by Anna Adler
He caressed her hand. Then, very slowly, he brought it up to his face. Alyssa tensed further.
“I just want to feel it,” he said.
Captivated, Alyssa didn’t stop him. She wanted to trust him. Her body yearned for his touch. Jax pressed her palm against his cheek, a brief look of ecstasy flashing in his eyes.
“Yes.”
He brought her hand to his mouth and kissed it. He slowly kissed her palm, her fingers, her knuckles, and then her fingers again. Alyssa drew a shuddering breath and relaxed. This was the most erotic thing she had ever experienced. Warm, alluring sensations coiled in her belly at the feel of Jax’s lips on her hand. A pleasant shiver ran over her skin. It was incredible. He put his other hand through the bars as well and took her hand in both of his. Gently, he extended her fingers and gave each of her fingertips a slow kiss. Alyssa felt his tongue lapping at her fingers, and an unbearable desire flared inside her.
She couldn’t take anymore. She wanted to rush into his cage and throw herself into his arms. Realizing what was about to happen, she inhaled sharply and snatched her hand from his grip. Jax didn’t make a move to catch her. His gaze remained on her, but he didn’t say anything. He only stood there, his silence unnerving. Alyssa’s mind was awhirl. She wanted to trust him, but this was insane. This was all too soon. Even the best seductress in the galaxy couldn’t get a wild pet to succumb so fast. No, this was simply Jax seducing her—and it was working.
Alyssa stormed out of the room, grabbed her things, jumped into her shoes, and ran out of the apartment. Jax didn’t call out after her.
She ran a few blocks before she managed to slow down to a walking pace. Her body was on overdrive, needing so many things, clamoring for attention. Alyssa felt as if she could run around the entire capital in one go. She craved for the exhaustion that would help clear her head.
“Goddamn it!” she hissed. “How can I be so stupid?”
She could still feel Jax’s mouth on her fingertips and the sheer memory was enough to make her shiver.
This is bad. I’m supposed to be the seductive pet trainer.
He was supposed to grow addicted to her through his lust, yet he had managed to turn the tables just now. He had nearly convinced her that he wasn’t dangerous. He had almost gotten her to trust him, but the look in his eyes when she pulled her hand away was proof enough that his whole maneuver was calculated. The clever bastard knew how to dangle the right lure in front of her.
Alyssa walked all the way to the city as the evening grew dimmer and the lights came on. Once she reached the familiar shopping district, she wandered the streets until she found a quiet night café where she sat down with a hot cup of tea. She sat at an isolated table, staring out the window, barely registering what went on outside.
It disturbed her, what a strong hold Jax had on her. The depth of her emotions toward him threatened to overthrow reason.
It’s my own fault.
She had chosen a wild, dangerously attractive pet. Had she picked someone who aroused her less, she would have no difficulty holding the reins, but Jax was like gasoline to her fire. And worse yet, the more she learned about him, the better she liked him. He was so different, yet he was easy to talk to, easy to interact with, and she loved his sense of humor. Her simple lust for his body was turning into a deeper longing. Alyssa didn’t have a name for the phenomenon, and she didn’t know what it meant.
After her tea had cooled, Alyssa abandoned it and headed back home. She had no answers to her questions. On any other day, she would have called Lucia for advice, but if Lucia learned that Alyssa had almost let herself be seduced by her dangerous pet, she would call the authorities to take Jax away from her. No, she couldn’t have that happen. She could only try to keep a clear head. Try to stay one step ahead of Jax’s plotting because he was up to no good.
Alyssa took the magtrain back to Silverhall, and it was close to midnight when she finally re-entered her apartment. It was dark, but the light from the square filtered through the curtains, illuminating the interior well enough to see. Alyssa tiptoed to the living room, not wanting to wake Jax if he was asleep. But Jax was nowhere to be seen. Alyssa’s stomach dropped. The cage door hung open…and the cage was empty.
Chapter 12
Alyssa couldn’t move from her shock. She could scarcely breathe. She stood paralyzed in the middle of the dark room, staring at the empty cage.
