Page 162 of Gladiators of the Vagabond Boxset

One moment, I had been pinned beneath Fierce’s delicious weight, his mouth providing wondrous pleasure.

The next, he was pulling away, and my skin prickled in sudden awareness.

I couldn’t hear what he had—his hearing seemed to be phenomenal—but I could tell from the tension in his body and the tilt of his head that he was picking something up.

When he got to his feet and slid into camouflage so complete that I could only tell where he was by the dark shadow of his kilt, I feared it was more naga.

Rolling to my hands and knees, I grabbed a rock—just to have some kind of weapon.

I tried to be as quiet as I possibly could, while I focused on my hearing and tried to pick up what it was that Fierce had heard.

Was that soft sound the scraping of scales over rock?

I could hardly tell over the pounding of my heart.

Fierce’s body was my best guess at what was going on; he was tense and alert as he peeked out of the small cave.

Then his shoulders lowered a bit, his camouflage dropping just enough to make him visible to me as something other than a vague outline.

I silently climbed to my feet and sidled up to his side.

Maybe I could lean out just enough to see what was going on.

There was nothing to see, though, just an empty stretch of rock and sand next to the river.

You could see far down in either direction, and there wasn’t a single sign of life.

This bit of beach was pretty much empty of anything but rocks, small tough grass-like plants that grew from little nooks and crannies, and the gray-blue vines clinging to some of the rock walls.

Fierce tried to reassure me immediately in his way, his now-familiar word combination rumbling from his chest in what was almost a purr.

His skin shimmered into deep blues and turquoise, his eyes heating.

I tilted my head up to meet his kiss, pleasure skating up my spine when he pulled me firmly into his body.

Now he purred in earnest, his chest vibrating against my still highly sensitized nipples.

I had never realized this was what had been missing in any of my previous relationships, but Fierce, with his wildness, seemed to tick all my boxes.

With those glowing yellow eyes, the possessive grip on my waist, and that animalistic sound of satisfaction coloring the air, I knew just where I stood with him.

A part of me wondered if I was being an idiot for getting in this deep with an alien I couldn’t even properly talk to—so quickly, too.

But if anything, my life recently had taught me that everything was fleeting, and life could be snatched from you in the blink of an eye.

I wasn’t about to deny myself this closeness with a male this kind and protective, when I had it right here.

I hooked my arms around his neck, lifting onto my toes to get closer to him, reveling in the feel of his breath stuttering in his chest when I scraped my nails across the soft skin beneath his hair.

He responded by lifting me into his arms, one hand cupping my ass as he pressed me close, the other supporting me by the back of my neck and angling me for the best kiss.

Yes to all of this. I eagerly pressed my core against the thick bar of his erection, my legs clamping around his slender hips.

And then he froze again, yanking back with a snarl on his face as his eyes flashed toward the opening of the cave.

I had a moment of confusion at what had just happened, and then he dropped my feet to the ground and spun me behind his back, pressing me into the rock.

One moment I was climbing that ladder of pleasure for the second time, and the next I was doused in yet another cold shaft of fear.

That Fierce had pulled back could only mean he’d heard something again.

His skin was still warm and blue where my head was pressed up between his shoulder blades, but with my hands pressing against his sides, I could feel the strange, pebbled texture he’d taken on.

He’d camouflaged himself and was hiding me.

I had just enough freedom to tilt my head to the side and look out of the cave from between his arm and body.

The river shore wasn’t empty this time; there were half a dozen red naga slithering along it, the one in the lead with his head down as he seemed to be following tracks.

My breath stalled as I worried about what was going to happen.

Was he going to leap out and attack them again?

What if he got hit with another spear? It had turned out all right last time, but what if our luck didn’t hold?

My fingers dug into his skin, trying to physically hold him back while not breaking his perfect camouflage.

I searched for Snarl, where was the big hound now?

And where the hell was Fluffy? What if the naga saw her?

But I couldn't see a single sign of either of them, so now I was gripped with a whole new worry.

The six naga approaching were clearly looking for something.

Were they searching for us? Had they seen the signs of our previous fight not too far from here?

We should have gone farther, found a better hiding spot, but we’d both been too exhausted last night.

The lead naga was a huge, brawny one, bigger than any I’d seen before.

He had a scar bisecting his face and an axe three times the size of Fierce’s strapped across his back.

It was made of that same black obsidian I’d seen before—like the spears—but the stone was huge and probably heavy.

I realized that one of the naga behind the huge male was different from the others when they were nearly alongside our hiding spot.

The creature was as big and muscled as the others—except for the lead one—but something in the way she dressed—not bare-chested but in a tight leather vest—made me think this was a female.

Then I noticed the golden patterns painted onto her skin, even down to the very tip of her tail.

An important female, then, which made sense, because the males were almost in some kind of protective formation around her.

I held my breath as they passed by us, wondering if at any moment they were going to look into this darkened cave opening and spot us.

The morning light meant there was still a lot of shadow, but I was willing to bet their eyes were as good as Fierce’s in the dark.

At least, it seemed to me that Fierce was not planning on leaping out; he was pressing me back into the cave wall tightly with his body, so tightly it almost hurt.

I didn’t mind in the least; I didn’t want him to fight these guys, especially not that huge one with the ax.

I had a lot of faith in Fierce’s and Snarl’s abilities, but I didn’t want them to risk injury.

The female tilted her head at an angle right in front of the cave opening, as if she had heard something.

She had her scarlet hair pulled tightly back from her face, the ponytail wrapped in black leather and gold.

From the tips of her hair, black beads dangled that matched the black needle-like teeth in her mouth.

