Page 74 of Infala: The Bonding Games
“Defense!” Dorrin shouted over the roaring crowd.
Ziana didn’t know how, but she heard him, his voice cutting through all the noise and resonating in her ears clearly.
She realized he was right. She’d let her anger get the best of her and that was not the plan. She abruptly pulled back, letting Galla’s staff whizz past her. Ziana flicked a trio of glancing blows across the woman’s arm as it passed. They were harmless, but points were points, and she needed to rack more up. To focus on increasing her score rather than actually hurting Galla.
As a result, only one of them was trying to harm the other. Ziana was simply tapping her opponent every chance she got. Dorrin watched her score climb, though several shots were not counted. It wasn’t something they could contest, but the gamblers very well might if the variance was large enough.
At long last the ending horn sounded with both women breathing hard but still on their feet.
Dorrin hugged her hard, lifting her off the ground in his excitement. “You did it! I can’t believe it, but you actually did it!”
“It was a draw.”
“Not Galla. Quilla and Lonks. You eliminated them!”
Ziana, exhausted as she was, felt a surge of energy she didn’t realize she had in reserve, glancing up at the scoreboard. He was right. It had been close, but the elite pair had been taken out.And while it was the culmination of the day’s activities that had sealed the deal, everyone knew it was Ziana who had made it happen.
Her surge of energy began to wane just as quickly as it arrived. Fortunately, the day’s events were done.
“Get me home,” she said quietly, not showing weakness no matter how utterly drained she felt.
Dorrin reacted at once, hoisting her up like she weighed nothing, carrying her victoriously with one arm, the other raised high, his fist pumping in celebration. Of course, he was only doing that to distract from the fact that he was carrying her because she was nearly too weak to walk, but so far as the crowd was concerned, the pair were celebrating, and rightly so, and it was to roaring cheers that they exited the arena into the tunnel leading to their lodging area. And it was only there that he finally set her back on her unsteady feet.
“Drink,” he commanded, fetching her a restorative energy beverage while she sat in the warm water of their shower, able to multi-task properly now that they were no longer bound at the wrist.
She downed it in a flash. “Another.”
“You need to let this absorb first or it will turn your stomach.”
She felt just that a moment later, the impact of so much so soon making her belly a little uncomfortable. He let her just sit there, the water flowing over her as she gathered herself. Only when she shut off the water, slipped into a robe, and joined him in the kitchen was she ready to eat.
“Now?” she began to ask, then saw the spread he had prepared for her.
“I thought you would appreciate something a little more substantial, now that your stomach is settled.”
She stood on her tiptoes and kissed him, her heart fluttering with both exhaustion and joy. “You’re the best.”
“Best? I don’t know about that. But I will always do what I can for you, no matter what. And right now, that means feeding my woman.”
“I like the sound of that.”
“As do I.”
They dined together quietly at first as Ziana’s body ravenously absorbed the nutrients. Once she was feeling like herself again, then they talked about the day’s experience. Dorrin was more than a little impressed with her performance, and his adoration shone in his eyes now that they were safely in the privacy of their own abode.
“Are you feeling better?” he asked while clearing the dishes from the table and placing them in the auto-wash system.
“Sooooo much better,” she replied, rising from her seat and stretching. “Oh, but my body is aching,”
“Then let me tend to it.”
He took her by the hand and led her to the bedroom where, for the first time unbound by the wrist cuffs and cable that had linked them until this point. Dorrin gently undressed her, taking care around her many bruises and scrapes.
“They really did a number on you,” he said, opening the container of healing ointment specifically used for bruising and muscle contusions. “This will help.”
He took his time, warming the soothing balm in his hands before carefully applying it to her body one bruise at a time. Ziana was aching, but even so his touch was turning her on so much that he could feel her body temperature skyrocket. She noted his erection straining his pants and knew he wanted her just as badly as she wanted him. But he was tending to her owies, and as such he was treating her with the utmost respect, though she really wanted something quite different.
However, with her body as beat-up as it was, at least a part of her realized that she had to be careful. Had to let it mend. But that didn’t mean they couldn’t still have a little release.
