Pleasure Planet

by Beverly Havlir

  “There will be no show tonight.”

  Tristan turned to see Ampara, the hostess from last night, approach him on silent feet. He tensed. “Why not?”

  She looked visibly upset. “The dancer, Ava, is—” she paused, “—indisposed at the moment.”

  “What the hell does indisposed mean?” he asked, his voice vibrating tightly. He stepped closer to her, a big, menacing, cloaked figure.

  Ampara took a frightened step back. “I’m not at liberty to say.”

  Tristan laid a hand on her arm. “Do not be afraid. I’m not going to hurt you.” He took a deep breath and sought to calm the voice in his head that was insisting something was very wrong. When he spoke, his tone was calm. “Tell me, where is she?”

  She shook her head, clearly frightened. “I cannot. If anybody even suspects that I am talking of matters I’m not supposed to, I will be punished.”

  Tristan pulled her into a small, dark alcove off the hallway. “I promise you that nobody will know that you talked to me. Just tell me where she is. Is she…hurt?” It was hard to get the last word out. Just the thought of her lying somewhere, hurt and in pain, was too much to contemplate.

  “Why do you care so much?”

  The muscle in his jaw ticked. “Because she’s mine. And I will do anything to protect her.” His voice was clear, his words strong and sure. As soon as he said it, Tristan knew it to be true.

  She looked at him, searching his features for honesty. To his surprise, Ampara burst into tears. “You’ve got to help her. She’s locked in the isolation cell.”

  He stiffened. “Why?”

  “I don’t know why,” she answered tearfully. “I was just notified moments ago that she would not be performing tonight, and that she’s earned a stay at the isolation cell.”

  She wiped away the tears pooling in her eyes and grabbed him. “You must find her, please. She hates the isolation cell. Ava, she’s…she’s afraid of small, enclosed spaces.”

  Anger began to grow inside him. “Where is it?”

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  “It’s located deep in the forest. Please take care of her,” she implored. She wiped the remnants of her tears with a trembling hand. “I have to go now. Make sure you leave undetected,” she cautioned before she stepped out of the alcove and swiftly made her way down the hallway.

  Tristan followed mere seconds later, walking purposefully out the front doors. Once he was far enough away from the resort, he contacted Jed and Logan through the com-link. She’s locked in an isolation chamber, deep in the forest. Meet me there. Without waiting for their answer, he set out on foot, heading toward the heavily wooded areas. Quietly, he stalked into the forest, every sense on the alert for any presence. Deeper into the woods he went, his rapid progress dictated by the overwhelming concern he felt for Ava. She’s afraid of the dark. He refused to think of her alone and terrified. He needed to think, to stay calm and find her. I’m coming for you. He came upon a clearing. Crouching behind a large boulder, Tristan observed a security building. A guard stood outside, armed with an electro-shocker. It was a device designed to deliver a shock that would quickly disable an opponent or prisoner. His fists clenched, and anger became a cold, hard ball inside him. If that guard had touched Ava with that electro-shocker, he was going to have to kill him. Tristan circled around to the back of the building, and peered into a grimy window. Two guards inside, one outside. He observed the guard posted outside going down on his knees to check something. Tristan frowned. Were the isolation chambers underground? He waited until the guard outside took up his position once more. From there, it was easy. He crept up behind him stealthily. In a series of quick moves, he disabled and disarmed the hapless man. Dragging him to the rear of the building, Tristan tied him up with a restraining cord that was virtually unbreakable. One down, two to go.

  The best defense was a good offense. Surprise would be his best weapon. He strode into the security building, his steps deliberate. The guards snapped to attention and pointed their guns at him. Tristan smiled.

  “Who the hell are you?”

  “You have something of mine,” he replied in an easy tone. “I’ve come to get it.”

  The tall, burly guard burst into laughter, one with a nasty edge to it. He looked at his partner, and they snickered. “Well, now. You and what army?”

  Tristan didn’t move a muscle. “No army. Just me.” Before they could reply, Tristan leapt and disposed of their guns in a flurry of movement. Looking at their stupefied faces, he grinned as he tossed the guns out the door.

