Garnets or Bust Read Free

felt incredibly light, and she
    pulled away from him with a cry of betrayal.
    He looked down at her, his face a mixture of triumph and something else. In one
    hand he held a knife. Her braids dangled from the other.
    “Daaron, what have you done?”
    12

    Garnets or Bust

Chapter Two
    “You’re mine now,” Daaron said, savoring the words. How many times had he
    imagined taking her? The fantasy was nothing compared to the satisfaction he felt now.
    Confusion filled her face and he almost felt pity. This was supposed to be a special
    moment in Tessa’s life, he thought. A woman from the Warrens should have her braids
    shorn during a marriage ceremony, the knife wielded by a man who loved her.
    “You can’t possibly understand what you just did,” she replied, eyes searching his,
    panicky. “I can’t lose my braids, Daaron. They’ll think I’m a whore without my braids.
    My mother…”
    “She’ll think you’re a married woman,” he said, voice harsh. “She’ll think you’re my
    woman. You belong to me body and soul. I own you. The custom seems primitive to
    me, but it serves a ‘valuable purpose’ for your people, remember?”
    “This isn’t a game,” she replied, her voice tight with anger. “You get to go back to
    your life and laugh with your rich friends over the stupid little Warrens girl you
    ‘married’, but nobody else will have me now.”
    “I wouldn’t want them to,” he replied. “I won’t tolerate infidelity. You’re mine and
    I’m keeping you, Tessa. Accept reality, darling, it will be easier for both of us.”
    She shook her head, and the pounding frustration he’d felt for so many years
    threatened to overwhelm him. He’d wanted her for years, held back because he knew
    she couldn’t fuck him without risking everything she held dear. But she’d lost that life
    the moment she’d found the garnets, even if she didn’t understand it yet. Women of her
    class were chaste before marriage, or so she insisted. About time to turn that archaic
    morality in his favor.
    “Do you deny that we’re married by the laws and customs of your class?” he asked
    her, grasping her chin and forcing her to look him in the eye.
    13

    Joanna Wylde
    “No,” she whispered. “I can’t be married to you, Daaron.”
    “Too late,” he replied. “And you have to obey me, don’t you?”
    She tried to shake her head, but he held her chin firm.
    “What would your mother say?” he asked. She whimpered, and he knew he would
    win.
    “She would say you’re my husband and I have to obey,” Tessa whispered, voice
    breaking “This isn’t what I wanted, Daaron. Why did you do this to me?”
    He could explain, but the more she knew, the greater her danger. And her attitude
    frustrated him, made him angry. Was marrying him truly such a horrible fate? Women
    had been chasing him his entire life, begging him for attention. Why wasn’t he good
    enough for this one? Years of denial, combined with the loss of his own freedom, welled
    up inside. Anger grew. He’d done his part and married her, honoring her ridiculous
    customs, trading his freedom for her survival. He’d take care of her the rest of her life.
    She had nothing to fear. Why wouldn’t she give in to him now?
    “I have more money than you can imagine,” he said tightly. “I own this entire star
    system. You’ll be more than adequately provided for. The least you can do is show me a
    little gratitude.”
    “How dare you? I had my own plans, my own dreams. I’ve worked hard to get to
    this point and you think it’s all right to just take over my life? I can’t be bought. I
    thought I already taught you that.”
    “I know you can’t be bought, we covered that a long time ago,” he replied. Her
    smell, that faint waft of flowers and woman, tickled his nose, clouding his ability to
    think. He didn’t need to talk. He needed to fuck.
    “Tessa, I didn’t want to do this to you, believe it or not. You don’t think I could
    have taken