“Velia.” The word was a taut plea. He was close, she knew, and she didn’t stop. A moment later, his hips jerked, and he groaned, the sound as deep as if pulled from the innermost recesses of his chest, as she swallowed him down.
Then he fell back against the bed, breathing hard. He somehow looked more exhausted than he’d appeared after the match earlier, and Velia smiled in satisfaction. She rose to her feet, wincing as her knees stretched, and wiped her mouth.
“You could use a rug in here,” she said, not looking for a response in his current state. She took a step toward the door, assuming he wanted to be alone after the events of the day, but he sat up. His hand swept out, lightly clasping hers. “Stay,” he murmured.
She blinked at him, momentarily befuddled by the invitation. From what she knew of him, he seemed like the sort of person who relished solitude, and she’d presumed their sleeping together the previous night had been an anomaly.
“If you wish,” he added hurriedly, shoulders tensing as if embarrassed.
Her smile returned. “I do wish,” she assured him, and slid into the narrow bed next to him. His arms wrapped around her, his shoulder becoming the perfect pillow for her head.
As soon as she was lying down, warm and comfortable in his arms, the stress and excitement of the day turned to exhaustion, and she gratefully abandoned herself to sleep.
13
Veliawoketoamyriad of pleasurable sensations: tingling warmth on her neck, her breast, her waist, with a solid heat behind her. As her awareness slowly returned, the feelings clarified: Ferox’s lips nuzzling her neck, his hand skimming up and down her front, his large body tight against her back. Velia stretched and sighed as the last vestiges of sleep dissolved.
She couldn’t think of a better way to wake up than with a muscular, aroused gladiator curled around her body.
She stretched again, this time more suggestively, allowing her bottom to make delicious contact with the swell of his arousal. His breath caught. In a swift motion, she found herself flipped onto her back, pinned flat beneath him.
Her surprised giggle was cut short by the hot, hungry press of his mouth on hers. She stretched her arms over his magnificent shoulders. His hand groped downward to find the curve of her breast, and his thumb swept over her nipple, coaxing it to stiffen. The flood of sensation, sharp but exquisite, made her gasp. He growled in her ear. His hand moved lower, finding the crook of her bent knee and pulling it higher, opening her to him.
Her sore hip and thigh stretched—the only thing that could distract her from the pleasure of this awakening. She hesitated, unsure if she wanted to put a stop to this. Ferox was now busilytugging up the folds of her dress. Her inner muscles, though still tender, gave a hopeful twitch.
Her body wanted him, and though she knew their coupling would be highly enjoyable, she didn’t fancy repeating yesterday’s level of discomfort. Reluctantly, she laid a hand on his chest. “Ferox,” she breathed, voice hoarse with her first spoken word of the day.
He paused. “Yes?”
“I don’t—I don’t want to.” The words were difficult to get out, because shedidwant to—just not right now.
“Oh.” He rolled off her. “Sorry.”
She sat up, combing her fingers through her tangled hair. “I mean, not now. I need another day or so to recover,” she confessed.
He propped himself on his elbow. A wrinkle appeared between his brows. “Recover?”
“From…the night before last.” Heat rose to her cheeks.
He blinked at her, uncomprehending.
“Our coupling,” she clarified. “I was a little sore after.”
She could tell when understanding set in, because it dropped a dark cloud over his expression. A moment later, he was out of the bed, pacing to the other side of the small room. “You mean to say…” His hand clenched into a fist, bracing against the wall. “I hurt you?”
Velia swung her legs out of the bed. “That’s not what I said.”
He half-turned, his eyes dark and heated. “I knew this was a mistake. From the first moment I wanted you, I knew I should keep my distance. I knew I would hurt you.”
The revelation that he’d desired her for longer than she’d realized was interesting, but Velia set it aside for the moment. She rose to her feet and crossed her arms over her chest. She wasn’t about to indulge this fit of self-reproach, but she understood where his guilt was coming from. “It was nothing, Ferox. I didn’t even notice it then. It was only when I woke up the next morning.”
“Tell me how,” he demanded, his voice rough. “Tell me how I hurt you. Did I…did I make you bleed?”
“No!” she exclaimed. “It was just a little soreness in my, well, you know. And my legs were a bit stretched from that position we tried. And…” She debated withholding this next piece of information, but he’d asked. “There were some bruises on my hips.”
He made a pained noise low in his throat. “Ibruisedyou?”
“It’s nothing,” she insisted. “Look.” She gathered up her dress, raising it to waist level.