  “Would it make it easier on both of you if you just turn your backs and pretend you didn’t see me?” Tristan asked in a mocking voice. “I don’t want to hurt you.”

  “We’d rather face a dozen Innundali soldiers,” one snarled.

  “Ah, but I’m so much more dangerous than an Innundali soldier,” he shot back. The easy grin he gave them belied the intensity of his watchfulness, waiting for their 91

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  next move. He didn’t have to wait long. The two guards had no plan of attack, they just decided to charge him.

  He eluded one easily, knocking him down with one well-placed blow. The other guard crept up behind him and landed a blow to Tristan’s side. With a grunt, Tristan recovered and deflected a second blow. He pivoted and hit him so hard his massive body went through the window.

  The second man crouched. He’d turned pale but his lips curled into a sneer. With a roar, he ran toward Tristan.

  Tristan didn’t move, merely balanced on the balls of his feet. In a move so fast his opponent had no time to react, Tristan flung him against the wall. He fell to a heap on the floor.

  Leaving the unconscious guards on the floor, he ran outside. The isolation cells were buried underground, covered by thick, reinforced steel. He opened them one by one, his heart hammering when he didn’t find Ava in any of them. He heaved open the last door and found Ava lying on the floor, curled up like a baby. Her eyes were tightly shut and her hands were wrapped around her middle.

  He swallowed the fiery anger that threatened to choke him. His voice was gentle when he called to her. “Ava?”

  Through tear-streaked eyes, she blinked up at him in disbelief. “Tristan?”

  His jaw locked at the hope in her voice. Lying flat on the damp ground, he reached down and extended his arm. “You’re going to have to jump and grab my hand,” he ordered gruffly.

  Ava didn’t hesitate. She did as instructed and caught his offered hand on the second try. He pulled her up with a minimum of effort. As soon as she was clear of the cell, he hauled her into his arms.

  “Are you hurt?”

  She buried her face in his neck and held on tightly. “No.”

  His arms tightened around her. She still hadn’t stopped shaking, and his com-plant detected her high pulse rate. She must have been terrified down there. Cold fury swelled inside him. He was going to kill those responsible and destroy all the isolation cells. A few plasma charges would do the trick. But first, he had to get her out of here.

  “I’m going to take you somewhere safe,” he whispered against her hair. “You’re coming with me.” When she didn’t say anything, he drew back slightly and looked down at her. Her eyes were closed. He wanted nothing more than to wipe away the look of stark terror he’d seen in her eyes. But he needed to get her out of there first. He instructed the ship’s computer to transport them up from the surface and fired off a quick message to Logan and Jed on their com-links. Then he picked her up, his heart constricting at the trusting way she held on tight and buried her face in his neck. 92

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  Once he got Ava calm and settled, he intended to find the other Karn’alian and get the hell away from here. Then maybe she could answer some questions. Like who she was and what she was doing on the pleasure planet.

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  Chapter Four

  The ship door swished ope
n silently and Tristan strode in. Ava gave him a soft smile from her perch on the edge of the bed. “Hello.”

  His eyes raked over her. “Feeling better?”

  “Yes.” She fingered the hem of the tunic she wore. It was huge, reaching to her knees, but it was as soft as butter and felt wonderful against her skin. In a self-conscious gesture, she smoothed her tousled hair, glad she’d freshened up before he came back. Before he’d left her earlier, Tristan had pointed out where she could clean up. She’d peeled off her sweat-soaked robe and stepped into the micro-cleanser, the ship’s version of a shower. She’d stared blankly at the empty cubicle, not knowing what to do. She’d jumped when a female voice announced cleansing would commence in ten seconds. Ava felt foolish as she’d closed her eyes, anticipating a rush of water. It was more of a spray mist combined with a warm gush of air and took no longer than a minute. But she felt refreshed and totally clean. On Eros, it was still the old-fashioned spigot with water. After her cleansing, she’d looked around Tristan’s spartan quarters. There were no personal items around, no indication that it was even his.

