by E. A. James
He pushed himself up onto his elbows and smiled at her, that easy smile that spread to his eyes and made her stomach flop with butterflies.
“I still struggle with coming to terms with what happened to me,” he admitted. “But, every day that struggle gets a little bit easier because every day I’m with you, I know that no matter what Grimm did to me, he didn’t turn me into the machine I was so afraid that he did. Sure, I can’t remember what it was when my reflexes didn’t respond before my mind even processed a threat. I can’t remember what it felt like to become tired after a long run or to not be able to fight with the advantage of superhuman speed on my side.
"But, I can love and I can hope. I can be afraid and I can worry. I can sleep with you in my arms and wake up with you by my side. I know that when you look at me, you don't see my past or my enhancements. And, because of that—because of you—I'm learning to look at myself that way again, too."
A lump formed in her throat, pushed up by the rush of emotions she felt sitting heavily on her chest.
“Thor, I..” she started, but a smirk crossed his face that made her words fall off short.
“And,” he said, interrupting her by leaning in and placing a quick peck on her lips. “As an Arcanum, I can do this.”
With one swift movement, he wrapped his arms around her waist, spinning her around and positioning her beneath him. She stifled a surprised, excited gasp and smiled up at him. Supporting his weight on his left hand, he allowed his right to drift over her, rising and falling with the curves in her body, tracing her breasts and slowly finding the zipper of her jumpsuit.
As he tugged it down, his eyes filled with that mischievous sparkle that had always made her chest tighten just a little. The lower he guided the zipper, the more her stomach filled with knots of desire. When the fastener was undone completely, he slid his hand between the fabric of the jumpsuit and her skin, running his hand up along her side. His fingers paused momentarily at her breast, gliding over it slowly, grazing over her nipple and sending renewed shivers of longing rippling through her.
She could feel him growing harder, his member pressing through the fabric of his jumpsuit and against her thigh. She felt herself becoming wet with anticipation, just the thought of being with him enough to make her body shake with excitement.
Both of them becoming instantly carried away in the moment, they slinked out of their clothes, tossing them to the side without a second thought. When she slipped beneath him again, her legs wrapped at his waist and her hands running through his hair, she looked up at him. That was when she realized she was looking up at her entire world. After everything they had been through, she couldn’t imagine going a day without him by her side. She couldn’t imagine taking on the challenges of the life they were all forced to lead in that time without him there to fight alongside her.
She knew she loved him when she almost lost him. But having him was what made her realize that she needed him. Being with him is what made her understand that she would be lost without him.
She needed him; he needed her.
"I love you, Kira," he said softly, as if he were reading her thoughts.
He leaned in and kissed her neck. Again, a shiver or longing rippled through her. She could feel him between her legs now, and suddenly her desire to have him inside of her grew to a nearly unbearable level.
Again, he reacted as if he were reacting to her thoughts. His hips flew forward with force, and he slid himself inside of her with ease. Her back arched and her hands reached around his back, her fingers digging into his skin as she writhed beneath him with pleasure. She let out a stifled moan, the satisfaction she felt increasing with each slow, purposeful thrust.
In that moment, she wasn’t in Jaantu 7; she wasn’t in prison. She was with him and only with him. It didn’t matter where they were; they were together. That was all she sensed. All she felt was the feeling of ecstasy that being with him gave her; all she heard was his breathing, heavy and shaking with pleasure. All she saw was the look of longing and love and desire in his eyes.
In that moment, all she cared about was him and all he cared about was her.
In that moment, she was free again.
CHAPTER TWENTY
“Do you think it will work?” Kira asked Aldo the next day when they met at the same time in the same place as they had the day before. “Do you think we can convince enough people to get in on the fight?”
“I think this crowd really likes to fight,” Aldo replied.
“I like to fight,” Kardok added with a chuckle and a grin.
“We’re counting on that,” Kira replied, smiling up at the large Arkadian man.
“How will it work exactly?” Dario asked.
"Well, we could start by spreading the word and generating interest. We're thinking of using Kardok's name to draw in some attention. Anyone that's spent time down there in the ring knows that he's definitely one of the fighters to beat," Aldo recommended.
“No one can beat me,” Kardok said with the same chuckle and grin.
“We can set a date and time, and have anyone interested in participating come forward. The fight will be free,” Aldo continued.
“Free?” Dario interjected.
“If these guys wanted to prove they were the toughest around, they could do that by starting a fight right here in the middle of The Pits,” Aldo replied. “They’re not going to pay to do something they could do for free right here. But, a population like the one locked up inside of a prison is very bored and always looking for some excitement. That excitement will be the gambling that Captain Winter mentioned earlier.”
