Free Unbound by Kay Danella

sinking deep into Asrial’s cells and leaving her replete. Not a single muscle left tense in her body. She sighed happily. What a difference a real lover made compared to a pleasure wand!
    The weight between her thighs eased up.
    Romir lowered himself to the floor, as if settling in for a long wait—or for the night. He did so quietly, behaving as though it were a matter of course. Were grounders so submissive?
    He couldn’t be serious! She couldn’t imagine making the man who’d just pleasured her so well spend the night sitting on the floor beside her bunk. Only a slave would have accepted such treatment; no spacer would have stood for it. Asrial frowned down at him, uncomfortable that he’d done so without objection. “You can use a bunk in one of the other cabins.”
    He shook his head. “I have no need for sleep.”
    She stared at him, but he just sat there, as if it were nothing out of the ordinary. Rather like how she might imagine a slave would behave. He hadn’t even mentioned the possibility of him taking release. “I can’t sleep with you like that.”
    The silence stretched out, while cryptic thoughts flickered behind his silver eyes. “As you will.” He came to his feet with that unnatural fluidity, his face blank of emotion. Once again, the door slid aside without him touching the lock panel.
    Asrial made a mental note to add checking the electronics to her unending list of things to fix.
    “Lights, off.”
    She snuggled down and tried to sleep. Though her body continued to hum, replete with pleasure, her mind was too busy to power off. It just felt awkward having a man in her cabin, much less one sitting on the floor like some frigging slave. But inviting him to share her bunk would have been just as awkward. Most times, when a man warmed her sheets, it was on station, and she made sure he left the Castel before she slept. Though insisting Romir use one of the other cabins seemed callous when he hadn’t even finished, it was the least distasteful of her options.
    But his face haunted her, that lack of expression after their intimacies. There’d been no anger nor offense, all emotion carefully swept behind a wall of calm. His measured dispassion stood in sharp contrast to his shock at her invitation. That reinforced her impression of sincerity. Despite that other night, he clearly hadn’t expected anything more from her. Certainly he didn’t act like he believed it had given him a right to her bed.
    But why hadn’t he mounted her? She’d thought her invitation clear in that respect. She hadn’t expected him to service her like some pleasure bod. What man wouldn’t seek release for himself, especially when he’d already brought her to orgasm?
    Was that a clue to his history? Had he acted that way because of training? Had he escaped service as a pleasure bod? Was that why he’d been on Maj? Her suspicions seemed to fit the pieces. It would explain why he knew nothing about space.
    Had she mistaken his willingness to share pleasure with her? Had he serviced her simply because he’d thought she expected payment?
    No, Romir welcomed her invitation. She hadn’t read that wrong. He’d been shocked but not upset; she would have wagered the Castel on it. She pummeled her pillow in search of the proper softness to lure sleep, wishing it would silence the doubts, too.
    Anyway, what was she supposed to do with him? She could understand why he stowed away on the Castel —it was his best chance to get off Maj—but he didn’t seem to have any destination in mind. He didn’t mention any plans for after he left the Castel .
    Asrial turned over, troubled by the course of her thoughts. She couldn’t simply dump him in the first station she stopped at. He looked like a grounder and acted just as clueless. Only the Spirit of space knew what would happen to him if she did that. Despite herself, she couldn’t help feeling responsible for him. If she just abandoned him, he’d probably end up a pleasure