Vanquished (The Hidden Planet Book 2)

by Sophie Stern

  “I worked for them for several years. My parents died when I was a teenager and I didn’t really have any money or very many options. I lived with some friends for awhile, but then I had to go get a job. I worked at several places before I realized I could be a nanny. I thought it would be a good job because housing is provided.”

  “You lived with the family?”

  “Yes. I had my own bedroom. I took care of the children all day, every day. Then, when they were in bed for the night, I could go to sleep in my own room.”

  “It sounds like you were overworked,” Ezra murmurs. “You didn’t get a day to yourself?”

  “Sometimes,” I admit. “When they went on vacation or had a special event they didn’t want their employees going to. Those days were really nice. I could just relax and read or watch movies.”

  “You should have gotten more time off,” Ezra shakes his head. “Such a hard worker for such a tiny human.”

  His words bring me more comfort than they should because I feel like Ezra truly understands me. He’s only known me a short time, but he gets me.

  “Well, one night, a few days ago, I couldn’t sleep. I got up and was going to go to the kitchen to get some water.”

  This is the part that’s hard to spit out.

  This is the part that’s going to get me killed.

  If I tell Ezra, there’s a chance they’ll kill him, too.

  Then again, maybe they’ll kill him anyway, just for helping me.

  “And that’s when I saw Martin Stremon with Mrs. Finkle. They were planning to murder her husband, and they caught me listening.”

  Chapter 7

  Ezra

  Dagger is a quiet thing, but she’s strong. I can understand how people would underestimate her at first glance. She looks frail and tiny, but she has an inner-strength most people could only dream of possessing.

  So her boss decided to talk with someone about getting rid of her husband. That’s not uncommon. Even on Sapphira, murder happens. Evil lurks everywhere and it doesn’t care what species you are, what color your skin is, or what planet you’re from. It only cares that you’re a willing vessel.

  “Why do they want to kill her husband, Dagger?” Surely, the rich woman is only after more money. Of course, power is always another motivating factor.

  “Martin Stremon is a bounty hunter and her lover,” Dagger explains. “I’ve known about their affair for awhile. They didn’t know I knew. I kept it a secret and pretended not to know because if they found out I was aware of their relationship, they would have me killed.”

  “This sounds extreme.”

  “They have a flair for the dramatic.”

  I cock my head for what seems like the millionth time. I’m tired of the Earth slang. She reminds me of my brother, Quinn. He’s always repeating things we heard on television when we were children. We spent so much time watching movies and Earth reruns that I should have all of this lingo memorized, but I don’t.

  Somehow, it didn’t stick for me, and hearing Dagger repeat these phrases is both endearing and confusing.

  If she notices I’m struggling to follow along, she doesn’t stop to explain. She just keeps talking.

  “Martin wants Mr. Finkle’s job,” Dagger explains. “He’s on a committee that deals with transport. Right now, the laws for importing goods to Mars are very restrictive. Martin wants to change all of that.”

  “Why? Import laws are an important method of making sure a planet’s economy stays balanced.”

  “I know. Martin owns a company on Dreagle and he wants his goods to be imported to Mars on a larger scale. He also wants to be able to import things more inexpensively. Right now, he smuggles a lot onto Mars, but smuggling is dangerous and expensive. He wants a better alternative.”

  “Why didn’t they just ask Mr. Finkle to change the laws? Or to at least vote on making a change?”

  “They did. He refused. This is their Plan B,” Dagger explains. “I heard them talking about how they were going to make his death look like an accident. Martin Stremon is already a known friend of the family. It would make sense for him to step up and replace Mr. Finkle at his job during the family’s ‘time of need.’” She rolls her eyes. “Please. The only thing they need is jail time.”

  “I’m sorry you’re caught in the middle of this. I wondered where you had come from.”

  “You mean, you didn’t think I was just sightseeing in the middle of the jungle?” She bats her eyelashes a little and smiles. I have to laugh. Dagger is delightful to be around. I really have never met anyone quite like her before.