“About that,” Kira said. “We’re going to need to use some of your things to get in on the action.”
Aldo looked over at her quickly. His nose twitched and his beady black eyes narrowed. “My stuff?”
“You won’t lose it,” Thor assured him.
“How can you be so sure?”
“Because I’ve seen Kardok fight,” Thor replied. “And I’m going to volunteer to fight, as well. So, you’ll have two sure winners to bet on.”
“An Arkadian and an Arcanum,” Dario said with a slow nod. “I’d say they’re both pretty safe bets.”
“So, what do you think?” Kira asked again.
“Let’s start getting the word around and see what happens,” Aldo said. “Give everyone a week or so to think it over. That’ll give me enough time to figure out what I want to part with, too,” he added.
All agreeing, they decided that the best place to begin spreading the word of their inmate-run fight tournament was in the ring. Filing down the stuffy hallway in a straight line, they all had the same buzz of motivation and excitement passing through them.
Kardok was the most excited.
The low ceilings and thick metal walls didn’t bother Kira as much that time as they had before. She was getting used to being in the confined spaces of Jaantu 7, which she didn’t like and only fueled her to put their plan into action even more.
When they emerged into the large ring, only a small group of individuals was there. The lack of an audience caused everyone’s spirits to fall slightly; everyone’s except Kardok’s.
“Fight!” Kardok exclaimed as he ran into the ring. “Fight!”
“Wait,” Aldo said, holding out his arm and stopping the others before they could follow him in. “Let’s use this as a practice run.”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean, let’s get some fights started and see what happens. Let’s see how many people are actually interested in participating in something like this.”
“Okay,” Kira said, pushing past Aldo and marching out into the ring. “I’ll fight!”
“What?” Thor yelled, running after her. “What do you mean, ‘I’ll fight’? What the hell are you doing?”
“I’m going to fight someone,” Kira replied. “I’ve been locked up for too long. I need to do something active or I’ll go crazy.”
“I though
t last night was pretty active,” Thor leaned in and whispered with a smirk.
Punching him playfully in the shoulder, she shook her head. “It’ll take more than that to wear me out,” she said with a grin.
“Remind me of that later,” he said with a wink.
“Fight!” Kardok yelled out. “Fight!”
“I’ll fight,” a smooth, low voice said.
Kira turned to see a large Bandurian male standing right behind her. It quickly became obvious that he was talking to her and not to Kardok.
“Me?” she asked.
“Are you afraid?” the Bandurian asked with a smirk.
“Did I say I was?”
“Maybe you should sit this one out,” Thor said.
Glaring back at him, Kira stepped forward and said, “I’ll do it.”
A grisly smile crossed the Bandurian male’s face. Kardok let out an angry grunt as he hung his head and began heading back toward the sidelines.
“You’ll get the next one,” Kira said as he walked away.
As the prospect of a fight buzzed through the air, a few of the bystanders gathered together to watch the action.
“Wait,” Aldo said, walking over to them quickly. “You’re going to want one of these.”
With that, he pulled down the zipper of his blue jumpsuit.
“What the hell are you doing?” Thor asked, shielding his eyes and shuddering back.
“Calm down, hot pants,” Aldo said, reaching into a hidden breast pocket he had sewn into his suit. “I’m just giving your girlfriend a little edge over the Bandurian giant.”
When he pulled his tiny hand out again, he was holding three slim cylinders. Holding them out to Kira, he smiled at them proudly.
“What are they?” Kira asked, picking one up.
Her finger slid over a small button, and instantly a column of bright blue plasma poured out.
“An energy dagger?” she asked. “How did you get a plasma dagger?”
“I made it,” Aldo said, sliding the two remaining cylinders back into his pocket. “One of the first things I did when I got thrown in here was craft a few small, easy-to-hide weapons to keep on myself at all times for protection. They’re not the strongest, given the extreme lack of materials around this joint, so don’t get too cocky with it. But, it will give your opponent a good zing or two.”
“What about me?” Thor asked, holding out his hand. “I’m going to be fighting, too.”
“You come with built-in advantages,” Aldo reminded him.
“So?”
“So, no one is going to want to fight an armed Arcanum. That’s not fair,” Aldo replied.
“Like anyone in here cares about fair,” Thor muttered.
“Hey!” the Bandurian called out. “What’s the hold up? Saying your farewells?”
Kira shot her opponent an annoyed glare and slid the energy blade down into the baggy pockets of her jumpsuit. Following him out to the center of the ring, she faced off against him. For a Bandurian male, he was slightly short. He stood at just shy of six feet. His width made up for any lack of height, though. His entire body looked to be one big, constantly flexed muscle.
