Blade's Decree

Bonds of Justice: Blade’s Decree Elayne Venton All rights reserved.

Copyright ©2004 by Elayne Venton

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Chapter One Thea Stone leaned over the bar table and stifled a groan when the buckles spanning the front of her not-quite-closed bustier jabbed her tender skin. The wicked appeal of flaunting her body in the tight, sexy outfit had worn off four hours ago. Her drink customer winked and stuffed a tightly folded twenty-dollar bill into Thea’s bountiful cleavage. “Because you look so hot in black leather and I can brag about it in the locker room.” “Shut up, Greg.” Thea plunked down a tonic water for the vice detective working the strip club with her. Smoothing down the hem of her mini-skirt, which persistently rolled up her thighs, she spoke a decibel over the blaring music. “I see our mark showed up again tonight.” “Yeah.” The detective shifted on his seat, angling for a better view of the dark hallway. “Every guy in the place is visiting the head while Fowler bangs the hooker. Even in this dive, it takes balls to bend a woman over a chair outside the men’s room, toss up her skirt, and plow into her. Shit, look at those jiggling tits. I’m tempted to pay for a go at her.” Thea gave him an admonishing glare, having no qualms about turning him over to Internal Affairs if she caught him on the wrong side of the badge. “Take it home to the wife.” The detective grinned. Damn it! Greg was jerking her chain again, a favorite pastime of her fellow officers. Thea sneered at him good-naturedly. She knew the guys called her “Stone Cold” behind her back and she didn’t care. Her righteous façade held them at arm’s length, keeping her personal life out of the locker room. If anyone at the precinct knew about her stash of erotic books and toys, they’d keel over in shock.

Elayne Venton

Bonds of Justice: Blade’s Decree

-4-

Tapping the empty drink tray against her thigh, Thea swung the conversation back on track. “The prostitute is Fowler’s regular. I’m interviewing her as soon as she’s done embarrassing herself.” Leaning low, Thea spoke through her teeth. “That sonofabitch killed my mother. I’m gonna nail him if it’s the last thing I do.” “Whoa.” The detective grabbed her wrist before she walked away. “I thought your mother OD’d on prescription meds?” “Where do you think she got them?” Thea jerked her arm free and tiptoed back to the bar on calf-knotting stilettos. From the corner of her eye, she caught Joe Fowler zipping up his pants and the prostitute heading out the back door. Tossing the tray on the bar, Thea called “break” to the bartender, snatching an open pack of cigarettes on her way out. Luck was on her side. The prostitute loitered by the back wall sipping from a silver flask. Thea shook out a smoke and rolled it between her fingers. She’d quit smoking years ago, but she’d take a drag if needed. “Ah, shit,” she declared, patting down her skimpy outfit. She slid a glance over the prostitute. “You wouldn’t have a light, would you?” Thea held up the unlit cigarette. Before the woman could answer, a luminescent liquid splashed across her fishnet blouse and she collapsed against the wall. Thea stepped in the woman’s direction, spotted a man’s shadow looming in the darkness pointing what looked like a Super Soaker at her. What the hell was in that thing? She dropped to the asphalt and rolled behind the stinking dumpster, wishing she had her 9 mm. As soon as she peeked around the metal bin, a warm spray stung her face, blinding her. The parking lot tilted, wavered out of focus, and Thea blacked out.

*** Ten moon cycles transporting doomed prostitutes from Earth to Callisto, and sampling the goods had never crossed Magistrate Blade Kevlar’s mind. Even if he had the right, he hadn’t… Until now.

Elayne Venton

Bonds of Justice: Blade’s Decree

-5-

Blade admired the rise and fall of the prostitute’s luscious breasts, the cautious wonder on her angelic face, and the flow of her feminine curves emphasized by the tight leather outfit. She had the longest damn legs he’d ever seen on a woman. Most appealing of all, she didn’t give him a “thirty guinos a blowjob” expression when he looked her over. Uninterested in his appraisal, her gaze shifted around the stark room processing every inch of its surroundings. Not much to take in, other than his judge’s bench and the view into space. Still, the others hadn’t given a damn where they were. “State your name.” The woman looked him over with wary green eyes and pursed lips, her gaze lingering on the black bands around his forearms decorated with the insignia of magistrate. His deputy, Atlas, nudged the detainee. “Uh, Thea Stone. Where am I?” “You’re on the transport shuttle Decree.” “What?” Her gaze slid to the oblong window port where stars, planets, and asteroids streaked past at light speed. The lovely felon quirked a brow. “I’ve been abducted by an alien?” She almost smiled. “I’m as human as you are, and you’ve been apprehended, not abducted. I don’t usually time travel --” “Time travel. This gets better and better.” “-- but since I followed my errant sister into your century, I put my time there to good use.” Blade repeated his verdict by rote. “As Magistrate of Colonization, I’ve appropriated you for deportation to the Jupiter moon, Callisto.” Stone’s eyes grew wide and she cast a sidelong look of incredulity at Atlas. Without a doubt, she thought he was delusional. With a slight shake of her head, she looked back at him, her expression carefully blank. “No magistrate I’ve met presides over a courtroom without a shirt. And last I heard mankind has only visited one moon ­ - Earth’s.”

Elayne Venton

Bonds of Justice: Blade’s Decree

-6-

“Times have changed.” Blade glanced down at the summary displayed on the inlaid bench monitor. “Your arrest record indicates you’ve been charged with drug possession and prostitution. Those are sufficient grounds for your presence here.” No need mentioning he’d pulled her away from death’s door and saved her pretty ass for a better life. In her present she would have died tonight. An arched brow inched high. “Those charges were dropped, Magistrate. I’m not a prostitute, I’m a… ah… waitress.” Blade looked over at Atlas who shook his head. “The historical archives indicated she’s been everything from a street hooker to a high class call girl,” his deputy reported. “Sixteen arrests for solicitation, five charges of drug possession in four years.” A rock dropped into Blade’s gut. For once, he wished a detainee were not as she appeared. “Does she need to be processed through the detox unit?” Atlas shook his bald head. “Although it’s documented she associates with drug addicts, she’s surprisingly clean. Her med scan registers ‘Uncontaminated’ across all zones.” Stone glowered at him. “What kind of kangaroo court is this? You have no proof of a crime. No one read me my Miranda rights. I was assaulted, drugged, and kidnapped. I have no legal representation. And I’ve been convicted without a hearing.” She jabbed a finger in Blade’s direction. “You’re not a magistrate. You’ve kidnapped me because I stepped on your cartel’s toes. You’re a hit man. A…” “No. I am not.” Blade admired the defiance in this woman, missing from the impassive prostitutes he usually transported. If he was going to break his rule against screwing his payload, Thea Stone was the woman Blade wanted. He’d been so wrapped up in his job and his sister’s disappearance he hadn’t fucked a woman in forever. Time to correct that oversight. Blade sat forward, resting his forearms on his desk. “Once, I might’ve been considered a mercenary.” He let that sink in for a moment, but she simply crossed her arms over her chest, expressing no surprise. “It’s in my blood. I come from a long line of Scottish outlaws.” Blade didn’t know why he felt compelled to explain himself to her.

Elayne Venton

Bonds of Justice: Blade’s Decree

-7-

Must have been because Stone reacted differently. And he wanted her to want him as much as he wanted her. “Then I saved a councilman’s daughter and you could say the councilman saved me. Now I’m going to redeem you.” “I don’t need redeeming, thank you.” Blade raised a brow. If he’d left Thea Stone to her own devices, she’d be dead by now, along with the other thirty-some women he’d picked up. But he wouldn’t share the gruesome details of her death with her. “On Callisto, you have the choice to continue your trade for a period of one year or bond with a mate. If you choose to work, at the end of your sentence you can bond with a mate, establish a mercantile business, or relocate to another new settlement.” Atlas shoved a screen modulator into her hand and Blade explained it. “Press the sim button to see the men interested in a life mate.” After a long look at his serious expression, she glanced down at the screen mod. “Sim button?” Stone began pressing them all. She gasped and looked up at the realistic hologram of Mate #1 as he introduced himself. The man leaned against a customized transporter. “My name’s Clave. I work at Drill Site 459XP. When I’m not there, I build transporters that’ll make you scream, baby. If you like tinkering with big toys” -- he winked -- “pick me.” Clave faded away and a Vaperian welder replaced him. The detainee stared in opened-mouthed shock. “It’s a 3-D movie…” Blade stifled a chuckle when she stalked to the image and poked him in the back. Her hand met with his flesh. “Oops. Sorry.” The welder finished his spiel and faded. Stone’s winged brows fluttered in confusion. Another man replaced the welder. She jabbed the man and stepped back, her brows drawing into a deep frown. “How are you doing that?” “Styson imaging.” “What?” “It’s the recording, storage, and transmission of molecules through sound waves, invented by Stanley Styson in 2206.”

Elayne Venton

Bonds of Justice: Blade’s Decree

-8-

Stone muttered, “This is not real.” She lifted her chin. Scowling at him, she pressed her fingers against her temple. “You’ve drugged me.” “Only with a dose of docile spray, and based on your responses, it’s worn off. Besides, it does not give you hallucinations. This is real, Stone. Welcome to 2347.” Lips pressed together, Stone studied the holograms, her gaze slipping to the window every few seconds. At the end of the testimonials, she turned to Blade. Wary acceptance dulled the light in her eyes for a brief moment, then indignation sparked. “This is bullshit.” “I will need your decision within twenty-four hours.” Time he planned to use seducing the strong-willed woman. “I’m not guilty of anything,” she shrieked. “I have a job to finish. Take me back!” The incensed prostitute rushed toward the raised judicial bench. A look of surprise crossed Atlas’s dark brown face. Automatically, he raised his atomizer. “No!” Blade shouted. Too late. The docile spray dropped Stone mid-leap, rendering her unconscious. Blade rounded his desk and checked her pulse. “She caught me off guard,” Atlas apologized. “The spray is set on the lightest dose.” Blade nodded. She was coming around already. “Okay, Atlas. I’ll handle her from now on.” Blade tipped his head toward the door. His deputy gave him a curious look and left. Gathering the woman in his arms, Blade left his courtroom and headed for his quarters.

*** The hazy image of a Scottish Highlander materialized before Thea’s eyes. Bronze skin, sleek black hair falling over his hulking shoulders. Dark inscrutable eyes watched her closely from beneath heavy brows. A nose looking like it had been broken several

Elayne Venton

Bonds of Justice: Blade’s Decree

-9-

times flared when she blinked him into focus. A mustache drooped over wide masculine lips, blending into a trim beard. Her fantasy man. Familiar, yet out of place somehow. He sat beside her prone body and brushed her hair off her cheeks. The colorful tattoos on his muscular torso shouted for exploration. Odd hieroglyphics stamped above his collarbone. A mythical creature slithered up his arm to his shoulder. Over his heart, a knife embedded in a diamond. No doubt a story behind each one. Thea reached up, tracing the intricate lines drawn on his smooth chest. Her palm flattened over his thumping heartbeat. This had to be a dream. But this man breathed. His skin was warm, firm. Where did she know him from? Ingrained suspicion made Thea drop her hand. Where was she? Nothing looked familiar. She lay in a strange bed. What the hell happened to her? She blinked hard. Her migraine could kill a bull. “Your head will clear in a minute,” the gorgeous brute said, running his hand down her arm. “Relax.” His deep hypnotic voice captivated her. “You’re beautiful,” Thea responded in a passionate haze. He smiled and it lit up his face. “So are you.” Thea wanted to worship at his feet. Her gaze shifted down his flat stomach to his low-slung, silky black trousers. The heavy bulge at his crotch shifted and a long outline emerged against the fabric, distending upward until the head caught in the draping folds of fabric. Thea flicked her eyebrows up in female appreciation. Good God, she wanted to possess his cock. When would she ever have another opportunity to fuck such a magnificent male specimen? Without seeing the stiff rod in the flesh, Thea knew it would fill her to the brim. She wanted it, imagined taking its bulk in hand and stroking the pliant flesh, down to the base and up over the bulbous tip, making him as hard as rock. After a few firm strokes ratcheting his heartbeat into high gear, she’d guide his thick length into her -- and watch Magistrate Kevlar’s eyes dilate with burning lust. Magistrate Kevlar.

Elayne Venton

Bonds of Justice: Blade’s Decree

- 10 -

Shit. Now she remembered. “Stone -- Do you want me?” Her gaze darted up, keying in on the hungry edge in his tone. “Yes,” she said without thinking. What the hell had been in that spray? He leaned over her prone body as though he meant to whisper in her ear. Thea jerked when his lips caressed her shoulder. “Wait!” She grasped his bulky biceps, her arms weak, processing his superior strength. Thea felt sensually sluggish, but clarity rolled through her aching head in waves. Damn it! She’d been abducted during the most important case of her career. Months tracking the man responsible for her mother’s death and she’d be damned if she would let Joe Fowler slip through her fingers. If she didn’t find a way out of here, Fowler would be selling addictive drugs to other unsuspecting depressed women while Thea lay on her back with her legs spread. Shit! “Too late.” The brush of his soft mustache raised goosebumps on her flesh. His careful assault was so unexpected, so out of character, Thea didn’t know how to react. Was this how men treated whores? She doubted it. So what game was he playing? “This is sexual harassment,” Thea snapped, hiding her excitement behind a veneer of loathing. “I have the right to inspect the cargo if I want to.” His tongue slithered up to the sensitive spot beneath her earlobe. “But you can file a complaint when I’m done -- if you want to.” Thea’s protest died on her lips. She knew damn well the complaint would go nowhere. Despite the pressure she applied to his upper arms, Thea tilted her head, allowing him access to the sweet spot on her neck. Magistrate Kevlar barely touched her, but Thea clenched her thighs together against the gentle throbbing between her legs.

