Page 4 of Bound (Gladiators of the Gryn #3)

RYCH

Vrex it! The female ran!

Why did she run? I had no choice but to chase her, and given she seems to be injured, she didn’t get far. Now I have her beneath my claws, her bright eyes, beautiful, clear, searching my face, her chest heaving, her breath hot against my skin. Her scent fills my senses, heady, ripe, fertile. Long hair, the color of the suns, flows over her shoulders, framing her pretty face.

“!” My new employer, the reptilian, stands next to us in the doorway. “Stand down, gladiator! This is my little pet, Chrissie.” He leans back. “She’s a human,” he adds smugly.

Chrissie—her name rings in my ears like the sweetest music—glares at him and then at me.

“I know humans,” I rasp. “I have met their kind before.”

“She’s not a threat to us, and she’s not the assassin who is stalking us. In fact, she was here that night.” He shudders. “And she was as much at risk as I was.”

“You really do think the assassin was for me?” Chrissie says, clearly trying to keep a tremble out of her voice.

“It could have been.” Fenek swells his chest. “In order to get to me. After all, you’ve been of great assistance to my empire of late.”

As much as I don’t want to, I back away from Chrissie, shuffling my wings back into place.

“I see you’ve met . He’s a former gladiator I’ve employed as a bodyguard for us both,” Fenek says to her. “He will be residing here and accompanying us to any meetings or shows.”

“He’s going to be living here?” Chrissie asks, the words seemingly sticking in her throat.

This is not the usual female reaction to me. Running I can understand, but not wanting to be in my presence? I was always the most requested gladiator when it came to being paid for my time in bed. I was popular with females.

But not this one and it irks me considerably.

“I’ve assigned him quarters above the transport block,” Fenek says. “And he’ll take his meals in here.”

I straighten. “I’ve done a sweep of the perimeter. There are a few areas which could do with the security being tightened. I’ll see to it.”

Fenek looks pleased.

“In addition, I’ll do hourly patrols.” I shoot a quick glance at Chrissie. “Should you be wandering the corridors.”

She makes a choking sound again, and her hand flutters over her chest before she shoots across the food preparation area once again, and my wings flare in alarm.

Over on the other side of the room, she grabs her glass of water and drinks deeply.

“My little songstress needs to keep her throat well-lubricated,” Fenek says with a bored air. “Come and tell me about the increased security arrangements.”

He leaves the room. I risk another look at Chrissie, but she has her eyes closed and is clutching the glass to her chest as if her life depends on it.

I don’t want to leave her, but I have no choice, instead following Fenek through his house, a place I’ve already thoroughly explored, and as I go, I point out the flaws in his security.

No wonder the supposed assassin was able to get so close to him…and Chrissie. I grit my teeth as he chatters about his business contacts and how important the next few nova-weeks are to him and his position on the Tatatunga council.

All I can think about is the little female, so delicate, so stunning, who I had in my clutches and who I had to let go.

A female who seems to think having me here is the worst idea ever.

“This bot will show you to your quarters,” Fenek announces, indicating a squat butler bot waiting next to one of the five exits to the property.

I feel my feathers bristling at the sight of it.

“Bot,” I growl. “Do you have many of them?” I eye the thing warily.

“No more than anyone else in my position,” Fenek says breezily. “Is that a problem, gladiator?”

“I’m not a gladiator anymore,” I say through gritted teeth. “I’ve never trusted bots.”

“All of mine have custom programming which makes them answerable to me alone, unless I give access,” Fenek says, pulling himself up to his full height, which doesn’t even reach my shoulders. “Which I will give you, of course,” he adds imperiously.

I consider telling him where to shove his bots, but I’ve been in his employ since last night, having slept on a comfortable couch in the entrance to his dwelling after a celebratory drink or two and potentially the Habosu have taken his credits but remain out for my blood. This place is as good as any to lay low for a while.

“If you want.” I shrug.

“I have business to attend to,” Fenek says. “You will see to the security arrangements as discussed.”

I give him a sweeping bow, something the punters at the dome always enjoyed, even if it used to be followed by a killing blow. “As you wish.”

Fenek looks inordinately pleased with himself at my actions before bustling off.

I side-eye the bot. “Quarters,” I growl at it.

Lights blink and it moves off, the outside door opening, and I follow it through the extensive gardens to a large square building with a flat roof. I stride past it, entering the place and shutting the door to keep the thing out.

Bots. The vrexing things make me want to smash them into tiny pieces. I shake out my feathers as I explore my new surroundings.

My quarters are more extensive and luxurious than those I shared with the other gladiators in the dome, but something isn’t right. I need…more. My wings are itching like mad as I work my way through the place, gathering up all the items I think will work and taking them into the large bedroom.

It’s not going to be easy, but I think I can make it right, just as long as I have time.

Which is when the alarms sound, and I’m out of the place faster than I’ve ever moved in my life.