I thrust inside her deeper and harder than ever before.
She was getting close. So was I.
I fell forward and whispered in her ear.
“Come for me.”
Ivy screamed a scream unlike any I’d heard before.
I tore it from her as I pulsed inside her before removing my cock from her.
I floated high above us, looking down on the scene.
It was hot and steamy, sweaty, and frenzied.
I was exhausted, my body completely used up and useless for anything other than recuperating.
I remained standing over her, my heart beating a thousand beats a minute, and my breath rasping in my throat.
Ivy smiled up at me.
I stood with my hand clenched into a fist, a smile on my face.
Ivy rubbed her legs together, no doubt a little sore from the ordeal.
Then she frowned, sensing something was missing.
Something was wrong.
Her eyes dropped to my fist and the blood fell from her face.
“You didn’t come inside me?”
“No,” I said, raising my fist. “I’ll be right back.”
I moved into the bathroom and ran the tap, spilling my seed down the drain.
Ivy was a little subdued after that.
I wondered why.
We had sex four times last night.
She excited me every time I looked at her.
She looked the way I liked, she spoke the way I liked, and she fucked the way I liked.
She was the whole package and every moment, and following through into the next day, I couldn’t stop thinking about her.
I thought about the way she looked at me when I drove her to orgasm, the way she sounded when I tore them from her throat, and when she took control and climbed on top of me, drilling me as hard as I drilled her.
She was a fighter, too.
I was both her opponent and her partner.
A klaxon sounded and the next fighter stepped into the tunnel.
I was in the armory where the fighters waited until they were called into the pit.
I chose my favorite suit of armor and twin swords.
As reigning champ, I got first choice of which weapons I would use.
Ivy seemed a little distressed each time I pulled out of her at the last moment to ejaculate into my hand.
I wasn’t about to take the risk that she might get pregnant.
Not in this place.
Ivy hadn’t brought it up but I could see it played on her mind.
I assumed the Prizes took precautions but why take the risk?
Today I fought Ice. He was from the Glacial Cluster, a powerful species with incredible powers. They could summon ice from the air and use it to form spears of ice and snow.
But I knew how to handle them.
Many species depended too much on their unique ability and didn’t focus on the basics: strength, speed, and dexterity. Those were the qualities that won most fights.
It wasn’t the ice or wind or mind powers you had at your disposal. It was how you used your hands and feet.
I never used my ability except in very rare circumstances.
A smile quirked my lips at the thought of Ivy’s hot body. It was the kind of thing poets wrote about.
I wasn’t a man of words. I was a man of action.
And I seriously wanted to take action with her again—as soon as possible.
Ivy was the first Prize I’d claimed in the Pool.
The klaxon sounded and the next fighter stepped forward. He was an archiwan, a master with traps and knives.
I was next. I needed to pump myself up.
I was the champ, I told myself. This was my prison. This was where I belonged. These other fighters were only pretenders. They didn’t deserve to be there.
I dug deep for the anger and fear and hatred that I’d long since learned to harness when I went out to fight.
It was a little harder to reach than usual as images of Ivy kept getting in the way.
I tucked her memories away in a separate box for me to enjoy later. Right now, I needed to focus on the enemy.
Who would it be today? Who was my next victim?
The klaxon sounded and I jogged into the tunnel toward the spear of light at the opposite end.
I thrust with my swords, turning in arches and circles to prepare for the approaching battle.
I emerged into the light. The gate slammed into place behind me. The fighting pit was a reasonably large area with prisoners watching the fight from the second, third, and fourth-floor landings.
They often gambled on who would win. No one bothered to bet on my fights. They had long ago given up losing their money on a result that always turned out the same.
Beyond them, higher in the facility, stood the wide window of the observation deck. The scientists in the lab were too busy with their work to take much notice of the fight. The Supervisor would watch sometimes, but not often.
On the other side of the pit, Ice emerged from his tunnel. His eyes were sparkling blue, his hair white and long and streamed in long strands to his shoulder blades. Touch him, and he was colder than a corpse.
He wasn’t the first prisoner from the Glacial Cluster I had fought and he wouldn’t be the last.
I was in too good a mood to want to put on a good show. I wanted to beat him as quickly as possible and claim my beautiful Prize.
The golden light pulsed in my chest at the thought of being with her soon. I didn’t know exactly what it meant, only that it brought me joy when I thought of her.
The klaxon blared and the fight began.
Ice ran at me. He raised his arms and bellowed as feathers of ice exploded from his fingertips.
I stepped to one side, swung my sword, and the battle was joined.
Ivy
“You’re not pregnant,” the Supervisor said.
“I know,” I said, rolling my sleeve back down.
He’d just run a pregnancy test on me. It required no peeing and didn’t come with smiley or sad faces. There was zero percent chance of it being wrong, he said. But I didn’t