Elayne Venton

Bonds of Justice: Blade’s Decree

- 11 -

His teeth nipped her neck. Thea gasped at the sting and the soothing licks that followed. Her breasts swelled at the thought of taking this man’s cock inside her. Oh, God, she was in trouble. His thumb flipped open the top buckle on her bustier.

Chapter Two Thea instinctively recoiled. The magistrate’s fingers curled around her arms and held her down. Thea Stone, the detective, wanted to fight. However, Thea Stone, the wanton, craved his hands on her body now. Didn’t they say when in Rome… Thea shook her head. She had to concentrate on finding a way back home so she could put Joe Fowler away for good. Kevlar’s knuckles brushed the curve of her breast as the second buckle popped loose. Thea sucked in her breath. If her breasts could breathe, they would have sighed in relief as the leather loosened its tortured hold, but anxiety swayed her attention from bodily comfort. The magistrate’s mouth thinned into a grim line when the folded twenty Greg had shoved down her cleavage slipped free. Thea stared at the misleading evidence with chagrin. “That’s a drink tip.” “Mm hm.” The corner of the magistrate’s eye twitched as he released the remaining buckles in rapid succession. Panic touched the corners of Thea’s mind. “I’m not who you think I am.” Damn. He wasn’t paying attention to her. At least, not to her words. His eyes glowed when he spotted the golden ring pierced through her nipple. That ring had been a youthful lark. And she liked it. Even better, he did too. She needed a plan and if she had to use him to get out of here and back to Earth, she would. “Only a woman who enjoys sex would wear such a lovely ornament.” He flicked the ring with his finger. “Are you a prostitute who enjoys her work?” She looked him straight in the eye. “Look, I’m not --”

Elayne Venton

Bonds of Justice: Blade’s Decree

- 13 -

“Don’t.” He kissed her. Thea expected a tongue thrust down her throat -anticipated it. Instead, he nibbled at her lips and whispered words of admiration against her mouth. The tip of his tongue slid along her lower lip gently seeking entry between her teeth. Something shifted inside her. Her breath hitched. A heartbeat later, Thea returned the kiss, skimming her arms over his shoulders. He kissed her as though they’d been lovers for ages, twining his tongue with hers, inhaling her scent deeply through his nose. One hand caressed her breast, sending visions of hot sex racing through her brain. Between one breath -- or one breast -- and another, his big body stretched out beside her, one heavy leg thrust between her legs. Thoughts of manipulation drifted out of reach. Bones softened in his embrace. Thea’s fingers latched behind his neck, her breast arching into his hand. “Mm, Magistrate --” He jerked his head back, his eyes narrowed. “You can call me Blade. When you are with me -- when you are in my arms, I’m a man, not an occupation.” For emphasis, he rubbed his erection across her belly. “Say it now.” “Blade.” It came out in a sultry whisper as if his cock had just slipped between the pulsing lips of her sex. “Much better.” His voice purred and Thea felt the vibration rumble through his chest into her own. Easing his hand lower, he unzipped her skirt, the wide metal teeth rasping loudly in the small room, and she lost all neurological connections. “Take it off,” he demanded. He mesmerized her with those dark eyes, making refusal difficult. There was no denying the hunger burning through her veins, yet Thea needed to escape. Overpowering him would be difficult. Wearing him out, on the other hand, might be wise and even fun. Why not let him think he’d won?

Elayne Venton

Bonds of Justice: Blade’s Decree

- 14 -

She smiled, hoping he would translate her scheming grin for eagerness. “You’re a hard man to resist, Magistrate.” Thea leaned forward, pressing him backward, teasing him with butterfly kisses while she wiggled out of the miniskirt, revealing a black leather thong. Evidently, Kevlar wasn’t so egotistical that he trusted her sudden compliance without question. “Is this how you convinced all the other judges to dismiss the charges against you, Stone?” Thea paled. Thank God all she’d had to do in the past was flash her badge. But until she had a handle on who this guy really was, Thea was keeping her cover a closely guarded secret. “I was innocent, Blade.” He chuckled and resumed kissing her while playing with her sensitive breast, molding the contours to his hand, and jostling the nipple ring. An electric jolt slammed into Thea’s abdomen. She sucked his hot breath into her mouth and clamped her thighs tight, pulling back from his kiss. Criminy, keeping a sharp mind was going to be tougher than she thought. “Your turn to strip.” Magistrate Kevlar threw back his head and laughed. When he looked at her again, she didn’t like the roguish spark in his eyes. “I have not seen all of you, Thea. But I will.” With a savage jerk, he split the seam of her thong and whipped it away from her body. Leaning back, he admired her shaved pussy. A heated flush rushed into Thea’s cheeks. “I’ve never worn a thong before. I didn’t know how much hair would show, so…” God, she was rambling. “It is elegant.” He passed a few fingers over the smooth skin. “Elegant?” Thea shivered at his touch. “Aye.” Blade jumped to his feet. “It has been too long.” He drew off his boots and untied his silk pants. The feather-light fabric swished to the floor. Thea’s jaw dropped when she saw his broad jutting shaft. She had expected the awe-inspiring display of manhood. She had not expected the tattoo of a dagger etched along its length. “Oh my God… you…”

Elayne Venton

Bonds of Justice: Blade’s Decree

- 15 -

Blade glanced at the O shape of her mouth and grinned. “Open your legs for me, sweet.” Thea couldn’t take her eyes off the distended tattoo on his cock. It shocked her. Excited her. It scared the crap out of her. What kind of man tattooed his penis? A mercenary. Her breath came in hard bursts. Desire pooled between her tightly clenched legs. Oh, God. Of all the time for her fantasy to come to life. Shit. “Don’t play coy with me, Stone.” Blade kneeled between her legs and gripped her calves, spreading her legs wide. “Long space voyages can be hard. And even though I have the right, you’re the only detainee I’ve ever wanted to fuck. I will not be denied now.” “Oh!” Thea strained against his hold. Ohgodohgod! Hot desire flashed through her body. She had to tell him the truth! “Wait! I’m --” Bending over the length of her body, he kissed her softly, shushing her confession. Lifting his mouth from hers, he replaced it with a finger across her lips. “You are mine tonight. Why don’t we forget who we are and enjoy the moment?” “But --” “Shhh.” Blade cut off her argument with a hungry kiss. His kisses could melt steel. The back of his fingers weaved down Thea’s side, over her belly, and glided across her abdomen. His hand flipped and the rough fingerpads skimmed over her hip. A tingle trailed his finger into the crease at her thigh. Thea stared at him in a daze when he stopped kissing her. Blade eased back so he could watch her face as he slid his finger between the folds of her moist pussy. Thea sucked in her breath, fighting for control. She was supposed to be escaping, not hungering for his touch. His finger skirted the entry to her drenched opening, drawing up toward her clit. The rough fingertip circled the protruding nub, and she tried to close her legs over his thick arm without success. A deep shuddering breath expelled through her parted lips.

Elayne Venton

Bonds of Justice: Blade’s Decree

- 16 -

As much as Thea wanted to explain her situation, words escaped her. Every molecule in her body yearned for pleasure. “So wet, yet so resistant.” A devilish grin tugged at his mouth. Thea gasped as he laved one nipple and then blew on it until it tightened. Her eyes shuttered closed when his fingers slipped deep inside her, drawing a rippling response from her cunt. His warm mouth closed over a nipple and tugged. On a sharp intake of breath, Thea’s resistance crumpled. Her legs opened. And he was ready for her. In one swift motion, he withdrew his fingers and implanted his cock. “Oh!” Her eyes flew open. Thea tensed around his broad shaft, her nerve endings screaming at the snug intrusion. She could picture the blade tattooed on his penis penetrating, forcing itself inside. More cream dripped from her pussy and she groaned, melting against him. Blade cursed. He lay still and waited a few heartbeats as she grew accustomed to his size. “I did not expect you to be so tight. Are you all right?” At her nod, the cords in his neck jumped. He thrust forward, bit by bit, pushing his way to her womb. “You feel so good, Thea.” Thea grunted in despair and in ecstasy. After a few more strokes, her pussy completely coated his cock with her slick dampness. Thea clung to his trim waist. He’d won. And she was lost. Thea watched Blade’s deep brown eyes, drawing in her breath at the hot, dazed look shimmering there. Could she be affecting him the same way he affected her? Wallowing in confusion and need? Each plunge of his cock fluttered her eyelids, raised her temperature, increased her heartbeat. He filled her and retreated, in and out, his pumping hips creating a wave of escalating tension. “Aa-aah, Blade. Yeeesss.” Her hands roamed everywhere she could reach on his body. Lust surged through her. God, she couldn’t get enough of him. Blade panted in response. “Aye, touch me, Thea.” His cock surged inside her and he planted wet kisses all over her breasts.

Elayne Venton

Bonds of Justice: Blade’s Decree

- 17 -

Thea arched up, desperate for his mouth on her taut nipples. But he continued teasing her, laving all around them and leaving the peaks aching. She rolled her hips, milking his huge cock, needing him to fill her. “Please, Blade…” His hot mouth closed over her upthrust breast. A jolt of hot need shot through her, convulsing her inside. “Oh. Oh!” It felt so good, she wanted to cry. His tongue stroked and he sucked until Thea moaned through a wave of pleasure. Popping his mouth off her tender bud, he reached for the other. “Do you like that?” Blade suckled the other aching breast until she repeated her wailing cries. Passion drenched her pussy. Digging her nails into his arms, Thea drew him down and hugged him hard. She’d never craved another human being so much. Thea drew her spread knees toward her chest and squeezed him. “Now, Blade, please. Hard.” “Anything you want, Thea.” Sweat dripped down his temple. The muscles in his arms quivered. Blade tucked his chin against his chest, and his breath sawed through his lips. His cock pummeled her, slurping through the juices of her arousal. “Hm, just like that.” Thea clenched her buttocks fighting against her climax. “Let it go,” Blade coaxed, his voice a growl. Thea bit her lip until it hurt. But she couldn’t hold back any longer. On a small cry, she arched up, clawing his back. Blade plunged deep. Her pussy convulsed around his buried cock, the intense orgasm spiraling her out of her body, and Thea screamed his name. A moment later, Blade’s slick body covered hers as he thrust with swift hard strokes. He plunged and then he tensed. Groaned. And his hot seed filled her to overflowing. Satisfaction and fierce possessiveness swept through her. She clung to him, heart pounding, biting his shoulder as the last of his semen spurted deep inside, wanting to hold this fierce lover in her arms forever. Foolish girl. You haven’t acted this stupid since your crush on Jeff Hamilton landed you in the back seat of his car.

Elayne Venton

Bonds of Justice: Blade’s Decree

- 18 -

Hadn’t she learned anything? She wasn’t a kid and she’d acted like the whore Blade believed her to be. God damn him. Her thighs clung as her climax still pulsed around his spent shaft. Turning her head away, she dropped her arms and forced her legs apart so he could withdraw as quickly as possible. Yet Blade hovered a moment, collecting his breath, and one more shuddering contraction gripped him tight. Blade let out a shaky laugh and slipped his cock from her sheath. Cum dripped from the bright red head onto her inner thigh. Unable to look at him, Thea clamped her legs together and rolled her quaking body away from him to the edge of the bed, working hard to slow the beating of her heart. Thea felt the heat of his gaze on her naked back and heard a deep, unsteady sigh.

*** Shit. The way she curled in on herself twisted his gut. His arms ached to hold her. Why had she withdrawn? “Did I hurt you?” he asked gruffly. “No,” came the muffled reply. Damn it. Something was not right here. Thea made him feel as if he were the only man she had ever fucked. The only man she’d ever wanted. How he wished it were true. Her lovely body and her spirit had gotten to him. He reached over her and plucked his pants from the floor. She couldn’t have faked her pleasure. He’d felt her orgasm down to his toes. And afterward -- she’d clutched him, long enough for him to question her actions. He had seen desperation in her eyes, wanting more from him than she should expect. He hadn’t imagined that. It had been a reflection of his own feelings for her. And then she turned away from him, embarrassed by her response. It would be stupid to think that a prostitute would let her feelings interfere with her work. Her strange reactions had to be because she was either too new to the game or very skilled. He stood up and shoved his legs into his pants. What the -- was she crying? Unable to stop himself, he reached over to comfort her. And she rolled over, pointing his mini-laser at his groin. The weapon he’d hidden in his boot. Shit!

