Captives of New Pompeii (17 page)

“Don’t lie back. Brace your arms behind you
and stay upright.” He was avoiding the position that had upset her
before. She smiled, pleased by his creativity. He knelt on the
floor and pushed her legs apart, making room for him between her
thighs. Tracing her slit with his fingertips, he gently teased her
folds. “You’re already wet. How long have you been thinking about
this?”

“Ever since you awakened me.” He delved a
little deeper, moving up to circle her clit. “That drives me
crazy.”

“It’s supposed to.”

She tried to relax into his caress and let
the sensations sweep through her, but the tension was still new.
She wasn’t sure how to respond.

He bent toward her pussy, gaze squarely
fixed on his destination. “I’ve dreamed about your taste and the
feel of your pussy around my tongue.”

His gruff words sent a thrill through her
body and caused her clit to twitch. He held her open while his
tongue laved the swollen nub, soft strokes that took her breath
away. He pushed his middle finger into her core, pairing his
swirling caresses with a steady fucking.

She was building quickly toward orgasm. The
past eroded with each tender lick. Holding herself up with one
hand, she tangled the other in his dark hair. His finger moved
faster and his mouth became more persistent. She watched the subtle
rocking of his head between her thighs and felt the slick glide of
his finger in her passage.

Higher and higher she climbed. Needing the
staggering burst of sensation yet unsure how to achieve it. He
tilted his head, closing his lips around her clit as his finger
moved even faster. The soft pull of his lips seemed connected to
the tension. She wiggled beneath his mouth and instinctively
squeezed his finger.

He sucked her clit with increasing pressure
until she came in deep spasms. Her inner walls contracted around
his finger and pleasure radiated through her entire body.

Before the last wave passed, he withdrew his
finger and raised her pussy to his mouth. He thrust into her with
his tongue, prolonging the fluttering spasms. She gasped and
shuddered as his mouth devoured her core. He lifted her hips off
the bed, pressing his lips flush against her folds while his tongue
slid in and out.

Her orgasm went on and on until her head
spun and lights glistened in her peripheral vision. His mouth
gentled, licking her slowly until he looked up at her and smiled.
“I was waiting for you to scream.”

She laughed and shivered with a powerful
aftershock. “I’d need breath to scream and you didn’t leave me
any.”

He stood, drawing her up with him. “Well,
the night is young. Let’s see if this works better.” He turned and
sat where she had been and patted his thigh. “Straddle my lap.”

Could it be done like that? The temple
harlots were often taken on their hands and knees, mounted like
mares as their customers thrust into them from behind.

“Do you have a better idea?”

Emboldened by the pleasure still tingling
through her body, she shook her head and said, “Not this time.”

He laughed and helped her climb onto him,
arranging her knees to each side of his hips. He took his cock in
hand and whispered, “Lift up so I can find your entrance then I’ll
let you do the rest.”

He was giving her control, allowing her to
determine how much and how soon. She lifted her body off his lap
and felt his cock head at her entrance. He was hers to do with as
she wished, hers to savor and adore. She braced her hands against
his shoulders and slowly lowered her body onto his cock.

Her body stretched around him, but there was
no pain. She took a bit more of him, pleased by her own daring.
“You are really hard.”

“I’ve been hard more than not since I first
saw you.” He groaned as her channel accepted even more of him. “How
does that feel?”

“Tight but good, so very good.”

He framed her face with his hands and kissed
her. The taste of her pleasure lingered on his tongue, new and
exciting. She pushed down, settling over his lap as her hands
stroked his chest. He was inside her, completely inside her, and it
felt wonderful!

One of his hands left her face, reaching
down to cup her breast. She tightened herself around him and they
moaned in unison. Her inner muscles opened wide around him, his
shaft long and thick within her core. She wanted to stay like this
forever, but the need to move was urging her on.

She raised her hips then lowered them,
sliding her body up and down on his hardened length. His hands
moved to her hips, but his mouth maintained the intoxicating kiss.
The intimacy was doubled. His tongue moved in her mouth as she
moved on his cock.

