Rebel (23 page)

Far too intense to be termed classically
handsome, Korbin commanded attention with his piercing green eyes
and wavy brown hair. She wanted to run her fingers through his
hair, to gaze into those vivid eyes, and kiss the frown from his
mouth. If only she could talk to him. She’d assure him she would do
everything in her power to set him free. Everything in her power.
That was the problem. She was as powerless as Korbin.

Major Caperelli dragged him off her ship at
weapon’s point moments after they docked on Halley Prime. Danette
watched their departure while her heart cried out in anguish. Would
she ever see him again?

Her father waited with his customary
entourage. His embrace surprised her. Admiral Tiptonn wasn’t one
for public shows of affection. The relief in his expression was
destined to be short-lived however. She had refused to press
charges, swearing Korbin was her lover and she was a willing
participant in the rebellion. Outraged and humiliated, her father
demanded a complete physical and psychological workup.

She was scanned and questioned, poked and
prodded, and it had all been for naught. Nothing she said or did
had protected Korbin from the coalition. They intended to make an
example of him. To discourage other would-be rebels.

Her mother met Danette at the front door as
she was escorted into her father’s estate. After a quick hug,
Danette went to her bedroom and found all communication
capabilities now required an access code. A code she had been
denied. Her cage might be more comfortable, but she was still a
prisoner.

Say my name.

The words echoed through her mind, tearing
at her heart and drawing her thoughts inward. Fantasy was the only
escape left for her now. She closed her eyes and leaned against the
window frame. Their separation had been so abrupt. He’d told her he
wouldn’t return, but part of her hadn’t believed him. She hadn’t
been able to prepare herself emotionally for the prospect of living
without him.

Her surroundings faded and an image of the
holding cell formed within her mind. She stood in the center of the
room, her arms stretched overhead and secured with manacles. Her
naked body trembled and ached, waiting for the brush of her
Master’s hands.

“Say my name.” Completely immersed in the
fantasy, she welcomed the velvet command. He stood behind her,
close enough to warm her skin with his body without actually
touching her.

This is how the interrogation had ended in
reality. She’d objected to his manipulation and Korbin had
vanquished Pleasure Master Nine. But what if it had been the other
way around? What if her Master had sent away the rebel?

Needing the bittersweet glimpse of
possibility, she held on to the images and moved to the chaise
lounge situated beside the window. She didn’t care if her rooms
were monitored. This ache was unbearable. Reaching under her skirt,
she slipped off her panties and lay down on the lounge.

She cupped her mound and whimpered. Her
pussy was hot, her folds slick and sensitive from thinking about
him. Keeping her touch light and teasing, she reconstructed the
fantasy.

Naked, bound and waiting, she was his
captive again. His arm circled her waist, his mouth nibbling the
side of her neck.

“Who is touching you?” he whispered into her
ear. “Who is going to fuck you until you beg for sleep?”

“My Master. Only my Master.”

“They will come for you soon.” He cupped her
breast and rolled her nipple, keeping his voice soft and low. “What
shall I do with you then?”

“Anything you please. I am yours to
command.”

“Would it please you to escape with me? I’m
moving my base of operation. Would you like to accompany me?”

Danette curved two fingers into her core,
keeping pressure on her mound. Tears slipped out from under her
closed eyelids. Why was she torturing herself with things that
could never be?

Her fantasy Master pinched her nipples and
rubbed his erection against the small of her back. “I asked you a
question.”

“I want nothing more. But they will never
let us be together.”

“It’s not their decision to make! If you
want me as much as I want you, we will find a way.”

“I do. You know I do, but…”

“Show me with your cries of pleasure and the
eager grip of your cunt. Offer me everything without reservation. I
will tolerate no hesitation in my slave.”

She pressed her lips together, fighting back
her sobs. Her imagination was cruel in its accuracy. She could
picture the scene perfectly, each sensation, each emotion taunted
her mind and titillated her body.

“Spread your legs. Let me feel how much you
want me.” Her Master’s voice drew her deeper into the fantasy.

