Sexual Memory [Dark Colony 2] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting)

by Elle Saint James

  She focused on getting her breathing under control. Completely sated, the steady rhythm of Will’s heartbeat lulled her into a relaxed enough state to doze off.

  Parisa woke some time later. Will’s warm body settled beside her on the thin mattress. They were unconnected now and yet she’d never felt closer to anyone. Well…that she knew of anyway. If her memory came back, would guilt accompany it in waves? The afterglow of not one but two gratifying sexual encounters hadn’t eased from her core. Satisfaction still resonated through her weakened limbs, but new arousal joined in. Odd, since her skin tingled from shoulders to toes with the intensity of the most recent climax.

  Since she’d pretty much fallen asleep on top of him, they hadn’t spoken after the second time. Then again, what was there to say? Thanks for the boon? Good fucking you again?

  The sweet floral fragrance wafted past her nose and desire flooded her with each breath she took into her lungs. She wanted him again. Was it greedy to ask for thirds? She’d given him a boon and then taken one for herself already. Perhaps three times was inappropriate, given her limited memory. Then again, perhaps it wasn’t a memory at all. Perhaps it was only a dream. A vision manufactured by her brain to give her hope of a past while in reality her memory held nothing of value. Some slim shred of an existence to make her want to go on and not fold like a house of cards during a stiff wind.

  Parisa sighed internally. She knew in her heart that the sex with the other man wasn’t a dream or a fabrication of her mind. The scent and flavor of that delicious stranger’s skin still lingered in her soul.

  Having just sampled Will’s delectable body, twice, she knew he tasted completely different. Greedy slave bitch that she was, Parisa knew choosing between the two, if they were both available to her right now, would be impossible.

  Chapter Four

  William woke up again with a start as he had no less than six times before during the night. The restless nature of all the visual questions in his dreams wouldn’t let him alone for long. The problem was a recurring vision he kept having as soon as his eyes closed and he drifted into a deeper state of sleep.

  The vivacious blonde woman in a white, lacy dress with the engaging grin kept popping up to disturb his rest. The twin braided plaits of her long hair wound artfully around her head and sported sprigs of small white flowers in the folds. Behind her in the background was the colorful evening sky.

  In the dream, he was dancing with her amongst a lot of other happy, dancing couples, as if they all rejoiced. A sunset nuptials celebration, perhaps? Damn. His evening wedding ceremony? William sincerely hoped the woman haunting his dreams wasn’t his wife. The sublimely naked angel nestled securely in his arms didn’t deserve to deal with an unavailable man slaking his lust on her repeatedly for convenient boons in this fucked-up scenario. Not after all they’d been through together in their short acquaintance.

  For better or worse and until he could figure out another plan, they were stuck together here in this deplorable place. After making love to her the first time, he knew it would happen again. And again. Forty more days in the ring, fighting every other day until he could secure their freedom. He hoped he was up to the task. Knowing Parisa would be shuttled to the next winner in the gladiator arena helped keep him focused. He didn’t relish the idea of her being forced to satisfy some other gladiator. He didn’t remember this about himself for certain, of course, but he didn’t think he was too keen on sharing.

  Parisa shifted in her sleep. Perhaps she also had nightmares of a different life without the knowledge of how she ended up here in this desolate place.

  William pondered the possibility that he was outcast from the happy couples spinning around the dance floor in the castle he remembered. Was that place even his current home? Or only a distant memory of times long past? Or a fantasy created to torture him about his forgotten history? He didn’t know.

  The more he searched his mind for answers to how he arrived in this current predicament, the more his past eluded him. In fact, his head began to ache the harder he tried to remember.

  He pushed out a defeated sigh and moved his thoughts to a more pressing matter. The art of staying alive in the gladiator arena was the more urgent topic he should ponder. He should use his precious sleeping time for outlining a strategy to keep them both alive, and not mulling over something he couldn’t change anyway. His further plans were better served formulating how to prevail in the arena twenty more times each to win their freedom.

  Parisa took the occasion to stir in her sleep, pushing her hip into his groin. He bent his head and inhaled the delectable scent of her hair. William’s cock came to the ready and throbbed with virulent need after less than a few seconds.

  If he made love to her once more, what would it matter? Any prior commitments were already broken. Not the best reason to persuade her to have sex with him again, but he was compelled to ignore his conscience, at least for now.

  The cloying perfume of the cut flowers caught his attention momentarily. Parisa smelled so much better. They should find flowers with her scent and fill the room. He’d be lost in the heady fragrance of her essence. William lifted his head to look at the bouquet next to the bed. He finally realized why they bothered him so much. Why would a world so primitive and crude make a point to put a vase of fresh-cut flowers in their room? The gesture and the flowers seemed grossly out of place in this dirty, barbaric place.

  Parisa stirred once more, bumped her hips against his cock again, and rolled onto her back. Her beautiful breasts were suddenly displayed for his pleasure. His mind moved from the floral array to a more pressing matter. His unsatisfied cock. A spike of lust shot from his dick to the center of his chest in a hot microsecond. She suddenly rose up from the bed, bracing back on her elbows and lifting her torso. She turned and leaned closer to kiss his cheek. William lost his train of thought regarding the floral arrangement in favor of making love to a sleepy-eyed Parisa once more.