Chapter Three The damn woman held the small weapon in both hands, arms outstretched. “Thank you. I haven’t had sex that good in a long, long time, Magistrate Kevlar. Now BACK OFF!” Her sharp words didn’t hide the waver Blade detected in her voice. Nervousness or anger? Both shimmered in her eyes. Along with a yearning that clawed at his gut. Even now, as she held a deadly weapon on him, he wanted to wrap his arms around her and soothe her distress. He was an idiot. Thea sprang to her feet like a reincarnation of Blade’s favorite vid game heroine, displaying sensuous curves in naked glory atop spiked heels. But this was no game. On the proper setting, the poison-filled mini-laser could gouge a hole in him that would fester forever. Blade took a small step back. “Turn this spaceship around and take me home,” she demanded. “I do not control the transporter’s navigation.” “Holding a weapon to the mighty magistrate’s head should convince the pilot to change course. Now move!” Blade stood firm. “The pilot is a computer, preprogrammed with flight coordinates. Any flight pattern change must be engaged by the space traffic controller on Jupiter.” Or by my manual override. Narrowing her eyes in suspicion, she scoffed. “That’s bull. What if we run into a meteor storm or we’re attacked… or… crap, I don’t know, some kind of emergency?” “The ship’s trajectory scanner can handle tactical maneuvers, but reversing course is not part of the program.” “Well then, call Jupiter and get them to change the navigation program.”

Elayne Venton

Bonds of Justice: Blade’s Decree

- 20 -

“Because I am being held at laserpoint? They will not consider it. I’m expendable, Thea. The cargo is not.” The muscle in her jaw twitched. “And if you threaten their cargo,” he stressed, knowing intuitively Thea wouldn’t, “they’ll send fighter pods to disable the ship and everyone on board.” Stone was in way over her head, and given the sudden paleness in her cheeks, she knew it. But she wouldn’t give in. He almost smiled when her eyes narrowed and her mouth tightened. “I’m a cop, an undercover vice detective, Kevlar,” she spat. “I’ve spent five months in dives like the strip club where you found me, watching, waiting for a chance to arrest a criminal and settle a score. You’re not taking Fowler away from me.” What the hell? Could she be telling the truth? Her reactions had seemed genuine. And she’d been tight, too tight. Guilt choked him for a heartbeat or two. A cop? He could imagine a shrewd woman like Thea facing down criminals, yet the strain in her voice gave him pause. Something about the way she said “you’re not taking Fowler away from me” bothered him. So much anger. Pain. It was personal. Was Fowler her lover? Was he the reason she desperately wanted to return to Earth? His chest constricted. He didn’t like thinking about Thea with another man. Stupid, of course, but there nonetheless. Blade crossed his arms and mimicked indifference. “How long have you worked on the cop fantasy, Thea? It’s pretty good. Do we pretend to find the bad guy together and then you thank me with oral sex that steams my ears? Sounds good to me.” Pink flushed her neck. Keeping the bed between them, she snatched her skirt off the floor and yanked it over her hips one-handed. “I’m not asking for your help, Kevlar.” She cocked her head at him. “You don’t believe I’m a detective. Look, my badge is in my purse at the strip club. Take me back to Earth and I’ll show you exactly where I left it.” Blade frowned. “I am not taking you back, Thea. Even if you are a cop.” “Why not?” she demanded.

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Bonds of Justice: Blade’s Decree

- 21 -

“There’s no future for you there.” His lips quirked up in a smile. “I guess you’re stuck here with me, Detective Stone.” “My future is not your concern. Now move. Turn around and open the door. Slowly. I’m right behind you.” Presenting his back, he heard her zip up her skirt and her heels click on the metal floor as she rounded the bed. Blade mentally shrugged. The woman had guts. He walked over to the Styson imaging wall and pressed his palm against it. “One-A-one.” He waited in silence. “Don’t mess around, Kevlar! Open it.” “A hologram cannot open the door.” Stone spun toward the voice behind her. “What?” Blade cocked his head at the image of himself holding a laser gun on Thea. Not a bad imitation. “Drop the weapon,” the magistrate said. Before Thea figured out which one of him was real, Blade pounced on his advantage and shoved the mini-laser to the side. Thea recovered quickly and fought hard to retain her weapon, slamming her fist into his kidneys and twisting his arm behind his back. Her other arm snaked around his neck in a brutal chokehold. With a kick, Thea clouted the back of his leg, dropping him to his knees. Rather than creating a disadvantage, the lower center of gravity made tackling her easier. In an instant, he’d flipped her over and had her squirming beneath him, the weapon still firmly clenched in her hand. Closing his hand over the weapon, Blade subdued her by the only way he knew worked… he kissed her. Thea froze, startled. “You can’t escape me, sweet,” Blade said against her mouth. “I have claimed you, and nothing will stop me from holding onto you, Thea Stone. Not even you. Believe me when I say you can’t go back.” He jimmied the gun out of her hand and flung it across the metal floor. “Surrender.” “You’re not a hologram,” she stated angrily.

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Bonds of Justice: Blade’s Decree

- 22 -

“No. Computer -- A-one-A.” Thea twisted her head and watched the hologram disappear on command. She closed her eyes, her offensive easing beneath the butterfly kisses lingering on her cheekbone. “You’ve got to believe me. I’m not a hooker.” “I don’t care if you are or not, sweetheart,” Blade whispered, pinning her wrists beside her head. His hungry mouth reclaimed hers and his recently spent cock stiffened as he deepened his kiss. Gods, this woman drove him wild. Thea jerked her head away. “I… don’t… want you.” “Yes, you do. Admit it, Thea. I set you on fire. Just as you do to me.” “It’s the docile spray you used on me. It not only deadens resistance, it loosens inhibitions and enhances sexual responses.” Blade chuckled. “The docile spray is a sedative-hypnotic which stuns, leaving you relaxed and open to suggestion, nothing more. You cannot use it as an excuse. The drugs have worn off. They cannot force you to do anything you don’t want to do.” He nipped her neck. “Any response you feel is entirely of your own doing, Thea.” “That’s not true. I didn’t want to…” “Didn’t you?” His mouth trailed love bites down her neck. In sync with the desire ratcheting her heartbeat, his hands slipped down the undersides of her upraised arms caressing her chilled skin. “I want you, Thea. Again.” She slowly lifted her freed hands and gripped his arms, her fingers flexing in indecision. Blade smoothed down her tousled hair. “Trust me, you don’t want to go back to your life on Earth.” “You have no idea what my life was like on Earth.” “I know enough. I know how dangerous it was.” His lips quieted further discussion. His thigh parted her legs.

*** Thea sat on a long bench, shoulder to shoulder with the other women, looking out the wall of windows into black space. Callisto, Jupiter’s reddish-brown, crater-laden

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Bonds of Justice: Blade’s Decree

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moon, slowly zoomed into view. Four solar-paneled satellites hung in orbit, magnifying the sun’s heat onto the surface. As they broke through the thin cloud cover, Thea spotted a city carved into the ground, divided by a grid of canals like a huge archeological site. Outside the city, massive drills ground into the moon’s crust. Trainlike vehicles snaked between the construction site and the city. This cannot be real, she thought for the umpteenth time. But she knew it was. The leggy redhead next to her leaned into Thea and spoke low. “Atlas told me there’s a thousand men drilling for water beneath the surface.” She sighed. “Can you imagine all those hard bodies drilling between your legs? Makes me wet thinking about it.” “Who would’ve thought spacemen would be such hotties,” another woman commented. On the other side of Thea, a full-figured black woman agreed. “Yeah. What a nice change from the dweebs I’ve been fucking.” “I’ve always wanted to ride on a space shuttle,” a young Asian woman said. “Isn’t this so cool?” Were they all insane? They’d been drugged, used, and sentenced to a year of sexual slavery on Jupiter’s moon for Pete’s sake. Hello! Reality check! Thea dropped her head into her hands. How could she get out of this mess? “Now I’d take either one of those hunks for a mate,” a woman behind Thea exclaimed. “Do you think they’re available?” Thea jerking her head up, jealousy tearing through her as Blade and Atlas walked into the lounge. Blade belonged to her. His scent mingled with her own. He’d marked her -- pink abrasions covered her neck, breasts, belly, and inner thighs. And she had reveled in his possession. Her nipples and pussy throbbed still from over­ stimulation. She’d never been so thoroughly pleasured. So why was she lumped with this group of women preparing for a new life on Callisto? Convincing Blade to return her to Earth had met staunch refusal, yet up until a few minutes ago, she’d believed he cared enough about her to reconsider.

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Bonds of Justice: Blade’s Decree

- 24 -

“I’m not a prostitute,” Thea grumbled. How many times had she said that now? Every time Blade ordered her to spread her legs she’d balked. She’d swear her innocence and he’d soothe her with a kiss or a touch or the slow lick of his tongue until she submitted. God, he was incredible. The sex was more than sex. He’d caressed her skin and looked at her as if she were different from any lover he’d had before. Ach! Stupid. He knew how to push her buttons, that’s all. Curse her weakness for him! And now that the ride was over, he planned on dumping her. Damn it. As soon as her feet hit the ground, she was jumping on the next ship heading back to Earth. Strolling between the rows, Blade inspected the women. “We dock in twenty metrons. You will be transported to the immigration office where the men who requested mates will be waiting. Any woman who is mating will be separated from the group at that time. The rest of you will be escorted to the auction block.” “Auction block!” Thea’s heart jumped into her throat. Blade looked directly into her eyes, his expression blank. “The bordellos compete for the new detainees. The money goes to improving the colony.” He dipped his head and spoke softly. “I never made you any promises, Thea. By law, your choice has always been to choose a mate or work for a year. Nothing has changed that.” “I’m innocent!” A hint of anger sparked in Blade’s eyes. “Your arrest record speaks for itself.” She’d been undercover! Thea’s heart beat hard. Insisting she was a vice detective in front of all these hookers would be a mistake. First opportunity they had, they’d assault her. Thea’s vision swam. Why had she given in to her fantasies? She hated Blade Kevlar. She hated herself. “I don’t belong here!” she yelled, shooting to her feet. “I’ve been falsely accused and I want a lawyer.” The other women stared at her in shock. Atlas raised his atomizer but Blade stayed him with a hand on the muzzle. “No.” He looked at Thea with remorse. “Sit down, Stone.” Blade’s eyes begged her to comply. “There’s still time for selecting a mate.”

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Bonds of Justice: Blade’s Decree

- 25 -

Thea’s heart skipped a beat. “Are you offering yourself, Magistrate Kevlar?” Every woman on board waited for his answer with bated breath. He stared at Thea and swallowed. “No. I have a mission to complete. I don’t have time to coddle a woman.” Thea’s heart twisted in her chest. Screw you. I have a mission to complete too. “I wouldn’t accept you if you did offer.” She turned her head and looked out the window so he wouldn’t see the hurt in her eyes.

*** Blade clenched his fists at his sides as he watched the sentry push Thea onto the auction block. No one else noticed the nervous trembling of her legs or the challenge snapping in her eyes, or if they did, they didn’t care. Her buyer would break her defiance. It briefly occurred to him that he hadn’t tamed her, but then, he really had no desire to do so. Blade thrived on her passion. Emotional and physical. Why hadn’t Thea chosen a single mate? He would have made sure she found someone who would treat her well. An elite prostitute like Thea would fare better with one man rather than a thousand. The gathered men whistled and hooted. It didn’t matter who Thea was or where she was from. To them, Thea was just another piece of ass. The other men would never satisfy her hidden cravings and glory in her release, nor would they drown in her green eyes the few setrons before they poured themselves into her womb. They would use her for their own pleasure without conscience, pay the madam, and blow the rest of their pay in the gambling warehouse across the street. His chest tightened at the injustice of it, an injustice of his own doing. God, he hated giving her up. Her games of innocence sparked excitement back into his life. Shit, his cock hadn’t been revved up this much in eons. Blade didn’t want to think about how she made his heart pound every time he saw her. But what else could he do? He had no room for Thea in his life. Finding his sister had become a time consuming quest, taking Blade not only through treacherous territories but zipping through time. If he thought Zara could handle herself, he’d stop chasing her down, but

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Bonds of Justice: Blade’s Decree

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she’d run off without a good-bye and reports indicated his sweet little sister had turned to prostitution, a pleasurable career if one chose it willingly. Knowing his adventurousminded sister, Blade couldn’t believe prostitution was what Zara wanted to do with her life. Something terrible had happened to her, he was sure of it. Saving Zara had to be a priority. Thea Stone was a major distraction. If Thea was lucky, a rich man might purchase her as his mistress and treat her well, but there were very few men who could afford a Callisto whore. Ninety-nine percent of the women were purchased by whorehouses that could recoup their investment over time. Jealousy roared within him. Whether it was one man or a hundred who lay between her legs, he damned them all to hell. Thea belonged to him. What had he done? He looked up and watched her face the crowd proudly.

*** “Look at those tits.” The auctioneer lifted the glowing tip of an electrified rod toward the mounds pushed up by Thea’s bustier. She stepped back and glared at him. The auctioneer laughed. “She’s a little jumpy.” Asshole. If he got nearer… A woman in a plain navy cloak raised her hand and called out two hundred guinos. The men laughed uproariously. Embarrassed, Thea’s spine straightened a notch. Oh, she’d made a monumental mistake choosing the auction block over a mate. She’d figured escape would be easier in a crowd than under the sharp eye of one person, but she hadn’t counted on the humiliation of standing semi-naked before a large crowd while they ogled her and determined her worth. “Come on now.” The auctioneer waved the rod down her body. “She’s prime flesh.” He poked her thigh and an electric shock made her jump. Grinding her teeth, Thea caught the side of the metal rod in her hand. “Do not prod me again.”

