Chapter 9
NINE
Sevas
Sevas stirred in the dim light of the cell. A gentle hum of exhaustion wove through her limbs. The wake cycle had pressed against her, wringing her of energy, but as the overhead lights darkened into the sleep cycle, awareness churned beneath the surface. Warmth blossomed every time she looked at Takkian. Ulo slept on the floor, curled into a ball and looking like a boulder. Bruil snored from the bottom bunk. She turned her head, and in the shadows, she found Takkian leaning against the wall. His silver eyes glinted as he glanced her way. The intensity of his gaze kindled something inside of her.
She sat up. Tension thrummed between her and Takkian, charged and electric. “You can have your bed back,” she suggested, easing to the edge. “I’m okay.”
“No,” he replied. “The bed is yours.” He didn’t move, just kept watching her, sharp and steady as a predator.
Sevas leaned over the edge. The blanket slipped down her shoulder as she shifted. “Join me, then.” The words came out without a single thought to why that might be a bad idea. She was inviting something that felt dangerous, but exciting.
“No,” he said again, firmly. But a muscle twitched in his jaw. His nostrils flared.
“It’s just a bunk, and it’s huge for just me. We could both use the warmth.” Her voice was low but underlined with a challenge. There was something intoxicating about making this male squirm, and he definitely was. “I’m asking you to sleep with me, Takkian.”
He blinked, clearly caught off guard. He straightened and crossed his arms. “You think that’s a good idea?”
“Doesn’t hurt to keep warm,” she replied lightly, though heat crept into her cheeks. “You’re the one who’s worried about me, right? So, let’s keep it practical.” But the thought of that big, hard body pressed up against hers made her skin tingle and…other things pulse with an interesting sensation. Arousal . That was what the elder females called it in the settlement, during the copulation talks every Terian had to endure. This was so they knew what the sex act was when they were sent off with a bondmate. Arousal, however, was not commonly discussed. It was mentioned as a rare phenomenon for females to have. Mostly, the elder females informed them of how to get their bondmate to finish the act as quickly as possible.
But this was different from anything she’d heard from Auntie Ailota, the old one who spoke to her and her friend Lilas about sex. Her feelings—physical and mental—were far from obligatory.
He hesitated. “Sevas…” he began.
“Or don’t,” she said, lying back down. “I just thought—”
The sound of the ladder creaking cut her off. He was coming up. Climbing to join her.
Takkian slid into the bunk beside her, putting his back to the wall. The mattress shifted beneath their combined weight. Sevas’ heart thundered at the proximity. The air on the upper bunk turned thick with a tension that made her skin prickle. He gathered her against his chest effortlessly, pulling her closer as though he had been made to fit precisely against her.
A rush of warmth enveloped her. His body radiated heat and her traitorous body sank into the solidness of him. Her breasts, hips, legs were pressed against his. His scaled skin was surprisingly smooth, and as she nestled in closer, she could feel the steady rhythm of his heartbeat. The intoxicating scent of him mixed with the air—metallic and earthy, like freshly turned soil kissed by a rare rain storm.
She dared to close her eyes, pressing her face against his shoulder. Drinking in the moment. The world outside their little cell faded. Thoughts of the arena, the mechs, and the looming threats fell away. All that existed was this warmth, this connection. Takkian’s arm wrapped around her. It made her feel protected, and a flutter of something she couldn’t quite name danced up her spine.
“Is this what you meant by practical?” Takkian’s voice rumbled softly, laced with a teasing note, though she could hear the underlying tension.
Sevas chuckled against his shoulder, the sound muffled. “I’d rather be warm with you up here than let you be cold and alone down there.” She liked the low vibration of his voice and the way it resonated through her. “Besides, you smell good.”
“Is that so?” His tone shifted ever so slightly, curling with a hint of something playful mixed with disbelief. “You’re sure that’s all that this is?”
“Of course,” she said, feigning innocence. “What else would it be? Just keeping the cold away. Practical and…nice smelling.”
Takkian let out a faint snort, shaking his head. “You are consistently surprising.”
Sevas’ heart picked up speed. The soft brush of his fingers against her arm felt electric, teasing at the edges of their playful banter. “Actually, I think I’m pretty predictable.”
“You are strong and kind. Resourceful and determined,” he said. “And nothing I expected you to be.”
