The Gladiator's Touch

T
he scent of lust was thick in the air.

As I descended the steps into the
ludus
, the training school for gladiators, led by Septus, the Dominus’
right hand man, nerves fluttered in my belly. Nerves, and also anticipation.

I was to be given to Marius the Undefeated,
a gift as he ascended to his new position as
Doctore
—teacher— of the ludus.

The other gladiators jeered as I
followed the male slave down the corridor of the men’s quarters. Comments on my
breasts, my thighs, my lips showered down upon my ears, but I was not affected.
I did not care what these men thought.

I cared only for the man to whom I would
belong.

“Enter.” Septus gestured impatiently
toward the room at the far end of the corridor, one whose entrance was covered
with a heavy curtain of faded cloth. Unlike the other men, Marius had private
quarters—he had earned them through his prowess in the arena.

I was grateful that we would be hidden
from prying eyes as he sampled my flesh and decided if he would have me for his
own.

“Gratitude.” My voice was soft as I
spoke to the slave, who I knew did not care. He was already walking away, his
mind back upstairs with the Dominus who treated him as a treasured pet.

Slowly, so slowly, I drew the curtain
open enough to let me into the room. The fabric wicked away the nervous sweat
that slicked my palms, and I wished that it could absorb my apprehension, as
well.

“Come in.” I heard the words before my
wide eyes located their speaker. I started, though I had known that he would be
there, waiting for me.

Casting my eyes to the floor, I clasped
my hands in front of me, letting the long waves of my pale hair fall in front
of my face.

“I am sent by the Dominus, a gift for
Marius the Undefeated.” I could not seem to speak louder than a whisper. Now
that I was here, now that I knew what was expected of me, I trembled. This was
a man who made giants and killers tremble, a man who had slain warriors and
great beasts.

What would he do with me?

“You are Cassia.” I heard him approach,
but did not look up. Heat warmed my back as he pulled me close to his hard
frame, and I felt fingers sift through the strands of my hair. “I did not know
who was being sent.”

I shivered as those fingers grazed the
side of my neck. They were rough, battle hardened, and scraped against my skin.

“I only hope to please you.” If I did
not, I would be beaten by the Dominus.

Those hands travelled over my shoulders,
measuring their breadth, then down to skim over my breasts. My nipples peaked
and I arched into the surprising pleasure of the touch, but he continued his
exploration of my body, tracing the curves of my waist, my hips, before
travelling back up my frame.

“Aah.” I gasped as Marius caught my
throat in one of those massive hands and urged me to turn. I did, and only then
looked at the gladiator straight on.

I had watched him in the arena, in the
training yard, but nothing had prepared me for the sight of him up close. His
body was hard as the stones of the walls in this house, and his jaw and cheeks
seemed to have been sculpted by an artist. His hair was cropped short, as were
all the men’s, but was still messy, soft spikes of true black that I itched to
run my fingers through.

His eyes were a dark blue, sea blue, and
were regarding me with curiosity and desire.

“You do not need to fear me.” He
squeezed, just the slightest bit, that hand that was still at my throat. “I see
enough pain, enough violence in the arena.”

“I... I do not fear you.” No, I did not
fear him—he had no cause to hurt me. I was here to bring him pleasure and
relief, hopefully more than could be provided by the occasional whores that
were snuck in and that the Dominus turned a blind eye to.

“I will never hurt you.” Releasing my
throat, Marius loosened the ties that held my toga in place. The soft, light
wool slithered down my body, awakening sensation as it went, and then I was
naked, naked to the cool evening air and to the hungry stare of the gladiator.

“I know you will not.” I was not sure
why I trusted this man so—had I been given to any other gladiator, I would have
been sick with fear.

This man, though he was fierce and
strong and could kill me without any exertion at all, did not frighten me. In
fact, I felt safe, nestled here in his arms, safe from beatings and hunger and
the whims of the Dominus.

I was grateful to have even a moment in
which I did not have to worry. I wanted to show my gratitude, wanted to thank
this man for that gift.

