Call me old fashioned but that’s a new one for me.
I’d been with guys who must have been bipolar—not that they ever admitted that to me—but even they couldn’t be the same guy at the same time!
I was a little grossed out about it at first. I mean, having threesomes was never a bucket list item for me. It was something I watched online with an enrapt kind of fascination in the past but I never thought I had the balls to do it myself.
Then I found myself with a guy who could make duplicates of his fine self and…
It was divine.
There was no jealousy between the two of them and I didn’t have to worry about giving one more attention than the other. I didn’t feel like a hussy and certainly not like I was cheating on him…
Not that I could cheat on him, of course. I was a whore. I was under no illusions about that.
Or was I?
I chewed on my bottom lip, aware of the gnawing sensation in the pit of my stomach that I was getting into something far more potent and powerful than the usual lust I felt toward the other fighters.
Yes, some of them were physically powerful and yes, I was attracted to them. I was stuck in this situation and figured I might as well make the most of it. It was never something I would choose for myself.
Trayem was the only prisoner I would choose to be with.
I peered across at his sleeping form.
Could I be…?
No. It was crazy. Of course I wasn’t.
This wasn’t the kind of place you fell in love.
Especially not with the first rule Lily shared with me all those years ago.
You do not fall in love with the prisoners.
You do not allow yourself to depend on someone here because they will never fail to disappoint you.
Prisoners choose us, use us, and then toss us aside and move on to the next Prize.
That’s what they do.
It was lust, nothing more.
Then why did I think about Trayem every minute of every day?
Why did thinking of him claiming one of the other Prizes leave a sour taste in my mouth?
Why would I have scratched their eyes out if they ever got between me and Trayem?
I can honestly say with my hand on my heart that I never thought that way with the other prisoners. There had been others I liked meeting and shared every sordid detail of my night with them with the girls later, and the kind of fun they could expect when they got to his cell…
But jealousy?
No. I was only glad I could alleviate my friends’ concerns when they’d been chosen by a new prisoner who they’d never been with before.
I ran a finger over Trayem’s sleeping face and gorgeous square chin.
There was something special about him, all right.
I eased myself up onto my arm and peered more closely at him, watching as he slept. He could have been the most interesting creature in the entire galaxy, a multitude of spiraling inconsistencies and complexities and if I was honest with myself, did I really think I understood them at all?
No. I didn’t know the first thing about this creature lying in bed beside me.
He was a mystery.
But I knew I’d fallen for him.
Please don’t hurt me, I thought idly. My heart is big but it’s weak.
Trayem’s eyes opened and the first thing he saw in the new day was me.
I liked the idea of that.
“Morning,” he said.
“Good morning.”
He yawned. It involved not only his face but his neck and chest and arms.
“How long have you been up?”
“Not long.”
“What time is it?”
“I have no idea.”
Maybe if I didn’t know what the time was, the moment could stay like this forever.
“Listen, about last night—” he said.
“Last night was amazing. I’ve never done it with someone like that before. It was a real eye opener about the possibilities.”
His head jerked up.
“Possibilities?”
“Maybe we could get another couple of guys in here. You know, spice things up a little.”
I grinned at him. I was only kidding.
I blinked, and in an instant, there were half a dozen copies of him standing around the bed.
“How many more do you want?” he said.
“Okay. You have to stop doing that. It freaks me out.”
“I’m a freak. What can I say? All right, all right. I’ll put them away.”
In a blink, they were gone. But no, that wasn’t quite right, was it? There was a slight blur as they shifted sideways, tucking away inside Trayem again like a pack of shuffled cards.
“Does it hurt?” I said. “Having all those guys inside you?”
“I should be the one asking you that,” Trayem said with a wicked grin.
I threw back my head and let out a boisterous laugh. I slapped him on the arm.
“It’s different,” I said. “You know that.”
“I know. But it’s still nice to see you blush.”
“I don’t blush.”
“You do. All the time. Even right now.”
I covered my cheeks. I could feel the heat coming off them.
“Only with you.”
“I guessed that much. I doubt many of the girls in the Prize Pool blush much.”
My stomach writhed.
“Does it bother you? That I’ve… met other guys?”
“I can’t say I’m happy about it. I’d rather you didn’t have to be here doing this.”
“Do you think I want to be in here?”
“No, of course not.”
He leaned in close and kissed me gently on the forehead.
“But if you weren’t here, I never would have met you.”
“And if you hadn’t done whatever you did on the outside, you wouldn’t be here either. It’s still hard for me to believe you did something so bad to end up in here.”
His eyes shifted over my shoulder. I thought for a moment someone might be there. I glanced over to check but the cell was empty save for us. When I looked up into his face, I realized he was somewhere else, thinking about something only he could see, something only he had experienced.
I pressed my hand to his face and brought
