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The Pleasure Principle

by

Calista Fox

Copyright © Calista Fox, 2010

 

All Rights Reserved, RED SAGE PUBLISHING, INC.

 

D.T. Vaughn took four long strides across the imported platinum floor of his oceanfront dwelling, turned sharply on his booted heels and took four more long strides.
All that gold!
It was all his. He’d transported it out of the cave and off the island mere minutes before Gizelle and her one-man crew had reached the cave.
Excellent timing on his part, to be sure. Granted, it wasn’t easy out-smarting Gizelle. But it was a challenge he rose to on a regular occasion because, well, there just weren’t many women like her who captivated him so completely. Who helped to set-up and then satiate his constant need for excitement. The thrill of the chase in any form turned D.T. on, as much as Gizelle herself did.
His first course of action in this particular chase had been to decode the coordinates of the map Gizelle had somehow managed to get her hands on. D.T. had swiped the coordinates and had worked through the puzzle almost as long as she had—but he’d succeeded first, having discovered the destination of the gold months ahead of Gizelle. And though he’d waited until today to recover the bountiful treasure, he’d been planning this hunt all along. Knowing she’d want the gold, knowing she would eventually figure out where it was hidden.
Knowing she would do anything to get it back when she discovered it was missing.
A devious grin played on his lips as a warm, sultry breeze blew in through the wall of opened floor-to-ceiling windows. D.T. mentally patted himself on the back for his coup. Today, he’d stolen a boatload of gold, right out from underneath Gizelle’s nose.
That made him damned clever and damned stupid at the same time.
His grin widened as he imagined her reaction to showing up two minutes too late to recover the gold.
She’d be furious. Homicidal, probably, he thought with a soft chuckle.
Crossing to his massive desk, he reached for the vintage Scotch in the elegantly cut-crystal decanter and poured a healthy splash into a matching glass. A toast was in order. Sure, there’d be hell to pay when Gizelle finally caught up to him—where the devil was she anyway? But he’d deal with her wrath when it came his way. He just couldn’t fathom why she wasn’t beating down his door this very second. Where else would she search for him? She had to be on the planet somewhere, trying to find him.
Because D.T. knew she’d never let a slight like this—or such a massive fortune—go.
He had all this in mind when he sank into his chair and turned it so he faced the ocean. A few quiet moments with nothing but the sound of crashing waves to fill the night air had him lost in thought. But not so lost that he didn’t still dwell on Gizelle. Wasn’t the least bit surprised, in fact, when he felt the sharp tip of her dagger press against the side of his neck. Lightly at first, but then she seemed compelled to push a bit harder until she pierced the skin. Not a bad cut by any means, but it caused D.T. to wince as he felt a drop of warm blood on his skin.
“Please tell me that thing’s on stun,” he said, careful not to make any sudden movements. Gizelle’s dagger was dangerous enough. The laser blast that shot out of the tip with the touch of a button was downright deadly.
“It’s not,” she said. “And that shouldn’t surprise you.”
“Pissed, I see.”
“No. I was pissed two years ago when you said you wouldn’t come back to Earth with me and fight for our galaxy. I was pissed six months ago when you demanded I stay here with you on this hedonistic planet instead of serving a cause I believe in. One you should believe in, too, D.T.” The tip of her dagger pressing against his thick neck told him she was serious.
Crossing Gizelle wasn’t child’s play. Just one more thing he loved about her.
“Now I’m furious,” she continued on in a tight voice. “Even more so since I’ve spent half the night looking for you in Pleasure Clubs.”
“Well, then,” he said, trying to relax his muscles so as to alleviate some of the pressure from the blade. “Don’t miss the jugular, sweetheart.”
“If I did,” she said in the haughty tone he’d never heard until the night he’d wanted her to abandon her post with the Protective Forces. “It’d only be to start someplace lower.”
Ouch. That’d hurt. Since he was rather fond of his balls, he tried to placate her. “Clever of you to figure out the coordinates of the gold.”
“Greedy of you to have stolen the gold.”
“What can I say?” And he knew there was triumph and gloating in his voice. “It was one of those challenges too tempting to pass up. It’s not everyday I get to compete against someone as cunning as myself.”
The blade fell away from his neck. D.T. dared to take the opportunity to look at her. Gizelle’s long, light brown hair fell in soft waves around her slender shoulders. She wore a sexy outfit that, for the moment, he had to ignore. Because there was something more pressing to deal with than how breathtakingly beautiful she was.
Gizelle stood beside him, a look of incredulity on her pretty face. No, it was worse than that. The words “you piratical rat bastard” seemed to linger on her tongue, unspoken for the moment.
