The Gigolo's Bride (The Necklace Chronicles) by R.E. Butler Read Free Book Online

wondering why
it bothered her so much that he'd had a nightmare. He dreamed about her being taken? She shivered at the thought.
    Sleep took a long time to come, and when she
did doze off finally, she dreamed about Eden.
     
    * * * * *
     
    The next morning, Eden put a bowl in front of
her that looked like blood-red oatmeal. She stared down at it. A
bubble rose and popped and she gasped and scooted back in her
chair. Eden chuckled and put a metal spoon in the bowl, stirring it
up. "That's normal. It's fermented, mashed jilo-root , mixed
with the grains of the hoir plant. It's a traditional
morning meal."
    When he stirred it, the color deepened. Her
stomach took that moment to rumble, and she picked up a spoonful
and took a delicate sniff. It smelled mild and slightly bready.
    "What is normal for your people?"
    "Coffee and donuts," she answered. When he
didn't say anything, she looked up and found him waiting for an
explanation. "Oh, uh, coffee is a dark, slightly bitter caffeinated
drink that most people drink in the morning to help them wake up.
And donuts are fried lumps of dough covered in sweet glaze,
sometimes filled with jellies or icings."
    He smiled and hummed in his throat. "I will
try to find things that might be more to your liking, but do try
the dish, it tastes better than it looks."
    "It would have to," she muttered under her
breath. She took a small bite off the end of the spoon, chewed and
swallowed. It tasted very mild, almost like plain cream of wheat,
but with a really lumpy texture like bread pudding. But the color
was just so off-putting. She concentrated on the table in front of
her and ate without looking into the bowl, finding that once she
got used to the taste she could pick up some different flavors. It
was grainy and lightly sweet.
    After breakfast, Eden showed her how to work
the vid, and they watched a movie about his planet. Once more,
instead of sitting next to her on the couch, he sat on the
ottoman.
    The vid was like a documentary, although it
was utterly self-serving, which was probably the point. Like the
one she'd seen in the room with the other women, it was made from
the standpoint of explaining the Norlan world to newcomers. It
showed only the best parts of the land, citing their military's
ability to keep their shores and skies safe, their scientific and
engineering brilliance at space travel, and the incredible beauty
of the land.
    "We'll live there." He gestured to a large
map that popped up on the screen. "Where it says Polona. It’s a
small town outside of the capital of Kyvern City."
    She folded her arms in annoyance. "My home is
back on Earth. I have a nice little apartment that I'd like to get
back to."
    He ignored her snarky comment and said,
"There is a museum within walking distance and a really nice park.
There's not a lot of property, but enough for a small garden, if
you like to do that?"
    She sighed. He was so enthusiastic and sweet
it was hard to be dismissive, especially when he looked like a
wounded puppy. "I never had any place to grow anything. But I might
like it, if I had the time."
    His brown eyes glittered happily when he
looked at her, and he went back to explaining the wonders of the
street that he called home while she groused internally at being
unable to keep him at arm's length. She wondered how the other
women were faring.
    When the vid was over, he said, "What did you
like to do on your planet?"
    "I worked as a daycare teacher."
    "What is 'daycare'?"
    "It's a place where parents can take their
children during the day. Usually, if the parents work, they will
take them to daycare and other adults will watch them, along with
other children their age, and they'll learn and play."
    He nodded, and she said, "Do you have daycare
on your planet?" Although she still wanted to go home, she couldn't
help but wonder...if she was stuck on Norlan, what would she
do?
    Shaking his head, he said, "No. One parent is
home with the children at all times, until they are old