He gave her a cool smile, with just a hint of polite surprise in his expression.
“I thought you’d stick by him,” he said softly. “I guess I misjudged you, Giselle.”
Her stomach twisted, but she didn’t let anything show on her face. Prick.
“I’m very pragmatic in my affairs,” she replied softly. “I believe that a woman owes it to herself to make the most of what comes her way. Jerred was the best at the time, but he’s no good to me now.
Something tells me you could be very good… Whatever is it you want me for? Correct me if I’m wrong, but sex doesn’t have anything to do with this, does it?”
He started laughing, and she thought for a moment there was genuine amusement on his face. It was hard to tell.
“No, I’m not interested in sex with you,” he said. “Please don’t be offended, you’re a lovely woman. I prefer not to take Jerred’s leavings, however. I want something else from you.”
“What?”
“Jerred, of course,” he said, his voice low and intense. “The man is crazy for you. I have no idea why, and I can’t see that there’s any kind of future in it for either of you. He’s a Saurellian, and they can only take life mates from among their own kinds. He’s genetically incapable of having a meaningful relationship with you.”
She nodded her head slowly, forcing herself to breathe as the knowledge hit her. She’d had no idea, and up to this moment she might have sworn she didn’t care.
She cared, all right. The thought of him with another woman made her feel sick. Still, she’d rather he be with another woman than be dead. No question.
“That’s not my concern,” she said. “I’m more interested in what you can offer me.”
“Survival,” he said. “Perhaps some credits to take with you, and a ride to another space station? I imagine that would be all you could expect at the end of your affair with Jerred.”
“So what do I need to do?” she asked.
“I’m going to send you to him.” he replied softly. “I want you to tell him that you’ve stayed faithful to him, and that you’ve chosen prison to stay with him.”
“He’ll never believe that,” she exclaimed softly. “He’ll suspect something.”
“Of course he will,” Josiah replied. “But he’ll want to believe. He cares about you, and he wants to be with you. That’s obvious to me. All you need to do is feed his little fantasy.”
“And what’s the point of this game?”
“I want you to find out how he got my station plans,” Josiah said. “I have a traitor on board. I could try and get it out of him through torture, but I doubt I’d succeed. His kind of have special training and other safeguards to protect them—this will be much more effective.”
“All right,” she said softly. “How will I report to you, though?”
“I’ll bring you out for questioning, of course. Let me worry about the details.”
“You’ve got a deal,” she replied, smiling brightly at him. She had no idea what she’d do when she reached Jerred, but at least she was going to see him again.
That was about as close to good news as she could imagine at this point.
“Now, I’m very sorry, but we’ll have to do something to make this look believable,” Josiah said. The guards advanced toward her, one grabbing her arms and pulling them behind her back. The other punched her in the face. She screamed, and then fell abruptly silent as his fist hit her stomach. Again and again he hit her as Josiah supervised, his face stony and devoid of compassion.
* * * * *
How long were they going to leave him like this?Jerred wondered in disgust. He had been through worse, but still, there was something so seedy, so repulsive about lying flat on his back with his limbs tied and his c**k hanging out. The door opened, and the light from the outside blinded him briefly. The light flicked on his in room, and he closed his eyes, squinting.
“I have a surprise for you,” one of the guards grunted. “Your slut decided she wanted to be with you more than she wanted to stay and enjoy our hospitality.”
The oaf thrust Giselle into the room.
She was still clad in the filmy gown she’d worn for dinner, but now the dress was torn in several places.
A trickle of blood ran from the corner of her mouth, and bruises formed on her cheek. Jerred forgot his restraints as a bolt of shear hatred and adrenaline shot through him. His entire body lunged toward the guard with every intention of killing him. Unfortunately the ties were far too tight, and he merely succeeded in twisting on the cot. The guard laughed.
“I’ve given her the keys,” he said after a moment. “She’ll let you up when the door’s closed. I think you might need some time to cool your temper. But don’t take too long. Until I feel like it’s safe to come back, I’m not bringing either of you any food.”
The man snickered again, and then slammed the door shut. Giselle slowly picked herself up from the floor where she’d fallen, and crawled over to the cot.
She looked like hell.
Her eyes were shadowed, and she had a startled look on her face. He knew without asking that she’d never been beaten before. There was sense of violation written across her face that no woman could fake.
“I’m so sorry they did this to you,” he said softly. “Why are you here? If you’d done what Josiah wanted, you’d be fine. He treats his women well, you know.”
She gave a haunted little smile. “He’s not as easy to work with as you might think,” she said softly. “I thought you were the better bet. What have they been doing to you?”
She gave his bare groin a pointed look, and he sighed.
“Torturing me, in a way,” he said softly. “Josiah sent Celia to me.”
He saw her breath catch, and she turned away quickly.
“I suppose you couldn’t help yourself,” she said softly. “She is beautiful.”
“Not as beautiful as you are,” he whispered, trying to make every word sound as sincere as he felt. “All I could think about was you. I managed to fend her off in the end.”
“You mean you didn’t have sex with her?” she asked. “They taped you, Jerred. I know you did.”
“And how did the tape end?” he asked. “Did they show you that part?”
She stayed silent, then abruptly turned and started to work at the cuffs holding his left arm.