Page 71 of My Wild Pet

“Is that… important?”

“Yes. More spectators mean more bets. More bets mean more credits, for trainers and pets alike.”

“After that week of practice… then what?”

“Then the competition begins in earnest, stretched out over several days. Around fifty teams will likely start, but many will fail in the early rounds—some pets will die, others just won’t score high enough to advance to the pair challenges. The numbers aren’t your concern, Ash. It’s complicated for a pet to understand. Don’t worry. I’ll monitor everything.”

“I know about numbers,” she says.

“Of course you do,” I say, humoring her. “But focus on the events themselves. The order is straightforward: first, a public observation of pets and trainers. Then come the individual trials, followed by the pairs challenges. Finally, if you and Ember win the Grand Championships…You will face the Bond Breaker.”

“Isn’t that where Ember’s other partner… died?”

I hesitate. I don’t want to scare her, but I can’t lie to her either. Ember or one of the other pets must have already told her what happened. “Yes, Fifi died there. But don’t let that trouble you. Ember won’t let you die. He was… confused last year, but this time he knows better, and I’ve trained you both more thoroughly.” I can see her collar flash in the dark with anxiety.

I get out of bed, take down the forcefield around her little bed and bring her into my own. I caress her naked body trying to calm her. “You’ve nothing to fear, Ash,” I murmur. “Just do as I say, and remember what you’ve learned in your training with me.”

I slip my fingers between her legs and begin stroking her, rubbing away all of her worries.

CHAPTER 38

Briar

The attendants leave us alone, just as Gabriel promised they would. I know it costs him UCs he’s earned through competitions and I feel slightly guilty for that, but he always tells me it’s money well spent. And I have to agree, if I had money, I would spend it on time alone too. What else is there to buy as a human pet on theLuminous Arc?

We sit across from one another, close enough that his knees are touching mine.

And he’s looking at me like he’s trying to memorize every detail of my face. “I love you,” he says quietly. Then as if we were back on Earth and on a date, he leans forward, puts his hands on either side of my face and kisses my lips softly. “Tu es tout pour moi."

“You know I don’t speak French, right?”

He replies by kissing me again. This time his tongue enters my mouth, igniting my desire. I respond by drawing him closer to me. Soon his hard muscular body is covering mine.

“What if we’re caught?”

“We should have an hour and I’d spend days in solitary confinement to have you alone like this. With no one watching.”

“I’m sure the doctor is watching. He gets readouts from our collars. They will know if we orgasm. He probably has an alarm set to go off.”

“No. They’re at the evening meal and it’s an Imperial holiday. They’re all drunk. That’s why it was easy to pay off the attendants today. Now kiss me. Let me make love to you the way I dreamed about it.”

“I didn’t mind the way you did it last time,” I admit. We’ve never had a chance to talk about what happened in Aefre’s room.

“I wasn’t going to take you on anything that belonged to him. Tu es à moi, Briar."

“What does that mean?”

Gabriel leans back an inch so I can look into his amber eyes. “You’re mine, Briar.” Then he doesn’t wait for a reply before taking down his trousers and placing his erect penis at my entrance. “You’ve always been mine.” He thrusts into me. I put my hands around his large shoulders. “And when I escape theLuminous Arcand this pet life, I will take what’s mine with me.” He pushes into me again, stretching my vagina. The piercings scraping through my desire.

I feel so full both emotionally and physically, so much so, tears begin to stream down the sides of my face.

He wipes them off with his thumbs and tries to move off of me.

“No,” I hold his large shoulders. “I’m crying because I’m so overwhelmed with how good you make me feel. It’s so different to everything else. I don’t want this moment to ever end, and I’m crying because I know at the end of this hour, it will.”

He kisses away my tears. “I don’t understand, Briar.”

“I want you to claim me as yours. I want to be yours. Take me.”

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