Page 116 of Gladiators of the Vagabond Boxset

I really did think he’d fallen asleep, especially since he didn’t stop me when I pulled my hands from his thigh this time.

Shifting, I pulled my boot from beneath my butt, where I’d tucked it in the hopes that he wouldn’t take it from me, too.

Moving as quietly as I could, I pulled the small blade tucked into the sole free and slipped it into my sleeve.

“Yeah, I’ll take that boot now,” Thorin murmured, almost drowsily.

His eyes had opened to slits, watching me with a heavy-lidded gaze.

That gaze was almost sexual, like the kind of look a lover might give after a fantastic orgasm.

It made my belly twist into knots and sent another rush of heat flushing through my lady bits.

Shit, I was in so much trouble with this guy.

Heart pounding, I tried to casually take my boot off and hand it to him, hoping against all hope that he hadn’t noticed the blade.

He was fast as a snake, deceptively slow when grabbing the boot, then snapping out a hand so fast it blurred, my wrist caught in the shackle of his fingers.

With his eyes focused entirely on mine, staring at me as if he could see right through me, he pulled the knife partially out of my sleeve, raised an eyebrow, and slid it right back in.

“You can keep the tiny little knife, if it makes you feel better,” he told me in the sexiest drawl. I felt trapped, captured in that gaze. So, it was with some relief that I noticed new people tromping into the brig.

*

Thorin

I stood back, making sure I was well out of the cell but still in Camila’s line of sight, as the Doc carefully treated the massive bruising on her cheek.

Knowing more about what she’d gone through before she got here…

Yeah, I wasn’t so much of a bastard that I didn’t know I’d crossed a line there.

I shouldn’t have let my anger and rage lead me.

All I’d heard was “associate of Drameil,” and I’d gone off half-cocked like a trigger-happy idiot.

Then the female had the nerve to give me a sultry smile as she pointed the Doc my way.

“Maybe you should check the bruising on his face too.” Maybe that was just my brain in the gutter, though.

Snapping my teeth at her, I smirked when she startled backward before glaring.

When Luka started to approach, I held up a hand.

“It’s fine, Doc. I’ll be right as rain again tomorrow anyway, no need to bother. ”

Watching the spitfire narrow her eyes further, I could just see the wheels spinning in that pretty head.

Ever since she’d made to grab for the long black braid dangling down her back, I had visions of wrapping that thing around my fist and holding her tight with it—holding her still for kisses or for fucking; either would be good.

“What about his leg, Doc?” she asked, which caused both Fierce and Luka to look at me in surprise.

“There’s nothing wrong with my leg,” I snapped at them, hating the stares. I was worried about the pity—weakness wasn’t tolerated—and it was just leg cramps anyway. I’d go to the gym later and exercise; that would help.

Luka held up his hands in surrender and turned back to Camila.

Fierce looked at me inquisitively for a moment longer, turned to look at Snarl—still on the floor—before glancing back at me with a frown.

I had the nasty feeling that the Ferai beast could communicate far more with him than it could with the rest of us.

Leveling a glare at the hell-hound, I made sure he knew exactly what I thought of tattling.

Of course, that damn hound just sniffed, lifted a hind leg, and started licking his damn balls.

Ignoring the beast, I focused on Camila again, aware that the Doc was now dangerously close to fiddling with that long, tempting braid of hers.

I felt my chest clench tightly at the sight of his black head bent so close to hers.

The rational side of me could tell he was working on her translator implant, right behind the smooth curve of her ear.

“That should do the trick. Can you understand me without issues now, Camila?” the Doc asked in a friendly tone of voice.

She was rubbing her forehead, her dark eyes pinched at the corners—clearly in some kind of discomfort—but she simply nodded and didn’t mention it.

Doc, being the doctor that he was, an Aderian one, reached out and tapped her knee.

“You are in some pain; let me give you something for it.”

She jerked away from the hypospray when he picked it up and adamantly shook her head.

“No, thank you. I’m not letting you shoot me up with God knows what when I’m sitting in a prison cell.

