The Pleasure Principle

“Think you’ll be able to find him?”

She glared at her companion. “Oh, believe me, I know exactly where to find him.” She’d scour every Pleasure Club on the planet if she had to. She’d barge into every private room occupied by a Pleasure Provider and her client until she found D.T. No doubt that

was where the rogue would spend some of her gold!

“Exactly how do you intend to recover the treasure from him?” Trey asked, one of his dark brows lifting as a curious twinkle lit his onyx eyes.

“He’s so predictable,” she fumed. “I know exactly what he wants.”

Was she willing to give it to him in exchange for the gold? Damn it! D.T. had her over a barrel, yet again. But she had an unexpected ally on her side this time around.

She slid her sexy galaxy roamer a coy glance, knowing the smile on her face was a devious one. D.T. was selfish and self-serving. A pirate. A scoundrel. A man who didn’t play by the rules. A man who made outrageous demands, expecting everyone he negotiated with to concede to his wishes.

Gizelle never had.

But this time….

Her scowl deepened. She’d have to play her cards right, make strategic moves, in order to win this hand. To get what she wanted from D.T. without falling into the obvious trap he’d set for her. With so much at stake, she’d pull out all the stops to get that gold back. And finally put the rogue D.T. Vaughn in his place.

Crooking a finger at Trey, she gestured for him to follow her back to the boat.

“Onto Plan B,” she said, a wicked idea already forming in her head.

Chapter Two

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 forgotten grotto.

Excellent timing on his part, to be sure. Granted, it wasn’t easy to outsmart 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 set up and then satiated his constant need for excitement. The thrill of the chase in any form turned D.T. on as much as Gizelle herself did.

In this particular chase, his first course of action had been to swipe and decode the coordinates of the map she’d downloaded. D.T. had worked through the puzzle for almost as long as she had, but he’d succeeded first. He’d discovered the location 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 would 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, muggy breeze blew in through the wall of open floor-to-ceiling windows. D.T. mentally patted himself on the back for his coup. Today, he’d stolen a boatload of gold 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 chuckled softly.

Crossing to his massive desk, he reached for the vintage Scotch in the elegant 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. 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 to face the ocean, reminiscent of Earth eons ago. The Pleasure Planet replicated the days of yore and then took the peaceful times to all-new levels with atmospheric enhancements. The four moons, which cast shimmering gold rays across the water and backlit the mountain ranges in the distance. The damp, floral-scented air that teased the senses. The vintage quaff and nosh, such as his Scotch, that intoxicated the mind, body and spirit. The decadent pleasure offered at the Pleasure Clubs and just about everywhere else on the planet.

All of this gave those who’d fled ravaged Earth and the embattled Milky Way Galaxy a sense of peace and freedom. Beauty and life restored. It was no wonder those who could afford to live or take extended vacations on PX330 found sanctuary here. An escape from the pain caused by nature and war on their own planet. An immersion in pleasure that helped to rejuvenate the soul. And the belief that good would eventually conquer evil, a notion D.T. toyed with on an hourly basis.

Enjoying 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 was 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 yielded a neat and tidy death. Excluding the blood and gore, of course.

“It’s not,” she said. “And that shouldn’t surprise you.”

“Pissed, I see.”

“No, D.T., 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.”

The tip of her dagger pressed harder against his thick neck. 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.”