  “The thought did cross my mind. I thought, ‘Out of all the jungles in the galaxy, this beautiful woman has decided to sight-see in mine. How interesting.’”

  “Beautiful?” She raises an eyebrow.

  “Do you prefer ‘gorgeous’?”

  “I don’t think either of those words apply to me,” Dagger says quietly. My hand is still on her waist, still touching the little stretch of skin where her shirt doesn’t quite meet her pants.

  “Has no one ever told you’re pretty?” I ask, surprised. Dagger is an incredibly gorgeous female. Her body is quite pleasing, quite lovely to look at. I’m surprised, to be honest, that she isn’t already mated or married. Surely someone should have snatched her up by now. Surely someone should have stolen her heart.

  She shakes her head, and my heart breaks a little bit. I understand that her parents died when she was young. Mine did, too. Luckily, there were other people around to support me emotionally.

  Did she not have that?

  How has no one ever told her she’s incredible?

  “You’re lovely, Dagger. Perfectly lovely.”

  Her breath hitches and her heart starts to race again. I can hear it beating louder and louder and louder. It’s practically beating out of her chest now. One of the perks of being a Sapphiran is that I can almost always read the emotions of those around me. If someone is sad or happy or angry, their scent will change.

  I rub her side softly, gently. She doesn’t seem to mind me touching her, which is nice. I like to touch and be touched. I like to feel close to others. I rarely allow myself this luxury, though. I’ve been hurt before and for me, it’s best to keep other people at a distance. It’s best to stay to myself.

  The exception to this self-imposed rule has always been my family. I’ll hug Hayden and Quinn, and now Fiona, as much as I want. I just don’t let women get close to me anymore. It’s too painful.

  “No one has ever thought that before.”

  “Oh, trust me, they’ve thought it. Maybe they were just too stupid to say it.”

  Dagger isn’t convinced she’s pretty, but I want her to know that she is. I want her to feel it. I want her to know how I see her, how I view her. I want her to know that to me, she is incredible. She is perfect.

  Usually, if someone doesn’t believe the words I say, I don’t give a shit. I tell them to fuck off and I go on with my life, but Dagger isn’t just some girl.

  She’s not someone I can just push away.

  She’s not someone I will ever be able to get out of my head.

  So I do something that’s probably incredibly stupid, something that’s not very smart at all.

  I kiss her. We’re side-by-side facing each other and my hand is still firmly on her waist, and I kiss her. I press my lips to Dagger’s, and I show her how pretty I think she is.

  She hesitates for only a second, and then she pushes me onto my back and straddles me, kissing me back. She kisses me eagerly and excitedly. She kisses me like it’s important that she does, like this moment is just as valuable to her as it is to me. She kisses me like there’s no one else in the world but the two of us.

  She kisses me like she means it.

  And I really think that she means it.

  Chapter 8

  Dagger

  Ezra isn’t the type of guy I should get involved with.

  Hell, I shouldn’t get involved with anyone. I’
m on the run, for dragon’s sake. Somehow, though, there’s just something about him that gets me. There’s something about him that makes me feel like I’m more than just some girl.

  I’m more than just the nanny.

  I’m more.

  I’m more when I’m with him, and I sort of love that. I love that feeling. I want to hold onto it, bottle it up, and keep it forever. I want to feel this way for always. I want to feel this for an eternity.

  I know that I can’t, so for now, I take what he’s willing to give me. I take what he offers. I take his kiss, and I give him one of my own. I take from Ezra and I offer myself wholly to him.

  We don’t have forever.

  We don’t have an eternity.

  But we have this night.

  We have this moment.

  So I kiss him like he’s the only man on Sapphira. I kiss him like he’s the only one who matters. I kiss him like the sky is falling.

  I kiss him.

