Free The Gigolo's Bride (The Necklace Chronicles) by R.E. Butler Page B

it shone. Taking her hand, she stepped out of their room and
turned to the left.
    She and Sloan entered a transport and Sloan
spoke their destination. As it swiftly moved them through the
levels of the ship, Sloan said, “Kasimir is a big man with a bad
attitude. His mate, Anca, is from the Ghrakin world. She has eyes
like diamonds, and pointed ears. I think the only reason she wanted
to come along on this journey is because she wanted to use Eden
before he became mated."
    Ashleigh felt nauseous. As Sloan spoke about
Kasimir and Anca, she realized how foolish she’d been. If she’d had
an open mind with Eden from the beginning, she would have seen him
for what he was. And she really did like being with him. And she
was powerfully attracted to him. And more than that, she knew that
she loved him. She'd tried to keep herself detached, but he was
impossible not to love.
    The door to Kasimir's quarters opened after
Sloan pressed a pad and requested entrance. Kasimir was huge. Tall
and broad, he had a scar down one side of his face that looked like
it still hurt even though it was clearly healed and old. Sneering
at them from under a dark brow, his thin lips curled up
slightly.
    “Lovely Sloan, who is this beauty?”
    “This is Eden’s bride, Kasimir. She wants to
see him.”
    “He’s not done with my wife.”
    “Please.” Ashleigh looked up at him. “Let me
see Eden.”
    “If you’re really his bride, if you care so
much, why have you been on board for eight dins and he’s
still got blue hair? That makes him a brokah; I don’t care
what the Bordelayz says.”
    Ashleigh didn’t know how to answer that. “I,
uh, needed time, and you took him from me. Let me see him,
please.”
    Kasimir seemed to be considering things and
then finally he said, “What’s one more person enjoying the show
anyway?”
    Much to her dismay, the scene that waited for
her in the large bedroom was much worse than her mind could have
invented. Eden, hair matted to his head with sweat and with fresh
whip marks across his back, was thrusting into the body of a woman
lying on her back while she played with her small breasts and
licked her lips. Couples and groups of men sat around the room on
lounges, some watching intently while others laughed lightly and
whispered.
    She hadn’t meant to make a sound, but a
small, sad gasp left her lips. Eden’s head shot up, and he froze,
eyes locked to hers.
    The woman under him shrieked, “Kas, he’s gone
soft! Do something!”
    The look of utter humiliation on Eden’s face
made Ashleigh’s heart break even further. She barely heard Kasimir
say, “Get the whip,” but the words registered when one of the men
watching stood up and grabbed a lethal-looking whip from a hook on
the wall. Ashleigh screamed, “No! Wait, wait!” She raced to Eden,
to protect him.
    Kasimir regarded her coolly. “You have no
standing here, little Earth girl. You’re not his mate yet and until
he finishes fucking my bride, he’s not going anywhere.”
    The whip unraveled with a slithering sound,
and her brain spun. She absolutely couldn’t watch him get beaten.
Not when she’d been so foolish. “Wait, uh, I can help him.”
    “Help him?” Kasimir asked with an arched
brow.
    “Yes, I can help him get hard again so he can
finish. Obviously I broke his concentration. You don’t need to whip
him.”
    Shrugging, he said, “Suit yourself.”
    She gave a meaningful look at Sloan, who
nodded but looked worried. She turned and climbed up the bed next
to Eden, ignoring the naked woman sprawled out under him. He sat
up, his limp cock sliding from her as she made an angry noise.
Ashleigh cupped his sweaty face with her hands.
    Whispering, she said, “I’m so sorry, Eden,
I’m such a fool.”
    He blinked tear-filled eyes. There was such
pain and loss there. “I deserve this. It’s what I am. All I’m good
for.”
    Shocked, she gripped his face harder. “No,
that’s not true!”
    “If I can’t get my own soul mate to