by Leslie Chase
Her smile was guarded, and she stood in a careful stance. It looked relaxed, but I knew that she could turn it deadly in a moment. I smiled too, genuinely impressed. If this turned into a fight, I could see it would be a challenging one.
Under other circumstances I’d have enjoyed testing her skills. Not here.
“Gennafera,” she said to me before turning to Emma. “Is he okay?”
“Yes,” Emma confirmed quickly. “He’s… well, he’s saved me once already. I trust him.”
Gennafera’s smile quirked. “Okay, then. I’ll trust you a little bit too. Don’t fuck that up.”
I nodded solemnly. “I’ll do my best. Emma’s going to need friends.”
“So are you,” Emma told me. “No one survives alone in here.”
“I know,” I told her. And I did know, better than she did. A loner in here would end up dead quick enough, but that didn’t bother me. I’d be dead soon enough anyway.
Whether Emma understood that or not I wasn’t sure, but Gennafera did. I saw her smile falter slightly, and she gave me an understanding nod.
Whatever happened to me, Emma had a protector now. That was something.
The next days passed in a miserable blur, lightened only by Emma’s company. We had all the disgusting stew we could eat, and no need to fight over that with the other slaves. That was the only thing that we could say for the accommodations, though.
There weren’t enough beds, which forced the gladiators to share or fight over them. Emma and Gennafera got plenty of offers, and I didn’t do too badly either, but all three of us refused.
Between us, we staked out a corner that we could defend. It wasn’t comfortable, but it kept us out of the way of the others and out of the constantly shifting struggles for sleeping space. I relearned the skill of sleeping lightly, ready to leap into action if need be. One more skill my time serving Princess Tlaxanna had given me that I’d hoped never to need again.
There were perks for the better-known gladiators, Prodrirs had been honest enough about that. Every victor in the arena got better food until their next fight, and the most impressive got privacy. It wasn’t much, but the small treats kept the gladiators competing and drove them apart.
The champion himself didn’t have to share his space with us at all. A good thing too, since it was all that stopped him getting knifed in his sleep — no one liked Falcar.
There were other advantages, too. Three days after we arrived, a curious party of human nobles visited the gladiator barracks, their guards heavily armored and wary. Gennafera glowered and stayed well out of the way but a couple of the other fighters were happy to preen and pose for the giggling young ladies and gentlemen.
“What’s happening?” Emma asked, nervous and curious. Gennafera snorted.
“Blood on the sands gets the nobles excited, and some of the fighters are more than happy to show them a good time,” she said, rolling her eyes. “I don’t suppose I can blame them, exactly. They get paid, and ‘fan favorites’ are less likely to be thrown into fights to the death. It’s not for me, though.”
I shook my head. At least the nobles here didn’t seem to be forcing their attention on anyone, but it left a bad taste in my mouth. Like Gennafera, I wouldn’t criticize another slave for doing what they had to in order to survive.
But I wouldn’t do it, and nor would Emma.
Two of the warriors, Tybin and Mixal, finished showing off for their audience, to the applause of the ladies. With smug grins they led the slumming nobles off to find some privacy, and Emma laughed quietly beside me. I looked at her, raising an eyebrow, and she blushed slightly.
“It looks like those two are making the best of a bad situation, that’s all,” she said, and grinned. “I wouldn’t do it, but…”
She trailed off, face going stony, and I looked back at to see Prodrirs approaching. The fat man waddled over, leaning on his staff, ignoring the other fighters and the nobles’ guards. His attention was focused on me.
“Athazar,” he said slowly, sounding out my name. “A strong name. It has the ring of a champion, perhaps. Maybe tomorrow you’ll be the one entertaining the noble ladies.”
I pulled myself to my feet, towering over him. My heart sped up and my hands tingled with the energy of a battle to come, but I pushed that feeling aside. “Not a chance. You’ve wasted your investment in me. I am not fighting for you.”
