by Zara Starr
Damn, he struggled so much with what he felt. On the one hand, he was furious. Angry that she had taken him for a ride, angrier still that he had fallen for it. On the other hand, he was so attracted to her that he felt like he could spontaneously combust – like he would catch fire, his skin was so hot.
His body ached and there was a deep yearning for her at his very core. How could he be so attracted to someone who had tried to use him? How could he be anything but negative toward her?
But it was this – the attraction – that had allowed anything like this to happen in the first place. Her seduction would have been lost on him if he hadn’t felt so strongly about her.
It couldn’t just be the time they had spent together. Their conversation had been very shallow, the fact that they hadn’t been completely alone had stunted what they had spoken about. She was just a female, nothing more.
Still, his instincts, his nature on a very basic level, didn’t quite agree with him.
It was confusing. He didn’t want to be confused when he confronted her. He wanted to be sure of himself, clear about the way he felt.
He just didn’t know if he would be able to be clear. Because now that they were alone, he was going crazy, his body’s needs roaring louder than anything that was on his mind.
Chapter Fifteen
Amelia
While Gage had talked to the guard, Amelia had stared at them with her mouth open, shocked, horrified.
They were talking about her like she was nothing more than a piece of meat, an object that had to be treated carefully so that there wouldn’t be a scratch on it before the final match. Not as a person, not as a woman, not as anything with feelings or wants or desires or anything else.
And when Gage had made her turn…
She’d wanted to bite his face off.
She should have expected that. After all, she was just a slave, wasn’t she? That was why she was here, wasn’t it? For their pleasure. It was why she had been abducted in the first place, why she was being pampered in the prize quarters, why she had been paraded in skimpy outfits and forced to watch every match.
It was because she was to be used as a prize if one of the finalists chose her.
She just hadn’t thought that Gage would be the same toward her. The conversation she had with him at the restaurant had allowed her to believe that he was different. He saw something in her that was maybe more than just the potential of being her owner.
But she had been wrong. She scolded herself for thinking that there could be anything else.
What had she thought would happen? She would be chosen by Gage, who would turn out to be Prince Charming in disguise, and they would ride off happily together in the sunset?
It was disgusting that she had allowed herself to believe that there would be something more. She should have known that he was exactly like the others, that slavery was normal to him, and that he would take advantage of the situation.
She had been shocked by his views on slavery, after all. There had been times when they had talked that she had thought he was exactly what he was now – an objectifying asshole.
But there had been times when she had seen something else behind his mask, behind the arrogance and confidence. Something that had seemed like it could almost be lovable.
Maybe she had only wanted to see that, and it was the reason why it had been there. Not because it was real.
The conversation he had with the guard told her everything she needed to know.
And being viewed as nothing but an object made her want to scream. It made her furious. She wanted to scratch his eyes out.
Now, she was alone with this asshole who had just completely disregarded the rules of the system. Who was he that they were allowing him to bend the rules? Sure, he was a contestant who had won a couple of tournaments before. So what? Why did that change anything?
Her heart hammered against her ribs, her mouth had run dry, her palms were sweaty. She felt rooted to the ground, even though she was furious. It was that damn fight or flight response – the ‘freeze’ response that she seemed to experience. She couldn’t do anything to save herself no matter what the situation was.
Now though, she was alone in a room where there was nothing she could do to get away. And Gage was a seasoned fighter. She wouldn’t be able to take him on.
Even if her body obeyed and she fought back, there was nothing she would be able to do to save herself. She had never felt so defenseless in her life.
“So?” she spat when he didn’t say anything. He just stood there, looking at her. “Are you going to have your way with me, or what?”
“What is it that you want from me?” he asked.
His voice was a lot more measured compared to her who was on the verge of screaming at him. She could hear herself, her emotions barely controlled. And he seemed so on top of his.
“What are you talking about?” she asked. His question had caught her off guard.
“I am not a fool, Amelia,” Gage said. “I know that you have a design, that you are trying to make me choose you. You are manipulating me and I am onto you. I want to know why.”
So, he had caught on. Crap. She should have known that he would – he was not stupid. Not a fool, as he had said. Still, she had hoped that he wouldn’t figure it out.
“What do you expect?” she asked, her voice more defensive now, rather than hysterical. “What am I? I have no freedom. I don’t want to be stuck down here in the basement for the rest of my life. Before I came here, I was a free woman. Can you imagine how it will be?”
Gage shook his head. Couldn’t he imagine it? Was he incredulous about what she was saying, didn’t he believe her? She didn’t quite know what it was that she was seeing, what his expression meant, what he thought.
“Do you realize,” he started, “that this is the first honest conversation we’ve had.”
Amelia blinked at Gage, still unsure about what was happening. He was so calm and collected, and he kept his distance from her, insisting on having a conversation. She had thought that he had sent out the guard so that he could have his way with her, but it turned out that he just wanted to confront her about how she had been trying to use him.
