Dagger's Hope

by S. E. Smith

  Satisfied that he had really taken care of his wounds, she turned back to pull his dinner out of the wall oven. She had found the ship’s supplies to be well stocked. Arindoss not only kept the Lexamus IV prepared for a quick escape, he also kept it stocked with the finer things in life. She had discovered the dried food storage contained gourmet meals. A separate section contained a wide variety of what looked like expensive wines and liquor that were stored in a temperature controlled section off to the side of the food storage.

  Even the clothes she was wearing felt different. The shirt felt like it was made from the finest silk from the way it slid across her skin. The pants she was wearing, while made from a leather of some type, were extremely soft and pliable. Perhaps if Arindoss had paid a little more attention to who he hired, than to what he bought, he might have still been alive.

  “That smells good,” Dagger admitted, walking toward the table where she was setting a steaming plate of food on it. His mouth watered at the delicious smells. “I can’t remember the last time I had a decent meal. I think it was when you and I…”

  Jordan glanced up when his voice faded. An understanding smile curved her lips. There was nothing they could do about the past, she had learned that lesson early in life. What they did with the future was what mattered.

  “I know,” she replied. “You should see some of the food Arindoss has on board, not to mention the liquor. I swear, he must have been planning one heck of a party.”

  She turned away to retrieve her plate from the ‘oven’. It was strange how she could take a package that looked like a pile of hard rocks, pop it inside the machine on the wall, and out came a meal that looked like the finest chef in the most expensive restaurant back in Seattle had just prepared it.

  She turned back toward the table, pausing when she saw that Dagger’s eyes had been on her and not the food in front of him. Warmth surged through her at the knowledge that he wasn’t immune to her.

  Doubt had threatened to overwhelm her when she was showering and dressing. The fear that he had decided that he didn’t want or need her had sent a shaft of pain through her before she pushed it away. He had said he was worried it wasn’t safe for her to be near him, not that he didn’t want her.

  They had both changed a lot over the last two years. She had been foolish to suggest that he shower with her. She should have been more concerned with his welfare than her own desires.

  Swallowing, she continued to the table and slid into the seat across from him. They ate in silence for several long minutes before she looked up when he suddenly rose out of his seat. He crossed over to the storage panels, opened one, and pulled out two containers of water and returned.

  “Sorry, I should have thought about something to wash it down with,” Jordan said with a self-conscious laugh. “I was so distracted by the smell of the food and my stomach demanding I shovel it in, that all I wanted to do was eat.”

  A low, rough chuckle escaped Dagger. “Mine, too,” he admitted. “Arindoss had good taste.”

  “Yeah, he did,” Jordan replied, stirring the mixture of vegetables on her plate with her fork. “What happened after I… How did you get away? How did the ship get damaged? How are you going to fix it? Where are we going? What are we….?”

  Her voice died when she saw the bemused expression on Dagger’s face at all the questions she was throwing at him at once. He was staring at her with an intensity that made her flush and she nervously tucked her hair back behind her ear. Looking down at her plate, she took a bite of her food to keep her mouth busy.

  “It has been so long since I’ve had a conversation,” he replied in a quiet, reflective voice. “I thought about you, dreamed about you, while I was imprisoned. You were the only hope that I had. Your face, the memory of your voice, is what kept me going.”

  Jordan’s eyes had risen at his first quietly spoken sentence. She lowered the fork in her hand to the table and rose out of her seat, unable to keep the distance between them. Walking around the table, she slid into his open arms when he pushed his chair back. Curling up against him, she wrapped her arms tightly around him.

  “You weren’t the only one,” she admitted. “When they told me you were dead, I felt like a part of me had died as well. I couldn’t lose you, too. The first week was horrible. I couldn’t… I couldn’t think. I couldn’t feel anything, but pain and grief.”

  “How did you find me?” Dagger asked, running one of his hands down along her back while the other held her against his body.

