Didn’t she?
Blade found her by the door, staring forlornly out at the water. With the second sense he had about her, he weaved her fingers in his and strolled out to the fountain. The water shot up from a hole in a circular basin spraying three tiers of water into the air. Thea put her hands beneath the flowing water, relishing the soft pulse against her skin.
“Come,” Blade invited. Kicking off his shoes, he stepped into the low basin and tugged on her arm.
Thea resisted, glancing around frantically. The central courtyard could be seen from every room in the house. Blade was fully dressed, but she wore a white silk dressing gown, which the water would ruin. He laughed at her hesitation and splashed her playfully. “Hey!” In moments, her gown was soaked. Blade pulled her beneath the spray and kissed her thoroughly. Her gown clung to her skin, outlining every curve.
In Blade’s arms, nothing mattered but him. Her reservations flew away and she didn’t make a murmur of protest as he sucked her nipple through the flimsy fabric. Feeling more brazen by the minute, she grasped his brawny shoulders and arched her back against the raining water, letting him take his fill. His hands roamed over her body, caressing every curve, heating her feverish skin while the water soothed it.
Blade nudged her backward until her parted thighs poised directly over the fountainhead. She danced away but Blade gripped her hips tightly, pulling her back into place. “Blade!” He laughed at the shocked expression on her face.
“Fuck it,” he told her, rotating her hips over the water, forward and back, up and down.
The water pounding between her legs weakened her knees. Once again, Thea shifted away from the sensuous assault. Blade moved behind her, his arms wrapping around her waist, and shimmied her forward, forcing her hips to undulate in time with his.
Squatting behind her, Blade let his hands drift up her legs, carrying the hem of her gown with them. The sensation felt sinfully delicious -- the spray of water -- his hands. His fingers drifted up over her breasts, a wad of wet fabric draped over his arms. She raised her arms, the material slipped higher, and suddenly she was free. Water caressed her naked body. She opened her mouth and drank the cool liquid as it sprayed over her face.
Blade turned her in his arms and ravaged her mouth, his contained erection hard against her belly. His sodden clothes hugged his firm body and created a soft friction against her skin. She slowly, hesitantly, wrapped her arms around his neck and rubbed against him in invitation.
He tensed at her sultry move, surprise flashing in his eyes. It was the first time she’d initiated contact. The usually nonchalant magistrate fumbled in releasing his straining cock from his soaked pants. Thea bit back a laugh and in retribution, Blade plunged into her creamy center before her next breath.
“Oh!” The water splashed against her backside, driving her lust higher with every spurt. She gasped at the dual beat of the liquid caress and Blade’s cock. He raised one of her legs against his hip while he pumped in time to the pulsing fountain. Groaning loudly, he captured her lips and ravaged her mouth.
If it weren’t for Blade’s broad palm supporting her thigh, Thea would have dissolved in a puddle, indistinguishable from the water swirling around her ankles. She pressed against the soaked fabric sticking to his sculpted chest, her fingers plowing through his wet hair, kissing him until her mind dimmed around the edges. Thea broke free of his kiss, panting hungrily. The man embodied carnal sin.
Blade withdrew his cock in slow strokes only to rocket back inside, tamping down harder with each thrust. Thea flung her head back in ecstasy, not caring who could see her wanton display or hear her cries echoing around the stone courtyard.
Blade jerked against her, filling her, his warmth a contrast to the cool water. She grabbed him when it was done, but he pulled out and away, holding her shoulders at arm’s length, the fountain cleansing her. And said nothing…
Thea hid her disappointment. Damn him! Blade hacked at her defenses continually, yet each surrender of her body meant nothing to him. Legs wobbling, she slumped to the fountain ledge. Blade put his arm around her waist for support and led her back to her room.
A silky dress had barely skimmed over Thea’s damp naked body when Steele called through the door. “Get dressed, you rutting mutt! Atlas is here to see you.”