She didn’t know what direction to take with this. Should she ask him directly what was going on? Should she keep pretending? She didn’t know what to do. She hadn’t expected him to figure it out, she had been keeping up the act all this time. An act that he had seen through, apparently.
Maybe she hadn’t acted it out well enough. There had been times when he had caught her off guard with certain things, where he had been sincere and she had let her mask slipped for a moment. Maybe he had noticed that.
“Are you going to choose me?” she finally asked. She might as well know what was going to happen, being that this was the end of the line either way. She couldn’t do anything more to convince him that she was supposed to be his prize. Even if he hadn’t been onto her, this was her last chance.
Gage didn’t answer her right away. He looked at her for a long time, his face serious, clearly overthinking things.
Amelia didn’t want to rush him, to urge him to give her an answer. So, she waited. The silence was deafening. She could hear her blood rushing in her ears and her heart hammering against her chest. But she would allow him to answer in his time so that the answer would be the right one.
She prepared herself for him to say no. She prepared herself for the rejection. Because if he didn’t choose her, that was what it would be. It wouldn’t just be the choice of a finalist, she wouldn’t only have failed with her seduction. It would also be the fact that Gage didn’t want her.
Even though she had tried to seduce him only to escape, she couldn’t deny that she felt something for him. And if he rejected her, she knew that he didn’t feel the same. It would be proof of that.
And that would be a kick in the gut. As arrogant and dastardly as he was at times, those sweet moments clung to her memories. Amelia realized t
hat she did want him to choose her. Not just for the sake of her freedom but something else.
Something that she was too scared to admit to herself completely.
“I will choose you,” Gage finally said. “But only if you want me to.”
Amelia frowned. The answer had caught her off guard. At first, her heart had leaped. It had worked. Then he added that, and it changed everything.
Suddenly, she saw him in a different light. There had been times before when she had glimpsed the person he could be, kind, gentle, and understanding. Someone who wasn’t the fighter she saw in the ring every time. But he did just as she did – he was wearing a mask. And he wore his so much better than she wore hers. Maybe because he had a lot more practice.
Maybe she had judged him too quickly. Maybe she hadn’t made enough of an effort to get to know him.
While they spoke, she noticed that he avoided looking at her body. Although he’d definitely ogled her when he’d made her turn – out of anger because she’d used him, she guessed – he was now trying to be respectful. He had turned away from her, even though the dress that she wore was appallingly see-through.
Amelia had hated the dress from the moment they had given it to her and wearing it was shameful. Even though she had almost forgotten about it in her emotional state, and she was getting used to being paraded around as an object, the fact that he was trying to respect her was on par with this new person she saw him as.
She did notice though, that despite his attempts to not look at her, he was incredibly aroused. He was hard, his cock a thick ridge under his pants. And due to his size, it was impossible to hide.
The moment she saw how aroused he was, something tugged at her core and she was drawn to him in a way she hadn’t been before, she wanted him to take her. The sudden urge hit her so hard that it left her breathless. Heat washed through her body and pooled between her legs and the sheer material on her skin felt uncomfortable. She needed to get rid of it.
“I want you to,” she said in a husky voice, answering his question. Something flickered in his gaze, but she couldn’t decipher the emotion. Feeling bold, she added, “We still have about twenty minutes or so.”
His expression changed. His eyes became wild, his pupils dilating so that his eyes seemed black, the color only a small rim around the edge. He parted his lips and darted his tongue over them.
She didn’t know how to ask for what she wanted, how to tell him that she needed him to touch her, that she ached for him. It was that damn freeze response. She was feeling shy and awkward again. He was a man – and she had never been very good around men.
Yet, Gage seemed to know exactly what to do. Where to go with this. What she wanted.
He closed the distance between them with two large strides, suddenly so close that a sigh could push them together. Amelia looked up at him. He was a large man, his shoulders wide, his frame sure and strong. He looked down at her with a sort of ownership and she wanted that. She had been upset about it earlier, but she wanted it now more than anything.
He reached for her, putting his hand on her hip. She shivered. He slowly worked the dress up, exposing her calves, her thighs, her pussy, and ass. His hand slid under the material and she widened her stance, giving him space.
“Is this what you want?” he asked, his fingers slipping into her core.
She nodded, her breath catching in her throat. He played with her clit and she moaned softly. She nodded, surprised at her reaction. His eyes widened slightly. He was surprised too. Even though he had been forward, even though he was fingering her already.
“You’re so wet,” he growled.
Amelia nodded again. She was incredibly turned on, and the way he was touching her had made her more so.
The need for him was overpowering. She hadn’t realized how much she wanted him until now. Was this what she had wanted all along? Had she wanted sex with him since she had first met him?