Oh no. No no no…He broke out of his cage!
Her throat went dry and her heart thumped in her chest. Panicked thoughts raced through her mind.
He’s run off. Now he’s out in the city somewhere, loose, and the authorities are going to— No. Wait. I programmed the front door to stop him.
The realization made a thrill run up her spine.
No. He’s still here. He hasn’t gone anywhere because he couldn’t get out. But it’s so quiet. Where is he?
Her gaze darted from one corner of the room to another, her own tense breathing the only sound she detected. Alyssa thought Jax was hiding somewhere, but then understanding caught up with her and she began to tremble. The cage door hanging conspicuously open… Suddenly, she knew exactly where he was—right behind her. This was a trap.
“Jax?” she called out in a wavering voice.
He grabbed her. A hand clapped over her mouth and a strong arm trapped her against his chest.
“Hello, Alyssa,” his gravelly voice said into her ear.
Alyssa screamed. She struggled, her chest heaving with panicked breaths. Jax only held her tighter, his hand over her mouth, muffling the sounds she made.
“Shh,” he hissed softly.
Alyssa fought against his grip. She remembered the band on her left wrist and reached for it to activate his collar.
“No, you won’t be using that.” He grabbed her right wrist and trapped it against her chest, between her breasts. “Quiet now, girl. You and I are gonna have a little chat.”
Secured against him, and helpless, Alyssa gradually stopped fighting.
Save your strength, her instincts said. Stop panicking. Panic is bad.
But her heart pounded like a fleeing rabbit.
“That’s it,” Jax crooned. “Nice and quiet. Now, listen up. It seems I can’t leave. Something triggers this fucking collar when I go to the door. The windows don’t break no matter what I use to hit them. The collar stops me from entering certain rooms…I’m guessing anywhere with tools I could use. So I had no choice but to wait for you to come back. You’re gonna help me now, Alyssa, you understand me?”
Alyssa made a small sound.
“Good. You’ll take this collar off me.”
She gasped.
“You know how to take it off, right?” Jax growled, giving her a shake.
She nodded.
“Good. So you’re gonna do it. No tricks! I’m still in a good mood, but if you try something, I’ll turn nasty.”
Alyssa gave a little shake of her head. She didn’t intend to try anything. She had lost control over him; fighting him was no longer a good idea.
“All right.” He held her tighter to him, his lips touching her ear. “No screaming. No talking. No running away. You’re simply gonna turn around and take this fucking thing off. You understand?”
Alyssa swallowed and nodded. Jax loosened his grip. He didn’t let her go completely, only allowing her to turn around and face him. Alyssa remained quiet when he removed his hand from her mouth.
“That’s good. Good girl. Now get on with it.”
Trembling, she faced him and dared to look up into his eyes. His expression was stony, his piercing eyes staring down at her. Alyssa’s gaze slid down to the metal collar around his neck. She licked her dry lips. Slowly, she raised her left wrist so that Jax could see it.
“I have to use this,” she whispered, indicating the wristband.
Jax put his hand on the back of her neck in a light but menacing grip. “Fine. But if your finger slips, you’re gonna feel pain, too.”
His threat was unnecessary. Alyssa wouldn’t have tricked him. She wanted to stay on his good side, and the fact remained that he was her pet and she adored him. She tapped at the wristband, deactivating the collar’s security protocol and unlocking it. The collar went dead and opened with a small click. Jax immediately grabbed it, yanked it off, and flung it away from him. It landed in a corner with a clatter.
He exhaled. “Thank fuck!” He grasped Alyssa’s hand, unstrapped the wristband, and flung that away as well. “Now, the next thing.” He took her chin into his hand and forced her to look at him. “Since being at the training facility, I have a small scar on the back of my neck. What did they do to me? Do I have an implant?”
“Just a microchip,” Alyssa said.
“I want it out. And you’re gonna arrange it.”
“I…I can’t.”
“There’s no ‘I can’t’ here, Alyssa. You do as I say.”
“But I don’t know how to get it out. You would need a surgeon or something.”
“Then call a surgeon.”
