Captivated Read online

  Praise for

  Mesmerized

  “Wow! What a sexy and fun read. Dane has a way of making the futures seem so real and believable with characters that just pop off the page. Love it!”

  —Fresh Fiction

  “From the first chapter, Mesmerized grabs you by the throat and leads you through an exciting twist of sensuous romantic and science fiction adventure … A well-told blend of hot sensual romance and science fiction.”

  —Night Owl Reviews

  “No one combines space opera and erotica quite like Dane. If you thought the only thing missing from Joss Whedon’s Firefly series was a little explicit sex, you have to check out Mesmerized.”

  —RT Book Reviews, 4½ stars

  Insatiable

  “The story line is fast-paced and loaded with action as the irresistible force meets the unmovable object when two enemies from different life stations fall into heated love … This is quite a sizzler.”

  —Genre Go Round Reviews

  “Dane has created a fully realized, intricate world with thoughtful, sympathetic characters, which makes it easy to lose oneself in the romance … The cliffhanger ending will leave readers panting for the next installment.”

  —RT Book Reviews

  “Lauren Dane is one of the best authors out there writing exciting, on-the-edge-of-your-seat science fiction romance … Insatiable is also a great suspenseful thriller where the chase will leave some readers breathless.”

  —Babbling About Books, and More

  Relentless

  “Relentless will sweep you away.”

  —Anya Bast, New York Times bestselling author of Jeweled

  “Exceptional … an intriguing alternative world.”

  —Joey W. Hill, author of Bound by the Vampire Queen

  “Hot romance, detailed world-building and a plot focusing on righting injustice make Relentless a page-turner. With passion and politics, Dane delivers again!”

  —Megan Hart

  “Ms. Dane takes readers on a roller-coaster ride of emotions … This is a fabulous read for fans of sci-fi with a generous helping of erotic romance. I hope that we’ll be seeing more installments in this futuristic world.”

  —Darque Reviews

  “Pulled in from page one, readers will enjoy the delicious sensuality.”

  —RT Book Reviews, 4½ stars

  “Emotionally charged, passionate and at times volatile, Relentless once again proves that Ms. Dane is a first-class author who is fully capable of delivering exactly the sorts of story lines that readers crave.”

  —Romance Junkies, 5 Blue Ribbons

  “Filled with heat and erotic passion … Relentless is a do-not-miss.”

  —Joyfully Reviewed

  “This terrific science fiction erotic romance is fast-paced and filled with action in and out of the bedroom.”

  —Midwest Book Review

  “Fiery, erotic and rich with plot, this book is definitely a keeper on my shelf.”

  —Night Owl Reviews

  Undercover

  “Delicious eroticism … a toe-curling erotic romance sure to keep you reading late into the night.”

  —Anya Bast

  “Sexy, pulse-pounding adventure … that’ll leave you weak in the knees.”

  —Jaci Burton, national bestselling author of Taking a Shot

  “Exciting, emotional and arousing … a ride well worth taking.”

  —Sasha White, author of One Weekend

  “A roller coaster of emotion, intrigue and sensual delights.”

  —Vivi Anna, author of The Vampire’s Kiss

  Berkley titles by Lauren Dane

  CAPTIVATED

  HEART OF DARKNESS

  NEVER ENOUGH

  THREE TO TANGO

  (with Emma Holly, Megan Hart, and Bethany Kane)

  MESMERIZED

  INSIDE OUT

  INSATIABLE

  COMING UNDONE

  LAID BARE

  RELENTLESS

  UNDERCOVER

  lauren dane

  heat | new york

  THE BERKLEY PUBLISHING GROUP

  Published by the Penguin Group

  Penguin Group (USA) Inc.

  375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014, USA

  Penguin Group (Canada), 90 Eglinton Avenue East, Suite 700, Toronto, Ontario M4P 2Y3, Canada (a division of Pearson Penguin Canada Inc.) • Penguin Books Ltd., 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England • Penguin Group Ireland, 25 St. Stephen’s Green, Dublin 2, Ireland (a division of Penguin Books Ltd.) • Penguin Group (Australia), 250 Camberwell Road, Camberwell, Victoria 3124, Australia (a division of Pearson Australia Group Pty. Ltd.) • Penguin Books India Pvt. Ltd., 11 Community Centre, Panchsheel Park, New Delhi—110 017, India • Penguin Group (NZ), 67 Apollo Drive, Rosedale, Auckland 0632, New Zealand (a division of Pearson New Zealand Ltd.) • Penguin Books (South Africa) (Pty.) Ltd., 24 Sturdee Avenue, Rosebank, Johannesburg 2196, South Africa

  Penguin Books Ltd., Registered Offices: 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England

  This book is an original publication of The Berkley Publishing Group.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental. The publisher does not have any control over and does not assume any responsibility for author or third-party websites or their content.

