Braden Read Online Free PDF

he
didn’t pull away but wound his fingers through the other man’s hand.
    “That’s Aiden and Ky,” Braden said. “Aiden’s the beauty,
Ky’s the beast. The lady they’re both pawing is Brianne d’Aroth.”
    Elisa stared in astonishment. The d’Aroths were Bor Narga’s
ruling family, Brianne the granddaughter of the lady who ran the entire planet.
    Brianne had scandalized Bor Narga not long ago by jilting
her fiancé and moving to Pas City. She’d proclaimed her intention of looking
into the mistreatment of Shareem and started working hard at it. Because of
Brianne d’Aroth, Braden had been allowed to enter Elisa’s library.
    The third Shareem she saw was taller than the others and had
a face that looked as though it had been sculpted, then ruined, then repaired
again. The result was a face similar to Ky’s—raw handsomeness with a touch of
brutality.
    This third Shareem also had a lady with him, but she wore a
work coverall rather than robes. The two sat together at a tall table, and the
woman, like Brianne, was being quietly fondled by her Shareem.
    “This is Calder,” Braden said, leading Elisa to the table.
“The Shareem who passes for my best friend. And his lady, Katarina.”
    “The medic,” Elisa realized. “Katarina d’Arnal.”
    “That’s me.” The woman smiled. “The sacrificing woman who
came to the slums to treat Shareem.”
    “As long as the only Shareem you treat is me,” Calder
rumbled. “Unless it’s with my permission.”
    Elisa wasn’t sure what to make of the exchange, but Katarina
winked at Braden even as she blushed.
    “Introduce us before she thinks you’re rude, Braden,”
Katarina said.
    Braden helped Elisa to a chair, piled her robes on an empty
stool and sat down next to her. Very close, his thigh and shoulder touching
Elisa’s.
    “This is Elisa,” Braden said. He grinned. “She’s a
librarian.”
    He said it as proudly as a man would proclaim that his lady
was on the ruling council.
    Calder’s Shareem gaze flickered, which he covered by seizing
the glass of foaming ale a red-haired woman deposited in front of him. The
server’s loose coverall was unfastened to her waist, so that her breasts
tantalized from the shadows.
    “Let her have a drink, Braden,” the woman said, plopping
another glass of ale in front of Elisa. “It’s hot, if you hadn’t noticed, and
she’s probably thirsty. She’ll need all the fortification she can get to deal
with you.”
    Braden accepted his ale and winked at the woman. “Judith,
love, I haven’t heard you insult me all day. Don’t scare my librarian away.”
    “I don’t have to,” Judith said. “You can do that all by
yourself.” She sauntered away, putting an extra wiggle in her hips.
    “She loves me,” Braden said. He rested his arm across the
back of Elisa’s chair. “My friends, Elisa so nicely helped me out at the
library a couple weeks ago. Showed this Shareem how to work computers.”
    “Poor woman,” Calder grated. “Did she lose a bet?”
    Braden’s arm was a band of warmth against Elisa’s spine. The
feeling made her giddy, bold. “I thought you said he was your friend,” she said
to Braden.
    Braden grinned. “You see? My lady is appalled at your lack
of manners.”
    Calder shot Elisa a speculative look that was absent of all
banter. Assessing her.
    A Shareem sizing up a highborn lady? Shouldn’t it be the
other way around?
    Shareem were supposed to do as they were told, nothing more.
In spite of their radiant sexuality, they couldn’t instigate sex unless the
lady gave them permission—it was in their genetic programming. That was one
reason Elisa had not been terrified to allow Braden to lead her through Pas
City. Even if he’d cornered her inside his own apartment, he couldn’t touch her
unless Elisa let him.
    Braden had already touched her, yes, but not in an intimate
way. Only her hand and back, and the sensation alone made her want to melt into
a puddle. Elisa sipped ale to wet her