by Joanna Wylde
Special Ellora’s Cave EBook Bundle
Saurellian Federation Series
by Joanna Wylde
Price of Pleasure
Dragon’s Mistress
Price of Freedom
Survival’s Price
Jerred’s Price
Garnets or Bust
Serendipity
Gladiator’s Prize
ISBN: 9781419982019
Price of Pleasure
Joanna Wylde
Part of the Saurellian Federation series
A slave desperate for freedom.
A warlord incapable of love.
Neither Seth nor Calla harbor false hope for their futures—until their worlds collide in war. Now the rules have changed and the stakes are higher than either could have imagined.
Seth and Calla have one chance to change their destinies and the fates of their people hinge on their choices. Only when they risk everything to find each other will they truly know...
The Price of Pleasure.
A Romantica® futuristic erotic romance from Ellora’s Cave
Price of Pleasure
Joanna Wylde
Part I: The Station
Chapter One
The House of Lilies was busy tonight.
Jax sat in a corner booth watching the activity around him. The large, dimly lit room was filled with his brothers-in-arms, Saurellian warriors enjoying the charms of the newly conquered women of the mining station. The pleasure house, with its lush red fabrics and gold accents, was a place designed to make a man forget his cares. Jax was ready for that forgetfulness, the kind that only came in the arms of a beautiful woman. He sighed with satisfaction, sitting back, sipping his drink and thinking about which one of the many pleasure workers filling the room would be his that night.
It was good to be here. They had been fighting for months, beating the Emperor’s troops back star sector by star sector. Their forces had taken almost a quarter of his vast territory before a truce had been called. The Saurellians hadn’t started the fight, but by the Goddess they’d finished it. Now Jax and his comrades had been assigned to this remote system, babysitting the troublesome Discovery station. In Jax’s opinion, “Discovery” was too optimistic a name for the grotty outpost.
There were millions of asteroids surrounding the small sun at the center of the system, containing enough ore for a thousand ships; all of them had to pass by Discovery station sooner or later. Losing the system had been a crippling blow to the Empire’s economy, and there was little doubt that they’d try to re-take it if the peace talks fell through. They’ll have to get through me first, Jax thought savagely. A scowl momentarily marred his near-perfect, olive-toned face.
One of the waitresses at the table next to him caught his expression. He watched as her eyes widened in surprise. She made a pretty, pouting little moue of concern with her mouth. Never one to disappoint a lady, Jax flashed her a quick grin, then ran a hand quickly through his tousled, black hair—the “nervous” gesture never failed to catch a woman’s attention, something he’d learned early on.
The waitress smiled seductively at him in response, and started sauntering toward him until Gelvar, another of Jax’s squad-mates, grabbed her from behind. She squealed in pleasure, dropping her tray. With a growl, Gelvar buried his face in her neck and she shrugged her shoulders helplessly at Jax.
He grinned back at her, more than willing to let her go to Gelvar. There were plenty of women to go around; one was much like the next. He would never consider letting a female get between him and his fellow warriors. Turning his attention back to the room at large, Jax downed another shot of the pleasure house’s finest black market bakrah in satisfaction.
His squadron was one of the toughest in the Saurellian armada. The Imperial forces would not find them an easy target if they chose to return to the mining station. Until then, it was time to relax and enjoy the pleasures of conquest.
A roar from the crowd roused Jax from his thoughts. One of his friends, Daaron, had been lured up on to the circle-shaped stage that thrust into the center of the room, and the warriors in the crowd were going crazy. A pleasure dancer dressed only in a filmy sarong and matching band across her breasts had dropped to her knees in front of Daaron, running a finger suggestively up and down the length of his bulging crotch.
Jax recognized her as a crowd favorite from the night before, her shapely and well-endowed body easy to remember. The thought of her performance then, complete with three volunteers from the audience, was enough to make him shift in his seat uncomfortably. His pants seemed far tighter than they had earlier…
“What should I do, boys?” the woman called out loudly, flashing a broad grin at the audience. Their crude suggestions rang through the crowded club.
The men were feeling wild tonight, Jax thought.
Laughing, she responded by yelling, “Well, then, what’s it worth to you? I think I need some motivation!”
Instantly credits started raining down on the stage. Another woman, naked except for a series of strategically placed leather straps, started walking around leisurely, bending over at the waist to pick them up. Apparently the men liked the view she gave them, because another shower of credits came flying toward her.
“I can see you men know what you want…” the dancer called to the rowdy crowd. “Fortunately, I’m a woman who knows how to give a man what he wants!”
With that, she rose a little on her knees and used her teeth to slowly draw down the fastening on Daaron’s pants. The crowd roared again, growing louder as she paused dramatically. Then she pulled the zipper all the way down with a flourish, freeing the warrior’s enormous cock from the imprisoning fabric.
It stood out straight from his body, the head flushed red with excitement. Reaching out delicately with her tongue, the woman swirled it around the helmet-shaped tip. The warrior gasped, reaching one hand down to grip the back of the dancer’s head. Encouraged by Daaron’s grasp, the woman slowly drew him into her mouth, then pulled back teasingly.
