Page 34 of Adtovar
I kissed her deeply, again and again, my lips moving in rhythm with my thrusts. It wasn’t enough to taste just her lips,my mouth wandered over the smooth curve of her cheek, down the delicate line of her neck, and across her shoulders. I gently cupped her breasts, feeling their weight and warmth beneath my palm. I teased her nipples with a delicate pinch of my fingertips, watching them harden under my touch. Finally, I allowed myself the taste I’d been craving and took one nipple, then the other, into my mouth and sucking with firm, deliberate pressure that made her inhale sharply, her breath catching in a soft moan.
Her velvety channel, already gripping me like a vice, clenched even tighter. A guttural moan escaped my lips as my hips bucked forward, driving into her with a primal urgency. My body tensed, balls drawn up tight and hard, as a wave of pleasure built and intensified, ready to crash over me like a raging tidal wave.
Maddie’s breath hitched as she threw her head back, her short, rounded nails digging red lines down the length of my back. “Adtovar,” she cried out, the sound low and raw. Her body convulsed beneath me, waves of release causing her to shake as her inner muscles clenched and unclenched around me, milking me for all I was worth.
I thrust into her twice more, sweat dripping from my brow as I buried myself to the hilt, feeling my cock throb and pulse as I came undone with a low, deep groan. The rush of my climax overtook me, the sensation of my seed driving into her with each pulse echoing in my very bones.
Gradually, the intensity of my release ebbed away, leaving a gentle calm in its wake. Yet, we remained entwined, her arms and legs wrapped tightly around me with my face buried in the wild, fragrant curls of her hair. The scent of our union hung in the air like an intoxicating perfume, rich and lingering.
With a reluctant sigh, I shifted onto my side, slowly extricating myself from the comforting warmth of her body. I drew her tightly against my chest, enveloping her soft, warmbody with my own. Maddie nestled against me, her breath whispering through the quiet room as a deep, contented sigh slipped from her lips.
I knew just how she felt.
My mate.
Chapter 14- Adtovar
The trickle of water ran over my skin, cold but bearable enough to wash the dust and grime away. Training had been strange today. Training had been strange ever since they discovered Melakor dead in his bunk. Just as I suspected, the healer—too inebriated to do anything else—had defaulted to claiming that Melakor must have suffered an internal injury during his fight with Ronco, which led to his death.
Ronco—none of the gladiators, really—seemed too disturbed by Melakor’s death. If anything, there was a new swagger in Ronco’s step at seemingly having taken down such a noteworthy warrior. As for training, while on the surface, it appeared we fought hard with dulled blades and weapons, and there was a distinctive pulling of punches. No one wanted to suffer Melakor’s fate.
The whispers and murmurs regarding my last battle proved true. Bozzo was indeed bringing in a special gladiator for the final bout, postponing the event for three days to accommodate the arrival of my mystery opponent. Speculation ran rampant, with most believing the gladiator to be a Gudari—a species known for their ferocity, stamina, and unyielding prowess in battle. I had faced a Gudari before and emerged victorious. And this time I was fighting for something far more precious than mere glory. I was fighting for my mate.
Maddie perched on my cot, diligently working with her rock and bowl to grind the black stone from her arsenalinto a fine powder. The rhythmic motion of her hands was mesmerizing. Ebony dust stained the tips of her fingertips and smudged the tip of her nose, a whimsical dot amid her determined focus. The sight stirred something deep within me, as the sight of her always did.
“Any news?” Maddie glanced up, rubbing the back of her hand over her nose, which only added to the dust dotting her features. Her brow furrowed with concern, and her eyes clouded with a worry that I felt powerless to lift.
“Most think it is a Gudari,” I said, coming to settle beside her on the cot.
“And you can beat a Gudari?” She insisted.
“I can beat a Gudari,” I assured her, leaning over to press a kiss to her lips.
Maddie gave a playful huff, but I didn’t miss the way her gaze darted toward the doorway. The door was closed, yet the ramshackle wood held so many gaps and cracks that it provided little in the way of true privacy.
We’d been exceedingly cautious. Bozzo already held suspicion that Maddie was my mate, but suspicion and certainty were worlds apart. We had confined our lovemaking to the depths of the night, ensuring that neither sound nor sight would betray our closeness to the others. My shoulder bore the lasting imprint of her teeth, a mark left by Maddie as she bit down to stifle her cries of pleasure, my most cherished scar.
Even now, with the tiredness of training lingering in my bones, I found it nearly impossible to keep my hands off her. I leaned over, nuzzling her neck, savoring the warmth of her skin and the intoxicating blend of her floral and spice scent. Maddie’s soft giggle filled the air, a sweet, melodic sound that danced around us like a playful breeze as she nestled closer.
“It’s the middle of the afternoon,” she sighed, tilting her neck to aid my exploration.
“Yes,” I groaned, nibbling along her skin, loving the way her salty taste lingered on my tongue. “And everybody is resting.” Between the end of training and the start of dinner, there remained a two-hour gap that most gladiators used to retreat to their cells for a shower and some much-needed rest. Now that I’d won their freedom, the females were the exception to the timetable of the underground, but from the way they tittered and giggled in my presence, they knew full well we were fucking and seemed to approve.
Everyone was otherwise occupied.Well, almost everyone.
The faint scuff of footsteps reached my ears, heavy, much too heavy for a female. I laid a finger across my lips, motioning for Maddie’s silence, and stood, moving away from her and nearer the door.
The moment the footsteps paused outside my cell, I surged forward, punching the door open, narrowly avoiding slamming the heavy wood into the guard’s snout by a breath. The larger of Bozzo’s private guards, the one Maddie referred to as Frac, instinctively raised a broad hand to his snout as if to confirm he had avoided harm. His beady, dark eyes bore into me with an intense glare, a low growl vibrating ominously on his lips, hinting at his anger.
“What do you want?” I snapped at him.
Frac’s eyes lingered on me for a moment before they shifted away, settling on Maddie, perched on the edge of the cot. She had hastily stashed away the remnants of her gunpowder concoction, her hands now deftly working needle and thread as she darned my tunic. It was a perfectly reasonable task, though the small smudge of black powder that clung stubbornly to her nose betrayed her recent, more explosive activities. Frac was so thoroughly encrusted in filth that I doubted he’d notice.
A disdainful grunt rumbled from his throat, and with a flick of his wrist, he tossed a couple of protein bars inmy direction. The bars arced through the air, their wrappers crinkling softly before landing at my feet with a muffled thud.
“I brought you some nutrition. You’re going to need it for your last fight. We don’t want you getting beaten too quickly.”
Before I could open my mouth to retort, Maddie appeared at my side, fixing a fierce glare on Frac. Her eyes burned with intensity, while her hands clenched tightly into fists at her sides, knuckles white with tension.
