Forbidden World: Ambrax

by Bernadette Gardner

  "Is this short and tight enough?" Her voice brought him out of his increasingly wicked thoughts and he turned to find her leaning against the open hatchway. She wore the black shirt he'd torn from her earlier. Somehow she'd turned it into a sexy halter top that left her flat abdomen bare above a pair of moss green pants that he'd hacked to almost nothing with the galley shears.

  A bloodred jewel hung between her breasts, suspended by a thin, black cord, and on each wrist and ankle she wore bands of woven leather. The significance of the accessories struck him, and he found himself picturing her lashed to a bed, spread-eagled, those bands holding her arms and legs immobile while she writhed beneath him.

  Vixen. She played her part too damn well.

  "You catch on quickly. Sit over here." He directed her to a bench that protruded from the bulkhead and gathered the weapon and sheath he'd chosen for her from his collection.

  "This is actually an arm band," he explained, lifting one pale thigh in his hands to fit the tooled straps of the sheath in place. "But it should fit your leg comfortably."

  She accepted his ministrations without comment, though he swore he smelled the musky scent of her arousal when his fingers grazed beneath the scant hem of her shortened pants.

  He could have had her right there, could have slipped his fingers into her pussy and felt the heavenly sensation of her tight passage opening to him, but he didn't. Instead he forced himself to concentrate on his task. Moving with deliberate attention to detail, he tightened the harness around her and positioned the dagger so she could access it while walking.

  "How does that feel?" His mouth had gone dry and the words seemed to stick in his throat.

  "Fine." She ran her fingers along the raised Sparthan symbols that covered both the sheath and the hilt of the blade. "Exquisite work. This is a collector's piece."

  The hint of a question in her tone amused him. "Yes. I stole it." Would the confession shock her?

  She seemed unimpressed. "From my Uncle Stanis, I believe. I recognize the security brand under the flap." A knowing smile creased her lips. "You've been in Vargas territory for a while, I gather."

  "I go where the money is.'

  "Yet you won't accept triple your rate for this job?"

  "I've done a lot of things I'm not proud of in my life, but I've never taken advantage of someone else's desperation." Indulging his sudden need to touch her, he brushed a finger along her jaw and raised her chin. "That doesn't mean I might not pick an opportune time to renegotiate our agreement."

  "I expected no less." She met his gaze and her lower lip trembled, beckoning him. He leaned in, mesmerized by the endless blue of her eyes and the drugging scent of her soft skin.

  When he'd nearly reached her lips, she turned her head. "Damen, I can pay you more than you could dream of asking for, but I can't afford complications."

  He pulled back, both disappointed and relieved. Whatever flaw in his character caused him to think kissing her was a good idea, he was grateful that a cooler head prevailed.

  "You can fuck me any way you want, but understand, I have no intention of ever making love with you."

  He feigned nonchalance as he moved away from her. "Good. Then we understand each other completely."

  * * * *

  He'd almost kissed her. What was worse, she'd almost let him.

  That would have been a disaster.

  Now, back in her cabin, Lea set the sheath and dagger he'd given her on the sideboard and lowered herself to the edge of the bed. Something inside her had seemed to come to life when Damen brushed his fingers along her jaw. The touch had been gentle, caring and sensual, not raw and erotic like everything else about the way he moved and spoke.

  She hated herself more for responding to that simple touch than for the full-on female equivalent of a hard-on she'd experienced while going down on him. Sex, she could handle. She'd steeled herself for it, but intimacy was something else entirely, something she had no room for in her wounded heart.

  A quiet knock on the cabin door startled her. He'd just strolled in before, overriding the electronic lock, yet now he knocked? She didn't like that the terms of their "involvement" seemed to have changed already. She preferred it when he wasn't careful of her.

  The door opened, but he remained in the hall. "We'll reach orbit in ten hours. We should get some sleep."

  "I was about to do that. Help yourself to anything in the galley. The food has been all been pre-prepared."

