Trapped: A SciFi Convict Romance (The Condemned Book 1) Read online

  “You haven’t lost me.” She pressed her body flush against his. The knowledge that he cared for her, that she was as important to him as he was to her, was more than she’d ever hoped to hear. “I’m right here.”

  He wrapped his arms around her. “I’m a lot more than a Dragath25 low life and a lot more than that bully chicken-shit I became in that moment.” He pressed his forehead against hers. “I want the chance to prove it to you.”

  “I already know.” Her fingers tangled in the short hair at his nape.

  “I finished the device.” His fingers contracted against her skin. “There’s no one hundred percent guarantee, but I think I can get that pile of wires to work well enough to jam 225’s weapon and allow your rescue team to land safely.” He cleared his throat. “You can go home, Bella.”

  “Oh, my God,” She jumped up and down, almost knocking the top of her head into his chin. She could scarcely believe it. Caine could save those people. No one else needed to die. Her sister and brother would continue to be safe, too. And once the rescue shuttle landed, they could join the search for Ava. Her friend would be found. All thanks to Caine. “You are amazing. Thank you so much.”

  His hold tightened. “It’s no guarantee. Just remember that. There’s a lot that could still go wrong.”

  “I understand.’” She tried to contain her sense of hope. “Nothing on Dragath25 is easy.”

  His thumb whispered across her lower lip. “Except touching you.”

  Her heart fluttered. “So touch me.” Her nails scraped gently down his back. “I missed you.”

  She was lifted in the next instant, his hands sliding under her ass as he took control, his dark gaze holding her captive as he walked them backwards deeper under the overhang. “I missed you, too. Turns out holding back didn’t do a damn thing to squelch the pain. I still saw you everywhere. Smelled you on our bed. Heard your voice on the wind. The cave, the ridge, the spring, the Oasis…it all felt damn lonely without you.”

  She pressed a kiss to his jaw. “So you came to watch over me. Thank you.”

  “I shadowed you from the instant you left.” His hold tightened, his gaze darkened by a vulnerability that hadn’t been there before. “I’d die to protect you, Bella.”

  “No one’s dying.” Her tone was fierce. “Thanks to you, we’re both getting off this miserable planet.”

  He tensed further.

  “Caine? You know we’re both getting off this planet, right? Your device isn’t just going to save the rest of us, but you, too.” She cradled his jaw. “Even when I left your cave, I never intended to leave you behind. We’re all going home.”

  He turned and kissed her palm. “I can’t go back, Bella.”

  Chapter Twenty

  Caine slid her down his hard body as if already putting distance between them.

  She grabbed his shoulders, keeping him close. “Don’t give me that bullshit about being a killer and deserving punishment. I don’t know what you did, but I know enough about you now to realize there was a good reason behind it.”

  “That means a lot.” But the resignation was still there.

  “Tell me,” she urged, “tell me what happened.”

  She didn’t need to hear his story to know he had a valid reason for what he’d done. She knew it by the man he was, but she could sense his need to tell.

  She was also more than ready for him to let her in.

  He blew out a breath. “It’s not a pretty tale.” He turned away. She felt cold without his big body to warm her. “My wife Gwen was a good person, but she didn’t always make the best choices. About a year after we were married, she got involved with a married Councilman notorious for sleeping around. A guy named Hendricks.”

  Bella fought not to grimace. She’s heard of Councilman Hendricks. While hardly beloved by the general populace, he’d managed to advance in the Council leadership and was considered the third most powerful man in the entire Earth government.

  She suddenly understood Caine’s pessimism. If Hendricks was the one who’d sent Caine here, they’d be going up against the whole Council to get him out.

  “When I found out about Gwen and Hendricks,” continued Caine, his back still to her, his shoulders tense, “I began divorce proceedings. Gwen was beside herself. She begged me to change my mind. Swore she loved me. Swore she’d end it. But I didn’t want her to do that. I wanted out myself.”

  “That’s understandable. Things end.”

  “But Gwen was no good at being on her own. I knew it, but I…I dismissed it—dismissed her—as not my problem anymore.”