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Bonds of Justice: Blade’s Decree

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His back arched as he guffawed loudly. “Oh, ho! Do you hear that, my friends? She’s a hot one!” He laughed again. “Three hundred guinos!” someone called out. “Save your money,” Thea called back. “I won’t spread my legs for any of you.” She stood erect, her face composed. The auctioneer grinned and shook his head. “Do I hear three-ten for the feisty whore?” he called. A red haze marred Thea’s vision. Without thinking, Thea wrested the zap stick from the auctioneer’s hand and whipped it against his body. “No one calls me a whore.” The crowd released a collective gasp. The man yelped and jumped back. Two burly guards leapt onto the platform, grabbing her weapon away with brute strength. One yanked Thea’s hands behind her back and cuffed her in wide magnetic bands. “You bitch!” the auctioneer spat. He lunged for her and she kneed him in the groin. The man doubled over. Groans of empathy wove through the crowd. The auctioneer lifted his bowed head and glared at her. His hard gaze threatened murder. “Don’t touch her,” said a soft voice. “The rules strictly forbid violence to a person on the auction block. No one wants damaged goods.” The auctioneer twisted toward the elegant woman standing by the auction block steps and groaned. He slowly stood erect, cupping his balls. His face mottled with anger. “Pandora, you tell Kevlar my percentage increased to thirty percent on this bitch.” He released his balls with a grunt, then shouted into the crowd. “Is there a bid for three hundred ten guinos or not?” A huge man shouldering a bazooka-like weapon shouted out, “Three-ten!” The price slowly rose, ten guinos at a time. Thea regarded each bidder warily. They looked like men and women who would not only break her spirit, but her bones. The woman called Pandora moved deep into the crowd, then stood next to Magistrate Kevlar, and bid four-twenty.

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Bonds of Justice: Blade’s Decree

- 28 -

Damn him. It was Blade’s fault she had to endure this public sale. Thea wondered if the penalty for gutting a magistrate outweighed the satisfaction of the crime. Yet gazing at the tick in his jaw, Thea sensed his displeasure seeing her standing before this rowdy crowd. Her throat clogged. She’d stupidly believed Blade’s obsession with her would make him reconsider his penal sentence and free her. No. She was just another woman, a prostitute sold for a tidy profit. The auctioneer prodded her again, and then the jerk made a ribald comment about her trembling flesh. After the second time, she quit squirming, bearing the painful jolts of electricity with teeth-grinding forbearance. Still the bids slowly rose. The blinding lights beat down on her head and perspiration slid down her body. The heavy cuffs chafed her wrists. The auctioneer sneered at her discomfort, drawing out the bidding more than necessary. “Scumbag,” she mumbled at him. He snickered and called out, “Five hundred? Who says five hundred?” The bidding dwindled down to three players: Bazooka Man, a shrewd-eyed madam, and Pandora. Thea prayed the elegant lady had deep pockets. She looked the most compassionate and the easiest to escape. Bazooka Man dropped out at five hundred eighty, thank goodness. The crowd grew restless. “One thousand guinos,” the harsh-faced madam called out. Murmurs ran through the crowd and all eyes turned to Pandora. “One thousand ten.” Guffaws and gasps surrounded them. When the auctioneer looked at the other woman bidder, she pinched her lips and shook her head. It was over. Without a thought for her new buyer, Thea scanned the crowd for Blade, but he’d disappeared. While money exchanged hands, a guard led her through the crowd to a twoperson capsule parked a half block away. He opened her door for her. Thea turned her

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Bonds of Justice: Blade’s Decree

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back to him and looked over her shoulder with a contrite smile. “Would you mind taking off the cuffs? Unless you call me names, I promise I won’t attack you.” “The auctioneer deserved to be zapped,” the guard said, releasing the magnetic link. “He shouldn’t have --” With a twinge of remorse for lying, Thea stomped on his instep and spun out of his reach, bolting straight for the space dock where she’d spotted an entire arsenal of weapons during the Decree’s landing. Running full force, she glanced back at the guard, relieved he wasn’t making up any ground. The weapons containers were stacked outside an unmarked building, open and unattended, as if the crew unloading them had tired and gone to lunch or the auction. Thea snagged the first weapon she saw and took cover behind a huge crate. She needed time to figure out the firing mechanism. The weapon had been in her hand for all of five seconds when a blaring alarm sounded. Thea ignored it. The guard stopped in his tracks several yards away. Thea darted for the nearest spaceship and ran into an invisible wall. Shit! She fell back on her rear, the gun at her side. Regrouping quickly, she looked back toward the arsenal. No one but the guard was in sight, and he didn’t move. He stood watching and waiting while the siren squealed. She looked down at the symbols and dials on the weapon, picked one and fired at the clear wall. Stupid! The laser ricocheted back at her, hitting the ground and bouncing at another clear wall behind her, and then above her, the light stretching and increasing speed. She was trapped in a Pong laser game. Thea dodged the light, but… She’d blown it. Thea lay sprawled on her back stunned by the laser light, looking up at Jupiter in the light gray sky. Damn it! The guard shut down the invisible walls and the laser light dissipated. The ear­ splitting sirens ceased. He picked up the gun she’d dropped, made an adjustment on the grip, and tossed it back into its container. “You could have killed yourself.” He helped her sit up. “And then what would I have done?” Oh, poor baby, she thought hazily.

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Bonds of Justice: Blade’s Decree

- 30 -

He collected her weak body and walked Thea back to the two-person vehicle where Pandora waited, tapping her foot impatiently. “Blade said you’d be a handful.” The guard settled Thea in a seat, and then helped Pandora into the small space. She directed the vehicle’s computer as it cruised between buildings. “Running away is a serious offense and infuriates your owner.” Too bad. Thea looked out the bubble window. They arrived at the entrance to a subterranean dwelling called Healing Waters. Despite the spiritual name, Thea knew immediately they had entered a bordello. The numerous women drifting about, wearing next to nothing and too much perfume, teasing the men sniffing around them like hunting dogs on the scent, gave it away. The large room was decorated with mirrors, fountains, and comfortable couches. A large picture window looked out at a canal where slow moving barges filled with men floated past. “This is the Viewing Room.” Thea didn’t have to be told the view was inside, not out. And yet one man stood at the window gazing at the spaceport in the distance, his stance wide, hands clasped behind his back. Thea admired his firm butt and muscular thighs encased in snug black pants. A red sash was tied around his trim waist and a billowy white shirt accentuated the breadth of his shoulders, giving him the look of a pirate even though his dark hair was cut short. As if he sensed Thea’s perusal, he turned and stared. Thea did a double take. A shiver brushed across her shoulders. Blade. His shiny black hair had been trimmed above his ears and his mustache and beard shaved clean, revealing a jagged scar on his upper lip which accentuated his masculinity. His dark eyes danced as they met her questioning look. Then Blade’s gaze skipped over to Pandora and he gave her a brief nod. “Magistrate Kevlar wants you,” the madam whispered in Thea’s ear. Thea forced her attention away from Blade’s arresting face, her heart beating rapidly in her chest. “I don’t give a rat’s ass what he wants.” “You’d better care. You belong to him now.”

Chapter Four “Hell, no!” At the madam’s confident smile, Thea’s jaw dropped. No. He couldn’t have bought her. “Yes. You do.” Pandora’s eyes twinkled with mischief. “A last minute change of heart. Blade asked me to handle the transaction. A magistrate cannot bid on his own detainee.” Thea narrowed her eyes in fierce deliberation. If he intended to treat her like his dirty little secret, he had another think coming. “He’s made a big mistake.” Pandora’s smile broadened. “I’m sure you’ll give him a run for his money. Now go to him.” Her heart thumped madly. If she went to him, he’d give her that cocky “you can’t resist me” look that drove her mad -- because it was true. Damn if his roughly hewn charm didn’t tug on her heart, pulling her deeper into his web. But Thea held him in her power too, it seemed. He’d bought her for himself. The egotist thought he owned her now. The thought made Thea smile. Silly man. She’d make him pay for dumping her on this desolate rock. While weighing the odds of slinking out the front door without detection by the bodyguards, a tap on Thea’s arm made her jump. “Are you available to partner me in a game of Ruff and Trump? My friends are looking for another pair.” Thea scowled at the big, rough-looking man. “What kind of crude sex game is that?” Taken back at her sharp reply, he tilted his head at a twosome sitting at a table shuffling cards. “It’s similar to bridge.” Oops.

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Bonds of Justice: Blade’s Decree

- 32 -

“I’m afraid Miss Stone is spoken for, Harley,” Pandora said. Thea glared at the madam. “No one speaks for me.” A nice long game of cards would give her time to think, and keep her away from Blade, who made her heart lurch in confusion every time she thought about him. “I’d love to play.” Before Thea reached the card table, a man cleared his throat behind them, halting Thea in her tracks. Recognition required no visual contact. Blade’s nearness made her body hum. “Sorry, Harley, but the lady and I have some business to discuss.” One quick look over his shoulder and the big man nodded, walking away. Blade held out his palm. Thea glared at it, worried about her reaction should she touch his warm palm. Brain cells fizzled whenever he came near her. Physical contact led her into a sexual trance. Stupid, stupid, stupid. “Still playing hard to get, Thea?” Speaking for her ears alone, he staked his claim. “Give it up. You’re mine now. Take my hand.” Resisting him was so damn hard. “In your dreams.” “Would you rather I throw you over my shoulder?” he asked quietly. The tingle in her body surprised her. The idea of being tossed over his solid shoulder, a warm hand on her butt steadying her, excited her. No one aroused her like this man could. Even when she boiled with anger, thoughts of Blade’s hands caressing her tore down her defenses. And why the hell did every thought revolve around sex when she was with him? A twinkle of insight shone in his eyes. Afraid he might act on his threat, Thea spoke under her breath. “Don’t even think about it.” He laughed. “Come with me, Thea.” Sighing in resignation, she slid her hand into his, enchanted by their palms’ natural fit. They descended several floors, negotiating corridors lit solely by a strip of light along the edge of the floor, passing room after room of sequestered lovers. Finally, Blade hesitated outside a door marked TROVER. “Where are we going?” Thea asked.

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Bonds of Justice: Blade’s Decree

- 33 -

“Somewhere no one will ask questions.” He pushed open the door. After a short jaunt down another corridor, they emerged into a well-lit space reminding Thea of a subway station. Sure enough, an odd train on big rubber wheels rolled up to the platform. Straying too far from the launch pad didn’t bode well for her escape plans. Her stomach cramped. But how could she leave Blade? He was such a contradiction. At times rough, others tender, passionate, playful… Lord, help her. She was falling in love with him. He clamped an arm around her waist and pulled her back against him. “Stay close.” “When hell freezes over,” she muttered. Nonetheless, Thea rested the back of her head against his chest. Blade chortled.

*** The track ride over the moon’s surface was bumpy, the seat cushions barely padding the bounce throwing Thea’s hip against Blade’s own. He grinned at her sullen expression, enjoying the rough ride for once. Glad the new hovercrafts hadn’t reached Callisto yet. “I haven’t agreed to this arrangement, you know,” she brooded. “I don’t remember asking for your input.” Thea turned her face away. She jounced against him again and winced at the hard contact. “Look, you’re mine now. My brother’s home is the only viable option, unless you want to stay at Healing Waters?” “No. Take me back to Earth. I have unfinished business there.” Earth, Earth, Earth. He was tired of hearing about it. “What business would that be?” Thea swung her face toward him, brows raised at his sudden interest in her past. Blade mentally shrugged. He wanted her over whatever -- whoever -- called her home.

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Bonds of Justice: Blade’s Decree

- 34 -

“Revenge on the bastard who killed my mother.” This time, Blade didn’t question her declaration. He could see the truth burning within the hatred filling her eyes. Thea sought closure. Blade worried that if she didn’t get it, bitterness would blacken her heart. Hiding the rage pounding in his brain against this unknown person who’d hurt Thea, Blade lifted her sideways onto his lap, one arm wrapped securely around her waist, where she bounced more invitingly. “This bastard was he a soldier, a cop, what?” “No. A drug dealer.” Deep in thought, Blade caressed her thigh. Atlas’s report rewound through his mind. Although she associates with drug addicts… “You’ve been hunting this person?” “Hunting? I guess that’s a good way to put it. He’s a pharmaceutical salesman who sells his samples on the side, particularly the addictive ones. Fowler charms his way through medical assistants to patient lists, contacting them directly, offering to boost their prescription’s effectiveness with a stronger dosage. Before long, the patient is hooked and Fowler has a regular customer.” Thea clenched her fists in her lap. “My mother was his beta test. She died of an overdose three years ago. Before the criminal investigation, Fowler got hold of the drugs he’d sold her, the only incriminating evidence against him. It took me a long time to put two and two together. Now it’s just a matter of catching him in the act. I was so close!” Close to death. “If I take care of this man for you, you’ll abandon your campaign to return to Earth?” Thea twisted on his lap and cupped his face, the tender contact searing straight to his groin. “I take care of my own problems.” In his mind, he snarled at her. Why did the women he cared about refuse his assistance? “I’ve lost touch with my sister because she rushed off on her own. Though prostitution is not frowned upon like it is in your time, now she’s in a lifestyle I am sure she didn’t foresee for herself. I don’t want to lose you too.” He captured Thea’s mouth and kissed her soundly, his frustration showing.

