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  The horned bag of muscles with the erection that was cuddling up against her was incontrovertible proof. Sex was just sex, it was the emotion behind it that gave it the power.

  She sighed heavily and tried to relax. There was nothing here to fight and triggering her powers would only flash-fry all the people in her vicinity and leave her to the mercy of anyone who came to her after. Killing for no reason was not on her agenda. Her body wasn’t in danger, her mind was fine and she was safe for the time being. As a pyro, she was in demand with the Alliance and they would send someone to look for her. It was only a matter of time.

  She would defend herself only if she had to, and with Athon, he would take care of that for her. She knew it as certainly as she knew her own name. Dhemon males were not known to be promiscuous and, with him clutching her possessively, she sensed that they might form some kind of attachment. At least the sex was good.

  “Athon, bring your new pet into the yard for morning exercises.” Meyi’s voice came through a speaker that was hidden somewhere in the room.

  Her companion groaned and flipped back the covers, leaving them both naked in the morning light.

  “Come on, Sarah, you can have one of my spare tunics until he gets you some more appropriate clothing.” He tapped one of the bare walls, to her astonishment, it slid open to display a wardrobe. He selected a tunic for her, and tunic and trousers for him. She also had no footwear and he promised to talk to Meyi as soon as it was feasible.

  Dressed and ready, they made their way into the yard. Athon offered his arm and Sarah had gratefully taken it. It was yet another small kindness that was warming her heart and turning her instinctive trust into something else. Something she didn’t want to put a name to.

  She picked her way carefully over the rocks and sand of the yard, seeing the large ring that had been carved out of stone and occupied by a large creature that was not on her list of known races. “What is that?”

  “It’s a Callic. They are known for their strength and intelligence. They are indigenous to Nyal territory and rarely venture out of it.”

  “Why is that?”

  “They can’t abide by the rules of the Alliance, they have terrible tempers.” A chuckle lit his voice. “Morning, Coa!”

  The creature spoke as if its voice were passing through gravel, “Morning Athon, is that a new pet?”

  “My mate. Sarah, meet Coa. Coa, Sarah.” They had reached the ring and Athon was removing his tunic.

  Meyi approached and watched the proceedings.

  Sarah still hadn’t quite figured out what the morning exercise entailed, but it was made clear when the two males squared off and then collided. “Holy hell.” It was ferocious.

  “You will need appropriate clothing and footwear. I will see to it later today.”

  Meyi was suddenly standing next to her as she watched the gladiatorial combat.

  “He fights harder today. I should have found him a breeding partner months ago.”

  There was nothing to say so she simply ignored him. Her heart was in her throat as she watched Athon take a pounding and give one in return. The violence of his fists was making her shake. He was faster than Coa, but could not compare to the bulk strength that the Callic brought to bear when he connected.

  It was over when Coa was finally knocked off his feet and Athon jumped on him to deliver a vicious head butt. That horn plate was good for something. Coa was out cold.

  Meyi had all of his eyes wide open, Sarah bit the inside of her lip to keep her face straight. He looked surprised. She was betting that it was the fastest that Athon had ever taken down Coa.

  “That is enough for this morning. Break your fast, Athon, and your pet’s, too.”

  She was getting tired of being a pet, but since it was day one, she had better get used to it. Staggering toward her was a bloody but cheerful male, triumphant at his successful defence of his mate. It was symbolic, but she was not about to explain that to his testosterone.

  “Come. Our meal will have been delivered to my quarters.”

  He didn’t escort her this time, he simply picked her up and carried her. Yup. He was riding the macho wave. They passed rows of slaves who were obviously heading out for a day of work in the fields. She used her free left hand to smooth the tunic up to the back of her thighs when she noticed that the other slaves had a view straight up the rear of her covering. Their interested stares were her first clue, the hoots and hollers were her second.

  When Athon noted their interest, he turned his shoulders so that she was blocked from their view and snarled at them with his fangs exposed. The noises stopped. Apparently it wasn’t worth their lives.

  Sarah kept quiet. She didn’t want to arouse any of his instincts, either to protect or to mate. At this point, either one would be dangerous. He was guarding her from the gazes of the other men and that was a bad sign when he was this close to his mating fever.

  The doorway to his quarters was open and he swept inside, moving through the outer room and to the bedchamber beyond. Sarah bounced as he dropped her on the bed and she shuddered at the look in his eyes as he dropped his trousers. There was no thought in his head beyond burying himself in her body.

  She was fucked. Or about to be.

  Chapter Four

  Dodging him was impossible, avoiding him was unthinkable so she looked closely at the naked male who had just defeated another in battle and embraced the attraction. His finely hewn body was streaked with blood and dirt, but his muscles were clearly defined and the bands across his belly made her fingers itch to caress him.

  Moisture pooled between her thighs as memories of the night before wrote themselves across her flesh. Finally she met his gaze with her own. Heat to heat. He needed no further encouragement. The Azon in him came out and his claws slit the tunic he had given her from throat to hem. Now they were both naked and he liked what he saw if the moisture dripping from his cock was any indication.