  The tightness in Bella’s chest increased. Was it any wonder he’d been so conflicted about being responsible for her these past days?

  “She was a grown woman, Caine. She was responsible for her own choices.”

  He offered no reaction. “When Gwen realized I was serious, she ran straight to her Councilman.” Caine’s hands fisted by his side. “I warned her the bastard was no good. But she didn’t listen. She insisted he would leave his wife for her. I don’t doubt the guy made that promise. He was a lying snake who preyed on lonely soldiers’ wives. But I couldn’t get her to believe it.”

  “Stubborn, eh?” Bella cupped his shoulder, needing to touch him.

  “Yeah. Like someone else I know.” He turned his head, nuzzling her fingers with his jaw. “She went to him. Made a scene in front of the councilman’s wife and a slew of other important dignitaries. Of course, Hendricks denied he even knew her. She must have been pretty pissed because she spewed personal details to prove him a liar. She also revealed he’d used Council funds for rendezvous for the two of them. He had her kicked out—and roughed up. She came to me, scared and crying. I told her to stay out of sight until I could get things figured out, but…” Caine shook his head, “she must have gone to see him. Two days later, she was found strangled to death in a trash dumpster close to my house. Word on the street was that Hendricks had his younger brother take her out. But no one was investigating the brother, much less the Councilman. There was another blight outbreak at the same time. People were focused on trying to survive.”

  “So you went after her killer?”

  “I’d…I’d failed Gwen once. I couldn’t do it again.” He sucked in a deep breath. “But I wasn’t planning on murder. I wanted Hendricks’ brother to confess and go to prison. He was the one that came after me with a knife. Still, a part of me was glad. He’d murdered Gwen. I wanted him dead.”

  She pressed a kiss beneath his shoulder blade, gratified to feel a small tremble run through him. “You think that makes you a killer? I think it makes you a hero.”

  “What I did wasn’t heroic, but I would have willingly paid the price for taking another killer’s life. Only Gwen’s councilman set me up, fingering me for crimes I never committed. Before long, I was branded a psychotic serial killer and sentenced to marooning on Dragath25.”

  “That’s not going to happen again. You have allies now.”

  Caine swiveled around, his expression grim. “I had allies then, fighter girl. I was a decorated military hero with a lot of support from friends and family. I didn’t matter. Hendricks paid off or ruined anyone who tried to defend me. He manufactured evidence so that it looked like I not only killed his brother, but Gwen and several other people who turned out to be enemies of the Councilman. He made me into the boogeyman and grew even more powerful. He’s not going to let me back on Earth to tell his secret. I appreciate your optimism, fighter girl, but the only way I’m leaving Dragath25 is in a box.”

  “Don’t say that.” She grabbed his hand. “You might have had allies before, but you didn’t have me. We didn’t have the Oasis. Trust me, Caine. Please. Between the two of us, we’re going to bring that corrupt bastard down. I swear it.” She squeezed his palm. She had bigger plans as well, but she’d keep them to herself. “For you. For Gwen.”

  His expression remained bleak. “But if we can’t, you’re going. No argument.”

  She hi
d her hurt behind a joke. “Don’t you know me well enough by now to know that will never happen?”

  As hoped, his eyes crinkled in a half-smile, but his tone was serious. “That’s why I like to call you fighter girl. Not because I don’t see who you are, but because I do, Bella. I see exactly who you are. Someone extraordinary. Someone strong and kind. A true hero.” His hands skimmed up her neck to cup her face. “Someone worth living for. Someone worth dying for.”

  His lips brushed hers. Reverent. Slow.

  Her heart stuttered. He was kissing her. For the first time. Not for any deal. Or because he could. But because he wanted to. Because he was ready to let her in.

  A low moan of need slipped from her. His words, his kiss, all she’d ever wanted.

  As if the signal he’d been waiting for, the tenor of the kiss changed, his mouth claiming hers as his fingers wove through her hair and angled her closer. Her tongue tangled with his. His taste—of strength, ferocity, courage, hope—even better than she’d imagined.