  "I will. Come to my cabin and sleep there. For as long as we're on Ambrax, you won't be out of my sight for a minute. You'll have to get used to being within arm's reach of me at all times."

  Oh. That winged creature that lived beneath her ribcage stirred again at the thought of lying beside him. "I'd rather not tonight."

  "It wasn't a request." He turned on his heel and strode away.

  A sudden burst of anger carried Lea to the corridor after him. "Until we reach Ambrax, I'm in charge, Mr. Cantor. You can't just order me to--"

  He had her pressed against the bulkhead between one breathless syllable and the next, one hand splayed across her chest between her barely concealed breasts.

  "This isn't a love affair, Lea, or a marriage." His voice rasped, deep and sultry, and she shivered. "It's a business arrangement. You hired me to get your pretty little ass safely on and off a forbidden world. To do my job, I need to know you can handle your part. When we're there, you cannot defy me, even with a look. You cannot refuse me, or question me. Arrogance, willfulness on the part of a woman will be punished. That's how the carnage that passes for a society on Ambrax works. You will hate it. You will hate me, and you will probably hate yourself when it's all over, but I guarantee you, in fact I stake my life on it, that you will live through it. That's more than I can say for most of the fools who thought they could handle the place."

  His breath heated her face and despite her inner rage, her nipples hardened and her pussy dampened at his touch. No other man alive would have dreamed of treating her this way. No man would have lived to tell the tale.

  He held her there, his hand above her heart, daring her with a dark look to defy him further. Finally, she softened, drew in a shuddering breath and released the last bit of fire that was keeping her soul alive. "I'll do better. I promise."

  The tension drained from his stance, and he trailed his fingers down her torso to the waistband of her newly tailored pants. Every nerve ending in her body screamed for more, and all over, her skin rose to goose flesh.

  "Naked. In my bed. Twenty minutes."

  She nodded and watched him saunter away, despising herself for wishing she didn't have to wait so long.

  * * * *

  After a quick meal and a final check of the flight plan, Damen made his way to his cabin.

  It had been his plan merely to sleep with Lea, to prepare her for the forced intimacy she'd have to endure on Ambrax, but the anticipation of having her lying naked next to him all night had him so hard he could barely walk.

  He found her curled on one side of the wide mattress, her shapely hips creating an enticing landscape under the thin thermal blankets. She hugged a pillow under her head and stretched her magnificent legs when he crossed the room.

  While he stripped, he recalled his first visit to Ambrax and the things he'd experienced there. Shame and arousal darkened his reflection in the small mirror that hung opposite the bed. How would he control his animal nature long enough to do the job he'd agreed to do, if he let himself remember those times?

  "I have questions." She broke the guilty silence that shrouded the room, and he shook off his concerns and approached the bed.

  "About Ambrax or me?"

  "Both."

  "I'll answer what I can." He kept his eyes off her face. Her soft, curious gaze would dissolve him if he lingered there. While she shifted her position to lie on her back, he pulled the blankets aside and climbed in beside her.

  Satin skin slid against him, and the now familiar scent of her body, he
r sex, drew him toward madness.

  "How long ago where you there?" she asked, hooking one leg over his thigh.

  He reached down and repositioned her, easing her to lie flat, legs spread so he could touch her. "Four years. I was with one of the first trade ships to land there. I was the only crewman to leave."

  She nodded and her body quivered when he brushed his eager fingers over the crisp hair of her mound. "How...did you escape?"

  "The Braxans helped me reprogram the ship's navigation system. That ship is the one I still fly today."

  "They helped you?" She angled her head to look at him.

  In response he dipped one finger into the moisture between her intimate folds and she gasped. "It's not a prison. Anyone is free to leave. They just...can't."

  "You did."

  "It's not the place for me. I didn't like what I saw the others become."

  "What do you know about the transformation? Can it be reversed?"

  Reluctantly he drew his fingers away from her pussy and settled his hand on her belly, low where her muscles tightened in exquisite response to his explorations. A shaky breath filled her lungs and her breasts rose high. A drop of pre-cum broke against his forearm when he brushed against the head of his cock. He'd have to fuck her soon, or he'd lose the ability to think.

