Total pages in book: 105
Estimated words: 99485 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 497(@200wpm)___ 398(@250wpm)___ 332(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 99485 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 497(@200wpm)___ 398(@250wpm)___ 332(@300wpm)
“It was lost,” I said, twisting my fingers together. “Lost in…in a casino. On Sin World.”
“Sin World?” This time his deep, rumbling voice sounded almost amused. “You mean Rigelis Nine?”
“Yes.” I lifted my chin defiantly. “And it was lost in one of your own casinos—your Clan owns them all, don’t they? So in a way, the tribute has already been paid. Just not in the usual way.”
I was pleased with my own reasoning, but it was clear Slade wasn’t buying it.
“I don’t think so, Princess,” he growled softly. “The deal is credits-in-hand—not credits left on the Blackjack table. You still owe my Clan your tribute…so how are you going to pay?”
I felt sick. This was it—now I was going to find out if all the awful rumors about how the Brutes treated people who couldn’t pay were true.
“We don’t have much,” I said, trying to think. “I have a few pieces of jewelry my mother left me. One of them—a broach—has real sapphires from Old Earth in it,” I offered.
Slade shook his head and crossed his arms over his broad chest. I could see his biceps bulging under the expensive fabric of his suit.
“Not enough. Maybe I should round up your entire population and we’ll all take a trip to the quadrach mines. You can work your tribute off that way.”
“No, please!” I begged. Impulsively, I put a hand on his arm. His muscles tensed beneath my touch. “Please don’t!” I continued. “The people of L’Crist don’t deserve to be made into slaves! They’ve done nothing wrong. It was us—the Royal family—who lost the tribute we collected from them.”
“So you claim the blame, Princess?” Slade looked down at me, his golden eyes narrowed.
I realized I still had my hand on his arm and jerked it away.
“Yes, I do,” I said, trying to keep my voice from trembling.
He frowned.
“You’re saying you went to ‘Sin World’ and sat beside your brother and gambled away the tribute?”
“No, but I should have been watching him,” I said quickly. “I’m his older sister, after all. I should have kept a better eye on him.”
“I see.” He nodded, giving me a speculative look. “So since you’re taking the blame, you’re also willing to pay the price?”
Here we go. I felt a lump in my throat but I did my best to swallow it down.
“Yes.” I held out a hand to him. “Here.”
Slade got a bemused expression on his face as he uncrossed his arms and took my hand in his. I felt a strange jolt run through me as he enfolded my fingers and my breath was suddenly coming short. I noticed suddenly that he smelled really good—some dark, masculine spice that drifted to my nose and made me wish I could get closer to him for some reason.
It was a strange thing to notice during such a tense moment. But Slade was still just holding my hand in his and looking at me.
“What do you expect me to do?” he rumbled, frowning in what looked like honest confusion as he looked down at the hand I had offered him.
“Use your flesh shears on me.” I swallowed hard, trying to keep my voice steady. “I know that’s one way you Brutes extract payment from people who can’t pay their tribute. You chop off one of their fingers and take it to a cloning farm so you can grow a mindless replica of them.”
The big Enforcer gave me a look that was convincingly horrified.
“You think I want to cut off your fingers, Princess? Think I want to maim you? What kind of a monster do you fucking take me for?”
“The kind who gets paid no matter what!” I shot back, glaring up at him. “So I’m offering to pay you the only way I know how. I don’t have anything else to give!”
His golden eyes flashed and he leaned down from his great height to look me in the face.
“Oh yes, you do, Princess,” he rumbled, his mouth curving into a slow, hungry smile. “You have something that I want very much.”
4
SLADE
I was both stunned at her bravery and dismayed that she thought I was such a fucking monster. The curvy little human was offering to let me maim her to save her people from going to the quadrach mines! As if I could ever wound my Fated Mate.
But I was also glad—this little scenario was going just as I had planned. Months ago a dealer in one of the Clan Cruel casinos had sent me a notification that King Roderick of L’Crist had become a regular customer. Apparently the newly minted King wanted to gamble and he didn’t mind doing it with the hard-earned credits he’d collected from his people for the tribute they owed.
I gave the sharp-eyed dealer a bonus and instructions—watch the King and see how much he spends—how much he loses and wins. And when the reports of his Majesty’s massive losses started rolling in, I knew I had finally found a way to claim my Fated Mate. For years I had been watching the curvy little princess, waiting for this opportunity and now it was finally here.