Through Uncharted Space: A Phoenix Adventures Sci-fi Romance (11 page)

“I’m not beautiful, Dare. I’m not like the Amber Lynns you must always get on every convoy.”

“No, but that doesn’t make you any less attractive. Beauty isn’t just about what someone looks like on the outside.”

“I’m not like those stunning women at Vero’s.” She frowned. “You know he doesn’t treat them right. The curvy one, Keena, is recovering from surgery. He removed her womb.”

Dare felt a hard twist of disgust. “It would take away from his pleasure.”

Dakota frowned at him. “How could you ever enjoy spending time with him? It sounds like you’ve…partied with him a few times before.”

“It was a mistake. One I’ve since rectified. I never wanted to come back here, and I especially didn’t want to bring you here.”

“You knew what Vero would be like.”

“Yes.”

“But you still brought me, on the slim chance that we’d find information about Stock and the Atocha Treasure.”

Dare didn’t need to answer.

Her face softened. “Thank you.”

With a flap of wings, the bird glided lower, and set down on the landing pad. Dakota looked around and blinked like she couldn’t quite believe they were back on the ground.

Dare slid off the beast, pulling her with him. As he straightened his shirt, he watched Dakota run a hand through her wind-tangled hair. She winked at him. Then Dare heard a whisper of sound from behind them.

He turned and saw an elderly woman heading toward them. Behind her was another cylindrical building made of white stone. On this one, the greenery was older, wilder.

The woman walked with a stately kind of grace, her long robes whispering around her body. She had long blue hair that had gone gray at the ends, and her face was covered in soft wrinkles.

What surprised him most was that she looked them in the eye and exuded a quiet confidence. “Hello, visitors. I was told to expect you.”

Dakota tilted her head. “You’re not…?”

“Oppressed? Submissive?” The woman shook her head. “I can give the impression of submission when I need to. My name is Meela.” Her smile evaporated. “My world was not always the way you see it today. Our old teachings have been twisted by our leaders. I pray every day for Sulla’s women and its men, for it to change.”

“How do you get away with not being…” Dakota waved a hand.

Meela smiled again. “Up here, in this small town that most people have forgotten, we do as we please. Our oldest records are stored here. Along with our oldest people…and our problem people.” Her smile turned irreverent. “That would include me.”

Dakota smiled back. “I like irreverent.”

“My man is old and sick, and he prefers the quiet of the village. It means I get away with being librarian without all the huff and bother of a woman being tainted by knowledge.”

“It’s very pretty up here,” Dare said.

“It’s pretty all over Sulla, but up here, it is pretty in the truest sense.” The woman shook herself. “You didn’t come here to commiserate with me over Sulla’s many problems. Like I said, I pray that one day we will be enlightened. I believe knowledge is key, and that’s why I’ve dedicated myself to the library here.” She eyed them. “Another important thing is for us to see examples of what else is possible.” She waved them toward the library. “Come, let’s see if we possess the knowledge you seek.”

Since it seemed things were more relaxed here, Dare wrapped an arm around Dakota and kept her close by his side. They entered through the archway into the library, and at that moment, the resemblance to the Great Library in the city disappeared. Here, the shelves were made of wood and the building wasn’t as high. There were more books on the shelves than electronic storage devices. In the center of the space, there were comfortable chairs and low wooden tables that invited people to grab a book and read. The space was cozier, more welcoming.

“So, tell me what you are looking for?” Meela asked.

“We are looking for information on a Terran traveler who visited here almost a millennium ago,” Dare said. “His name was Caleb Stock from the starship,
Southwind
. He described a planet just like this one.”

“Hmm, a thousand years ago…?” The woman made a sound. “That’s a long time, but let’s see what we can find.”

She approached a desk that held one of the rolling globes that they’d used in the Great Library. Her hands moved over it deftly, and she read the information that appeared on it. She made a few humming noises.

“Yes. I think I found something that might include what you’re looking for.” She spun and strode to some of the shelves. There was no fancy recovery system here. Instead, Meela climbed a ladder and looked until she found what she was looking for.