  He'd need to distance himself from her though, because already he felt the maddening pull in his groin every time he even thought about putting his hands on her. "It's a chemical reaction, I'm told. Something in the food, the water--and to some extent the atmosphere. We'll need to carry our own supplies, but even that won't keep us safe indefinitely."

  "It affects women as well as men?"

  "Men more so, faster. Non-Braxans bear the worst of it. You realize that Troy might not even be...recognizable."

  "I'm prepared to leave without him, as long as we can secure the healer. I've heard stories about what they can do. I've seen some medical evidence that they can cure Lorcan Syndrome." She sounded so hopeful, so certain.

  "Most of the healers are reluctant to leave the planet. Most other worlds don't approve of the way they live."

  "I'm prepared to offer every accommodation and any form of payment."

  "You may have to offer yourself."

  "I'm well aware." Now she met his gaze and her eyes held more emotion than Damen could stand to see. Desolation clouded the sparkling blue depths.

  "Why are you doing this alone?" He had to ask, even though the question pushed the boundaries of his usual curiosity. Damen Cantor didn't pry into other people's personal lives. He barely paid attention to his own.

  "Darya married Troy against my father's instructions. He was a Company employee, a bailer technician assigned to Cormorant. A Vargas does not marry beneath her station, ever."

  "So Daddy's still mad at her?"

  "He cut her off, from everything. He doesn't know I keep in touch with her."

  A voyeuristic anger rose in him. "Does he know she's sick?"

  Lea nodded.

  "I didn't respect the Company before. Now, less so."

  "There's something we have in common." Her smile was rueful, yet it captivated him. Logic told him to jump out of the bed now, put some distance between them before he really started to care about this poor little rich girl's plight.

  "I bet the board of directors would be scandalized if they could see you now."

  "I only wish they could." The hint of righteous indignation in her voice set him off, and wicked memories of the beast within him surfaced as he flipped her on her stomach.

  "Well, why don't you picture them all watching while I have my way? It might be a turn on."

  * * * *

  Lea moaned and raised her hips eagerly at Damen's command. She'd been waiting for this since she'd slid into his bed wearing nothing but the leather wrist and ankle cuffs. Their quiet conversation had set her body trembling. The contrast of his gritty voice and gentle touch woke a riot of sensation in her. Her womb contracted and, above it, those annoying wings fluttered in her stomach. Her heart pounded and each subtle movement made her aware of the moisture pooling between her thighs.

  Why was it wrong to enjoy this? If she faced life-threatening danger and perverse sexual practices on Ambrax why couldn't she enjoy a good fuck with Damen Cantor now, in the privacy of her own ship like two normal human beings?

  To hell with it. She allowed that cautious part of her brain to shut down and when he thrust into her, digging his fingers into her hips, slamming his heavy balls against her thighs, she surrendered willingly and with abandon to his claiming.

  She clutched the soft sheets, bracing against the onslaught and bit her lower lip hard to stave off the orgasm she'd been resisting since he laid his hands on her in the corridor an hour ago. She needed to come, but some primal part of her wanted it to be when he did, if she could last that long.

  She lifted her ass high for him and spread her knees wide, groaning with the effort to hold on. If he hit her G-spot with that massive cock, she'd go over the edge fast and this time she wanted to make it last.

  "Imagine I'm not the first," he said between grunts of exertion.

  "Wha--?"

  "I'm not the first man who's had you tonight. What if I have to give your body in trade to a group of jungle guides? Now they want to watch."

  Lea moaned as she pictured the scene. Would he really do that? Sex was currency to the Braxans. Given and taken freely in all situations. Could she really handle that?

  The prospect of being watched by others excited her, and in response her clit drew up hard under its hood of flesh, swollen and tight. She imagined meeting the heated gaze of a stranger while Damen spilled his cum inside her, and that sinful image set her off.

  She shuddered with it, though the unbridled sensation was laced with disappointment. Her thighs shook and she sobbed in frustration.

