DEE
Things are getting real. The other gladiators are considering leaving the camp, and although I have confidence in Vadnar, I'd prefer if we weren't alone. There's strength in numbers, after all.
Ranrok isn't being subtle about his interest in me. He's looking at me intensely, without care that Vandar is nearby. I don't understand what this man sees in me, other than my foreign features. And I have no interest in finding out. I'm fully devoted to Vadnar, who has looked over me since day one.
I appeared in his peaceful, undisturbed farm and caused chaos. And although he was a man on the run, he took me in. I completely fell for him. That mind of his that notices the little things I do and say. His touch and his nature. Vadnar is a natural born leader, and he has led me head over heels for him. I'm loyal to him although he frustrates me with his boldness and turns my mind to mush with his sensual stare.
Ranrok deserves the same happiness I found with Vadnar, but I can't offer it.
The rest of the day passes by slowly. We're on high alert, looking over our shoulders and expecting colosseum guards to appear in the bushes and drag us back. I ate the meat the men offered me, although it was chewy and metallic. But I can't complain. Not after they hunted this for the group.
There are no beds. Vadnar and I sleep shoulder-to-shoulder on the grass, the sound of the animals hooves hitting leaves jolting me awake. I don't think any of us slept. The tension is too high.
In the morning, we eat what remains of dinner and rush to the beach. I ride with Vadnar for hours. The group was deadly quiet, afraid of raising alarm, but the trip was uneventful. We had no visitors except for a wild boar-like animal that the group turned to lunch.
When we reach the beach, I'm stunned by the purple waves that clash. The black sand reminds me of the arena, but there are no splatters of blood staining it. This slice of nature is undisturbed and beautiful.
We ride down the beach until the afternoon, and I bite my tongue to hide my discomfort from my chafed thighs. I don't want to slow the group down, and knowing Vadnar, he would make us take the day off until I recover.
The men pause when they spot a school of fish jumping out of the water, their colorful scales glittering in the sunlight. They all go hunting with their handmade spears while Hull and Ranrok stand watch.
I feel useless as I sit on the sand and watch everyone do their parts, but I don't know how to swim or have much power to spear the fish. This weighs heavily on me, since I've always been independent. I assured that I would carry my own weight. But all I can do is sit on the sand beside the animals.
"Dee."
My back straightens when a voice calls my name. It's deep, meant for attention just like Vadnar's is.
I turn around, and when I spot Ranrok approaching me, I instantly stand up.
"I must speak with you," he says, his eyes flickering behind me before studying my features, which are so different from his.
I tense and consider walking away. But I have to settle things, because I know Vadnar will not have the patience to do so.
"Ranrok."
Now it's his time to tense.
"Thanks for carrying me over the wall at the colosseum. I'm glad we're both free and can look for happiness. We deserve it, but you sadly won't find it with me. I'm loyal to Vadnar. Please stop pursuing me."
He crosses his arms over his chest, his muscles bulging. "Before I saw you, I was fine being imprisoned. It was easier being a prisoner where I had fans cheering on my skills than hated in the real world for being a Master. And then I saw you. And you are so beautiful that I became curious of what else is out in this world. Inspired. That is why I'm free now."
My stomach twists with discomfort because he speaks highly of me, but he's only attracted to my looks and doesn't know who I truly am. But I can't hate him, because he has been through enough as a gladiator.
With a soft tone, I tell him, "You will find someone, one day. Someone that inspires you not just with her beauty. I really wish that for you, but I won't be that woman. I'm sorry."
He lifts his chin, acknowledging my words, and then he walks away. Hopefully, this is the last time we have this conversation.
I turn around and find the large yellow leaves that were set by the sand are piled up with fish. Vadnar is knee-deep in the water, stabbing his spear like he's on auto-pilot. The water splashes and fishes don't stand a chance against his furious stabbing. The other gladiators keep their distance as they do their own fishing, not keen on ending on the sharp end of Vadnar's spear.
I kick off my sandals and walk into the water, bunching my dress at my knees.
Vadnar sees me. He launches the spear in the air, stabbing it into the sand beside the pile of fish. Then he's stomping through the water, muttering like a madman and running a wet hand through his hair.
When he stands before me, his eyes study the background. I wonder if he's looking for Ranrok.
"Are you mad that I spoke with Ranrok?"
"You are not my slave," he grumbles.
"You can speak to whoever you want, male or female."
He's trying to be mature, but jealousy soaks his skin deeper than the salty water we're in.
"I understand that, but are you mad?"
"Can I answer these questions after having my way with you?" He asks, his voice stern.
"What?" I whisper. "But there's people on the beach!"
He shrugs. "I would have the decency to swim you out into the water first."
Oh, like that makes it better. I'm trying to ease him and all he's thinking of is making the ocean wetter with my orgasm.
"Vadnar, focus. I need to make sure we're on the same page. When I spoke to Ranrok, I was telling him to move on because I'm not interested."
"You don't have to explain yourself to me," he repeats. "But now that you made it clear to him to stay away, I have grounds to put him in the ground if he keeps bothering you." He chuckles, the sound unhinged. "And I pray to the gods he doesn't lift a hand toward you. I imagine holding a sword will be very difficult without arms."
I rub my forehead. "Are you going to ask him to leave the group?"
I don't want Ranrok to be removed. I would prefer if the group carried on in peace, because it's only a matter of time before we run into trouble. We all need protection.
"No," Vadnar replies, surprising me.
"Removing him would be cowardly, so I'll let the bastard lurk all he wans. Besides, for all of his faults, no Master deserves any more rejection. We get enough of that in society."
He said the right words in the wrong order, but I'm proud of him. Rising to my tippy toes, I embrace him, before squealing and jumping away. "You smell like fish!"