There had always been something about him that had been more than appealing. And flirting with him, trying to seduce him, going out in skimpy clothing with him for an entire dinner… This was what it had all led to.
Amelia didn’t for one moment question herself. She didn’t wonder if she was doing the right thing. Logic had gone out of the window a long time ago. Her body had taken over – her urges, her primal sense.
She wanted him and he wanted her. That was all either of them needed to know.
He pushed his thick fingers into her and she moaned, tilting her head back, closing her eyes. He pumped his fingers in and out a few times and she gasped, pleasure rocking through her body.
Suddenly, his mouth closed on hers. She hadn’t expected it, hadn’t seen him come closer with her eyes being closed. His tongue slipped into her mouth and his kiss was urgent. She sighed into his mouth, the contact incredible, and she lost herself in the feel of his fingers inside of her, his mouth on hers, the way his thick cock pressed against her hip as he ground himself against her.
She reached for his cock. He pushed against her when her hand landed on him, and she made quick work of undoing his pants and reaching in. She pulled his impressive erection out of his pants and he hissed through his teeth when she wrapped her fingers around him. She pumped her hand up and down as he finger-fucked her and the simulation was almost as good as the real thing would be.
But it wasn’t the real thing. She wanted more. And they were running out of time.
As if Gage knew it too, he pulled his hands from between her legs and he drove her toward the closest wall where kissed her again, hard. His hand was rough on her breast as he groped her and she moaned and cried out, loving the way he was touching her, in control, taking what he wanted.
She wanted it just as badly.
When he spun her around, she gasped. He hiked her dress up again, pulled her hips back a little so that her ass was jutted out and she braced herself against the wall. There wasn’t much time for foreplay. Although she would have loved to explore him, it wasn’t necessary. Not now. She was more than wet enough and he was rock hard.
His hands were on his hips, spreading her ass. He directed himself to her entrance and she cried out when he pushed into her, practically splitting her in half. But her body adjusted quickly and she shuddered with pure pleasure when he was buried inside of her.
He only paused for a moment before he started pounding into her, fucking her hard and fast, not waiting or taking any time. They didn’t have much left, not much at all.
He cried out, trying to keep quiet as he hammered into her. His hips were like power pistons and his balls slapped against her core. She had never been closer to orgasm so soon in her life. This was by far the best sex she had ever had.
A moment later, she fell apart, orgasms ripping through her one after the other. She gasped and cried out. Gage’s nails bit into her skin as he gripped her hips hard and he pounded even harder, his strokes shortening as he fucked her faster and faster.
He rammed deep into her and she felt him pulsate, coming inside of her. She shuddered as he came, filling her up, bringing back an echo of her own orgasms, and she gasped and moaned.
When he finished, he pulled out of her.
“I’m a mess,” she said, feeling his cum inside of her, dripping out of her, running down her legs.
“They won’t see it,” he said, pulling down the skirt of her dress. “They won’t inspect you that closely.”
Amelia nodded. She would have liked to clean up, but there was nothing to do it with. She would clean up in the room when she was taken back. There was something delicious about being full of him, about being claimed like that.
The thought surprised her, especially since she had been so frustrated by him just moments before, acting like she was nothing more than an object.
But the way he had fucked her was not just about her body. It was more than that. A connection she had never felt with anyone else.
And it had been incredible.
Chapter Sixteen
Gage stood at the door that was going to lead him to the arena. He was pumped with adrenaline, his muscles straining under his skin, blood rushing in his ears. He bounced on the balls of his feet, flexing his hands open and closed, ready to jump into action. He needed to get this fight over and done with.
He wore his weapons belt and he was suited up in his fighting gear – black clothing, which he related to the anger and violence he dealt with in the ring. As opposed to the white linen clothing that allowed him to withdraw from the aggression and become the peace-loving Qai he was at heart.
This was the big one, the fight that would change everything for him. For the first time, Gage cared about what he was going to win, and not just that he was going to win. Something inside him had shifted, his goals had aligned differently.
Something about his character at the very core was different. But that didn’t change how good a fighter he was. In the ring, he had to remember who he was and what he was capable of.
Especially seeing that he was up against an alien of extreme talent.
His opponent – a Karzem fighter that had a good reputation – wasn’t going to make this easy for him. He had to give this fight his all.
But his mind was full of thoughts of Amelia and everything that had happened between them. The feel of her skin under his fingertips, her incredibly soft hair running through his fingers. Her eyes, filled with yearning as she looked up at him.
He thought of everything that would happen between them in the future. How it would be to have her in his life. Not just as a slave he enjoyed for one conversation, but as someone that might be a companion to him, someone that might drive away the loneliness he was so painfully aware of from time to time.
He wanted to take her home with him, he wanted her to belong to him. Until now, he had only wanted to win. Now, he wanted more. He couldn’t lose, but not just because of his reputation, the fame he was trying to uphold. It was about so much more than that.