.
Dakota took a step closer, her chest brushing his. She heard his swift intake of breath, and she went up on her toes. She traced his mouth with the pad of her finger.
“Are you going to give yourself to me?” His voice was dark, silky, and seductive.
In her gut, Dakota knew he’d take everything, whether she wanted him to or not. She leaned closer, her tongue tracing the seam of his lips. She got a hint of his taste and her desire spiked.
“Dare?” Rynan’s deep voice came through the comm panel. “The shuttle is ready when you are.”
Dakota took a deep breath and stepped back. Saved by the angry brother.
“We’ll get back to this later,” Dare said. “You can’t avoid it forever.”
It was a promise, a warning, and a threat.
Soon, they were both seated in one of the Nomad’s shuttles. Dakota fastened her harness and watched as Dare expertly dealt with the take-off sequence.
Nissa gave them clearance, and the shuttle bay doors opened. Dakota saw a purple glimmer across the open doors—a huma-field—which kept the atmosphere inside the ship but would allow solid objects to pass through. The shuttle lifted off, and soon, they were zooming out of the Nomad.
“How far is Sulla?” she asked.
“Not far. Half an hour. Hang tight.”
He was good at the controls. Sure and confident. She hadn’t expected any different. She leaned back in her seat, watching his long fingers move. He’d be the same in bed. Her hands clenched in the silky fabric of her skirt. She shouldn’t take this risk, but she’d decided to take Dare Phoenix as her lover.
As she always said, without some risks, life wasn’t worth living. She just hoped she survived the encounter unscathed.
Soon, the planet appeared ahead, growing larger until it dominated the viewscreen. Sulla was a gray-green ball that made her think of a Duskan pearl she’d once traded.
“Entering the atmosphere,” Dare said.
The small shuttle shuddered a little, and moments later, Dakota saw white clouds and a blue-green sea.
Wow, it was really pretty. The water was smooth a
nd looked like glass. She wondered if there were any shipwrecks below.
A huge island came into view, with a pointed mountain rising up to dominate the view. Flowing around the base of the hill was a city.
“The capital city of Sulla,” Dare said. “Sion.”
Smooth, white buildings reached into the sky, and there were waterways and graceful bridges. She saw greenery growing down the sides of many buildings—brilliant carpets of green, dotted with white flowers. Small, elegant boats coasted along the narrow canals.
As Dare brought them in closer, she saw landing pads jutting out over the water. She could see the building architecture better now. The buildings all differed in height, and some were square and others cylindrical in shape—but they were all made of gleaming white stone and had walls and roofs covered in lush green plants. It was beautiful.
“Breathtaking, isn’t it?”
She nodded.
Dare lowered the shuttle onto one of the landing pads. Once he’d powered down the engines, he turned and grabbed her arm.
“Remember, it may look pretty, but underneath, it’s not. Control is revered here. If you speak out, or are too assertive, it’ll cause trouble.”
“They’re dangerous?” Through the forward window, she could see a group of people heading in their direction.
“They can be, yes. But I’ll take care of you. You stay by my side, no matter what.”
“No one takes care of me, Phoenix.” She undid her harness and stood. “I can do that myself.”
The group was closer now, a tall man striding in the lead.
“I will take care of you, even if you don’t want me to.”
Dare’s words made her belly jump. Stupid, traitorous belly.
He stood, as well. “Now, let’s get that part and find out what they know about Caleb Stock.” Dare’s fingers tightened on her arm, then he released her. “Don’t forget to walk behind me.”
She watched him stride to the door of the shuttle, and poked her tongue out at his back. “Don’t get too used to me bowing and scraping, Phoenix.”