“I would have you sit.” My words were
brave, and I did not know if he would take offense. Instead he appeared amused,
the ghost of a smile appearing at the corners of his mouth.

“Then I would sit.” He removed his hands
from my body, and I did not like the sensation. I wanted him to touch me again.

“Would you have me undress?” Heat
flooded my skin as his fingers strayed to the ties of his
subligaculum
.

“Yes. Yes. I would have you in your
skin.” His eyes darkened with want at my bold words, and my fingers curled into
tight fists as his brief leather garment fell to the floor.

Clothed, Marius the Undefeated was raw
and beautiful. Naked, he appeared as a god. His body was sinewy, the frame of a
man who used it hard every day.

I wanted to touch him—his chest, his thighs,
his shoulders, his arms. His cock—oh, I wanted to touch his cock, which had
risen under my stare.

He settled on the mat on which he slept,
and gazed up at me with anticipation. Frank appreciation painted his features,
and my flesh became swollen, my skin too tight.

Dropping to my knees before him, I
licked lips gone suddenly dry.

“I wish to bring you comfort and
pleasure.” My words were breathy as I lowered my head and tentatively placed my
lips over the head of his cock.

“Cassia!” His voice was shocked. “What
are you about?”

I giggled; I could not help it. It
seemed that the man who had battled countless warriors could be surprised,
after all.

“I should think that would be obvious. I
said that I wish to bring you pleasure, and I mean to do so.” I had performed
this act before, but I had never before had any feeling behind the motions.

I
wanted
to please my gladiator.
I wanted to bring him to his knees, and know that I had done so.

“Aah.” Rough fingers combed through my
hair, pulling tightly as I scraped my teeth lightly under the ridge of his
cock. He seemed to like it, so I did it again, then swirled my tongue over the
very tip, tasting salt and man.

Marius’ hips arched upward, into my
touch, and then he groaned as he extricated his cock from the warm wetness of
my mouth.

“No.” I protested, but he lifted me as
if I weighed nothing at all, and pulled me into his lap.

“You are my gift, and I will do as I
please with you.” His words were stern, but his eyes danced with mischief as he
ran a hand firmly up the inside of my thigh. His fingers danced over the curls
between my legs, and then two fingers slid into the slick channel of my cunt.

“Aah!” I cried loudly, then bit my lower
lip as Marius moved those fingers in and out, in and out. “I—oh!”

His laughter rumbled against my neck,
the bristles of his beard scraping the skin and bringing it to life. “You are a
responsive creature, Cassia. I enjoy that.”

I responded loudly when he withdrew his
fingers—cruelly, I thought—and pulled me off of his lap and onto his sleep mat.
He placed me on my hands and knees, pinching my nipples and laying his palm
flat on the curves of my ass once as he pulled back.

“Marius!” I turned my head to look at
him, found him with his cock in his fist. He grinned, pumped his shaft twice,
then smacked my rear again.

“You will stay facing forward, or I will
not touch you again. Do you understand?” I should have been nervous, but instead
found myself insatiable. I wanted his touch, more than anything I wanted his
touch.

“I understand.” I faced forward, cursing
my long hair as if curtained my face, obstructing my view.

“Good.” Moments later I felt the
strength of his thighs, pressing against my own. His cock nudged the cleft that
divide my ass, and I pushed back against his heat.

“Patience.” Something coarse tickled the
skin at the nape of my neck, then traced down my spine. Before I could discern
what it was, the coarse object had wrapped tightly around one wrist, then
around the other, restraining me.

“This is rope, Cassia.” With no hands to
support my weight, my shoulders and breasts were pressed against the coarse
blanket that covered Marius’ bed. “Any time that you want to be freed, tell me
and I will release you. Do you want to be freed?”

I did not have to consider the question.
I wanted to be here, with him.

I shook my head vigorously, the blanket
abrading the skin of my cheeks.

“This is for your pleasure.” His hands
clasped my waist, then traced the outline of my ass. I arched against him,
pushing my flesh into his own, asking for more.

