Page 47 of Tempting Jupiter (Arena Dogs #2)

That final syllable jerked his gaze back to her face. “You’ve never called me that before.”

“Seneca calls you that all the time.” She wove her hand in Sen’s and he squeezed it in return. His mates were united.

The movement in Fee’s hair caught Jupiter’s attention. Bug launched into the air and flew toward him, landing on his shoulder. It crawled closer to his throat and latched on to the shock collar he wore.

“I’ve studied the design,” said Fee. “But it will take me some time to hack both your collars.” She tipped her head to indicate Creek. “Where did he come from?”

Creek remained silent, apparently willing to let Jupiter speak for him. “He was here when I arrived.”

“And we can trust him?”

Jupiter raised an eyebrow at her question. “He has shown no love for St. Germaine.”

Feeona gave up a manufactured smile. “I can’t imagine he would.”

Too aware that the slaver could return at any moment, Jupiter rushed out a warning. “Morgan expects you to try to steal me. He’ll be ready. He doesn’t believe you have any credits.”

The news didn’t seem to affect her at all. “What about Owens? I thought he’d be here, waiting for us. Have you seen him?”

“No. Not yet.”

“Huh.” She looked over her shoulder as if she thought he might appear at that very moment.

“Problem?” Jupiter shifted his weight, restless to be on the other side of the bars of his cage.

Fee shrugged her gold-dusted shoulders. “No. Even if it was, I always have a back-up plan.”

“Yes.” The word vibrated in his throat. He could no longer hold back his anger. “But you also like to keep your problems and your plans hidden.”

Her mask wavered. “You have to know, if there were any other way—”

“If you had talked to me, we would have MADE another way.” For a moment she looked so vulnerable and full of ache. It fed his anger. He should have known there was a problem. He should have earned her trust.

She grabbed hold of the bars of his cage and leaned in. “I couldn’t risk it.”

It was all he could do not to reach through and wrap his arms around her. He longed to comfort her, but he wasn’t ready to forgive her yet. “Afraid you’d miss out on your opportunity to pick up your cargo?”

Her knuckles whitened where she clutched the bars. “Kids. They were kids.”

He shouldn’t be so damned jealous of those children.

Even though he understood, his heart whispered that if he’d been a fit mate, she would have shared her burden with him.

He ignored his heart and forced his voice to the firmness his pride demanded.

“Morgan told me. And did you make enough profit from selling them to satisfy your greed?”

She paled, but it was Sen who flinched, as if the blow had bounced off her and struck him. “I don’t sell them, Jupiter. I free them. You can’t believe—”

He didn’t, but his anger had been bottled up too long. Indulging it seemed better than admitting his own failures. “You sold me to Morgan.”

Tears rolled down the smoke grey of her cheeks. She couldn’t have been more stricken if he’d hit her. Then she would have been fighting back. Despite his anger, he hated that he’d hurt her.

Her fists flexed and tightened on the bars.

“I deserve your anger. I know that. But you saw the pit. I try to save the ones I can before they end up there. I’d already made arrangement with the man who gets them out of the factory for me.

If I hadn’t taken delivery, my contact would have sold them to a real slaver.

Or worse.” Her eyes were wide and pled for understanding.

“I love you Jupiter, but I couldn’t abandon them the way my parents abandoned me.

I…” Her mouth snapped shut. Her lips pressed together as if she could stop the words she’d already said.

There was a story there. One he needed to hear when they were all safe.

She’d confessed that she loved him and that helped to cool his temper.

How could he lash out his anger when he knew the failure was his own, and she’d obviously been punishing herself.

He reached toward her and wrapped one of his hands around her much smaller one.

“That is a story for another day.” He spoke softly, but his voice was rough with emotion.

She nodded, turned on her heel, and was three strides away with Sen in tow when he stopped her.

He barked softly. “Feeona.”

She looked back over her shoulder.

“Thank you.” The words were easier to say than he’d have expected. “For not giving them Sen.”

Seneca tensed, but she just dipped her chin, lips pressed tight. She hesitated, then sighed. “You know he’s strong enough to handle anything?”

He studied Sen’s stiff back for a brief moment.

“Yes.” And he did know that. It surprised him more that she knew.

And if she did, that meant the reason she’d turned him over instead of Seneca was that she knew he would want it that way.

Feeona and Seneca walked away, and Jupiter indulged himself in watching the way they moved together.

Fee had betrayed him, but in some twisted way she’d done it for him.

“A strong female.” Creek patted his shoulder. It was the first time the man had ever touched him.

“Yes,” he agreed. But not always as strong as she appeared.

***

Feeona and Seneca worked their way back to Morgan’s stage. The number of admirers hovering near him only made it more frustrating. She strode through the crowd and climbed the steps as if she belonged at Morgan’s side. Seneca kneeled at her feet, eyes on the floor, playing his role perfectly.

“So well behaved,” said Morgan. “I’m impressed. The others are a bit too cocky for my taste.”

Fee curved her lips in a hint of a smile. “You just have to know how to handle them.”

“I suppose you’re going to tell us that your fighter Dog would behave as well for you as this one,” Morgan waved a hand toward Seneca. “If we let him out of the cage.”

Fee watched her breathing and forced herself not to answer too quickly, too eagerly. “Of course.” Luckily, Morgan wasn’t watching her. He was busy playing to his audience, feeding off their attention. “He’s been following my instructions well so far.”