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Bonds of Justice: Blade’s Decree

- 35 -

Thea pulled away. “I need to settle the score with Joe Fowler. Please take me back, Blade.” The criminal’s name finally, suddenly, clicked. His heartbeat quickened. “The man you said you’d been watching at the strip club is this Joe?” “Yes.” Not her lover, after all. Blade suppressed a groan. “You are a detective.” “Yes, that’s what I’ve been trying to tell you.” Ah, crap, he’d bungled an arrest. Blade smiled. “You’re not a hooker.” Thea narrowed her eyes, then shook her head. “I was working undercover.” Cautiously, he dragged a finger down her throat and into her tight cleavage. “Nice disguise.” Thea blushed. “So all those claims of innocence were true… hmm… and instead of screaming rape, you submitted because you wanted me every bit as much as I wanted you.” He lightly kissed her neck. “Actually, I used sex as a bargaining tool. If you wouldn’t believe my innocence, maybe I could’ve convinced you to keep me on board as your lover and take me back to Earth.” God, Thea hated lying to him. Using him would have been a good tactic if she could have remained aloof, but she didn’t have the willpower to resist him. Underneath the domineering exterior lay a caring man, sensitive enough to fulfill her sexual desires first -- a woman he’d assumed to be a whore. A man who staunchly believed relocating prostitutes to a place where they would have more life choices, limiting as they were, was a humanitarian act. Maybe it was. Fowler’s whore seemed happier at Healing Waters than bent over a chair in a strip club, and in a year she’d be free to start a new life. Still, Thea drove her point home. Nothing mattered more than returning to Earth and taking down Joe Fowler -- not even her burgeoning love for Blade. But sticking to her resolve when Blade ran his finger along the top edge of her bustier proved difficult. Her lover growled low into her ear. “My touch doesn’t stir you, Thea?” How could she lie when erect nipples poked against tight leather?

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Bonds of Justice: Blade’s Decree

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The corset buckles popped open in rapid succession and Blade thrust it away. One arm wrapped around her back, the other large warm hand grasped her breast and squeezed, not painfully, but possessively. Blade stroked the plump masses until Thea dropped her head back, her breasts swelling into his palms. Air rushed into her lungs as his fingers contracted toward her nipples and rolled the tight pink tips. She arched into his hold as pleasure spiked from her breast to her mons like a short-circuited wire. The instantaneous response he evoked was always a surprise. “This is an act, babe? A ploy?” Thea didn’t bother answering his arrogant question. She’d been primed for this before they even stepped on the train. The act had been her indifference to him. And the moment Blade had pulled her onto his lap thoughts of escape had puffed into thin air. If Blade didn’t take her home, she’d find a way back to Earth -- eventually, but right now… oh, now… Blade had her full compliance. Blade snickered at her breathy sighs. A man walked down the aisle, peering briefly into their space, and then did a double take. Thea twisted and hid her breasts against Blade’s chest, luxuriating in the caress of his silky shirt against her skin. “Hey, a potential rescuer just walked by, Thea. Aren’t you going to scream for help?” Blade taunted while he slipped his hands beneath her skirt and squeezed her butt cheeks. “You should have taken advantage. At this hour the Trover is basically empty.” Thea was so aroused at this moment that leaving him was the last thing on her mind and he knew it. But she played the game, squirming in his tight embrace. “Let me go, Blade. I don’t need anyone else’s help. I’ll get off at the next stop and find my way back.” “Will you now?” He tugged one leg across his lap so she ended up straddling him, her skirt stretched taut across the top of her thighs, her wet pussy eager for his touch. Thea automatically gripped his shoulders. Between her spread legs, Blade’s erection bulged against his pants.

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Bonds of Justice: Blade’s Decree

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Hiding her excitement, Thea looked back up at him. “I’m going back to Earth with or without you, Blade.” He smiled while he massaged her breasts. “I know how to keep you occupied elsewhere.” Thea held her breath as he toyed with her nipple ring. The little tugs zinged hot yearning through her belly and into the nerve endings of her sex. Even with her mind in turmoil, she couldn’t stop the gasp of delight brought on by the long finger entering her. Blade’s thumb slipped through her moist folds and rubbed her sensitive clit. She nearly came undone. “Follow your instincts, Thea.” Was he kidding? Her instincts told her to run. Except her legs shook too much. Her internal muscles contracted around his finger, holding him in place, contradicting any notions of fleeing. She was a fool. Each time they connected physically, she lost another little bit of her soul to him. Soon breathing would be impossible without his fingertip upon her pulse. Blade’s thumb rubbed over and over her clit, increasing the pressure and the vibration until Thea clenched her muscles, fighting her release. But the climax whirled tighter and tighter, compressing into a tornado of desire. It swept through her pussy and flung her out to the stars. “Aah!” Thea dug her nails into his shoulders and hung on for life as the climax ripped through her. “Oh, God.” Ever so slowly, as the jolts of pleasure subsided, she disengaged her grip, leery of showing him too much by clinging for a second or two too long. “My God, Thea.” Blade kissed her, clutching her body to his solid length, his clothed erection pressed hard against her entry. He thrust his tongue between her teeth, stroking her mouth, tangling with her tongue in a mating dance.

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Bonds of Justice: Blade’s Decree

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Groaning into her mouth, Blade rubbed and rocked and ground against her. Another climax built and she moaned. Thea tilted her head back, and panting for breath, she gripped his tense muscles and looked into his eyes. “Oh, please.” Blade ripped open his pants flap and drove his hard cock into her. Her tight sheath pulsed around the thick shaft filling her. Thea’s hands roamed over his body, memorizing the contours of his shoulders and chest, grasping his thighs while he plunged in and out of her liquid center. Right now, nothing else mattered in the world except the feel of this man’s body enveloping hers, binding them together in sexual bliss. There was something wrong with that judgment, but she was too wound up to expound on it now. Blade’s chest heaved with each pounding slap against her flesh. “Gods, you’re so tight, woman. I should have known you were not a professional by that alone.” He grunted and surged deep, pressing his cock’s tip against her womb. Thea writhed on his lap, burning with the pressure of his thick cock, wanting to pull Blade inside herself and connect on a level beyond the physical. It wasn’t meant to be. “Thea!” He jerked out a bit and pounded in hard, the thrust lifting Thea. Her head banged against the top of the berth. “Ouch.” Blade’s hand cupped the top of her head. “Sorry, honey.” Giggling at their wild aerobics, Thea tucked her head against his cheek. Blade snagged her shimmying hips in a bruising grip, but she was beyond caring, caught up in the maelstrom of passion. The pinnacle flickered just out of reach. There… there… “Oh, yes!” She muffled her scream in his neck and hugged him hard, grinding his cock deep as the orgasm raged through her core. Blade held her so tight it hurt, growling low in his throat, and thrust one last time before he pumped his hot cum into her womb.

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Bonds of Justice: Blade’s Decree

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Their limbs shook so hard, Thea didn’t know where her trembling stopped and his started. She hugged him with the last bit of strength she possessed. Then every tightly sprung muscle in her body slackened all at once, and Thea slumped against his body. Blade tipped his forehead against hers, his chest heaving with each rapid beat of his heart. “You… are not… going anywhere… without me.”

*** Once Blade understood her reasoning for returning to Earth, Thea had hoped they’d race back to the Decree. But as soon as she met Blade’s brother, Steele, she learned Blade had other plans. The brothers slapped each other on the back with affection that warmed Thea’s heart. In her line of work, she didn’t see too much familial love. “This is Thea Stone,” Blade said. “I picked her up on Earth -- twenty-first century.” “What were you doing… oh! Did you find Zara?” Jealousy zinged through Thea. Who the hell is Zara? Blade shook his head. “Missed her again. But I’m getting closer. I’ve stepped up the tracer timing. I’ll fill you in later. We’re going to be here for a while.” “If it’s not an inconvenience,” Thea said, giving Blade the evil eye for his lack of civility. Steele wiped a hand over his mouth to hide his grin. “No problem. Staying long?” “Two moon phases. I’ve given the crew liberty while the ship’s solar sails are refurbished.” Thea didn’t know whether to be ecstatic or devastated by the delay.

Hours later after they’d retired to their room and lay relaxing in an antique bed, Thea asked about Zara.

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Bonds of Justice: Blade’s Decree

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Blade tucked Thea’s head into the hollow of his shoulder and stared up at the glass ceiling where a zillion stars twinkled in the night sky. “My sister took off ten months ago. I’ve been searching for her. I could go back in time and stop her from disappearing, but disrupting her timeline could have dangerous repercussions. I just need to know she’s all right.” Thea relaxed. She vaguely remembered Blade saying something about his sister diverting him to Earth. Snuggling against Blade’s heat, Thea cast an arm over his broad chest. “Tell me about her.” A deep sigh raised and lowered his chest. “Zara was a shy child, but with two forceful brothers to contend with, she developed a tough inner core. When my parents died in a crash landing, Steele and I took over raising her.” Thea had never heard Blade’s tone so serious, so sad. “Usually she acquiesced to our wishes with a smile, especially when it came to deflecting the men who buzzed around her. Little did we realize Zara used her gentle nature to wrap us around her dainty finger. Steele and I idolized her.” Silent for a long moment, Blade twisted Thea’s hair around his thick finger. “Looking back, I can see the times she became frustrated with our bossiness. Zara aimed to please and we took advantage. I guess she got tired of giving without receiving anything in return.” “I don’t know how you can say that, Blade. You obviously loved her.” Blade shrugged. “She slipped away in the middle of the night. We know she boarded a spaceship, but no one could identify it.” Seeing how much Zara’s departure hurt him, Thea’s heart bled for him. Blade was domineering. Thea could handle that. Liked it, in fact. But, Thea could understand how a young woman might crave freedom from two older, overbearing brothers. “Are you going to search for her while the rest of the crew takes a break?” Blade rolled onto his side, pulling her body flush to his. “What I want… need… is to spend time with you.” He kissed her affectionately, slipping his ever-eager cock into her warm folds.

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Bonds of Justice: Blade’s Decree

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***

Lost in melancholy, Thea opened the air-locked doors in her bedroom letting the humid breeze waft into the room. She stared at the fountain in the courtyard, wishing she could soak her hot skin in its soothing moisture and ease away the depression cloaking her this morning. Thea wasn’t unhappy, exactly. Blade was an exhilarating lover, showered her with gifts, and kept her entertained with tales of other worlds. He was a gentleman when it suited him and pleasant to everyone working on the estate, even the odd creatures that made Thea cringe. Still, she wanted more from Blade. She wanted his love. An unfair wish since she also wanted to leave him and return to her old life. 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.

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Bonds of Justice: Blade’s Decree

- 42 -

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

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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.

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Bonds of Justice: Blade’s Decree

- 45 -

“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

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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.

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Bonds of Justice: Blade’s Decree

- 47 -

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.”

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Bonds of Justice: Blade’s Decree

- 48 -

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.”

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Bonds of Justice: Blade’s Decree

- 49 -

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.

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Bonds of Justice: Blade’s Decree

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“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 Julliet 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.

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Bonds of Justice: Blade’s Decree

- 51 -

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. Blade’s cock stiffened at the sight. “Holy shit, Atlas, can’t you do your frigging on a lower deck? I’m trying to sleep.” His deputy opened one eye and grinned lazily at him. A line of sweat dripped down his stomach. “You’ve been ornery as hell, Magistrate. You need a lay.” Blade glanced at the prostitute licking her lips and he was tempted. But the face he saw wasn’t a pixie redhead. “After we pick up the consignment on Shadigascar tomorrow, we’re heading back to Callisto.” Atlas sat up straight. “What about Earth?” “I’ve changed my mind.” He turned his back, stopping any further discussion, and returned to his quarters where he released his sexual frustration in private, his mind focused on Thea’s wild surrender. As soon as his ship docked at Callisto, Blade heard Steele was in town.

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Bonds of Justice: Blade’s Decree

- 52 -

“Where is she?” Blade asked when he spotted his brother at the trade center. “Blade. What are you doing back already?” “Change of plans. Where’s Thea?” “Staying with Pandora.” “What?” He didn’t stay to hear an explanation. He would deal with his brother later. Blade paused outside Healing Waters and breathed deeply. He didn’t want Thea to see his excitement. Any sign of weakness and his lover would pounce, bending his will to her own. Throwing his shoulders back, he entered the building and demanded a drink. Blade hid his anxiety behind a glass of Gladian port, listening as Pandora explained how Julliet and Thea had bonded in friendship. He was happy for Thea, she needed a friend. Happy for both women, actually. Disappointed Thea hadn’t greeted him, Blade set down his glass. News of his arrival should have reached her by now, and he’d be damned if he sought her out like a lovesick devotee. “Bring Thea now.” Pandora buzzed Thea’s room, keeping a sharp eye on Blade’s face. Her lips twitched into a knowing grin. “You like her.” “Aye.” “She challenges you.” “Don’t be offended, Pandora. Your women know every way to please a man, and for most men, that’s enough. But their passion is contrived. They’ve lost the spontaneity of an untutored woman.” “Falling for innocents must be a Kevlar weakness,” Pandora said sharply. “Do you plan on leaving Thea as soon as she’s learned everything you wish her to know?” Ouch. He didn’t want to sound like he followed his brother’s path. Once Pandora had been as innocent as Thea was now. Ultimately it was Pandora’s sexual experience that drove Blade’s brother away. The mix of Pandora’s rampant desire and Steele’s

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ridiculous jealousy created irreconcilable differences. Pandora was destined to love a man who could never trust her. “I won’t leave her. Besides, it’s not the same. There’s no affection between Thea and me.” Pandora made a rude noise. Julliet entered the room, a willowy picture of temptation, except for the thick, pink scarring disfiguring her face. She curtsied. “Good to see you again, Magistrate.” Blade nodded in greeting. “Thea went to the pharmacy. She should be back in a metron.” He gaped at her. “You let her roam the city alone?” She smiled at him. “Don’t be so protective. The shop is only two buildings down. Thea is friendly with the proprietor’s wife, Mrs. Wid. She’s made many visits without incident, sir. Everyone knows Thea is protected by you. No one would dare accost her.” Despite the terror clutching at his chest, Blade forced his facial muscles to relax. He exchanged pleasantries with the ladies while inconspicuously watching the timepiece on the wall. After fifteen metrons, his patience ran out. “I’ll find her.” Julliet rose from her seat with a gentle smile. “Of course, sir. If you’ll excuse me, madam?” Pandora nodded. “Shall I expect you for dinner, Blade?” “I wouldn’t count on it.” He sprang to the door. Thea wasn’t at the pharmacy. According to Mrs. Wid, Thea hadn’t been in all day. Memories of his sister’s late night departure crowded his mind. Why did women seek independence so recklessly? Was he such an ogre they sought out any means of escape? Maybe he tended to be a bit overbearing. But it was for their own safety. A woman alone on Callisto attracted predators. Gods, if Thea made it back to twenty-first century Earth, Blade would have to save her from Fowler’s bullet all over again. If he didn’t shoot the manipulative female himself. Dammit! He’d trusted her. Loved her.

