Deep, Hard, and Rough by Jenika Snow Read Free Book Online Page A

like this damn carnivorous world was trying to
hold her back, sucking the life-force from her until she was nothing but an
empty shell. She peered through an opening in the bushes, and her heart sped
up.
    Dozens of ships were scattered throughout the murky
blackness of the desert. All of them were monstrous contraptions, but only one
seemed to be ready for takeoff. Closest to her with the back hatch open, like a
sign from the gods, sat a fine piece of machinery. It wasn’t the biggest, but
it certainly was the newest and most advanced. She could still hear male voices,
but they appeared to be on the other side of the ship, where they could not see
her. This had to be a sign from fate. Could it really be this easy to just run
up and climb aboard? Wariness slammed into her, wrapping its icy fingers around
her and forcing her to lower herself to the ground again. Nothing on the planet
of red dust was easy, but she would die if she didn’t at least try.
    You
can do this. You can do this.
    Anything had to be better than what she faced if she
stayed here. Looking around to make sure she wouldn’t be caught, Luna stood slowly
and limped as quickly and quietly as she could toward the ship. Once she was
right beside it, she pressed herself against the cold metal and held her
breath. The baritone voices spoke in a language unfamiliar to her, and a
prickling of recognition filled her, but she pushed it away and only focused on
survival. Using all her upper body strength, Luna hauled herself onto the platform and made her way quickly to the back of the ship. Thick piles
of rope were haphazardly scattered across the floor, and she tripped over it.
Holding her breath and stalling her movements, it was imperative no one heard
her disastrous move. When there wasn’t a chorus of shouts that her position had
been revealed, she let out a relieved breath. That was all she needed right
now, to be found stealing a ride.
    She squeezed between two large barrels and prayed they
would hide her until they landed, wherever that may be. All Luna knew was that
if she stayed another night on this planet she wouldn’t survive. Pain sliced
through her arm, and she looked down at it. A large gash ran up the length from
whatever she had landed on when Maximo tackled her. Other various scrapes and
cuts littered her arms and legs from the thorny branches in her haste to escape,
but it was minimal compared to what could have happened. Her face throbbed, and
she lifted her hand and gently ran her finger along her cheek. Pain assaulted
her. The tissue surrounding her eye felt swollen to the point that she could
barely see out of it. Closing her eyes, exhaustion settled heavily within her. Dreaming
sounded so much better than reality.
    ****
    Erak sat in the control center of his ship and
started the engines. They had finished loading up and were now on their way to
depart from the planet of red dust. His brothers sat beside him.
    “Ready, brothers?” Erak
spoke into the microphone by his mouth, the sound traveling to each of their earpieces.   They all gave their confirmation that it was
safe to ascend. As the engines warmed up, the power could be felt throughout
the entire craft. It was a welcome feeling for Erak, a powerful one. As the
ship started to lift, Erak switched on the exterior lights. Bright beams
illuminated the vast expanse of desert in front of them. Navigating their way around
other ships, each brother did the important job of making sure everything worked
properly and without fault. The higher they went, the more the pressure in the
cabin increased.
    “Genet, switch on the pressure minimizing latch.”
Erak could hear the hiss of the inner pressure being equalized. The cockpit
went from minimally uncomfortable to leveling within a few seconds. Then the
inky darkness started became brighter with the illumination of the stars. Once
they were in space and stabilized, Erak and his brothers set the craft on autopilot.
Erak stood and stared out