“Still.” His fingers slid between my
legs, again sampling my heat. I moaned, long and low, into the blanket.

“Did you know that I have watched you, Cassia?”
He moved his fingers inside of me, a slow swirl that made my knees seem to
melt. I felt a sensation more delicious than anything I had ever felt begin to
build between my legs, and all I knew in that moment was that I wanted more.

“Wh—why?” He slid his fingers from my
cunt, trailed them up between my cheeks and pressed against the pucker that lay
hidden there. I pressed back against him as he slid just the tip of one finger
into my tight entrance, stars showering in front of my eyes as my nerves began
to explode.

“I cannot truthfully say.” His voice was
thoughtful—if a little breathless—as he moved that finger just the slightest
bit. I gasped and moaned, all reserve having melted away under his touch. “I
know only that as I trained, as I fought in the arena, looking up to the
balcony and seeing you there gave me pleasure, and so I began to search you
out.”

Abruptly his finger pulled out of my
tightness. Hands grasped my hips as, in one quick movement, Marius hilted his
cock inside my cunt, a thrust with no warning.

The sound I made as he stretched me to
the point of pain was very nearly a scream. He pulled back, then thrust forward
again. I bore back against him, wanting more of the pleasure/ pain.

“I am glad that the Dominus you to me.”
His grip on my hips tightened, and he began to move in earnest, thrusting in
and out of my tightness, hard and fast.

Pleasure built low in my belly, finally
exploding when he reached a hand around my waist, fingers rubbing in a lazy
circle over my clit.

I screamed as I was flooded with bliss,
thrusting back against him wantonly. Drawing back to sit on his heels, Marius
pulled me back with him, his still rigid cock tight in my heat. My back was
arched against his front, my breasts jutting forward when the last shivers
shuddered through me. My cunt clenched around his cock as I came back to my
right mind.

“But...you...” I could not form words. I
writhed on the lap on which I was anchored, incredibly still wanting more. “I
have not pleased you?”

He thrust up into me and I cried out.

“You please me greatly, but I wish to
please
you
yet more.” I struggled against the ropes that bound my hands
tightly behind my back. Marius laughed again, that low chuckle that did
something warm to my insides, and covered my breasts with his hands.

“I have not paid proper homage to
these.” Fingers pinched the rosy tips, rolled the hard flesh this way and that.
I squirmed with need that was, incredibly, building inside me again.

“Please!” I arched against him, wishing that
I could touch his flesh.

“Nor I have spent enough time here.” One
hand continued to torture my nipple while the other dropped to my clit,
circling the hard bud firmly, around and around.

“Marius... I can’t. I can’t!” It seemed I
could. My voice rose to a scream as once again I was sent flying. Before my
shaking could stop, Marius began to move again, as well, thrusting up into me,
his cock driving so deeply into my flesh that I felt as though we were one.

He groaned and spilled his liquid heat
inside of me as my shudders began to cease. I pressed back against him, rocking
softly, trying to urge as much pleasure from him as he had given to me.

We sat still for a long moment, sweat
making our skin sticky and warm. I could hear my heartbeat as it thundered in
my chest, and my mind was blissfully blank.

“Lean forward.” Marius spoke softly,
urging me forward until he could reach my wrists. Deftly he untied the rope
that had restrained me, then massaged the skin that had chafed.

“I am sorry for these marks.” Lifting me
from his lap as if I were a child, he laid me on the bed, then laid down beside
me.

I arched a brow at him, causing that
little smirk that I already loved to appear on his lips. “I am certain that you
are many things, but I am
not
certain that sorry is one of them.”

This drew a full laugh from the
gladiator—from
my
gladiator—and I flushed with the pleasure of having
found the humor in him. I found it more pleasurable still when he rose onto one
elbow, leaned down, and kissed me on the lips—a demanding kiss, a kiss that
claimed me as his own.

Our first kiss, and one that I would
always remember.

When he again laid down beside me, he
pulled me against him, my back to his front. He pulled my hair away from my
face, knotted it at the base of my neck before nuzzling his lips into the
delicate skin that lay there.