“You will fight, Athazar,” he promised me, unafraid. “Don’t make things harder on yourself by resisting the inevitable. Your first fight is tomorrow, and the audience is expecting great things from you.”
A hard smile crossed my face. “Then I’m happy to disappoint them, and I hope I can ruin your day.”
The temptation to smash his face open was strong, almost overwhelming. What held me back were the drones that followed him, mechanical watchdogs that would punish anyone who raised a hand to the arena master. If it hadn’t been for Emma at my side, I might have gone for it anyway, but I wouldn’t risk her getting punished for my anger.
Her hand touched the small of my back, offering me strength and comfort, and I relaxed a little. But my hard look didn’t waver and Prodrirs frowned. His mouth hardened into a line and he tapped his staff on the ground.
“Have it your way,” he said, sounding sad rather than angry. “I promise that you’ll regret it. Tomorrow, whether you intend to fight or not, you go into the arena.”
With that he turned and marched away.
“You shouldn’t antagonize him,” Gennafera said quietly, once he was out of earshot. “He’s good at his job, and that means he can be a bad enemy.”
“I’m going to die in the arena tomorrow,” I said with a shrug and a forced smile. “How much worse can he make that?”
“I don’t know, and I don’t want to find out.” The female gladiator sighed and held up her hands. “Well, it’s done now. I’d wish you good luck, but it won’t help if you’re not fighting.”
With that, she stepped away too, leaving me and Emma alone in our little corner.
The human’s eyes were bright with tears when I looked down at her. “Don’t do this,” she whispered. “I can’t bear to see you die.”
“I don’t want to, but I will not be anyone’s slave. That was the promise I made myself years ago, and it’s a promise I intend to keep no matter the cost.”
“Wouldn’t it be better to live so you can escape again?” She turned away, hiding her face. “Athazar, I need you.”
“Gennafera will protect you once I’m gone,” I told her, trying to keep the pain from my voice. It wouldn’t be fair to show Emma the pain my decision was causing me. Her own burdens were enough to bear, she could do without mine. “She’s a fine warrior and will keep you safe.”
“It’s not just about being safe,” Emma said, shoulders shaking. “God damn it, I don’t just want you here to look after me, Athazar. I want you here because…”
Her voice trailed off and she wiped her eyes with an angry gesture. Gently, I pulled her around to face me, looked into her eyes, and tried to explain.
“Emma, these scars I bear are memories.” My voice trembled as I dug up something I didn’t like to speak of. But Emma deserved to know my reasons, at least. “Memories of my time as a slave, burned into my body. Each one marks a time when I could not, or would not, please my owner. When I got free, I could have had them removed. Instead I kept them as a permanent reminder of the cost of my submission, and a promise never again to obey an owner.”
She swallowed, looking at my body. Her eyes traced the lines that marked my torso, and with one trembling hand she reached up to touch a scar that ran across my chest.
“I thought you got them in battle,” she said. Her voice was subdued, quiet.
“No. That one I got when I refused to burn a village at the princess’s order.” My voice sounded raw as I dredged up the memory, and Emma swallowed.
“You remember them all?”
“Each and every one.”
&
nbsp; “This one?” she asked, fingers brushing along my bicep.
“I killed a man in a fight. She wanted him to live.” Another painful memory. I could still see the throne room of Princess Tlaxanna, still smell the blood of the warrior she’d pitted me against. The savage fury of the fight was as fresh as ever and I felt my hands close into fists as I remembered.
Emma’s hand stroked down to my forearm, tracing a thin scar down to my hand. “What about this?”
I managed to smile. “I knocked over a vase she liked.”
My mate looked up at me, startled, and I shook my head. “They all have stories, little one, but not all of them are exciting.”
“It looks like you were… not a great slave,” Emma managed, looking at the array of scars that covered my skin and swallowing again.
“You could say that,” I agreed. “But Tlaxanna still kept me, despite my failings. And she enjoyed watching each of these marks being put on my skin, watching my pain and suffering. Eventually that was too much for me, and I escaped. That was when I vowed to never, ever be a slave again.”
