and said there would be no other females at the pits. It was too dangerous for them.
She hadn't even questioned why he would bring her to this terrible place. It hadn’t even occurred to Naya to stay behind while he was fighting for his position as top alpha.
Monster, worried someone might try to get to her while he fought and he’d be too far away to help, had told her she would attend the fight with him. This mate of hers wouldn’t leave her behind or tuck her away in his tower like the princess he teased her about being.
There was only one entrance in and out of the metal structure surrounding the platform below. Ringed by open space, with raucous spectators above, Monster would be at a strategic disadvantage when he was in the cage.
Enemies could incapacitate him, or just lock him in while they attacked her outside the cage. A threat to her could bring him to his knees, and everyone would know it the moment they saw her.
He could protect her better inside the cage with him. Inside the kill zone. It was audacious. Dangerous.
Monster, who had let her walk in on her own two feet, picked her up and swung her into the cradle of his arms, angling her face into his neck where his scent and a sense of renewed safety saturated her senses.
"Better?" he asked.
She nodded, giving the strong column of his neck a kiss. The rumble of his purr vibrated through her entire body. She wished they had been able to finish what they’d started with similar kissing earlier, but the drones had brought food.
Monster had insisted she eat. She'd rather snack on him.
Imagining it in her head as she wrapped her arms around him tight, she blocked out the building full of males. There was only this one man to her.
Naya couldn't get enough of him.
"Baby, after the fights," he said, "I'll give you whatever you want. All night long. But stop thinking those thoughts. You are distracting me."
He shook her in his arms, forcing her to pay attention. She squealed and giggled, letting even more explicit images fill her head.
"Treasure,” he growled, "are you trying to help my enemies take me to my knees?" His mouth curved in a wicked grin as he dropped her legs so that their bodies were flush, letting her feel what she did to him.
She forgot where they were, what they were doing. He made her head spin and her body drip.
"Let's not. Let's just go back home." She wrapped her arms as tight as she could around his neck. It was a long reach; she couldn't even get her hands into his hair.
As if they were alone, her mouth found the muscles of his chest. He tasted so good. This half-naked male was hers, and it was impossible to resist indulging in him. Having sex with him would be so much better than going into that ugly, evil-looking cage.
There was yelling from the crowd and a masculine roar from nearby. She didn't look to see had won the current fight, but kept her face pressed against her alpha. If something happened to Monster, the men in this building would kill each other to get at her. Then they would tear her apart.
If something happened to him, she was done. Life over. Either way, she would only leave here alive if she was in Monster's arms.
Behind them someone spoke, the voice directed toward Monster.
"One of your challengers is missing, and I've had another man declare."
"Who is missing?"
"Seta."
"And who has challenged me?"
"Wouldn't give a name. Older guy. More scars than you."
Monster grunted, unfazed. There was no tension in his muscles. This was no big deal to him.
"How many before me?"
"One more."
Monster grunted again. There was a whole wealth of words in that noise. His confidence was that of the biggest, meanest predator in the room, taking all of Naya's focus.
She clung to him, pressing her belly against him as his hardening shaft pushed aside the panels of his kilt. He tightened his grasp on her neck and lowered her arms to his waist. A glance up at his face revealed that he was scanning the crowd.
She knew they had men here. He'd spoken with both Nixon and Alreck before walking from the tower. His men had separated before they entered the building, fanned out. Her monster did not want any his rivals to see him walking around with guards as if he couldn't take care of himself