Free Through Uncharted Space: A Phoenix Adventures Sci-fi Romance by Anna Hackett Page B

evening?”
    Dare felt Dakota go stiff. He squeezed her shoulder. “No.”
    “Oh?” Vero leaned back into his couch, idly stroking the curvy woman’s ear. “There are always more beautiful flowers, Dare. You should never get attached.”
    Dare slid his hand into Dakota’s hair. It was a sentiment he’d always agreed with…that there were always more pretty women, more willing bed partners. But somehow, that view didn’t seem quite as attractive with Dakota beside him and Vero grinning at him from across the room.
    “How much for the part?” Dare asked.
    Vero’s eyes lit. “Very well.” He named a staggeringly large number of e-creds. Dare smiled, and they started negotiating.
    “Agreed,” Vero finally said.
    Dare nodded. They’d agreed to an exosuit—Ry wouldn’t be happy about that—and a reasonable number of e-creds. Sulla might be out in uncharted space, but they understood the value of having a substantial amount of the galaxy’s preferred currency.
    Vero sipped his drink again, and then he idly slid his hand under his woman’s gauzy shirt. As he started to play with her breasts, color filled her cheeks, and the woman valiantly tried to control her response.
    “We should make use of my playroom,” Vero said. “I’m sure your Dakota would look lovely with her bottom red from your smacks.”
    Dakota jerked a little and Dare squeezed her shoulder again. “Maybe later. I have another question for you. We are following the trail of a traveler from Earth. He passed this way hundreds of years ago and in his records described a beautiful planet very similar to yours.”
    Vero leaned back. He lowered his hand, circling the woman’s belly. “That’s a long time ago.”
    “His name was Caleb Stock. Any mention of that name in your history?”
    “Hmm, we have several stories in our history that talk of travelers who have stopped here, but I’ve no recollection of that particular name. If there is a record, it would be in the Great Library.”
    Now, Dakota straightened.
    “May we see the library?” Dare asked.
    The tiniest flash of a smile. “Possibly.” His hand slid down under the woman’s skirt, delving between her legs. “We don’t usually let outsiders into the Great Library. It contains some of our greatest treasures and, of course, the original copies of our most sacred works. What our entire life is based on. The works of Hugo, the original master, who decreed that women must always obey a man’s command.”
    The woman let out a small cry, her face flushed. She was writhing on Vero’s lap.
    Dare looked down and saw that Dakota was staring at the woman through her eyelashes. Her breathing had increased.
    Vero pulled his hand away from the woman and she made a small mewling sound of discontent.
    “I can arrange a visit. But I want payment.”
    This time it was Dare who tensed. He knew Vero well enough to understand the tone. “I’m listening.”
    “I want to see what your new female can do. And since you won’t share her, I want to see you make her come.”
    “She is…in training.”
    “She is not broken in?” Vero shook his head. “I cannot understand why outsiders let their women run wild.”
    Dare saw the dark beauty at Vero’s feet move minutely, before settling again. He knew that for women here, submission was a fact of life, but how many of them strained against the restrictions? He looked down at Dakota, a woman who’d started life with nothing. A woman with a fierce pride and a need to run her own life.
    “Fine,” Vero said. “If that is not suitable for you, I can make another offer. I still want to see a woman come. Either you make her come or you make one of my girls come.”
    Dakota hissed out a breath. She leaned in closer, her voice quiet. “Touch one of them and I’ll gut you.”
    When she pushed to her feet, every muscle in Dare’s body tensed. One wrong move from her, and she’d blow this. If she gave Vero a real piece of her mind, he could kick them