Janus' Conquest (8 page)

“You might even begin to love me.”

There was an odd note of hope in his voice that was surprising. It tempted her to just give in to the moment and let him sweep her away because it was far more inviting than walking into a penal sphere. But she had never settled before and her heart certainly wasn’t going to be cast aside when it was the only true thing that she had to give. “Love is not a game, Janus.”

His lips kicked up into a grin. “Do you think I consider it such? I will have to show you otherwise.”

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“Can you?” She bit into her lip as she heard the pleading note in her own voice.

Lusting for his body did not prepare her for the emotion filling her heart. Loving him would be so much more dangerous.

A deep male chuckle was her response. “Do not confuse dominance with an inability to love. I am honest with you, Fay, in what I will demand. That does not mean I cannot love you.” He pressed a hard kiss against her mouth to seal her response behind her lips. His hands held her head in place for his kiss. Her breasts craved his body weight again as he ran his tongue over hers in a slow tangle. Surrender shimmered with unmistakable appeal as she ran her fingers through his short hair, seeking more skin-to-skin contact. The need to be pressed completely against his harder, male body consumed her as she stroked his tongue with hers in bold invitation.

He left her a moment later. A shiver raced over her skin as she was suddenly cold without his body pressing against hers. The sheet was pushed up over her thighs a second later as Janus knelt at the foot of her bed and pressed her thighs wide. She was fascinated by the shimmer of heat in his eyes. It held her mesmerized as his hands smoothed over her hips.

“You will wear the harness.” The first strips hit her belly and she flinched. Janus locked stares with her for a moment as he soothed her bare belly with a firm hand.

“Because I will have you and I will not see your body torn.”

His voice was firm with his determination. A training harness was something she had grown up knowing about but never truly understood. Maybe it was the difference between the genders but females dreaded the training harnesses and Hunters anticipated the moment they would place one on a female. But the look on Janus’ face as he drew the straps over her bared belly was not one of possession as she had assumed it would be. Determination glittered in his eyes but his lips were set into a hard line as if he was struggling to do what he considered the correct thing.

She had never entertained the idea that a training harness was for her benefit. The contraption was going to slide and rub against her clit with every move she made, 53

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pushing her towards climax over and over without any emotion, only pure physical stimulation. Janus stroked the center of her slit before placing the little pleasure beads against her tender flesh. He tightened the straps of the harness and clamped them in place with a small hand tool. It would have to be cut off her body, yet another design aspect that had always made her loathe the idea of wearing one.

Tonight she was torn between the idea of being a captive in harness and the knowledge that she would not be chaste when dawn broke. Janus stroked her belly with a hand that shook slightly before he looked at her face and grunted with hard approval. Small lines around his eyes showed the stress marking his face as he stood up. He offered her a hand and she stared at his open palm for a long moment. Not taking his hand felt so petty, so she lifted her own and placed it into his.

“Let us go someplace. I confess that being in this room is more than my control can take.”

A soft laugh escaped her lips because Janus had never struck her as being overcome before. His fingers tightened on her for a moment as he tugged her forward. Her amusement died as the beads hidden in her slit moved, smoothly gliding over her clit.

Janus cupped her chin with a firm hand to keep her eyes on his.

“Have a bit of pity and contain your amusement. I might demand many things but I would never willingly cause you pain. Is that not worthy of love?”

Swallowing hard, she turned and let a robe slip over her nude body. Somehow, she had become relaxed with his seeing her bare flesh. Whether or not she wanted to trust him was not within her power to control. The emotion was already growing, sending its roots deep into her. So much that she hadn’t worried about standing near him with her body bare. But the way he looked at her made her confidence surge forward. Beauty truly must be in the eye of the beholder because she felt beautiful from looking at the expression on his face.

She slipped her feet into a pair of shoes then moved towards the door. The beads slipped against her slit as she went, making her nipples contract. She stopped to pull a 54

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brush through her hair. There was no hesitation because she craved the last intimacy as much as he did. Maybe more because she understood that it would be a single night, stolen before the reality of life shattered their hopes for anything more. For now, she was going to follow him so that the training harness would do its work.

“You cannot claim to love me, Janus.”

“I didn’t.” He came up behind her and clamped a strong arm around her waist.

“Yet love cannot exist without trust. You do not trust me yet.” His eyes connected with hers as he moved her forward and the training harness performed its task. She shivered as sensation shot up into her pussy. More fluid eased from her sheath to coat the little beads as Janus moved her forward a few more steps. “I accept the challenge of earning your trust. Love will follow.”

He said it with such determination it would have been simple to believe him. As pleasure began to build beneath the little pleasure beads, she found it hard to recall just why she needed to resist leaning on him at all. She had always refused to be his pet, but love was an entirely different matter. Only the fortunate loved. It was that thing that her parents had treasured and she had viewed as their child. There was no force greater or more frightening because it endured beyond death. Her father was an example of that.

“Come, Fay, let us be done with this struggle.”

She raised an eyebrow at him and moved forward without his aid. “Since I am wearing a harness, what do I need you for, Janus? I believe you are correct—there is no further need for struggle. I can see to my own needs.”

She walked out the front entrance with her chin level and a suspicious curve on her lips. It was more of a smirk than a smile, but Janus found himself chuckling at her bravado. It was very possible he was falling in love with her. It would explain the amount of effort he’d invested in bringing her to this moment. If it were mere physical release he craved, he could have found it a hundred times over. Fay was more. Her resolve only increased her value in his opinion. There were a few daughters who had 55

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cast him flirting looks, but they coveted his position. Fay only longed for his embrace.

He had noticed it at the weekly gatherings and it was those stolen looks that he craved.