Chapter Five
Had the leave ended so soon? Blade glanced over at Thea’s pink face as she slinked down into an overstuffed chair by the balcony door, the damn dress clinging to every sensuous curve. Desire rode him hard constantly these days. Blade spent every single waking minute thinking, talking, screwing, or brooding about Thea. He couldn’t afford this self-absorption. His quest for his sister took precedence over all other passions, and Thea threatened his filial priorities. Time for a break.
Satisfied with the arrangements he’d made for her on Rondus, a small planet similar to Earth in another quadrant, he promised himself he would visit as often as he could until the fire blazing between them burned out.
Inexplicably drawn to her side, Blade kissed her neck and watched her flesh quiver. “Duty calls.”
Thea gazed at him with soft eyes. The thought of leaving her squeezed the air from his lungs.
“I’m coming,” he answered Steele’s insistent knocking.
Thea stood. “I’m coming with you.”
Avoiding her stubborn gaze, he gathered up his traveling clothes. “No. It’s too dangerous. You stay here. I’ll take care of Joe Fowler for you and be back as soon as I can.”
“You don’t even know who he is!”
Blade gave her a look designed to squelch her complaints. “Aye. I do.” He slipped his mini-laser into his boot. “I haven’t spent every metron fucking your brains out.”
Thea’s breath hissed through her teeth.
“I want you here, Thea. Out of harm’s way.” Blade gave Thea a light kiss, ignoring the steaming anger in her eyes, and bounded out the door.
As expected, Thea leaped after him -- and bumped against an invisible barrier he’d erected. “Let me out of here!” she screamed, pounding on the clear wall.
“Steele will release you after the Decree has launched. Wait for me. If I’m not back in three moon cycles, he’ll transport you to Rondus. I’ve purchased a home for you there. You’ll like it.”
“Three months!” Her face crumbled and Blade’s heart twisted. “Please. Let me come with you.”
“I can’t, Thea.”
Angry red flecks mottled her skin. “Joe Fowler is mine, you sonofabitch! Mine!”
Squaring his shoulders, Blade saluted her from the other side of the wall and then walked away.
Lovers begging him to stay had always irked Blade beyond measure. However, he found the opposite prospect far worse. He cared for her, something a traveling magistrate didn’t have time to explore. Blade resisted the useless final urge to look over his shoulder as he walked to the Trover stop with Steele and Atlas.
“Is she a prisoner on my plantation?” Steele asked.
Blade placed a hand on his brother’s shoulder. “No, but keep a close watch. I don’t want anything to happen to her. You have my instructions if I don’t return.”
Steele nodded. “Safe travels, Blade. Keep me posted on Zara.”
“I will. Oh, and Steele? Don’t touch her.”
The Trover pulled into the loading dock and Blade marched up the boarding plank discussing the next mission with Atlas, his heart firmly entrenched in his room with Thea.
* * *
The Decree cleared the atmosphere in record time, the spaceship running smoothly. Magistrate Kevlar stood in his quarters watching the moon shrink, wishing for a moment he hadn’t left Thea behind. Then he breathed deeply, staring out at the blinking stars, and knew he’d made the right choice.
Then again, maybe he should have warned Thea about Fowler…
A careening wail in the companionway set the hairs on Blade’s neck on end. He opened a space in the hologram wall of his quarters and a young
woman flew at him, collapsing at his feet in a pile of naked, bruised limbs, her long red hair covering her face.
Atlas pounded around the corner and slid to a stop. “Stowaway, sir.”
The girl grabbed Blade’s calves and sobbed. “Please don’t take me back to Captain Pickford, Magistrate. I beg you! He’ll kill me.”
Atlas stood behind her, a disgusted look on his face. Captain Pickford, a junior magistrate on the prison shuttle Reclaimed, was notorious for mistreating the detainees he transported. Some of his female cargo had a nasty habit of disappearing before docking.
Blade glanced at Atlas’s unfastened pants and raised a brow.
“She distracted me during liftoff.”
Suppressing a grin, Blade reached down and plucked the woman off his leg, setting her on the edge of his bed. “Give her medical attention and then put her in the hold.”
The female shimmied away from Atlas when he reached for her, begging for her freedom.