  He moved on top of her, unable to stop himself from pushing her legs open to satisfy his seemingly never-ending quest for gratification. If she balked at having sex again, he’d back off, but if she were willing, he wanted her with a desperation he wasn’t sure was natural.

  Paris woke slowly. She smiled the moment he pressed the tip of his cock against her pussy lips.

  “I can’t seem to get enough of you,” he whispered.

  She laughed. “That’s good.”

  “Is it?” William felt like a sexual demon. Would he ever get enough of her?

  “Yes. It seems that I suffer from the same problem.” Her legs widened, allowing him easier access to push his cock deeper. “Each time we come together, it feels better and better.”

  William lowered his head and kissed her soft mouth. Her tongue wrapped around his in a slow, sensual glide. The intensity of his feelings surprised him. He barely knew this woman, but they were like soul mates whenever they came together intimately.

  Parisa pushed her hips up and this movement made his cock slide all the way inside her pussy. He was so deep his balls rested against her ass cheeks. The sensation of being buried inside Parisa was a singular pleasure. Surely, he’d never felt this way before.

  His desire, heightened by her willingness and sensuality, gave him pause. He was falling in love with her. The realization didn’t slow his actions, but instead gave him strength to get through this strange journey they shared.

  It might be dangerous to fall in love with her, since they had no knowledge of their past, but he recognized an undeniable truth. He would die to protect her. He would do it every day for as many days as it took until they could leave this horrible place together.

  William thrust his cock again deeply as she cried out. Her pussy suddenly clenched his cock in a rhythmic fashion, signaling her release. That was all he needed to let go his own climax.

  They’d barely settled back on the mattress after the exceptionally satisfying round of sexual congress, when a knocking sound came from somewhere
in their room. The rhythmic stone clacking against stone disrupted his peace. Parisa stilled beneath him.

  “Do you hear that?” he whispered.

  “The knocking? Yes. What is it?”

  Clack. Clack. Clack.

  “It’s coming from the bathing area.” William got up from the bed and entered the small primitive toilet room.

  Clack. Clack. Next to the water bowl on his right, the sound was loudest. Closer inspection revealed a small hole between bricks in the wall just below eye level.

  “Are you the winner from today?” came a loud whisper from seemingly the wall itself.

  “Who are you?” William whispered back. There was a long enough pause that William wondered if he’d dreamed the voice.

  “Do you remember your name?” the voice asked with a hard-edged tone.

  William didn’t trust this voice for some reason. He continued to answer the unseen stranger’s questions with his own questions, unwilling to reveal any information to this whispery voice. “Do you remember yours?”

  “No. I remember nothing before I came to this place.”

  Parisa’s hand gripped his shoulder suddenly and William almost jumped from his skin in surprise. He hadn’t heard her move from the bed. He turned and put a finger to his lips. She nodded.

  “Who are you, stranger?” William called in a slightly louder voice.

  “I don’t know who I am, but I think I’m going into the gladiator ring tomorrow. I watched you win today. They make the future combatants watch. If my time is tomorrow, I don’t expect to live through my experience.”

  William wished he’d been afforded the opportunity to watch the arena fight once first before waking up in there. “Why not?”

  “I don’t believe I’m as handy with a sword.”

  “Mayhap you’ll do better than you think when your life is in danger.”

  “You’d better hope not.”

  “Why?”

  “If I win the day in the arena tomorrow, then I get her.”

  William stiffened. The voice was right. He didn’t hope that at all. His resolve increased a hundred-fold, and he didn’t want to talk to this unseen stranger any longer. A muffled creaking noise came from the other side of the wall where the stranger was housed. The sound of the door banging open came next.

  William held his breath. Parisa squeezed his shoulder once more.

  There was more shuffling and scuffling sounds and William thought he heard Gruvat, but not another word from the whispery voice. The sound of a door slamming shut came next. William counted to a hundred very slowly before calling out to the voice, but he didn’t return. He and Parisa backed out of the small room and went back to sit on the bed.

  “That was odd,” she whispered. She grabbed his hand and laced her fingers with his.

  William was more than just a little bit disturbed by the incident. “Yes. Very odd.”

  “What are you thinking?”

  “I have a bad feeling in my gut.”

  “About the stranger in the next room trying to make contact?”

  He shrugged. “That and about pretty much everything here.” He squeezed her fingers entwined with his. “With the exception of you.”

  “What worries you?”

  “I’m not convinced he was a friend, making me wonder what he was truly after.” He didn’t know why he was so disturbed by the conversation, but tucked his feelings on the matter away so as not to frighten Parisa. He needed to focus on the future. Their tumultuous outlook in the arena to be more precise.

  She clenched his fingers tighter. “Don’t worry. I have complete faith in your abilities to beat the phantom voice.”

  He smiled and kissed her soft lips. “I swear to you, Parisa, I’ll do whatever it takes to get us out of here.”