“Some of those things are necessary when your life revolves around shaping rocks.” She ran a hand experimentally over his chest and heard his quick intake of breath. “Not kindness. Rocks don’t care about that.”
“But living things do.” His voice was a whisper. His hands splayed over her back in a clearly proprietary way.
Everything between them stilled. The air. Their movements. Their gazes.
Sevas held her breath. The rhythm of Takkian’s heartbeat against her skin grew faster, stronger. It thrummed through her, igniting something deep within. Their breaths mingled, warm and uneven, as his lips hovered mere inches from hers. And then, drawn by an invisible force neither of them could deny, his mouth captured hers.
The softness of his lips shocked her. Everything about him seemed so hard, but his mouth was tender, gentle. Takkian’s large body shuddered and he deepened the kiss with a slow hunger that sent her heart racing. His mouth moved against hers and his hands roamed her back, testing the dip of her waist and the flare of her hips. Each caress sent a rush of heat cascading through her.
Takkian growled softly against her lips. The sound went through her chest and made her joints weaken. His hands, so large and capable of destruction, ran down her back with careful precision, as though afraid to break her. Yet each touch left trails of fire in its wake. They melted away doubt and fear, leaving only hunger.
His massive hand cupped her face, fingers grazing her jawline with an unexpected tenderness. His presence was intoxicating. Awareness rippled through her as he traced the curve of her skin. It was as if he were committing every inch of her to memory, every detail a precious treasure he’d never let go of.
Sevas melted into him. She explored the solid planes of his chest and the thick muscles of his back that supported those massive, heavy wings. She felt old scars and some not-so-old ones—barely healed, with smooth, raised skin. Her fingers slid over the thick, leathery texture of his wings. He trembled when her hands moved down his back to the base of his spine, where his flesh met with the thick leather pants he wore.
Takkian’s arms tightened around her, drawing her deeper into his embrace. The kiss was so new, so infused with new sensations, that Sevas couldn’t form a single coherent thought. She moved instinctively. Her fingers tangled in the dark strands of his hair as she pressed closer, wanting to merge their bodies as if to shield them both from the harsh reality closing in outside their little sanctuary. Takkian responded, deepening the kiss.
His hips moved against hers. Something long and hard pressed against her thigh. She knew what that meant, thanks to Auntie Ailota’s thorough lecture on male body parts, and some unfortunate drawings. She was wildly curious about what Takkian’s cock looked like, and, she had to admit, what the sex act would be like with him. There was no way things would go in that direction, however. Not now, when they were just kissing for the first time. Not until a time came when they didn’t have two cellmates.
Not until they were free of the arena.
As his tongue brushed against her lips, she welcomed him in, surrendering to the sensations engulfing her. Time blurred in that moment, and the outside world faded. There was no arena, no mechs, no blood—they were just Takkian and Sevas, lost in the softness of each other.
He slid a hand between her legs and cupped the heat there through the fabric of her shift. She gasped, but he swallowed the sound with his mouth, kissing her as his hand pulsed against her aching pussy. With each movement, her body answered back to him, soft and pliant against the hard planes of his form. She squeezed her eyes shut to keep quiet as her sex throbbed with need, wishing there was no fabric between the two of them. Wishing they were alone. The way he held her felt right, as if she were made to fit in his embrace, and the warmth gave her courage.
“Let go,” he whispered into her ear. “I’ve got you.”
She did, gripping the front of his leather vest and jerking her hips against his hand. Her breath was ragged. It was hard to be quiet and still, but Bruil kept snoring and Ulo was a very deep sleeper. With a final sharp breath, she went rigid and let the sensations crash around her. His hand was strong and sure as he stroked her, drawing her body taut as a wire. She took in the throbbing pulses of pleasure as they slid beneath her skin, lighting up parts of her that she didn’t even know could feel. As the passion ebbed, she let out a shaky breath and relaxed against him. Their kisses turned soft, gentle. Their touches, tender.
Sevas pulled back slowly, breathless as she blinked up at Takkian. Confusion and desire swirled in her mind. His silver eyes gleamed with something she couldn’t quite decipher—maybe surprise, maybe longing. It sent a thrill through her.
“Wow,” she breathed, her heart racing as she struggled to find her words. “That was…unexpected.”
“Unexpected?” Takkian ran a hand over her hair. “What did you expect would happen when you offered me warmth?”