  Jordan’s arms tightened around him, holding him like she would never let him go. She understood what Jesse had felt when Hunter had been captured. Jesse's determination to go after Hunter when she found out where he was, had been a driving force for her.

  "I could still feel you in my heart," Jordan explained, not moving. "I snuck into Hunter’s office when he left to go to the city a week later. He had forgotten to shut down the console he used in his office. I uploaded a software program I was designing. With a few tweaks, I was able to access the data he had on the attack. While two bodies had been found in the wreckage, there was no proof that the bodies belonged to you or Edge. The more I dug, the more I found. There were missing pieces in the investigation. Most of it was due to the fighting going on. The area was still hostile, and the team sent in had very limited time. There were two badly burned bodies, so they assumed it was you and Edge.”

  Chapter 11

  Dagger’s hand froze as she told him about what had transpired. He remembered very little. He vaguely recalled the missile that struck their fighter. Fragmented images of them crashing in the city filled his head. They had skimmed the tops of several buildings. The wings of the fighter had been ripped off and they had crashed in a small courtyard area of the city.

  He didn’t know how they survived. Edge had been unconscious. Dagger knew he had suffered a concussion. The strong smell of fuel had forced him into action. He had unstrapped and kicked open the side door of the transport. It was the only exit accessible to them as part of the building had collapsed on the back of the fighter.

  He vaguely remembered checking to see if Edge was alive and unstrapping the warrior. It had been a struggle, but he had half carried, half dragged Edge out of the fighter and dropped his body under a section of roof that had been destroyed from a nearby building.

  He had turned to go back to the fighter to retrieve weapons and supplies when he saw two rebels crawling into it. Seconds later, there had been a tremendous explosion. He had been thrown backwards, striking his head again. The next time he woke, he was on a rebel transport in a cage. The next two years, he had literally fought to stay alive in the hopes of finding a way to escape. He had no idea that his people thought he was dead.

  “Edge?” Dagger asked in a husky voice.

  He felt Jordan shake her head. “Nothing yet,” she said with a sigh. “I’ve been searching, but not like I have for you. I did tell Hunter that I believed he was alive as well. There has been an intense search, especially once they realized that I was right about you. I kept following leads from what they knew of the mercenaries that had attacked the planet. Everything kept leading to Kelman. I had a terrible time finding him. He is very good about covering his tracks.”

  Dagger’s hand started moving on her back again. He felt her sigh as she rubbed her cheek along the trace of warm skin that was revealed by the open neck of his shirt. A heavy wave of need flooded him. It had been over two years since he had been with a female. Hell, he hadn’t touched another woman since he met Jordan.

  During his captivity, the need for survival was paramount to everything. Kelman knew he would either use or kill anyone placed in the same cell with him. Kelman and the guards had taunted him a few times, but soon bored when he showed no interest.

  Now, his body woke with a vengeance. He wanted Jordan with a primitive need that made sweat bead on his brow. Dagger drew in a deep breath, trying to calm the fire burning inside him. The flame that had simmered for two years
burst into a roaring inferno when Jordan shifted her left hand up and ran her fingers up the open neck and along his skin.

  “Jordan,” Dagger choked in a voice laden with need. “It is dangerous. I want… need you.”

  He felt her shift as she sat up on his lap so that she could look at him. Her eyes were darker and a small, secretive smile curved her lips before she leaned into him. Her left hand curved around his neck even as her right hand moved to touch the side of his face. She paused a breath away from his mouth.

  “I need you, too,” she whispered before pressing her lips to his in a shy kiss that quickly turned to hot need.

  The slender thread that Dagger had desperately been trying to hold onto snapped when Jordan’s right hand rose to splay across the back of his head and her lips parted. His arms tightened around her, moving so that he could lift her. Breaking the kiss, he rose out of his seat, their unfinished dinner forgotten as he strode from the room and into the cabin next to the dining area.

  “You are my Amate, Jordan Sampson,” Dagger gritted as he lay her down on the bed. “Mine for always.”

