Janus' Conquest (7 page)

It worked. No one dared to even glance her way out of fear that Cleo would notice.

If she moved past an area, everyone immediately stopped talking until she was out of hearing. The report that her supervisor had threatened to file yesterday was neatly waiting for her signature this morning. Fay affixed her name without a thought, still confident of her record. All the shunning in the sphere couldn’t change her work history.

Yet it was such a shame. The team had done well together, helping one another and being more efficient because they didn’t allow pride to interfere. Today that teamwork was absent as Fay watched her coworkers refuse to hand off work to her. Instead they struggled with it, choosing to cut their production level instead of utilizing her ability.

Well…they would have to learn to get by without her. The hours crawled by as her eyelids drooped from lack of rest. She had spent the night torn between nightmares of her father’s arrest and passionate recollections of being pressed down by Janus. She’d witnessed the dawn because sleep was no friend of hers. At least she would drop off tonight, if for no other reason than the flesh had needs that could only be put off so long.

45

Dawn Ryder

There was no reason to linger at her workstation. She was gone the moment her duty allowed. The afternoon was warm, and her robe clung to her back as perspiration broke out on her skin. Fay didn’t care—she kept her pace quick as she hurried home and pressed her hand to the door to seal it shut. She tossed her robe over her head before heading towards a shower. She left the water cool, and laughed at the stark contrast as she stepped into the cool spray of water. Cupping her hands, she splashed water up into her face. A chill shook her body, but she wiped the water out of her eyes and giggled again. The tension knotting her shoulders began to loosen as she relaxed.

Stepping out of the water, she rubbed a length of fabric against her hair. It removed some of the water and she took a brush to it before frowning at her robe. Her skin was still alive with little tingles of awareness, a lingering memory from Janus she couldn’t banish. Her nipples began to tighten as his face rose in her thoughts. There was no denying that the male was to be admired. A little wicked grin covered her lips as she considered turning his demands against him. Oh yes, it might be worth kneeling in front of him just to hear his reaction to her when she reached forward and handled his cock. Not because he demanded it, but because she simply wanted to upset his perfect control by surprising him. Fay let her eyes close as she considered shocking Janus. It was a pleasant idea that tempted her, but her body was tired and she fell asleep while she schemed, arousal stroking her body gently.

* * * * *

“You are driving me insane.” Janus snorted and Hawk glared at his partner. “I suppose you believe I deserve it as a payback for tolerating me while I subdued my mate.”

Janus smirked and Hawk snorted at him. They moved forward through the penal sphere, their gazes roving over everything in sight. Patrolling the convicts was not a duty to take lightly. More than one Hunter had learned that lesson at the expense of his life. Hawk considered the female casting them a worried look. The male beside her spat on the ground but looked back at her breasts with a leer that was unmistakable.

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Janus’ Conquest

Prostitution ran rampant in the sphere. Everything that might be sold, was. There were very few exceptions. Even the innocent who chose to follow their convicted family into imprisonment often became as greedy as the convicts. Hawk’s mate was an exception.

He’d found Tova on these streets and inspected her wristbands only to view an argument between her and her sibling over her refusal to prostitute her body for money. She had snared his interest with her solid strength in the face of so much lawlessness around her. Like a single blossom that grew up between stones.

Transplanting her had been his greatest deed.

“Tova is expecting my child.”

Janus grinned. The news spread through him like heat on a cold morning. Maybe they were mellowing with their age because a baby had never interested him before.

Sure, he made the expected responses when his comrades announced births. He looked at the images of their families and smiled, but children had never really impacted his life before.

Tova was different. He and Hawk shared each other’s lives. Hawk viewed each and every inspection he did to ensure that Janus was dealing fairly with the convicts they patrolled. He did the same to Hawk. When Hunters were assigned any command or penal sphere duty, they were expected to tolerate a partner. Many Hunters didn’t take well to the lack of privacy, but it was a mark of accomplishment for both of them that they had endured it and become productive through their teamwork.

The side effect of it was that he’d witnessed each and every encounter Hawk had with Tova. Lust was a natural reaction to watching the couple touch each other. Sharing Tova had been considered natural as well, but Janus was not in love with her as Hawk was. Tonight, Hawk would see the first encounters he’d had with Fay and it would be his turn to shoulder the reality of another male lusting for his chosen female.

