Favored by Felix (3 page)

Felix returned, his expression even happier
than before.

“Good news?”

“Cautiously happy,” he said. “I knew Saber
would manage a miracle. He always does.”

“Where are we?”

He shrugged, the faint movement of his
powerful shoulders reminding her of his size. “It’s not important. All you need
to know is that you’re here for the duration. My captive,” he added with
satisfaction.

Casey fought an unusual burst of humor and
only just won the struggle to prevent a smile sneaking onto her lips. “Sir, you
can’t do this to me. I’m an innocent and must get to my betrothed so we can
marry on the morrow. You must let me go. You must.”

“Huh?”

“Please sir. I want to get married. My
betrothed is a very rich man. He’ll pay a rich ransom for my safe return.”

“I don’t want a ransom.” Felix straightened
and insult dripped from every word.

Casey’s brows rose. “No money? No jewels?”

Felix’s brows squished together. “What are
you blathering about?”

“Oh.” She forced shocked surprise into her
tone. “You intend to ravish me.”

Felix rubbed his chin, studied her then flicked
the sleep-bed a speculative glance. “I could deal with ravishment.”

Oh, he was good. “But I must save myself
for my future husband. I-I… Sir, is there anything else I could do instead?
Maybe I could, um…touch you
there
?” She made a vague gesture in the
direction of his groin.

“Later,” he said, a faint twinkle in those
sea-green eyes. “Are you feeling all right?”

“A bit foggy in the brain.”

“I’ll get you something to eat and drink.”
He paused. “Am I going to need to tie you up or will you remain in this hut
while I collect a meal for you?”

Casey glanced down at her hands, allowed
her bottom lip to quiver. “I-I’ll behave.”

His expression took on an edge of
suspicion, but he nodded and strode from the hut. Casey waited until she couldn’t
hear his footsteps any longer and slid off the sleep-bed.

Scurvy sky pirates
, what had happened to her? Her legs trembled, stubbornly refusing
to take her weight, but finally she pushed upright with the aid of the wall.
She took slow breaths and tried to remember what had happened.

She’d been on the beach, walking. A noise.
Yeah, she’d heard a noise behind her, and she’d thought it was Felix. It had
been another man.

Scowling, she focused on pulling details
from her quagmire mind. They rose from the murk, hazy and disordered. A pretty
yet masculine face. What else? Her brow wrinkled when she came up with green.
Yes, gorgeous green eyes a few shades lighter than Felix’s. Heck, she had to be
hallucinating. No man had such symmetrical features, or long, dark lashes. Long
hair.

The details emerged more quickly now. He
hadn’t smiled. No, anger had shimmered in his face, making those pretty eyes
hard.

The man had grabbed her, and when she’d
started to fight back, he’d held a medi-cloth over her nose.

The bastard had tranqed her with a sleep-drug.
Scurvy sky pirates
, now the fuzzy brain made sense.

Casey took a deep breath and attempted a
couple of steps. She wobbled and remained upright. Better. Two more steps took
her to the doorway of the hut. Her military responses came automatically.
Scout
the location.
She scanned the area—a fenced enclosure—mentally putting
together an escape plan if one became necessary. The fence was sturdy, but she
could scale it easily enough.

A harsh
caw-caw
directed her gaze
upward, and she felt her mouth drop open.
Rollicking reapers!
That was a
freakishly big bird. She’d never seen one that enormous before, and she’d seen
some weird sights during her travel with her unit.

She watched the bird swoop and come up with
prey. The animal was still alive and its terrified squeaks made the hair at the
back of her neck prickle.

A shuttle came into sight and hovered over
the treetops for an instant. The pilot landed the vehicle not far from a closed
gateway. A man climbed out, and Felix went to meet him.

They didn’t move far from the shuttle,
which meant she’d have no shot at stealing the vehicle. Not that she
wanted
to escape, not when she could fool around with Felix.
Anything
to escape
her bloody thoughts and the dilemma the general had forced on her shoulders.

Her happiness faded. Her mouth firmed.

“Decide. Yes or no. It’s a simple
decision.”

Simple for
him
.

