by Jana Downs
“Um, thank you. Why don’t you come over here and sit with me?” Cass asked, herding him toward an empty section of bench. Tobias allowed himself to be pulled out of the basin and sat down on the bench, but Cass didn’t sit with him. Instead, he stood in front of him, shielding him from the other gladiators. Unfortunately it also made his bare cock inches from Tobias’s face.
“Oh my God, would you put that thing away?” Tobias asked in a strangled voice. Cassisus wasn’t hard yet, but even soft, Cass’s manhood proved to be a temptation. The cat sniffed the air, obviously catching Tobias’s reaction. His body started to swell.
“I can’t, little one. Corbin ordered us to remain unclothed until after the shoot. The performance wear is Velcro, but our regular clothing would get oil on it, and that is apparently a difficult stain to get off,” Cassisus explained, his voice deepening as Tobias watched his body, captivated. What would it be like to touch the gladiator? What would it be like to suck his body like Cassisus had done the other night?
Hormones. They’re just hormones. “Do you want to be alone for a minute?” The words were out of his mouth before he could think better of it.What iswrongwith me?
Cassisus’s nostrils flared. “Yes. Stay here.” He turned, and Tobias nearly snarled at him for displaying his cock to a room full of virile males. They were shifters, as comfortable in their nakedness as they were in their feral form. He knew logically it was because they hadn’t joined together yet that he was being so incredibly unreasonable about the whole thing.
I’ve got to tell him about Flavius’s deal before anything else happens.It was a promise that he had to keep to himself. He had the sneaking suspicion that he was already too far into the rabbit hole of the mating to be able to slow it now. The only kind of resistance he could muster would be in the form of being completely honest with Cassisus about his motivations and trying to guard his heart from the needs of his body.
Cassisus reappeared from the mist. “Come on. They’re giving us the changing room.” No doubt the guards didn’t want a mouse to rile up all the cats. They may have been men, but there was a feral side to them that defied the logic of most humans. The cats may have known not to attack, but they would pace, get agitated, and pick at Tobias if he got near them.
Tobias pushed himself off the bench and followed after the gladiator. The steam made his clothing stick to him uncomfortably, and he felt like he couldn’t breathe because of the heat. There was just no reason for people to subject themselves to this kind of environment in Tobias’s mind. Cassisus reached his hand back as the steam thickened toward the back of the room, and Tobias took it gratefully. The instant their fingers connected it was like an electrical pulse shot up the mouse’s arm. He shuddered as the arousal sharpened to almost unbearable proportions. They passed the two Ludus servants who acted as escorts for the gladiators. They were more like bodyguards to keep the others in line, but it wasn’t polite to point that out.
He was intensely grateful when they cleared the steam room and went into the dry locker room at the back. It was still warm, but at least he could breathe. The room was full of red lockers like the ones he’d seen in various high school movies on cable and had the distinct odor of male sweat that lingered in the air. He wasn’t sure what to make of it.
“What is the point of the lockers?” he asked.
“If Flavius wants to have us go directly from practice somewhere, we stash our bags in here so we don’t have to waste time going back to our cells. Plus if he ever decides to give us an exhibition match on the grounds, the other gladiatorial schools’ things will be kept here,” Cassisus said, tugging him to the far end of the locker room. It was cooler there.
Tobias tugged his hand from Cassisus’s and tried to wrangle his arousal back into the neat box he’d managed to stuff it in all his life. Cass’s scent was driving him crazy.
“How do people deal with these mating hormones all the time?” Tobias wondered aloud as he stared up at Cass’s beautiful face. No wonder hordes of people fawned over him. He was beautiful and rugged and…hmmm, covered in oil.
Cass’s eyes deepened to a dark blue. “I imagine they cope by joining with their mate. It’s supposed to quell a little of the hunger.”
“But it makes us slaves to one another.” The want was already so potent it nearly brought Tobias to his knees. He could only imagine what it would be like to slake the lust bubbling through his bloodstream.
“Hm? Not at all. I think it will free us rather than imprison,” Cass reasoned. “I mean, we could be ordered to breed with someone we had no desire for. Our mates are the only thing that belong solely to us. They are the one possession we own.”
