She was there now, which was good, because if she were here with Olivia, she wouldn’t let this happen.
Asher stood on the other side of the ring, a crazy grin on his face. “You don’t have to do this, Olivia. You’ve already proven yourself very capable. And besides, if you stay over here, you’ll be safe. There’s no need for you to become a fighter.”
“No, I want to do this. You didn’t think you could let yourself fall in love with me because you thought I wasn’t capable of defending myself. And frankly, I was pissed that I hadn’t been able to defend myself a little better against that sonofabitch in Mom’s house.”
She did exactly what Mariah had taught her. She’d been practicing every day with the woman who used to be a member of the Taghta Sisterhood, a religious order tasked with protecting and defending sacred relics since before the Obsidian Wars.
Olivia circled to Asher’s left. He was right-handed, so this was his weaker side. He’d be expecting her to attack him here.
She darted left and sure enough, he blocked her. Good. He was thinking he was on to her. This went on a few more times and then she saw her opportunity. He had let down his guard on the right side.
She darted in again, but this time she went right. Using a move Mariah had shown her, she grabbed his hand, cocked his wrist hard, and brought him to his knees. Several people around the circle clapped and cheered.
“Ahhhhh,” he groaned. “Let go.”
“Do you submit?”
He didn’t answer right away. She twisted harder. “Don’t make me have to heal you,” she said.
“Okay, okay. I submit.”
She didn’t let go. “Good. What else?”
“I’m madly in love with you and want you to be my wife.”
“I know that already, Ash.”
“Then what?”
“Don’t you remember our deal?”
“Um…”
“It’s your turn to be my slave. When you’re not away on a mission, you’ll have to do everything I say, both inside and outside the bedroom.”
“Just say yes, Asher,” Rickert called from the sidelines.
“Pussy,” said a man they called Big Thom.
She twisted harder.
“Of course I agree. Ouch.”
“And…?”
“And I think you’re totally capable of defending yourself. I submit.”
She let go of his hand, dropped to her knees and pushed him onto the ground. “Good,” she said, crawling like a cat on top of him. “Because I want you naked and in our bed in ten minutes. Think you can do that?”
Instead of answering, he cupped the back of her head and pulled her down to meet him, his lips crashing against hers.
It was a punishing, bruising kiss. His tongue delved into her mouth, claiming her and making her head spin. Feeling his erection, thick and hard beneath her, she ached to have him inside her.
She almost forgot they had an audience. Almost forgot about her agenda.
She pulled back slightly, breaking their connection. They were both breathing hard, his breath became her breath. He had a smudge of dirt on his cheek and one of his thin braids was stuck to the sheen of sweat on his forehead. He was gorgeous. Absolutely and totally gorgeous.
“You’re mine, Liv, until the end of time. And when the earth crumbles to dust and the sun burns out in the sky, there will still be us. There will still be this.”
Her heart swelled, but she couldn’t let herself get distracted. “Yes, my love, but I’m still waiting for an answer.”
“About being your sex slave? Of course.” His tone was raspy and impatient, making her inner muscles clench with need, but she needed to stay strong.
She narrowed her eyes. “Excuse me?”
He grinned then, understanding her completely, and his smile lit up her whole world.
God, she loved this man. More than she ever thought possible.
“Yes, of course…ma’am.”
A few people clapped as she pulled him to his feet and led him across the courtyard to their quarters.
She was going to love it over here. A lot.
The End