  “I want to thank you for getting me out of the isolation cell. I’ve never liked that place,” she confessed with a little shudder. Though she was thankful she was no longer in there, she had other pressing things to worry about. She had no doubt that she’d have to face the consequences of her escape. By now, Malek would undoubtedly have been informed of what happened. That hateful man had leverage to use against her—

  her brother. She didn’t want to endanger Kell’s life. “I need you to take me back.”

  “No.”

  Ava swallowed and fought the immediate swell of panic inside her. Forcing herself to remain calm, she faced him squarely. “You don’t understand. I need to go back there or things will be worse for me.”

  Tristan didn’t move a muscle, yet he suddenly looked more dangerous in her eyes, more frightening. “Are you in any danger?”

  Her eyes flew to his. The muscle in his jaw ticked and his lips were pulled into a grim line. “You can’t get involved.”

  “I became involved when you took me deep inside your body last night,” he drawled.

  She flushed but shook her head stubbornly. She couldn’t risk Kell’s safety inside the High Council’s compound. “I can’t bring you into this. Please understand,” she beseeched him. “I need to go back to the surface right now.”

  Tristan crossed his arms over his chest. “I want some answers, Ava.”

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  Ava turned away, clenching her fists in frustration. “While I am grateful that you freed me from the isolation cell, my life is really none of your business.” Malek would surely administer a more severe punishment once she got back. Nobody had ever escaped from an isolation cell. But she would gladly accept it to spare her brother any more suffering.

  “I want to help you,” Tristan said roughly. “I can’t do that if you don’t tell me the truth.” His tone lowered, became persuasive. “Tell me what’s going on.”

  She turned away, wringing her hands together. She knew next to nothing about this big, strong warrior. He’d taken her body, given her unbelievable pleasure, and for one night alleviated the loneliness of her life. Alternately rough and gentle, he’d made sure of her pleasure first before his. She trusted him, that’s all she knew. Would he be willing to help her get her brother out of the compound and away from this planet? Hope began to slowly unfurl in her chest. The promise of a new start, a new life, beckoned. If Tristan could help Kell, why not tell him?

  Ava took a deep breath. I might as well start from the beginning. “ I’m a half-breed. Erosians are not known for their tolerance for mixed species. They’re fanatic about the purity of the gene pool.” She couldn’t hide the deep resentment in her tone. “Halfbreeds are ostracized, not allowed to mingle with regular society. Second-class citizens,” she added bitterly.

  “I know.”

  Her gaze flew to his. “You know?”

  “You’re half Karn’alian, Ava. One of my people,” he revealed. “Our home planet is Karn’al. The Prime Ruler sent a platoon of Cyborgs out to scour the different galaxies for Karn’alians that escaped during the Pagan Wars.”

  Huh? “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” She shook her head in confusion.

  “My mother was a native Erosian, but I never knew who my father was.”

  Tristan sighed. “A race called the Pagans once occupied many worlds and destroyed whole planets. They came to Karn’al and slaughtered and enslaved our people. Many were able to escape. We fought a long war before we were successful in driving the Pagans out.”

  Ava couldn’t believe what she was hearing. Aleesia Summerlin never mentioned anything about Karn’al to her children when she was alive. Her brow wrinkled, confused and shock by what Tristan was telling her.

  “Our numbers were so depleted that our race is still in danger of extinction. The Pagans, or what’s left of them, have vowed revenge on Karn’al. They are hunting down the Karn’alians who escaped their initial invasion and killing them.”

  “Your people are dying?”

  His lips twisted. “Not of any disease, no. But we have virtually no women to bear children. And if the Pagans find our people before we do, they’ll surely kill them.”

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  Ava stood up and paced the room. This was all too much to take in. “You’re a Ccyborg?” she croaked through dry lips. His eyes were enigmatic. “When the Pagans came, they killed or imprisoned most of the able-bodied men of our world. The women were systematically raped and killed. The children were maimed in different ways to ensure they wouldn’t grow up to fight against them.”

