by Jaye Peaches
With her heart pounding in her chest, she hurried to the docking bay. The access airlock swung open when she activated the switch and she crossed the air space to the outer door, the one attached to the rear of her craft. This was easier than she anticipated. It would take a few moments for the computer to boot up all the necessary systems, especially if she circumvented a few protocols. It wasn’t until the navigation computer requested a destination that she realized she had forgotten two important things.
One—her picture cube was still in the cell and she’d no other copies of the images. She muttered a curse, but decided it was too risky to retrieve.
The second thing was the alarm. Would the security failure include all the warning systems? She was about to find out if an alarm would sound if an unauthorized launch occurred.
She punched a button and Stealth lurched forward, breaking free of the dock.
“Yes, yes,” she shouted joyfully.
It was for the best. If she stayed any longer on Mason’s ship, knowing how she felt about him, it would only go horribly wrong. How could a relationship between a marshal and fugitive be initiated, let alone thrive?
* * *
The tractor beam dragged the craft toward one of the interceptor’s external airlocks, one of three that the ship possessed. The powerful engine was too strong for the shuttle. Mason monitored the progress of the docking from the flight deck of his Titan interceptor, ensuring the beam maintained a steady speed. The last thing he wanted was the force of the beam ripping apart the shuttle. The apprehension of Callo was progressing according to plan.
Collecting his stun gun, he made his way to the docking bay. The tricky part was going on board and neutralizing the fugitive. Callo wasn’t supposed to be physically strong. Descriptions of the criminal presented him as small and due to his habitual drug use, gaunt and wasted. What he did have was brains and Mason would have to proceed with caution—there might be traps on the shuttle.
It was only when he entered the docking bay that he noticed the silent alarm going off for the other airlock, the one Jade’s ship should be attached to. He checked the computer display and growled with dismay. Why hadn’t he seen it? The security protocols for all the doors on board had been wiped and reset, effectively leaving them all open. Jade’s cell door was open and so was the airlock to her craft.
Mason was faced with a dilemma: locate the whereabouts of Jade or pursue his real target—Callo?
He tightened his grip on the butt of the gun. Jade wasn’t valuable, not like Callo. She wasn’t a most-wanted criminal; she was a lowly smuggler and a bad one at that.
If he let her go, she would think he wasn’t interested in her, which wasn’t true. He might not care about her value as a criminal, but he did care for her well-being. Her lack of experience as a dealer in contraband made her vulnerable to others, especially dishonorable people who’d not think twice about ripping her off or handing her over to worse officials than himself or men like Callo.
He would have to let Jade go because Callo was too dangerous to let loose—it was a decision he might regret, and it certainly was giving him an uncomfortable feeling in his belly. Having made up his mind, he stormed into the airlock attached to Callo’s shuttle and raised his weapon, but just as he did something struck the shuttle and the shockwaves rocked the airlock. Mason lost his balance and toppled over. The weapon clattered onto the floor out of his reach, then the airlock juddered again as he tried to raise himself to his feet.
The tractor beam was still active and it seemed like the beam had latched onto another object nearby and was pulling it toward the shuttle. The culprit dawned on him—Jade’s ship was crashing into Callo’s! The jolting continued in accompaniment to horrendous screeches as the two spaceships collided. If the tractor beam didn’t shut down soon, the two vessels were in danger of hull breaches, resulting in him both losing his prey and Jade as well.
Finally, the sound of two ships grinding against each other halted. Mason scrambled to his feet and swiveled to face a diminutive figure. Something cracked against the side of his head and he blinked before falling backward.
“Fuck,” he muttered as he hit the hard floor. Things weren’t going to plan at all.
* * *
Jade killed her faltering engine. The hull was about to be ripped to shreds by the collisions with the other captured craft and Stealth couldn’t escape the indiscriminate tractor beam. It was a futile situation.
Damage report, boomed the computer. Recommend evacuation. Hull breach imminent.
