Gladiator Bear's Battle (Shift In Time 1) (7 page)

She thought she would collapse in ecstasy right there and then, but he had other plans for her. He raised her up by her thighs and brushed aside his loincloth, which had still covered his cock. When she caught sight of it, her heart skipped a beat. It was large and veiny, the head dark and ready to enter her wetness. Kiya whimpered at the size of it, her stomach contracting in shock, but her body was no less willing than before. The smell of their sweat and the oils rubbed into her skin was starting to mix into the air, filling her nostrils with a musky scent.

Erden’s strong hands moved her into place, the girl on her knees and hovering above his throbbing shaft. She bit her lip as he pushed her dress out of the way and grasped her around her waist. A hint of worry glinted in her gaze, but his soothing brown eyes left her no question that she was in good hands. She took a deep breath as he slowly lowered her down, the wide head forcing into her unsullied slit. Kiya gasped as soon as his cock started splitting her, digging deep into her. She tensed up and her nails dug into his shoulders, but Erden kept pushing her down and she didn’t fight it, welcoming it instead.

“Do you need me to stop?” he asked, his voice straining.

“No! Please don’t,” Kiya begged, tensing against him.

The pain was quickly warping into pleasure and underneath that pleasure, a much stronger current promised to sweep her away. He wouldn’t budge as she screamed out, but he allowed her move higher a bit before pressing into her again, her juices coating his cock. His hands were stern but understanding as she struggled to allow him inside of her, her curvy frame shivering and goose bumps dotting her skin.

Erden repeated the motion a few more times, each attempt followed by another whimper from Kiya. Finally, he reached up and pulled her head to his chest and then, with one sharp move, he pressed her down onto his massive cock completely.

Her scream was muffled by his wide chest and she bit into his flesh. He bucked into her slowly now, giving her time to get over the initial shock. He moved her just enough to prevent her from concentrating too much on any one sensation, carefully working his way deeper into her delicate heat. Bit by bit his thrusts started growing in force and Kiya moved against him, chasing that blaze she felt underneath the feeling of his huge cock splitting her wide.

She raised herself up off of his lap almost completely and then plunged back in, enjoying the tension and ecstasy that flew through her with each motion. Kiya kissed his chest and neck where she had bitten him, deep bite marks evident on him. Mira had even drawn a bit of blood, but he had paid it no heed. Erden growled a little as she bucked against him.

She could see him watching her, admiring her lithe form as she bounced up and down on the cock that was much too big for her. The softness was still in his gaze, but she could see a predatory hunger now, something much more familiar to her. It made her spirit swell, knowing that this caring, gentle beast of a man wanted her and desired her enough to take her as he did, without forcing her more than she could handle.

This monster, hated by the Gods and feared by Romans, had taken her and cradled her with care, filling her with joy and confidence. The pleasure was mounting now and his breathing was growing quick and erratic.

“Gods, please!” she moaned, not finishing her thought as she succumbed to her need.

She threw her head back and screamed out, her pussy milking his hard cock eagerly. He held on a moment longer, but the great bear that never lost admitted his willing defeat as well. Kiya felt his hot seed filling her and she clung to him for dear life, shuddering and bucking.

“Kiya,” he breathed as he emptied into her and she hugged him tightly, her body convulsing in his lap. “I will never let anyone hurt you,” he growled into her ear, soft but determined.

If only that could be true…

CHAPTER NINE

Kiya

The day was like every other, but completely different. Even the air felt fresh and new and every breath Kiya took breathed life into her.

This must be what happiness feels like,
she thought to herself with a grin, obediently preparing Aelia Fausta’s gown for the evening.

She hadn’t slept a wink all night and she didn’t mind it either. She’d stayed in Erden’s quarters until the sun was coming up and the guard pounded his fist against the door, letting her know that if she didn’t leave now, she’d definitely get caught. For a second, she’d thought that it would be entirely worth it just to spend another minute with Erden’s arms wrapped around her. However, the bear was more sensible than she was, and against both of their wishes, he released her from his grasp and hoisted her up to stand on her own two feet.

