GALLANT (The Innerworld Affairs Series, Book 3) Read Online Free PDF

already fleshing out his idea. "I'd only use her as bait to draw him out then I'd put her safely out of the way." He slowly swiveled his chair around a full circle as he formulated a plan that would allow him to use Cherry and protect her at the same time. He knew Dot wasn't going to like it but he counted on her loyalty and Mar's persuasiveness to keep her from objecting too loudly. "Tell me, Mar, do you still have that slave collar we used on you during the Orvanian uprising?"
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    Cherry felt so much better after taking off her costume and getting cleaned up, she was even considering forgiving Voyager for abducting her... if he apologized nicely enough. He had made excuses for what he had done but had not actually said he was sorry. As she pulled on the stretchy white jumpsuit and slipped on the sandals she had worn with the peasant costume, she decided he would have to rectify that oversight.
    After a few minutes of looking around the facility chamber, she found a drawer of grooming necessities, including a hairbrush with some long, black hairs in it. She only hesitated a second before using it. After all, she figured she'd already slept in the man's bed. How much more intimate could a couple get?
    She quickly fluffed her short hair back into its usual simple style and took a look at herself in the full-length mirror on the back of the door. The jumpsuit was very different from the loose-fitting attire she normally wore. She noted that it was just as comfortable, since it fit like a second skin without being constricting, but it failed to leave any portion of her anatomy to the imagination. She always abided by the theory that the less a person revealed, the more curious everyone else became.
    The outfit was completely seamless with long sleeves and a rounded neckline that scooped low enough to prove she was a woman, albeit a modestly blessed one—unlike her dearest friend, Aster, whose pregnancy only exaggerated what nature had already bestowed on her.
    Cherry remembered the first time she and Aster met. If ever there were two opposites, the two of them fit that description. Aster stood over six feet tall in heels and her body set the standards for the word voluptuous. Where Cherry was outgoing and uninhibited, Aster was shy and retiring. Even their backgrounds were a world apart.
    Cherry was born and raised on a dirt farm in Georgia where a low-income bracket would have been a step up. She and her nine brothers and sisters slept in the same room, and none of them ever laughed, or played, or listened to music for fear the devil would possess their souls.
    At an early age she learned that love was the reason her parents had too many mouths to feed, and love was the motivation behind the rigid rules and severe punishments the children received. Their religious fanaticism was even borne of an excess of love for God. Love was something Cherry was determined to keep out of her life.
    From the day she entered first grade and realized she had a name of her own, Cherry wanted more. Up to that time she had answered to "girl" just as her sisters had. There were no individuals. They were all appendages of one unit commonly referred to as "the chilluns."
    Her dream of becoming someone special had germinated then but wishing it aloud had earned her a beating. Her mother swore she would burn in hell for such thoughts but she couldn't get it out of her head. The first time she saw a motion picture, she knew she wanted to become a star. She would secretly act out her imaginary stories and pretend everyone came to see her, begging for her autograph.
    The day after high school graduation, she walked out of that two-room shanty and never looked back. She hitchhiked to California with high hopes and few tangible assets. As luck would have it though, she got a ride to San Francisco instead of Hollywood. Out of money, she found a job in that city, as a receptionist for the Mackenzie Foundation, but still intended to follow the stardust