“This is a philosophical argument,” Tobias muttered. In the end, it didn’t make a difference. If a shifter was around his mate, he would join with his mate. It was too instinctual to deny.
The cat chuckled, the sound a low rumble. “Yes, but it’s one that I find extremely stimulating.” Tobias really wanted to hear him purr again. The memory of the sound and the way it felt against his skin just made Tobias want to evoke the noise again. Cass inhaled sharply. “I’m trying to be a gentleman and all, Tobias. But you’re making it difficult when your mind is in the gutter.”
Tobias shuddered, his want getting more acute. He did this. He could drive one of the most powerful predators in the world crazy just by being around him. The power was a heady thing. “Kiss me?” he asked, looking up at Cassisus under his lashes. He wanted to drive his mate as mad as Cass made him, disrupt his routine as thoroughly as Cassisus had disrupted Tobias’s.
“I can’t. There are no bars here, Tobias. I don’t trust myself right now.” Cassisus’s voice trembled as he spoke, and damn if Tobias didn’t find that incredibly sexy.
“I’ve never had sex with anyone else,” Tobias offered up as Cass turned his back on him in a visible effort to get his body under of control. The words just seemed to incite the cat more. The low feline groan did insane things for Tobias’s libido. “I don’twantlike this. I’ve never wanted to touch like I want to touch you. It’s terrifying.”
“Tobias, please, hush. Have mercy on me, little one,” Cass begged, fisting his cock. Tobias sucked in a breath as the cat stroked himself, his eyes screwed shut, and his other hand bunched beside him in a tight fist. The sight was magnificent.
“I could talk you through your pleasure,” Tobias said huskily. His hand went to the button on his pants, and he popped it free. It took only a few seconds for his dick to spring into his hand like an eager display. He felt so wicked even making the suggestion.I have to tell him. But it would ruin the moment.After, I’ll tell him after.
Cass groaned. “You already are. God, your smell, Tobias. It’s so good.”
“I’m touching myself, Cassisus. I’m thinking about you.” Tobias played with the head of his prick, smearing the pre-cum there down the length of his shaft as he stared at Cass’s rock-hard ass.
He saw his mate’s back and flanks tremble as the words sank in. “As fast or as slow as you want it,” the cat murmured, working his length faster. He was being good, so good. Out of all the gladiators, Tobias would never expect Cassisus the Vain to be a gentleman.
“What do you want to do to me?” Tobias asked, trying to keep the fascination out of his voice. His cock was hard and hot in his hand, images of Cassisus swirling in his mind in a never-ending kaleidoscope of desire.
“I want to have you suck my cock while you play with yours,” Cassisus rumbled. “Then I want to sink into your hot core, stretch your virgin ass for me and me alone.” He swallowed, the muscles in his throat working so his Adam’s apple bobbed. “Have you ever had anything inside you?”
The question sent a rocket of want skittering up and down Tobias’s spine. “No.” Not that he hadn’t been curious, had even circled the entrance with his finger before. But he’d never gotten the balls to press inside.
Cassisus groaned. “Mine. First. Last. Always.”
“Slow, we�
��re going slow.” Tobias didn’t start freaking out until Cassisus started talking about forever. Forever was a very long time, especially for a slave. His cock waved at him insistently. There were more pressing concerns than the state of his relationship.Great. Now I’m in a relationship. Christ on a Ritz Cracker. Why can’t I make this slow down?
“As slow as you want, Tobias. I’m not even touching you,” Cass promised.
“But I want you to,” Tobias confessed, panting lightly. “I want to feel you against me. I don’t want to want you, but I can’t help it.”
Cass growled. “Good. Want you to want me. Are you going to come for me, little one?”
Tobias nodded but then realized that Cass couldn’t see him. “Turn around. Let me see,” he begged. He wanted to get more than glimpses of Cass working his hard cock.
His mate obliged him. Tobias’s mouth went bone dry at the sight. “Beautiful boy,” the cat murmured. “You’re a damn tease, though.”
Tobias licked his lips. “Not.”
“Prove it.”
It was always a challenge with Cassisus. The cat was always pushing him into independence, into aggression. It was bizarre and wonderful and empowering. It was like Cass wanted him to think for himself.
