STORY EXCERPT

“Jaxon, we have a slight problem.”

“This had better be good. I am in the middle of something.” There was a slight pause over the com unit on Dornan’s end.

“It appears that your new bride has gone missing.”

“What!” Jaxon leaned in closer to the com, heartbeat speeding up to match his quickly rising temper. “She’s not in her quarters? How the fuck could she be missing?” Jaxon was already moving to his sand skiff, his movements swift and angry.

“Her maid, Lillia, said Lady Mya went looking for you and has not been seen since this morning.”

“I am on my way.” Jaxon cut the connection on the com and started up the skiff. In minutes he was flying across sand dunes at a breakneck speed. His control of the vehicle was smooth and controlled, but inside he was shaking. He knew there was very little that could happen to her inside the family palace. The question was what if she had gotten outside of the protected family palace and down into the city? He had no illusion about the mine cities. They were a rough and lawless place that cared little for a sheltered girl new to the planet.

Granted, her being his wife was a measure of protection, but Jaxon had no illusion about the caliber of people who frequented the rougher sides of the city. His foot pressed harder against the accelerator. When he reached the palace landing pad, he barely allowed the skiff to stop before leaping to the ground. Dornan was already at the entrance waiting for his arrival.

“I want every inch of this place searched.” Jaxon moved swiftly to Mya’s bedchamber as if to confirm she was really gone. Even as his eyes scanned the chambers, a feeling came over him. One he had not felt in years. Fear. It filled his mouth with the bitter taste of bile. A young servant girl stood quietly nearby, her face ashen with the remnant of tears still evident on her cheeks. Gamora stood next to the girl, patting her comfortingly. Jaxon said nothing, turning about to continue down the hall with Dornan close on his heels.

“We will try the garrison. I don’t her specifically to avoid it, but it appears my lady wife does whatever the hell she likes despite me.” He prayed to whatever capricious Goddess that was watching this unfold that Mya was not in garrison. The place was packed with some of the most hardened assassins in the galaxy. He had chosen them for that very reason. He needed men who acted without question and no remorse. Men like him. He’d never thought he’d live to regret the day he housed such men. A day like today. His booted feet ate up the distance to the main garrison entrance. His mind racing with horrifying scenes of what he would find on the other side. In his mind he damned himself a fool for not making Mya’s presence known to all who dwelt in the palace, not just his immediate household. Dornan walked silently behind him, but his presence lay like an ever-present bystander in his mind. Jaxon knew what his old friend was trying to do. Even now he attempted to calm the rage that was seething beneath his skin. For the first time Dornan’s calming influence was not working. Not in the fucking least.

As soon as Jaxon went through the double doors to the garrison field, his hand already coveted the laser blade at his hip. If one of his men harmed a hair on her head, he’d claim the man’s head as his own. Suddenly the sound of raucous laughter seeped through the killing rage. What the fuck? Jaxon broke into a run, heading for where the noise emanated. Were they surrounding her while they took turns taking their pleasure? Were the yells of ribald laughter drowning out her screams for help? Jaxon couldn’t seem to get there fast enough. His heart thundered in his chest as he reached the doorway of the garrison drinking hall, preparing himself for a horrible scene. Preparing himself to kill every last fucking one of his own men. What he saw stopped him dead in his tracks.

The wife he was ready to kill his men for was perched on the enormous shoulders of Perr, her hands wrapped around a substantial tankard of frothy ale that sloshed over with every movement of the giant who carried her. The same giant that didn’t seem to mind the periodic spills falling his head. Mya was yelling all right, but with guffaws of laughter as she took swallows from the cup in her hand. His men were gathered around a table watching an arm wrestling match, cheering on the combatants and no doubt placing bets. Jaxon could just hear her voice over the din.

“I’ve got my money on Senic!”

Perr guffawed, jostling her on her shouldered perch.

“You haven’t got any money.” Her face took on a pensive look as she took another draught from the ale.

“I suppose I will have to ask my husband, if I can find him.” She giggled! Jaxon took that as his cue to end this little party.

“Look no further, Lady Mya. I am right here.” Almost abruptly the shouts of encouragement to the wrestling combatants ceased. Laughter stuck in the throats of his men as they scrambled to attention. Everyone went silent, expect for his wife. Instead she let another giggle, followed by an unladylike hiccup.

“Jaxon! I have been looking all over for you!”