Elayne Venton

Bonds of Justice: Blade’s Decree

- 54 -

If anything happened to her… Blade questioned every citizen on the street and in the nearby businesses. He began expanding the circle to include the more unsavory parts of the city, but no one had seen anyone meeting Thea’s description. By nightfall, the murderous sky pirate in him surfaced. He had his men fanned out all the way to the drilling zone with nothing to report but the daily water yield. His woman had slipped through his fingers. He’d drunk almost a gallon of tabrum and wreaked havoc in almost every club along the spaceport when a rumor surfaced the captain of the Excaliber had a female passenger awaiting the morning liftoff. The Excaliber was an ancient rocket-style cargo transporter, its elevated walkway thirty stories up and currently disengaged. Blade scoffed at the minor inconvenience. An elevation pack rushed him straight to the entry door which he bypassed in no time. Blade was outside the captain’s cabin before an alarm sounded. The captain, a young man fresh from interplanetary space academy by the looks of him, greeted Blade while pointing a laser pistol at his chest. Undeterred, Blade glared at him. “I believe you have something of mine, Captain.” “Everything aboard this ship has been bought and paid for,” the man said stupidly. “Who exactly did you pay for my woman?” Blade raged. Realizing his error, the young captain gulped. “Beg your pardon, sir. She purchased a ticket for a berth. She claimed to be a free woman.” He glanced nervously over Blade’s shoulder. Blade spun sideways, expecting an attack. And there stood Thea, calm as could be, dressed in the tight black leather outfit she’d worn on Earth. “Have you come to take me back?” she asked, her only emotion a nervous twitch by her eye.

Elayne Venton

Bonds of Justice: Blade’s Decree

- 55 -

He wanted to attack her, to ravage her, hurt her, but he stood frozen, caught by the courage in her eyes. His beautiful, cool Thea. He grabbed her wrist and tugged her close. “We’re getting off this ship.” The captain lowered the walkway for them himself. Blade’s anger surged again while he dragged Thea through the streets to the brothel. He didn’t speak. He contemplated her punishment in all sorts of vile ways. In the end, he decided he didn’t trust himself touching her at all.

Chapter Six Blade didn’t make the scene Thea expected. He nudged her down the stairs, grabbing the first woman he spotted in the hall and shouting demands. As soon as they entered an unoccupied room, he peeled off his clothes. Pandora slunk into the room behind them, wringing her hands. “I’m so sorry, Blade. I had no idea she would run.” He stared angrily at her, all his frustration evident in his face. Naked, he stepped beneath the mist of a chemical shower and dismissed Pandora with a terse, “Go! This rebellious act is between my woman and me.” Fixing a baleful eye on Thea, he snapped, “Take your clothes off.” Thea obeyed, her hands shaking. Oh, he was pissed. She knew this wasn’t the moment to provoke him. He pulled a semi-clear screen around him and scrubbed himself clean, watching off and on while Thea stripped, as if she barely held his interest. When she posed naked before him, he dunked his head under a separate water spray, washed his hair, rinsed, and then swung his head, splattering water across the room and Thea. When Blade slid the screen aside, it was very apparent she held his interest after all. He dried himself in a flash of blue light, then lounged against the bedpost in naked glory, arms crossed over his tattooed chest. God, she’d missed him. “Get on the bed, Thea, face down.” She sucked in her breath as she climbed on the bed, nerves taut, stomach in knots. “You would’ve tried to escape too if you’d been taken prisoner.” “You were not my prisoner. I asked you to wait for me.”

Elayne Venton

Bonds of Justice: Blade’s Decree

- 57 -

“You didn’t ask. You ordered!” Thea squeezed her eyes shut when he stalked over to the bed. With a quick jerk, Blade lifted her hips off the bed until her ass perched high in the air. “That’s good,” she heard Blade say, and then she felt his fingers sliding over her slit. The first few strokes after he gained entry, she drenched him in her cream, and swallowed her moan of ecstasy. He arched over her back, his arm snaking around her waist. “I came back for you. I planned on taking you to Earth, giving you a shot at Joe Fowler.” Two fingers twisted inside her. Thea gasped. Was he telling the truth? Oh, God. Steele had said Blade never lied. She didn’t know what to believe anymore. “But you couldn’t wait for me, could you? No. All you could think about is killing Joe-fucking-Fowler.” “You’re wrong. I’d like to murder the sonofabitch, but a cop can’t kill someone, unless it’s self-defense,” she explained, trying to ignore the pleasure Blade’s fingers aroused. “I want to see him suffer. But I’ll be the one hauling his ass off to jail, presenting the evidence against him, ensuring he gets the maximum penalty.” “You would have gotten killed,” Blade said quietly. “You should have trusted me to handle it. You are an easy target in the twenty-fourth century. Did you think to ask if the ship you picked to take you home has time-travel capability, Thea? It doesn’t. There are slave traders plying the galaxy, flesh eaters, inter-planetary wars. A whole slew of dangerous scenarios. When I tell you to stay put, it’s for your fucking safety,” he roared. “There are times when absolute obedience is necessary.” “I’m a cop, Blade. I face dangerous situations every day.” “You’re a maverick. And it cost you your life, Thea. Instead of waiting for your partner’s help in arresting Fowler, you sought personal revenge and Fowler gunned you down. That’s why I plucked you out of your time. To save you.” He plunged his fingers deeper. Thea grunted at the same time she convulsed around them.

Elayne Venton

Bonds of Justice: Blade’s Decree

- 58 -

“Good girl.” He removed his fingers and rubbed them along the track to Thea’s puckered sphincter. Blade’s touch made it difficult to concentrate on his words. “No. You made up that savior story to cover your wrongful arrest, to appease your brother… didn’t you?” “I told Steele the truth.” Blade’s deep sigh whispered across her back. “Fowler was going to kill me?” “Aye. Did you think I harbored you for selfish reasons alone?” “Yes!” Thea’s breath hitched as his finger twirled around her hole. “The fact that I wanted you… cared about you… called you my own… should have been enough for you to listen to me. I’m very angry at you for risking your life, Thea. Disobedience requires punishment. Do you understand?” Thea dropped flat against the bed and squeezed her buttocks tight. She understood she hurt him by running away and he was ticked off. “You want to take your anger out of my hide.” His hand caressed her clenched cheeks. “No, Thea. I want you to learn that you are mine and I protect my own. I give you direction for your own safety, and punishment if you fail to comply. Putting yourself in danger squeezes my heart, Thea.” Soft strips of leather drifted across her butt. Oh, God, where did he get that? In her heart, she knew Blade wouldn’t hurt her, but… “Will you take your punishment, Thea?” Thea was pleased that he was upset. It proved Blade felt something for her after all. Hurting him, however, made her remorseful as hell. She deserved his penalty. Wanted it, but she’d do it on her terms. A spanking? Thea raised her buttocks provocatively into the air again. “Then punish me.” A light swat made her cheeks quiver. “Never disobey me again.” Thea heard the anger gurgling beneath the surface. “I don’t like living by your rules, Blade.” “Tough. Just for believing that I would lie, you should be punished.”

Elayne Venton

Bonds of Justice: Blade’s Decree

- 59 -

The thwack across her buttocks surprised her. It didn’t bite as much as it sounded like it did. Blade’s cool hand smoothed over the prickly tingle. “Hmm… You don’t like my rules. Would you rather not live at all?” “I can take care of myself.” “You’re tough, sweetheart, but not tough enough to survive your world let alone mine.” The leather slapped over her buttocks again, her tender flesh warming quickly. The next hit caught her off guard, making Thea jerk. “Ah!” Thea squirmed. Pleasure rippled after the pain. “I will take care of you, Thea.” The flogger tails trickled from her lower spine to her thighs, teasing, caressing. Her body tensed, not deceived by the gentle strokes. Dear God, she actually craved more. “Is that a promise or a threat?” she taunted. The answering stroke made her inner muscles convulse. Thea must’ve wiggled because another thump warmed her butt. God, yes! Harder. “You want a little slave girl to mind your every word. Forget it, Blade.” Soft leather strips draped over her cheeks, gently rubbing where they’d recently smacked her flesh. The teasing threat pushed her heartbeat into her throat. “I don’t want a mindless slave, Thea. I want you, but I want you to benefit from my experience. If I tell you to stay put because it’s safer, you stay put!” The flogger whipped across her cheeks hard, then soft. Hard. Soft. “Understood?” “Yes,” she hissed. “Do you like fucking me, Thea?” Blade asked, his voice suddenly gentle and curious. She turned her head and gave him a ‘don’t be stupid’ look. He grinned, but it wasn’t a happy look. “Aye. You heat up if I look at you across the room. You burn for me all the time.” Thea didn’t acknowledge the truth. “Conceited ass.” The flogger came down hard, the force of the swing wrapping the ends around Thea’s thigh. Thea jerked. Now that had stung.

Elayne Venton

Bonds of Justice: Blade’s Decree

- 60 -

Blade licked the sharp sting in a long slurp, his breath warm and moist on her inner thigh. “You want me now. Don’t you?” Thea split her legs open, making it easier for his mouth to soothe her. “Yes.” “Don’t ever leave me again.” Blade moved away and the leather strips slashed down repeatedly until Thea knew her butt glowed pink. Thea hid her face and wiggled in discomfort, yet yearning for the strikes again and again, discovering her pussy dripping with moisture. The lashing stopped. Thea whipped her head up afraid that Blade might leave her desperate for completion, but he knelt on the bed behind her, leaning to one side, one arm flung over the side of the bed. A moment later, an airlock hissed and Blade drew up a vacuum-packed, pre-lubricated butt plug. Thea shivered as a hand ran over her sore ass, caressing it softly. Goosebumps rose all over her body. “Your ass is red, Thea. Does it feel warm?” “Burning.” She watched him open the package with his teeth. Some habits never changed, she mused, anxiously waiting for him to fulfill one of her most wicked fantasies. “Hotter every second.” His fingers slid down to her vaginal folds, playing with her, petting her, stimulating every single nerve ending. Her internal muscles contracted in rapid anticipation. Blade smoothly slid the slick butt plug into her ass. It felt intrusive, and wicked, and she tightened her butt muscles around it. How could something painful feel so pleasurable? “Would you like me to fuck you now, Thea?” His hands caressed her heated flesh. She squeezed her eyes shut, hiding her flagrant lust. “Yes.” “You’ll follow my directives?” “If they make sense…” He backed away, leaving her body hungry for his touch. “They always make sense, Thea.” “To you.”

Elayne Venton

Bonds of Justice: Blade’s Decree

- 61 -

He laughed, then sobered. “I care, Thea. I want to protect you. Don’t you understand that?” Blade’s fingers teased her sensitive clit and she pressed desperately against his wrist. “Yes.” Her breath hitched in her throat. “Make me come.” “In good time.” His fingers plunged deep, searching for her juices. Thea squirmed against the tightness in her belly. He left her hanging, smearing fingers damp with her own arousal over her breasts, milking them until she gasped for release. “Please!” She felt the prod of his erection against her tingling backside, and leaned back against him. His cock slid against her wet pussy, rocking slowly, his abdomen pushing against the butt plug, and every sensation intensified as if licked by fire. “Take me, Blade. Take me.” “Promise you won’t run again.” His fingers tightened on her buttocks. “Fuck me. I know you want to.” She contracted and released her muscles hard, inviting him in, soaking his teasing cock as it slid along her swollen lips. He slowly pulled the plug out of her ass and she felt empty without it. He teased her there, spreading the residual lubricant around the hole, and then shockingly, his finger slipped in. Her muscles contracted around his thick digit. “Oh!” “Hush,” he commanded softly. His finger dipped and rotated while his cock bumped against her pussy. Thea panted with want. “Take me, damn it.” She rocked and wiggled against him, moaning with desire. Her body contracted in increasing spasms. “Blade!” “Hmm… What do you want, Thea?” He pushed the tip of his cock until it flexed between her vaginal muscles. “Fuck me!” She tried pushing against him, but he moved back, pulling his finger out of her ass too. Her heartbeat pounded in her chest. “Do it!” She was practically screaming. Any second she was going to climax without him. “Please?”

