Sleeping Prince

nsported, he spent quite a lot of time asleep in a cryochamber aboard his solarship. His sleep was a little different than the others as he was not quite dead asleep the way

eauty Inc. until he turned 30. When he was awake long enough that his body was 30 years old, they would renegotiate his contract. H

that Iona was trying to rent him and the Cannon

n't understanding. Possibly, she wasn't asking him to be her partner on her ninety-day vacation. He was going to call it a vacation. Maybe she had some other partner in mind and

new the form. She didn't have to write out the sexual acts herself. She only had to check the ones she was interested in.

dent who was reading in front of the class. Reading it that way helped it make a lot more sense. Now it sounded like what she wanted was merely a guaranteed break from work and

ation about the contract with her when she was in her bedroom, b

on her doo

n," she

nly other person aboard the shi

cam

pink silk sheets. She rubbed the side of her neck and si

ract," he admitt

ifference. "What did you think of i

aid, averting h

models I transport. We chatted and shared food. I've always kissed you when there's been no one to do so when you wake up from cryostasis and you've al

unny?" h

and got control of he

bedroom by your hair," he said as he flicked the screen that now displayed a

everything, Gage. You've always known everything. Yes, that contract is not

t you checked a lot of

on as I normally do at the showroom this last year. Everyone there knows me and the novelty is gone. I played it safe and I took a job that would make me very comfortable. I hoped I could be comfortable an

ant you to take me back to Callisto

plain the

e not r

hem!" he s

she said, "I need it to be kno

ing to do anything in bed, I won't be able

d always been true that she could make more money from an individual rath

tment. There were very real reasons why he lived on a solarship with no company in a very convincing imitation of a celibate monk. He couldn't quite interpret everything he was thinking and feeling. "No, I'm not disappointed. We're friends. I wanted an explanation and you've given one

d all those boxes. I had to make it seem like if I didn't have at least a vacation's worth of sex and relaxation, I'd quit, which I'm seriously thinking about doing. That's why I need to find an individua

money. Why do you h

ney," she said, calm an

er were probably less likely than he originally imagined. Marriage, in his mind, was still an honorable estate and he believed in marriage even if he wasn'

g. One of them is on Callisto, but the oth

, nothing good ever happened on Io. "If we're traveling between moons, three mo

Our contract can't start until I'm well, but if I'm not

pens next

et st

had a little plan of his own. Aside from his models, who he pulled through time along with him, he wanted everyone he had once been connected to, to

t to take a vacation, Sleeping Beauty Inc. is pretty understanding of that. You could take a brea

ound and a commercial carrier

ive me a reason t

a friend. I don't wan

to sign binding agreements that allow you to el

e claiming. I would prefer to leave the contract as it is, but if you need to curate it, then mark wh

ay he was now. He had once been a model that had been sold. The contract between a buyer and a model existed to draw the line between what was real and what was fake. He knew

that by hiding her true feelings be

anted to clear her head about whatever romantic inclinations she had toward him by having sex with him during her search for another

t series of events?

e have been abused. I have the job I have for a vast collection of reasons, but one of the biggest is that I'm not interested in being used in this way anymore. If you were in love with me and this was the only way w

she did was keep her light brown eyes on him in a way that made him feel like getting away fr

others, soon he would believe that a woma