Secrets of New Pompeii (5 page)

“This is boring,” someone muttered. “I’m glad
I didn’t pay for this.”

Hearing the criticism, the combinations
became more daring. Two of the women pleasured one man while two
men pleasured one woman.

“His cock’s not even hard,” another onlooker
complained. “Put him in your mouth, sweetheart. You can’t fake
that.”

“Better yet, give us real penetration,”
another demanded. “Enough of this pretend shit!”

Tarhee moved up beside the performers and
explained his displeasure with one scathing look. Cocks were
immediately buried inside pussies and one of the women frantically
sucked until the last man was hard. “If you would like to see
specific positions,” Tarhee told the crowd, “they will respond to
your suggestions.”

The performers exchanged mutinous glances,
but none broke character.

“I want that one to lick her pussy while that
one sucks his cock.” The man directed to suck cock looked decidedly
uncomfortable. The third man attempted to take his place, but the
onlooker insisted he wanted the first man.

Naloni had seen enough. She had no idea what
the founders had promised these people, or what they were holding
against them, but it was obvious they were being required to do far
more than they had expected. Was one of Stevon’s teams recording
this display? She moved around slowly, trying to spot anyone with a
suspicious-looking piece of jewelry or… Or what? She had no idea
how such things were done.

“This is a special treat, ladies and
gentlemen,” Mikko’s sharp voice drew her attention to a stage in
the far corner of the room. Hurrying away from the living tableau,
she wove her way toward the small stage. “Wrestling pits are dark
and dangerous, and onlookers miss so much when they can only see
the action from above. This match is guaranteed to be different.
House Olla has issued a challenge to House Zyell and we have
accepted. The two men you are about to see are both proven
champions.” He raised his arm in a dramatic signal for the
wrestlers to enter.

Dario, the newly defeated champion of New
Pompeii, looked as deadly as ever with his spiky black hair and
obsidian eyes. Was it insulting for a gladiator to wrestle?
Wrestling tested strength and agility and the determination to
overcome. All similar qualities to what was required for success in
the arena. Of course the only weapon he would be allowed was his
body, and he’d thrust with a different kind of sword.

The thought drew her eyes downward from his
menacing features. His body hair had been removed and his skin
oiled until every ripple and bulge stood out in striking
prominence. His cock had begun to rise, a formidable weapon indeed.
He rolled his shoulders and flexed his arms as he waited for his
opponent.

“The representative of House Xyell has not
fought publicly for quite some time, so this is a rare treat. After
retiring undefeated from both the arena and the pits, he became my
doctore
. He has produced more champions than the other
trainers combined, and he has served me with loyalty and
honor.”

Naloni tensed, her heart hammering in her
breast. Why would Max… It couldn’t be. But Bertrom had warned her
that Max would be here, that their lives were about to
reconnect.

“House Xyell is proud to present Patricius
Maximus, our undefeated champion!” The crowd roared, some shouting
encouragements to Dario, others in support of Max.

Max entered from the other side of the room,
his stride purposeful, head held high. He was lean, sleek, each
muscle sharply defined. Whatever they’d used to slick back his hair
made it look more black than brown. The severe style accentuated
his fierce features and the unexpected beauty of his light blue
eyes.

“Wow,” the woman next to her muttered. “I
wonder if they’ll be available upstairs after the fight.”

Naloni’s hands clenched and she turned to
berate the woman but realized the woman had been talking to her
male companion.

“I’ll find out, darling,” the man assured. “I
would love to watch you ‘wrestle’ with one or the other, or were
you thinking both?”

Needing to be away from their disquieting
speculation, Naloni eased between two tittering women and
maneuvered her way closer to the stage. She didn’t want to think
about Max with other women. She didn’t want to think about Max. But
here he was in all his savage glory, even more captivating than
he’d been in her dreams.

“This is a full-contact bout. No mercy will
be given. One or the other must be pinned before the winner will be
declared,” Mikko explained.

Naloni’s gaze gravitated toward Max’s groin.
He wasn’t even hard yet. How did he expect to pin Dario if he
couldn’t get an erection? She caught her bottom lip between her
teeth and crossed her arms over her chest.