“Tell me about it.” Jade scowled. She’d had to pick herself off the floor several times with the force of the successive impacts. The computer had failed to spot the tractor beam or the shuttle because Jade had circumvented the boot-up protocols and activated the engines prior to the scanners. The way the computer was yelling at her made her think it was truly human and not the voice of a machine.
“Idiot,” she shouted back. There was little to do but hope the tractor beam cut out, then allow Stealth to limp back and re-dock with the Titan interceptor.
She waited. The terrible noises of the two ships tussling with each other ended. Everything went quiet.
Tractor beam deactivated. Recommend immediate re-docking.
“I know, I know.” With relief, Jade took control of her ailing ship and reengaged the airlock. Her palms were sweaty and her hands shook as she flicked the sequence of switches that shut down Stealth’s engine. She inspected the outside damage through a portal. One side was battered and bits of debris were floating off into space.
Stepping through the airlock into the interceptor’s docking area, she waited for Mason to appear and declare her incompetent. Instead, an eerie silence greeted her return. Where was he?
She edged along the wall, not daring to expose herself out into the open. When she approached the airlock attached to the other shuttle, the hatch sprang open and through it fell a man. A stranger with wispy hair and a tattoo of a snake coiled around his neck. He landed on the floor facedown and stayed there, unmoving. Behind him, striding over the threshold was an irate-looking Mason with blood trickling down the side of his face.
Jade gasped. “Mason! What happened?”
“What happened?” Mason glowered. “What happened, sweetheart, was you escaping while I was in the middle of apprehending this piece of shit. As you left the dock, the beam snagged your ship by mistake and boom! I was in the airlock about to board the shuttle when this jerk took advantage of the confusion and clobbered me.” He kicked the leg of the inert man.
“Are you alright?” He’d called her sweetheart—oddly, it affected her in a stupid way; she wanted to reach out and wipe away the blood. He was hurt and it was her fault.
“Yes,” he said with brevity, appearing to catch his breath. “The tractor beam’s own safety protocols released to prevent further damage. I managed to reacquire my weapon and KO’d him.” He pointed at his prisoner. “You came back?” Mason looked at her directly and she caught sight of his fiery eyes—the man was steaming with rage.
Jade swallowed hard. “Yes. My ship is too badly damaged to go anywhere.”
“So you really were planning on escaping. This wasn’t some kind of ploy to get my attention?”
“Your attention?” She didn’t understand. “If I wanted your attention, I would have used the intercom.”
He bent over and picked up the man’s ankles. “I’d best process this lowlife. You can return to your cell and stay put. I don’t want you wandering around until he’s in stasis, just in case he’s faking. Fortunately, fighting with his fists so far hasn’t been one of his strong points.” He heaved the unconscious fugitive along behind him.
Jade watched wide-eyed as Mason carted off his latest acquisition. There wasn’t anything to do but obey him. She’d nowhere to go—she’d wrecked her vessel and the other one, too, probably, and Mason didn’t look happy. In fact, he looked very angry with her. Hardly surprising—she’d tried to escape again, and
this time she’d caused even more trouble for him.
Somehow, she guessed her butt would pay the price.
Chapter Five
The cell door opened and Mason wagged his finger in the air. “Come with me.”
Jade scampered after him. “Where are we going? What happened to the other guy?” she said to Mason’s broad back.
“The other guy is frozen and no longer a threat. Turns out he’s highly suggestive in a stupefied state. Easy as hell to process him.”
Waiting for Mason’s return, which felt like an eternity, she’d stayed on the cot, hunkered down and contemplating her situation. Three escape attempts, three total failures. She wasn’t any better at absconding than she was at smuggling.
Mason stopped outside the medical bay. “In there, now.” He jabbed his thumb at the door.
