Dangerously Yours: 2 (Loving Dangerously) (2 page)

His mind raced as perspiration formed across his brow.

Calm the fuck down.

He needed to stay in control or they were sure to die.

How long since she last ate? Last night? What about water? This morning? Or was it yesterday morning? Shit.

He gripped the doorframe harder. There was something about the rule of three. What was it? Humans can live for three weeks without food, three days without water and three minutes without air. Past three and you’re dead. What about pregnant women?

Whiz, boom!
A high-pitched screeching cut through the air outside.

The house shook and rumbled as it was hit. Kane watched in slow motion as the appliances on the countertop jostled and fell over. Seconds slowly ticked by as a glass coffeepot hit the floor, shattering into a million pieces on impact. A large mixer bowl fell to its side and rolled across the countertop. Kane’s heart stopped.

They’re here.

“Kane! What’s happening?” Anna shrieked from the other room.

Snapping back to reality, he jerked upright. “Anna! We have to get out of here now! The house is falling apart.” He bolted into the kitchen, pushing a dinette table out of the way and jumping over the chairs.

“I’m afraid.”

He found Anna curled against the cushions, as if sinking into them would save her from the attack.

Whiz, boom!
A loud noise slammed across his brain. His hands flew to his ears and his jaw tensed shut. The house splintered and creaked around them. It could fall at any moment.

A cloud of dust crept ominously through the air, emerging from the back rooms, heading straight to them. Anna’s coughing racked her body as the heavy cloud billowed through the hall to the living room.

“Come on, baby. We have to get moving. Now!” Dust mixed with something acidic burned his throat with each breath he took.

He tried pulling her from the couch. She stayed planted in her seat. Her dazed eyes darted from side to side. She wouldn’t budge.

“We have to hurry before the house collapses!” He tried to get through to her.

After one blink, then two, she finally focused on him, put her feet on the floor and leaned forward. He pulled both of her hands, lifting her off the couch. Anna stumbled to stand.

“Our bags.” Tugging away from his grasp, she reached for them.

“Leave them!”

With a shake of her head, she scrambled to retrieve the bags. Kane snatched them out of her grasp and pulled her behind him. No more wasting time, they needed to get out of this death trap.

He stopped short at the door. His hand froze on the doorknob.

This is exactly what these bastards want.

Ignoring the heavy beating of his heart, the heavy pants from his lungs…he listened. Anna’s breaths were harder and heavier than his. Beside that…silence. He strained his ears to listen for any whizzing sounds, the telltale sign of a spacecraft above.

“Did they leave?” Anna asked in a hope-filled whisper from behind his shoulder.

“I’m not certain.”

He dared not move. They could still be out there, waiting.

“I think they’re gone. I don’t hear anything.” Relief was apparent in her voice as she stepped away from him. He watched her ease onto one of the broken stairs. “My stomach is hurting.” She lay back on her elbows, rubbing her oversized belly.

“Stay put. Try to stay calm. Once I know for sure that they’re gone, I’ll go out and find you some food and water.” He peered through the peephole of the door.

Where are those bastards?

“I don’t want you to leave me here alone. What if they come back?”

“You need water.” He gave her a reassuring half-smile before turning to the peephole. “Plus, you’re not getting rid of me that ea—”

A roar deafened his ears. Wood, metal and plaster erupted through the air. Direct hit.

Pain shot through him as debris rained down. His hands flew up to protect his face. He dropped to the floor, rolling to a fetal position. The house creaked and rocked around him.

He strained to open his eyes. Dust settled in them and burned. He snapped them shut.

“Anna!”

No answer. A dull ache thrummed in his ears.

Inhaling a lungful of dust, Kane coughed. “Anna! Come to me.” He threw out his hand, grasping at air. “We have to get out of here!”

Nothing.

He forced his eyes open. A cloud of dust obstructed his vision. The outline of the caved-in roof was the first thing he saw. He willed himself to a standing position and stumbled forward with outstretched arms. If he found the stairs he would find Anna.