“Faster,” he urged against her kiss-dampened
lips.

Clutching tightly to his shoulders she found
the rhythm. One hand stayed to steady her hips while the other
insinuated itself between their bodies. The first strum of his
finger against her clit made her gasp and shiver.

Reality coalesced in that moment. The
sensations made sense, the empty ache, the rhythmic tightening, and
the intimate connection all led to this exchange. She sucked his
tongue into her mouth and staked her claim on his body.
Come
with me
, she urged in his mind
. I want to do this
together
.

He thrust up into her and frantically rubbed
her clit.
Together
, he agreed.

Pleasure burst within her and flowed into
him. They shuddered and clung as waves of sensation crashed over
them. Their mouths mated and their bodies pulsed in perfect
unison.

Long moments later, she pulled back and
smiled into his eyes. “I would say we cleared the final
obstacle.”

“No regrets?”

She laughed. “Do you jest? My only regret is
that I waited so long to ask for your assistance.”

He nipped her chin then soothed the sting
with a tender kiss. “My good intentions are well and truly
obliterated. Let your corruption begin!” His hands cupped her
breasts, carefully pinching her nipples.

Her cry of feigned outrage dissolved into a
throaty moan as he bent her back so he could reach her breasts with
his mouth. “I have so many things I want to try, so many positions
and variations.”

He released her nipple long enough to
assure, “I am entirely at your disposal.”

They arrived on Fedoros thirty-one hours
ahead of schedule. It would take several days to offload the
refugees, but Laetif saw no reason to remain on board. She’d been
anxious to see the new villa in person. Virtual tours just weren’t
the same.

She’d carefully avoided Caleb after their
disquieting conversation in the lift. It had been easy to disregard
his predictions for the first few days. Quade was an attentive
lover and she genuinely liked spending time with him. Still,
nothing they did together compared with the combustible intensity
of Caleb’s touch.

The villa set on a hillside overlooking
Ludus Xyellus
. She had visited the original facility several
times, but the stark, prisonlike environment held no appeal to her.
The new arrangement gave her a bird’s eye view of the training
field while protecting her from the harsh reality of the
barracks.

“Does the villa meet with your approval?”
Quade asked from somewhere behind her.

Beyond the
ludus
, New Pompeii spread
in all its opulent glory. The buildings followed the natural
undulation of the land, creating a sort of informal order. Streets
were narrow and curved, wending their way between rows of shops and
connected houses.

“It’s smaller than I expected, but I can’t
fault its beauty. The murals are extraordinary.” She turned and
smiled, her gaze sweeping Quade’s tall form. The red-and-gold
uniform he’d worn on the ship had been replace by the trappings of
a Roman legionnaire. Chain mail covered his broad shoulders and
deep chest, and a muscular expanse of thigh was barred by the short
tunic. He had a crested helmet tucked under his arm, but he’d
exchanged his pulse pistol for a
gladius
. “Can you actually
use that thing?” She nodded toward the sword.

He walked to the rail beside her and peered
down into the training yard. “Not as well as they can, but I’m
working on it.”

“You make a convincing legionnaire. Not many
Fedorans have the legs to pull it off.”

A low, rumbling chuckle broke free from his
throat. “Did you just compliment me on my legs?”

“I suppose I did.” She turned back to the
field as well, fascinated by the savagery evident in every move the
gladiators made. They were captured animals, controlled yet never
tamed.

“You look lovely,” Quade told her without
shifting his gaze from the mock battle raging below. “The garments
of this era suit you.”

She liked the fluid tunics and flowing
togas, but married women were expected to wear a
stola
whenever they ventured out in public. Layers, regardless of how
loose, quickly grew heavy and hot. “Has my luggage been delivered
from the ship?”

“I don’t believe so. Shall I check on
it?”

Stepping away from the railing, she wandered
back into the shade of the villa. In keeping with the
noninterference clause, there was no air conditioning in the villa.
Everyone who entered New Pompeii had to be willing to immerse
themselves completely in the fantasy. “I’ll give it another hour or
so. They are extremely busy offloading the refugees.”

