Page 14 of Tempting Jupiter
“I’ve lived in some type of cell all of my life. Even when we’re training, we’re still caged.”
Feeona sat up and reached out to touch him. “You’re not talking metaphors, are you?”
He didn’t understand her words, but her dismay was clear. “I’m an Arena Dog.”
“Right. Fitz mentioned that. You’re some kind of gladiator at the Roma Rex Arena, but what’s that got to do with living in a cell?”
“That’s where they keep us,” he explained. “They call them kennels, but it’s all the same. Even the arena is just a bigger cell.”
She pulled her legs into a crossed position and leaned forward. “Is the arena some sort of prison program?”
It hit him. She didn’t know. Would it make her look at him differently? “We’re slaves,” he said, waiting for her reaction.
She paled.
Jupiter turned away. Would she have taken him in her mouth if she’d known? Would she have touched him at all, even to save his life?
The warmth of her palm against his shoulder startled him. Her color had returned in a flush of pink across her cheeks. She crawled closer and slipped under his arm, wrapping herself around him. Everywhere she pressed against him was a balm to his spirit.
“Slavery is illegal.” She thundered. “How can they get away with that?”
She didn’t wait for an answer. Her arms slipped away and she bounded off the bed. “And now Fitz is taking you back to them. Damn it.” She paced along the pulse field like a crazed hyrax-badger.
Her reaction reached deep inside Jupiter. A crazy sort of satisfaction rumbled through him. She was angry.
For him.
She didn’t regret touching him. Not at all.
He snagged her hand as she paced past, forcing her to stop and face him. She didn’t resist as he pulled her closer and settled her on the bunk. When he stretched out over her, she let out a soft, breathy moan. Her body fit against his as if she’d been designed for him. The soft yielding heat of her sent his blood racing to his cock. He wanted to pleasure her and learn what other small sounds he would discover. “Perhaps I will pleasure you after all,” he whispered against her ear.
She groaned, planting both her hands on his chest. “No.” The word sounded dragged past her lips. “We are not having sex.”
Her denial didn’t worry him. She didn’t think him less for being an Arena Dog. That fact pleased him. Whatever her reasons, he would deal with them. He lifted his head to read her face. “You’re still angry. Why?”
She didn’t answer him for a long moment. Then she slipped her hands up to cradle his face. “What they did to you was wrong. So wrong.” She bit her lip. “Your friend. He’s an Arena Dog, too.”
Jupiter stiffened. Guilt ate at him. He’d been thinking only of himself while he had no idea what Seneca was going through.
He moved off her and swung his legs over the side of the bunk. Bracing his elbows on his thighs, he bowed his head into his hands. “I have to find him.”
She shifted to sit by his side. “He’s in the med-bay. They’re taking care of him.” Her hand settled on his spine. He recognized her attempt to use touch to reassure him, because he’d used the tactic often enough to reassure Seneca. After all the Dog had been through, Sen should’ve hated being touched, but he’d never shied away from Jupiter.
He couldn’t keep himself from turning to look at her. “How do you know where they’re keeping him?”
Her teeth bit into her lip as she got to her feet and stretched. She put her back to the cell entrance as she faced him. “There’s a camera in the guard station.”
He hadn’t thought to look for cameras, but that didn’t bother him. There was no privacy in the life of an Arena Dog. His frustration surged, but not because their captors watched or because she hadn’t answered his question. He realized now how often she’d kept her back to that chamber, blocking her actions from the camera. He didn’t like how naturally she censored her words, how deception seemed second nature.
Jupiter had lived his whole life being watched in one way or another, but he’d had little experience avoiding security. On Roma there’d been no point in trying.
“The audio receivers for the camera are suffering from a malfunction.” She spoke softly. “I can create interference or short loops on the cameras, but I can’t get away with that for long.”
Interference? Loops? He didn’t understand, but still he waited.
With a small movement of her hand, she urged him to stand and come to her. When he did, she slipped her arms around his waist and pulled him close. “They can’t see much if we stand close.”
He allowed himself a moment to take pleasure in her embrace, breathing in her scent. “Tell me.”
