Rebel Read Online Free PDF Page A

shirt.
“How do you know what I am? You know nothing about me.”
    “I recognize the sadness in your eyes.
There’s fury there too, but pain is driving the anger. What or who
hurt you so badly?”
    “We’ve all known sadness. We all live with
pain.” She sounded calm and dismissive. She still wouldn’t meet his
gaze. Her dark hair had escaped during their tussle. A strand
curled against her smooth cheek. She finally looked at him, yet her
expression was carefully guarded. “I lost my temper earlier. It’s
not our intention to torture you.”
    “Are you apologizing for the cold or the
pain?” Despite the occasional spasm still gripping his muscles,
Ashton couldn’t take his eyes off her. She was so damn
beautiful.
    “The cold. You deserved the pain.” She
pulled on her boots and turned to go.
    “Are you leaving so soon?”
    Her eyes narrowed and she slowly licked her
lips. “I almost didn’t leave soon enough.”
    “Would it have been so bad?” he asked in a
throaty whisper.
    “I guess we’ll never know.”
    Don’t count on it. He smiled as she
walked away.
     
    Corry forced herself not to look back or
slow her steps until she was out of the cellblock. Stars above! Was
she losing her mind? She had never wanted a man as badly as she
wanted Ashton. Her nipples tingled as she thought of his hot mouth.
Her core pulsed with unfulfilled desire.
    He could have killed her. He nearly fucked
her in a deserted cellblock and she’d never been so turned-on in
her life. What the hell is wrong with me?
    She stepped out of the decrepit building and
raised her face to the night. A brisk breeze cooled her skin and
tugged at her hair. She spread the strands around her shoulders and
let the wind have its way.
    What if he hadn’t stopped? What would it
have felt like to have him hard and thrusting inside her? Taking
her, claiming her, with passion and fury? Her knees wobbled and she
pressed her hand over her pounding heart.
    Ashton captivated her. He was an incredible
combination of arrogance, intelligence and raw energy. Forcing away
her futile longings, Corry made her way to the commuter tram. This was her home, her reality. She couldn’t let herself
forget who she was and the cause she supported—no matter how much
she wanted Ashton VinDerley.
* * * * *
    Day three, Corry thought as she activated
the access terminal in her tiny apartment. Korbin had sent the
first message this morning and would follow it with a detailed
outline of their expectations sometime this afternoon. How would
the executive council respond? How much longer would Ashton be
under her care?
    Her imagination flickered to life with a
detailed image of her captive’s handsome face. Corry smiled. She
was responsible for all three captives, but only one haunted her
night and day. She’d visited Ashton twice the day before, leaving
him food and departing without a word. She was illustrating her
displeasure with his aggression. At least that was what she kept
telling herself. In truth, she was a bit intimidated, afraid of her
reaction to him and wary of his ability to manipulate her
emotions.
    Research always relaxed her. It was
wonderfully tedious. Besides, she wanted to know if any of the
things Ashton hinted at were relevant to her mission or if he was
having fun at her expense.
    Information with a security rating above
five required a retinal scan, but basic biographies weren’t
generally classified. Activating her display, Corry maneuvered
through several menus and logged on to the coalition’s main
database. Without Meredith’s inadvertent assistance, Corry never
would have gotten this far.
    Meredith—Corry no longer thought of the
woman as Mother—had chosen her career over her family when Corry
was still a child. It had broken her father’s heart when his wife
accepted the invitation of the military elite and joined the
Coalition’s Covert Corps. To put the demands of the CCC before the
needs of her family had been unforgivable to Simeon