“Anna! Anna! Answer me!”

His shoe brushed against something soft. Anna? His heart dropped to his stomach. Where would he find a doctor? What if she needed medical help? He grabbed at it.

An arm.

Anna.

Dropping to his knees, he frantically pushed the wood planks and shingles from her body, throwing debris in every direction.

Anna, please baby, be okay.

He pushed a piece of drywall off her. His gaze settled on the broken body lying sprawled at an odd angle.

“Nooooo!” He gathered the remains of his wife’s charred, limp body. “
Please
, God! No!”

Taken: Year 3.9

“Princess, we will enter Tolanis airspace within the hour.” Nebin’s deep voice came through the speaker by her headrest, loud and clear.

“Thank you, Nebin.” Princess Sa’Mya Lacolil of Laconia did her best to contain her excitement. She had never been to Tolanis. In honesty, the only other place she’d ever been aside from her home planet was the moon Sonis.

She couldn’t wait to explore Tolanis, a midsized planet known for its advances in fashion. The condition for that small luxury? She would have to keep her name and royal origins a secret from the natives. Uncle Umar had posted a notice describing her as a distraught runaway. Every species looking to increase the number of credits in their accounts would be after her to claim the reward.

Nebin had assured her she would go undetected if she obeyed him. Nebin was the only person she took orders from. He was her trusted guard, the guard her deceased father had appointed to watch over her since birth. Of all those in her life whom she had loved, Nebin was the only one still living.

Nebin sat next to Moira, her personal assistant, at the controls in the front of the five-seat transporter. Neither provided her a backward glance as they focused on guiding the transporter to Tolanis. From Tolanis, they would rendezvous with the luxury vessel that would take them to Prysvinta, their final destination.

Sa’Mya sat in one of the uncomfortable seats in the rear. She had instructed Nebin to get a large vessel, one with all the amenities befitting a princess. Since she was the sole owner of the largest shipping and hauling company in the galaxy, he had thousands of vessels to choose from. But he had opted for a small, inconspicuous vessel, which was not appropriate for her…status.

In Nebin’s defense, they had been trying to sneak off Laconia and away from her uncle. According to Nebin, a larger vessel would have alerted her uncle’s guards with a quick recapture to follow. She had agreed, albeit begrudgingly.

Sa’Mya scanned the stark white walls of her cramped surroundings.

Blah.

A painting of Laconia’s unspoiled lands on the hull walls would have really perked up the space. Ancients, even a view port would be welcome because at least then she could see the stars.

Against her better judgment, she initiated the intercom again. “Has there been any more communication from my uncle?”

“I have not seen any indication,” Nebin said. “Moira, have you caught anything?”

“No, Umar has not made contact,” Moira replied.

“As if you would tell me if he had,” Sa’Mya whispered.
It’s because of you that my uncle knows my every move.

Sa’Mya narrowed her eyes as she watched the back of Moira’s head. The severe bun Moira always wore reflected her personality. Moira was traitorous to say the least. Her uncle had promoted Moira from a menial factory position to serve as her personal assistant.

Two cycles ago Moira had “appeared” in Sa’Mya’s private rooms.
Where is Medina?
Sa’Mya had asked. Huffing, Moira had replied that
she
was Sa’Mya’s new assistant. Sa’Mya hadn’t seen Medina since.

Although she and Moira were the same age, Moira looked ten times older. Wrinkles outlined Moira’s features. Her nose resembled a bird’s beak and her eyes were too small and too close together to be considered attractive.

Moira’s upgrade in lifestyle and expensive clothing did nothing to disguise her hard disposition. Sa’Mya couldn’t remember if she had ever seen Moira smile. Laugh?
Definitely not.

Sa’Mya squeezed her eyes shut and gave her head a slight shake. Sensing the change in her mood, Yazmine, her new maid, whispered soothing words in her ear. In the short time she had known Yazmine, Sa’Mya had come to count on her in more ways than one. Yazmine had also whispered words of comfort after King Taio had reneged on his and Sa’Mya’s bonding contract.

