Anzil (Gladiators of Krix #2) - Miranda Martin Page 0,7

the bathroom opens, and I slit my eyes to see her. A part of me hopes she is naked, but that hope isn’t fulfilled. Instead, she is wearing one of my shirts.

It’s baggy on her, dropping to mid-thigh, and I’ve never seen anything more beautiful. The muscles of her thighs have hard lines rising up to her full ass. I want to cup her ass in my hands, press her against me and slide my cock inside her.

She stares at me where I lie on the floor, looks at the bed, then back to me. Her full lips part then turn up at the corners in a small smile. Barefoot, she pads over to the bed and climbs in. I lie awake, listening to the sound of her breathing as it evens out and she falls asleep. My empty arms ache, wanting to hold her.

In time I will. She will be mine.

If she’s to be mine, one thing is certain. It won’t happen here. I can no longer bury my desire to be free. Lying here, listening to her, I dig it up. Dusting it off, I start plotting ways to win our freedom.

For her, I’ll find a way.

Chapter 5

Kiara

I lie awake waiting. I focus on keeping my breathing steady while I wait. There are no clocks in his room or ways for me to tell time. In the darkness, it feels like forever. I doze lightly, a trick I learned when I’d pull long watches right after basic training. It’s an odd skill that only marines seemed to have. No civilian I’ve ever met could pull off sleeping but remaining totally aware of their surroundings.

He keeps stirring. Shifting, adjusting, rolling from one side to the other. I wait for him to be deeply asleep. When I don’t hear him move for a long time, I then listen to his breathing. Slow and steady.

Carefully, I slide out from under the blankets and put one foot on the floor. He stirs and I freeze, ready with my excuse of using the bathroom. He doesn’t move more, so I slip my other foot out then rise and wait.

Nothing. Good. Walking on the balls of my feet, I carefully make my way to the open bathroom door and grab my clothes. Slipping my pants on, I don’t bother fastening them before I make my way to the door.

Placing my ear to the door, I listen to the outside until I’m sure no one is close at hand. Opening it a crack, I peek out and verify.

These guards are a joke. I’ve already plotted my path outside. They’re focused on threats from outside the walls and are in no way watching for me to slip out, despite the fact I already slipped out once.

Slipping out the door, I pause and do up my pants then slide on my boots while staying in the shadows. Once I’m all together, I slide along the wall to where I’ve hidden supplies behind a stockpile of wood.

Now the fun part. Getting over the wall and out. The ludus wall is thick, about five feet, with a walkway along the top. There is the one major gate and one side door, all with guards. Along the walkway of the wall are two guards per side.

I reach the edge of the house, slipping from one clutch of shadows to the next unnoticed by the half-asleep house guards. Last time I went over the front wall with the gate. This time I’m going over the back wall.

I don’t think I’ll find the girls. Tonight is a scouting mission to fill in my map. The success or failure of a mission hinges on intelligence, which I sorely lack right now. I count heartbeats while watching the two guards pace the length of the wall.

They meet in the middle and stop to talk. Sons of bitches, that’s not part of the plan, but at the same time it’s yet another indicator of how terrible they are at their job. They’re not looking out or in, either. These jocks are passing time.

Finally, they finish their conversation and continue their path. As they stride past, I plot my path for the millionth time. A stack of crates next to the wall, which is stupid too, and then slip across the middle of the wall while they’re both facing opposite directions.

When they’re far enough apart, I run across the open space between the back of the main house and the wall. Up the crates and jump.