Oh… Were those teeth from her own species hanging from her jewelry? That seemed rather morbidly horrific.

Her red eyes lanced into the darkened cave.

I felt them like lasers as they scanned the interior, but she never said anything.

Nor did the naga males who gave our hiding spot a cursory glance, exchanging low-voiced, hissing words with each other that my translator couldn’t understand.

I wondered if Fierce could understand what they were saying, were they speaking a language stored in his translator?

They were gone, out of sight a few moments later.

I wanted to shift forward, to lean around the rocky outcropping that had blocked them from sight, but Fierce wasn’t letting me move just yet.

Not until I spotted Snarl trotting into the cave, tongue lolling from his mouth and his red eyes glowing with amusement.

Only then did he step away and let me move, though not by much.

“Hina safe!” he said, then pointed at the rocky floor of our tiny hideaway.

He growled out another word in his own language, which I could only surmise meant “stay.” Then he darted out of the cave and followed the direction the naga had disappeared into.

I crossed my arms and stared after his retreating back with a frown.

The fuck? Did he just order me to stay in here like a good little wife?

Or worse—a dog? No, thank you. I hurried to gather the few things we had, located Fluffy, and, with some relief, let her scamper up onto my shoulder for a few pets and purrs.

Then I eyed Snarl, who was sitting at the cave opening and watching me with one eye while watching the outside with the other.

“I don’t care what you think. I wanna know what’s going on. I can’t let Fierce take all the risk.”

Still, I half expected the hound to try to block my path when I went to step outside, but he didn’t. He just stuck close to my flank as I followed after Fierce and furtively checked whether we could still see the naga in the distance or if they’d left us alone again in this canyon.

The sun was just starting to really climb the sky, lighting only a narrow strip of the rocky beach.

The rest of the canyon was still mostly in shadow, but I could still make out the churning, rushing river on my side.

I couldn’t see Fierce at all, it was as if I was all alone out here.

Where had he gone? Or had he camouflaged himself again?

I’d just drawn that conclusion, telling myself that I shouldn’t be surprised if he just popped up—when he was suddenly at my side, yellow eyes glowing, my name rumbling from his lips.

I yelped like a ninny, shocked at his sudden appearance anyway, and he shot out his hand to clasp it over my mouth.

He spoke to me in his own language, in what was clearly a warning tone.

Only when I nodded did he drop his hand, sliding it from my mouth to cup the back of my neck and give it a soft squeeze.

His eyes went all tender, too, and I just about melted.

Okay, he means well, he didn’t mean to spook me, and he just wanted to keep me safe.

That much I had gathered by now. He wanted me safe, and I was almost a hundred percent certain at this point that he considered me his mate.

Each time my brain landed on that thought, my body flushed with heat while I felt this mild panic that I’d end up hurting him.

“Hina,” he murmured. I already heard safe as an echo behind my name, though he didn’t say it this time.

His thumb rubbed over the rapid pulse in my throat.

Then he leaned down and pressed his mouth in a gentle kiss to my forehead.

I was a little disappointed that it was such a chaste gesture, and annoyed that he urged me back to the cave. As if that was a safe spot to hide in.

I’d love it if we could either pick up where we’d left off—twice now—in a safe place, or get the hell out of here, because I was so done being chased by these snakes.

I wanted to go home, which was impossible, because that ship had well and truly sailed.

So if I couldn’t have that, I wanted to find comfort with this sexy, sweet, animal-loving guy who’d literally jumped off a cliff to prevent me from going splat.

Nearing the cave opening, I shrugged out from his grip and was about to stomp—with some frustration—into it when I felt a hand on the back of my belt.

When I paused in my admittedly kind of childish hissy fit to look up at Fierce, I was surprised to see a smile splitting his face, his sharp canine teeth poking out.

“What? Didn’t you want me to go hide back in there like a good girl? ”

He shook his head while continuing to smile, his eyes making these little crinkles at the corners that were far too sexy.

What was up with my damn hormones, anyway?

I kept wanting to jump his bones, and it seemed like the urge got stronger the longer I was with him.

I spared one thought to consider if this bothered me and concluded, again, that my near-death experience meant I was not going to deny myself any pleasure when it presented itself.

“Hina,” he murmured, pointing at the rock wall just to the left of the cave opening.

I stared at the blue-gray vines hanging from a ledge, noting the toughness of the vine, the interesting five-pronged leaf shape, and the thick sponginess of said leaf.

But I didn’t understand why he was making me look at some plants.

He didn’t know I was a botanist, so why would he point them out to me?

With a chuckle, he stepped around me and jogged the last bit over to those vines, then shocked me when he lifted them away and revealed a crevice hidden behind them.

I could see how the narrow space wound upward, almost like an uneven set of stairs, possibly leading right to the top of the canyon wall.

My heart leaped for joy at the sight, my smile as wide as Fierce’s.

“Oh, you discovered a way out! Wow, that’s amazing. ”

I hurried over, my hands already running over the waxy leaves as I tried to discover how they’d made such a thick curtain that had hidden the crevice.

That’s when I discovered the net they were sewn to; it was cleverly attached to the rock, with fabric against it painted to match the rock walls.

Someone had gone through a lot of trouble to hide this exit route.

But who? It hadn’t appeared as if the naga we’d just seen had known about it.

Fierce took his bag and mine from my shoulders and tightened them around his own body, then he reached out and gently petted Fluffy, who was still sitting on my shoulder.

He said some words in his own language, pointing up at the crevice and telling me to go first. I gave him a nod and headed up the first few rocks.

The climb was tough but not dangerous—I could do this—and the pale lavender sky was peeking out at me every time I looked up, urging me on.