Inside, he paced the room with his hands on his hips while Jade wrung her hands together. “So,” she said jovially. “I fucked up—”
“Shut it,” he said curtly. “I know what you did. I don’t need an explanation of why. I guess you feel some kind of loyalty toward your smuggling friends, so you decided to try to escape. Laudable, I get it.” He halted right in front her, staring down his long nose. She spied a small cut on his temple, glued closed and cleaned. He made no reference to his injury.
“I can’t give up—” she blurted.
“Yes, you can. You can give up endangering yourself, this ship, and me. You can give up thinking that you’re on a personal one-woman crusade to save a whole planet. You can start by thinking about consequences.” He spoke quietly, almost too quietly, and it made the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end. An angry man should shout and curse, shouldn’t he? This one didn’t. What he articulated was blunt and to the point. Towering over her, he had the strength to overpower her and show his dominance in an aggressive way. Clearly, it wasn’t his style. He expected obedience.
Trapped, but unbound, the best course of action would be to relinquish her body to him and accept her fate. Jade rocked back on her heels and couldn’t think of anything to say.
The marshal stepped back and looked her up and down. “I’m authorized to punish escape attempts. I’m also authorized to punish anyone on board this ship who recklessly endangers the lives of others.” He tapped his foot on the floor, appraising her.
Jade instinctively clenched her buttocks at his sternness—such a voice he had when dishing out those words, it almost dazzled her. Her ass cheeks had stopped throbbing, the physical impact of the last spanking had faded. She guessed it wouldn’t be long before they were sore once again.
She cleared her throat. “I suppose you want me to strip.”
He nodded, unsmiling. “Yes. Then bend over the table.”
“I didn’t break the security system. That wasn’t my fault.” She began to unbutton her tunic, plucking at the clasps with trembling fingers. “I’m an opportunist.”
“Nope, it wasn’t your fault but that isn’t an excuse for escaping. I applaud your ability to think on your feet, Jade, but I’d rather you didn’t do it with me about. You’re a liability.” He went quiet as she finished undressing.
This time removing her underwear caused less indignity, if only because he’d seen her naked before. However, it was little comfort for what was to come. She rubbed her hands up and down her arms, as if she was cold.
“Over the table,” Mason ordered.
“What are you going to do?” she stuttered, turning to face the medical exam table.
“Spank that ass of yours until it’s red hot.”
She risked a little sarcasm. “I’m familiar with that approach.” She edged forward, forcing herself to bend. He’d see the line of her slit as she exposed herself. There was little she could do to hide the smoothness of her lips. She’d placed her trust in him before, she could do it again.
“That’s the problem. It isn’t having quite the impact I want it to. So…” He sounded closer than she’d imagined; his voice right by her ear, competing with the thrum of her racing heartbeats. “I’m adding an additional measure.”
Startled, she rose and twisted around to face him. “What?”
He held something in his hands. She hadn’t seen him pick it up. “You’ll have this inside you. A reminder that your obedience is non-negotiable.”
It wasn’t the first butt plug she’d ever seen. Jade couldn’t claim to be an innocent. However, she’d not seen one attached to a balloon pump before. “No,” she gasped. “That isn’t going—”
“It is,” he said firmly. “I’m punishing your ass in a way you’ll not forget.”
“I’m not planning on escaping again, honestly,” she said swiftly.
“Only because you’ve no way of getting off this ship.” He squeezed the air pump and the conical-shaped plug expanded slightly. “This will ensure you obey.”
“Just spank me,” she pleaded, leaning back on the table.
“Bend over now, Jade, and stay still, or else I’ll use those, too.” He pointed at the restraints.
Tears pricked her eyes. “I will be good from now on.”
“That’s nice of you to say,” Mason said wryly. “I’ve heard you say something similar before. This is your last warning—bend over.”
Jade stretched her arms out as she leaned forward and grasped the edges of the table. Her knuckles were white.
“I’m going to spank you ten times on each ass cheek, then insert the plug. Plenty of lube, so don’t fret about the insertion.”
Did he expect her to say thank you? She squeezed her eyes shut. “Whatever,” she spat. She regretted saying it immediately.
