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Chapter Seventeen

S hadow

I’m restless. I still have no idea what to do with my free time. As a young male, I squandered all the hoaras of all the days of my life. As a slave, I had no unregulated time at all. So having to decide what to do with myself is difficult. I’m not surprised when my feet take me to the ludus . This ludus or one like it is where I’ve spent my days for the last fifteen annums .

None of the males pay attention to me as I lie back on the seat to bench press barbells. I don’t know if I was secretly hoping someone would mention my eye looks better. Why would they even notice? And why would I care?

I arrived late in the day, and I almost didn’t detect that the others have been leaving in ones and twos until I’m alone here. It’s quiet. I like being alone in the ludus. It makes me calm, like some people feel in a temple. Because of the silence, I’m keenly aware when the entry door opens. I look over to see Petra making a beeline to her rope.

“Hey, Shadow. Mind if I join you?”

Maybe she’s still thinking about the other day when I demanded we set up an alternating schedule to use this room.

“Have fun.” I will, too, because I’m in a great position to spy on her while I lift weights. She kicks off her shoes, grabs the rope and scampers up it. Her ass looks so great in those leggings I can’t take my eyes off of her.

“Are your hands healed enough to climb that rope?”

She hangs by just one ankle and shows me her palms. “The plas-film did wonders. I know you’re busy, but could you help me?”

I set the heavily laden barbell down on its rest, “What do you need?”

“There’s a trick I wanted to try. I need an assistant.”

“You’re joking, right? I can’t climb that thing.”

“Your job will be with your feet firmly planted on the floor.” She’s upside down, her ankle secured in the rope and looks at me for the first time. “You got a new eye! Come over here so I can get a better look.”

I move to be in her direct line of sight. “Snazzy, Shadow! A more compact model. You happy with it?”

“Seems like an improvement,” I keep my voice bland, noncommittal.

“Well, I think you’re handsome either way.” I think she shrugs. It’s hard to tell when she’s hanging upside down. I always figured my eye repulsed her, repulsed everyone, but she seems nonplussed. Maybe my eye simply disgusted me.

“Okay.” She scoots higher up the rope. “Grab the rope about two feet below me.”

I comply.

“Now, can you twirl it? In a circle, so I’m twirling with it.”

I catch her gist and now the rope has gone from stationary to moving in slow, tight circles. She begins her routine, which seems dizzyingly difficult and complicated because the rope is moving.

I’m right underneath her, watching her muscles work smoothly under her skin. From time to time she makes a soft guttural sound when she strains to move positions. My cock is hard as steel. This is so sexy I don’t want to take my eyes off her. I can’t refrain from reaching out to touch her.

I pull the rope to a stop and reach up to grab her in one swift movement. I catch her by her hips and tug her down, making sure I don’t scare her or make her lose her balance. She doesn’t resist me, just goes with it and in a quick moment she’s in my arms, her legs wrapped around my waist.

I kiss her mouth, gently at first, then more insistently. Our tongues spar; her hands grip my back, pressing me against her even harder. I’m certain she feels my cock against her core. I can smell her arousal. She responded to me so quickly—absorbed by her routine one minima , ready to mate with me the next.

I pull her shirt over her head, while she contorts to accommodate this. “The door, Shadow.”

I’m confused, too consumed with touching her to understand her meaning.

“Someone could barge in on us. Can we lock the door?”

I come out of my lust-induced haze to set her on the floor. I can’t let her out of my reach, so I pull her with me to the entry, then lock it.

She stretches up and puts her arms around my neck and insistently presses her lips to mine. Snaking her leg behind mine, she levers herself against me so she can feel my length between her legs.

“I want you inside me,” it’s almost a demand as she tugs off her leggings.

“The red ones, Petra?” My breath escapes in a huff. I’m ogling the shiny red bra and panties.

“Those are so sexy.”

“I was hoping one day I’d wear them for an audience of one, Shadow. You.”

An unfamiliar noise escapes my throat. I think it’s a growl. I’m unwrapping my loincloth as I follow her to the large wrestling mat on the floor. Before she lies down I stop her.

“The rope, Petra.” I grab her hand and pull her toward it. We’re both nude. She’s beautiful, compact with sleek muscles under her pale skin. I’m hard as metal. I bend down to kiss her. My tongue slicks against her lips until she opens to me. I want to make sure she’s ready for me, ready to open for me in other ways.

I pull away and order, “Feet on the floor, hold the rope above your head.” She complies, so eager to do what I ask that it emboldens me. She’s standing in front of me, facing away, her arms grasping the rope, stretched above her head. My hands reach from behind her, and I hold the weight of her breasts in my palms.

“Mmmm.” She presses her ass back toward me, trying to connect with my length. I jackknife back, teasing her, keeping my cock from making contact with her. I want her focused on my hands right now. My thumbs are strumming her hard nipples. Back and forth, pressing firmly on her pebbled buds.

Then I roll them between thumb and forefinger. She makes a mewling noise of pleasure and again tries to press up against me with her bottom.

“Not yet! And don’t remove your hands from the rope.” My palms are rubbing her nipples. I lick first one palm and then the other and slide against the hardened nipples with circular, slick pressure.

“Oh, crap, Shadow. That feels so good.”

I can smell her sex. She’s so aroused. I love having her opened to me like this, so exposed, her hands above her head. My palms move up to caress her throat, then down over her breasts again, then around the swell of her hips. She’s still facing the rope, away from me. I reach around her hip and slip one finger past her clit and through her folds toward her core. I don’t touch her sensitive nub or dip into her wet channel. I love driving her wild.

