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“You weren’t the only gladiator out there tonight. I outran an Atorum.”
“Gladiator?”
“That’s what the boys behind me were calling you.”
“You really shouldn’t listen to them.”
“So, what happened out there?” I ask. I wash some of the dried black tar off of his arms with soapy water. His hard muscles bunch up as I rub up and down.
“The explosions from the dome did most of the work. We destroyed the ones left behind.”
“So, no beating an alien to death with a leg, or spearing anything with said leg?”
He smiles a little and shrugs, not wanting to tell me what I already know. His humility is adorable, but right now I’m craving that arrogant soldier that won me over.
“Is everyone okay?” I ask as Aro takes a squirt of shampoo and works it through my hair.
“I’m not sure. I came to you as soon as I could. We’ll get the report when we go to comms,” he says, concentrating on keeping the shampoo off my face while he scrubs away the remains of the mire off me.
“There you go—all better,” he says and rinses my hair out. I reach my hands up to his tall shoulders, I rest my head against his chest, our bodies fused together.
He kisses the top of my head, and soothes his hands down my back, comforting me with each pass. Every touch is a reminder we are okay. That in this moment, we have each other.
He is hard against my belly as we step even closer. I spin him around and let him get the full force of the clean water.
With his back to me, I reach around and stroke his chest and hard abs, then move down to his cock. He slaps a wet hand against the tile. A low growl comes from deep in his chest. My wet body shifts over his. I move up and down with agonizingly slow strokes from behind.
He must feel me reach for myself with my free hand, because the moment I do, he turns and lifts me up. My ankles instinctively lock behind his back. The hard tile sends a shock of cold through me when my back comes against it. I push his wet hair back from his face and grind my hips against him, searching for more. The adrenaline from today morphs into desire. His lips are everywhere. I grab the back of his neck and hold him to me. I need more. I need him inside of me.
The shower door swings wide open. “Oh shit! Sorry, sorry, sir.” A Tilak rambles an apology and slams the door behind him in quick retreat.
Aro mutters something under his breath as I release my legs and step back on solid ground. I pat his chest and kiss him softly.
“Let’s find somewhere a little more private,” I say, dragging him from the shower. I toss him a towel from the neatly piled stack. It hits his face. He drags it down his body and tucks it around his waist his erection tenting the towel.
46
Aro
The war room goes quiet when I step inside. Thirty heads turn and watch me take the empty seat next to Tai at the circular table.
“What? You act like you haven’t seen a battleform before.” I break the silence.
“No one has seen anything like that in centuries,” Locke says from across the table.
Rialto steps into the room. The lights dim and a holographic image of j’Tilak appears. Tensions are high and we all silently wait for him to begin the briefing.
“We have learned that the Atorum were programmed to eradicate humans. The specimen that we recovered is badly decomposed. However, we have a team trying to figure out who is behind the attacks.”
I think of the most outspoken anti-humans, we should have taken those protestors more seriously. We were blinded by the stupidity of it all.
Petrok steps up next to Rialto and continues. “All available units are out looking for any Atorum that might have survived. We already have eyes on the segregationist group known as HOMe, Human Opposition Movement. For everyone’s safety, the humans are required to stay on base at all times.”
“I want to be the first to congratulate Captain Aro pt’Burosa. The first of our kind to summon his battleform in hundreds of years. I neverthought it would happen in my lifetime,” Rialto says, turning to me. Everyone around me thumps the table in unison.
I smile and wave them off like it’s no big deal. I still haven’t explained what this all means to Elowen. It doesn’t feel right talking about it with anyone until she hears it from me.
“Thank you, sir.”
