“Fine,” she grumbled, keeping pace with him as they rolled over the top of the net and descended the back side.
They found themselves atop what looked like a regular wooden planked rope bridge. But there were no handholds on the sides, and the flaming logs? Yeah, they were swinging across it at uneven intervals. One wrong step andpoof, you’d be charred by a burning hunk of wood, not to mention the bruising and potential for broken bones as you were tossed unceremoniously through the air.
“Uh, Dorrin?”
“You’ll be fine. Do not hesitate, but match my stride exactly to keep the bridge’s swinging to a minimum,” he replied, moving ahead without pause.
Ziana didn’t have much choice, the first of the burning logs whooshing past where she’d just been standing close enough for her to get a whiff of singed hair. She hurried her pace, closing their already small gap as they dodged and ducked, avoiding the logs as best they could.
Toward the middle the bridge became far more unstable, swaying and tilting in a way that made even regular walking a challenge. Ziana hesitated, trying to regain her balance, when the next log swung her way.
She wasn’t going to make it.
“Dorrin!” she called out, putting her hands up to brace for the impact.
The scorching heat seared her palms and forearms as she did her best to deflect the log, the obstacle rolling painfully across her back then continuing its arc. Dorrin grabbed her hard and pulled her close, stepping back and steadying her out of the log’s return path.
“Look at me,” he commanded.
She was dizzy from the pain but the strength of his voice and power in his gaze made her obey on pure instinct alone.
“You can do this. Pain is temporary. Acknowledge it, and move on. Now stay close.”
He released her and continued, but now he looked back frequently, staring hard, his intensity making her focus as well. Her hands hurt. Her arms and back. But she followed his lead and forced herself to press on. She almost didn’t realize they were moving on to the next part of the challenge until the cold water hit her body, making her burnt skin scream out from the jolting temperature change. It would help the burn, but that didn’t mean it wouldn’t hurt.
Climbing from the pool, Dorrin turned and reached down, pulling her up in a single motion, her body sliding against his as he lowered her. Jangled bundle of nerves that she was at the moment, Ziana still couldn’t help but enjoy the sensation of her hard nipples gliding across his broad chest, the material of their clothing stuck to their wet bodies. More than that, the length of his marvelous, girthy cock ran along her body as well as he put her down, and not even the cold water had been able to make it any less impressive.
The slumbering beast between his legs twitched once before he stepped back from her. Then, without another moment of hesitation, he turned and headed off, the tug on Ziana’s wrist reminding her that yes, there was still more to come. And so, they continued on with the course.
They swam, ran, crawled, and climbed, showcasing their agility to the delight of the crowd even as Ziana felt her sweat sting as it trickled into her new wounds. Then, when they finally reached the end, they were unceremoniously ushered on to the next event without so much as a medical station to tend to her burns.
“Just get through this,” Dorrin said, beaming and waving to the crowd despite what she knew was thinly veiled disdain for the weak human woman he’d been saddled with. “And for heaven’s sake, smile!”
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
“I feel like I want to die,” Ziana groaned as they trudged into their lodging bungalow. “Everypart of me hurts.”
“Understandable. They put us through an additional series of challenges.”
“I thought it felt like we were there longer than the others.”
“We were. And this illustrates why we do not get into conflicts with the elites. At least, not in public.”
“But we were subtle.”
“Yes. But apparently not as much as we’d believed. Likely, one of the families took note.”
“Or their asshole kids said something.”
“I would not put it past them. In any case, you need to be more cautious moving forward.”
“Webothdo,” she noted, shedding her ruined clothing as they trudged to the shower.
Any shyness she might have had in her early days was gone at this point. Bathing was utilitarian and the first thing they did upon their return home. Sure, she was still just as impressed with Dorrin’s ridiculously fit body pretty much every time she saw him strip, but his cold and often dismissive attitude hadreinforced that even the sexiest of men could be downright unappealing in the right, or wrong, situation.
Ziana activated the water, carefully sticking her leg into the flow, testing its impact on her painful skin.
“You know, even my face is sore,” she grumbled, easing the rest of her body slowly and timidly into the stream. “The smiling is almost worse than the rest in its own way.”