Two feet that were shaking underneath her. Her legs still ached and her pussy felt, well, violated. But in the best of ways. Kiya kept shifting in her seat, doing the fine needlework, but even the pain in her muscles and the sleepless night couldn’t dim her happiness. She felt good. Better than ever.

All of that kept her smiling and perky until reality had to come crashing through the door, this time in the form of Lucia. Kiya looked up from her work at her friend, and her smile disappeared immediately seeing her friend’s worried frown.

“What is wrong?” Kiya asked, pausing her work.

“Julius Augustinus has sent for all of us to get bathed in rose water and rubbed with oils.”

“What do you mean, ‘all of us?’”

“I mean you, me, Sahli, Andela… all the lady’s maids.” The look Lucia gave her told her another story as well.

It was one that Kiya understood all too well. It wasn’t just that the lady’s maids had to be prepared. It was that they were virgins. They were being offered up as treats for the visiting nobility. Her heart fell into her stomach like it was shoved down the edge of a cliff.

“I knew it,” Kiya said, sighing.

“You’re the lucky one here,” Lucia snorted, sitting down next to her and grabbing the other end of the hem Kiya had been fixing.

“What do you mean?”

“At least you’re prepared!” Lucia said in a fit of irritation.

Kiya bit back the words that were coming to her tongue. Well, Lucia wasn’t wrong. She did know what to expect, in a sense. But she also knew that whatever these brutes wanted to do with her, it would never add up to the night she had shared with Erden. In the midst of their lovemaking, he had whispered heated words in her ears and now she knew for certain that what had started as infatuation had blossomed into real, true, undeniable love.

“I am not,” Kiya told her, giving her a long look.

Lucia looked like she was about to say something back, but Kiya saw the tears brimming in her eyes and knew that she must look the same. Sex was not something to be feared in the Roman culture, but to be celebrated. But Kiya and servants like her were not given a choice. At best, they could hope to be taken by men who would give them time to adjust and to learn to please them, but that was hardly ever the case.

If this had happened to her before knowing Erden, she would have soldiered through it, knowing it was her duty as a slave. But now? She couldn’t imagine giving her body to anyone but Erden and the mere thought to the contrary filled her with fear.

“We will be all right,” Kiya promised blandly, taking Lucia’s hand.

“We will not,” Lucia shot back.

Kiya couldn’t really disagree with her.

***

“We’re not going to be okay,” Kiya whispered to Lucia, who was visibly shuddering.

Lucia tossed her a look that could have scorched the grass off the ground, but it bounced right off of Kiya. She was too rattled. The only thing that kept her grounded in the well-scented room was the sight of Erden standing in a line with the other gladiators. Whenever she felt like screaming, she would just glance his way and take a deep breath. After that, she could keep going for another minute.

Until the panic set in again.

She was standing by the wall with Lucia as the esteemed guests were pouring into the villa. Kiya recognized a few of them—powerful men who ran Macavia and were known for their opulent taste. The room was lit with countless candles and torches, but the setting sun cast a red glow about the scene before Kiya that made her uneasy. Normal life in the villa had come to a grinding halt. Everything and everyone was focused on delivering the perfect evening.

There were high-class entertainers set in different corners of the large room. Two musicians were playing their instruments, filling the air with soft tunes. Three dancers were winding their bodies to the music, the hungry eyes of men constantly on them. Giggling women were finding laps to perch on, making themselves awfully cozy with the visitors. Some of them Kiya recognized—the same women that were sometimes brought in for the gladiators, but others were new to her. Most of them were well dressed, wearing fine linens and glinting jewelry.

Only the best for the Senators,
Kiya thought wryly.

Her hands were shaking around the heavy wine jug. Every now and then, when she noticed someone’s goblet running empty, she would walk to them and fill it again and then quickly return to her place by the wall. Her theory was that the less she was seen, the better. But, of course, she knew that this could not last for long.