  Jordan searched his eyes as he pulled back to unfasten his vest and pull it and his shirt off. She watched, mesmerized. He bent and pulled off his boots before standing straight, his hands on the waistband of the black pants he was wearing. Her heart pounded with anticipation as her eyes followed the movement.

  “What about…?” Her voice died as his fingers flick the top fastening of his pants and she swallowed.

  “The computer will warn if any ships approach,” he informed her in a rough voice. “We have at least two more hours before we reach the planet where we can land. It is too dangerous to continue with just one engine.”

  Jordan just nodded. She heard the slight warning in his voice and understood what he was not saying out loud. This might be the only time they have together. If Dagger didn’t fix the engine, they could be left vulnerable to Kelman or any other pirate ship.

  It was safer to land and try to do the repairs than to hobble along on one engine in space. If it couldn’t be repaired, they stood a better chance of surviving on the planet where they could send out a signal and hide until help could arrive. Either option held the potential to end badly for them.

  She pulled in a deep breath when he leaned down and cupped the calf of her left leg. He paused, his eyes locked with hers. The burning intensity in them took her breath away. She relaxed, lifting her leg so he could remove her boot. She did the same with her other leg.

  “Dagger,” she whispered in a husky voice when he leaned over her and began unfastening her vest, then her blouse. “My Amate. I am Jordan. I belong to Dagger as he belongs to me. Forever will I tie my life to his. I will care for, protect and cherish him as he cherishes me. He is my Amate. He is… my entire life,” she whispered, lifting her hand to touch the ragged scar on the right side of his face that would always be a part of him.

  Jordan felt the cold air brush across her bare breasts as he pushed the vest and blouse she was wearing open. She hadn’t put her bra back on in her hurry to make sure Dagger was still there. Her hands frantically moved over his bare shoulders when he shifted so he was above her and sealed his lips to hers. She lifted her hips far enough for him to push her pants down with one hand, then the other. She was only vaguely aware of them sliding down the rest of her leg and her pushing them off the end of the bed.

  Heat exploded low in her belly when she felt his hot flesh pressed against hers. Skin against skin, hard against soft, was an aphrodisiac to her system. An intense spear of desire pierced her, causing warm moisture to pool low between her thighs. Pleasure exploded through her at the thought of finally becoming one with the man she had fallen in love with on a night that seemed so very long ago.

  *.*.*

  Dagger’s hands shook as Jordan’s softly spoken claim washed over him. The fact that she was claiming him, telling him in the words of his people that he belonged to her, stunned him. He hadn’t been prepared for not only her acceptance of him, but her own determination to seal her life to his without question.

  The beast inside him roared in triumph, wanting to accept her claim and more. His whole body was taut and hard with anticipation. He felt the pressure building in his sack until he was afraid he might explode. His cock, full and straining, pulsed against the inside of her thigh. He wanted to join with her, but knew she needed to be ready. Lifting his head, he gazed down at her.

  “Jordan, my beautiful Amate,” he groaned, tangling his hands in her hair and pressing his lips to hers.

  She opened for him, kissing him back with a passion that washed over him in crashing waves, taking away the anger and hatred and replacing it with peace and hope. His tongue tangled with hers, brushing against the smooth edges of her teeth. He groaned again when he felt her delicate hands skimming over his side and back. It felt like she was trying to memorize the feel of him against her.

  Breaking the kiss, he rolled on the bed, taking her with him so that she was on top and in control. He needed to let her set the pace, even if it practically killed him. His hands spanned her waist, holding her slightly up off of his body.

  Her hair fell forward, cocooning them as she gazed down at him. His eyes burned when she ran her gaze over his short hair. She reached out and touched the closely cropped strands. A smile played around her mouth.

  “I like it,” she said, looking back into his eyes. “Long or short, it doesn’t matter, but it must be easier to take care of.”

