Anzil (Gladiators of Krix #2) - Miranda Martin Page 0,39

Kiara. I love you.

KIARA

He wraps his arms tight and I find refuge. An escape from the raging storm of House Batius. The horrors, atrocities, and absolute wrongs that are being committed here every day. He makes small circular motions on my back and says nothing.

It’s exactly what I need, and exactly what I would never have expected from him. His cock isn’t digging into me. He doesn’t touch any part of me that would even begin to be considered inappropriate. He holds me. Holds me and lets me break down in his arms.

I don’t know why I’m surprised. I knew he had a soft gooey inside hiding underneath his asshole exterior. I do know I’m thankful. I need this more than anything.

At last the storming emotions calm, and I straighten. I rub my hands over my face and shake my head, taking a deep breath.

“I need a bath,” I say.

Silent, he walks over to the bathroom door and opens it for me. He walks in and starts the water running then checks the towels. Once he’s done all that, he walks out and motions that it is all mine.

I give him a smile and walk in and close the door behind me. Steam rises invitingly from the water. I run my fingers over the edge of the tub, which is plenty big enough for two. I drop my clothes and climb into the tub, planning to let the water fill up over me.

It’s hot, taking my breath for a second. Huffing I let my body adjust to the temperature until at last the hot water is working its magic. The filth of the day and even the mental filth of watching two people abuse other people fades some, even if there is no way to wash it away forever.

The water fills quickly, and once it’s full I shut it off and lean back. I lie there, letting my muscles unknot and my mind wander. Unfortunately, it wanders to one place too easily.

Anzil.

What am I going to do there? I want to trust him. I think I can, but then I thought I could trust people before, haven’t I? I trusted my brother, but when he left, leaving me behind, he knew what would happen.

The abuse that followed his leaving… there were days I hated him. Most days I was glad he’d been able to escape it. He dealt with it for so long. I kept hoping, though, that he would come back. That’s what he told me the night before he walked out. That he was going to get help then come back for me.

And I waited, but he never did. Years later I found out what happened, but even now it’s raw. Painful, and I admit it doesn’t make it easy for me to trust anyone.

I joined the Marines on my seventeenth birthday, the first day they’d take me, and I got out of the impoverished hell that my mother raised us in. Once I got out of basic training I went looking for him. I didn’t have a plan, really, just a burning need to ask him why he never came back.

Would it have been easier not to know?

I don’t know. Sometimes I think so, but other times I think the mystery was worse. I finally found out he had died. Drug overdose.

Drugs weren’t a big problem on the ship, but on the lower decks, among the poorest, they were a thing. People who couldn’t handle their lives would turn to them, and that was my brother. He couldn’t handle the pain of his past.

Those memories hurt, but they don’t do anything to answer the question before me. Do I trust Anzil? If I put faith in him, if I do, he’d be one hell of an ally.

He knows the planet. He knows the politics and intrigues. He also cares about me. That much I know for sure.

And I like him. A lot.

And, yes, he’s sexy. My pussy is more then ready to remind me of that and how long its been since I’ve had a good lay. We could… one night wouldn’t be a thing, right? One time. Bang and done. Scratch the itch, as the guys on the ship would say.

Except no itches are scratched without ties. Ties bind me here, to this place. Ties make it harder to do what I need to do. I can’t let myself get bound down like Cora.

Which brings me back around to if I trust him.

The circular logic is