The Gladiator's Downfall by Kristen Banet

Author:Kristen Banet [Banet, Kristen]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2018-12-14T08:00:00+00:00

17

Matesh

Matesh rubbed his eyes, trying to stop watching her while she slept. Damn, he’d nearly done it. He’d nearly fallen for those sleepy silver-blue eyes, the soft skin only marred by the scars of a warrior.

He knew better. He wanted so much, and this was one of the very few times they had ever been alone. Neither of them liked to leave Rainev anywhere. Before this, it had only ever been for him to leave and bathe or do his business. This had been their first extended period, just the two of them, since the day they met.

And he’d nearly fallen onto her cot, wanting to slide between her legs, listen to her mewl in pleasure. Wanting to give her exactly what she wanted.

Damn it. Curse being an Andinna male right now. I can’t resist her.

He knew it was a moment of weakness for them both. She was injured and he’d been…captivated by her ability to fight during the games. She had just needed to crook her finger a little, tell him what to do, and he’d been a good Andinna male, ready to please a female who wanted him back.

Then she bit him, wanting to get rougher with it. Her injury had flashed through his mind. His thought? He couldn’t be too rough without hurting her further.

Which had reminded him that he shouldn’t have been kissing her at all.

It had physically hurt to stop.

So, he had launched into explaining their language, after admitting how he felt. He forgot to tell her that amanra and bodanra were lovers in more than just a casual way. Casual relationships were completely ignored by Andinna society. But to call someone a lover…The Andinna had no formal terms to differentiate between wife and lover, or husband and lover. They were the same thing to their people, even if the relationship was temporary. He wondered if it would ever matter.

When the dinner bell rang, he knew Rainev’s fight would be starting soon, and he stood up to go get his little brother. He should have left earlier, but he had been too lost in his thoughts and watching her sleep, worried that if he left her, everything would go wrong.

He left her room quickly, knowing he needed to hurry, but was immediately stopped by Varkan. “I heard she was injured?” he asked quickly, trying to look around Matesh, who filled the door.

“She was. It’s not a secret.” Matesh didn’t move, not a single budge. “Why?”

“I mean, it’s never been serious, but they say you helped her walk away from the gate,” Varkan answered, shrugging. “I was worried.” He didn’t seem worried in Matesh’s eyes. A bolt of distrust ran through him. “Well, with you watching her back, she should be fine. I’ll leave you be. Oh, and have you talked to her? About joining the group? Banding together?” Varkan smiled at him.

“Not yet. The games have kept us busy,” Mat reminded him. “It’ll have to wait until after.”

“Ah, a pity.” Varkan was still smiling as he walked away.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.