Page 36

Dex

W e laid in a heap of sweat and tangled limbs.

Odessa had fallen asleep in my arms. I let her get her rest. I knew eventually we would need to move on, but for this one moment.

I could pretend that we weren’t underground in the fight for our lives.

We were just two people who were tucked away, intent on enjoying each other’s company.

Her eyes fluttered open and landed on me.

“Hi,” she said sounding shy.

“Hi, yourself,” I said back.

She tucked her face away, hiding from me.

“Where do you think you’re going?”

“My breath stinks! I don’t want you changing your mind and wishing you had chosen to kill me instead.”

I laughed and rummaged through my pack, digging out a wad of gum that I split in two for the both of us. She gratefully popped it into her mouth with a wide grin as I popped my half in mine.

“Better?” I asked.

“Much,” she said blowing a bubble.

I liked seeing her like this. Like her walls were finally down and she was completely herself. Ideally, we’d be in a bed together instead of on the dirt filled ground, but I’d take what I could get.

She groaned, stretching her body out, “I don’t want to go yet.”

“So, let’s stay here,” I said.

She smiled and having her look at me with such unabashed glee took the very breath right out of my lungs.

“Delaying will only lessen our chances of winning,” she said.

“Well then we better make it worth it,” I said as I rolled her onto her back and had her legs spread for me in an instant.

She looked up at me wide eyed as my already hard cock nestled between her slick folds.

Odessa lifted her hips ever so slightly, giving me the encouragement I needed to take her. One thrust and I was in.

She winced as I filled her. “You alright?” I asked.

“Yeah, just sore.”

“You want me to stop?”

“No, please. Keep going,” she urged, wrapping her arms around to my back and pulling me tightly against her. Our skin was flush together, and I could feel every inhale and gasp she made, as I slowly rocked in and out of her.

“I’ll take it slow, then,” I promised, leaving a small kiss on her plush lips.

“Slow sounds good,” she replied, widening her legs as I pressed in deeper. Her eyelashes fluttered as I hit that perfect, tight spot inside her.

“Oh gods, that’s so good. Just like that,” she said, gripping onto my back harder.

Her brown hair was spread out beneath her in a wild torrent of curls, having come undone from her braid.

I buried my hands into her messy locks and tilted her head up to look at me.

Her brown eyes were locked onto mine, wide and full of wonder.

From this close, I could see a smattering of light freckles that dotted her nose and flushed cheeks.

Her rounded chin quivered as I continued to fuck her.

“I never want to stop feeling like this, Odessa. You’ve ruined me. Completely ruined me for anyone else,” I said.

“You don’t have to lie to me.”

I gripped her then around the neck, gently but with enough force that let her know I was serious. “Does it look like I’m lying? I mean it, Odessa, I haven’t ever felt this way about anyone.”

Her breath stuttered and she bit down on her swollen bottom lip. My hips were still moving, making my hard dick fill her over and over again.

“I mean what I say, you’ve ruined me. I don’t want anyone else. You’re it for me.”

She looked at me, eyes bouncing between mine as if she wasn’t sure what to do with my declaration.

“Tell me you don’t feel it too? Hmm?” I lifted her legs so that they were resting on my shoulders, hitting her even deeper than before.

She cried out, tilting her head back.

“I can’t, it’s too much.”

But her hands wouldn’t let me move, she kept me firmly in place, urging me on and scratching up my back with her shortly trimmed nails.

“Yes you can. You can take it,” I said with a chuckle.

“Gods, fuck, don’t stop!” She cried out.

Fuck!” I cried, feeling my balls squeeze up, ready to unleash my come inside of her. “Tell me, Odessa, I need to hear you say it, even if yours is a lie.”

“Fine, yes! I feel it too. I feel everything. Too much, and it scares the hell out of me, Dex. I shouldn’t even be letting this happen and I did. But fuck you feel so good inside of me, I don’t want to stop either.”

That’s all I needed to hear before I felt myself bottoming out, “Oh gods, I can’t— I can’t hold it. Come with me, princess, right fucking now. I need to feel you come on my dick,” I demanded.

All of a sudden, she rolled us so that she was on top and I was below her. She rode my cock, taking her pleasure and making her breasts bounce with every thrust. I’d never seen anything more beautiful.

“Oh, fuck, you’re so godsdamn beautiful, Odessa. So, fucking good. So, mine,” I said, reaching up to hold onto those tits of hers. Her skin was glistening in the fading firelight, looking as if she’d been kissed by the stars themselves. A gift from the heavens above, just for me.

“Oh, gods. Oh, yes!” She cried, reaching that pinnacle of pleasure as she rode me.

Her hands wove into my hair and pulled as she found her release. Her walls clenched down on me, squeezing as she fell deep down into her orgasm. A burning jolt of bliss hit my spine and spilled out in one hot stream as I filled her up, watching in awe as she took every last drop.

We sat there locked together, our breathing in sync as we clutched to the other for support. Her forehead rested on mine before she stood up on shaky legs and picked up her clothes.

“We should get going,” she said.

I watched as she dressed, knowing that she was right.

We couldn’t stay here forever, as much as I didn’t want our private bubble to pop, I knew we had to move, or we’d come to regret it.

We were lucky no one had found us in the night, because we’d both fallen asleep together.

The other contestants could have easily ended us.

Or even the creatures that roamed these tunnels. I didn’t know which was worse.

Shrugging on my ripped jumpsuit, I readied myself for another unpredictable day ahead.

While the gods’ power was buzzing inside me, I still craved more.

My boots went on next, lacing them up tight so I wouldn’t twist an ankle in the uneven terrain.

I’d hate to have made it this far and be taken out by a twisted ankle.

“So, are you going to elaborate on those powers you came by, or are you expecting me to forget all about that? How many do you even have now?” Odessa asked, fully dressed and plaiting her hair into submission.

I sighed. Coffee would be really good right about now. Instead, I took a bite of a crumbled granola and swig of nectar, offering Odessa the same. She took it and waited for me to answer.

“I knew that if I were to be here in Nocturne, I wanted to acquire as many powers as possible,” I said.

“But why? Wouldn’t winning and having riches be enough for you?”

My jaw ticked as I contemplated the right way to tell her my plans, if at all.

“Not everyone is motivated by riches,” I ventured, feeling my walls go up.

I couldn’t help it. I’d always been a closed book, even to those closest to me in my life.

I kept my cards close to my chest. It’s how I knew to survive.

Letting people know your plans was a sure way to end up screwed by them.

As much as I wanted to let Odessa in, there was another part of me that knew she would run if she knew it all.

She raised her eyebrows at me, before sliding her mask back on.

“Maybe, I just wanted to know what it was like to have power,” I said after a beat.

“Okay—”

“Okay. Should we go?”

“Yeah. Let’s go.” Her tone was clipped, but so was mine. The moment I felt her getting too close, I panicked and fell back into a familiar routine.

“Odessa, wait?—”

“No, it’s fine. We should get going. Don’t want to get in the way of you collecting your powers. Should I give you mine now, or wait for you to kill me later?”

“It’s not like that—” I said, but she was already walking away, down the dark corridor.

I’d fucked up and her burning silence was like a knife in my heart.