“Warmth, not a…whatever that was,” she replied, then frowned, as she still felt the steellike rod pressing against her. “What about you?”
He chuckled softly, a sound that made her pulse quicken all over again. “Don’t worry about me. Seeing and feeling you come undone by my touch was…” He closed his eyes briefly and released an uneven breath. “Beautiful. That was a little taste of what it could be between us.”
“I liked it,” she said, suddenly feeling both bold and vulnerable. “I—I hope we can do it again.”
Warmth and confidence eclipsed the aches of her body and the fears clawing at her mind. She met Takkian’s intense gaze head-on, refusing to back down even as her heart raced.
Takkian lifted an eyebrow. “So do I.”
“I suppose this will change things between us,” she said in a steadier voice.
His expression shifted. The heat faded from his eyes momentarily. It was subtle, but enough for her to notice. The air ticked heavily with what hung unspoken between them, charged with meaning that both terrified and excited her. “It will,” he said quietly. “I’ve wanted you. Now that I know you return my feelings, I won’t hide them. You will be mine, Sevas.”
“Are you sure?” Sevas’ voice held a tremor of uncertainty and alarm. “Because I’m not easy to get along with. People in my settlement called me ‘willful,’ ‘short-tempered,’ ‘stubborn,’ and that’s just a few of the nicer ones. They used to say they pitied the male who would have to break me.” Her teeth gnashed with loathing for that term. She was fairly sure she’d die before she was broken.
Takkian shifted slightly, the muscles in his jaw tightening as he considered her words. “You cannot be broken,” he growled, matching her thoughts. “And I would never try. You make my dragon fire burn hot in my throat. My cock has never been this hard in my life. You make me want to tear apart this entire arena and kill everyone in it, just to take you out of here.”
Sevas had to admit, his words made her feel almost giddy in her belly. No one had ever said such a thing to her. Had she stayed at the settlement, her disguise of darkening her hair would have failed at some point, she’d have been sent off to a bondmate, and there was no way any Terian male would have said something like that to her. When she looked into Takkian’s eyes, she could see that he meant every word. She could almost see flames dancing in his silver eyes. It gave her fresh hope they could get out of there. That something good could come of all this.
“I want to live, Takkian,” she said, the passion behind her words surprising even herself. “I want to feel everything with you. I… fek, I want to see your cock.”
His lips twitched. “You have no idea how much I want to show it to you.” The tension in his body eased and he shifted closer. Takkian’s gaze held hers, deeper than the simple promise. “Then, we plan. We look after each other—Ulo, Bruil, and us.” His voice was firm, protective. The weight of his words settled over them like a shield. “We won’t find an escape—we’ll have to make one.”
Sevas nodded. “Agreed.” She shifted slightly to face him better. “We’ll figure out how to navigate the arena, the mechs’ routines and weaknesses, all passageways we can access. Find ways to turn the odds in our favor.”
Takkian’s eyes flickered with something unreadable. “There’s no guarantee they won’t notice us scheming or plotting,” he warned, his voice dropping so low he was barely audible. “If they suspect, we will not leave this place alive.”
“Understood.” Sevas shifted her weight once more. The remnants of exhaustion slid away under the force of their renewed purpose. “We will leave here alive.”
Sevas settled back against Takkian. Exhaustion crept into her bones again, but now it was different. She glanced up at him. His expression was a mixture of resolve and concern. The confidence that radiated from him was infectious. It fueled the fire inside her, and for the first time since being shoved in this cell, she began to hope that she could find her friends. Somewhere out there were four other Terian females. She couldn’t dwell on what their fates may have been. To do so would put her in tears. But she could imagine that once free of this miserable place, she could set out to find them. Hopefully, with Takkian’s help.
“Tomorrow,” she murmured, half to herself and half to him, as her eyelids grew heavy. “We plan. We’ll find a way out of here.”
“Tomorrow,” Takkian echoed, his voice low and steady, a promise carried in the deep timbre. He shifted slightly, pulling her closer and settling in for sleep. He let out a deep sigh, and she hoped she could hear that sound again, many times.
Sevas nestled into his side, feeling the comforting rise and fall of his chest as his breathing steadied and deepened in sleep. A wave of peace washed over her. Her eyes fluttered shut as thoughts of escape swirled in her mind, intertwining with the rhythm of his heartbeat. This felt right. This had to work.