Well, shit. Blade was openly defying a fellow magistrate by giving her sanctuary on the Decree and she wanted freedom? “You’re a prostitute, aren’t you?” After the debacle with Thea, he feared making another mistake.
“Yes, sir.”
“Then you know the law. When we return to Callisto, you can choose a mate or not. For now, you’ll be housed in the hold.”
“A prison,” she grumbled.
Atlas cleared his throat.
Blade cocked a brow at his deputy. “You want to share your quarters?”
Atlas grinned foolishly. “Yes, Magistrate.”
Blade gripped the prostitute’s chin between his fingers, raising her pale face. Wide green eyes regarded him, reminding him of Thea. Freckles dashed across the young woman’s cheeks, making her elfin in appearance. “Are you willing to serve my deputy?”
“Yes, sir, I will.” Lightness filled his chest at her tears of relief. Gods, he was going soft. She walked meekly over to Atlas and put a fluttering hand on his massive brown chest. “Thank you.”
Blade could relate to the startled look on Atlas’s face. Thea had done the same to him -- punched at his shielded, cynical heart. He envied Atlas for the company of his woman on this journey. He stared out at the black sky and wondered how Thea was dealing on her own.
* * *
Thea was no fool. Blade wasn’t coming back anytime soon, if ever. A knot formed in her throat. She hated this empty feeling of abandonment. She’d been alone many times in her life. Loneliness wasn’t something new to her. But this feeling was.
Yet satisfaction hummed through her veins. Thea finally had a plan for her freedom. The man at the center of her plan smiled dimly from across the dining table.
“You approve of your brother’s activities?”
Steele shrugged. “Blade is the law in Jupiter’s orbit.” A slight frown creased his brow. “Does it really matter where prostitutes ply their trade?”
Thea raised her brows at him. “I’d hoped kidnapping was a universal crime.”
A frown creased Steele’s brow. “Every woman on the ship with you had a date with death the day Blade apprehended them. Rather than let you die, he relocated the lot of you to Callisto. My brother gave you a new life.”
Thea choked on her drink. “What? Is that what he told you?”
Steele’s face hardened. “Aye. And if there is one thing I know about my brother, he doesn’t lie.”
Thea took a long, hard look at Steele, momentarily convinced Blade had rescued her, then silently scoffed. Whatever Blade’s excuses to Steele, Thea had had enough of his ‘protection.’
Damn! Why did the thought of leaving Blade bother her so much? The man didn’t care a fig for her. No doubt he enjoyed the sex, but any emotional attachment was clearly forbidden. Still, Thea ached for Blade’s touch. It was ridiculous. She’d always gotten over her lovers in the blink of an eye. Of course, none of them matched Blade as a lover either.
Once in a while, she would eye Steele when he wasn’t aware, imagining him in Blade’s place. It didn’t work. Although they were similar in build and handsome in their own unique ways, Steele lacked the dangerous spark emanating from Blade.
Dammit. No one could replace the man Thea loved.
Leaving Steele to finish his dinner alone, Thea retired to her quarters. Blade’s soul lingered there in the scent of the bed sheets, the clothes he’d left behind, the music he played while they made love… A strange hollowness expanded within her chest. Thea missed Blade with an ache that threatened to overcome her.
Yearning for a connection to Magistrate Blade Kevlar, Thea had taken to cleansing herself in the fountain in the middle of the night. Tonight the need burned brighter than usual. Waiting until the estate settled down for the night, Thea quickly divested her clothes and ran to the soothing fountain water. She ran her hands over her naked body, remembering Blade’s caress. It was the closest she’d come to feeling his presence.
The swish of an airlock alerted her to an intruder on her privacy. None of Jupiter’s other moons lit the night sky so identification proved impossible. Hopefully the darkness hid her nudity as well. Thea slipped toward her bedroom door and stumbled against a wall of muscle. Large hands brushed her hips as she jerked away.
“You’ve got to stop fucking the fountain, Thea.” Steele’s husky voice made her instantly wary. “I’m jerking off so much, my dick is getting sore.”
Thea gasped at the implication of Steele watching her fantasizing in the fountain. “How dare you… you… asshole.”
