In Other Worlds Read Online Free Page A

wouldn’t be the one after all. “There’s not much time before I have to return, and I have to take care of this by the morning.”
    â€œWhy?”
    She bit her lip as she felt her face flush again. In the morning, she’d be inspected by Clypper’s doctors. If she didn’t find a man tonight, she was doomed and bound for the altar.
    â€œI just do.” She let her gaze wander over his lush body. He had broad shoulders and a lean, firmly muscled frame. His white hair contrasted sharply to the black he wore.
    He was gorgeous.
    But he didn’t want her.
    So be it . . .
    Adron saw the steely determination in her eyes. She was going to find herself another man to sleep with. He knew it.
    He should let her, and yet . . .
    Why not me? Don’t I deserve something after all I’ve been through?
    One tiny, fucking moment of happiness?
    Ever since he’d lost his agility, he’d avoided women. He’d been afraid of embarrassing himself with his stiff clumsiness and pain. But Livia would have no one to compare him to. She wouldn’t know if he completely sucked in bed.
    Adron gripped his cane. He remembered a time when he could have scooped her up in his arms and run with her to his room. A time when he could have made love to her flawlessly for hours and left her begging him to stay.
    But those days were lost to him forever, and he was trapped inside this broken body.
    One night . . .
    Was that really too much to ask?
    â€œMy bedroom is this way.” He grabbed a bottle of light alcohol and headed down the hallway.
    Livia hesitated as she realized he was inviting her to join him after all.
    Excited and terrified, she followed him down the elegant marble hallway and into a room at the end of it. The master bedroom was every bit as large as her own at home. A king-sized bed was set against the far wall, looking out over the city below them where the lights twinkled like fallen stars.
    He set his bottle down on the nightstand, then moved to a chair by the bed. His features stern, he sat down slowly. Pain made his jaw rigid as he bent his leg and moved to take off his boots.
    She wanted to know what had happened to him but didn’t dare ask for fear of making him angry again.
    So she went to him and took his foot in her hand.
    He looked up at her, his eyes startled as she pulled the boot free.
    â€œYou know, I’ve never done anything like this before,” she whispered.
    â€œSeeing that you’re a virgin, I would think not.” Licking her suddenly dry lips, she removed his other boot.
    Adron could feel her nervousness, her uncertainty, and he wanted to soothe her. “I won’t hurt you, Livia. I promise.”
    She smiled a smile that wrenched his gut. How he wished he’d met her before that fateful night. Then he could have been the lover she deserved. He would have been able to take her all night. Slowly. Teasingly.
    He had no idea what he’d be like now. But he would try to pleasure her. Do his damnedest to make sure her first time was at least a decent memory.
    His groin tight, he pushed himself up and moved slowly to the bed. He sat on the edge and leaned his cane against the wall where he could get to it in the morning.
    Before he knew what she intended, she sat in his lap and kissed him.
    Adron inhaled the sweetness of her breath as he ran his hands over her back. He’d never expected a virgin to be so bold. And she was a quick learner. She deepened her kiss and teased his tongue with hers.
    Oh, yeah, this could be fun.
    He unbuttoned her shirt to expose her lacy bra. She moaned as he ran his hand over her satin-covered breasts and squeezed them gently in his hands. Gah, how he’d missed the way a woman felt in his arms. He was all but drooling at the thought of tasting her breasts.
    Livia shook all over at the foreign throb between her legs. And when he released the catch behind her back and her bra fell open, she shivered. No man had