” Amused and impressed yet again, I straightened from my lean against the wall and told the Doc to stand down when it was obvious he wanted to press her into taking the painkiller.

“She has a point, Doc. I wouldn’t take any either in her case.

When’s Ziame getting here?” The last I directed at Fierce, hoping he’d pick up on the hint and go look for our captain.

I was still not without distrust of that little bundle of toughness over on the bunk, but…

it did seem like it was more of a case of misinformation than real malice.

She wasn’t lying when she said she didn’t know anything.

Only Ziame could make the call on whether to trust her enough to let her roam free.

Fierce just frowned, not getting the hint or not wanting to get it.

But I was saved from calling Ziame on my com myself when the doors opened and he and his mate, Abby, walked in.

I could see instantly how Camila straightened, her body going tense; she was obviously frightened of Ziame’s appearance.

Luka had noticed it too; he was frowning, starting to move a comforting hand to her knee.

I hadn’t meant to move so fast—or even made the conscious decision to do so—but before he could touch her, I stepped between them.

My body, crowding far too close to the small female, she had stood up on her sock-clad feet, barely reaching the top of my chest. Placing my back toward her and facing Ziame, I had already taken up a defensive position before I had fully comprehended what I’d done.

Shit, no way to make this anything but what it was.

Luka and Fierce were both staring at me as if I’d grown a second head, while Snarl had climbed onto the cot to make himself comfortable.

He was smirking at me like he knew just what was up.

Worst of all was Ziame’s expression. I respected that male, he was strong, smart, and extremely loyal.

If it weren’t for him, none of us would be free.

And when Kitan and his female had gotten trapped on Sune, he’d gathered us all and told us he didn’t want to just leave them behind, but that he wouldn’t think any less of us if any of us voted differently.

He’d made sure we could all vote anonymously, but he declared afterward that we’d all been in favor of staying and rescuing the two.

It was at that moment that I’d felt truly safe with my brothers here, that it felt like they were more than just the men from the arena.

This was a brotherhood, and we stood by each other.

At this moment, though… Ziame was looking at me with disappointment, and I felt about ten inches tall.

I’d hit this woman, and now I was blocking his access.

I was all over the fucking place, and I couldn’t make sense of the tangled mess of feelings inside me—not to explain my behavior in any way.

“Everyone who doesn’t need to be here, leave,” Ziame said, gesturing out into the corridor with his long, prehensile tail.

For a moment, everyone seemed frozen in place, except for the spitfire at my back.

Camila’s hand had crept up beneath my leather jacket and curled around the back of my belt.

She wanted me to stay. I felt more like myself again, right away.

That had been my role once: protector. I could do that.

Doc gathered up his things and, with a shrug, left, while Fierce gave me a long, lingering glance before he and his bonded Ferai beast trotted off without a backward glance.

That left Abigail standing at Ziame’s side, while she looked at Camila with interest. I didn’t move an inch, standing half in front of Camila as I faced off against Ziame.

I knew that Ziame wouldn’t harm her; that wasn’t how he operated.

He was a far more sensible, rational being than he appeared.

He might take his pound of flesh out of me, though, if he thought I was being an ass, which, granted, half the time I was.

“You too, Thorin,” he told me, but I instantly shook my head. “No, I stay.”

With a frown, he moved to better look at Camila, who had gone tense as a bowstring, her body falling into a ready posture I was familiar with.

She had never seen anything so dangerously alien as Ziame, with his great horns, scaled body, and blunt snout.

If she knew he could breathe fire and poison someone with a bite… she just might snap and attack again.

“Camila,” I said, “that’s our captain, Ziame.

And the human woman over there, that’s Abigail, his mate.

” I emphasized the last word, hoping she’d understand that, though Ziame was easily the biggest out of all of us on this ship, his female was human, he could be trusted.

Grimly, I realized that putting her in the brig had not been one of my brightest decisions.

I’d made this far harder on all of us by being a mistrustful, hotheaded asshole.

And still, despite feeling this protective urge, I couldn’t shake the feeling that she had something to do with Drameil and hadn’t told me all of it.