She climbed back down and held out a small cube.

It glowed the same blue as Dakota’s orb.

Meela placed the cube in a small comp device beside the globe and tapped some buttons.

A projection appeared in the air. It was quite grainy, but Dare had no trouble making out the face of the man. He was human, with ginger-colored hair and pale, blue-green eyes.

“My name is Caleb Stock, formerly of the ship,
Southwind,
out of Earth. If you’re watching this, and know who I am, I’m guessing that you found my map. And you’re looking for the Atocha Treasure.” The man sighed, running a hand through the scruff on his chin. “My captain, Captain Gage Fisher, went…crazy. I think deep space drove him mad. He became obsessed by the treasure and said it was his destiny to protect it.” Stock sighed again. “He disabled the
Southwind
and stranded us on an inhospitable planet.” Now the man paused, staring off into the distance. “A lot of the crew died…and when I got a chance to leave, I took it. I did some things I wasn’t proud of to escape, but I made it. I felt it was my duty to tell people about the
Southwind
, her crew, and the Atocha Treasure.” His direct gaze stared straight ahead, like he was looking at them. “None of them deserve to be forgotten. The map I made is encrypted, so I’m guessing you can’t make any sense of it. But since you worked out enough to make it this far, I think you can find the treasure. Plug the orb into this crystal. It’s the only way to decode the map.”

The man stopped, looking at them like he was waiting for them, even though he was just a recording.

Dakota stepped forward and lifted the orb from around her neck. She clicked it into the small indentation on the cube.

The star map projected up above the man’s recording—all the same pretty dots and planets they’d seen before. A second later, all the stars and planets started to move around, shifting positions. Then they stopped.

Dare sucked in a breath. It was a perfect star map, some parts of it familiar to him, and along it was an orange glowing line leading the way to the golden planet where the Atocha Treasure rested.

The man’s face lit up. “You’ve done it. Here is the map to the treasure of the Atocha. It does no good lost beneath the waves, where no one can see it. Captain Fisher was crazy and wrong to hide it away. But be warned…many of the crew believe it was the treasure that sent the captain crazy. That the treasure is cursed.” A faint smile. “So, what are you waiting for? Go find it.”

The recording flickered and blinked off.

Meela looked at them. “Did you find what you needed?”

Dakota nodded with a wide smile. “Absolutely. This was so much more than I’d hoped for. Thank you.”

Meela’s brows drew together. “You plan to find this cursed treasure?”

“I don’t believe in curses,” Dakota said.

The librarian’s troubled gaze moved to Dare. “Sometimes, going after things that glitter and promise so much pleasure isn’t always the right thing to do. Sometimes the greatest treasures can be found in the small things.”

Dakota made a sound. “Tell that to my empty e-cred account.”

Meela shook her head and smiled again. “Come, Vero instructed me to show you to his holiday home. Darkness is falling, and it is too late for you to return to the city. He assured me that the house is clean, and well stocked.” Meela grimaced. “Thankfully, he doesn’t choose to visit it much.”

As they exited the library, Dare and Dakota stopped to take in the beautiful vista below. Night was shrouding the city in shadows. Lights had flickered on, in colors of blue, green, and white. It was gorgeous.

Meela led them down a narrow street, and it wasn’t long before she stopped in front of a three-story home. It was made from the same ubiquitous white stone, and covered in white latticework that was entwined with plants. It had lovely wooden doors that were carved in a floral pattern.

She unlocked the door and waved them inside. “There you go. Thank you for visiting, and I hope you enjoy your stay on Sulla, despite the less-savory side to our world.”

Dare watched as Dakota grabbed the woman’s hands. Interesting. He knew she wasn’t one who touched a stranger easily.

“I hope things change. That they get better for you.”

Meela’s smile looked tired. “I pray you are right. Goodbye.”

She left them, and Dare and Dakota moved through the open-plan home. The living area was beautifully appointed, with large glass windows giving beautiful views of the city below.

“I need to contact the
Nomad
,” Dare said.

Dakota nodded, and wandered closer to the windows, running her fingers over the backs of the plush chairs in the room.