Turning slowly in his chair—again, smart enough to not make any sudden movements—his gaze locked with Gizelle’s. For the moment, he ignored the disdain he saw. She looked at him as though he truly were the scum of the century. The biggest disgrace in two galaxies. Maybe three.
And that actually cut to the quick.
“Look,” D.T. began. “I can explain about the gold. In fact…. It’s all yours, baby. I didn’t steal it to keep it.”
“Liar!” Her fury was quick and vehement. Her arm shot out again and that damned blade was pressed against his skin once more, at his Adam’s apple. But D.T. wasn’t one to be toyed with for long. In a swift move, he caught her unawares and struck the underside of her wrist with his knuckles, causing her to release the dagger. It went sailing across the room. D.T. felt the slight nick on his throat from the jerk of the blade, but knew it wasn’t anything serious.
While Gizelle was still off guard, he grabbed her other wrist and pulled her to him. Losing her balance on the tall heels she was obviously unaccustomed to wearing, she literally fell into his lap.
Exactly where he wanted her.
Well, maybe not exactly where he wanted her. But it was a good start.
“First, let’s keep the sharp objects away from the flesh and all my favorite body parts, huh, sweetheart?”
“I still have my lasergun.”
D.T.’s teeth ground together. “Oh, for fuck’s sake, Ellie. I told you the treasure was yours.”
“As if I’d believe you,” she glared at him. “And don’t call me that. You gave up all rights to terms of endearment a long time ago.”
His eyes locked with hers, his own temper flaring. “Because I asked you to stay with me? Really, that was such a cruel and unfair request?”
She opened her mouth to say something in protest, he was sure, but then promptly closed it. D.T. raised an eyebrow. He waited a spell. Finally, she said, “All you care about is yourself. If you’re going to offer up that huge a bounty, there has to be strings attached. I know you too well, D.T.”
His jaw tightened. For a few moments, he debated what to say. What to do.
Because she was right, of course.
She shifted in his lap in an attempt to get away, but he didn’t relinquish his hold on her. He held fast to her wrist, though not so tight that it would hurt. His other arm snaked around her waist. D.T. settled more comfortably in his oversize chair and Gizelle had no choice but to situate herself, too. Her hip pressed against his groin and her shoulder rested against part of his chest.
A deep inhale of breath brought with it the enticing scent of her. The fragrance was fresh and crisp. Enticing like the cleansing aroma of a light rainfall. It reminded him of early summer on Earth, when the grass turned deep green and vibrantly colored wildflowers dotted the hills surrounding the home he hadn’t really wanted to leave as a young man, except for the burning desire he’d had to help protect the planet from the invading force.
The mere scent of her reminded him of simpler times. It stirred a sense of innocence and naïvete every human being possessed before coming of age. Before the reality of adulthood and war and tragedy tainted all of the optimistic views one had.
Suddenly, D.T. wanted nothing more than to end this argument with Gizelle and somehow find their way back to where they’d been when they’d first met. That coveted nothing-matters-at-this-very-moment-except-you-and-I phase. Before they’d started talking about the war and she’d told him what she did in the name of freedom and he hadn’t told her what he did.
Because when they’d left war and politics out of the equation, everything had been perfect between them.
Thinking about those passionate nights made D.T.’s erection grow. It didn’t help that Gizelle’s heat and proximity worked wicked magic on his body.
“What the hell are you wearing?” he managed to ask, though his voice was tight with a sudden need for her. She distracted him on so many levels….
“Clothes, D.T.”
He cocked his head at her, particularly since her sarcasm was dulled by the hint of desire that crept into her voice.
Rolling her dark green eyes, she said, “I wasn’t planning on staying over on this wretched planet. I just came for the gold. And I needed something… befitting… to wear to the Pleasure Clubs,” she all but sneered.
He narrowed his eyes. “What the hell were you doing there?”
“What would I be doing there, D.T.? Looking for you, you arrogant ass! Hoping you weren’t showering Pleasure Providers with gold bars like they were drops of rain in a torrential downpour.”
He scowled at her, annoyed with how frivolous she thought he could be. How shallow. How selfish. Then he realized he really hadn’t done much lately to prove otherwise, so he couldn’t exactly hold a grudge. Instead, he latched onto the way her green eyes flashed with fury and something else…. Something that looked so very close to envy that it made D.T. laugh out loud.
“You’re jealous!”
She pushed away from him with a huff, but he had a strong hold on her. She wasn’t going anywhere.
“Of all the idiotic things to say to me, D.T.!” She glared at him, murder in her eyes. Which made him laugh even harder.
“Oh, come on, sweetheart. It’s okay to admit it. In fact, I was a little jealous myself today.”
Her glare turned suspicious. “What on Earth have you ever been jealous of?”
His jaw tightened for a moment. How easily the tables had turned on him. But fair was fair, wasn’t it?
“Who’s your new friend?”

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