As Jax watched with interest from his seat, Daaron gave out a groan, and tried to pull the woman’s mouth back over him. She resisted, however, standing up instead. Music with a slow, pulsing beat began to sound.
“Darling, I think we can give them a better show than that,” she said, looking to the crowd for approval. The answering shouts from the crowd agreed with her. Turning away from the man, she rotated her hips, then slowly started pulling at the skimpy little sarong she wore around her hips.
“Take it off!” rang out a voice, and the crowd went wild. She winked broadly at the audience, then slipped the sarong off, kicking it into the audience.
As Jax and the other men watched, she slowly dropped to her knees, facing the audience and turning her back to the aroused male standing behind her. Her large breasts strained against the confines of the brief band holding them. The crowd urged her on as she removed the band and flicked her hardened nipples with her fingers. Then she glanced flirtatiously up at the man standing behind her, and rubbed the back of her head sensuously against his aroused penis. Daaron gasped audibly at the sensation.
Slowly leaning over toward the audience, the woman placed both hands firmly on the stage, thrusting her round bottom up at the warrior.
Daaron didn’t need to be asked twice. Kneeling down behind her, he grasped his cock in one hand, rubbing up and down its length several times. Then he lined himself up against the woman’s moist cunt, pressing against her.
She looked out at the crowd and licked her lips, pushing gently back against him. “Let’s give ‘em a show they won’t forget,” she said over her shoulder.
Daaron grunted in agreement, then grasped her waist wit
h both of his broad hands. Holding tightly, he thrust into her. The sensation must have been intense, because her gasp was loud enough for Jax to hear it all the way across the room.
The music rose in volume, and the crowd quieted as Daaron pulled almost all the way out of the woman, then slammed his cock back into her. She gave another cry, and Daaron started pumping in time with the music. The dancer’s ass slapped back against him, and her breathing grew fast. Daaron and the warriors in the audience weren’t the only ones enjoying the show, Jax noticed with amusement. The dancer looked like she was going to explode at any minute.
The feel of a hand sliding along his leg distracted Jax from the stage. A woman slid into the booth next to him. He recognized her—it was Dani, a pleasure-worker he’d been with just the night before. She smiled at him, her bright blue eyes full of promises.
“Hey, Jax, back for another round?” she asked, purring softly in his ear. Her hand reached his crotch, wrapping itself around the aroused length of his dick. He pushed herself against her hand, enjoying the almost-painful pressure of her grip.
“What do you think?” he said, giving her a slow smile.
“Why am I not surprised?” Dani laughed. “You guys have only been here three weeks, and I haven’t met one of you yet who isn’t always ready to go. It’s almost inhuman.”
At least some of the locals weren’t afraid of them, Jax thought wryly. Dani and her co-workers had been more than eager to welcome them to the station. The rest of the inhabitants hadn’t been as happy to meet their new overlords.
“So,” Dani asked with a wicked smirk. “Why is it that you’re such a lusty crowd? Even Imperial soldiers need a rest now and then, but not you guys.”
“It must be all the beautiful women here,” Jax said, looking over Dani’s lovely features. She had a fair complexion, with white-blond hair and radiant blue eyes. He had met many pleasure workers who tried to duplicate that coloring, but Dani’s was natural.
Dani laughed at his answer, enjoying the compliment. He was lying, of course. Her clients always were, but she still liked to hear it. He hadn’t satisfied her curiosity, though, and she wanted a real answer to her question. The Saurellians were definitely wilder than any other group of men she’d met in her line of work. Their sheer stamina had made her curious enough to press him further for a real answer.
“Seriously, what is it with you guys?” she asked again, running one finger around the head of his penis. The combination of the stage show and her hand had hardened him sufficiently that the entire length was outlined against the fabric. Slipping down the fastener, she allowed his cock to slip free. It was thick and hard, just the way she liked it.
“Well,” Jax said, settling back in his seat under her ministrations, “If you really want to know, we aren’t fully human, not like you, ummm—damn, that feels good. A little harder there, please…”
Dani smiled at his request, then removed her hand. There was nothing she loved more than a man squirming under her. “Go on, I want to hear what you were saying,” she said encouragingly. Slipping one leg over his, she straddled Jax’s lap.
His eyes closed and his head dropped back against the seat. Reaching around her waist with both arms, he attempted to pull her down on him on to his waiting erection.
“I want to hear what you were going to say,” Dani said playfully, teasing his cock-head with the lips of her cunt. The poor man looked like he was going to have a heart attack at any minute. “Now tell me,” she laughed. She relaxed her knees and slid down on him hard, engulfing his entire length at once. He was huge! It felt like he was thrust halfway to her throat. Dani took a second to savor the moment. The feeling was fantastic!
“Hmmmmf,” Jax grunted.
“Now, you were saying?” Dani asked, playfully squeezing him with her inner muscles.
Jax groaned in pleasure. “Um…I was saying that, uh, part of the reason we have such strong sex drives is that we’re only truly satisfied with one of our own women. We can fuck as many non-Saurellian women as we want, but the hunger never ends. We’ll always want more. Nothing really stops the hunger.”