Opening for him, she made room for his hand
between her thighs. His fingers pushed into her slick pussy and she
cried out. “Yes!” He rocked her forward with each forceful thrust.
Her breasts jostled and her wrists strained against the cuffs. She
welcomed the discomfort, desperate to feel anything but this
agonizing loss.

He reached around her and rubbed her clit as
he had in the shower. She rested her head against his shoulder and
tightened her inner muscles. His skilled touch drove her quickly
toward release.

Danette moved her legs to either side of the
lounge and moaned as pressure gathered in her abdomen. The shallow
slide of her fingers would never feel like his. They had just begun
to explore their connection when fate ripped them from each other’s
arms. They needed more time. She needed more of
him
.

Cream soaked her fingers and made her inner
thighs slippery. Still her orgasm remained just out of reach.
Perhaps if she imagined him here…

Her fantasy Master knelt at the bottom of
the lounge, his gaze ravenous. “I want the taste of your cream on
my tongue for as long as I can keep it there.” He grasped her knees
and pulled her down along the padded surface until her legs draped
his shoulders. “Your thighs are slick and shiny. Is all this for
me?”

He slipped his hands beneath her hips and
raised her pussy to his mouth. She tried to simulate the skillful
stroke of his tongue with her fingers, but the sensation wasn’t the
same. He licked and nibbled, sucked and flicked. All she could do
was rub or gently tug.

With a frustrated curse, she concentrated on
the fantasy, abandoning her attempt to make them correspond. She
was bound again, naked and helpless as he slowly circled her.

“What do you want most in all the world?”
His tone was more growl than whisper.

“I want you inside me.”

Bending slightly, he wrapped his arm around
her thighs, just below her behind, and raised her up until her
breasts were level with his mouth. He suckled her nipples, leaving
one wet and rosy while he enjoyed its twin.

“Wrap your legs around my waist. I want your
pussy and I want it now.”

He held her up so she could make the
adjustment then slowly lowered her onto his cock. She squeezed him,
caressing him the only way she could. For a long moment he stared
into her eyes, those beautiful green eyes that she remembered from
the Pleasure Palace.

The fantasy started to fade and Danette
whimpered. They had never made love like that. Their encounters had
been stolen in the dark and tainted by the knowledge of how soon it
would end. Would he take her hard and fast or tease her to dizzying
heights before he finally let her come?

With stubborn determination, she circled her
clit, needing what little relief she could find. She would see him
again. If there were no other options, she would pay criminals to
break him out of the detention center. She would not let it end
like this!

She bit back a cry as she came, her orgasm
sharp and sudden. A bit of the tension drained from her aching
body. Several seconds passed in languid silence then she snatched
her damp panties off the floor and retreated to the bathroom to
compose herself.

After splashing cool water on her face and
running a comb through her hair, she donned a fresh pair of panties
and returned to her bedroom.

About twenty minutes later, a firm tapping
drew her attention toward the large arched door. “Sweetheart, it’s
me,” her mother called through the barrier. “May I come in?”

She unlocked the panel with a voice command.
“It’s open.” Locks weren’t really necessary when a full security
contingent waited to ensure her welfare. One guard was posted
outside her bedroom door and the other three patrolled near the
exits.

Her mother pushed open the door, hesitating
in the archway. “You have a visitor.”

“I know Father told you I’m not to see
anyone. So, why are we having this conversation?” The only person
she wanted to see was locked in the detention center.

“Your hostility is only making an awkward
situation worse.” Disappointment filled her mother’s eyes. “I’ve
never seen you behave like this.”

She narrowed her gaze and raised her chin,
unwilling to pretend, even with her mother. “I’m through being his
puppet. He’s not trying to protect me. This is about control.”

Janice didn’t argue. Her mother avoided
conflict like the plague. “Elaine VinDerley is waiting in the
drawing room. Shall I send her away?”

Why would Ashton’s mother be here? Danette’s
heart gave a little flutter.

“What does she want?”

