Free No Rules by Jenna McCormick Page B

with her. It was petty, but she’d feel like less of a parasite if he was just as flawed. She might be a weak and disgusting creature, but so was he, and she only needed to get him back into bed to prove it.
    Patiently, Alison walked by his side, feigning interest in the ship’s various services. Every luxury she’d ever imagined was offered, beauty treatments from old provincial to DNA contouring. She could become someone else entirely, someone taller, thinner, blond, and beautiful.
    But for the first time in her vanity-driven life, Alison wasn’t worried about her exterior. Because a man she truly wanted, a man capable of incredible generosity and kindness, desired her just as she was. She couldn’t even resent him, or his money, because his every word, his every glance, was focused on her. She’d tried to buy him a shirt made from that celestial material, to make up for the one she’d damaged, but he’d refused. Did he want her to feel inferior, indebted to him? His lack of demands only doubled her guilt and unease.
    Consumed by the need to even their playing field, she pulled him into a private sauna a deck above theirs and stripped off her fabulous dress. One thing that was not universal: undergarments. She sashayed up to his side, wrapped her arms around his neck, her invitation clear.
    His hands cupped her shoulders, held her at a distance. “Alison, don’t.”
    â€œWhy not?” She skimmed her hands over her breasts, her nipples puckered with desire. “If this is the only way you’ll let me repay you, I’ve got my work cut out for me.”
    â€œNo.” He shook his head, bent, and picked up her dress. “Not like this.”
    She glanced around the small steam room in confusion. “You mean here?”
    He extended the hand clutching the material, not meeting her eyes. “I mean, not for repayment. I told you, I don’t want that.”
    The fingers that wrapped around the dress were numb. “You mean you don’t want me.”
    He didn’t contradict her, and even despite the heat she shivered. Maybe she should have booked an appointment for the DNA contouring after all. Another possibility occurred to her. What if it had nothing to do with her body, but instead with what she’d told him? It had been a calculated risk, opening herself up to him that way, but she thought he’d appreciate her honesty.
    It looked like she’d thought wrong.
    Pulling her beautiful dress back on, she moved past him out into the common corridor. He fell into step beside her silently, both of them lost in their own thoughts.
    She knew without a doubt that she was his captive now. If he refused to take her body in trade, she had no cards left to play. It was one thing to be a whore, another to be a whore no one wanted.
    Fighting tears, she strode into her quarters. He hesitated at the threshold. “Thank you for accompanying me.”
    â€œOf course.” She couldn’t look at him, didn’t want him to see how much his rejection stung.
    â€œDo you need anything?”
    You. The idle thought stuck in her head. He had all the power. She wanted him more than he desired her, he had the money, the connections. She was completely without value, a pet that he locked up when he went off to do whatever it was he did. She had only one option left, the most unpalatable of all.
    She had to tell him the truth.
    Staring at the starscape she whispered, “Please don’t take me to the empaths. They’ll kill me.”
    He didn’t reply, but she heard the hiss of the door shutting, sensed he was still in the room. Playing games no longer made sense; he was on a winning streak. Better to throw herself on his mercy and hope he had some.
    His hand landed on her shoulder, and she fought the flinch. It wasn’t a sexual gesture, but one of comfort and connection. One she didn’t deserve.
    Spinning her to face him, he tilted her chin