Gambit Read online

  Gambit

  By Kim Knox

  Captain Chae Beyon is a hustler, a mercenary pilot, a wounded woman who prefers her men to be easily thrown aside.

  Daned Traern is a first-caste Ladaian bound by tradition and DNA to protect his race. He’s willing to align himself with the hot space captain if she’ll transport him home in time to ensure the right candidate is crowned—and thus prevent a bloody war.

  Disguised as Chae’s sex toy, Daned is erotically bound to her through living gold, alien tech designed to increase pleasure. When he frees himself, their passion only increases…but succumbing to temptation will bind them together—permanently.

  But there’s more at stake than their needs. As Chae is dragged into a world of insane princes and sentient stones, hired killers hound them across the quadrant.

  And then, as only her lousy luck would have it, Chae must choose between the good of the galaxy and her own heart…

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  Dedication

  For Jessica, as always

  And dedicated to the Ladies—and Gent—who Chat

  Contents

  Copyright

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  About the Author

  Chapter One

  The truth-crawler burrowed into her neck. Chae cursed, gritting her teeth against the bite and slice of its pincers. Clicks and whirrs filled the silent room as the crawler’s synthetic leg joints worked its bulbous body under her skin. Chae stared up at the strip of light above her, focusing, denying the raw surge of pain. The things she did for money.

  Her fingers curled into fists and she felt the two suits watching her endure the pain. She didn’t turn her head to them, but let the light burn against her eyes. The deal they offered was too good to resist.

  A friend had shoved her into this. Promised high stakes and the rumor of one wealthy and gullible mark slumming it in the northern cities. What he hadn’t warned her about was being grabbed from the room, bundled into a transport and sight-wiped with fuck-knows-what.

  The taste of sump oil still burned foul against her tongue. She’d come around with two suits introducing themselves as she lay force-strapped to a freezing metal table. So much for an aging and hideously rich lecher and his flesh-pet. Chae twisted and the straps dug hard into her flesh. Hell, she’d been strapped down before…but that had been a lot more fun.

  The truth-crawler sealed itself under her skin. Chae crushed her eyes tight against the stab of its sting into tense muscle. The first rush of salt stung the tip of her tongue. She hated the nasty, synthetic truth-crawlers. The stream of venom from the innocuous little bug, one that looked so harmless when it sat on a client’s palm, flowed too fast over her thoughts. She grimaced, loathing the lack of control that would grip her in a few short seconds.

  She’d done this too often. Hell, she had enough of the creatures floating through her system to grow her own sting. She obviously didn’t have a trustworthy face. She snorted. What runner did?

  Chae turned her head and glared at the two men. Pain lanced and the crawler jabbed its sting deeper. A string of foulness escaped her. “You getting off on this?”

  The first suit, Govan, stepped out of the shadows. He was the older of the two with a craggy, lived-in face. He’d lost the silks and garish body-ware. Yes, the stark black of a plain suit fitted his dour face. He frowned at her and the lines deepened. “This is necessary, Captain Beyon. More is at stake than your tolerance to pain. We have to make certain—”

  “—that I can be trusted.” Chae ached to press her hand to her mouth, to let her nails dig into her jaw and stop the flow of truth. Already the insane urge to spill her life story to these two strangers held her…because it was what they wanted. And she really wanted to give them what they wanted. Especially the man who had acted as Govan’s flesh-pet. Yes, he would prove a perfect distraction to her overactive urge to talk.

  “Get me a shot of liquid sex and half an hour—no, an hour—with Daned there.” Chae jerked her head to the other man still standing in the heavy shadows obscuring most of the secure room. She winced against the bite of the crawler, but carried on because they needed to know that she wanted him. They really did. “Are you typical Ladaian? Because, truthfully—” she couldn’t help the grunt that broke from her, “—I’ve been stupid to avoid you. How much would it cost me for you to strip? Buck naked—”

  “Captain Beyon!”

  Govan’s shocked shout only made her laugh. “Oh come on, old man. Don’t tell me you didn’t stare long and hard at him. Stripped, he was luscious—”

  “You couldn’t afford me.” Daned’s soft, deep voice pricked at her skin, and her nipples peaked. He stepped from the shadows. Tall, lean and holding a carved beauty that made her ache to lick him from head to toe, he watched her with unreadable eyes. He straightened the line of his conservative suit jacket. Damn, he’d been so delicious standing behind Govan at the game table, wearing only a scrap of silver metal.

  She let out a soft, hot sigh. It was such a pity the man wasn’t really synthetic flesh.

  Daned frowned. “Now can we get to the point, please, Captain Beyon?”

  “Call me Chae. And can I lick you? One quick lick. I won’t bite.” She snapped her teeth together and smirked at him. “Well, I might—”

  “I can’t believe she came recommended,” Govan muttered. He ran his hand over his thinning hair and stepped closer to her slab. The clack of his shoes echoed off the smooth metal walls. “Captain Beyon.” Her name came out tight, angered, and it had her smiling. “You’re here because we want to hire you and your craft.”