The best gladiators the
ludus
had to offer were lined up in the center of the room, forming a circle that faced out. They had been covered in golden oils, making their bodies gleam and shine in the flickering light. Erden looked like a man amongst boys. Most of the gladiators were well-known to Kiya, but she also spied Davida in the lineup, the same man that had attacked Erden and who Erden had nearly killed.

They were being displayed like pieces of art. The room was littered with guards as well, there to keep the unarmed gladiators in check. Julius Augustinus had truly gone all out to show his guests the true reach and width of his wealth and the treats that the villa had to hold.

There weren’t any women along with the visiting Senators and local nobility. All of the wives and daughters had been left at home, and that was the single most troubling sign of the night. Only Aelia Fausta was still in the crowd, making pleasant conversation with some of the younger visiting nobles. She stood out in the crowd of the finely dressed—but still obviously paid—women as the single example of true regal poise. Kiya knew that this would not matter much for the night. Her father would have her leave when the right time came and neither Kiya nor any of the other handmaidens could hope for the protection of their mistress.

Kiya’s last beacon of hope—that Aurelius Clavius would not join the evening—was dashed when the doors leading to the banquet hall were pushed open and he emerged. His hands were raised as if he was greeting his loyal subjects, and Julius Augustinus rushed to his side to welcome him into the villa.

“Is that him?” Lucia asked.

Kiya could simply nod, a clump clogging up her throat and making it impossible to speak. She saw Erden glance at him as well and his usually hard facial lines constricted even further. He must have recognized the man from the descriptions Kiya had given him. His hand balled into a fist for a moment, but he released it quickly as a guard took a step toward him, sharp eyes noticing the small gesture.

“Aurelius Clavius! We were waiting for you! So glad you could join us! Gods truly bless us with a magnificent night,” Julius Augustinus said, simpering like a fool.

“I felt it necessary to be fashionably late, so all the lesser goods could be consumed and I could expect only the best,” he said, chuckling as he pointed toward the women Julius Augustinus had hired.

The
lanista
was not given an opportunity to reply as Aelia Fausta had floated to their side and Aurelius Clavius was taking her hand, kissing the back of it sweetly. Like that, he almost looked like a pleasant man, but when he threw a quick look at Kiya, she knew it was only a façade. There was that hunger again that had scared her so when she first saw it. It made her insides turn into ice and her blood curdle in her veins.

The look had only lasted for a moment, but it was enough. She knew far too well what he meant with that, having seen the much more passionate and loving version of it in Erden’s eyes just last night. Tears burned her eyes, but she kept them at bay. She’d been made up to look like a true Egyptian woman, with dark liner and a golden-brown complexion. If she cried now, she knew it would be noticed sooner rather than later.

“Father, is it now time for the entertainment?” Aelia Fausta asked, a true smile on her lips.

Lucia and Kiya shared a look, bracing themselves for the inevitable. The wine would flow freely and touching and joking would turn to groping, moaning, and moments when they would no longer have any control, though a slave was rarely left to believe that she could have any to begin with.

“I think it is,” Julius Augustinus said with a grin. “Prepare the gladiators!” he called, his voice bellowing over the room.

Kiya’s legs went weak underneath her and she pressed her back against the wall to keep from toppling over. A tear ran down her cheek in earnest now. Between the choice of losing herself and losing her bear, she would have chosen losing herself any time.

CHAPTER TEN

Erden

Erden was pulled from the gladiator line-up and walked out of the room. The rest of the men tightened their ranks as a single circle as if he had never stood there at all. Erden stole a look at Kiya before he was carted off. He could see the single tear creeping down her cheek and it made his heart break. The last thing he ever wanted to do was to see her sad, but he knew that this evening would bring plenty of heartbreak one way or another.

“Come on,” one of the guards barked, making him move faster.

He was led down the winding stairways back toward the catacombs. He’d rarely ever taken those stairs, as the gladiators were not allowed up in the villa. Once or twice, the gladiators were shown to visitors, paraded like prized stallions, but that was it.