“She wants to speak with you. I told her you
weren’t seeing anyone, but she insisted I ask.”

Danette hadn’t been allowed to speak with
anyone without her father present. “Send her up.”

“I think it would be better if you came
down.”

Danette crossed her arms over her chest and
blew out an exasperated breath. Stubbornness urged her to refuse
while curiosity cautioned her to bend.

“Fine.”

She followed her mother down the front
stairs, one of the guards trailing in their wake. When he attempted
to enter the drawing room, her mother stopped him with a
disapproving look.

Elaine rose from the sofa and hurried across
the room. “I’m so glad you agreed to see me. I need your help.” She
pulled Danette into a surprisingly tight hug and whispered in her
ear, “If you want out of here, play along.”

“What can I do for you, Mrs. VinDerley?”

The picture of elegant composure, Elaine
took her by the hand and led her to the sofa. “I know this is
painful for you, but I don’t know where else to turn. Ashton hasn’t
been the same since he returned.”

Danette waited for a clue. Elaine had urged
her to play along, so what was the strategy?

“Elaine mentioned that he is refusing to
press charges,” Janice said. “I told her you said the same thing
and it gave us an idea. Were you coerced into saying those
things?”

“Of course she was,” Elaine said
emphatically. “What other explanation could there be? I think they
threatened Ashton to make Danette cooperate and threatened Danette
so Ashton would make his ridiculous claims.” She looked at Danette,
her brow arched meaningfully. “Am I right, Danette? Did they
threaten you?”

Brushing her hair off her forehead, Danette
tried to figure out what Elaine wanted from her. How would this get
her away from the guards?

“Oh Danette.” Her mother sat down on her
other side and tenderly rubbed her back. “You’re safe, darling.
They can’t touch you ever again.”

She nearly laughed at the irony. It was the
thought of Korbin never being able to touch her again that
frightened her the most.

“I don’t think either of them believes it,”
Elaine went on. “That’s why they’re acting so out of character.
Danette hasn’t seen Ashton since his return. I’d like to bring the
two together. If they see each other face-to-face, they might
understand that it’s really over; that those horrible rebels can’t
hurt them now.”

“Can you bring Ashton here?” Janice
asked.

“That’s out of the question. He’s being
positively unreasonable. He refuses to say or do anything that will
incriminate his captors.” Elaine paused, eyes narrowed in
concentration. “I can send Danette to him, but she’d have to go
alone. If he realized what we intended, he would refuse or even
take off.”

Elaine wanted to send her to Ashton,
without
her armed escort. “I’d love to see Ashton, Mrs.
VinDerley, but Father would never allow it.”

“She’s right. The guards have orders to
follow her if she sets foot outside the house. Not even my word
would keep them from doing so.”

“They don’t have orders to follow me.”
Elaine held up her hooded cloak. “The navpanel in my shuttle is
programmed with his current location. All you have to do is walk
out the door.”

By the time Danette reached Ashton’s
apartment complex her stomach was tied in knots. Why had Elaine
VinDerley arranged for her escape? Why should a grown woman need to
escape from her father? The situation was intolerable. She would
find a way to be self-sufficient, even if it meant leaving Halley
Prime.

Ashton met her at the door with a secretive
smile. “The other guests have already arrived.” He stepped back and
ushered her inside.

Other guests?
She followed him across
the foyer and paused in the archway leading to a spacious living
room. Danette’s apprehension mounted as she saw the other “guests”.
Was this a hostage reunion? What was Palmer doing here?

Her gaze shifted to Corry and she spoke the
question out loud. “What is she doing here? There’s a warrant out
for her arrest.”

“Ashton disabled the surveillance on the
roof and brought her in through his private entrance.” Palmer
chuckled. “She’s been explaining the principles driving their
rebellion.”

“Revolution,” Corry spontaneously corrected
him.

The rooftop entrance was activated by a palm
scanner and there was no surveillance in the penthouse corridors.
Had Corry been with Ashton this entire time? If the heat arcing
between them was any indication, it was a distinct possibility.