Alyssa’s eyes widened. “No, it won’t work! Pet chips are permanent. No surgeons will remove your chip, no matter what lie I tell them, or how much money I offer. They would report it and you’d be caught.”
“You’ll find a black market surgeon, then.”
Alyssa hesitated. “I…think I understand what you mean, but such things don’t exist on Silenia. They record, monitor, and legally execute everything here. We don’t have crime.”
“You’re shitting me,” Jax snorted. “No shoplifting? No break-ins? No murder?”
“Not for a hundred years or so. We only learn about such things from movies and history lessons.”
“You’re telling me this planet doesn’t have any kind of illegal activity?”
“None that I know of. Everybody is wealthy and happy.”
“Okay, fine. The chip will have to wait until I get off this goddamn rock. Which brings me to my next point…you’re going to tell me how to get to the spaceport. Does the magtrain stop there or go near it?”
“Yes, but…”
Pain lanced through her chest. He’s leaving.
She had dared to hope he’d stay. She’d hoped he’d maybe punish her somehow, put her in the cage in his stead, or trash her apartment, anything at all. She would even welcome pain. But he wanted to leave Silenia. Fear chilled her heart—she knew he would never make it to the spaceport. He would die trying.
“So the magtrain is the fastest way to get there?” he demanded.
Alyssa shook her head. She clasped Jax’s hand in both of hers. “Don’t try it, Jax. You won’t make it. You have no idea how tight the security is.”
“So? You’ll tell me how to bypass it.”
“There’s no bypassing it. It’s not possible.”
“The spaceport is less than ten klicks away. It can’t be that hard.”
“Jax, you’re a pet. You can’t go anywhere. The electronic surveillance out there will read your chip and raise an alarm. You won’t even be able to board a train. Hell, you wouldn’t even make it across the square without me. Every public place is equipped with security bots, and they will get you.”
Jax’s eyes narrowed and he grasped her by the shoulders. “Enough of that! I know what you’re up to. You don’t want to let me go, but I’m fucking leaving.”
“I’m trying to help you!” Alyssa cried out. “It’s true, I don’t want you to leave, but I can’t let them kill you!”
“Who’s going to kill me?”
“City security. They put down pets who escape or rise against their owners—without exceptions. If you’re caught out there without your collar and without me, they’ll kill you. And they will catch you.”
“You’re lying.”
“I’m not lying! Remember what happened when you tried to run? That was nothing; a slap on the wrist. The only reason they spared your life is because I was there to claim you back. If you go out there alone, you won’t be so lucky.”
Jax’s face twisted. He growled and gnashed his teeth. Finally he spat out, “I’m not staying here. I don’t care if I have to leave in a body bag, but I’m getting the hell out of here, you understand me?”
The thought of Jax in a body bag, wheeled to a crematorium, was unbearable to Alyssa. She wanted to collapse and cry her heart out, but his vehemence alarmed her. He might rush out and do something foolish if she didn’t think of something.
“Wait,” she begged. “Give me a minute. There has to be a way to solve this.”
“You won’t convince me to stay no matter how much you flaunt your charms at me.”
Alyssa fixed a furious gaze on him. “To hell with my charms! I don’t want you dead; I’ll do anything to prevent that. I’ll even help you escape if it saves your life.”
He pulled back slightly. “How would you help me?”
Alyssa heaved a deep breath. She was a clever career woman and she knew Silenia inside out. Surely she could think of something. “Okay, let’s see…we can’t get that chip out of you. And you can’t go outside as long as you have it. You’d be detected. But if I help you…if I take you to the spaceport…you might have a chance.”
Jax’s eyes narrowed. “How would you take me to the spaceport?”
“You would have to put the collar back on, and go on a leash, and behave like a well-trained pet.”
He barked a scornful laugh. “No chance of that. No fucking way.”
“I act as your owner,” Alyssa pressed on. “That’s the only way to blend in. That way I could easily get you there. It would be a half an hour trip with no risk factors.”
“If I put the collar back on, you’d have me under your thumb again. How stupid do you think I am?”
“You have to trust me, Jax.”