Elayne Venton

Bonds of Justice: Blade’s Decree

- 62 -

In answer, he pushed his cock deep, brushing against her womb. “Is this what you want, love?” His finger sank into her rectum. “This?” “Yes!” Thea bucked against him, drenched in sweat. “That’s it, my sweet, you fuck me.” She rocked against him in a wild frenzy, creaming him with stuttering climaxes while he whispered how hot she was, how perverse, dotted with words of praise and affection. The combination set her blood on fire. She panted hard as the mother of all climaxes gathered in her belly. She gripped the bed pad and prepared to explode. Suddenly Blade withdrew. “Oh my God! NO!” Her body rocked in frustration. She reached back to pleasure herself, but Blade caught her wrist. “Will you promise to stay with me?” “Yes!” “Why?” She hesitated for a fraction of a second. “I need you.” “Because?” Thea hung her head. “Because I’m lost without you.” Blade’s hand brushed over her buttocks. “Will you obey me?” “Blade! Stop talking!” “Will you --” “Yes! You wanted me to promise, I did. So stick your cock in me now, damn you!” She bucked against his groin. He laughed and plunged back into her warmth. “Oh, yes!” Thea’s back arched with pleasure, her senses in overload, her limbs shaking as she came and came and came. Blade filled her in one gushing release. The last thing she remembered before she collapsed was Blade whispering, “I’m lost without you too.”

***

Elayne Venton

Bonds of Justice: Blade’s Decree

- 63 -

Thea opened her gritty eyes, her head pounding, clawing her way out of a deep sleep. Her body felt limp. She closed her eyes again. “Wake up, Thea.” Blade. She melted at his voice. He’d taken her over and over and Thea had let him, savoring each moment he clutched her against his body. He pressed a cup of water to her lips and she gulped noisily. “You smell like lust.” “Tired,” she mumbled. He laughed as his hands patted her ass. Thea’s heart skipped a beat, an instinctive reaction to his touch. “Good. You won’t be so inclined to run.” He rolled her onto her back and smoothed her damp hair from her face. Artificial light filled the room. Thea flung an arm over her face. “Low light.” The lights dimmed and Blade lifted her arm away, kissing her closed eyelids. His hands soothed her arms to her sides and pressed her wrists gently into the mattress. He kissed her lips so very softly, Thea held her breath and lay perfectly still. His tongue traced her jaw line, and then his mouth suckled her sensitive neck. Goosebumps popped on her arms and quivers of delight rolled over her shoulders. She stifled a moan, but he heard it, and she felt his smile against her skin. He released her wrists and covered her peaking nipples with his warm palms. “Tell me what you want, Thea.” “I don’t want. I’m too tired.” She gasped as his fingers trailed along her wet folds. “Don’t lie to me.” He circled the hard bead of her clit and she arched above the bed with an exclamation. “Show me you want me.” Her buttocks settled back down on the sheets and she obligingly spread her legs for him. “That’s my woman.” He scooped her legs up over his arms and plunged into her soaked pussy. Thea lifted her hips meeting each thrust, instantly on fire.

Elayne Venton

Bonds of Justice: Blade’s Decree

- 64 -

The second she began climaxing, Blade leaned down and sucked on her neck, knowing it drove her wild, and grunted his release deep into her womb. She continued throbbing around his sex as he lowered her legs. “Don’t leave yet,” she pleaded. He withdrew and kissed her tenderly. “That was just a quickie. It will help to hold me over till later. I need to check on the Decree, sweetheart.” Thea dragged the sheet across her abdomen. “Okay. I do understand, but we could cuddle for a minute?” Crap, she hoped that didn’t sound like she was whining. Much to her surprise, Blade flung his heavy body onto the bed and snuggled for another hour. Just as Thea drifted off to sleep again, Blade pushed up on one elbow. “I have to go, Thea. I may be back late, but I’ll be back. Wait for me.” “Would it be so difficult to ask?” He snarled playfully and nipped her ear. “I never want to hear ‘no’ from your lips.” Thea smiled, running her fingertips over his chest outlining the tattoo of the blade plunged into a diamond. “Coward.” “Perhaps when it comes to you, I am.” Blade sprang off the bed and jumped into the chemical shower. Mmm. Thea rolled over for a better view of his rippling muscles as he moved beneath the spray. His return couldn’t come soon enough for her. By midnight, she’d drifted off in an exhausted slumber. The strong smell of liquor woke her in the middle of the night. A large hand covered her mouth. Disgusted by his drunkenness, Thea tossed her head and nipped his palm. He yelped and jerked his hand away. Thea’s heart pumped wildly when she stared into a stranger’s face. When she opened her mouth to scream, the man punched her in the head. Bright pinpoints of light marred her vision. The man stuffed a ball gag in her mouth, snapping the elastic band behind her head.

Elayne Venton

Bonds of Justice: Blade’s Decree

- 65 -

“I wish I had the time to fuck you, slut.” His beefy hands roamed over her silk nightie, squeezing and pressing her flesh. Thea kicked at him. He laughed as he caught her legs and spread them wide. Thea bucked in panic. He pressed his weight full length on her, securing her to the mattress while he bound her hands. She swung at him, using her locked hands as a club, but the hit didn’t faze him. He caught her fists and tucked them between their bodies. He grinned at her useless struggles. “I see why the magistrate wants you so badly,” he chortled. Thea stilled at his words. Had Blade sent him? He humped her groin and pressed his foul mouth against her lips. “Maybe I’ll trade my payment for a fuck.” Thea jerked to the side. With a grunt, the man climbed off her, expertly bound her ankles together, scooped her up, and tossed her over his shoulder. “But I got to deliver you first.”

Upside down and in the dark, her head pounding, she couldn’t tell one spaceship from another. She’d been taken directly to a small cabin. They’d removed the ball gag from her mouth, but left her hands and feet bound. Her head hurt where the brute had hit her. The smell of incense churned her stomach. It wasn’t long before her captor visited her. Thea had never seen him before. “Who are you?” He gave her a mocking bow. “Captain Pickford, Magistrate of Jupiter Sector Five, at your service.” His hand gripped the knob of a sharp ice pick hanging from his belt. “And your compliance, or lack thereof, will determine how often I use my favorite weapon on you.”

Chapter Seven “I belong to Magistrate Kevlar.” Not long ago, those words would have made Thea choke. Now, they sounded comforting. Pickford cast a leering gaze from head to toe and grinned. The sheer nightie hid little, however, exposure was the least of her worries. Thea didn’t even blush. Still, the malevolence in Captain Pickford’s eyes scared her. “Kevlar and I have a long acquaintance. What he has, I want.” Great. She was caught in a power struggle between magistrates. Thea raised her chin. “You’re too late. Kevlar no longer wants me.” Pickford laughed in her face. “You didn’t find him in my bed, did you?” The magistrate swept her hair away from her neck. “He’s marked you.” Thea twisted her head away, hiding the flare of excitement in her eyes at his words. She couldn’t afford to think about any romantic notions and Blade now. The captain must be convinced she was a worthless trophy. “Blade bruises my neck as punishment, not as a sign of affection. I attempted to escape him.” “So I’ve heard. Not smart. Kevlar’s touchy about runaways.” Pickford sniggered. “Seems he can’t control his women. Not to worry though. Blade’s gotten word on his lost sister’s whereabouts again, thanks to me. Although I’m not certain how accurate my information is,” he said slyly. “And now he’ll search for you too.” “Don’t hold your breath.” Pickford snorted. “Kevlar will be chasing false plasma streams all over the universe, one unauthorized mission after another. The law council will ground him.” Thea mused at the man’s stupidity. “Blade will kill you when he finds out you have been misleading him about his sister. That’s despicable.”

Elayne Venton

Bonds of Justice: Blade’s Decree

- 67 -

Pickford threw his head back and laughed. “Women!” He sobered suddenly and leaned close to her face. “His pride won’t let him let you go. He’s been searching for his wayward sister for ten moon cycles. If he thinks you’ve run into my arms too, it will drive him insane.” Did Zara run to Pickford? Thea sucked in her breath when the sharp point of the magistrate’s pick ripped her nightgown from her shoulders. “Oh, what a nice surprise.” Gripping her secured arm tightly, he slid his cylindrical ice pick through the nipple ring until its diameter caught. Thea held her breath. Slowly he pulled, elongating her nipple. Harsh commands and scampering feet resounded outside the corridor. “Captain!” a voice shouted over the room’s intercom. “We’ve secured an intruder. It’s Magistrate Kevlar!” “Hmm. He’s quicker than I anticipated.” Sliding a lever on his sleeve, the captain responded. “Bring him to my quarters.” Pickford spun Thea in front of him. Bruising her upper arm in his tight grip, he tugged his pick mercilessly from her nipple ring, pointing the sharp tip at the erratic vein on her neck. “If you want to live, you’ll cooperate.” Two guards accompanied Blade, who was bare-chested, looking scrumptiously vicious, into the room. Thea noted the slight hesitation in his step when he saw her bound and naked in his enemy’s hands. Blood trickled from his split lip but otherwise, he appeared unharmed. “Magistrate Kevlar. You’ve interrupted my interrogation.” Captain Pickford released Thea’s arm and fondled her breast, twisting her nipple ring cruelly. Blade’s eyes narrowed into angry slits and Thea jumped in before he said something stupid. “I told you he’s not interested in me!” “Is that so?” The junior magistrate smirked at Blade. “Then he wouldn’t mind if you gave me a blowjob while he and I discussed business?” “It wouldn’t make a difference,” Thea replied for Blade, staring hard at her lover.

Elayne Venton

Bonds of Justice: Blade’s Decree

- 68 -

“What if I slowly kill you before his eyes?” “Let her go,” Blade demanded. “I’ll be happy to trade her for a batch of whores from twentieth century Earth, and the return of Desiree.” Blade cocked his head. “Who’s Desiree? The redhead who stowed away on the Decree? I’m afraid you’ll have to take that up with Atlas. He’s become… attached.” Pickford snarled. “I’d rethink the offer, if I were you.” A burning stripe followed the tip of his pick from Thea’s neck to shoulder. Thea knew without looking he’d drawn blood. “I’m really tempted to compare a blowjob from your woman to the one your sister gave me.” “What the fuck are you talking about?” The steel in Blade’s voice chilled Thea to the bone. “Zara. I stole her right from under your nose, just like this whore.” Thea growled. Blade lurched forward, but the two guards yanked him back, zapping him in the shoulder with a thing that looked like a taser. He grunted but continued to pull against the guards’ hold. “You slime! What did you do with Zara?” “Sold her, of course. Last I heard, she was spreading her ass cheeks for a Tuberian slave runner.” The roar filling the room gave Thea the chance she’d been waiting for. She twisted to face her captor and slammed the heel of her hand against Pickford’s nose. He stumbled back, bleeding, slashing the ice pick across her arm, but she ignored the pain to double fist him across the temple. Pickford doubled over, gasping for breath. Thea looped her bound arms over his neck and jerked back in a savage chokehold. “No one calls me a whore.” The ice pick clattered to the floor as the captain grabbed the wrists binding his neck.

Elayne Venton

Bonds of Justice: Blade’s Decree

- 69 -

The two guards standing on either side of Blade were so dumbfounded, Blade’s backhanded dual punch caught them off guard. An elbow into their guts bent them double and Blade crushed their skulls together. They crumbled like marble pillars. Blade collected the guards’ weapons and rushed to Thea’s side, where Pickford struggled against Thea’s hold. The captain flipped her over his back and her flying feet caught Blade in the chest, knocking him back a few steps. Thea landed with a hard thump. Groaning for her bruised tailbone, Thea rolled toward the ice pick on the floor. Pickford dove to stop her. Blade reached out and zapped Pickford in the thigh. In the ensuing tangle of limbs, Thea wrestled the captain for his weapon. Blade joined the fray, twisting back Pickford’s arm and zapping his neck. The captain loosened his hold and Thea swung the pick, catching the magistrate in the crotch. Pickford screamed in agony. Rolling on the floor, hands clamped around his penis, his body convulsed. His teeth chattered. “Medic!” he screamed. Blade shook his head. “Ouch.” He regarded Thea with respect and amusement. “Bastard. That was for Zara.” Blade grinned. His gaze roamed over her wounds. “Are you all right?” He slid a small knife from his boot and cut her bonds. “Yeah. Nothing more than a few scratches.” Blade gave her a dubious look, then wrapped an arm around Thea’s waist and lifted her to her feet. “Let’s get out of here.” The panel door crashed in. Blade swung Thea behind him and aimed the guard’s laser at their assailant. Atlas filled the space. “Ship is secure, sir.” The taut muscles in Blade’s back relaxed. “The stolen goods are being offloaded now.” “Well done, Atlas.” Blade pointed to Pickford with the laser’s muzzle. “Take the magistrate to the brig and see he gets a med scan -- eventually.” “Aye, sir.” Thea peeked around Blade’s broad back. “Stolen goods?”