Casey swallowed, decided to test security for
her amusement because she sorely needed some fun and joy in her life. A
distraction.

She slipped from the hut and cursed the
dirty robe she wore. It was light in color, the same shade of moonlight as her
nightgown. While it was a great garment—one of her own creations, so it was
well-designed and comfortable, as well as sexy—the color would stand out
against the bright pinks and blues and the mottled greens of the plants and
trees. Oh well. It wasn’t as if she was really trying to escape. She was
getting what she’d paid for, after all—a capture fantasy.

When she crept closer to the transport, sticking
near the fence and taking care with foot placement, she saw the two men looked
alike. The man from her hazy memories stood with Felix, and they were arguing.
Planetary
zombies
, her memory had underplayed his prettiness. The man was gorgeous,
despite what appeared to be a high temper, yet no one could call him feminine.
He was all male with his hard body, long black hair and gorgeous face.

She turned her attention to Felix. Some
woman might not give him a second look after seeing the first man, but she
liked the slightly coarser features, the grin that was a fraction lopsided. If
a woman hooked up with the pretty one, they’d always have to watch their backs,
in case another woman tried to steal him away.

The two men continued to argue until the
pretty one let rip with a punch. It caught Felix unaware and he went down.
Pretty man turned his back and stomped to the shuttle. Seconds later, the
vehicle fired up and rose into the sky. Casey remained frozen in place, but she
watched the departure of the shuttle until it disappeared over the treetops.

Interesting.

She studied Felix and watched him climb to
his feet. Cautiously, he worked his jaw back and forth, let out a grunt that
carried across the compound.

Casey did a rapid visual sweep of the area,
including the sky, and crept away, putting distance between herself and Felix
but keeping him in view.

This was a fantasy, and it was her job to
act like a ninny and try to escape. Every good capture contained drama.

Felix went into the second hut and after a
few minutes, came out with a tray. He walked into the other building. Seconds
later, she heard his curse and grinned. The instant he emerged, she’d let him
see her and take off. He’d catch her, she knew, because she didn’t have any
footwear and the surface appeared rough and uneven.

Casey checked for birds and other types of
possible danger, then saw Felix appear, took in his panicked expression before
she stepped into view.

Then she was off, tearing across the pink
and green grass, chortling as she ran, glorying in the exercise and the chase.

This was so much fun! She didn’t know why
she hadn’t booked into a resort like this before. She kept running and was
halfway across the compound before footsteps thudded behind her. She increased
her pace, surprised when she ran faster than ever before. Her feet tangled,
brain shorting at the realization, reality pressing down on her psyche.

Seconds later, he tackled her and she went
down hard. Before she could yelp at the dig of a rock in her ribs, he rolled to
his feet, plucked her off the ground and hurried toward the hut.

Once inside, he dumped her on the bed and
locked the door. Her heart knocked against her rib cage, rapid beats that held
a trace of dread. She stared up at him, saw the flare of his nostrils and
quivered.

His eyes were hard. His mouth pulled to a
firm line, and his hands clenched at his sides. He prowled to the edge of the
bed. “Are you hurt? I want to make sure you’re all right.” He removed her robe
and inspected her hands and arms, her legs and the soles of her feet.

“Take off the nightgown.” He left no room
for doubt. This was an order, meant to be obeyed.

“I…” Casey paused, traces of uncertainty
unfurling inside her mind. Had she pushed him too far?

His hand flashed out and he grasped the
neckline of her nightgown. She froze, her gaze snapping to his stormy one.

“Not fast enough,” he purred, and gave a
mighty tug.

The rent of the fabric filled the hut as he
tore her nightgown from bodice to hem, and shocked, she just blinked.

The tiny matching panties drew his gaze. “Off,”
he said.

Casey remained rigid with shock. She hadn’t
thought…hadn’t expected this level of reality with her fantasy.

Felix gave a half grin and grasped her
panties before she could move. He tugged them down her legs in one smooth yank
and deposited them on the floor. He lifted a light and held it over her nude
body.

“You’ve hurt yourself.”

Casey gave her body a quick visual sweep
and prodded a bright-red spot. “Just a bruise.”

