Something about the way he moved, it was graceful and yet restrained at the same time. She knew that she had seen that kinetic style before, but couldn't place it with her brain fogged by hormones.

His face wasn't handsome-it showed a lot of wear and tear.

His dark eyes were a velvety brown and the only softness in a face that seemed stamped with marks of battles won. His bone structure was not delicate-it was carved of granite, his high cheekbones giving no hint of gentleness to his countenance.

When he paused between challenges and looked at her, and found her looking at him, his full lips curled into a smile that sent a curl of ice up her spine and heat to her womb.

Her eyes locked with his across the arena and all she could think about was having his body twined with hers. She shook her head and looked away quickly-he seemed to have no trouble reading her expression as his eyebrow arched in mock surprise.

Then the full-on grin was back.

50.

eXtasy's Collective Mind They were down to two pairs of fighters. Each male was covered in sweat, grime, and blood. They faced off one pair at a time now. Weapons were offered to the compet.i.tors, swords, shields, pikes and daggers. The first pair matched sword to sword.

Sparks flew as they struggled face to face, grinding the metal together with savage blows. They seemed to be attempting to wrestle and swordfight at the same time and finally one of the chopping blows struck home. Blood spurted from one of the contender's arms and he fell to the ground to the screaming cheers of the crowd.

Her suitor was up next with two daggers against a sword and shield.

The first time they connected, she tensed and closed her eyes.

The jubilant cheer from the horde let her know that the fight went on. Tara knelt at the edge of her platform, watching her fighter with held breath at every contact and melee, only to let it out as they separated.

He was quick. The daggers blocked the sword hits and after a few minutes, the shield lay in the dust, its straps severed. His opponent was off balance and he pressed his attack, forcing him to the blood-spattered floor in seconds and getting a judgment of winner from the screaming spectators.

He helped his opponent to his feet, then stood aside.

The ringmaster-for that was how Tara had always thought of him-announced the names of the final match.

He gestured to the first winner "Thiery Yanisin of Tival." and her suitor, "Galeno Morathi of Naif."

His name was Galeno. She shivered. Naif, why was that planet name familiar? Her mind began to look for the answer and then froze as the final pair faced off.

Her nails dug into her palms and she felt bewildered at the 51 Violet Visions strength of her response to the stranger. Dozens of men had threatened to take her to their beds, not one had ever carried through on the threat with the ample charms of the velvet skinned Selna beside her. Their species had been popular in the s.e.x industries for years before the Terrans had reached s.p.a.ce, only the educated races knew that Terran responses equaled and sometimes surpa.s.sed them.

With each engagement, she held her breath and waited until they separated before she began to breathe again. Galeno ducked and skated one of his blades along Thiery's ribs as the Tival over lunged during his attack, bright blood stained the blade and the floor of the arena as the wound opened every time he shifted.

Galeno had a fierce grin on his face as he whirled to strike again, suffering a sc.r.a.pe on his upper arm, but delivering another long slice along the thigh of his opponent. Thiery went down on one knee and was now in the position of defending himself on the floor.

The crowd was going insane, Thiery had been an odds-on favorite, and his current predicament did not bode well for his chances.

Sure enough, the blow from the hilt of a dagger dropped him completely to the floor and the audience fell silent for a moment.

A screaming roar reverberated as thousands of throats cheered and protested. Fights broke out in the stands, but guardsmen quickly quelled them The ringmaster announced the winner, but it was a foregone conclusion at this point. A tingle in her cuffs let her know that it was time for her to engage in her part of the arena festivities.

Shaking with the strain of her emotional roller coaster ride, she stood at the edge of her dais and waited for the winner to make his choice.

She breathed deeply and watched Galeno approach. As he got 52 eXtasy's Collective Mind closer, she focused her gaze above his head so she wouldn't be able to see the exact moment when he turned from her to one of the Selna next to her. As opposed to the normal procedure of leading the choice off, he used the expedience of tossing his choice over his shoulder.

Tara's breath whooshed from her lungs as she flipped through the air and landed across his greased shoulder. The sweat and grit of the floor still clung to him and abraded the delicate skin of her belly where it rubbed against him. One of his arms came around her legs and held her steady as he returned to the announcer and murmured to him quietly.

"Are you sure?" He seemed surprised by whatever Galeno had told him.

An affirmative grunt was all he uttered, and Tara felt a hand slide up her thigh to pat her gently on the a.s.s. She squirmed against the living steel under her and her captor let out a dark chuckle. Without another word, someone removed the restraint cuffs on her wrists.

"The transfer will be done immediately. Galeno of Naif, you will be cleared by the time you get to your quarters." Tara tried to propel herself upward to see the face of the ringmaster but the oil still coating Galeno's back made it impossible and she pounded her fists against him in irritation, and bounced on his shoulder for the trouble, as he turned and walked out of the arena and into the fighters' hall.

The walls were stone that had been polished to a high shine by the substances that were applied to the fighters for the hand-to-hand sections of the battles. Booted feet pa.s.sed within her view as she looked around as best she could. Dozens of hard thighs and bulging loincloths met her sight, as they gathered around them to inspect Galeno's prize.