He could share with Hawk. But a growl surfaced from his lips as he considered letting Hawk inspect his last day’s rotation. Fay was his and he didn’t like sharing that 47

Dawn Ryder

with anyone. At least until he’d wrung submission from her. Janus caught a gleam in Hawk’s eye and groaned. “You are too punctual by half in viewing my actions, Hawk.”

“And you are impatient for our shift to end for a good reason. Do not be annoyed, I wanted to ensure that Fay was not left alone last evening.” Hawk shrugged his powerful shoulders. “I hoped you would ensure that she was not prey to any Hunter with the nerve to chime her door now that her sire is gone.”

Janus felt his temper cool. That was the reason he and Hawk worked so well together. There was no judgment between them. Lust was a natural thing. Honesty with their mates was the key to keeping their working relationship a steady one. “She belongs to me.”

Hawk nodded agreement but lifted one eyebrow. Janus felt the unmistakable sting of jealously rise up but he clamped his control over it. Hawk would know Fay—he already did because he’d seen every moment that had passed last evening. Lust was expected in his partner. There was no way to avoid it. Sharing was the key to harmony between his working requirements and his personal quest to capture Fay.

“I will bring her to you soon.”

Hawk chuckled. “There’s no hurry. I don’t linger in a cold bed at night.” His partner turned and smirked at him once more. “Like you do.”

Janus glared back at him. “Since Tova is with child, she has no further need of you bothering her at night.”

“Oh she has need. Plenty of it.” Hawk lost his taunting mood. His face smoothed into a firm mask as lust brightened his eyes. Janus watched the way his partner pressed his lips into a firm line, refusing to speak aloud what was growing in his mind for Fay.

Janus tightened his own expression, pressing any hesitation down. He would have to make sure Fay understood that Hawk would share her body from time to time. A grin tugged at his lips. She was going to spit her fiery temper at him when he informed her of that. It was the truth that he was looking forward to it. A deep surge of 48

Janus’ Conquest

anticipation moved through his cock as he considered the pleasure two males might drive a female towards during a shared experience.

Indeed, he was going to ensure she was informed of that approaching event and how much he was looking forward to it.

* * * * *

Fay jumped as the door chimed. The lights instantly brightened in response to the chime being touched. Rubbing her eyes, she sat up and tried to shake the slumber from her brain. She had been so deep in the embrace of sleep that her brain didn’t want to respond to her commands to think.

“Fay?”

Janus’ voice from the outer room startled her. A soft shriek escaped her lips as she looked down at her nude body. She heard his steps quicken in response to her cry. Her hands fumbled with the bedding as Janus charged into the open doorway. Yanking on the sheeting, she pulled it over her breasts as his face appeared in her sight.

The look on his face was one she hoped never to witness again. Dark and dangerous, it sent a chill of fear down her spine. She sat staring at a Hunter who could kill if necessary. His face changed as he took in the sight of her. Heat flickered in his eyes and it shocked her because she had never really considered that she was attractive enough to make a male look at her the way Janus currently was. Hunger drew his face taut as a dangerous glint entered his eyes. His hands tightened on the doorframe just a small amount, but it sent a spike of anticipation through her because it felt like he was trapping her in the room.

It was a hard fact that he was doing exactly that. Pinning her in her own sleeping chamber with his superior strength. It wasn’t that she feared he’d hurt her. It was a deeper knowledge that her own body would succumb to him that taunted her. She pulled the sheet higher in response.

“You should leave. I did not grant you permission to enter.”

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Dawn Ryder

He nodded but stepped into the room anyway. His mouth was set into a hard expression that frightened her slightly. Janus wasn’t in the mood to be pushed back.

He’d gained ground last night, and the look on his face told her he wasn’t going to give even an inch of it back.

In truth, he looked ready to stage the next phase of his assault. She shivered as she recalled exactly what he’d promised to do to her next.

“I will not wear a training harness!” Her cheeks turned scarlet as she recognized the error she’d committed by blurting out the name of the contraption. Janus’ eyes flared with wicked delight as he reached into his belt for a moment. His black-gloved hand drew thin straps from a pouch. He held them up as his eyes considered where her nipples were showing through the sheeting.

