Free Braden by Allyson James Page A

be final,
no turning back. Do you understand?”
    Lady t’Lenka pulled Elisa to her feet as she spoke. Elisa
looked into her shrewd eyes. “Yes, m’lady. I understand. It’s what I need to
do.”
    Formality over, Lady t’Lenka pulled Elisa into a
sandalwood-scented embrace. “Go with the goddess’s blessing, my dear.” She
smiled at Elisa, eyes twinkling. “And for heaven’s sake, enjoy yourself.”
    Elisa kissed her cheek, bowed as she’d been taught and
turned away, her heart beating hard with excitement.
    * * * * *
    “Lady of my dreams,” Braden said when he answered his
terminal a day later. “Did you call to torture me some more? Have pity on your
poor Shareem. I’m running out of lube.”
    “No.” On the other side of the blurry screen, Elisa n’Arell
drew a breath. “I called to hire you.”

Chapter Seven
     
    Braden came alert, his adrenaline spiking off the scale.
“Like I said, sweetheart. You’re torturing me.”
    “I want you to do whatever it is you do. With me. Teach me.
Please.”
    The little please made his cock jump. “Darlin’, I
have a huge hard-on, and I might have to make you relieve it.” Braden forced
his voice to be careless, but he cared. Damn did he care. “You’re a celibate.
Certified, registered—whatever it is you do.”
    “I’ve gotten a dispensation.”
    Oh, hell. “You know you’re killing me, love.”
    “I’m not teasing.” Elisa watched him intently, the bad
console distorting her lovely features. “Is there some kind of contract we need
to negotiate?”
    “What?” Braden dragged his mind back from his fantasies.
“No, no. This is just between us, sweet baby.”
    “All right, then what do I do? Meet you at Judith’s bar?”
Elisa blushed. “I beg your pardon. I’m new at this. I’m not sure how to
approach you.”
    I beg your pardon. Gods above, he was going to die.
    Braden drew a breath and suppressed every hormone screaming
at him. This couldn’t be real. He had to be asleep. This was a dream—a
cock-hardening, come-inducing dream. But no, there she was, on his crappy
console, wide-eyed and asking him to be Shareem with her.
    Every muscle fought him as he reached toward the keypad.
“Sorry, sweetheart,” he heard himself say. “I’m going to be busy for a while.”
    His finger didn’t want to press the disconnect button.
Braden almost had to force it with his other hand, his finger shaking like
crazy.
    Elisa gave him a shocked look, and then the screen went
black.
    Braden’s groan turned into a cry of anguish. His hand went
to his cock, but it ached so much that touching brought more pain.
    Elisa would call back. That was the game. Braden was level
three. He had to make her beg for him. It was procedure.
    Besides, he couldn’t really believe that a celibate, a
declared one, had decided to throw off her robes and go for him. It had to be a
trick, some way to lure Braden into committing the ultimate crime—touching a
celibate. The patrollers wouldn’t be able to terminate him fast enough, and
maybe they’d terminate a few other Shareem with him just to prove a point.
    Justin came out of his bedroom, a look of concern on his
face. “You all right? I heard you bellowing like a hurt elephant.”
    Braden wasn’t sure what an elephant was—some kind of
creature from Sirius III probably—but if it sounded anything like Braden in
anguish, he pitied it.
    “Lady. Trying to hire me.”
    “And this hurts you?”
    “I want her,” Braden said. “I want her so bad.”
    “And she obviously wants you if she asked to hire you.
What’s the problem?”
    “You’ve been off planet a long time. Shareem don’t get to
have any woman they want. And if you’re level three, making them want you is what you do.”
    Justin stared. “Damn, I’m glad I’m level two.”
    “Yeah, but this is Bor Narga. Even if the lady says yes, you
walk the risk. And right now is a bad time to risk.”
    “Why?”
    Justin didn’t know Rees’ plans. Rees knew that