“Trust you?” he shouted. “Trust you? You kept me in a cage like an animal!”
“Whatever I might have done…I care about you. Yes, I wish you’d stay. I had plans for us. But I would never double-cross you. I wanted to build a relationship of trust with you, and I would destroy all trust if I tricked you. You would hate me forever, and then I would never get what I wanted.”
Jax glared at her suspiciously, but she glared right back at him.
“I won’t let you walk to your death. I’ll help you escape, if that’s what it takes.”
Jax heaved a frustrated sigh. “Suppose I agree to this harebrained scheme. Suppose we get to the spaceport. Can you also get me to the orbit, or do I have to borrow myself a ride?”
Alyssa ran her fingers through her hair, her mind racing. “No, pets aren’t allowed to the orbit, so I can’t get you on a shuttle. Stealing a passenger shuttle is too dangerous. But…” She bit her lip. Then a plan unfolded in her mind. “I know how you can get off the planet.”
“I’m listening.”
“You’ll have to board an industrial shuttle that transports ore,” she explained. “Mind you, it’s not easy. You’d have to get close to one, and then climb all the way up to the top and enter through a hatch. The ore shuttles are unmanned, but there’s a small crew compartment in the top part of the shuttle in case the AI fails and we have to resume manned flights. The surveillance in the ore shuttles is directed at shuttle integrity and flying conditions. Once inside, your presence will go undetected. The ore shuttle flies to the orbit and meets up with a mothership headed to Earth. You’d have to find a way to slip aboard the mothership when the payload is being moved. I’m not sure how to do that…”
“I’ll figure something out. If it’s all automated systems up there, jumping ship shouldn’t be a problem.”
“Yes, it’s automated. The mother ship has heavy defenses against intruders, but they’re directed at enemy ships trying to force an entry. If you make yourself look like part of the payload and let the bots load you in, you should be fine. There’s just one problem…most ore shuttles have their own launch pads next to the refineries. They’re thousands of klicks away. The main spaceport has onl
y a few ore launches…” Her gaze wandered to her VR monitor and then back at Jax. “I’ll have to check the flight schedules.”
He grasped her arm. “If you mean to use that thing to call help—”
“I’m not going to call for help! Don’t you get it? If anyone finds out what has happened here, you’ll be put down. I don’t want you dead.”
Reluctantly, Jax let her go to the VR monitor and switch it on. He stood behind her, breathing down her neck while her fingers danced on the touchscreen and she flicked through the fields of information. “The next ore launch is…Sunday morning. That’s two days from now.”
Jax reached over her shoulder and switched the monitor off. “All right. I’ll consider your plan.”
Alyssa turned to face him. Her gaze searched his face and she tried to convey with her expression how much she cared about him, despite everything. Strangely, she wasn’t afraid of him. He seemed driven by escape plans rather than rage, which fit her original assessment of him.
Intelligent.
He mesmerized her. She had never before seen a wild pet loose, without a collar. And she was standing in the same room with him. The experience should have been terrifying, but Alyssa knew only a sense of affection and awe.
My fierce pet. How magnificent he is.
“How did you get out of the cage?” she asked in a hushed voice.
“None of your business,” he grunted. He grabbed Alyssa by the wrist and pulled her after him as he strode across the room. He sank into a large armchair and commanded her on her knees next to it. “I need to think for a while,” he said, keeping her wrist trapped in his hand. “Stay there and be quiet.”
Alyssa wiggled, trying to pull her wrist free, which caused him to give her a warning tug. “Stay still, I said. Or I’ll bend you over my lap.”
Alyssa obeyed, although the idea of Jax bending her over wasn’t bad at all. Would he spank her as well? Absurdly, a hint of arousal tickled her belly. Jax wore a brooding expression, staring out into the nighttime city. Alyssa admired his angular, masculine profile for a while, but then her mind turned back to how he managed to break out. She looked at the cage door, but couldn’t detect any obvious signs of violence, at least not from a distance. The bars weren’t bent and the lock appeared intact. He hadn’t used force. He had managed to unlock the door. But the lock could not be picked.