  She gave into her urges and reached out to touch him, caressing the planes of muscle and enjoying the velvet feel of his skin. He was shuddering with desire when she trailed her fingers across his belly and he groaned and snarled when her fingers curled around his cock.

  Her hand spread his precum over his shaft and she used it to ease her stroking. Her own body was demanding attention so she used two fingers of her other hand to stroke herself in the same rhythm she was using on him. His eyes were flaring so hot she could feel it, oh wait, that was her. Her hands heated on her flesh and his so she did what she could to stop herself. She removed her hand from his member and kept his gaze as she slowly licked her palm, tasting him.

  He snapped.

  Snarling, he flipped her to her belly and drove two fingers inside her as he pulled her to her knees. He kept up the growling as his fingers drove her to distraction, waiting until she was pushing back against his hand before replacing his digits with the thrust of his cock. The vocalizations he was giving her neck had gooseflesh breaking out on her sweating skin. She keened her release as it ran through her without any warning and the instant she did so, he struck. His bite was deep, clear and without any preamble. As his teeth and cock were deep inside her, she began to shake. Mewling cries broke from her as he purred into her neck and then released her, licking the wound clean.

  He kept his steady thrusts paced to fan her arousal to fever pitch once again. She squirmed helplessly and moved back to take him deeper, harder. Soft cries of desperation broke from her as she tried to use him to push herself over the precipice. It was coming, she could feel it, but she couldn’t quite reach it. When Athon finally began to pound into her with a fury that let her know his own release was around the corner, she mewled piteously. This time he bit the other side of her neck as she squeaked. He held her fast as his body jerked into hers over and over again. She felt the liquid heat within her as he came and let her neck go to roar his triumph to anyone who would listen.

  Her body was sated and he was heavy. She collapsed to the bedding w
ith him on top of her and turned her head to breathe. Well, that had certainly been something. She fought to get her hands free and checked the sides of her neck. The left was not bleeding, but the right still was.

  Athon pushed her hand away and nuzzled her neck with his lips, his tongue lapping out to close her wounds. Sighing heavily, he rolled off her and to the side, again dragging her against him spoon fashion. He didn’t stop nuzzling at her like a mother with its cub, but she was too tired to complain.

  “I am sorry to say, I do believe my mating time has started.”

  His voice was low in her ear, but much more welcome than the grunts and snarling had been. “You don’t say. I would never have guessed.”

  “Nothing stops that mouth, does it?”

  “Only food. Where is breakfast?”

  He snorted in her ear. “On the table to your right. We passed it on the way in.”

  She tried to scramble free of his embrace but was stalled. “Come on, I am hungry.”

  “Shower first. Then food. The domestic slave will come in while we get clean.” He dragged her off the bed and into the sanitation chamber. She caught a glimpse of a small table laden with food and whimpered as he hauled her into the shower.

  She blinked in surprise as the water ran pink while it soaked them. She suddenly realized, “This is a basically dry world, how is it that you have water for a shower?”

  “Nothing is too good for a prize fighter. Meyi had it installed after my fifth fight.”

  Athon was more interested in washing the blood from his fight off her than he was his own flesh. Sarah hadn’t realized that the residue on his body had rubbed off on to hers, but with all the rubbing they had been doing, she shouldn’t have been surprised.

  His hands carried remnants of her arousal back to her. As he massaged her shoulders back, buttocks and thighs she shivered in his arms. “How is it that you are in heat, but I am the one making the water steam?”

  He turned her so that her back was no longer to him. “Nyal tradition. Your heat feeds mine.” Their mouths met, fought and danced together as they kissed until the steam clouded the entire room.

  He pushed her up against the wall and lifted her until she was in position to be impaled on him. Their mating was fierce, wet and had them both snarling as he drove into her. The hand he placed between them to stroke her clit sent her spinning into orgasm and he kept riding her until he threw his head back and howled his release.

  She was limp against him, her legs locked around the small of his back and her arms around his neck. She sighed heavily and squirmed against him, feeling him slip from her just a little. It made her flesh shiver around him and fed her own need once again. Damn it. He was right. She was horny.

  “There are towels in that shelf to the left, dry yourself or I won’t get the rest of this blood and mud off me.”

  He gave her a slap on the butt and she moved out of the shower area to the indicated piece of wall. When she touched it, the towel rack presented itself. Nice. There were more than four towels there so she didn’t feel guilty for using one on her hair as well as wrapping one around her. She didn’t feel completely clean, but it was far better than when she had been covered with the remains of the fight and not known it.

  Another realization hit her suddenly, the food on the table was unguarded. It was all hers. She pattered out on bare feet and caught the tail end of the changing of the bedding. She didn’t recognize these races either, but she knew the look of pity when she saw it. They pitied her and it was almost enough to make her want to skip the food. Almost. It only held her back for a second before she was making her selections and stuffing her face.

  The females that were leaving the room bowed from their mantis-like waists and scurried out the door.

  “Are you trying to explode?”