The fish don't smell like the ones on Earth do. These smell like fresh paint. The strong scent frustrates my nose.
I laugh as Vadnar clings to me tightly and rubs his face into my neck, covering me in his scent. He only releases me when he's satisfied that I'm covered.
Together, we walk to the beach.
"If we keep you in a jealous rage all day, we will never starve," I joke as I eye the pile of fish that he caught.
"I see you humans are renowned for your petty humor," he grumbles back.
The others begin to gather sticks for a fire, so I help, staying within eyeshot as Vadnar's requested.
I watch Hull and Vadnar gut the fish. It's strange, watching their translucent intestines glow faintly. But I want to learn how to do this to help in the future.
We roast the fish, and eat as I listen to the men laugh. They roam around to enjoy their freedom, unable to stay seated on the logs.
I can't imagine what it was like to be in a cell for months.
Vaine hums as he sits beside me and eats his fish, his fingers oily and lips smacking loudly. He bounces his leg as he watches the fire. Then, when he's done, he rinses his hands and approaches me with a smile.
I return it as he sits beside me.
"You have pretty hair," he says. I'm not alarmed by his words. Vaine has the mind of a child. He's not capable of any maliciousness and I've noticed that the other gladiators are protective of him, although the man is seven feet tall.
"Thanks Vaine. So do you. But I think Hull has the nicest hair among us."
He frowns. "Hull is bald."
I wink. "Exactly."
He bursts out laughing, while Hull rolls his eyes from where he sits across the fire.
"Can I touch your hair?" Vaine asks.
His request would raise plenty of eyebrows on Earth, but I take no offense to it. I remove my hair tie and fluff my hair with a palm. It's dry from the nearby sea salt and tangled from neglect, but I doubt Zolan has Amazon two-day shipping for a comb and leave in conditioner.
Vadnar watches us as he stands beside a tree and talks with an older gladiator. He doesn't react, but his eyes don't leave mine.
All Vaine does is pat my head, chuckling childishly and patting his own crimson hair to compare the textures.
When Vadnar crosses the distance between us, I tense. Vaine doesn't notice. All he does is wave Vadnar over. "Come, Vadnar! Let me play with yours too."
Vadnar's freezes, but all of camp is eyeing him, ready to intervene if he hurts Vaine's feelings.
The giant grumbles under his breath as he sits next to me, resting his elbows on his thighs as a delighted Vaine runs his hands through his hair. This is the silliest thing we've ever done. It's ridiculous, but this is freedom. And I can't have enough of it.
Once Vaine gets distracted and moves on, Vadnar takes my hand and leads me toward the dark beach, away from the glow of the fire.
He kicks his shorts off, uncaring about his nudity.
"Vadnar..." I warn.
He tackles me into the water, and I'm soaked instantly. I sputter as I swing my arms. "This was my only dress!"
He kisses my face. "One day, I will get you a castle of dresses."
I lightly sway at his bicep. "But today is not that day."
He wraps his arms around me and walks us deep into the water. The water is cold and I hug him tightly, enjoying his warmth and the sound of the waves. There are flashes of blue as the waves slam, but I doubt the group can see us from here.
Vadnar slides my skirt up higher the deeper we get. I'm apprehensive, because I know what he's planning, and I fear the group will know what we're doing.
"Maybe we should.. hmm..." speaking becomes difficult. Not because he's kissing me, but because of his roaming hands and the muscles that are pressing into my curves, filling against me like a puzzle piece.
He kisses my neck, pulling my neckline down to reach my breasts and roll a nipple into his mouth. My back is facing the sea, my hair wet as I tip my head back and moan into the darkness of the night.
I doubt I can be seen or heard from this distance, but the danger of getting caught makes it all the more thrilling. My nipples are hard and my clit is pulsing although Vadnar hasn't touched it yet. I'm charged with energy, so delirious that I make sounds I've never heard before. We've been intimate before, but this is different, because there are no rules here. No imprisonment. Vadnar is free to do whatever he wants to my body, and I won't have the strength to stop him.
He grips my ass as he sucks on my breasts, switching to the other breast whenever a wave crashes onto us, like he wants to ensure his imprint isn't washed away. My feet don't touch the ground. I'm fully supported by Vadnar's greedy hands and lips.
He pulls my straps back in place, takes a deep breath, and dives under. The underwater darkness, pressure of the waves or the coldness of the water don't deter him from finding my cunt and latching on. I rasp shakily, gripping handfuls of his hair as he laps and sucks with unforgivable pressure. I can't think of anything but him and his lips.
He eats my cunt like his freedom depends on it. Like he didn't just feast on the meat he cooked over the fire. There is a desperation to his feeding. He shakes his head and slides his tongue through my folds furiously—maybe because he's running out of breath, maybe because he's been craving my pussy for so long, maybe because he's trying to remind me that he's the only man that will make my pussy flutter so hard.
I can feel my heartbeat thrumming throughout my entire body. The water warms, and I wonder if that's because of the heat my body emits.
I grind my teeth, because this is inappropriate. Because it's probably dangerous for my nerves to thrum with so much fucking blinding pleasure. I fight this because I don't want this to end. I want that tongue to keep lapping at my clit, sparking the mind-numbing, life-stopping delicious joy at my core.
But of course I lose. I always lose when it comes to his lips, tongue, and filthy schemes. I bite my lip to hide my scream as I come, unable to stop myself from grinding against his awaiting face as I ride the wave of euphoria. For fifteen seconds, I'm in another world as the pulse at my core echoes to the rest of my body, spreading to my fingers and toes and my damned heart.
I open my eyes, and on the beach, I spot a figure turning and walking away. Ranrok.