Her gaze slowly worked its way back up his
body and found his crystal blue gaze staring back at her. She took
an automatic step back, but the person behind her pushed her
forward again. There were two rows of people between her and the
stage. Was Max really looking at her? Did he recognize her in this
ridiculous wig?

Did he even remember her after all these
years?

Max fought back the urge to jump off the
stage and rip the wig off Naloni’s head. The elaborate style
distracted from the purity of her features, but nothing could deter
from her clear hazel eyes. So bright and open for someone so
conniving. She obviously hadn’t changed much. She still loved
disguises and pretending she was someone other than the emperor’s
daughter.

Memories bombarded his mind, unwanted and
dangerously distracting. He could not think about her right now. He
would not! His chin shot up and he raised his gaze, looking out
over the heads of the onlookers. Mikko was still babbling. Would
the man never cease and let them begin?

Finally Mikko grabbed their arms and forced
them to face each other. “You both know the rules. Any part of your
body touches the floor and you’re disqualified. I’m sure neither of
you wants to win that way, so keep it on the stage. There are no
time limits and no breaks. You wrestle until one of you is pinned.”
He looked down at Max’s cock and shook his head. “Do you need a
nice warm mouth to harden that up? I’m sure any one of these ladies
would be happy to oblige.”

“My cock has never failed to rise, sir. There
is no reason for concern.”

Dario smirked and thrust his hips forward,
causing his erection to bob.

“Begin!” Mikko leapt off the stage as the
combatants charged.

The oil made it harder than hell to grasp
Dario. Max’s hands slid down his arms and across his back without
ever finding purchase. Luckily, Dario was having the same problem.
Their shoulders smacked against each other and Dario wrapped his
arms around Max’s back.

“I make my move tonight. Are you with me?”
Dario’s harsh, urgent whisper sounded in Max’s ear.

They repositioned, arms sliding as they
slowly circled. “What move?”

Dario lodged his shoulder into Max’s armpit
and tightly clasped his arm. With surprising ease, he bent his
knees and flipped Max up and over his body, slamming him down on
the stage with a resounding bang.

The breath whooshed out of Max and spots of
light burst behind his eyes. After one moment of shocked
immobility, he grappled for some sort of hold, twisting and
thrashing to prevent Dario from controlling him.

He forced his legs beneath him and lifted
Dario while angling sharply to the side. Dario slid off and landed
on his side, Max lunged for him, forcing Dario over as he landed
sideways across his body.

“They will listen. They will have no choice,”
Dario went on in a hoarse whisper.

“You’ll get yourself killed,” Max hissed in
return.

“No. Trust me. This is foolproof.”

Only a fool ever believed anything was
foolproof. “Is this why you challenged me?”

“Yes.” Though softly spoken, the word rang
with impatience and significance. They continued to wrestle, each
skillful enough to evade the other’s moves. “Are you with me or
not?”

“What are you planning?” Max had Dario
beneath him now, legs bent, in the perfect position to pin him.

“No time! Make it look like you’re going to
pin me then shove me forward hard.”

Understanding the maneuver, and cursing
himself for a fool, Max made his decision. “All right.” He pulled
Dario’s hips up and reached between them as if to position his
cock. Then he shoved Dario toward the corner of the stage and the
armed guard stationed there.

Max leaped to his feet and whirled on the
other guard, grabbing his sword and slamming the flat of the blade
against the side of the guard’s head. The guard moaned and swayed.
Max raised the weapon to strike again, but the guard collapsed into
a messy heap as the onlookers watched in wonder.

“Seize them!” Mikko’s command sent a wave of
fear through the stunned audience. Apparently they couldn’t decide
if this was part of the show. Those closest to the exits didn’t
wait to find out, but the crush of bodies had many people
trapped.

Dario shoved his way to Naloni and grasped
her from behind, pressing the guard’s sword against her throat.
“Back off or she dies!” Dario shouted. She was no random hostage.
Dario had run directly to her.