“You’ve cut your feet. They’ll need
treating. Wounds go septic quickly in this heat.”

Casey stared at him, now totally confused.
Then her mind cleared. Of course. It wouldn’t look good for the resort if the
guests were injured.

Felix picked up an urn of water and pulled
a basin from beneath the sleep-bed. He reached under again and came up with a
small med-box.

“Sit on the edge of the bed.”

When she followed his order, he didn’t
peruse her naked breasts or ogle the rest of her body, and a trace of pique
filled her. Instead, Felix pushed the basin closer and half filled it with
water. She studied his face as he tended to the cuts and nicks one foot at a
time. He produced a towel and dried her feet before spraying on anti-germ. The
serum stung, and she bit her bottom lip because the way he showed such concern
made her want to bawl.

Soldiers don’t cry. Soldiers don’t cry.

The stern words she’d heard since childhood
echoed through her brain.

Soldiers also followed orders—and she hadn’t.
Unknowingly, she might have sabotaged the general’s plans, because she hadn’t
liked the taste of the new vitamins or the weird way they made her feel. Right
now, Casey wasn’t sure if that was a lucky break or not.

Regardless, if the general got his way, it likely
wouldn’t make a
phrullin’
difference.

Gods, she was losing her mind. A male
showed her a bit of kindness and it turned her inside out.

“Okay?”

Casey swallowed, nodded, not wanting to
risk speech because those tears were hovering like that big bird, waiting for
an opportunity to swoop.

“Good.” Felix tidied up and set the basin
of water aside. Then he turned to her and roared, “What the fuck did you think
you were doing? It’s dangerous out there! You can’t just wander around on your
own.”

Casey blinked, shock keeping her quiet. No
one ever worried about her safety. No one showed concern. No one did anything
except give orders and expect her to complete missions. “Ah…sorry?” she said, a
faint query in her voice.

“You’re sorry?” he snapped. “Gods, if
anything had happened to you—” He broke off and dropped onto the edge of the sleep-bed.
“Come here.”

Puzzlement drew her brows together, and she
knew he saw her confusion.

“I don’t ever want to go through that
again,” he said, his voice soft yet more powerful for the leashed emotions.

She eyed him warily as he patted his knee.

“You didn’t think I’d let you get away with
scaring me half to death, not without punishment.”

Again the soft voice, the scary tone that
made her hesitate.

“Casey.” He patted his knee again, and this
time it was very clear what he expected.

Casey vacillated a fraction longer before
edging closer.

“That’s right, sweetheart. Drape yourself
over my knee.”

When she faltered again, he pounced,
grasping her upper arms and dragging her over his knee. One second she was
staring into his jade eyes and the next, she stared at the dirt floor.

Her legs scissored, arms flailing in an
attempt to get free. Felix held her in place without difficulty, his hand a
heavy weight in the middle of her back. Finally she subsided, lying quietly
over his knee, her heart pumping anxiety through her body.

The crack of his hand against her bottom
dragged a pained cry from deep in her throat. She squirmed and wriggled, kicked
her legs once more, but he controlled her struggles and smacked her again. Hot,
angry heat reverberated across her skin. Pain pushed at her stupid tear ducts
again and this time a tear rolled down her cheek.

“You will not.”
Smack.
“Do anything.”
Smack.
“So foolhardy again.”
Smack. Smack. Smack.

Another tear plopped to the ground. Her
flesh burned where he struck, and each smack landed in a different place,
agitating a different part of her bottom.

“Do you hear me, Casey?” This in a silky
tone, one she hadn’t heard before. “Casey?” His hand roughly caressed her
burning buttocks and she winced. “Are you going to answer me?”

“I hear you.”

“Good girl.” He lifted his hand and smacked
her again.

She cried out, her shout cutting off
abruptly when this time his hand settled on her buttocks and stroked, rather
than punished. A heat of a different kind blossomed between her legs. Her
breath caught while her pulse raced.

“But to make sure you think hard before
disobeying me again, I’m going to give you two more blows. That will be ten in
total. Do you agree with your punishment?”