  A low chuckle escaped him. “Only you would see the bright side of my hair being cut at a time like this,” he retorted in a teasing voice. “I want you so badly that I am ready to explode.”

  Jordan’s eyes glittered with mischief and she leaned down and brushed a kiss on the top of his nose before she teased his mouth. She pulled back just far enough that he could feel her breath against them. His hands moved around to cup her ass and he gently massaged the rounded cheeks.

  “I want to explore you,” she whispered against his lips. “I want to memorize every inch of you. I dreamed of this day, Dagger. From the moment you told me that I was yours back on the Star Raider, I’ve dreamed of being yours in every way. I don’t want either of us to forget tonight.”

  Dagger’s eyes softened when she pulled back to look at him with slightly pleading eyes. He saw how much she meant what she was saying. He also understood that she was doing this as much for him as she was for herself.

  He lifted his hand and touched her smooth cheek. She turned her face into his palm pressing a kiss to it before swiping the center with the tip of her tongue. Her eyes danced when a low vibration of desire escaped him. Heat scorched him and he knew going slow was going to be the hardest battle he had ever fought.

  “As long as it goes both ways,” he replied, lifting his hands to cup her breasts. Her face flushed with pleasure when he rolled her taut nipples between his fingers. “Just… don’t take too long to discover me.”

  He saw her head nod in agreement even as she relaxed back against him. Focusing his attention on her breasts, he rose up into a half sitting position and captured one of them between his lips. Her arms instinctively curled around his head, pulling him closer.

  The heady scent of her arousal told him of her pleasure. Rolling the tip of his tongue over it, he was rewarded with a low moan and the tightening of her thighs on each side of him. Her hips moved in rhythm with his sucking and her fingers curled into his scalp.

  “Oh, Dagger,” she moaned, throatily.

  He ran his hands over her back from her shoulders down to her ass. Shifting, he turned again, unable to stand the rotation of her hips on him. Every time she moved backwards, the tip of his cock brushed against her ass. It took every ounce of self-discipline he had not to lift her and thrust upward.

  Pressing her backwards on the bed, he continued to lavish his attention on her breasts. His body was thrumming with sexual tension as he knelt between her legs. He released the rosy peak that he had been s
ucking on so he could press a kiss under the heavy globe.

  “I want you,” she panted, shifting restlessly on the covers. “I… didn’t realize that wanting someone could… almost hurt.”

  “It is a good pain,” he promised, pressing a kiss to her stomach. “A very good pain.”

  *.*.*

  Jordan wasn’t sure if he was telling her the truth or not. She knew what happened between a man and a woman. Hell, she had lived in a gaming world for years where sexual innuendos had been rampant. Still, she hadn’t expected such a physical reaction.

  Her skin felt super sensitive. Every time he ran his rough palms over it, she felt like screaming for more. Her heart was beating faster and her breasts ached for his touch. When he had taken the first one into his mouth, something had burst inside her making her ache lower.

  The panting that had started when he was stroking her breasts turned to deep gasping breaths when he moved down her stomach to the triangle of curls. Jordan felt like she was shattering when he touched her there for the first time. Her body bowed and she bit her bottom lip in an attempt to keep the loud cry from escaping her.

  “Dagger!” She cried out hoarsely when he ran his finger over her damp curls before he opened her to his lips. “Oh!”

  Nothing had prepared her for the barrage of emotion and feelings overwhelming her. Her legs fell open and her hips instinctively rose to meet the hot touch. Her hands kneaded the covers since she couldn’t reach him.

  She could feel the hot moisture pooling between her legs, making her slick to his touch. She felt wanton and ached for something more. The low throbbing that had started early was now a heavy pulse. Unsure of what exactly was happening to her, but unable and unwilling to stop him to find out, she closed her eyes and just let him continue the magic.

  If this is what discovering each other meant, then she was more than willing to let him explore. A hiccup escaped her when she felt him begin to slide a finger into her. It felt foreign, but instead of making her uncomfortable, her body seemed to welcome the intrusion.