Braden by Allyson James Read Free Book Online Page A

vainglorious idiot I’d ever met. He
didn’t want to do anything with me any longer and became nasty to my friends
and family. He was a mean, petty little monster. He was already spending my
money on off-world courtesans and in gambling hells. I could have closed my
eyes to it and lived a separate life—many married couples do—but I decided I
didn’t want to waste my life and my marriage on him.”
    Braden’s look turned approving. “Good for you. What a
fuckwad.”
    His anger on her behalf filled Elisa with warmth. Everyone
else—her mother and friends, even those Morgan had treated like dirt—had
wondered why Elisa had minded. As long as Morgan provided her with an heir, who
cared?
    “My mother was furious,” she said. “ His parents were
furious. His family is pretty powerful, and we’d already signed all the
agreements. They threatened to sue me for breach of contract.”
    “So, a fuckwad, son of fuckwads.”
    “After much pondering, I decided to tell everyone the Way of
the Sky had called me. I’d chosen to give up marriage altogether to follow the
path. Once I declared myself, and a spiritual advisor approved me, I was
untouchable. Celibacy is the highest calling for a Bor Nargan woman, and no one
dares interfere with it.”
    Braden looked at her with quiet respect. “It was a hell of a
decision to make.”
    “Not really. I was a virgin and celibate anyway—my fiancé
had no interest in touching me, nor I him. Taking the robes just made it
official.”
    “No.” Braden’s eyes saw too much. “It was a sacrifice. It’s
in you, Elisa…that need for passion.”
    Elisa sat still, absorbing his words and thinking about what
she had denied herself. It hadn’t seemed a sacrifice when she’d taken the robes,
a relief, rather. No one could ever use her for her money and family; no man
could expect her to support him while he pursued his disgusting sexual games.
    Before she’d met Braden, that’s what sex was—disgusting.
    But Braden, sitting beside her, flesh and bone, was anything
but. Sex to him was joy, pleasure, warmth.
    Slowly, Elisa moved her hand from her ale glass and rested
it over his.
    Braden didn’t move, didn’t speak. Elisa brushed her fingers
across his hand, feeling firm bones and sinew.
    “You think it was sacrifice because you are Shareem,” she
said. “I read that your metabolisms are faster than a human’s, and so you must
have intercourse in order to burn off the excess adrenaline. You can’t not .”
    “That’s true. We fuck or die.”
    “So it’s not wrong for you. It’s natural.”
    Braden hooked one of his fingers around her forefinger,
capturing it. “It’s not wrong for you either,” he said. “You can make yourself
believe that, but it’s not.”
    Take it, his gaze said. Touch me, take what you
want and I’ll teach you what you need.
    Elisa imagined letting her fingers drift all the way up his
arm and across his chest. She’d dip into the V of his tunic, touching the heat
of his body. She imagined Braden skimming off his tunic to let her better
explore him. Then, daringly, she’d lean down and lick his skin.
    It would taste a bit salty, damp with sweat. She’d touch his
nipple with her tongue…
    And there her imagination failed, because she had no idea
what he would feel or taste like. Heady, that was for certain.
    Even headier to move her fingers down between his legs, to
explore what she’d only read about, a penis rigid under her hand. How would that feel?
    She knew she shouldn’t be having these feelings, questions
and ideas, not while she was a declared celibate in the Way of the Sky. But
they poured over her, one after another.
    Braden watched, eyes fully blue, as though he read her
thoughts. Shareem could sense pheromones and knew when a woman wanted them. And
all women wanted Shareem, all the time.
    Elisa drew a quick breath. “My turn for a question.”
    “Suit yourself, babe. What?”
    She swallowed, reaching for a question that had