She expected it, but was still startled by the first touch against 53 Violet Visions her flesh by a warm and calloused palm. The hands focused on her thighs and b.u.t.tocks and she squirmed again, trying to evade the eager fingers that tried to delve between her thighs. A sharp bark from her transporter had the unwelcome hands falling away in short order. The small flare of heat left her sulking in aroused misery as the smooth stride of the fighter carried her further into the fight quarters of the arena.

Away from the boisterous chambers, the halls became eerily quiet. Tara knew that if she screamed, no one would come for her. Or at least they wouldn't come to help her.

They would a.s.sist him in anything that he asked them to.

He slowed his pace and a door keyed open to his approach.

It hissed shut as he entered it and her view of the blank door filled her with despair. It wouldn't open for her DNA and there was no way out.

He flipped her onto her back on a pallet, gave her that engaging grin once again, and snapped a collar around her neck before she could blink. It was standard issue in the fighter quarters, and he treated her wrists to the same embrace of metal, which left her attached to the wall by the included chain links.

"I'll be back in a moment. I would prefer to clean off the grime of my efforts to win your favor." For someone who had just locked her to the bed, he had a bit of nerve giving her a courtly bow and leaving the room for the attached sanitary chamber.

The sound of the shower running irritated her for some reason. She pondered her reasoning for a moment and groaned.

She felt slighted that he couldn't wait to have her. He actually wanted to take a shower, probably a nap before anything else transpired. Great. Nothing like that to make a girl feel wanted.

She pounded her head back against the surprisingly soft surface and was irritated as h.e.l.l by the headdress that was firmly in place. They had shaved her d.a.m.ned head for this! She was 54 eXtasy's Collective Mind seething with anger and frustration when the sanitary chamber door hissed open and a cloud of steam escaped, heralding her suitor in a mysterious haze.

"What is your name, Terran?" He was idly drying himself and she had an excellent view of all of him as the mist cleared. She swallowed heavily at the lovely sight of his erection, and to clear the saliva that had flooded her mouth. She imagined taking that enormous head between her lips to caress with her tongue.

He smiled at her again, "Your name?"

"Tara. Tara Kelis."

"Tara the Terran?" His full lips twitched and his dark velvet eyes roamed over her body.

"Yep. The choice was unfortunate, blame my mother." She would have crossed her arms over her b.r.e.a.s.t.s, but the cuffs kept her from moving them.

"I think it is cute. On Naif, Tara means something else." He eyed the skin of her belly where he had hauled her around on his shoulder, "You have delicate skin. Just a moment." He was suddenly gone again, and she closed her eyes as she tried not to imagine his golden muscled flesh moving over and into hers.

It didn't work, a traitorous dampness and heat let her know that her body thought it was a fantastic idea. She really needed to get out more.

Her eyes opened as one of the hands belonging to the muscled flesh in question, gently stroked her with a cloth across her stomach where raised red skin expressed her body's irritation with his method of transporting her.

He checked her over and removed all traces of the oil transferred from his skin to hers. Happy with his ministrations, he tossed the cloth on a nearby table and turned back to her.

"Now, I haven't had one of your species before. What cla.s.sification are you?" His fingers caressed her through the net 55 Violet Visions bodysuit with deliberation and she tried desperately not to arch into his touch.

"Bio fourteen?" She didn't believe for a minute that he would fall for it, but her wits were all she had, literally.

A bright smile crossed his features, apparently he found her vastly amusing. "Toxic and venomous? I don't think so. More like a bio three. Soft, delicate, and susceptible to pheromones."

Her eyes closed again, this time in mortification. So that is why she got hot whenever he was near. "You are bio five then?"

She felt a weight on the bed, a lot of weight actually, and looked up in surprise. He was hovering over her, supporting his body on his outstretched arms. She was very aware that there was only her nonexistent net suit between them.

Her body hummed in antic.i.p.ation of feeling him against her and she gasped as his mouth began to explore the joint between her neck and shoulder. Those sensuous lips that she had admired before were working magic on her senses. Her muscles relaxed and she tilted her head to allow him greater access. He smiled against her skin and trailed nipping kisses up her neck, and she murmured in pleasure at the sensation of his lips against her jaw and ear. Tirelessly, he worked his way down her neck and nipped across her collarbone. She shivered-her chains jangling-as his mouth continued up the slope of one breast and across the tip with a sharp nip of his teeth.

"Let's get rid of this, shall we?" That was all the warning she got as the netting that 'covered' her was torn off her body with a few sharp jerks.

His keen eyes saw something that even she hadn't noted.

"They shaved you?" His fingers caressed a few small red marks on her pubic mound. She was so used to being handled and abused by the groomers that she hadn't thought that there would be small cuts and burns on her.

56.

eXtasy's Collective Mind "Yes. From top to toe."

"Hmm. You normally have hair on your head?" He was still propped over her and she marveled that he wasn't tired after so long a day in the arena.