“Your instructions?” This time Morgan threw a chuckle in after his question and the others laughed along.

Feeona refused to let them get to her. “Yes. The ones I gave him before I sold him to you.” She took a dramatic pause and stroked the top of Seneca’s head, reminding them all that they had an uncaged Dog in their midst. “You’ve had Jupiter for some time now and he hasn’t eaten any of your guards, has he? ”

The laughter that followed her challenge quivered with universal discomfort from the crowd. Morgan wasn’t taking the bait. He wasn’t letting Jupiter out of the cage. She hadn’t expected him to, but she’d had to seize the opportunity to try. She knew better than to push him.

Feeona widened her smile and touched Morgan’s cheek. “Have I told you how much I admire a man that can take a bit of ribbing? Roland always said you were a good sport.”

Sen leaned into her, pressing his shoulder to her thigh.

His inaudible growl vibrated against her.

Oblivious to the power of the man at his feet, Morgan took her hand and pressed a kiss to her knuckles before launching into a story about one of the adventures he and Roland had shared.

The story was for his audience more than her, and she gladly faded out of the spotlight.

Morgan’s story gave Fee time to study the crowd as they hung on his words.

Using her neural link, she identified each of them.

A few had been to the Roma Rex resort, but only Cervenka had a direct connection to any of the owners of Roma.

Her quick search revealed that Cervenka lived on Roma in a villa owned by Owens.

It was enough to make her think she needed to be careful not to underestimate him.

When everyone was laughing at the end of Morgan’s story, Fee drew his attention back to her. “My friend, when is my competition arriving?”

Morgan looked her way, but his gaze stayed well below her shoulders.

“There is no one to compare to you, Feeona. But if you’re asking about Owens, he’s sent his regrets.

” He lowered his voice. “Rumors are that there was a huge fiasco in the arena. Second one this quarter. This time, some of his property escaped. He’s trying to hush things up, but you can’t keep something like that out of the data stream.

” He chuckled as if he thought he was clever to point out the obvious.

“A lucky thing for you, though.” He indicated Fee with a wave of his hand.

“With more recent public escapes, Owens seems less interested in your Arena Dog. You might have a chance of making the winning bid.”

Morgan started as if he’d move closer to her side, but found Sen in the way. Cervenka shifted behind the other guests as if preparing to leave the crowd. She liked him better where she could keep an eye on him.

Feeona lifted her voice to be heard. “What do you think, Cervenka? Do I have a chance of winning the bid?”

The crowd between them parted. “Why ask me?” His expression said he knew exactly why she was asking him.

She lowered her sparkling eyelashes and gave him her best flattery-will-get-me-everything look. “You look like a man in the know.”

He lifted his eyebrows and dipped his chin in Seneca’s direction. “I’d say you know a great deal about the worth and sweet temptation of Arena Dogs.”

With the way Sen was dressed and kneeling at her feet, Cervenka had to think she’d been abusing him. And despite what Sen meant to her, she supposed she had been abusing him from the moment they met. She’d set out to help Jupiter and Seneca, and so far, she’d failed spectacularly.

She was too good an actor to let the sudden rush of regret and grief show, but it sat heavily in her belly.

Regret for what she’d had to do was bad enough, but the grief devastated her.

She’d been fooling herself these last weeks with Sen.

Giving in to that sweet temptation. Fee had let herself have him and now she’d be losing both the men she loved.

She had a duty to the children of her world. That would always be in the way. Jupiter and Seneca deserved better than she could give them. They deserved to have each other the way they were meant to be. If she could give them nothing else, she’d give them that.

“I’ve come to see the value of having an Arena Dog at my side.

” She tugged on the silver chain still clutched in her hand.

Seneca rose to his feet like a canine uncurling from a nap.

She turned to meet his gaze and pulled him close against her side as she spoke.

“Seneca already feels like a piece of me.”

Sen buried his nose in her neck, giving her leave to turn her attention back to the others. Morgan stared at them with fascination. The rest of the crowd were either entertained or aroused. Of all of them, Sen’s admirer was impossible to read.

Morgan adjusted the ruffled cuffs of his sleeves, then clapped his hands to summon a servant. “Drinks for my guests.”

The servant walked up with a tray of something golden and bubbly.

Morgan waved the tray to Cervenka, who’d made his way forward through the crowd. “Feeona is here to bid for Jupiter just as you are.”

Andre accepted the glass but didn’t drink. “You’re mistaken. The Arena Dogs you have available hold no interest for me.”

Seneca shivered against Fee’s skin. Something about the man’s words had hurt him.

Morgan frowned. “Perhaps the Dreat then? They excel at physical labor.”

“Mmm.” Cervenka didn’t answer. Instead, he took a sip from his drink.

Something wasn’t right. Feeona wished she knew what. She needed to get the plan moving along. “Morgan, this is a fabulous ship. I saw some of your impressive armaments as we arrived.”

“I have all the security a ship could need—outside and inside.” He nodded and lifted a hand. Armed men seeped in from every entry to stand along the walls. Guests clustered into groups and shuffled away from Morgan’s private guards. “You can feel completely safe here.”

“I’ve never felt safer.” The size of the lie almost made it stick in Feeona’s throat. “I’d love a tour. After the auction, maybe?”

Morgan took the bait. “Why wait? We have plenty of time.” He put out an arm, like an Old Earth gentleman offering aid to a helpless lady.

“Wonderful.” And if things went to plan, she’d teach him a thing or two about helplessness.