My voice was hoarse with old anger and pain, and I felt a terrible desire to put my fist through someone. It was a good thing that Emma was the only person nearby. Right now, no one else would have been safe.
Reluctantly, she nodded up at me. Accepting my decision, even if she didn’t understand or agree with it.
“Then tonight is the last night for you,” she said, and I heard the struggle in her voice. The effort she was taking not to show her pain. “Come on, then. We’d best find somewhere more private than this.”
I raised an eyebrow, and her face flushed bright red. “Are you going to make me say it, Athazar?”
No. No, I wasn’t, not when I knew what she wanted. What she needed as much as I did.
Lifting her, I pulled her up to me and she melted against me. My pain faded as our lips met, and I growled into her as I carried her into the nearest sleeping chamber.
13
Emma
What am I doing? The thought echoed in my mind as Athazar carried me. There wasn’t much space for doubt, though. My senses were burning with the power of his presence, and I didn’t want to stop to think.
I’d wanted Athazar since the first moment I’d seen him, and this would be our last chance to be together. It was no time for modesty.
In any case, now we’d started I doubted either of us would be able to stop. The hungry growl he let out as our lips parted made me shiver and cling to him, my arms around his scarred body. His powerful hands gripped me, held me, squeezed me, and I felt my blush spread down across my chest.
With a thump he pushed me against the wall, pinning me between his powerful alien body and the cold stone. I gasped, fingers digging into his skin, and his sharp teeth closed on my neck.
A burning wave of passion flooded through me at his bite, and I cried out despite myself. Athazar chuckled, biting again, teeth dragging across my neck and driving me wild.
Pinned against the wall like this, I felt deliciously helpless in his grip. Athazar’s body was like a wall of muscle, unmoving and irresistible as he held me up with one hand and the other tugged at my clothes.
He had no patience for the unfamiliar fastenings, and tugged hard. Claws scraped my skin and my shirt tore away in a single motion that left me gasping, my bare skin pressed against the heat of his. I lowered my mouth to his neck, kissing and biting, making him growl again.
I’m doing that, I thought. I’m making him lose control. Me!
It was a feeling unlike any other, to have this powerful, self-controlled alien driven wild by my presence. It made me ache for him even more, and I felt him harden against me.
My hands tugged at his belt as he pressed himself against me, his hands gripping my ass and squeezing.
Inhaling the scent of him, I moaned and bit down harder on his neck. His body tensed against me, and he pushed me back against the wall with a rough, irresistible strength that just made me long for him more. His eyes were wild, dark, intense as he met my gaze — and then he started, turned, and flung me down on the bed.
Before I could do more than gasp, he was on me. Hands tore at my jeans, pulling them open, tearing them from me. My panties came with them, leaving me bare before him and he grinned in triumph.
Pinned by his gaze I could hardly move, my breasts heaving as I sucked in air, looking up at him with pleading eyes. I could feel the flush spread through my body as he pulled my legs apart and moved between them.
“Yes,” I breathed, the only word that was in my mind. My hands came up to tug at his belt, pulling at the fastening, trying to undo it.
Athazar’s hands closed on my breasts, fingers tracing across my skin, claws extending just a touch. Just enough that I could feel them, sharp points grazing my skin, the sensation so different from anything I knew. My back arched, and I pressed myself to his hands, welcoming him, offering myself.
His lips followed his fingers, kissing and biting gently. Each touch of his mouth made me whimper, a flash of fiery passion bursting through me. When his mouth closed on my nipple, I cried out, a shudder running through me.
Finally I managed to get his belt open. Reaching into his pants I felt the big, heavy weight of his cock and groaned as it hardened even further. The texture was strange, ridged, wonderful. And as I freed him from his pants, I felt a vibration pulse through it.
Athazar chuckled as my fingers tightened around him, and he looked up along me to meet my surprised gaze.
“Not yet, my sweet,” he said in a voice that brooked no argument. Lowering himself again, he sucked my nipple into his mouth, rasping his tongue across it and making me shiver and moan.