“Put your hands on your head then,” Tobias said. He was going to prove to Cass that Tobias was not someone to be toyed with.
The cat quirked an eyebrow up at him and a slow smile stretched his face. “Showing me who is boss, little one?”
“Do you want me to prove it or not?” Tobias asked boldly. He wasn’t just a mouse to the gladiator. He was a man. He always felt like a man with Cassisus. In a way, it was as freeing as Cassisus claimed.
“Yes,” Cass rumbled. He raised his hands and put them on his head, leaving his hard cock hanging free. Tobias slid off the bench and to his knees. This couldn’t be too difficult. Cass had managed it through iron bars. He could do this. Cass’s eyes shot wide as he put his hands on the gladiator’s thighs. “Have you ever done this before?”
Was it that obvious? “No.” He was kicking his own ass for being a virgin and a prude all his life.
Cass’s cock jerked. “God, boy, you’re trying to kill me. Virgin ass, virgin mouth, all mine.Fuckme.”
“I’m trying. Do I just lick it?” Tobias strained his brain to recall what his cousins had said about intercourse and blow jobs. He certainly wanted to lick it. He wanted to lap the head of the cat’s cock and taste the pre-cum decorating the mushroomed tip.
“In the name of all that is holy!” Cass cursed, his cock jerking. “You kind of lick it and suck it and stuff.”
“Well, you’re informative,” Tobias muttered. That was about as instructional as a Tootsie Pop commercial. He took a deep breath and opened his mouth. The last time he’d caught a glimpse of a porn vid he’d been thirteen years old. But he remembered the bare bones of it. He wrapped his lips around the head and lapped at the pearled tip.
“Jesus,” Cassisus moaned. He kept his hands above his head despite the increased trembling in his thighs. “Hmm, that’s it. Good boy. Right there. Deeper, baby. Suck it just like that.” Tobias bobbed his head, following Cass’s rumbled instructions with enthusiasm. The salty-sweet taste of Cass played over his tongue, and his animal all but whimpered his approval. This was his mate, the one man on the planet he could be with for nothing but pleasure.
Cass whispered Tobias’s name like a prayer. Tobias only wished he could take care of his own hard length that was throbbing for attention. Though, sucking Cass off was almost as good as jerking his own cock. With every noise the gladiator made, Tobias felt more empowered, and he got harder with every second that passed.
“Tobias, I’m close.” The warning just made Tobias groan around Cass’s dick. He wanted to taste Cass as he came down his throat. Tobias sucked harder, his hands digging into the hard muscle of Cass’s thighs.God, he’s vocal. Cass’s purring had turned into a very feline sound of pleasure. The rumbling happiness was just another turn-on designed to twist Tobias’s cock into a hard knot. “Tobias!”
He pulled back and looked up at Cass. “Cass, let me have it.” Cass’s hands tangled in his hair and forced his head down onto the pulsing arousal.
“God, yes. Mate. Mine. Tobias. Christ!” Cassisus stammered as he choked Tobias on his cock. The gagging wasn’t pleasant at all, but the wild look on his cat’s face was enough that Tobias didn’t care. Tobias took a hand off Cass’s thigh and wrapped it around his own weeping erection. He jerked in time with Cass’s thrusts, eager to fall off the precipice of pleasure with his mate.Does this count as a joining?He hoped not. He wasn’t ready for that, but God knew he was ready to come.
“Now, Tobias,” Cass gasped. “Coming now!” His hands tightened painfully in Tobias’s hair, and as the first splash of semen hit Tobias’s tongue, his own arousal jerked and spilled the sticky proof of his pleasure into the circle of his fist. His eyes crossed as his sac was wrung out, and he came so hard spots danced in his vision.
Cass’s grip eased a second later, but Tobias was too caught up in instinct. He continued to lap at his lover even as he softened in his mouth.So good. It was so good.
“I’m going to say your first blow job was a resounding success,” Cass panted, pulling his dick from Tobias’s still-suckling mouth. Tobias whimpered at having his new favorite toy taken away. He looked up into the cat’s beautiful blue eyes and saw the animal staring down at him. The cat’s eyes were slit like they would be in feline form. The partial shift was significant. A male would really have to lose control of himself in order to achieve that kind of reaction.
