Page 9 of Tempting Jupiter (Arena Dogs #2)

Chapter Seven

Feeona eased back, sitting on her heels, and licked her lips. Jupiter was a tantalizing mix of salty and sweet on her tongue.

“Why?” He still had a hand around her skull, fingers tunneling in her hair, and he was waiting for an answer.

Her position between his knees was suddenly awkward and uncomfortable and she had no idea what to say to him.

She wasn’t looking for an angle; she just wasn’t comfortable with the truth.

She’d done it because he’d managed to push her buttons.

She’d done it because he’d needed it. She’d done it because she’d wanted to.

She liked the big grumpy jerk, but no matter how much she wished things were different, she’d be leaving him behind to whatever fate Fitz had planned for him.

She flexed her hands against his obliques and forced her lips into a smile. “Why else? To give you motivation to put off killing me a little longer.”

His frown was almost cute, the way his dark brows bent toward one another. The way his lips plumped against the tips of his canines. Saints, she wanted to kiss him. To have him kiss her again. Instead, she slipped her grip down to the waistband of his trousers and tucked him away.

His thumb stroked her scalp as his fingers clutched tighter. “I—” His thumb found the bump of her implant hidden beneath her scalp. It curled behind her ear, at her hairline.

She tensed, ready to jerk away. “Careful,” she warned.

“What is this? A scar?” His frown deepened and his touch was light, but he didn’t release her.

“Not exactly.” The implant was as durable as they came, but she had no doubt those big hands could damage it and her without much effort.

He pulled her forward and pressed her face against the bare, hot skin of his abdomen.

Gentle but determined hands searched through her hair until he found the raised evidence of the tech.

She knew what it looked like. She’d seen it on others.

Talked to people who had one before she’d made the decision to get the implant.

A five millimeter circle marked the top of the implant. From there, a narrow ridge curved downward. He traced it from top to bottom with his finger. A shiver chased down her neck, raising goose bumps in its wake.

“It tingles against my skin.” His deep, masculine voice jerked her out of her thoughts and brought her back to the sharp reality of the hot skin beneath her cheek and the implications of the male flesh hardening against her collarbone. Something fluttered in her chest.

She couldn’t have sex with him in the brig. Well, at least not any more than she already had.

***

Jupiter had only just had his release and he still wanted her.

She’d given him pleasure and had taken nothing for herself. He didn’t understand. All he knew was he could still smell her arousal, but she was pushing away. Even as she clutched at his thighs, she shoved gently against him.

He wanted to hold her there. To press her velvet cheek against his cock. He wanted to drag her onto the bunk and under him. What he did was let her go. The moment his hand left her, she was on her feet.

For a moment she seemed lost, eyes dilated, jaw slack. She blinked, then huffed out a single puff of air. As she took her next breath, her features returned to her normal amused expression.

“Wow. That was something, huh? If we ever end up in the same place and in the vicinity of a nice soft… large bed, we’ll have to explore that a little further.

” Her cheeks plumped as she ramped up the smile.

She turned and plopped herself onto the edge of the bunk beside him.

In a move more playful than tempting, she slapped one hand against his thigh. “If you’re up for it, of course.”

Jupiter growled low. He would not be dismissed so easily.

“Oh all right, maybe it wasn’t as good for you as it was for me.” She scooted back on the bunk and lay on her side. “You should at least be relaxed enough to go back to sleep now.”

Another growl escaped him. “You’re insane.” Did she think he would forget what she’d done, or more to the point, what she hadn’t done?

“Don’t need much sleep, huh?” She curled an arm under her head. “Well, I’ve learned the best way to pass the time in a cell is to sleep.”

Then she closed her eyes as if that’s exactly what she had in mind. Again, she tried to dismiss him.

“Perhaps if you spent your whole life in one, you might choose another tactic.”

Her eyes opened. “What are you saying?”

“I’ve lived in some type of cell all of my life. Even when we’re training, we’re still caged.”

Feeona sat up and reached out to touch him. “You’re not talking metaphors, are you?”