Cornering her was only half the fun. Gaining her trust would be one of the greatest tasks he had ever undertaken. Stepping forward, he followed her and let his eyes linger on the sway of her hips, drawn to the sight of her with a devotion that went far deeper than anything he’d ever felt for another female. If that was the beginning of love, then he welcomed it.

* * * * *

Edric missed his daughter. The veteran Hunter tried to fend off thinking about her, but it was impossible. That was not a terrible thing though. Family should miss each other. It was a sign of affection and he treasured that bond with his child.

“Miss me? I brought you more rations.”

Edric jumped. He turned and sent a hard stare at the female who had managed to sneak up on him. He didn’t like the fact that she moved so silently. She actually winked at him as she placed a bundle on his doorstep. All convict dwellings were required to have the front door open during the sunlight hours.

“You’re welcome. Have a nice day.”

She delivered her words in a mocking tone that was too sweet to be considered serious. But there was also a sparkle of enjoyment in her blue eyes that reminded him of Fay. His mouth was twitching up before he stilled the emotional reaction. Alana raised an eyebrow at him.

“Well now, that’s a pleasant surprise. Didn’t know you had it in you, Edric.”

She used his name on purpose. Edric knew it and the laughter dancing in her eyes confirmed it. She offered him a shrug.

“Don’t worry. If you want surly, sullen company, you’re in the right place. I’m just an anomaly.”

“Then I am lucky to have you assigned to bringing my rations.”

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“Well, you were. This is your last delivery. You have to pick them up now, like the rest of the convicts. But I’ll still bring you work. I’m assigned the task of keeping count on parts.”

That brought a little twist of regret to him. Edric clamped his control down on top of it. Alana was a convict. The bands on her wrist were black, confirming that she had been judged guilty of a high crime. The only thing beyond that was execution.

“Then you have my thanks for your efforts, Alana.”

“No problem.”

She turned and left. Edric watched her go and frowned. She seemed misplaced among the convicts on the streets. Her step was light, and he could still see the way her eyes shimmered. He had devoted his life to keeping the law, and today was the first time he had ever questioned a result of that law. Alana seemed misplaced in the penal sphere. There was a feeling burning through his gut that told him she wasn’t vicious.

Shaking his head, he resumed his labor assignment task for the day. Every convict worked, so he would too until he drew his thieves out. Time was not the issue—what mattered was getting it done. He could not move too quickly. He would have spare supplies to trade, but couldn’t begin to offer them on the underground market too soon or his buyers might become suspicious. The only thing that bothered him was the thought of his daughter. Edric grinned at his own musings. Every parent had a portion of themselves that refused to conform to duty. He would tend to his task, but his mind would still wander to his daughter. That was what made a man rich, his family.

Material things meant little when you had no one to share them with. Even this duty would not mean very much if Fay wasn’t there when he returned to the Hunter sphere.

Being dedicated to his duty was a form of honoring their little family unit. He persevered so that the name he shared with her was an honored one, or at least it might be once he had completed his assignment.

And he missed her sorely. It was to be expected.

Alana was the only surprise he had had today.

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Moonlight shimmered all around her as the planet rotated away from the sun. Fay considered the view as the night breeze blew against the perspiration coating her forehead.

“Do not bite your lip.”

Fay offered him a soft snort instead. “Stop telling me what to do, Janus. I am not a trophy.”

He chuckled as his hand stroked her back, all the way down to her hips. He curled his fingers around the curve of one hip and guided her forward a few more paces. The beads slid through her wet slit making it impossible to hold back a whimper. Too much pleasure was twisting through her now from the walk to the park. She quivered as her clit demanded more friction to grant her relief from the sensation.

“If you were my trophy, I would be able to use your
ritith
to expedite this matter.”

She gasped as the idea of a
ritith
went through her mind. It was a little bar, inserted through a female’s clit that would vibrate at the press of a button. Hunters used them on Trophies. The idea being that those females would quickly lose their taste for defiance as a
ritith
stimulated their clits, distracting them from any resentment over their loss of rights.

“If I were a trophy, you would not be interested in me.” She tossed her words at him, watching for his response. There was a part of her that needed to be valued, as she had two days past. Maybe it was a weakness, but she could not deny the feeling. She did not want to be anything like a trophy female. She was a Hunter’s daughter.

“I know who you are Fay and it has been my wish to learn more about you.”

He gently but firmly pushed her forward again. Somehow, his hands were twisted around her arm, and she was powerless to resist. Pain shot up her arm if she resisted.

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Janus moved her in a slow circle around him as he stepped backwards. The beads slipped against her clit and she moaned as climax broke through her. Her body jerked and Janus clamped her against his body as the pleasure swept through her. She clutched at his uniform as her legs refused to hold up her body completely. The pleasure even went through her brain, stealing her ability to think for long moments.

“ A
ritith
is for a convict.”

Janus cupped her chin and raised her face so that their eyes met. “You might enjoy it.” His eyes glittered for a long moment. “But I admit to enjoying bringing you to climax myself. Handling you will be my pleasure.”

She hit him, a soft punch that didn’t really inflict any pain because of the thick muscle covering his chest, but she enjoyed giving in to the impulse anyway. Frustration was taking on so many forms, she had trouble keeping pace. Her reactions were spilling over the dams built up by years of training that taught you to temper your responses with wisdom.

The corner of his mouth twitched up in amusement, making her groan with frustration. But there was an additional emotion moving through her as well, an enjoyment of being able to tease him. He tolerated it, even looked as though he was enjoying it. She had never pictured them playing with each other. Mating, yes, but this was teasing, and that was surprising because she treasured the little intimacy. In his own male fashion he was poking fun back at her as well. Her father was the only person she played with.