"Yes, a lighter color than your eyes. And eyebrows," she added as an afterthought. He was smiling again and she realized that it was her comment about his eyes. Dang.

"Good. Although I find you attractive, I prefer females with hair that I can run my fingers through."

"It isn't going to grow today or anything." This was confusing and his expression was telling her that he knew something she didn't know.

His lips returned to her breast and she closed her eyes and surrendered to the sensations. Strong tugs by his lips, followed by laving of his tongue and enough suction to make her mewl and arch toward him, soon had her hips writhing on the pallet.

He took each breast in turn and devotedly worshipped each nipple, as she moved to find something to wrap her thighs around.

He shifted slightly and inserted one of his muscled thighs between hers and she immediately arched against it, seeking contact on the bud of flesh that was now throbbing for attention.

She was embarra.s.sed as the wet response of her body left its trail on his skin, but her body was clamoring for contact and his attentions to her torso were only fanning the flames higher, they were not about to put out the blaze.

His mouth finally left her b.r.e.a.s.t.s and she continued to arch frantically against him as he raised himself on his arms again to watch her. His features showed the stamp of satisfaction, and he lowered himself to one elbow and moved one of his hands between her straining thighs. His calloused fingers mapped her flesh carefully, learning every fold and crevice and driving her 57 Violet Visions mad in the process.

Sweat dampened her body and she tried to hold herself still as he inserted one finger into her slick channel. Again, he engaged in deliberate exploration and she finally began to move against him. He held that finger still, and she moved her hips to plunge it in and out of her, harsh little pants and groans issuing from her as the coil of tension grew tight in her belly. Just before she was about to go over the edge, that wonderful finger was gone.

"No! More, I want more!" She panted and glared up at her tormentor, the icy chill of fear at his savage expression overridden with her own l.u.s.t. Her wrists fought at the chains and she sobbed in frustration. If she had been free, she would have ridden him until she came.

But, she had to wait. Wait until he chose to free her. She was snarling her frustration as he simply watched the range of emotions run their course. When she finally subsided and looked up at him, panting, he leaned down and met her lips with his.

The kiss was slow, gentle, and not at all what she was craving.

Fingers caressed her jaw and she let him part her lips, eagerly accepting the flick of his tongue in her mouth and responding with one of her own.

She sighed and relaxed again, only then realizing that her body was holding itself rigid in its fight to reach o.r.g.a.s.m.

Their tongues met and dueled for long moments, each half of the battle sighing and groaning at the flares of arousal as they used their mouths in a parody of mating.

She felt him part her thighs and she widened them to allow him access. She felt the blunt head of his c.o.c.k press against her and arched into him slowly, as he began to push into her with controlled force.

His mouth gentled and he groaned as he sheathed himself in 58 eXtasy's Collective Mind her scalding heat. He pulled back and met her eyes with shock and pleasure as her body conformed to his and welcomed him with voluptuous spasms of muscles banding her walls.

She clenched around him with a deliberate squeeze, and his eyes closed, and his body shook in response. His fingers threaded with hers on the bed and he began to thrust.

At first he was gentle with her, going slowly and enjoying the pressure gripping him, and then as her body began to heave against his once again in search of her o.r.g.a.s.m, he increased both his speed and his savagery.

His body pounded into hers, the root of his c.o.c.k pressing against her pubic bone and giving enough pressure to her c.l.i.t to send shocks of sensation ever higher within her.

Tara shrieked and sobbed as her body came apart under his relentless pounding and she wrapped her thighs around him to hold him close.

He had other ideas.

With her pleasure delivered, he moved faster and harder against her, grunting and groaning with every stroke as he approached his own o.r.g.a.s.m.

She felt his hands clench on hers an instant before his eyes blanked and his body shook in the throes of his release. She simply held him as best as she was able with her thighs around him and ankles locked and held on until the spasms of his c.o.c.k stilled within her.

With an impish grin, she clenched around him again. His body shook and he grunted and thrust his hips into hers again in another wave of release, rewarding her. When he recovered enough to focus on her he said, "Stop doing that."

He slowly withdrew from her body and lay down against her, one arm around her Extreme satisfaction overpowered the slightly annoyed look in 59 Violet Visions his eyes, and he slumped against her to catch his breath.

The pheromones that he had mentioned earlier were very much in evidence at that moment. They were both coated with sweat, his and hers. Her musk mixed with his and she had to admit that the smell didn't make her want to run to the shower. It was nice actually, more than nice.

With a small gesture, he flipped loose her wrist manacles and freed her hands, but to her chagrin, he left her neck chained to the wall. He settled his head against her breast and snuggled in.

Sighing, she ran her fingers through his hair and admired the cool and silky texture.

Hair, right. She moved one hand to her headpiece and flipped it onto the floor with a grunt of disgust. She heard his dark chuckle and fell asleep with her fingers in his hair and her mind bemoaning the fact that he had more hair than she did.

Dawn was impossible to find in the depths of the arena, but her suitor woke and began to move briskly through his morning ablutions.

After he had brushed his teeth and taken his shower, he unsnapped her chain and shoved her into the sanitary cubicle.