She hadn’t
exactly
minded that there wouldn’t be a match between herself and the fierce warrior. She’d understood the bond would have been in name only. King Taio would have gotten the much needed financial support his thriving new world needed and she would have gained safety and protection from Uncle Umar. But it had hurt nonetheless. Her composure had remained intact while he gave her the news, but behind closed doors she had wept on Yazmine’s shoulder.

Sa’Mya was grateful King Taio had agreed to let Yazmine leave Sonis. It was the least he could have done for sending Sa’Mya on her way while he trounced around the galaxy trying to find his pregnant human slave, Eva.

Yazmine, in a word, was beautiful. Every time Sa’Mya looked upon Yazmine, she found something new and appealing.

While they were both the same height, Yazmine was slender compared to Sa’Mya’s own curvy frame. They both shared waist-length hair. Where hers fell in uncontrollable waves of deep gold, Yazmine’s hung straight in a fall of glossy black with gold streaks. And while they shared the same golden tone the inhabitants of the sand planets in the Zaronna System were famous for, Yazmine’s skin was brighter compared to Sa’Mya’s.

“Yazmine.” Sa’Mya hooked her leg across her right armrest. She’d chosen the perfect dress for the trip, the one with slits that ran up both sides to mid-hip.

From her seat next to Sa’Mya, Yazmine initiated the semi-privacy screen that separated the back from the front. Over the hum of the transporter engine came the click of Yazmine’s safety harness. Yazmine’s deft fingers sliding in and out of her would be the welcome distraction she needed and the one thing that could possibly make the short trip bearable.

Nothing else relaxed her quicker. And after what she’d been through these past lunar cycles, she needed some relaxing. King Taio had reneged and Uncle Umar pursued her relentlessly, not intending to shower her with hugs and gifts either. She was running for her life.

Yazmine kneeled in front of her, positioning herself between Sa’Mya’s open legs. Sa’Mya watched as Yazmine lifted her gown to expose her bare pussy. Normally Sa’Mya wouldn’t have dared let Yazmine expose her in such an open display of wanton need. But no one watched, so she would allow Yazmine to pleasure her any way she pleased.

With a light touch, Yazmine spread Sa’Mya’s folds and slid a slender digit into her pussy up to the knuckle.

Inhaling deeply, Sa’Mya leaned back into her seat. “Umm.”

Yazmine’s finger caressed Sa’Mya’s walls, gliding effortlessly in her wet sheath. Yazmine added another finger to the first, stretching her. “Princess?”

Even as Yazmine was busy massaging and teasing, Yazmine’s focus was on Sa’Mya’s breasts that spilled from the top of her red, low-cut gown. Sa’Mya smiled at the hunger in Yazmine’s bronze-colored, slanted eyes.

Sa’Mya lazily teased her hardened nipples through the expensive fabric. She inhaled with a hiss of pleasure. “Do you want to touch my breasts?”

Yazmine moaned softly and extended her free hand. “Yes, please.”

Sa’Mya laughed and slapped Yazmine’s hand away. “But I didn’t say you could.” Sa’Mya gripped and pinched each nipple and gave a small choke of pleasure.

Yazmine’s tongue darted across her top lip and Sa’Mya’s stomach fluttered. “I can think of one thing that would feel better than a finger,” Sa’Mya moaned.

“Princess,” Yazmine whimpered softly. “Join me.” Yazmine pressed on Sa’Mya’s safety-harness release.

Sa’Mya stilled Yazmine. “No. You want me, your princess, to lie on the floor?” Not to mention, the idea of being unrestrained in a transporter traveling through space at light speed made her pale.

“Then let me…” Yazmine fluttered her eyelashes and sucked her lower lip in her mouth.

“Let you what?” Sa’Mya asked, recovering her breath.