  When he finally drew back, his eyes still shut, their mouths only inches apart, their arms still latched around each other, they were both breathing hard.

  Her heart fluttered. There it was again. That look of wonder on his face. As if she was something special. As if she was life itself.

  Then his eyes sprang open. She stiffened, bracing for the change. For the return of the guarded look that had always entered his gaze before. But the tenderness remained.

  “I didn’t want to need you, Bella.” His voice was a low rasp, his hands contracting against her skin. “I was terrified to need you. But somehow, somewhere, you’ve become a necessity. You’ve become everything. I might not trust anyone else, but I do trust you.”

  Her arms, locked around his neck, vibrated. It took her a moment to understand why. Caine was shaking. Like the first time they’d touched.

  Awe whispered through her. This fierce warrior who’d fought off vicious beasts and killed for her was afraid. Because of his feelings for her.

  “It’s okay.” She slid her hands to rest against his pounding chest. “I’ll hold you together, just like you hold me. I swear.” She pressed butterfly kisses to his chin, along his jaw. “I won’t disappoint you, I promise. Because I need you, too.” She swallowed hard. “Not for survival. Not for protection, but because of who are you. How you make me feel. As if I matter. As if I can do anything. As if I’m truly alive. And I love you for that, Caine. I do….”

  Before she could even finish, his mouth was on hers again. Fierce. Wild. Desperate. His big hands glided over every inch of her. Touching her exactly as she loved to be touched. Until she was writhing against him. Until they were both naked and slick and ready. Until her legs were wrapped around his hips and she was whispering in his ear for him to take her. Her nipples tight. Her pussy wet and aching.

  “We need a bed,” he grouched. “I want this to be perfect.”

  She nipped at his jaw in warning. “I don’t care where we are as long you’re inside me in the next ten seconds.”

  His eyes crinkled as his lips turned upward. “So demanding.” He laid her down on top of their clothing. The feel of him, hard and thick and ready at her entrance, made her moan. “We’ll do perfect next time.”

  She lifted her hips to give him better access. “Don’t you know by now? It’s always perfect when I’m with you.”

  His smile dropped away, his expression turning so solemn she worried something might be wrong.

  “You okay?”

  He nodded. “Better than okay.” Bracing his hands by her head, he came inside, slowly, worshipfully, inch by careful inch, until she was filled with him. “I love you so much, Bella.”

  Her pulse went crazy, her whole body flushing with white-hot pleasure. “You do?” Her question was whisper soft.

  “I do.” He flattened his palms against hers, interlacing their fingers as they had for their first touch. “I don’t know what the future holds, but I do know nothing has ever felt as right as your hand in mine.”

  She was lost. Lost to the beauty of his words. Lost to the wonder of their connection. Lost to the exquisite, erotic bliss of him sliding in and out while their palms stayed sealed tight and every one of his fears and his shadows, his hopes and his needs, played across his face for her to see.

  “Caine.” She whispered his name, her legs wrapping around his waist, bringing them even closer.

  “Bella.” His mouth found hers, his gaze and hands her only anchor as a maelstrom of pleasure, fiercer than any dust storm, swirled through her, tightening her muscles and bowing her back as he drove deep, raw pleasure lashing at her.

  Until his hips were moving at a fierce rate and she was moaning in his ear and their slick bodies writhed in tandem and they soared together over the edge, giving each other everything and anything—just as she’d promised so long ago.

  Minutes later, her legs still wrapped around him, exquisite aftershocks coursed through her. They stared at one another, silly half smiles on their faces, wonder and awe floating around them like fairy dust.

  When she finally got her breath back, she cradled his face in her palms. “We’re getting out of here together.”

  His smile dissolved. “I’d like that,” he said at last, “but shit happens. It’s not going to be easy to get you, much less the two of us, off this planet. Even if my jammer does what I hope.”

  “You’re not sacrificing yourself for me.”

  “Quality versus quantity, baby.” He nuzzled her palm. “You gave me back myself. I’ll be forever grateful to you for that.”