  Her sudden brilliant grin warmed his heart. “I already know that.” She nodded her head once toward the sleeping chamber. “Come on. Let’s get some sleep.”

  William nodded. They got back into the simple bed. She faced away from him on her side and he snuggled up behind her. He buried his face into the back of her neck and inhaled her delectable scent. His cock reared, but exhaustion took him before he could muster the energy to make love to her again. It was likely just as well, he needed to get some rest if he planned to slay any more beasts to protect her.

  The next sound he heard an indeterminate length of time later was the door to their room creaking open.

  * * * *

  The squeaky door woke Parisa instantly. She tensed up, but Will squeezed her hand. She took it to mean relax and also not to let the person entering the room know she was awake.

  No problem, since she was having trouble opening her eyes anyway. Repeated sex apparently made her tired. But in the best possible way.

  Plus, Parisa had slept soundly after the incident in the toilet room. It was as if she’d been laced with a sleeping drug. Her recent dreams had been incredibly vivid. The mystery man from her past started the night with a reprisal of the same sexual vision from before, but then later on she dreamed of Will.

  Unlike the wavering memories of her past, the short life she had with Will and the recounting of the past twelve hours was permanently cemented in her head. Truthfully, since she didn’t have much to remember, her brain capacity should be wide open for any new vivid memories.

  Even after dreaming about both men through the night, her waking mind was filled with Will. The battle in the gladiator ring and the primitive room they came to directly after the fight were the only new memories she carried. Only a short time period had elapsed, but after a single day, she had so many vivid things to keep track of now. At least until the unknown entity near the door made an announcement.

  Parisa peeked her eyes open enough to see a large shape by the door and a second following into their room. Great. Now what?

  The sound of a match being struck and the blaze of light suddenly in the dark room temporarily blinded her. She mashed her eyes shut and the image of flame still shown behind her eyelids. Will squeezed her fingers once more, but she didn’t know if it was for comfort or something else.

  She chanced opening her eyes once more. Standing in the room were two men she’d never seen before. Or rather two she didn’t think she’d ever seen before. Given her lack of memories, they could be close family she’d forgotten for all she knew.

  “Get up,” a voice from the first shape called out.

  Will lifted his head. “Who are you? Why are you in my room?”

  “We’re here to help you train for your next battle in the arena.”

  “What makes you think I need any help?”

  “I watched you fight yesterday,” the taller of the two men said.

  “And?”

  “And trust me, you can use all the help you can get.”

  Will smiled. “I thought I did pretty well, considering my challenges.”

  “Well, you lived through it. I’ll give you that. But Lord Harcourt went easy on you the first day.”

  “Not that easy.” Will winked at her and slipped out of bed. She missed his warmth immediately, but remained where she was.

  One of the men pointed at her. “She should go into the other room.”

  Parisa mentally rolled her eyes. Both at the idea she might not be allowed to listen in to their amazing guidance, and also because she wasn’t currently dressed. The idea of prancing naked past two more strangers made her grumpy.

  Will turned his back to the others, gave her an understanding look, scooping up her meager clothing, and shielding her as she climbed out of bed. She wrapped the thin, scratchy blanket around her, accepted her clothing, and disappeared into the small toilet area for some privacy.

  They started whispering in the other room the moment she was through the door.

  Listening intently, Parisa donned the clothing she’d shed last night before the amazing sex had commenced. Memories of her dreams and both men drifted into her conscience.

  Guilt blazing loudly in her head,
she covered her face with her hands and did her best to deal with it quickly and move forward. Remorse over her past was useless here. She and Will needed to survive. She splashed some cool water from a pitcher into her hands and slapped it on her face to help wake her up.

  The two men were now giving Will several pieces of advice regarding the coming battle. She was a little out of sorts with what time of day it was. The window in the other room remained dark. How long had they slept? Minutes? Hours? Days? No. Not days. They had a battle tomorrow, right?

  One of the men in the other room said, “The next beasts you face will not be tigers. There are several predators available in the pits below for each battle. We need to teach you about the blind spots and weaknesses in each breed. Plus, there’s a new super breed coming. One we don’t know much about. There may be more than one trick to neutralize it.”

  “So this super breed, will it be in the next battle?” Will asked.

  “I’m not sure if it will be showcased in the next arena fight or not, but you need to be prepared for it.”

  Will said something in a low tone she didn’t hear.

  “We don’t have any control over that. You’ll just have to adapt,” the man said in a flat tone, like he was annoyed by Will’s question.

  Parisa moved out of the privy room and into the bed chamber to hear better. If they were going to be chained together and battling, she needed to learn whatever tips they had to offer, as well.

  Unfortunately, they stopped talking when she entered the room.

  She motioned for them to continue. “Go ahead. Tell him what he needs to know. Train him on what to expect.”

  The two men looked at one another briefly, then one said, “Stay in the other room.”

  “No.” Parisa couldn’t help if she didn’t know what to expect. Why would they want to help Will and not her? “I’ll be in the arena, too. I can help him.”