Page 53 of Baited

Blayn gives me a blank look. “That’s where their testicle tentacles are,” he says, as if it’s something everyone should know.

But then a gladiator needs to know weak points on every species.

“I doubt he’ll be able to reproduce for a while,” Blayn adds. “However, he got the message, and he won’t bother the Tref female again.”

“I am so proud of you,” I murmur, slipping my hands into his feathers and pressing my ear to his chest so I can hear his deep groan of pleasure.

“Gladiator.” A deep, resonant voice cuts through the noise of the bar.

I feel Blayn stiffen as the horned head of the captain appears and he walks over.

“It looks like you might be ready,” he says, his bright eyes taking in where I hold onto Blayn and where his arm is around me.

“One more night,” I hear myself say, boldly. “He needs one more night before you take him back to the dome.”

The captain’s long face hitches into something which could be a smile.

“And give me one good reason, gladiator, why I should agree to your female’s request?”

Blayn straightens, shuffling his wings. He stares the captain in the eye.

“Because I fight for you in the dome, and you know I’ll die there.”

His response chills me. I’ve put what he does to the back of my mind while I’ve been with him and I wish I hadn’t.

Blayn is a gladiator. His job, whether he wants to or not, is to kill for entertainment. To die for entertainment.

Our time is borrowed, always borrowed. It will never be our own, not as long as he exacts violence for the foul delight of others and I have to provide services for pleasure.

As if I’ve called her up like a demon from hell, Madame joins the captain.

“Will you allow this gladiator to stay another night with the female he has chosen?” the captain asks her.

The madame looks at us both, no doubt taking in what the captain has already noted.

“For the usual fee,” she says.

Blayn doesn’t move, but his feathers rattle. I feel like I’m holding my breath, like my heart is pounding, as if, at any moment, the galaxy will end.

“But I will wave it on this occasion as he has been useful. Certainly more useful than my staff.” I see her look across the bar at the two bouncers who are attempting to avoid her laser gaze. “And he has rid me of a pest who has been a problem for a while.”

Then she does something I’ve never seen before. The madame smiles.

I’m caught off guard. My mouth flaps open.

“Thank you, Madame.” Blayn moves away from me to execute a low bow, his wings sweeping a few customers’ drinks from the nearby tables. “You are most generous.”

She titters like a schoolgirl, as all I can do is gape.

“You’ll get your one night, gladiator,” the captain intones. “Then you will return to the dome.”

I don’t waste any more time being astonished, instead grabbing Blayn by the hand. I tow him out of the bar and into the staff area.

Immediately, I am caged against the wall, Blayn’s lips hot against mine. His hands are in my hair, his soft, scented feathers surrounding us, blocking out the noise, blocking out everything except for us.

“I don’t want this to be our last night,” I pant as he finally lets me up for air. “I don’t want to ever be parted from you.”

Blayn smiles. It’s not the one with fangs. It’s not the one where he isn’t entirely sure what a smile is. This is a confident, beautiful, dazzling smile which sets my heart ablaze.

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