  She blinked hard and fast, that stupid stinging back in her eyes. “For a guy who rarely talks, sometimes you say the sweetest things….But I don’t want your gratitude. I want you.”

  He smoothed his thumbs over the salty tracks rolling down her cheeks. She hadn’t even realized she’d begun to cry.

  He pressed his lips to hers. Slowly. Softly. “I never thought being sent to Dragath25 would be the best thing that ever happened to me, but there it is. You changed everything. If there’s a way for me to come with you, I will.”

  Finally. “You promise?”

  “I promise.”

  “Well, isn’t this sweet.” A grey barrel jammed against Caine’s temple. Pogue loomed right behind. “But I’m afraid things might not work out for you lovebirds as planned.”

  Chapter Twenty-One

  “Put your hands up, Dragath25 scumbag, or you won’t like the consequences.” Pogue dug the gun muzzle deeper into Caine’s skin. A ring of six soldiers stood behind him, their guns drawn, the glow from the lights strapped to their weapons giving their faces a menacing green tinge.

  Bella’s heart slammed against her ribs. “Put the gun down, Pogue.” She injected as much command as possible into her voice. It wasn’t easy with her breasts squashed against Caine’s chest and her clothes strewn in a pile by the soldiers’ boots. “He’s on our side.”

  “I don’t think so, Cadet West.” There was no missing the sneer when Pogue referenced her title. Or the way his pupils were dilated, his gaze locked on her exposed skin. “What’s going to happen is your boyfriend is going to move away from you nice and slow, or you’re both going to end up feeling like you got socked by the sun up close and personal.”

  “Are you threatening to stun us?” Maybe she shouldn’t have been shocked, but she was. “That’s outrageous. We’ve done nothing wrong.”

  “Pogue,” Caine’s voice was a dangerous rasp, “give Cadet West her clothes. Then we’ll move.”

  “You’ll move now.” Pogue’s tone was smug. “It’s not as if the rest of us haven’t seen a pair of tits before—though those look to be mighty fine ones from up here.” A low murmur of ugly laughter sounded from the ring of soldiers.

  Her gaze locked with Caine’s. “It’s okay. Let me up.” She swallowed hard. “It’s only skin.”

  He stayed where he was, every muscle in his big body taut.

  “Don’t make him mad,�
�� she pleaded. “I don’t want you hurt.”

  “Here.” Her shirt fluttered into her line of vision, held out by a frowning Ransom.

  She snaked her hand out fast. Her fingers trembling as she struggled into the shirt, her gaze locked with Caine’s while Pogue yelled at Ransom for acting without an order.

  She let out her first real breath when the long hem of Caine’s shirt brushed against her lower thighs, infinitely grateful for its length.

  “No more stalling,” snapped Pogue.

  “Relax,” Caine told Pogue, “I’m not planning on giving you any trouble—as long as you don’t bother Bella.” Expression solemn, he kissed the tip of her nose. “It will be okay.” He levered himself up, push-up style, pulling her to stand behind him before Pogue and his soldiers had time to react.

  There were seven guns trained on Caine in the next instant.

  “You cooperate and there’ll be no problems.” Pogue shifted his gun to lock on her forehead. “You give us trouble and she’ll suffer the consequences.”

  Caine gave a low growl.

  “Officer Pogue, this is absolutely unnecessary.” Winthrop, who she hadn’t even realized was there, stepped from behind one of the soldiers, his face pale, his gaze not quite meeting hers. “Cadet West is our colleague.”

  “Was our colleague,” challenged Pogue, his tone absent of any deference as he contradicted Winthrop. “She’s with the enemy now.”

  Clearly, the disappearance of the two crew members had flipped a switch inside Pogue, emboldening him even further in his break from protocol and his claim of leadership. It couldn’t have happened at a worse time.

  “We’re no one’s enemies,” she said. “We’re on your side.”

  “Then why’d you pick off Davies and Pratt?” barked Pogue.

  “We didn’t do anything to them.”

  “Remove the gun aimed at Bella.” As always, Caine sounded in complete control. “We can answer your questions and resolve this without anyone getting hurt.”