  Ava was aghast at the brutality he spoke of. “You were one of the children?”

  Tristan nodded, lingering anger in his eyes. He raised his right arm. “My arm was cut off here—” He indicated his shoulder. “The same was done to others, some a foot, a limb, an eye. The Pagans made a sport of it, deciding which part to cut off a helpless child.”

  She swallowed, her heart constricting at the horror of what he’d had to suffer. “Oh, Tristan.”

  “An underground rebellion eventually formed. Scientists built a secret subterranean facility and spirited away all the children. The Pagans never bothered to look, assuming the children just died.” His eyes took on a faraway look. “It took a long time before we all grew up and trained to be warriors. By the time we did, most of our people had died.” He focused his intense dark eyes on her. “Karn’alians emit a unique energy reading. My men called me back to the ship this morning to inform me about you. You’re part-Karn’alian, Ava. And I’m taking you back with me.”

  This was too much to take in, to try to understand. The only thing she could focus on now was that she and Kell finally had a way to get away from their horrible existence and start a brand-new life somewhere else. “I’m not leaving without Kell.”

  His eyes narrowed to angry, tiny slits. “Is he your lover?”

  “He’s my brother,” Ava informed him with some exasperation, not noticing that he’d gone completely still. “He’s being held in the High Council’s compound to ensure my cooperation,” she finished bitterly.

  “For what?”

  Her lashes lowered. “As a half-breed. I’m forbidden from being a pleasure worker. But the High Council has struck a deal with the Neehaleese King. I’m to be his wife.”

  The heat in his eyes as they roamed over her singed her. “I won’t allow that,” he declared with chilling softness.

  She shivered, whether from the intensity of his gaze or the underlying violence in his tone, she didn’t know. “It’ll start a war.”

  He stepped closer to her, close enough to make her nipples tighten in anticipation.

  “We’ll be gone from here before it gets to that.” He stroked her cheek. “I’ll get your brother out, Ava. That I promise you.”

  Ava rubbed her cheek agains
t his palm. “And then what?”

  “I take you back to Karn’al,” Tristan muttered softly, bending to run his lips down to the shell of her ear. His arms went around her, trapping her in a hot, sexual cocoon. 96

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  She couldn’t help but voice the question in her mind. “What then?”

  He drew back, his face carved in hard, sensuous lines. “I’m not certain. Every time I look at you, I can’t get beyond wanting to fuck you.” She blushed at his frank words. “I keep seeing you in front of me, splayed wide open while my cock tunnels in and out of your hot, tight pussy.” His big hands crept under her tunic and slowly pushed the soft material up.

  A shaky breath rushed from her lips. Her pulse skittered madly as a tight firestorm of desire began to ignite in her. “I-I feel the same way.”

  He licked the corners of her lips. “You cast a spell on me last night when you performed your dance with the veils.” In a flash of movement, he pulled the tunic over her head and tossed it behind him. “You’re a sorceress.”

  Her lips parted, inviting him inside. “I’m not.” She gasped at the first touch of his rough palms against her breasts. The slow, kneading motion he started drove the breath from her lungs. Her nipples puckered, pushing insistently against him. Tristan skimmed his lips from the curve of her neck down to her shoulder.

  “Tristan.” In a move that surprised him as much as her, she slipped her tongue between his lips and kissed him.

  There was no hesitation on his part. He responded in an instant and made the kiss his own. He drew her in skillfully, taking her deeper into the hot, damp cavern of his mouth. Wetness gathered in her pussy, spreading like fire, radiating out through her sensitized skin. Her breath came quicker, harsher. She wanted him so much. The light teasing touch of his palms only whetted her appetite for more. Covering his hands with hers, she squeezed them over her flesh, harder, more forcefully. She glimpsed the half-smile on his lips, but she didn’t care. She wanted more, needed more. Taking his hand, she drew it down to her pussy, trying to push it into the sopping slit. But he resisted, instead exploring and teasing, swiping at her clit. She groaned in protest and pushed two of his fingers high up inside her. The low sound of satisfaction she made elicited a low laugh from him.