“Kill her!” Mikko yelled. “Kill them
both.”

“Ask Tarhee first!” The confidence in Dario’s
voice slowed the response of the advancing guards.

Infuriated yet trapped by his decision, Max
positioned himself at Dario’s back. Guards rushed toward them from
all over the villa, some brandishing pulse pistols. “Now what?” Max
whispered.

“Call out to your brother,” Dario told
Naloni.

“Fuck you,” she whispered in return.

“This is Princess Naloni!” Dario took a
cautious step forward and Max matched his movement. “Harming her
sentences you to death.”

“Which means you’re a dead man already!” Max
couldn’t see Prince Tarhee, but his voice rang out over the
thinning crowd. “Naloni, is that really you?”

Silence.

“Max, take off her fucking wig. She’s our
ticket out of here.”

Rather than voice all of his concerns with
Dario’s plan, Max moved in front of them and quickly found the pins
anchoring the wig to her head. She glared at him in mutinous
silence, so he focused on the task and avoided her gaze.

Movement blurred his peripheral vision. Max
spun and brought his sword arm up, smacking the guard’s forearm
with the flat of the blade. His pulse pistol discharged into the
ceiling and screams echoed through the room. He swept the guard’s
legs out from under him and stomped on his wrist. The guard cried
out, but his hand released and Max snatched up the fallen man’s
weapon.

When he returned his attention to Dario, he
found the wig on the floor at Naloni’s feet. He wasn’t sure if she
had finally given in and removed it or if Dario had managed to
finish the task. With the pistol in one hand and a sword in the
other, Max returned to his position at Dario’s back.

“Hold your fire!” Tarhee called. “They have
nowhere to run.”

A fact that was utmost in Max’s mind. How did
Dario expect to force the emperor to do his bidding when he had no
way to contact him? The only people who had access to technology
were the Fedorans. Mikko and Tarhee would assure their guests that
there was nothing to worry about, perhaps even hint that anyone who
needlessly worried the emperor with this unfortunate incident would
no longer be welcome in New Pompeii.

Didn’t Dario realize the power the founders
had over their customers? If a customer acted against the wishes of
the founders, they risked exposure or being ostracized. And these
people were addicted to these pleasures as surely as any drug
addict craved their next fix.

Dario ducked into an alley, dragging Naloni
along behind him. Max listened carefully for sounds of pursuit as
he followed in their wake.

“Tarhee is right. My father will kill you for
this.” Her voice cut through the darkness and she tugged and
twisted against Dario’s hold.

“Be quiet or I will gag you.”

Max scoffed. “Better gag her now. She’ll
fight you every step of the way.”

“You’re both naked! Do you honestly think no
one will question two naked men dragging around a bound and gagged
woman?”

Dario didn’t respond to either of their
criticisms. Keeping to the alleyways, he wended his way toward the
less-exclusive part of the city. They reached a nondescript corner
and Dario shoved Naloni toward Max.

“Stay here and keep her quiet. I’ll be right
back.” Without further explanation he darted around the corner and
disappeared into the night.

Needing one of his hands to control her and
having no way of keeping either of the weapons on his person, he
tossed the sword into the darkness and used the pistol to back her
against the wall. She stood there, head tilted, eyes narrowed to
gleaming greenish-brown slits.

Did she remember him or had he been one of
many Princess Naloni rewarded with her supple body? Even if he’d
not been her last, he’d been her first! No one could take that away
from him.

“This is ridiculous.” Her tone was composed
and cold, so very…royal. “You must let me go before your partner
returns or you’ll both pay for this stupidity with your lives.”

“Is that so?” He moved closer, unable to
resist the tangible pull of her innate sensuality. He didn’t think
it was possible for any woman to be more beautiful than his
memories of Naloni, but time had sculpted her features with
maturity and grace. Where she had once been pretty and sweetly
innocent, she now possessed an exotic beauty both rare and
stunning. “If we’re both destined to die, why not enjoy our captive
to the fullest? You’ve presumed this is about escape. Perhaps we
just want a taste of royal pussy.”