Tobias didn’t know what to say. He hadn’t intended for this to happen, but he couldn’t bring himself to regret it. What was he supposed to say to the man who just blew his mind? Thank you? That sounded terrible.
“Say something,” Cassisus demanded. “Please don’t tell me you’re going to freak out. Because I really enjoyed it, and I don’t know if my ego can take you hating it.”
Tobias blinked. Was that insecurity in his voice? “I didn’t hate it. I loved it.”Why is it always awkward afterward?
He must’ve noticed the confusion on Tobias’s face, because Cass said, “Because we don’t know one another well enough for this much physical interaction. Having sex isn’t the same thing as loving someone.” Was he a mind reader now? “You said that out loud, goofball. Come on. Let me get you up. Your knees are probably wrecked from this floor.” The gladiator pulled the smaller man to his feet. Sure enough, Tobias’s knees protested the movement. He’d have bruises and an aching jaw tomorrow.Great.
“I want to know you,” Tobias said. He had been allowing himself to get to know Cass, but he hadn’t actually wanted to know him until that moment. The cat wrapped his arms around his waist and drew him into his chest. It was nice, more than nice really. It was fantastic.Okay. I’m a cuddler. There is one aspect of my sexuality that I now know for certain. He breathed in the scent of his cat and the pleasure they’d shared.
“That’s what the whole taking-it-slow thing is for, little one,” Cass murmured, kissing the top of Tobias’s head. “I hope you like me.”
“I hope I like you, too, because I want you a whole lot,” Tobias admitted, resting his cheek against the oiled pectoral muscle in front of him. He sighed as he realized that he was smearing the stuff all over him. “So much for subtlety. Everyone is going to know exactly what we were doing.”
Cass snorted. “Let them know. They’ll just be jealous that I am the best fighter, the best looking, and the only male mated to such a fine specimen of manhood.”
“Did you just call me a ‘fine specimen of manhood’?” Tobias asked dryly.
Cass chuckled. “Yes. Yes I did.”
“Cassisus the Vain, you earn your reputation fairly,” Tobias said, running his teeth down Cass’s pec before nibbling on the exposed nipple. The cat jumped, and Tobias laughed. They touched easily enough. A contentment came over him. He could see himself doing thi
s more often.
“I do. I make no qualms about that.” The gladiator sighed and pulled Tobias down on the bench beside him with half the mouse’s body in his lap. “I like touching you, little one.” He smiled, and it was dazzling. No wonder people flocked after him. He was gorgeous and so genuine. “I feel like I can finally let my guard down. You are mine, and you’re mine because fate and you have decided to be mine.” He paused. “Right?”
Shit. I should tell him. “I decided to give this a chance.”Shit. Why didn’t I say anything? He didn’t want to hurt him, and he strongly suspected that he would if Cassisus found out about why Tobias had agreed to go to him to begin with and what he was getting out of it when Cass left for Europe.
“That’s all I want is a chance. It’ll be fantastic, Tobias. I’ll be a good mate, I promise.” He chatted on, oblivious to the turmoil that was circling through Tobias. “Will you travel with us to Louisiana? I don’t want to interrupt this whole mating process.”
Tobias hesitated. “Maybe we’ll need the time apart to think things over.”
“I’ll be gone to Europe for the circuit almost three months. I don’t think an extra week of noncontemplation is really going to add anything to our mating,” Cassisus argued. The gladiator frowned. “Why are you pulling away from me?”
“I’m not,” Tobias hastened to say. “I just don’t want to rush this.”
Cass sighed like he wasn’t happy about it. “Being a mate is a frustrating experience.”
“Being a shifter is a frustrating experience.”
A voice from the doorway made him jump. He turned and saw the lanista standing there. “We’re ready to go, Cass. Have your mate re-oil you with the bowl in the shower room. The escorts will take you to the exhibition hall when he’s finished.” The bear pushed off the doorframe. “Cassisus, your mate can attend you in the photo session, but I would ask that you both have supper in your cell after. Tobias’s presence is agitating the other cats. I’ll have food arranged. Master Flavius will be along within a few moments, so hurry up.”