  “Money upfront,” she said, her gaze never leaving Daned.

  “You’re Ara Ladaian.” Censure lurked in Govan’s voice. “This concerns your people. Honor demands—”

  “Have you tried eating honor? Drinking it? Wearing it?” She twisted against the metal slab, and the force-straps across her hips dug hard against the bone. “I want payment in cash. I’m certain whoever recommended me explained that’s how I work. Twice.” She laughed. “And as if I’d let myself be strapped down with no prospect of payment.” Her chuckles echoed. “Though if you just step out and leave me in Daned’s capable hands…?”

  “I’ve had enoug
h of this.” Govan turned away but Daned caught his arm.

  “Wait, sir, please.” Daned held the gaze of the older man and…something…passed between them. It itched on the edge of her thoughts, but the pain of the crawler made clear thinking hard. He stepped back from Govan before she could open her mouth and let more stupidity fall out. “Captain Beyon, this is of national importance to the Ladaians. To every Ladaian. We have a mission that must be completed if we’re all to stay sane.”

  “This to the woman strapped to a table and with a venomous metal insect digging through her neck?” She rolled her head, and the pinch of the truth-crawler didn’t sear fresh pain. The uneasy slide of the last of its venom into her skin rippled a shiver over her body. Chae closed her eyes and breathed against the need to tell the two men that their drug was wearing off. “I want money.”

  “What do you know of Ladaian history?” Daned asked.

  “If I let you ramble on at me, can we talk money?”

  Daned paused, glanced briefly at Govan before that man nodded.

  “Good.” She turned her neck and dislodged the sting of the crawler. She winced, just to keep up the illusion. The brief surge of insanity was ebbing and she felt her control returning. Truth-crawlers didn’t last long. Not as long as they were supposed to. Not on her. Of course, her prospective clients didn’t need to know that just yet. “All right, what do I know?”

  She closed her eyes and the brief conversations with her mother rolled through her thoughts. Of complicated dynastic feuds, fuelled by the impossible wealth the black crystal brought them, of insane royal families that bound their populace to them through ancient genetic bonds. And how her mother had run from the planet of Ara and its people and never looked back.

  “There’s a cluster of ten planets in the Ladaia system. Each one is ruled by a Family, a prince. But the most important of the planets is Ladaia-prime, protected by layer upon layer of shielding because of the orbiting black crystal mines.” She could hear her mother’s voice in the dark, in the quiet of their cramped and tiny room provided by her mother’s employer, Jobal. Chae pulled in a slow breath. Her mother had hated the control the princes had, the unbending traditions that bound every citizen, and had sworn to her daughter that the Ladaians would never control her in the same way. Her gut cramped. Yet, here they were. And here she was.

  “You have royal families vying for a single imperial throne. Whoever plants their backside on that throne dictates the future of your people. They have no choice. They become who their ruler wants them to be.”

  “You’re Ladaian,” Govan said.

  “So my mother said.”

  “Your profile indicates a complete one. Ara-Ladaian. Fifth caste. You have a full genetic bond in place.” Daned lifted an eyebrow. “To continue your life.” His gaze flicked over her and disapproval shone. “Such as it is, you might want to keep the free will you currently…enjoy.”

  “And I’m threatened how?”

  Daned paced, shadows obscuring him. His lithe beauty was still a joy, even as the wild rush of the truth-crawler’s venom ebbed away. Chae was grateful to his prettiness. He’d occupied her mind as the first insane burst of truth had hit her, and now even as it eased into deceptive camaraderie her lust stopped her from telling them anything, agreeing to everything.

  Daned rubbed a hand over his jaw. “The throne is open—has been for three generations—and we have to move before the Enan place their candidate there. They’re warmongers. They’ll turn us back into the Host.”

  Something about the word Host slid ice under her skin, stabbing sharper than the sting of the truth-crawler. “And that’s bad.”

  A wry smile pulled at Daned’s mouth and the remaining trickle of venom rushed her thoughts. Yes, getting him alone, disarming and stripping him had become a priority. His eyes narrowed. “You felt it then. Every Ladaian shivers at the ancient memory of the Host.”

  A grin cracked across her mouth. “I think I was shivering about something else.”

  Govan muttered something under his breath in a language that escaped her. He straightened. “We want your ship to act as one of many decoys bound for Ladaia-prime.”

  “And yet we still haven’t talked money. Being loyal to a cause won’t feed me.”

  Daned glanced back at the older man, and that strange stream of understanding flowed between them. Telepathy? Not a trait she shared, though it would be bloody handy. He moved closer to stand beside her table and pressed unseen keys. The metal groaned, whirred and Chae gave a sharp gasp as the surface tilted. The force-straps held her in place and she found herself at eye level with Daned.