Elayne Venton

Bonds of Justice: Blade’s Decree

- 70 -

“I’ll explain in private.” He scooped her up into his arms, hiding her nakedness as much as he could, and carried her back to his ship. Inside his quarters, Blade tucked a thermal sheet around her body and sat her on his bed pad. “You okay? I wanted to kill Pickford with my bare hands.” Thea nodded. Blade swabbed the cuts on her neck and arm with a cool liquid he’d taken from an inset cabinet in his quarters. The stings eased instantly. “All in a day’s work, Blade.” Blade didn’t smile at her light-hearted remark. After tossing the used med supplies, he poured a deep red liquid into a tube and handed it to her. “Earth wine. Late nineteenth century French.” The bold smooth taste relaxed her, clearly Blade’s intention. He paced a few feet away. “Pickford has been stealing mining supplies and selling them on other mining colonies. Atlas’s new friend tipped us off. It seems Pickford’s been selling his female cargo too.” Blade ran a hand over his pale face. “All this time, I’d hoped Zara had chosen prostitution out of spite for me, not because it was forced on her. I’ve followed her trail to places so sordid… I don’t want to think about them.” His Adam’s apple bobbed. “Can you believe Pickford? He told me he’d been leading you on a wild goose chase. He’s trying to get you fired, demoted or whatever, for misappropriation of your time and council resources.” “Pickford’s an idiot. I’m not tracking Zara by rumor alone. I’m using a DNA tracer. It works like a bloodhound. Instead of scent, it follows DNA residue.” Blade stilled, looking a bit embarrassed. “Most of my pay goes for techno-gadgets like that. The law council receives the rest as recompense for fuel and supplies. As a matter of record, the Grand Councilman offered me the Magistrate of Colonization job so I had latitude in my search for Zara. Everything’s on the up and up, Thea.” Thea smiled. “Glad to hear it, Magistrate, because I’m a stickler for the law.” “Hmm.” He cast his gaze at the floor. Thea finished the wine. “How did you find me?”

Elayne Venton

Bonds of Justice: Blade’s Decree

- 71 -

“Pickford wanted me to find you. Probably not as fast as I did, but he underestimated me.” “He wanted you flying without authorization so he could negotiate.” “Aye.” Blade looked like he might say more; instead he drew a deep breath. Thea stood up quickly, the sheet falling off her shoulders. “What’s bothering you?” “I’m impressed with your fighting skills.” He wouldn’t look at her. “But…” At his continued silence, Thea stepped closer. “Please, Blade. Don’t shut me out now. I --” I love you. He ground his teeth, looking everywhere but at Thea, pacing like a caged lion. Blade jumped when she touched his back, halting his stride. She smoothed her palm up to his shoulder, gently turning him toward her. “Tell me.” “The resolve I saw in your eyes terrified me. You didn’t flinch when he cut you. You would have done anything Pickford wanted in order to gain the upper hand.” “Yes. Probably.” “Like you used sex to get my mini-laser?” Thea winced. “Hell, no. Not the same thing, Blade. I could’ve grabbed your minilaser long before I did. But I wanted you first. Unlike Pickford,” she said adamantly. “Everything about Pickford made me gag, whereas…” Thea ran her hand over Blade’s chest. “Everything about you makes my knees weak.” His stomach sucked in when she circled his belly button. She leaned an ear against his beating heart. “Your smell, your texture…” She flicked her tongue at his flat nipple. “Your taste.” Blade stood perfectly still, letting her explore. Her hand drifted lower, releasing the tie on his pants so they draped open at the crotch. She delved into the loose fabric and gently cupped his balls. The soft intake of his breath and swelling cock spurred her on.

Elayne Venton

Bonds of Justice: Blade’s Decree

- 72 -

“Pickford is a sadist. He has no idea what pleasure is, Blade. Do you want me to show you?” His body tensed. “Now? Gods, Thea, I’m not asking for it.” “But I want to… I want to please you, Blade. Let me enjoy you.” Thea kissed her way down his muscle-packed torso, sinking to her knees. “All that adrenaline and we’re all alone and…” She pressed kisses along his abdomen and slipped his pants off his hips. His cock shifted upward, displaying the tattooed knife along its length. “Oh, Blade,” Thea sighed. “This tattoo makes my heart race.” Blade grunted ambiguously. Starting at the base of his distended cock, Thea licked slowly from the hilt to the point of the tattooed blade. “Why did you get it?” she murmured against his skin. Blade drew a deep breath. “My first mercenary job, I raided a Gatoric ship and was captured. The crew mocked my youthful daring. In exchange for my freedom, I challenged them to test my courage.” “Whoa.” She whirled her tongue around the head, then eased away and looked up at him. “They picked the method. You picked the symbol of your name?” He gave her a lopsided grin. “I wasn’t going prove my manhood with a tattoo of hearts and flowers.” A smile tugged at Thea’s mouth. “I like your choice.” Slowly she devoured his length. “They did a good job. It was a fair trade… mmm.” Blade’s cock swelled in her mouth, thicker, longer, until Thea wasn’t sure she could contain it all. When it became too much, she backed off, wrapped one hand firmly around the base, and sucked the head before swallowing the tattooed cock again. “Thea…” Shaking fingers scraped her scalp. “Hmm?” She lifted her gaze to his flushed face, picking up her pace, slurping his penis in and out of her mouth, teasing the slit at his cock head with her tongue. Then she suckled him deeply into her mouth. “Oh, fuck…”

Elayne Venton

Bonds of Justice: Blade’s Decree

- 73 -

His thighs trembled and he began pumping, gently at first, then more frantically. “Mmm. Take all of me, love. More.” Thea eased his length deeper into her mouth, swirling and sucking with her tongue while one finger probed between his muscular cheeks. And then she pressed. He bucked wildly when her other hand caressed his balls. “I’m going to come. Ah, Thea, stop!” Thea held him tight, swiped again with her tongue. A second later, warm salty cream coated her mouth. His hands caressed her head, pushing her hair out of her face. “Oh, sweetheart.” Blade hooked his hands beneath her armpits, tugged Thea to her feet, and kissed her hard. Thea melted against him, feeling as though she’d come home.

Several hours later, having worn themselves out making love, Blade pulled her exhausted body close to his and kissed her nose. “What am I going to do with you?” Here it comes. The kiss-off. “I think you’ve done it all,” she said lightly, gathering a protective shell around her heart. He squeezed her playfully. “I promise to take care of Joe Fowler. I’m not doing it without you. But Zara…” Thea put a finger over his lips. “Hey, you’re using time travel, right? We can get Fowler when we’re ready. Go find Zara. She may be in more trouble than you thought.” Relief flooded his expression. “The search might take a while.” Blade looked at her long and hard, and his lips pulled into a frown. “I don’t like leaving you behind, Thea, but I’m afraid to take you with me. Slave traders are a mean lot. As tough as you are, you’re not equipped to handle them yet. There’s so much for you to learn about our worlds.” Thea shrugged, her heart breaking. She wasn’t going to beg. “Go.” Blade gathered her hand in his and rubbed his thumb over the back. Damn, the big lug looked worried. “Will you leave Callisto as soon as I’m out of sight?” “Probably.”

Elayne Venton

Bonds of Justice: Blade’s Decree

- 74 -

“Oh.” “I hear there’s a nice house waiting for me on Rondus. Steele told me there’s a state-of-the-art law enforcement training center there too.” Grinning broadly, Blade gathered her into his arms, hugging so hard he bruised her ribs. “It’s not fair to ask you to wait, but Thea…” Thea didn’t need to hear the words to know how he felt. “Send messages when you can, okay?” “I can’t guarantee much communication. Distance, solar flares, time travel.” Thea shrugged. Men. “Okay. I’ll send messages to you.” No way was she going to call them love notes. Blade beamed at her, cupping her face. “You do that, honey.” He rolled on top of her, kissing her deeply, his erection cradled between her thighs.

Epilogue Six moon cycles later Thea held the laser cannon against her shoulder and waited. The target, a Tuberian slave runner, raced across the street dodging fire from Rondus Enforcers. He dropped behind an old Trover link and Thea flipped up the scope. “Gotcha!” She squeezed the trigger and a thick laser beam penetrated the Trover, knocking the bastard unconscious. Thea whooped. “Oh, yeah. I love technology!” The lights in the training arcade came up and score points cycled on the overhead board. Thea had bested her partner again. “Maybe next time, Cavland.” Her partner shook her pretty head. “They’re going to throw me off the force if I don’t beat you at least once.” Thea wiped her sweaty hands on her stretch suit. “Nah. You’re the best telepath we have.” Cavland smacked Thea’s hand in friendship. The intercom light snapped on. “Stone to the com room, stat.” “Crap, it was supposed to be my night off.” She quickly put away the arcade weapons and reported to the dispatcher, Stella, a computer with no compassion for overworked, underpaid law enforcers. The airlock slid open. “What is it this time, Stella?” She froze in mid-stride and almost tripped over her own feet. “Hello, Thea.” “Solarian Judge Kevlar is here to see you,” the computer stated. God, he looked good. She wanted to jump into his massive arms, but the haunted look in his eyes froze her in place. “Solarian Judge, huh? I hadn’t heard.” Shit. Thea

Elayne Venton

Bonds of Justice: Blade’s Decree

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hadn’t heard from him at all. The only positive slant, if one could call it that, was Steele hadn’t heard from him either. “Shutting down Captain Pickford’s smuggling operation won me a promotion. They call him Bent Pick now, by the way.” He grimaced. Thea bit back a smile. He smiled back -- barely. “Still searching for Zara?”

Blade looked over her head and nodded. “Aye.” His gaze cut back to her.

God, he looked uncomfortable. A lump formed in her throat. “So… why are you

here?” “I’ve heard good reports about your enforcer missions.” Damn. Her hands were sweaty again. “Keeping tabs, Blade?” “Aye.” His gaze roamed over her body. “I’ve come to offer you a position.” “Under you?” He smiled. “Under me, on top, bent over Stella’s desk, whatever works for you.” Her jaw tightened and he jumped back in. “I miss you, Thea. Your fire, your smile, all of you. I’m going crazy without you.” He punched a fist into his palm. “Damn it! I’m trying to tell you I love you. Since the day I met you, you have been the only woman for me. I can’t get you out of my mind or my heart and I don’t want to.” Thea looked at him skeptically.

His knuckles whitened over his fist. “Thea, come with me. Please.”

Thea toyed with the tab closure at the top of her body suit. The man was actually

begging her. Of course, Blade wouldn’t see it that way. “Will I have to sign a service contract?” His eyes twinkled. “Aye.” “Hmm. This feels like a set-up to me. What is the length of this contract?” “Forever.” Thea arched a brow. “We’ll recover Zara, Blade. Then what?” “Then you can resume your enforcer duties, if that’s what you want. Wherever you settle, I’ll open a judicial office. I’m not letting you go, Thea.”

Elayne Venton

Bonds of Justice: Blade’s Decree

- 77 -

“That sounds nice, Blade.” A small smile blossomed on her face. “So you’ll join me?” “Yes.” Blade dove, crushing her in his embrace, kissing her madly. Thea gasped, loving him back heart and soul. His kiss mellowed and he lifted his lips a fraction. “I love you, Thea.” Thea sighed in contentment. “I love you too.” Holding her at arm’s length, he looked into her eyes. “I hear there’s a Tuberian slave ship making runs on Earth at fifty-year increments. I also know a certain Rondus Enforcer has some unfinished business in the twenty-first century. Care to check it out with me?” “Love to. I do have other unfinished business though. Right here, right now.” Thea peeled open her stretch suit. “Do I have permission to complete this assignment before we go, sir?” “You do realize you’re in the com room with a Solarian Judge.” “So sue me.” She slipped a hand beneath his waistband, gripped his cock, and stroked him. “Here’s your first payment.” Blade grunted. “Stella, seal the door.” He pressed Thea up against the wall, kissed her face, and worked his way down her neck to her shoulders and then her breasts, punctuating each kiss with a declaration of devotion. “I love you… I love you… I love you.”

Bonds of Justice 2: Stolen Rapture Ever since his wife’s death, Kyros has pledged his life to eradicating the drug that killed her. Once a fertility drug, it now sells on the black market, chiefly as an additive in slave collars. When Kyros disables a slave runner’s ship, he never expects long dead feelings to be awakened by the sensual allure of the captive Zara Kevlar -- a spoiled runaway with dreams of independence. Zara has no desire to go home to her overbearing brothers, and every desire to warm her rescuer’s bed. She needs Kyros to see her as a woman and not a spoiled brat. It takes some persuading, but she teams up with Kyros to fight the slavers. Her hardest fight, however, is convincing Kyros that sex with him is not a matter of gratitude or brainwashing, but something she wants to share from her heart.

Elayne Venton Elayne Venton is a travel-aholic -- even if she’s confined to the window seat of her computer and flying over the Internet. You’ll find her stories set anywhere in the world… and beyond. From a remote mountain cabin to the largest city in the universe, there are men and women burning with passion, destined for each other, waiting for their story to be told. After fifteen years working in the corporate world of Communications, Elayne quit and turned her writing talents to something more creative and enjoyable: romance fiction. She’s won various Romance Writers of America (RWA) contest awards and appreciates the feedback from readers and judges. Having lived on the east coast all her life, from New Hampshire to North Carolina, Elayne has met characters -- oops -- people from all walks of life. Currently, Elayne lives in the inner coastal area of North Carolina with her industrious husband, two teenagers, a lovable golden retriever, and a pet rabbit.