Dare touched his ear. “Rynan, are you there?” His earpiece would relay through the shuttle’s systems.

“Dare, how’s the trip? Everything okay?”

His brother’s deep voice made him smile. “Fine. Look, we need to stay the night. We headed out of Sion to a secondary library…and we found the information we were after.”

“Good on the info, bad on the fact you have to stay on that planet longer.”

“I know. But we’ll be out of here first thing in the morning. Any luck finding whoever the hell sabotaged our engine?”

Ry made a growling sound. “No. We managed to get a grainy image off a security cam, but there’s no way to identify whoever the bastard was.”

Dare hated knowing the saboteur was somewhere aboard his ship. “Okay, well, keep your eye out. Dakota and I will be back in the morning with the part and our destination.”

“Is it going to take us far off the convoy route? Do we need to meet with the other ship captains?”

“It doesn’t look like it’s too far off. We’ll assess when I get back. It’s in the convoy contract that we may need to adjust our route, so if we do, I’ll talk with them.”

“All right. See you in the morning.”

Dare looked back at Dakota. “We should get to bed and get some rest. We’ll need to leave first thing in the morning. The quicker we get out of here, the better.”

“No disagreement from me.”

They moved upstairs, and found another living space that Vero had clearly decked out for parties. There was a wall filled with whips, paddles, gags and other pieces of gear even Dare didn’t recognize. Several padded benches and circular couches dotted the room.

“Well,” Dakota said.

Well, indeed.

“You really get off on stuff like this?” She lifted up a whip.

“I get off on watching a woman surrender to me for her own pleasure. It has nothing to do with toys.”

She eyed him, looking at him like she was trying to decipher some foreign language.

He held out a hand. “Come on. As much as I’d like to give you an education on this, we need some rest.”

He led her up to the final level. The entire top floor was a giant master bedroom. There was an open bathroom off to the side, with a huge, luxurious shower, and a lake-sized tub made of a rich, blue stone that could fit five or six people. There was a beautiful balcony that once again looked down at the city below. And, of course, there was a massive bed surrounded by gauzy blue hangings, with a silky blue cover.

“Stars, I need to get out of this thing. It is so damned uncomfortable.” Dakota reached up and unclipped her top. As the metal fell away, leaving her breasts bare, Dare sucked in a breath.

She was beautiful. Her breasts weren’t large, but they were perfectly formed and topped by pretty pink nipples.

“That thing has been digging into me since we left the
Nomad
.” She reached up and cupped her breasts.

Dare moved over to her, pulling her close. “Nothing can happen between us tonight.”

She frowned. “What?”

Dare lowered his voice. “Vero offered his home far too readily. He’ll have cameras. He likes to watch.”

Frustration crossed her face. He reached down, because he couldn’t stop himself, and ran his thumbs over her nipples. She made a small sound and pushed into his touch. Damn, she made him want to say to hell with anybody watching.

But he had to take care of her, and he was selfish. “Our first time together…it’ll be just me and you. Only
I
get to watch your face when I slide my cock inside you.”

She moaned. “You aren’t making this any easier.”

He brushed his hand over her hair. “So tonight, I can’t touch you the way I want to, but will you sleep with me?”

Her brow creased. “I don’t usually sleep with people. I move around a lot and I kick—”

“I think I can protect myself. I want to hold you, Dakota.”

“Okay.” The look on her face had the smallest hint of vulnerability.

He shrugged out of the Sullan version of a shirt and held it up to her. She pulled it on, and because it was too big, she wrapped it around herself and tied it in a knot. They climbed into the bed, and as he settled down on his side, she shifted back into the curve of his arms. They were the perfect fit.

In the darkness, Dare listened to her quiet breathing. He’d shared his bed before—too many times to count. But he’d never held a woman this close. He liked them there, close by, exhausted from good sex, but not impinging on his personal space.

But as he pulled Dakota closer, he realized this felt right.

Chapter Ten

Dakota woke up disoriented and choking.
What was wrong?
She coughed and realized there was thick smoke filling the room.

“Dare?”