He didn’t understand her words, but her dismay was clear. “I’m an Arena Dog.”

“Right. Fitz mentioned that. You’re some kind of gladiator at the Roma Rex Arena, but what’s that got to do with living in a cell?”

“That’s where they keep us,” he explained. “They call them kennels, but it’s all the same. Even the arena is just a bigger cell.”

She pulled her legs into a crossed position and leaned forward. “Is the arena some sort of prison program?”

It hit him. She didn’t know. Would it make her look at him differently? “We’re slaves,” he said, waiting for her reaction.

She paled.

Jupiter turned away. Would she have taken him in her mouth if she’d known? Would she have touched him at all, even to save his life?

The warmth of her palm against his shoulder startled him. Her color had returned in a flush of pink across her cheeks. She crawled closer and slipped under his arm, wrapping herself around him. Everywhere she pressed against him was a balm to his spirit.

“Slavery is illegal.” She thundered. “How can they get away with that?”

She didn’t wait for an answer. Her arms slipped away and she bounded off the bed. “And now Fitz is taking you back to them. Damn it.” She paced along the pulse field like a crazed hyrax-badger.

Her reaction reached deep inside Jupiter. A crazy sort of satisfaction rumbled through him. She was angry.

For him.

She didn’t regret touching him. Not at all.

He snagged her hand as she paced past, forcing her to stop and face him.

She didn’t resist as he pulled her closer and settled her on the bunk.

When he stretched out over her, she let out a soft, breathy moan.

Her body fit against his as if she’d been designed for him.

The soft yielding heat of her sent his blood racing to his cock.

He wanted to pleasure her and learn what other small sounds he would discover.

“Perhaps I will pleasure you after all,” he whispered against her ear.

She groaned, planting both her hands on his chest. “No.” The word sounded dragged past her lips. “We are not having sex.”

Her denial didn’t worry him. She didn’t think him less for being an Arena Dog. That fact pleased him. Whatever her reasons, he would deal with them. He lifted his head to read her face. “You’re still angry. Why?”

She didn’t answer him for a long moment. Then she slipped her hands up to cradle his face. “What they did to you was wrong. So wrong.” She bit her lip. “Your friend. He’s an Arena Dog, too.”

Jupiter stiffened. Guilt ate at him. He’d been thinking only of himself while he had no idea what Seneca was going through.

He moved off her and swung his legs over the side of the bunk. Bracing his elbows on his thighs, he bowed his head into his hands. “I have to find him.”

She shifted to sit by his side. “He’s in the med-bay.

They’re taking care of him.” Her hand settled on his spine.

He recognized her attempt to use touch to reassure him, because he’d used the tactic often enough to reassure Seneca.

After all the Dog had been through, Sen should’ve hated being touched, but he’d never shied away from Jupiter.

He couldn’t keep himself from turning to look at her. “How do you know where they’re keeping him?”

Her teeth bit into her lip as she got to her feet and stretched. She put her back to the cell entrance as she faced him. “There’s a camera in the guard station.”

He hadn’t thought to look for cameras, but that didn’t bother him.

There was no privacy in the life of an Arena Dog.

His frustration surged, but not because their captors watched or because she hadn’t answered his question.

He realized now how often she’d kept her back to that chamber, blocking her actions from the camera.

He didn’t like how naturally she censored her words, how deception seemed second nature.

Jupiter had lived his whole life being watched in one way or another, but he’d had little experience avoiding security. On Roma there’d been no point in trying.

“The audio receivers for the camera are suffering from a malfunction.” She spoke softly. “I can create interference or short loops on the cameras, but I can’t get away with that for long.”

Interference? Loops? He didn’t understand, but still he waited.

With a small movement of her hand, she urged him to stand and come to her. When he did, she slipped her arms around his waist and pulled him close. “They can’t see much if we stand close.”

He allowed himself a moment to take pleasure in her embrace, breathing in her scent. “Tell me.”

She studied him, again weighing her choices. This time he realized he wanted her to trust him with her secret… for reasons that had nothing to do with needing truth.