Anzil (Gladiators of Krix #2) - Miranda Martin Page 0,27

won’t admit it to the girls—they need the hope—but I saw the flames. I know that ship; it wouldn’t have been able to survive. Even if it had, they’d be too far gone to catch, but that doesn’t mean we have to stay on this planet.

There’s obviously life on other planets close to this one. All I have to do is find a way to get one that isn’t as terrible as this. Anything would be better. We stop before a tall building that looks to be at least four stories, and everyone else dismounts. I slide off my mount and pause by his head to scratch behind his ears. He huffs as if he appreciates it.

Jyark disappears inside, leaving Anzil and I alone with the other guards. He sticks his head out a few minutes later and motions for us to come in. Inside, it looks like a tavern. Dimly lit, rough wood floors, small tables dotting the space, most of them occupied.

Jyark ignores everyone, going to a staircase and heading up. He takes us all the way to the top floor and the last room on the left. He opens the heavy door that has iron straps on it and motions. Anzil and I walk in.

“You two can stay in here,” he says. “I’ll have a meal delivered, and then I’ll let you out in the morning.” He holds up a large iron key. “Unless, of course, she wants to stay next door with us. It’s been a long journey. I’ve got some itches that could use a scratch.”

The leer on his face tells all I need to know about what itches he wants scratched. Anzil growls, pushing me behind him, and Jyark laughs. He shuts the door, the lock clicks loudly, then I hear him walking away.

“Alone at last,” I joke.

The room is small, with a single bed that might fit both of us if we don’t mind being extra close. There’s a table with two chairs to one side, a small bathroom with no tub, but it does have a sink, and nothing else of note.

“I need you to know something,” Anzil says. I turn, surprised by the seriousness in his voice. He’s staring at the floor, not looking up to me. “You mean something to me. It’s not because of your breasts.” His gaze flicks up to my tits and back down. “It’s more. Much more. I want you, for myself, forever.”

A thousand snarky responses flash to mind, but he’s serious. I open my mouth to respond. Nothing comes, so I snap it shut. I walk across the room to stand under his towering height and meet his eyes. I touch his chest and say the only thing that feels right.

“Thank you.”

He tightens his jaw and nods.

“You can take the bed,” he says, moving past me. “I’ll take the floor.”

“No,” I shake my head.

He stops and looks at me with his mouth still open and his brow furrowed. He raises his hands then drops them to his side.

“It is fine,” he says. “I do not mind the floor.”

“No,” I say again. “We can share the bed.”

“Are you… offering more?” he asks.

“No,” I sigh, dropping onto the edge of the bed. “I like you. I do, but no, not now.”

He crosses the room and sits next to me. The bed creaks under his weight then cracks, and for a moment I’m sure we’re going down, but it holds. He puts his arm around my shoulders. The warmth of his skin on mine brings comfort, like an old familiar blanket that I want nothing more than to curl up in and close my eyes.

We sit in silence. The sounds outside our room are distant and muffled. We’re alone, he and I, but we’re not really. The weight of twelve other women rest on my shoulders. They’re all counting on me. I rest my knees on my legs and my head on my hands. It’s hard to catch my breath.

“Kiara.” When he says my name, my heart patters and my spirits try to rise like the first calls of a beautiful songbird early in the morning. But the weight is too great—my spirits will not lift, because I’m crushed beneath the pressures of my responsibility.

“Yeah?” I ask.

He cups my chin, lifting my head off my hands. I turn, and his lips are on mine. It’s electric; tingles race across my face, and now my heart is thumping hard. I lean into him, into his kiss, our lips moving