Garnets or Bust Read online

  her alone.

  It was bullshit. Tessa knew that. She kissed him because she wanted to, because

  he’d caught her off guard, threatening her shiny new future. If she was to lose

  everything, then couldn’t she at least have a little fun first?

  She opened her mouth to Daaron, allowing his tongue to steal inside and caress her.

  His lips were far softer than she’d ever imagined, the kiss gentle although far from

  sweet. Heat spilled from his mouth to hers. What would it feel like to take more of him

  into her body? They stood apart, touching where they kissed, but she’d seen that

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  shocking erection earlier. He wanted her for more than kissing. Her tightening nipples

  and the tingles of sensation running between her legs told her she wanted more too.

  Something tugged at her head, breaking the flow of the kiss. She tried to ignore it,

  tried to throw herself back into the flow of that gentle, beautiful caress. But the tugging

  continued, pulling at her and hurting. Suddenly her head felt incredibly light, and she

  pulled away from him with a cry of betrayal.

  He looked down at her, his face a mixture of triumph and something else. In one

  hand he held a knife. Her braids dangled from the other.

  “Daaron, what have you done?”

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  Chapter Two

  “You’re mine now,” Daaron said, savoring the words. How many times had he

  imagined taking her? The fantasy was nothing compared to the satisfaction he felt now.

  Confusion filled her face and he almost felt pity. This was supposed to be a special

  moment in Tessa’s life, he thought. A woman from the Warrens should have her braids

  shorn during a marriage ceremony, the knife wielded by a man who loved her.

  “You can’t possibly understand what you just did,” she replied, eyes searching his,

  panicky. “I can’t lose my braids, Daaron. They’ll think I’m a whore without my braids.

  My mother…”

  “She’ll think you’re a married woman,” he said, voice harsh. “She’ll think you’re my

  woman. You belong to me body and soul. I own you. The custom seems primitive to

  me, but it serves a ‘valuable purpose’ for your people, remember?”

  “This isn’t a game,” she replied, her voice tight with anger. “You get to go back to

  your life and laugh with your rich friends over the stupid little Warrens girl you

  ‘married’, but nobody else will have me now.”

  “I wouldn’t want them to,” he replied. “I won’t tolerate infidelity. You’re mine and

  I’m keeping you, Tessa. Accept reality, darling, it will be easier for both of us.”

  She shook her head, and the pounding frustration he’d felt for so many years

  threatened to overwhelm him. He’d wanted her for years, held back because he knew

  she couldn’t fuck him without risking everything she held dear. But she’d lost that life

  the moment she’d found the garnets, even if she didn’t understand it yet. Women of her

  class were chaste before marriage, or so she insisted. About time to turn that archaic

  morality in his favor.

  “Do you deny that we’re married by the laws and customs of your class?” he asked

  her, grasping her chin and forcing her to look him in the eye.

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  “No,” she whispered. “I can’t be married to you, Daaron.”

  “Too late,” he replied. “And you have to obey me, don’t you?”

  She tried to shake her head, but he held her chin firm.

  “What would your mother say?” he asked. She whimpered, and he knew he would

  win.

  “She would say you’re my husband and I have to obey,” Tessa whispered, voice

  breaking “This isn’t what I wanted, Daaron. Why did you do this to me?”

  He could explain, but the more she knew, the greater her danger. And her attitude

  frustrated him, made him angry. Was marrying him truly such a horrible fate? Women

  had been chasing him his entire life, begging him for attention. Why wasn’t he good

  enough for this one? Years of denial, combined with the loss of his own freedom, welled

  up inside. Anger grew. He’d done his part and married her, honoring her ridiculous

  customs, trading his freedom for her survival. He’d take care of her the rest of her life.

  She had nothing to fear. Why wouldn’t she give in to him now?

  “I have more money than you can imagine,” he said tightly. “I own this entire star

  system. You’ll be more than adequately provided for. The least you can do is show me a

  little gratitude.”

  “How dare you? I had my own plans, my own dreams. I’ve worked hard to get to

  this point and you think it’s all right to just take over my life? I can’t be bought. I

  thought I already taught you that.”

  “I know you can’t be bought, we covered that a long time ago,” he replied. Her

  smell, that faint waft of flowers and woman, tickled his nose, clouding his ability to

  think. He didn’t need to talk. He needed to fuck.

  “Tessa, I didn’t want to do this to you, believe it or not. You don’t think I could

  have taken you at university? My friends laughed at me when you turned me down,

  none of them could understand why I didn’t just spirit you away in the night and keep

  you prisoner on my yacht. Men like me do not have to get permission from women like

  you. But I admired your work ethic, admired the way you stood up to me. I loved the

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  way you were honest with me, when even the professors groveled at my feet. You were

  the only one who stood up to me. I didn’t want to do this to you, but we’re out of

  choices. Now you’ll damned well live with the consequences.”