Quade remained near the balcony door, silent
and watchful. They had fallen into a comfortable routine on the
ship. She knew he reported her actions to Mikko, but at present she
had nothing to hide.

Mikko had railed like a madman when he’d
been released from the brig, accusing Quade of betrayal. Quade
adamantly denied the accusation, which left Mikko in somewhat of a
quandary. There was no way any of his other men could insinuate
themselves into her Laetif’s life as well as Quade. And without
continual surveillance, Mikko needed a person to spy on her.

After four hours of verbal abuse, Quade
returned to her cabin, infuriated but unharmed.

Despite his obvious resentment, Quade never
badmouthed Mikko or complained about his assignment. It was an odd
sort of truce. They both knew Mikko was manipulating them, yet
neither really minded the outcome.

“Captain Thrax asked me to give you this.”
Quade held out a sealed envelope.

Her heart missed a beat as she closed the
distance between them and took the message from his hand. Caleb
hadn’t let her go without a parting shot. Why did the realization
thrill her?

She tore open the envelope and pulled out
the single sheet. The message was simple.
I’ll be at the
spaceport until I secure a new cargo. I want to see you again.
No clever challenge or provocative insult, just a straightforward
statement of fact.

“Is he expecting a response?” Quade’s tone
was tight while his features revealed nothing.

She wasn’t fooled by his nonchalance. Quade
was dying to know what Caleb had said. “I have no idea what he
expects, but I’m not going to reply.”

“Why not?”

The question surprised her. Shouldn’t he be
glad she had no interest in speaking with another man? Annoyed by
his calm, she handed him the message and went to pour herself a
glass of wine.

“Do you want to see him again?” The muscle
above his jaw flexed and his nostrils flared. He was not nearly as
composed as he pretended. Turmoil crept into his gaze.

“I’m not sure what I want.” She held up the
wineglass and asked, “Do you want some?”

“Please.” She filled a second glass and
brought it to him.

Their relationship was hard to define. He
was far more than her bodyguard, yet she wasn’t sure he felt any
true affection for her. If Mikko hadn’t dispatched Quade, she knew
their paths never would have crossed. Still, their personalities
meshed well and—

“I think you should go.”

Shock tore though her, followed by a
confusing combination of hurt and excitement. “Why would you push
me into the arms of another man? Is Mikko finished tormenting
me?”

He ignored her barb and set his glass aside.
“I’m not stupid, Laetif.” He took her glass from her and set it
beside his then pulled her into his arms. “I know you’re restless.
And I’m pretty sure I know what you need. The problem is, I can’t
give it to you.”

“You think Caleb can?”

“Hasn’t he already?” He wrapped a lock of
her hair around his finger, his gaze avoiding her eyes. “I have no
right to ask anything of you. I know damn well I’m an
employee.”

“What if you weren’t?” Uncertainty mounted
within her. “Are you even attracted to me?” She hated the weakness
she revealed with the question. What ifs were a waste of
energy.

“I am at your side because it’s my job. I am
in your bed because you fascinate me. I have never met a woman more
complex and desirable.” She twisted away, intending to put some
distance between them, but he wrapped his arms around her and
pressed against her back. “We’re both trapped by circumstance.
We’re captives of life and we must find what happiness we can
within that captivity.”

His warmth surrounded her, soothing and
comforting her. He was strong and gentle, intelligent and funny. So
why was she still restless?

“There’s darkness in you,” he whispered, his
warm breath stirring her hair. “I understand it. I battle a similar
darkness every day.”

Crossing her arms over his, she relaxed into
the embrace and rested her head against his shoulder. “You’re able
to control your darkness. Can’t you teach me how you do it?”

“Sometimes these urges need to be
controlled, utterly suppressed. I know if I give in to them, even
for a moment, I’ll be consumed by them. That’s not what is
happening with you. The hurt and frustration fester inside you
until you have to find an outlet for your rage.”