“The rules of the game are simple” Aldo explained, walking over and standing between them. “No killing, no lethal wounds, and no firearms. Other than that, it’s fair game. Understood?”
Kira kept her eyes on her opponent’s and nodded. He nodded back.
“Three… Two… One… Rumble!” Aldo exclaimed, scurrying back quickly.
Kira stood her ground, waiting for the Bandurian male to move first. She wanted to judge his speed, knowing that her swiftness would be the only advantage she had over him. A chilling smile crossed his lips as he balled his hands into fists. Lowering his left shoulder slightly, he took off running in her direction.
She side stepped his assault easily but didn't calculate for his rather impressive reach. His left hand stretched out as he ran by and grabbed onto her wrist, pulling her down to the ground behind him.
She fell with a thud but held in the surprised grunt that leaped up to the back of her throat. The Bandurian spun around as quickly as someone of his size could and rushed back in her direction. Just when he was two feet away from her, he leaped into the air, intending to pin her down under his massive frame.
She rolled twice and waited to hear him crash to the ground. Once he did, she pushed herself up and scurried back. Letting out an annoyed groan, the Bandurian began to gather himself up off the ground. Before he could, though, she rushed forward and sent her knee flying into his gut. He fell forward again.
As he fell, he reached out to take hold of her again, but she scooted back out of his reach. This time, when he pushed himself up, he held his hands in front of him, watching her carefully. The second he was on his feet, he shifted his weight to the balls of his feet and pushed off with all his energy.
His sudden burst of speed surprised Kira. She tried to side-step him again but was short. His right shoulder crashed into her left side, throwing her back with enough force to push the wind out of her lungs.
She stumbled back, not trying to catch herself. Lying on the dirt and sand covered ground, she inhaled sharply twice, trying to catch her breath. She had very little time to do so, though, because her opponent was once again barreling in her direction. His eyes were fixed on hers, and an amused expression crossed his face.
She pulled her knees up to her chest and kicked her feet out in one swift, quick action. Springing to her feet, she spun out of his line of trajectory just in time. This time, as he worked to shift his massive frame around and change directions, she pulled the energy blade out of her pocket.
Now, as the Bandurian barreled toward her, she held her ground just a little longer than before. With the flip of a switch, the blade in her hand buzzed to life—a beam of light about six inches long spilling out of the cylinder she clung too tightly. She could feel the energy surging through it. She focused on that, not on the look of frustrated rage on the face of her opponent who was quickly racing in her direction.
When he got close enough to reach out and take hold of her, she ducked. His arms flailed through the air as she lowered herself just out of his reach. She knelt to the ground, bracing for the force of impact. When his legs crashed into her side, a bolt of pain rushed through her. But, the sound of him crashing to the ground in front of her pushed it all aside.
With the blade still in her hand, she stretched her hand out and pressed the blade into the Bandurian’s side. A slight groan of discomfort escaped him as he tried to roll out of her reach. She pushed herself up quickly and hurried over to where he lay. Setting her right foot down on his back, she applied all her weight to the task of keeping him down.
Leaning in and holding the blade next to his face, she smiled.
“What do you say?” she taunted.
He looked back at her and grunted.
“What was that? You surrender?”
She could tell he wanted to retaliate. She could see his mind working to find a way to overpower her. Lowering the blade slightly, she pressed it into his shoulder. Another frustrated grunt escaped him.
“Fine,” he said. “I surrender.”
Her body hurt from the crash and from having a 300 pound Bandurian trip over her, but still, she walked back to where Thor was waiting with a victorious swagger.
“Nothing to it,” she said, sliding the energy blade down into her pocket.
“Remind me to never piss you off,” Thor replied.
The rest of that day was spent in the ring. Kira took a few more matches but decided to sit out when a Vorian male stepped forward. Thor took that fight and Kardok took a fight with a pair of Rengar twins that were almost as agile as Nico Rax, and they didn't even need all the upgrades. Alternating turns, Thor and Kardok successfully defeated anyone that stepped forward—four opponents each in total.
During the entire time they were there, Aldo was scampering about, whispering in the ears of everyone that wou
ld listen.
“I think that pair is the closest thing to unbeatable you can get,” he said. “Bet you can’t think of anyone in here that could take either of them on.”
Whispers began to spread as names got bounced around.
“I’m sure we can find out,” Aldo replied. “Why don’t we get them all down here and see? Let’s see who the strongest inmate in here is. I bet you it’s one of them. I’m convinced it’s one of them.”
By the time the nightly round-up siren rang out, the entire prison was buzzing with the rumors of the invincible Arcanum and the bare-knuckled Arkadian.
