Ascent Read Online Free Page A

I offered my life to him and he moved in.”
    “Did it hurt?” She bit her lip.
    “It didn’t. It was rather like taking a warm bath from the inside out.”
    She went scarlet. That was how it had felt when they were having sex. The moment that the hot, slick rod of his cock had moved inside her, she had been lost.
    Lili Ann shivered as the memories rippled through her. All of the shopping had caused her skin to regain its earlier sensitivity.
    “Are you cold? The weather is fairly temperate.” He wrapped his arm around her shoulders and pulled her closer to the living furnace of his body.
    “Not cold precisely.” She didn’t want to admit to raging hormones.
    He escorted her through a doorway and into the warm confines of a restaurant. Despite the fairly extensive crowd, they were seated right away.
    The wait staff was so eager, it was almost embarrassing.
    “Is service always so attentive when you come out?”
    He tilted his head, considering. “I suppose so. You get used to it fairly quickly.”
    She chuckled. “I can’t see how.”
    “When everyone treats you as if you are extraordinary, eventually you realize that it isn’t true. The only truth will lie in your own acts and attitude toward those around you.”
    Lili Ann smiled at the ring of conviction in his tone.
    The appetizers arrived with the salad and she worked her way through the tangy and salty salad as well as the tiny little sandwiches that were sitting in front of her.
    “You have a good appetite.”
    “When you fly long distance with sensitive equipment, the only thing you can control is when and if you eat.”
    “And you exerted control over the one thing you could.”
    “Of course. When you can only control one part of your life, you obsess over it.” She shrugged and continued working on the appetizers.
    The waitress came back and removed the salad plates and the appetizers. When she returned with the main courses, Lili Ann’s almost ended up in her lap.
    “I am so sorry, miss.” The look that she shot Lili Ann was dark, but the one she cast toward Yavoy was almost fawning.
    It took Lili less than a minute to figure out that the elegant blue enchantress had been intimate with the Avatar.
    When she wandered off with a sway in her hips, Lili closed her eyes. “How many others are there?”
    He blinked at her in surprise. “What?”
    “How many women running around the city have been in your bed?”
    Realization dawned. “Oh. Four. I tend to take my pleasures out on women who are leaving the planet.”
    She laughed and sipped at the wine that she had been brought. “Oh. Eww.”
    “What is it?”
    “My wine has been dosed with vinegar.”
    He gave her a sceptical look and took a sip. “That is foul.”
    “I thought so. Can I taste yours?” She bit her lip as he gave her a suggestive look.
    He took a sip and handed her his glass. She carefully turned it so that her lips followed in his trace and she sipped at it.
    The waitress took a look at the glass she held and the one still on the table and frowned. When Yavoy raised the glass to his lips, she cried out and slapped it out of his hand.
    The manager appeared at their side. “Please excuse her clumsiness.”
    Lili almost giggled out loud. He had to have been watching from the kitchen doorway. The waitress ran to the back, sobbing as if her heart had been broken.
    “I will attend you for the rest of your visit, Avatar.”
    The manager took over and Lili waited until they were alone before she whispered. “She was one of your lovers.”
    He inclined his head. “She was. Yes. A few months ago.”
    “It ended badly.”
    “I don’t think I formally ended it and that could be the problem.”
    Lili slapped her palm to her forehead. “That would explain it. So, if you always try to keep lovers leaving the planet…why me?”
    “There is something in you that calls to me. You don’t worship me, you stand up to me no matter what dignity or decorum would dictate. That is very