  He lets me touch him as we kiss. My hair falls around his face, creating a little space where only the two of us exist. He doesn’t move as my hands explore his chest, his neck, his jaw. He doesn’t move as I grind against him, as my hands make their way down his sides. He doesn’t move.

  Ezra groans when I slide my tongue in his mouth. He kisses me back harder, faster, needier. He kisses me like this means just as much to him as it does to me, and I feel like I’m floating.

  “Ezra,” I murmur, pulling back only slightly. His eyes are closed, but he opens them when I whisper his name.

  “Dagger?”

  “I want you,” I say. “Please.”

  He touches me now, sliding his hands up my back and then back down, settling on my waist.

  “What are you asking me for, Dagger? What do you need, darling?”

  “Please,” I groan. He has to smell my arousal. He just has to. I know he’s turn on, too: I can feel it. I can feel his length rubbing against me. I know he’s big, and thick, and I want him. I want to ride him. I want to play with him. I want pleasure and for just a little while, I want to forget about my life.

  I just want to live in this moment with Ezra.

  “Tell me,” he whispers. His eyes do that thing where they flash different colors: purple, green, blue.

  “I want you to fuck me, Ezra. I want you to fuck me hard. Please. I’ll die if you say no. I need it. I need you now. Please.”

  I’m begging, but I’m not embarrassed. I’m too far gone to feel embarrassed. I’ll say anything he wants to hear if it just means he’ll give me his cock, if it means he’ll slide it inside of me.

  “Of course,” he says. His voice has turned deeper: thick with arousal. “Take off your clothes, baby. Show me.” The nest is too small to stand up. It’s too small for us to move around very much at all. Somehow, I manage to kick off my shoes and wiggle out of my pants and tank top. I’m not wearing a bra or panties. It was the middle of the night when I left Mars. I had been planning on going to sleep for the night: not running for my life.

  I climb back onto Ezra so I’m straddling him, but I’m naked now, and he looks at me.

  “It’s too dark to see me,” I say.

  “No, beautiful. I can see you just perfectly. Fuck, you’re even more perfect than I thought you would be.” He runs his hands up and down my sides before moving them to my front. Ezra’s hands are rough and calloused, reminding me that he’s had to work hard to get to where he is.

  He’s dedicated.

  He’s determined.

  He’s strong.

  I don’t mind the way his hands feel against my soft skin. I like it. It turns me on even more and I wonder how I’ve managed to live this long without sleeping with a Sapphiran. Not just any Sapphiran, though: him. I wonder how I’ve managed to live this long without sleeping with him.

  Somehow, I feel like I’m coming alive in this moment.

  I feel like this is the moment my whole life has been building toward.

  I feel like this is going to be the greatest moment of my entire life.

  In fifty years – if I live that long – I’ll look back on this moment and remember. I’ll look back and think, that’s when everything changed. That’s when my life began. That’s when I finally felt like I was free.

  And then Ezra’s hands cover my breasts, inciting a lust-filled haze.

  “Oh,” I murmur.

  “Beautiful,” he repeats. He squeezes my breasts gently, then bounces them one at a time with his hands.

  “Have you ever been with a human?” I ask. I’m not jealous or worried. I’m genuinely curious because he seems so fascinated with me.

  “Never,” he admits. “Have you been with a Sapphiran?”

  “No,” I tell him.

  “Good. I want to be your first.” He places a hand on my back and presses down so I’m leaning toward him. I’m not sure what he’s doing at first, but then he closes his lips around my breast and sucks hard.

  Instantly, my pussy becomes even wetter. I’m drenched with arousal and probably coating his clothes completely. He doesn’t seem to notice or mind.

  “So perfect,” he groans, and starts to lick and suck on the opposite breast. Back and forth, he moves between the two, covering my skin with kisses and soft touches. He bites me gently, but it doesn’t hurt, and then goes back to kissing, licking, and sucking. He spends so much time on my breasts that for a minute, I forget about everything except the way this feels. I close my eyes and just focus on the sensations he’s creating.

  I close my eyes and lose myself.