“Watch your tongue; insolence won’t be tolerated.”
The first smack cracked across her behind as he swept his hand upward. She exclaimed loudly—he’d aimed for the crease at the top of her thighs. Without pausing he switched to the other cheek and delivered an equally firm blow. The pain seared instantly and she jerked upward. Over and over, he paddled her ass with the flat of his palm and he counted out each one. She tried to relax and failed. Her bottom flinched, involuntarily tightening, and the unwanted response magnified the effect of the spanking. She hated the pain. Unsurprisingly, each time he clapped his hand across her ass, the intensity rocketed, adding another layer of heat.
“Ten,” he declared.
There was no escaping now. Nowhere to run or hide. He pinned her down, shifted her feet farther apart and circled her bottom hole with lubricant. Mason wasn’t rushing; he’d dealt with Callo and obviously could afford to take his time to prepare her for the inflatable plug. Jade had time to ponder her predicament. How she’d come to be bent over and punished. Would any other man have her so positioned and subjugated? She had to believe it was the man himself, not his role as a law enforcer, because she still couldn’t think of herself as a criminal or even a smuggler. She was an idealistic bringer of aid.
“Now, relax, or else this will hurt,” said Mason.
The tip of the plug nudged against her anus and she shuttered her legs together, trying to pretend it wasn’t happening. She liked anal sex, she liked the way it made her feel, but not like this. If only… she dismissed the fantasy as inappropriate and totally ridiculous.
“Open up, Jade.” He wriggled the apex against her bud and it gradually slid into her oiled entrance. “There,” he said with satisfaction. “In.”
She bunched her hands into fists and drummed them on the table as the plug sank inside her bottom. She heard the little puffs as he worked the balloon pump—one, two, three. The sense of intrusion grew, stretching her passage as the air filled the plug.
“Another ten.”
Mason was right. This she would never forget. It was utterly humiliating, especially in combination with the spanking. Her tight asshole pushed open by the plug, expanding outward and at the same time, his hand ricocheting off her raised bottom. She bleated a few times, then gritted her teeth. Let him have his fun, if that’s what it takes.
He sta
rted to speak quietly, peppering his sentences with his slaps. “I am your keeper.” Smack! “I have a duty of care for my prisoners.” Another swat, slightly higher and the plug, although flexible, seemed to jar inside her. “You risked your life and nearly cost me mine.”
She had? “When I…” The clash of his palm against her bottom ended her sentence.
“It’s a huge risk going onto a fugitive’s vessel without backup. I took it, but your little antics upset the balance. It would have been much worse for you if he’d won that battle.” Mason squeezed the pump again, and the sense of fullness intensified. “With me out of the way, he could take you. Do you know what Callo does to women he doesn’t like?”
“No,” she answered breathlessly, fighting with a rising sense of guilt at her thoughtlessness. If she’d followed the boot-up protocols, she’d have known there was another ship in proximity and that the tractor beam was engaged.
“Best you don’t.”
“I’m sorry. I am, truly. I didn’t mean to interfere with his capture…” she sniffed, feeling a tear trickle down her nose onto the table and releasing a low wretched cry. Dammit, she couldn’t stop the tears from falling. What a mess she’d have been in if Mason had been killed.
“Apology accepted. You sound sincere. I’m going to leave this plug in and you’re going to stand up, walk over to the wall, and face it. You’re going to stay there with your legs apart, hands on your head and make damn sure you think hard about what you did. Okay?” He detached the pump.
“Yes, sir,” she murmured.
What next? How to move on from her disastrous attempt at escaping Mason? She wanted to make it good between them, not just because she risked his life and hers, but because he said things that made her realize something she needed from him—a duty of care. Nobody had cared for her, not since she’d grown up and left her family home. Men had used her, and not in a way that really made her feel safe or happy. She’d bartered her body in return for favors or opportunities to leave Malimor. She wasn’t going to sell her body to Mason, no matter how much she fancied him. There was something else she could offer though.