  With that, he closed the space between them, pulling her against his body

  forcefully. He channeled all his frustration, anger and longing he’d felt over the years

  and kissed her. Hard.

  Daaron’s lips took hers, demanding she open for him. Tessa tried to fight him off,

  but he held her tight with one arm, pinning her as his other hand dug into the shorn

  remains of her hair. With one swipe of his knife he’d married her, by the Goddess, and

  now he was going to have her. His cock swelled, glorying in the feel of her against his

  body. She gave a muffled whimper, the sound of a woman conquered.

  He thrust one knee between her legs, pushing them apart and throwing her off

  balance. In an instant she went from fighting to clinging to him for support. He took

  advantage of the moment to reach down and grab her ass, lifting her up and wrapping

  her legs around his waist. Carrying her, he strode purposefully toward her tent.

  “What the hell do you think you’re doing?” she asked, gripping him tightly as they

  lurched across the campsite.

  “Taking you to bed,” he replied. “No marriage is legal unless it’s consummated.”

  “You’re insane. This isn’t a real marriage.”

  “You’d better hope it is,” he replied, his voice grim. “Marrying me is the only thing

  that will keep you alive. Wives can’t testify against their husbands according to

  Imperial code.”

  “Testify? Daaron, you’re insane. I don’t know what kind of terrible secret you think

  I know, but I don’t give a damn about you or your life. I jus
t want to leave with my

  garnets.”

  They reached the tent, Daaron shouldering his way in and Tessa clutching him as

  they lurched to a stop. She tried to push him away again, but he wrapped a hard arm

  around her waist and gripped the back of her head one more time. This time his kiss

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  was long and slow, pouring out all the heat and frustration he’d built up over the years.

  She tasted better than his most fevered dreams. Finally he pulled away, allowing her to

  slide down his body. She opened her mouth to speak again, but he shushed her, putting

  one finger across her lips.

  “Talk is all I’ve ever had from you, sweet Tessa,” he said. “Now it’s time for

  action.”

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  Chapter Three

  Daaron surrounded Tessa, his body overwhelming her, his scent filling the air. She

  took deep breaths, heart racing, wishing desperately that their contact didn’t feel so

  good. She opened her mouth once more, defying him, but he gave her a look so heated

  and intense that she fell silent. Moving with slow, steady determination, he backed her

  up against the portable sleeping unit. Her knees buckled and she fell back, eyes wide.

  He deliberately pulled off his shirt, throwing it on the floor. Her eyes darted from

  his face to the endless expanse of his chest, panicked. She had to find some way to

  distract him. Just as deliberately, he removed his shoes and then his pants, throwing the

  belt and holstered blaster atop them.

  Tessa’s breath tightened in her chest. She tried not to stare at him, but the tent was

  so small there was nowhere else to look.

  Now Daaron stood before her, proud and beautiful in his nudity. His cock stood at

  attention, a solid pillar of flesh rising from the tangle of hair at his groin. It reached well

  up along his stomach, the helmet-shaped head flushing purple, pearls of moisture

  oozing from the slightly open slit. He dropped one hand down, rubbing along the

  rippled muscles of his abdomen, and gripped it firmly in his strong fingers. He stroked

  up and down once, again, his eyes boring into hers as his erection grew even stiffer.

  “I’ve been waiting far too long to do this,” he said, stepping toward her.

  The sight of the large, angry man moving so purposefully toward her was more

  than Tessa could handle. She turned, scrambling across the bed, trying to get away. His

  strong hands caught her around the waist and stopped her flight. He pulled her pants

  off, fingers so rough she wondered if there would be bruises later, and she opened her

  mouth to scream.

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  Some sixth sense must have alerted him, because he thrust her down into the bed,

  throwing his heavy weight atop her and knocking the breath from her lungs. One hand

  came around to cover her mouth. His voice whispered in her ear, “Don’t scream. I have

  men watching your campsite. You don’t want them to get the wrong idea about what’s

  happening here. They might hurt you.”

  Tessa nodded her head, stunned. How long had they been watching? Did they

  know about her garnets too? As if she should be worrying about the gems right now—

  Daaron was the greatest threat. They lay there for a moment, his enormous erection

  pushing against her ass, cradled by her flesh. The head pressed against her sphincter.

  She shivered, quivering beneath him. He groaned and thrust against her involuntarily,

  jamming the cock head against her tightly muscled ring.

  “Don’t tempt me,” he said, the words little more than a groan. “I want inside you

  too badly to play any more games, Tessa. Do you get that?”

  She nodded her head, understanding him all too well. He removed his hand,

  pulling back from her, and she lifted her head to one side so she could breathe again.