  Damen slowed his thrusts. His voice rumbled low and achingly tender. "I'll try to keep you for myself, but I can't guarantee it."

  "No, that's not it." Tears stung her eyes, but she held herself together while her body eased its contractions. How foolish to want a mutual orgasm with this man. That honor was reserved for lovers and this, she had to remind herself, was strictly business.

  Behind her, his body stiffened and a moment later, accompanied by a feral growl, he came long and hard, leaving them both sated and panting.

  Wicked anticipation replaced her disappointment a moment later when he slapped her ass. "That was good. Rest a few minutes, and we'll go again."

  Chapter 3

  * * *

  The blue-green globe of Ambrax filled the rectangular heads-up display that spanned the front of the bridge. Lazy spirals of white clouds drifted across the sunlit hemisphere, and on the dark side, only partially visible now, a single city glowed like a lone firefly in a jar.

  The Citadel.

  That was the place to find a healer and possibly the only enclave of safety and sanity on the untamed face of Ambrax.

  Damen prepared the skimmer for landing while warning messages played in seven languages over the ship's com system. He'd already transmitted the codes from Lea's landing permit and received a friendly and exceedingly normal sounding welcome from planetary security.

  From up here, it seemed so benign. A serene landscape of wide, jungle-covered continents, deep oceans and countless pristine islands beckoned unsuspecting travelers. Like the sweet-scented depths of Earth's pitcher plants that drew insects to long, tortuous deaths, this place was like the Siren song of ancient lore, promising paradise and delivering madness instead.

  "It's beautiful." Lea's approach sent a frisson of unwanted awareness along Damen's nerve endings. He'd dragged himself out of bed after only a scant hour of sleep because he'd been too comfortable, too content with her sweat-dampened body draped over his and the gentle rhythm of her breathing lulling him.

  "Don't be fooled." He turned, steeling himself for the gut punch of seeing her standing nearly naked behind the pilot
's seat. "We've been given coordinates to the spaceport and from there we can take ground transport to the Citadel. I suggest we secure a healer first, then devote a limited amount of time to searching for your brother-in-law. We'll be relatively safe in the protected areas, but I doubt he's set up housekeeping in the Braxan city."

  "That's fine. I have images of Troy that we can distribute."

  Damen shifted to give her access to the com console. "Transmit them to planetary security. We may be able to get some help locating him, but for obvious reasons, Troy should be identified as my kin, not yours."

  She nodded and brushed past him to take a seat. He forced himself to concentrate on the determined movements of her skillful hands rather than the rise and fall of her barely clad breasts. She'd chosen a gray shirt this morning. Tied in a knot over the deep valley of her cleavage, it left her belly bare. The black pants she wore barely covered her luscious ass.

  When she bent her head to examine the readout screen, his fingers rose involuntarily to brush at the wisps of dark hair at her nape.

  She stiffened but accepted the touch. "You shouldn't."

  Chastened, he withdrew. She was right. He couldn't forget, no matter what transpired on the surface, she was as far above him as the skimmer now hung above Ambrax, and nothing would ever close that gap. Nothing.

  "There, it's done. Do you think they might be able to locate him for us?"

  "Only if he's dead. They keep meticulous DNA records on the converts. It's sometimes the only way to identify them."

  She seemed sobered by that fact. When she turned away from the console, her eyes were dull for once, hooded. "If he is...dead, that's something I'll keep from Darya."

  He wanted to say he understood, to reassure her with a touch, but the set of her jaw told him she didn't want sympathy. She wanted results.

  It was time to get them.

  * * * *

  They landed at dawn, just before the orange ball of the sun peaked over the top of the distant canopy of trees. Lea shivered at the immensity of her surroundings when she and Damen disembarked from the skimmer. A barren plain stretched for hundreds of kilometers to the west, north and south of the landing field tinged with copper fire by the rising sun. He explained that in order to keep the converts away from the Citadel, the Braxans had denuded thousands of acres of planetary jungle to form this protected zone. Armed patrols circled the plain night and day to keep it free of interlopers.