  Copyright © 2012 by Lauren Dane.

  Cover photograph by Claudio Marinesco.

  Cover design by Rita Frangie.

  Text design by Kristin del Rosario.

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without permission. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the author’s rights. Purchase only authorized editions.

  HEAT and the HEAT design are trademarks of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.

  PRINTING HISTORY

  Heat trade paperback edition / May 2012

  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

  Dane, Lauren.

  Captivated / Lauren Dane. — Heat trade paperback ed.

  p. cm.

  ISBN: 978-1-101-56887-3

  1. Imaginary wars and battles—Fiction I. Title.

  PS3604.A5C37 2012

  813’.6—dc23 2011040585

  PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

  10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

  ALWAYS LEARNING

  PEARSON

  This one goes out to all the fans of

  the Federation Chronicles.

  Thank you all so very much for supporting these books

  and allowing me to continue to write futuristics.

  Acknowledgments

  First and foremost, my thanks always go to my husband, who is my biggest cheerleader even though I hardly ever kill people off the way he suggests I should.

  To Laura Bradford, my agent and my friend, for all the hard work you do for me every day.

  I really can’t overemphasize how important it is to an author to have a great fit with her editors, and in Leis Pederson I am so very fortunate. Thank you, Leis, for being shiny and awesome.

  And a big giant thank-you to Fatin, Mary and Renee, who kindly beta read this (and many other of my books) and gave me so much wonderful input.

  Table of Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

 
; Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Author’s Note

  Chapter 1

  She rocked because it brushed her hair over her skin. It was the only way sometimes that she remembered she was still there. The sound of her feet shuffling across the floor, the way the blanket felt when she pulled it around herself tight, the songs she sang in her head—she knew she was real.

  They wanted her to forget. Wanted her to forget she existed before they brought her here. They wanted to break her and tear her from reality, but she would not let them win. Because if they won, it meant she’d cease to believe she was real.

  She was real.

  She was real.

  She was real.

  “My name is Hannah Black. My parents are Shelby and Bertram Black. My name day is in midsummer as the grain is above my head.”

  She spoke to herself to hear the noise. Her voice was rusty, and she wondered if she even sounded remotely human anymore. She repeated the words her mother taught her in the time before she started at school. Several times every day, because it helped her remember the person she was. Before. When she got up every day and went to work. When people spoke to her, touched her, when she laughed with friends at large dinner parties. It was real and they would never take it from her.

  A banging noise. She didn’t bother to look. They liked to taunt her sometimes. She didn’t know if they realized the isolation was less when they made sound, but she never responded in any case. There were some lab workers who tried to help when they could. And others who liked to harm when they could.

  Some of the latter liked to underline how much power they had over her. Just in case it was a physical lesson she slunk from her cot and headed to her corner, taking her blanket with her. Once, in the very beginning when they still interacted with her, they tried to take it and she took something from the guard instead. She smiled to herself. She kept her blanket and he had a prosthetic eye.

  Of course then they’d gassed her room so she was unconscious when they came in. But they never tried to take her blanket again. And from then on they’d used the gas before anyone entered. Fear made a well-learned lesson. Her father used to tell her that so she whispered it to herself over and over as she rocked.

  The door slammed open and she looked cautiously through the veil of her hair. It had been a long time—months—since she’d seen another person. Klaxons rang in the background and when she truly saw him, she knew he wasn’t one of them. She backed up, trying to make herself smaller.

  “My name is Vincenz Cuomo and I’m here to help you. I’m a Federation military officer, and we’re about to blow this place up. Do you want to live?”

  It took a moment to focus on the words. It had been a very long time since anyone had actually spoken to her. She was afraid to speak. Afraid they’d hurt her. She licked her lips and gripped the bed to stand on legs fear had rendered a trembling mass.

  She nodded her head and took a step toward him. Willing herself to believe it was real. Willing herself to believe this wasn’t a trick and she was getting out of this chamber of horrors. But her legs didn’t support her very well and she had to hold on to the bed to keep standing.

  Klaxons. Something was happening. Panic began to eat her insides. What if he got impatient and left?

  But he didn’t leave. He took a step to her and caught her against his body. She gasped and began to shake all over at the glory of the contact.

  “I have to pick you up. Is that all right?” His words were firm, but gentle. He wanted to make her better. She understood this in her belly. Though she wasn’t sure if she could trust it anymore, she knew this might be her only chance to get out.

  So she managed another nod, ignoring the nausea. He gently swung her up into his arms, and she put her head on his chest as he rushed out, his heartbeat against her ear steady and strong. She swam into the rhythm of that sound, held on.

  There were orders being shouted over his comm, but he remained absolutely resolute as he brought them away from the labs, taking the inner stairwell. Up and up. She jiggled and held on. Nothing mattered but getting out of there. Then staying free.