  Her head felt far too free and light, forcibly reminding her that her braids were gone.

  She belonged to this man body and soul, so long as she followed the customs of the

  Warrens.

  And if she ignored those customs? Tessa could hardly imagine that—they defined

  her, had enabled her to survive and thrive. Given her the strength to go to school and

  better herself. Without them she had no idea what she’d do.

  “Don’t hurt me,” she said slowly and deliberately, careful not to move or incite him.

  “I will do as you ask.”

  She felt some of the tension ease from his form. His hips pulled back from her butt

  just a little, and he adjusted himself until his erect penis pushed down between her legs.

  Her pants still held her feet together, and the feel of him trapped tight between the flesh

  of her thighs was strange.

  Compelling.

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  “We’ll take our time,” he said, voice tight, triumphant. “At least for as long as I can

  handle it. I don’t want to hurt you. I want it to be good for both of us.”

  The anger had eased from his voice, although Tessa still didn’t trust him any more

  than she could throw him.

  “Tell me what you want me to do,” she whispered.

  He laughed harshly and flexed his hips, rubbing his hard cock between her legs.

  The thick length grazed her labia, and she froze as renewed sensation rippled through

  her. A trickle of moisture welled up inside, and her nipples hardened against the bed.

  He flexed once more, giving a low chuckle of satisfaction as she whimpered,

  twisting her hips and trying to get…something. Tessa didn’t want to think about that. A

  tightening need grew within her, the same treacherous attraction that had always made

  her vulnerable to him. Only this time there were no caustic remarks and lab tables to

  hide behind.

  Daaron nuzzled her neck, giving her a kiss here and a little nip there, while he

  worked one hand under her belly and between her legs. She lay helpless as his fingers

  wound down from her navel to the hair of her mound, burrowing their way to her clit.

  Then he slid one down into the fold between her mound and clit, rubbing sensuously

  back and forth as she stiffened.

  “Don’t fight it,” he said slowly. “This can be good for both of us. You’ve waited a

  long time, so let yourself enjoy it. Your rules always got between us, Tessa, but you

  wanted me too.”

  She wanted to ignore him, to keep fighting if only to prove him wrong, but she

  couldn’t. That treacherous finger worked back and forth, each slow rub heightening an

  ache that made her want to squirm and twist beneath him. In that moment Tessa felt

  thankful for his heavy bulk holding her down, because it kept her from having to

  acknowledge her response. She was free to play the helpless victim, free to allow her

  body to betray her and reap all the rewards of that betrayal.

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  Back and forth, back and forth he tortured her, rubbing slowly and steadily. His

  hips started to move over her too, providing an alternative friction against her labia.

  The scraping feel of his cock between her legs grew smoother and she knew her fluids

  were trickling out to ease his way. Virgin she might be, but Tessa was far from ignorant.

  She’d explored her own body many times and knew what would happen if he didn’t

  sto
p.

  Just the thought of that white-hot energy running through them, the release it

  would bring, forced her to bite back a moan of desire. The ebb and flow of slow need

  and bliss drifting through her body took Tessa’s muscle tone with it. Captive, she lay

  quietly, allowing her desire to grow until her entire being ached with burning hunger.

  He must have sensed her tension, because Daaron increased the tempo, rubbing her

  harder and pushing a second finger in with the first, ringing her clit and stimulating it

  from both sides. She sighed heavily, her breath starting to come more quickly. If she

  could have moved her hips, she would have pressed against him, silently begging him

  for more.

  Daaron laughed.

  “I know how hot you are for me,” he said, voice rich with need and desire. “You’re

  so slick and wet I can hardly stand it. In a moment I’m going to lift up your hips and

  push my cock in so hard you’ll feel it on the back of your throat. Are you ready for me,

  Tess?”

  She nodded her head, eyes closed, entire being focused on the delicious sensations

  he’d created. She felt him lift one arm to brace against the bed next to her head, and

  then his hips rose, pulling his cock out from between her thighs with a long, slow

  movement that drew a groan of need from her throat.

  The hand buried in her clit pulled back too, cupping her mound, and he raised her

  hips off the bed. After a moment she was high enough that her knees could find

  purchase. He pushed them apart just a bit with his hand, although it wasn’t very far—

  the pants around her ankles kept them from spreading. It didn’t stop him though.

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  Within seconds she felt the wide, swollen head of his penis pushing through her labia.

  She froze—he was so big and she’d never had anything up there before. Tessa knew it

  was supposed to hurt though. Her mother had warned her as much. How much would

  it hurt with a cock as big as Daaron’s?

  Dear Goddess, he might tear her apart.

  “Relax,” he whispered, his breath warm in her ear.

  She tried to raise her upper body with her hands, but he kept her down low,