Total pages in book: 92
Estimated words: 83205 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 416(@200wpm)___ 333(@250wpm)___ 277(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 83205 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 416(@200wpm)___ 333(@250wpm)___ 277(@300wpm)
Scaring them seems cruel, but I also don't want a bunch of hungry, hooting aliens following us around if it means we're going to be caught by the other gladiators here. "I guess we'll see how tomorrow goes. Thank you for being patient with them."
"Why would I not be patient?" He cocks his head. "You have a very low opinion of me, I think. Do you expect me to rage and attack everything and everyone within arm's length?
"Of course not! I just…I don't know." I feel uncomfortable, because maybe I have been assuming things about him. "I guess I have a certain idea in my head of how a gladiator will act. Punch first, think later."
He rubs my foot again, digesting this. Then, he nods. "I can see that. However, I have learned that one of the greatest weapons is being strategic and thoughtful in how you proceed."
"Which is why you want a fortress and for the enemies to come to us instead of the other way around," I say slowly. "I get that, but why take me? I'm a liability, and we both know that."
Corvak just smiles. "No. You are my prize. My reward for succeeding."
I sigh. "We really need to have a discussion about that."
"Tomorrow, then. For tonight, I shall rub your poor mistreated feet and take care of you." And he kneads the arch of my foot, eliciting a groan from me.
Okay, well, if he wants to give me a foot rub, I'll stand my ground about this whole ownership thing tomorrow. For now, I'm enjoying the pampering, even if it does make me incredibly horny. I squeeze my thighs tightly together and hope that our fuzzy friends bail on us in the morning, because I'm itching to touch Corvak, and I can't with all of them hanging around.
The stink of them is definitely a turn-off. Imagining their fascinated gazes as I jiggle Corvak's balls? Horrifying.
CHAPTER
FOURTEEN
CORVAK
The strange snow-people fill me with ideas.
They're not gone in the morning. From the moment I wake up, their scent is in my nose, drowning out the sweet smell of Aidy's arousal. Even with them around, it is difficult to resist her. It does not matter that we are both tired and sweaty from travel—I would lick her all over given the chance. I live to watch her small movements, the tuck of a bit of hair behind one ear, the way her lashes flutter when she awakens, the dart of her tongue as she licks her lips.
She worries over the snow-people, and so I will take them on as my problem.
Now that they have seen my strength, they cower and bow whenever I approach. Aidy tries to communicate with them, using hand signals and repeated words, and she makes some headway with one female that seems more intelligent than the rest. When we need to speak, Aidy seeks that one out. She speaks to them as I break down the camp and repack things. Without as much food supplies, I manage to fit it all into one pack, so that I can give Aidy a break. She does not complain, but I don't like how her soft, delicate feet are faring. She has no callus, no built-up natural resistance to long walks.
Just as a clone would not, either. It is a thought I keep to myself.
When we set off in the morning, I am not surprised that they follow behind. Aidy gives me worried looks, but I don't let our stragglers bother me. As long as they remain quiet—and they are trying, judging from the muffled hoots—it should not be a death sentence. We head away from the fallen star, because I worry that someone else is going to come investigate it, looking for gear. The best thing we can do is go away from it, and find someplace with game and a defensible location to establish a fortress.
As we walk, I study the snows and the scents.
There is game in the area, the wind holding steady and bringing their scents toward me instead of the other way around. It is a good sign, even if I cannot abandon Aidy to go hunt. Even now, her steps are slow and tired despite a full night's sleep. She needs more rest. I want to find a defensible place soon.
The snows tell me other things. With the fresh blanket of snow coating everything, it is easy to see tracks. There are tiny ones from smaller creatures, and a few from a massive round-footed creature that I do not wish to run into. Probably an herbivore with those rounded feet, but you never know. There are lots of tracks in the snows, but none from our fellow gladiators.
This is a good sign.
Later in the morning, as we walk, I could swear the number of snow-people following us grows. As we cut through a low-lying valley for the mountainous slope on the far side, I turn to see how our stragglers are keeping up. As I watch, three more snow-people join the cluster trailing behind us.