“Don’t tease me,” she orders in a groan, but I think that’s a lie. I think my touch sends her to heaven. She widens her stance, a silent invitation. I step closer and slip my cock between her legs from behind. I thrust against her slit in a slow, lazy rhythm. She gasps a swift intake of breath.

She’s so wet my cock is almost immediately drenched in her nectar. I slick back and forth between her lips, my tip grazing her clit. We’re both spiraling higher in intense desire. I’m so aroused I could spill my release right now.

“Fuck me, Shadow.” She’s panting, pressing her bottom against my pelvis so my length has better access to all of her. I scrape my teeth against the sensitive place on her neck below her ear. “Please!”

“I love it when you beg, Pet.” My breath is so low and breathy I hardly recognize my own voice.

I grasp her waist with both hands and move her against my cock, hitting just the right spot for her. She moans. “Now! Please.” She’s so ready for me, my cock is about to explode.

I lift her higher on the rope, her feet off the ground. She has to reposition her hands and bear her own weight.

I move in behind her and spear the tip of my cock to the edge of her slick opening. Then I wait, allowing her to take over. I wonder if she will plunge down on my length all at once or ease herself down in increments. I’ll remember what she likes for next time.

As soon as she realizes she’s now in control, she pulls herself up and then down, just the smallest amount. Up and then down again, a bit deeper, in little pulses. She lifts up, then comes down deeper and deeper until she’s fully seated on my cock.

“Shadow, you are so big. My God, I feel so full.”

I take over now, putting her feet on the ground and pushing her forward so her bottom is thrust back at me. I piston into her from behind in a rhythm that gains in speed. With my hands on her shoulders, her body offers no resistance and with every pounding stroke, the force reverberates through us both.

I reach in front of her and press my finger to the side of her clit, right where she likes it. This is all she needs to reach orgasm. Her inner muscles clench me powerfully, rhythmically. She moans, then screams in pleasure, the noise reverberating throughout the ludus . I hear her shout my name, which pushes me over into an intense climax of my own, jetting into her for long moments.

We stand like that a minima , as her aftershocks continue to milk my cock. I step back, to get us over to the mat to lie down. Although I’m still inside her, I’ve broken the moist seal between us. This makes a suction sound where my pelvis and her ass were connected.

We fall on the mat, laughing, panting, still glowing in the aftereffects of lusty sex. We’re both sweaty, but I don’t want to break the connection. I sling my arm over her waist and pull her closer.

She’s facing me now, we’re looking deeply into each other’s eyes. There’s no more laughter. This seems serious. I don’t want her to bolt. She’s in this moment with me. I can feel it. For the first time since I met her, I can tell she wants to lie with me, she wants to talk to me. She might do the “pillow talk” she once told me she’d never want. I could drown in this feeling. This is what my soul has been yearning for.

And just as quickly as it started, I can feel it disappear. Like a puff of smoke, it’s gone. Her eyes dart from mine. Her muscles tighten. Then I feel her pull away.

Petra

Oh my God, that was mind-blowing sex. My body is still in the ecstasy of afterglow. If only I could order this up daily like room service. “Hello, room service? I’d like a hamburger and fries with extra ketchup. And for dessert the best sex in the galaxy with the universe’s hottest guy.”

But there’s something really scary in Shadow’s expression. I don’t like this. Nope. He wants something more. I don’t do more.

I start to panic. My internal voice is literally screaming at me to run. I have no control over these awful attacks, sometimes they come barreling out of nowhere. My body immediately shifts into fight-or-flight mode. I try to roll onto my side in a patented move designed to imitate a casual readjustment that actually gets me into position to bolt upright and leave the room. But his arm around my waist is like a vise.

His gaze is still penetrating mine, like he can see into my soul. I hate this. I’m really starting the beginnings of a panic attack. I want out. No, it’s not a want it’s a need. It’s a freaking necessity.

If he doesn’t let me go soon, I’m going to make a noise. Like a noise that will bring everyone coming. In one short moment I’m going to scream and I won’t be able to stop.

I’m panting now, and I’d have to check to know for sure, but I’m pretty certain my upper lip is starting to sweat, and not in a good ‘I just had great sex’ way but in a ‘complete panic mode’ way. Sweaty palms? Check. Fight or flight response? Check. Racing heart? Check.

“Gotta go,” I mumble. My lips are getting numb. I’m scrambling now, really pushing and pulling at his heavy fucking arm. I’ve got to get out of here. I can see by his expression that comprehension is dawning that all is not right in Petraland.

I’m flailing. Definitely crying, hot tears are spilling from my eyes. In a moment I’m going to flip into the scream I was worried about or fly away into complete dissociation. Neither of which are my first choices. He finally lifts his arm as if he’s been burned and I scoot away from him on my ass, then scramble to my feet. I run to the door, just wanting to race down the halls to my room and hide there until this fucking panic attack passes.

No such luck. The door is keyed to Shadow’s palm print since he’s the one who locked it. “Out!” I point to the door and stomp my feet back and forth like a nervous horse, trying to stay in my body before I dissociate completely.

He rushes over. I know he can tell how serious this is, he looks concerned. Shades of Petra’s crazy performance in front of shaggy blue guy on planet Numa, only this time it’s not an act.

“You’re naked. Can you wait to get dressed?” He’s not cynical, he sounds sincerely worried about me.

I have to weigh my options. Flee right now completely naked through the ship, or wait sixty seconds to get dressed. My mind gets made up for me because he’s already here with pants and shirt. Fuck the underwear. I slide into my clothes in record time, he presses the door open and I escape at a run.