  His scent, warm, male with a hint of unknown spices, wrapped around her. He stood in front of her and, shit, if she could just stretch her fingers up from the straps…

  Daned glanced down and then lifted his gaze. Dark, twisted humor shone there and her heart pounded harder. “Seriously, how much for you?”

  A smile lifted his lips. “How about this job?”

  Chae snorted. Lust—serious, aching lust that had her blood on fire and her flesh tight—was one thing, but she wouldn’t blow off a payment. No matter how much the echo of the truth-crawler’s venom wanted her to say it. “I want to talk money.”

  Daned’s head tilted. The promise of his mouth, so close, the urge to strain forward and sink her teeth into his bottom lip, filled Chae’s thoughts. What was it about him that made her mind turn away from money to satisfying instant lust?

  “You don’t.”

  Chae held his gaze. What was he after? Shit. He was playing her…and he knew the venom had worn off. Hell, she didn’t want another of those synthetic nasties burrowing into her flesh. “What’s your offer? Hauling from here to Ladaia-prime? With its insane security? That will cost. So?”

  “A standard imperial crate of Ladaian black crystal from the Ara mine. And two when you complete the mission. For this you will take one passenger with you. You will not share this knowledge with anyone. Break our agreement and I will personally kill you in a way that will become legend. Now…” His palm slid hot over her neck and Chae sucked in a quick breath, her gaze fixed on him. Daned’s touch was electric, sparking through her flesh. His fingertips teased her skin and then his palm jerked hard against the truth-crawler. Her shriek of pain mixed with the crack of the crawler’s tough shell. Hot liquid fire surged, bringing with it the very last of the creature’s venom. “Do we have a deal, Captain Beyon?”

  Three imperial crates. She could retire. With that amount of black crystal she could buy her own bloody planet. “Why so much?” Shit. The truth had caught her and she snapped out, “Yes. I agree to the deal.”

  “Good.” Daned’s fingers pulled away and she shivered at the loss of his warm skin against hers. He stepped back. “A prince is wealthy enough to reward his faithful subject.”

  “Wealthy?” Something itched under her skin and it wasn’t just the disintegrating remains of the truth-crawler. Too much money for too easy a job…as long as they didn’t expect her to break through to Ladaia-prime proper. Her sharp senses screamed out against the whole mission. And with her shitty her luck it was bound to be a colossal fuck up…but hell, three imperial crates of black crystal. Her mercenary heart kicked in. “How wealthy?”

  Chae felt Govan’s eyes on her, heavy with disdain. She glared at him. “What? I’ve been alone since I was eleven. I learned fast that money solves my problems.” She turned her hips, pushing hard against the force strap, and held down a wince. “Deal done. Truth-crawler nulled. Deactivate these things.”

  Daned keyed the thick side of the metal slab. With a slow hum, the straps eased back until she dropped quickly to the floor.

  Chae caught herself before she stumbled. She flexed her neck, hearing the final crackle of the synthetic crawler as it broke down in her body. “And that’s all I have to do? Run to the Ladaia system with some stooge?” She pushed her hand through her tangled hair, her joints stiff and aching from the force-straps. Venom had caugh
t her at the end despite her efforts. It wasn’t an easy job. Not at all. The route she’d take after she exited from rift lock pushed through her thoughts. Chae frowned. She would earn her three crates. “So, who’s my passenger?”

  Daned presented her with a bleak smile. “Me.”

  “You?” She flashed him a wicked grin in return. “Will you feel quite safe being alone with me?”

  “I’m from the first caste of Ara, Captain Beyon. I think I’ll survive.”

  “I’m sure if I knew what that was I’d be scared and impressed.” She ran her hands over the rumpled material of her tunic. Another brush with a truth-crawler had passed and she’d deflected practically all of its venom. Almost. She let the satisfied smile curve her mouth. “So…where’s my first crate?”

  Govan frowned. “You don’t seem to appreciate the seriousness of this situation—”

  “I appreciate being paid.”

  “Your first crate is secured in your hangar, but, as evidence of our good faith…” Daned’s shoulders straightened and, with odd ceremony, he opened his palm. A thin sliver of black crystal sat there.

  Chae willed the tremor from her hand. She’d never been so close to the precious rock. Her fingers flexed before she picked up the crystal. It pressed cool against her skin and she brought it to her mouth. She ran her tongue along a flat plane and her eyes drifted shut. The warming taste of cloves filled her. The damn thing was real…but still she held it up to the light.

  Her heart squeezed at the clear shine of a golden latticework threading through the crystal. Pure, Ladaian-grown black crystal. The sliver, no bigger than her little finger, would buy her luxury for a year. Her mouth dried at the thought.

  “When you’re ready, Captain.” Daned’s head tilted and his dark eyes burned into her.

  Chae felt his look down to her toes. Now she couldn’t blame the swift reaction of her body to him on the invading venom. No, she could blame it on closing her fist around pure black crystal. Her gaze flicked over his tailored and too-conservative suit. She wanted to see what lay beneath—again—and her smile deepened. “I think you’ll have to change.”