Read Online GABRIEL (The Innerworld Affairs Series, Book 4) by Marilyn Campbell - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Marilyn Campbell
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her back, bringing her closer. The pressure of his splayed fingers on her bottom held her firmly against him and she gave in to the temptation to rise on tiptoes to better fit their bodies together. Her hands roamed impatiently over his back, relaying her own wish for more.
Tearing his mouth away from hers, he whispered in a voice hoarse with rampant desire, "Someone could come in here at any time. We should go back."
She swayed in his arms as the sensual fog cleared from her mind. Holy stars! What had she done? Her body continued to throb with the need for immediate satisfaction but her mind was jangling alarms. The moment he released her to retrieve the bag of sweets he had dropped, Shara hurried back the way they had come.
Gabriel smiled as he fell in behind her and quickened his own pace. After their rough start, he was reassured to see her in as much of a hurry to seek privacy as he was. He must not be as unappealing to her as she had led him to believe.
His reassurance was abruptly shattered as she entered her sleeper and the door slid closed before he could follow her inside.
"Shara?" When she didn't respond, his tone changed to a demand. "Shara! Open this door." It whooshed open again but she stood blocking the doorway, as though she could keep him from entering if he really wished to do so. The delicious chocoberry color of her eyes was marred by streaks of angry yellow. "What's going on?"
She lifted her chin defiantly. "Maybe you should tell me. One minute we were talking and the next, you... you had your hands on me again."
"I what ? I distinctly remember you being involved back there. If you want proof, I probably still have impressions of your nails in my back. You were just as prepared to couple as I was."
She spun away from him, hugging herself against his words. "Couple? I hardly know you. Why would I want to couple with you?"
Stepping inside the sleeper, he waited for the door to close before replying. "Know me? What does knowing me have to do with coupling? I've coupled with females who don't even know my name."
"Employees of the Indulgence Center are paid well to overlook their customers' shortcomings. My gifts carry a price also, but it's nothing so simple as signing over a number of credits. When I share pleasure with a man, it will be because there's a mutual caring, a meeting of the minds as well as the bodies... a relationship. You and I have nothing in common. You must have done something to my mind to make me forget that so easily. I should have expected as much from someone raised in Parson's Colony."
He yanked her around to face him, fury tightening his throat. "And I should have known better than to trust a Terran. How dare you twist my confidence into a weapon against me? I told you I have no power. Nothing! I can't even keep you from crawling inside my brain without an artificial device. I'm untalented, but still a Noronian, which means I do not lie, and that's more than I can say for you." He let go of her arm, moved to the door and slammed his palm against the control panel.
Before exiting, he turned to her once more. "You're right about one thing. We certainly don't have anything in common. I am completely rational. Don't fret about giving away any of your precious gifts. I wouldn't want to chance freezing to death."
A moment after the door closed behind Gabriel, Shara slumped down onto her bunk. She couldn't believe what she had just done. It had been wrong to strike out at him when it was herself she was furious with. All she wanted was to avoid repeating old mistakes. Professor Gabriel Drumayne was another man interested in her only for what she could do for him.
She had previously come to the conclusion that if she didn't couple with a man, she wouldn't get emotionally involved and thus, he couldn't cause her pain. The ache in her chest was proof that she was wrong about that too.
What had come over her? She should never have let herself get carried away like that. She
Tearing his mouth away from hers, he whispered in a voice hoarse with rampant desire, "Someone could come in here at any time. We should go back."
She swayed in his arms as the sensual fog cleared from her mind. Holy stars! What had she done? Her body continued to throb with the need for immediate satisfaction but her mind was jangling alarms. The moment he released her to retrieve the bag of sweets he had dropped, Shara hurried back the way they had come.
Gabriel smiled as he fell in behind her and quickened his own pace. After their rough start, he was reassured to see her in as much of a hurry to seek privacy as he was. He must not be as unappealing to her as she had led him to believe.
His reassurance was abruptly shattered as she entered her sleeper and the door slid closed before he could follow her inside.
"Shara?" When she didn't respond, his tone changed to a demand. "Shara! Open this door." It whooshed open again but she stood blocking the doorway, as though she could keep him from entering if he really wished to do so. The delicious chocoberry color of her eyes was marred by streaks of angry yellow. "What's going on?"
She lifted her chin defiantly. "Maybe you should tell me. One minute we were talking and the next, you... you had your hands on me again."
"I what ? I distinctly remember you being involved back there. If you want proof, I probably still have impressions of your nails in my back. You were just as prepared to couple as I was."
She spun away from him, hugging herself against his words. "Couple? I hardly know you. Why would I want to couple with you?"
Stepping inside the sleeper, he waited for the door to close before replying. "Know me? What does knowing me have to do with coupling? I've coupled with females who don't even know my name."
"Employees of the Indulgence Center are paid well to overlook their customers' shortcomings. My gifts carry a price also, but it's nothing so simple as signing over a number of credits. When I share pleasure with a man, it will be because there's a mutual caring, a meeting of the minds as well as the bodies... a relationship. You and I have nothing in common. You must have done something to my mind to make me forget that so easily. I should have expected as much from someone raised in Parson's Colony."
He yanked her around to face him, fury tightening his throat. "And I should have known better than to trust a Terran. How dare you twist my confidence into a weapon against me? I told you I have no power. Nothing! I can't even keep you from crawling inside my brain without an artificial device. I'm untalented, but still a Noronian, which means I do not lie, and that's more than I can say for you." He let go of her arm, moved to the door and slammed his palm against the control panel.
Before exiting, he turned to her once more. "You're right about one thing. We certainly don't have anything in common. I am completely rational. Don't fret about giving away any of your precious gifts. I wouldn't want to chance freezing to death."
A moment after the door closed behind Gabriel, Shara slumped down onto her bunk. She couldn't believe what she had just done. It had been wrong to strike out at him when it was herself she was furious with. All she wanted was to avoid repeating old mistakes. Professor Gabriel Drumayne was another man interested in her only for what she could do for him.
She had previously come to the conclusion that if she didn't couple with a man, she wouldn't get emotionally involved and thus, he couldn't cause her pain. The ache in her chest was proof that she was wrong about that too.
What had come over her? She should never have let herself get carried away like that. She
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