Impatiently, I tried to pull him closer. I needed him, needed him inside me more than I could remember needing anything. But he wouldn’t move.
Instead, his hand brushed lower, down my body. his fingertips left trails of desire, his claws digging in enough to nearly be painful. Nearly. The feeling made me writhe and gasp. He stroked across my stomach. Down between my legs.
Teasingly close to my sex.
Along my inner thighs.
It was almost too much to bear, and I squirmed under him. Helpless in his grasp, trapped beneath my alien lover.
My own hands stroked his cock, and he vibrated against my palm. I couldn’t imagine what that would feel like inside me, but I knew I wouldn’t have to wait long to find out. Athazar’s breathing was fast, rough, eager as he kissed and stroked.
He was close to losing control, I could feel it. Close to snapping and taking me. So desperately close to giving me what I wanted, what I needed.
His fingers brushed my pussy lips, parting them gently. Pressing between them, teasing me with an oh-so-gentle touch to my clit. Even the softest touch made me cry out, and Athazar groaned. My fingers tightened around him as he stroked, pushing a finger into my eager wetness, then another.
I squeezed him, and he snarled. Pushed harder, fucking me with his fingers, his thumb rubbing across my clit. My breath came in quick little gasps as he urged me on, closer and closer to a climax.
“Oh god, oh GOD,” I cried out, my body shaking. His teeth closed on my neck again and that was too much. My back arched and my body tightened around his fingers as I came, waves of ecstasy washing through me and leaving me a shuddering mess.
But Athazar wasn’t done with me yet. His cock pressed against me, and I moaned eagerly, my hands sliding around him to urge him on. Reaching under me, he gripped my ass and lifted, positioning me perfectly for his thrust.
His first thrust buried him all the way inside me, the ridges of his cock stretching me wonderfully. Slowly, gently, he withdrew, and then he thrust forward again with enough force to slam me down into the thin mattress.
I cried out, my hands squeezing his ass, pulling him deeper each time. our bodies pressed together, aching and shuddering as Athazar moved faster and harder.
His breath caught as I squeezed around him, my inner musc
les gripping tight. And that was when his cock began to vibrate. The sensation was indescribable, incredible, sending pulses of pure pleasure shooting through me. Shaking and moaning, I clung to him, losing myself in the sensation of him.
Of his beautiful alien body. His amazing touch. The scent and taste of him.
My nails dug into him as I lost control, and he roared with a powerful passion he was close, I could feel it, so close. And so was I.
Our gazes locked.
“Come,” he gasped, his own self-control barely hanging on. “Come for me. Now!”
The intensity of his need pushed me over the edge, my senses overwhelmed. In that moment, all that existed was us. Our bodies, intertwined. Our passion.
Our love.
Deep inside me, I felt Athazar come with me. Filling me with his seed as he clung to me. Our bodies shook with shared passion and we collapsed, gasping for breath and clinging to each other for dear life.
I had no idea how long we lay in each other’s arms, holding on tight. The heat of Athazar’s body warmed me enough that I didn’t need the thin blanket that we’d thrown aside in our passion, and I didn’t mind being uncovered.
Sleepily, his hands slowly roamed my body, gently exploring. I returned the favor. The odd texture of his alien skin felt good, right, against me. Everywhere my fingers touched him, though, I found a new scar.
Tracing one along his back I wondered what memory it marked. Something heroic, a refusal to perform some atrocity? Or something petty, punishment for a broken ornament?
I could have asked, but I didn’t want to disturb the quiet peaceful moment. We were, finally, relaxed and together. And right now, no danger threatened us. Sure, in the morning that would change, but until then we were safe.
If we were going to be torn apart then, I wanted to savor this moment now.
“I love you,” Athazar said, so quietly I nearly didn’t hear him. His arms folded around me, pulling me close, and I smiled.
“I love you too,” I breathed. “God. Why do I have such bad timing with guys?”