  Outside. Light. She moved her face away from the shelter of his chest and looked around. Her eyes hurt but it didn’t matter.

  He spoke to others about her, but didn’t put her down.

  He called her a victim. She felt like a wild animal. She clutched the pieces of herself tightly. A group of people came out onto the roof—soldiers. A woman with them looked to Hannah and started. Hannah wondered briefly just what she must have looked like.

  The pretty man with the long, dark hair had been giving orders and then he made a sound that wrenched her heart. She knew the sound. Made it herself. There was yelling as Hannah saw the scene play out as if it were on a vid screen.

  There was weapons fire and the man shoved the woman who’d been staring at Hannah down to the pavement. In the cockpit of the bird that had landed, the one she was hoping to escape in, a dead man slumped against the seat, blood a bloom of crimson across his chest.

  She didn’t scream. Screaming would call attention to herself. So she clung tight to her savior as they crawled toward the woman looking toward the bird, screaming. Vincenz tried to put Hannah down, but she clutched at him tighter, not knowing if she could face being alone, even though she saw the screaming, weeping woman with the braids needed his help.

  He crooned to the weeping woman and dragged her to a nearby doorway. Hannah had to concentrate very hard not to tear at his uniform to keep hold of him. There was no way she’d go back in the building. She’d jump off the helipad and end her life before she’d go inside again.

  Her muscles tensed and Vincenz made eye contact. “I’m not going to leave you. Do you understand me?” She swallowed hard and believed.

  He held the other woman, Piper, she heard him call her, but didn’t let go of Hannah. Spent shells rained down, the sunlight glittered from them with deadly beauty. Plas-rockets were being shot off time and again and the air stank. The humming lived in her belly. The helo hummed, the plas weapons hummed, there was shouting and shooting and that hummed too. All around them weapons fire hit the ground. Pieces of it tore into her leg but she didn’t cry out.

  And then it was over. The other man came to gather Piper and they headed toward the helo. The man who’d been killed had been covered with a drape. The woman sat, staring. No longer screaming. It smelled like blood and burning things as the soldiers spoke in clipped tones. Panicked reports came over an in-dash comm system. The Parron Governance Portal was telling everyone to get out and do it now.

  If she died, at least it would be as a free woman.

  But if she lived, she’d spend every moment from then on working to destroy the people who did this to her. They’d stolen her life from her for how long she wasn’t exactly sure. Made her into little more than a scared animal, always reacting.

  There would be a reckoning. How she’d manage it, when, she didn’t know. But the knowledge of it, sure and deadly, lived in her belly, keeping her going.

  Then there was a shaky landing and she was carried—again by Vincenz—into yet another ship. It all seemed to go very fast. She could scent the panic, knew people were worried they wouldn’t make it out. But she turned it all off and looked only at his face as he gave and took orders. He wasn’t panicked so she could hold on.

  He had her.

  Their bird took off. There was more chaos, noise from what sounded like a series of explosions, shouting over the comms to get out, get out, get out,
and they were through the portal.

  Once things had smoothed as the transport had fully engaged and they were safely in the portal, Vincenz carried her deeper into the ship, waving away anyone who tried to take her. She held him fiercely; though her eyes were screwed tight and her muscles trembled, she wanted to survive and he would help her with that.

  He managed to sit down while still carrying her. “Have you traveled via portal before?” He spoke to her softly but firmly, and she slowly opened her eyes.

  She nodded.

  “Can you speak?”

  She paused, as if she didn’t know. “Yes.” Her voice was full of snags and burrs.

  “I’m going to strap in so I need to touch you.”

  Her fingers tightened in his shirt and then he saw her force herself to relax enough to let go. What had they done to her?

  “You can stay in my lap. We’re just going to hit some disturbances in the energy flow. They’ve collapsed the portal on Parron so we need to move far more quickly.” He strapped them both in as he explained.

  She nodded.

  “What’s your name?” He’d seen it on the log back at the lab, but he didn’t want to lose her and she seemed so very far away in her mind right then. Fear lived in her gaze as she scanned the room.

  “My name is Hannah Black.” She paused as if she wanted to say more, but then didn’t.

  “Hannah, my name is Vincenz. I said it back there, but it was sort of hectic. You’re safe now. No one is going to hurt you.”

  She looked doubtful but didn’t say much. Her color had risen to something close to normal, which he was encouraged by. Andrei held Piper and they shared a look. Piper had broken down utterly after seeing what happened to her brother and Andrei had given her a sedative. He rocked with her, slowly, rubbing a hand up and down her back.

  His friend had found something entirely wonderful in Piper Roundtree. Vincenz hoped it would help Piper get through the grief.

  “Would you like something to eat?” She was thin. He could feel her bones, so very close to her skin. Fragile, and yet he sensed she was a very strong woman despite that. Maybe because of that.