Page 33 of Tempting Jupiter
“Oh, okay,” Feeona replied. “I’ll need names and whatever identifying information you can give me.” She sat a little straighter and nibbled her lip before continuing. “I imagine we could find out something just by looking at the arena match schedules and recent results. That’s publicly available.”
Jupiter reached over and cupped her cheek. “Just knowing they’re alive will be a great relief to my mind. Thank you.”
She leaned into the caress in an almost submissive response. Not a side of her Seneca had seen before. He could see that her action aroused Jupiter. His eyes darkened and his nostrils flared. His instincts would drive him to protect a submissive female. But the gesture was at odds with her unmistakable determination and strength. Was this softness real or a ploy of some kind? They already knew she was comfortable with deception.
“I get why you would want to know,” she said, pulling away and sitting straighter again. “But then what? Have you thought about where you’ll go? What you’ll do?”
Jupiter shook his head. “We can’t help the Dogs on Roma without assistance. We need to find the free Arena Dogs, but I don’t know if that’s even possible.”
Jupiter was right. Seneca hadn’t thought beyond staying free. Wherever Jupiter went, he would follow. No matter what came, Seneca vowed, he would be grateful for every day of freedom they had together.
Jupiter stood and began to pace. “But even if we don’t find them, eventually we will have to return to Roma Rex. If our brothers are… dead… we will have to return soon.”
“What?” Feeona released her hold on her legs and her feet slipped free of the seat, as if she might bound to her feet. “You’re kidding, right?”
Jupiter halted and met her appalled gaze. “We have a duty to our brothers.”
Feeona suddenly relaxed back into the pillow behind her. Her body went soft—spine curved, the bend at each joint of her limbs angled to suggest complete relaxation. It was utterly false. Her cheeks were pink again. She was embarrassed by her outburst, but it was more than that.
“You do realize that statement started withif our brothers are dead?” Her voice feigned idle curiosity. “What duty would there be after death?”
Seneca recognized her deception because he’d used that affectation himself, when he needed to hide how important something was to him. When he knew his masters would use it against him. It was a knowledge he didn’t share with any of his brothers. They were honest to the point of bluntness. In the arena, a Dog could lose everything at any time. The only thing expected of them was to train and to fight. Survival was the reward. Poor performance brought punishment. There was no subtlety in their existence.
For most of his life, Seneca had dwelled in a din of subtlety where nothing was as it seemed. Caring about anything had been handing his masters the means to destroy him. Not his body, but his soul. He knew, rationally that this wasn’t the same, but his heart beat harder with the memories.
Unable to stop himself, he reached for her expertly limp hand and enfolded it in his own.
“One of our brother’s has a mate. If they die, the female will have no protection.” Seneca smiled his most flattering smile and slid a hand up to circle her arm just above her wrist, fingertips resting over her pulse point. “The female is not like you. She has no clever skills. She’s not a fighter. Without the pack to protect her, she’ll suffer.”
Touching her confirmed his assessment. Beneath her relaxed façade and her silken skin, her muscles were stone and her pulse raced.
Jupiter appeared at her other side, pulling a chair up to face her. “It’s our duty to protect her, if they cannot. But we have no reason to think they’re dead. Not now.”
Feeona raised her eyebrows. “But eventually. All Arena Dogs die in the arena eventually, right?”
Jupiter frowned. “Yes.”
Feeona’s face fell as her pretense crumbled. Unshed tears made her eyes glossy. How could she have such sadness for people she didn’t know?
“It wasn’t true for us.” Seneca squeezed her fingers gently. “Thanks to you.”
“Thanks to your resistance.” She deflected his attempt to credit her, but her lips tipped up in a near-smile and some of the sadness left her eyes.
Seneca was glad. He didn’t know where his words had come from. Her conclusion had been correct for the most part. As far as they knew, no Dog had ever grown old. The certainty of early death had been the reason for the bonding custom—at least in part. He’d been told things had been different when there had been female fighters. There had been fewer of them than the males, but many of the females had avoided the mating bond. They preferred to share themselves generously without committing to any particular Dog. But there were almost no females of that type left. The masters had begun to give the Dogs females from the pleasure houses—females engineered to be submissive and weaker than the Arena Dogs. In the world of the arena, those females depended on a mate for survival. Or so it was thought. Having more personal knowledge of what it took to survive life in the pleasure houses, Seneca suspected Hera would quickly adapt to whatever new pack she was given to. None among the Dogs of House Owens would harm a female. They were too precious.
Feeona blinked away the moisture in her eyes. “You’ve found me out. I’m kind of a softy about oppression and I didn’t get you off theSalley Hoto let Roma recapture you. They have a long reach.”
Jupiter growled. “Owens won’t rest until we’re recaptured or dead.”
As Feeona’s attention shifted back to Jupiter, Seneca released her hand and settled back in his chair.
“I might be able to help you find your people.” Her eyes drifted away from Jupiter. Was she simply pondering how? Or did she have something to hide? “I have a lot of connections. I’ll do everything I can. But I won’t be able to help you until after my next pick-up and deliveries.”
She’d refocused on Jupiter who was frowning. “Pick-up and deliveries?”
Her cheeks tightened into one of her ready grins. “I don’t spend all my time being a thief.”
Jupiter’s frown faded and something passed between them that brought back all Seneca’s insecurities.