  Then he shifts his body and I feel his length pressing between my legs.

  “Fuck,” I groan.

  “I need to get out of my pants,” he says.

  I scurry back, out of the way, and Ezra takes off his boots, his pants, and his shirt. He’s naked, and entirely blue. It’s almost too dark for me to see him, but there’s a thin streak of moonlight coming into the nest and I can see the way his skin glows slightly. He’s the beautiful one, the perfect one.

  He looks like he was made for sex.

  He looks like he’s been waiting for a girl like me to ride him.

  He lays back down and I climb up him, kissing and licking as I move up his body. He sucks in a breath every now and then, and I focus on giving those areas extra attention. There’s a spot on his thigh where he likes to be licked. There’s an area near his waist where he likes to be nibbled on. I make a mental note of these things so I can remember for next time, so I’ll know what to do when we’re ready to play again.

  When I’m straddling him again, I hover just above his cock.

  “Are you ready, sweetie?” He asks. He sounds nervous, like he thinks I’m going to take this away, like he thinks I’m not as ready as I said I was.

  Instead of answering Ezra, I lower myself onto his dick. He’s thick, and it takes me a little while to lower myself completely.

  “That’s it, baby,” he says. “Take your time. We have all the time in the world.”

  “You might be too big,” I blush.

  “No,” he shakes his head. “You were born to take me, Dagger, so take me.”

  Then he thrusts up into me, filling me, and the scream I let out is one of pure pleasure.

  Chapter 9

  Ezra

  I’ve never been with a human before, but Dagger doesn’t disappoint. She’s incredible. She’s sexy and seductive and damn, does she know how to move her hips perfectly.

  I’m deep inside of her and she wiggles her body, moving in a beautiful rhythm that has me on the edge of orgasm much sooner than it should.

  “Slow down,” I murmur, grabbing her hips. “I want this to last.”

  She chuckles quietly, but slows her movements.

  “You’re really pretty,” she whispers. “That’s a compliment. Most men aren’t as pretty as you. Everything about you is just so…perfect.”

  “I feel the same way, Dagger. Just look at you.” My hands are all over her: in her hair, on her breasts,
on her hips. I slide a hand between us and begin to rub her clit slowly as she grinds against me.

  “What about me?” She asks. Her eyes are closed and her head falls back. Her hair sways as she moves, gently brushing against her body. It’s dark, but I can see perfectly. I can see every inch of her and I love it.

  “Your breasts are so sweet,” I touch them, bouncing one in my hand. “They’re cute and full and perfect.”

  “You should kiss them,” she leans forward, offering them to me, and I accept. I take one, sucking it between my teeth, and tease her nipple with my tongue. Then I repeat the treatment on her other breast. I can feel her squeezing against my cock, gripping me tightly as I play with her.

  “And your hair is lovely,” I whisper, reaching for it. I tug gently, pulling it slightly. Again, she seems to like this.

  “A little harder,” she says, and this time I pull more tightly. I don’t pull her hair enough to actually hurt, but she’ll be able to feel a tug. I’ve known a few women who liked this, but Dagger seems to really love it.

  “How do you like that, baby?”

  “So good,” she whispers, and I know she’s close to coming. I want her to. I want her to come all over me, to squeeze my cock as she’s overwhelmed with pleasure. I want her to do that for me and then I want to come inside of Dagger.

  She seems to be on the very edge of her orgasm, and I want this one to be good for her. I want her to remember this forever. No matter what happens between the two of us, I don’t ever want her to forget the night in the jungle because to be honest, this is a first for me, too.

  I’ve never been with anyone in the jungles.

  I’ve never been with anyone in the forest.

  I’ve certainly never made love in a nest before.

  Never.

  It’s only her and me and this moment.

  I grab her hips and thrust up hard and fast inside of her. She closes her eyes and starts groaning. Dagger grabs her breasts and squeezes them, pinching her nipples, touching her body, and then she comes.