“What?” Dani asked, forgetting for a moment to continue her movements. It wasn’t the answer she had expected, certainly not from a man who looked like he might explode from pleasure at any minute. Then her professionalism kicked in, and she started moving again.
“Well, if you can’t really be fully satisfied with us, why don’t you bring your own women?” she asked. “In the Empire, legionnaires bring along their wives and families. Why don’t you? Are your women too weak to fight with their men?”
“Hardly,” he said, lifting her by the waist with his powerful arms. He started pumping her body more strongly against his, thrusting up into her flesh so hard it made her gasp. “Our women are a force in and of themselves…ummmmfff…there simply aren’t enough of them—to, umm—to go around. For every female child born, there are three or four males. The lucky ones find mates. The rest of us…ohhhhh…make do. Goddess, you feel good.”
“What do you mean, ‘make do’?”
“Well, most of us leave the home world,” Jax said somewhat breathlessly as her body once again came to a rest on his. He tried thrusting against her again, but she was too preoccupied with what he was telling her to respond. Her breasts, however, formed an easy target directly before his face.
She wore only a brief halter and he pressed his mouth into her cleavage, laving the soft flesh with his tongue. She gave him a little push away, and he could tell from the look on her face that she wanted to hear the rest of his story. He contented himself with reaching under the halter instead, searching for her ripe nipples. He found them, then rolled one of the tight buds between his thumb and forefinger. Dani gasped slightly at his ministrations, but she didn’t start moving against him again.
With a sigh, he continued his explanation, “We realize at a young age if we aren’t one of the lucky ones to have a mate. We mate fairly young, so most of us ship out by the time we’re 25 or so.”
“What did you do?” asked Dani, fascinated. He pressed her nipple again, and her muscles tensed around him in response. Gasping in response, she grunted, “I mean, how did you end up here?”
Jax squirmed restlessly against her and said, “I think that we could continue this conversation at a later time. I’m feeling kind of distracted.”
“You know,” Dani said slyly, “For someone who can’t possibly be satisfied by a human woman, you seem awfully willing to keep trying.” Her internal muscles clenched him tightly and he gave an involuntary moan. The sound made her smile in satisfaction.
“What can I say? I’m an optimist.” Jax said, grinning up at the beauty straddling him. Dani wrapped both arms around his neck and pulled him forward to kiss her. His penis pulsed within her, and she knew he was close to coming. Fortunately, it would take more than just once or twice to tire him out. Jax had to be the best lover she’d ever had, and she’d had quite a few.
“Let’s go up to my room,” Dani whispered in his ear.
Jax didn’t even bother to answer. He just picked her up and started across the crowded room to the stairs without even bothering to pull out of her. As he’d told Dani already, he was an optimist. A human woman might not be enough, but she was certainly something. Like every unmated Saurellian male on the station, he’d take everything he could get.
* * * * *
Their conquerors certainly were strange, Calla thought, carrying her basket of linens through the hostel’s narrow upper corridor. For such rowdy men, most were remarkably clean. They had taken over Mistress Jenner’s Hostel when the station surrendered nearly a month ago, yet during that time she hardly saw them. They spent much of their time patrolling the station shipping docks and manufacturing plants, or running reconnaissance trips through the asteroid belts. At least one was always on guard at each of the hostel’s entrances, but Calla had never dared to even really look at them, let alone engage them in conversation. They were lar
ge, heavily armed men who seemed to take their work very seriously.
They also took their play seriously. During the evenings she could hear them in the hallways, although her owner would never have let her out where she could watch them. Mistress Jenner was something of a religious fanatic, a member of the strict “Pilgrims of the Apocalypse.” The Saurellians’ carousing was disgusting to her, and she would never dream of allowing even a slave such as Calla to become polluted by their presence.
Calla made her way through each of the rooms, changing linens and straightening what little there was to straighten. They had very few personal possessions, so she hadn’t gleaned much information about them in her cleaning. Usually she was able to tell a great deal about the guests by what they left in their rooms.
The final room, at the end of the hall, was actually a small suite. According to Jess, her best friend and crèche-brother, the squadron’s commander was staying here. Mistress Jenner seemed to hate him more than all the other Saurellians combined. Calla had heard her blame the man for everything from the recent rise in food costs to the timing of transport take-offs, which caused a shudder to run through the entire space station. Last week, Jenner had spilled hot tea all over her hands during a rough launch.
According to Jenner, the commander was the most disgustingly licentious Saurellian of them all. He even had pleasure workers spend the night with him at the hostel and hosted parties in his suite, something which never would have happened if they weren’t under martial law. Mistress Jenner wasn’t brave enough to stand up to their conquerors, but there was no question as to what her opinion about them was.
She believed they were evil, pure and simple. Not that she had held a much higher opinion of the Imperial troops, of course. As far as Calla could tell, the only people Mistress Jenner actually liked were her fellow Pilgrims. Given the choice between accepting Saurellian money or being turned out of her own home, however, Mistress Jenner had opted to take the money.