Jaxon watched in awe as Mya tried clumsily to climb down from Perr’s shoulders, her drink showering the ground in alcoholic foam. Finally the giant unfroze long enough to assist her to the ground. Once she was stood upright, her body swayed dangerously. Placing an unsteady hand against her savior’s broad chest, she gained a tentative footing.

Jaxon watched the whole display with a slow-burning fury. His wife of less than two days was shame-faced drunk.

ADULT EXCERPT

“Don’t you know what you did to me? What you do to me? When I heard you were missing again, my heart dropped. I’ve never felt that way about anyone, and yet you would inspire me to kill if need be.” His words were rough with hunger, but at their core was a sincerity that made her eyes sting with tears. Her own arms slid over the broad expanse of his shoulders, wanting, needing to close to him as possible. Jaxon growled his approval, his lips moving down to the side of her neck, licking and sucking the sensitive area until Mya moaned her pleasure.

Jaxon adored the taste of her soft flesh on his lips, craved it. His body was aflame, every inch of himself focused on her with an intensity that frightened even him. Urgently needing to get closer to her, he lifted Mya onto the hard surface of his desk, his hand simultaneously shoving sheets of mine schematics to the floor without a care. Shoving her legs apart to stand between her spread thighs, he shoved the material of her skirts aside until the warmth of her bare skin was revealed. The need to be with her, inside her, made his hands tremble. So many damn clothes, he thought impatiently. From now on I’ll make her walk around naked so I can get to her quick. As soon as the outlandish thought occurred to him, he second-guessed. If she were walking the hall naked, then household guards would see the loveliness that only belonged to him, and then he’d have to kill every last one of them.

Jaxon’s fingers slid up the heated length of the inside of her thigh. It wasn’t long before the tips of his fingers met the soft, springy thatch of hair covering her pussy.

“I have to feel you.” His words sounded desperate to his own ears, but he didn’t care. All that mattered was the silky feel of her soft flesh on his fingers. He groaned as just the tips of his long fingers slid into the viscous heat of her pussy.

“So wet for me, Mya. By the Goddess…I need inside.”

Mya moaned as his hand sought the slick passage between her thighs. She tried to spread her legs further, but the cloth of her skirt prevented her. All she could do was sit still on the cool surface of the desk as he teased her, making her even more impossibly wet.

“I will taste you before the night is done.” The gravelly tenor of his voice sent tremors of awareness through her body. Even his scent, laced with the smell of soil and smoke of mines, heightened her senses. A frenzy roiled low in her belly, her hands tore at the open lapels of his jacket. As he wanted to feel her bare flesh, she wanted to feel his just as badly. Who was out of control now? she thought hazily.

“I need to fuck you.” The coarse language only excited her even more, her pussy tightening with every word. A second finger slid inside her to join the first, filling her deliciously.

“Please…I need you, Jaxon.” Her words sounded needy to her own ears, but she didn’t care.

Mya’s gasping plea was all the encouragement Jaxon needed to sink into the sultry heat of her body. He released her only long enough to slip free the fastenings of his flight pants and release the thick girth of his cock. Jaxon’s knees almost gave out when she grasped the turgid thickness with her hands and stroked the throbbing lengths. He knew the exact moment she discovered the slippery dew at the tip. Her fingers tested and teased the head until his teeth clenched. For a moment he endured the pleasure while his own fingers wreaked havoc on the hot slickness of her pussy. In moments they were both panting and straining toward completion, but he refused to end things there. His hands grasped her hips and slid her from the desk, only to turn her to face it. With gentle hand, he bent her forward low over the top until her chest rested there. Mya turned to look back at him, a question in her eyes.

“Mya, I need you like this. Please…trust me, katsa.” She gave barely a nod, but the acceptance in her eyes filled his chest with warmth he’d never experienced or thought he needed.

Impatient hands tried to lift her skirts over her hips, but the material lay trapped between her body and the desk. Cursing, Jaxon ripped the skirt from behind, baring the dusky perfection of her ass. On impulse he bent low and gently kissed the softness of each cheek. Mya moaned, pushing back against him, seeking more of what he was giving her.

“Be still, wife. You will have all I have to give and then some. Trust me.”

Jaxon palmed her from behind, running teasing fingers over the downy thickness of her pubic hair while his thumb slipped across the hardened nub of her clitoris. In reaction her back arched, pushing her ass higher and spreading her legs far about. He placed his hand at the base her spine, tracing each delicate bone while his hand worked her.