A taut silence stretched between them. “I’m going into town tomorrow.”
The change of subject threw Thea. “And?”
“You’re coming with me. Now go to your room before I break my promise to Blade.”
More than willing to comply, Thea covered herself with her hands and rushed inside. She may have looked chastened, but inside she hugged herself and walked in circles about her room. Finally a chance to get off this moon and go home. This pining over a reformed magistrate had to stop. Thea intended to spend her time in town very wisely.
* * *
After a tense ride into town with Steele, Thea was pleasantly surprised when he gave her a currency card for buying trinkets and waited patiently while she picked out her selections. Thea spent more time making mental notes of people and places that might help her escape than shopping. The day was going wonderfully until Steele dropped by Healing Waters.
Not wanting to upset the precarious peace between them, Thea made no complaint.
Pandora looked shocked when they walked in. “Hello, Steele.” Her voice should have frozen him in place. She glanced at Thea. “Has Blade tired of her already?”
“Blade is in space.”
“Too bad.” She pouted.
Steele glowered at her. “He should return by the end of the month.”
Thea stood up straighter. What happened to three months? Time was running out.
“As you can see,” Steele continued, “Blade has left Thea in my care.” He put an arm around Thea’s waist and left his insinuation hanging in the air. Thea pulled away in disgust, noting the tight expression on Pandora’s face.
“However, being shackled to her disrupts my work. Care to give me a reprieve, love?” Lifting his lips in a cocky smile, Steele looked the madam over.
“You’re going to pay for her board?” Pandora asked, ignoring his lewd innuendo.
“I always pay for your services, Pandora.”
The madam’s lips thinned. “How long am I supposed to keep her here?”
“A moon phase?”
Pandora looked surprised but recovered quickly. “Fine. I’ll put her under Julliet’s care.” The tension between Pandora and Steele sizzled. “Will you be staying in town for a moon phase too, Steele?”
Steele’s grin lit his face. “Absolutely. I’m looking forward to it… with you.”
Pandora blushed to the roots of her glittered hair.
* * *
Thea soon learned Jullie
t was the most senior member of the house. Some time ago, the poor woman had been shot with a lasergun by a jealous john. The burn had left an ugly facial scar and no one requested her anymore. However, the madam generously allowed Julliet to live in the place she considered home. A pleasant companion, Julliet loved playing card games and shopping. In Juliett’s company, Thea scoped out the lay of the city, learned the liftoff schedules, and identified the spaceship captains.
Despite Pandora’s vowed aversion to Steele, the pair spent an extraordinary amount of time together, much of it in Pandora’s quarters.
“They used to be business partners and lovers,” Julliet told Thea. “Healing Waters was a spa owned by both Steele and Pandora. Then one day, Steele left. No one knows why. Pandora changed the business to what it is today.” Julliet lifted one shoulder in bewilderment. “Now Mr. Kevlar pays for what Pandora used to give him for free. The irony is, even though they both act like they’re promiscuous, neither sleeps around.”
“No wonder Steele… never mind.” Steele’s sexual frustrations were his problem, not Thea’s.
Julliet’s eyes widened in alarm. “You didn’t --”
“No.” Thinking about Steele and Pandora’s tenuous relationship made Thea wonder about Blade’s prickly demands. The brothers shared a curtness that hid their emotions. Was there a chance Blade cared for Thea more than he let on?
It didn’t matter. Thea was going home.
* * *
Blade paced the courtroom with nervous energy. He itched for a fight -- or something. He tilted his head, listening. Damn Atlas. He strode over to the thin metal wall and banged on it. The loud grunts of pleasure continued. With a curse, Blade entered the bypass code in the keypad next to the door and walked in.
Atlas sat on the edge of his bench, legs spread wide, his dark chest gleaming with sweat, head flung back and his eyes closed, grunting at the ceiling. He tangled his thick fingers in the stowaway’s red hair as she knelt before him and sucked noisily on his huge black cock. Before Blade could say a word, Atlas shoved his cock deeper into the girl’s mouth and ejaculated with a shout, his cum exploding around her lips.
Bonds of Justice: Blade’s Decree Page 5