  The voice was unmistakably amused. “No. But they don’t feed us much when we are in the pens and I got nothing yesterday at all.” Her eyes were far more able than her stomach so she stopped the instant she started to feel full. “There you go. All yours.” She waved him to the table where she had only dented the selection.

  “Very gracious of you.” He had a towel draped loosely around his hips.

  Her fingers itched to take that towel off. This sudden urge to peel him like a grape was unlike her. She took some fruit and perched on the bed as he made his choices. “You know. This urge to crawl all over you is unlike me. Is there something that you are not telling me?” He chuckled and the sound warmed her from within.

  “As unlikely as it seems, perhaps we are simply made for each other? I can feel the pull of your body as you can feel the pull to mine. I never imagined that getting enslaved would be my method of finding the perfect woman for me, but here you are.” Athon turned to her and took a seat near her on the bed with his own plate in his lap. He munched on the fruit and meat slowly, his mind obviously on something else.

  “When is your next scheduled fight?”

  “It was supposed to be tonight, but with the heat, I don’t know.” He turned to her with his eyes flaring again.

  Her body responded to that look and she groaned. “I don’t know if I can so soon. I am getting kinda sore.” Moisture flowed pretty freely, but it was the muscles of her thighs that were protesting. Her body loved the heat of friction, it thrived on any sort of heat.

  “It will be slower the next time. Now that my body knows you, it knows that you will not leave it wanting.”

  She flopped back on the bed and sighed. “Nice to know it trusts me.” She turned her head to him and noted the distinct tenting on the front of his towel. Perhaps alternatives would work. “You may want to put that tray aside.”

  “Why is that?”

  “Because I figure that a blow job might distract that rod you are packing.” She crept toward him and tugged at his towel. His hands covered hers.

  “It won’t work. Your heat is dictating mine. If you are in anyway aroused by engaging me in this way, it will simply drive my heat higher, wasting your efforts.”

  She blinked for a moment and then pulled back, fighting a grin. “You are the first male in history that I have heard of to reject a woman using her mouth on him.”

  “I am half Dhemon, we are designed to be contrary.”

  She was about to refute that, Dhemons were known to be predictable, when a voice announced, “Athon. You fight tonight and your pet will accompany you.”

  Chapter Five

  Sarah spent the day with Athon talking, cuddling and murmuring in low voices. Their shared arousal was prevalent, but they did not act on it, knowing that he would be facing the fight ring in a few hours.

  The maids brought clothing for her and it wasn’t at all what she had been expecting. It was a slave girl outfit that made her look like an escapee from a high budget science fiction movie. Her blush almost set the outfit on fire, literally.

  “How do you change your skin colour like that? It is most fascinating.”

  His rough fingers stroked her chest delicately tracing the fluctuating colour and inciting her sensitive nerves to riot. “I react that way to embarrassment, shock and…er, arousal. I don’t control it.” She batted at his hand to no effect. “Stop that.”

  “Why?”

  “Because we are going soon and I don’t want to have my body humming to yours the whole time.”

  He glanced down and grinned ruefully at his erection. “Too late. It has been calling to me all day.”

  “So, why am I dressed like this again?”

  “Um. So I can stare at you while I am not fighting?” His smile was angelic given his horns. “The outfit is entirely appropriate on you as long as we don’t leave my quarters.” His gaze took in the triangles of bright blue that covered her breasts, the light strips of fabric that covered her from hips to ankle and the delicate slippers on her feet. “You look like you should be tied to my bed.”

  “I don’t think so. I think this looks like I was throwing on a dress and I missed.” She wasn’
t even tempted to twirl as she normally would with a new dress. This outfit was missing way too much fabric. One stiff wind and she would be nude from the waist down, except for her shoes. Having footwear after so many weeks was pure bliss.

  Athon was still chuckling over her dress comment when a chime sounded. Instantly he was on his feet and escorting her to the door. “We take an enclosed skimmer and it goes to the farm holding the fight. Sometimes we travel for hours so keep alert if you can, lean on me to sleep when you can’t. Coa and I are both contenders today, but not against each other.”

  The skimmer was on the pad waiting for them and there were only two seats aside from the driver and co-pilot seat. Meyi was next to the driver and that left the other two seats for the fighters. Athon solved her confusion by tugging her onto his lap after he took his seat. Coa sat across from them, only slightly the worse for wear for his sparring that morning.

  The ship lifted soundlessly as they began their journey and Sarah followed Athon’s advice. She snuggled into his arms and took a nap.

  She awoke abruptly as a sharp pinch was applied to her bottom. They had ceased moving and the inhabitants of their skimmer seemed to be waiting for a signal.

  When large barn style doors opened, Meyi relaxed and they disembarked.

  Sarah noted guards posted around the property and suspected that it was to catch any fighters who may want to retire early. Escaping slavery was such an ugly word. The instant that their little group walked into the barn a great roar went up. A woman came to Meyi and spoke for a moment, then took Sarah’s hand in hers and walked her off. She didn’t know where they were going, but she got a bad feeling when she saw the posts equipped with wrist-sized manacles. Oh shit.