“You mean
this
training harness? I think you shall wear it, Fay. In fact, I am looking forward to placing it on you myself.” He moved a single step closer, the harness dangling from his hand. Her eyes were drawn to it without her consent because her clit was heating and throbbing with just the idea of being at the mercy of the three pleasure beads she could already see attached to one of the strips. Those little beads would drive her insane with pleasure, rubbing against her clit until she climaxed. A deep male chuckle drew her gaze back to Janus. He’d closed the distance between them and she pushed back across her bed before thinking. A soft snarl rose from her lips in response to her impulse.

“What displeases you more, Fay, my demands or your response?” The harness landed on the foot of her bed as he tugged each of his uniform gloves off. Watching the black fabric being removed felt oddly intimate and she shivered as she anticipated watching his jacket be discarded.

“It is my choice. I do not offer you my submission.” She was pleased with the firm tone of her voice. The tremor moving through her body had worried her, but her voice did not fail her. Janus frowned again and she rose on her knees, pulling the sheet with her.

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“You must find another, Janus. I intend to follow my father.” She delivered her last statement in a quiet tone because she did not want to be abrasive to his pride. Janus was a Hunter worthy of her attention. He simply needed to understand that it could not be.

She was a daughter first.

A hard arm clamped around her waist and imprisoned her. “Really? You are on your knees, nude, in the middle of your bed. I can smell your pussy beginning to heat.

Tell me, Fay, is it the sight of the harness that is making you wet, or the memory of me tasting your slit?”

“You are coarse, Janus!” He lifted her off her knees, but not high enough for her to unfold her legs and gain any position of control over her body weight. He pushed her backwards, but controlled her landing as his body pushed hers back into the bedding, her knees spreading as his hips pushed her thighs wide.

“Nay, I am determined, Fay.” His breath hit her lips and she gasped. Heat was racing through her body as her heart accelerated. His warm skin smelled delicious and her pussy was growing wet as she struggled to resist the urge to let her fingers touch his neck and discover what his skin felt like. His eyes locked with hers as she battled against the temptation to touch him and spread her legs wider in invitation.

“Would you rather I let you remain chaste?”

Her clit lamented that idea. Her pussy twisted with hunger. Where her mind might be set upon one course, her body wanted Janus to proceed with his conquest. The pleasure he’d given her yesterday had been a mere taste of the deeper ones she knew he could grant her. Her rebellious body craved that possession. Maybe even more because she knew she could not pledge with him. One single taste to keep her company on lonely nights in the penal sphere.
There was one thing she was certain of—there was no way she would ever let a convict touch her now that she knew what Janus felt like against her skin. He was strong and aggressive, completely Hunter, and so very male she ached with the need to couple with him.

“I cannot offer you submission, Janus.”

51

Dawn Ryder

He stroked one scarlet cheek and tapped her lower lip before letting his hips settle against her spread body. Only the thin sheet lay over her exposed slit and the hard bulge of his cock pressed against her tender flesh. A hard whimper shook her chest as he watched her.

“You will offer me that submission, Fay. It is your choice alone.” He pressed his cock against her body, mimicking the motion of mating. Her clit throbbed and her hips arched towards him. “I demand it.” He leaned down and let his entire body press against her. Sweet enjoyment washed through her as he let just enough of his weight rest on her so that she wasn’t crushed, but it triggered a surge of feminine delight that stunned her. He nuzzled her neck for a moment as she stretched her head up to offer the tender skin to his lips. His warm breath hit her ear as his hands captured the sides of her face to hold her in place. “But more importantly, I crave it. There is nothing I would deny you. Yet it will be by surrender.” His voice was oddly tender, making her heart swell with emotion. It was an unexpected response because she had always viewed his attention as solely physical. She had never entertained any concept of deep emotion from him. Her fingers stroked the nape of his neck for a moment. The skin-to-skin contact was oddly intimate, and she heard him draw a harsh breath as she repeated the motion. He lifted his chest and held his weight on his elbows so that their eyes could lock. His fingertips grazed her cheeks as he considered her.