Chapter 38

The game began with Landon attempting to sling the ball over the tops of the opponents heads into the hands of his teammates while Cassius’s side tried to knock them down or steal the ball. Landon nearly missed connecting with Jate, but the ball hit the ground and rolled right to Gavin of Wanesborough, and just like that, it was Cassius’s ball.

“Oh, how I love watching a nice game of slingball!” Avinia marveled next to her.

“You ladies have been so quiet,” Kit murmured, her eyes not leaving the game. Jecobian was also shirtless, and after their encounter the night before, she wasn’t surprised to see how chiseled he was. He seemed to be paying her more attention than the game presently. Reeve was playing slinger for Cassius’s team, and he was able to toss the ball straight to his captain who ran a good twenty paces before Landon grabbed him from behind and tackled him to the ground. Sweat was already starting to glisten off of Cassius’s back, and Kit wouldn’t have minded doing a little tackling of her own.

“I suppose we’re taking it all in. For us married women, it isn’t every day we get to watch powerful young men run around the back garden half naked,” Isla mused.

“I’ll admit to having stopped a time or two to watch your guards,” Blankka said with a chuckle. “But my goodness, that Cassius has muscles for muscles.”

“Yes, he does. There are several out there I wouldn’t mind toweling off when the game is over.” Isla’s face was turning slightly pink, and Kit let out a little giggle, just as Gavin caught the ball and tossed it further down the field toward Cassius, close to the scoring marker.

Eli seemed to come out of nowhere and pluck the ball out of the air. It took Cassius’s team a moment to react, and by the time they did, Eli had sprinted through most of them and was almost to his own scoring line. Jecob closed in on him at the last second, and as Eli dove for the marker, Jecob made contact, jamming his elbow hard into Eli’s face. He managed to get the ball over the line, but when he came to his feet, his lip was bleeding.

Kit was standing before the play was over, her hands over her mouth. “Foul!” she shouted. “That’s a foul!”

“Oh, come now, Princess,” Jecobian argued, stepping toward her as Eli made his way back to his side, wiping his lip on his hand and spitting blood. He didn’t even look twice at Jecob. “This is slingball. It’s a man’s game. It’s rough.”

“No bashing each other in the face!” she argued. “That’s a rule, isn’t it, Cassius?”

“Any rule that you would like to make a rule is a rule,” he replied. “That means Landon’s team gets a foul shot.”

“Even if the rule was made after the fact?” Jecob asked, squaring his shoulders and placing his hands on his hips.

“Even if,” Cassius replied calmly. “It’s just a game, Jecob. It’s meant to be fun.”

Jecobian didn’t seem to care for that explanation, but he moved to his position as Landon’s team took a foul shot, which consisted of two defenders from Cassius’s team against three runners from Landon’s team. He chose Pierce to act as slinger while he and Eli were the runners, along with Jate, while Cassius and Jecob defended. Pierce faked a throw to Eli and hit Landon near the scoring marker. Cassius just missed grabbing the other team captain from behind as he crossed, making the score two to nothing.

“How in the world are you meant to pay attention to rules and scores when you’ve got so many bare-chested men running about in front of you?” Avinia asked, covering her hand with her mouth.

“I’m honestly not sure, but it’s a nice conundrum to be in,” Kit replied, not able to control her smile. She already had a fair amount of men from the game alone she wished to get to know better, and not all of them were half naked. Landon was not only attractive, she could see leadership qualities in him. And Jate was always first to congratulate anyone on a job well done, even if he happened to be on the other team.

She tried to avoid looking at Eli at all and was second guessing her approval of letting him play. He was a distraction, to say the least, and he didn’t belong here. But there he was, nonetheless, and when he intercepted another throw from the other team, Blankka made a low moaning noise in her throat, causing Kit to turn and look at her. “Did you see Cassius’s biceps?” Blankka asked, but Kit was not fooled. A pang of jealousy shot through the princess as she realized Blankka was capable of requesting Eli to pleasure her, if she wished. She tried not to let any images enter her mind and returned her gaze to the rippled abdomens in front of her.

Despite Landon’s team getting off to an early lead, Cassius was able to come from behind, and after an hour or so of play, the score was tied at nineteen points for each side. “The next team to score wins!” Kit announced, seeing determination on nearly all of the men’s faces. A couple of them, Merek and the unattractive fellow from Erthmeet she’d discovered was named Iame, seemed ready to fall over at any moment.

Kit caught Jecob’s eyes, and he smiled at her. While she’d done her best to spread her attention to all, she could often feel him staring at her, and when her eyes flickered his direction, he would smile knowingly at her, as if he was reminding her they already had a bond, something the others knew nothing about. Well, no one except for Eli, but as it was with most things, he did not count.

Cassius’s team had the ball, and he was playing slinger. He made a signal with his hands for Rulf, a tall redhead, to run one way while Jecobian went the other direction. Landon barreled down on the other team captain, and Cassius let the ball fly up into the air. It was headed directly for Jecobian, but Eli was there, and he angled himself for the interception. Rather than going for the ball, Jecobian grabbed the commander and knocked him hard to the ground so that the ball went over both of their heads. The slingball sailed right into Rulf’s waiting hands, and he ran it to the scoring marker.

All of the shirtless men began to cheer, while Landon’s team hung their heads low. Jecobian jumped up from the ground, nearly stepping on Eli’s hand, which he pulled away just in time, and Kit covered her mouth, not sure whether or not that should be called a foul. Jecob had avoided hitting Eli in the face, after all. Still, it was one of the rougher plays, and she hated to see the game end on such a sour note. Jate went over and helped Eli up, and he dusted himself off, his eyes narrowed at Jecobian.

Jecob leaned in closely and whispered something to Eli Kit couldn’t hear, nor could she read his lips, but she knew it had to be ugly when she saw Eli’s shoulders tip back. Jate was still standing there, and he pressed the pair apart before anything could erupt. Jecob knocked the other Representative’s hand away from his chest, laughing, and Eli headed for the sidelines, still fuming.

“Your Jecob doesn’t seem like a very nice fellow,” Isla whispered, her hands covering her face as she stretched around Avinia.

Not knowing how to respond but wanting to defend him, the princess replied, “We have no way of knowing what was said.”

“We saw what he did, though,” Avinia noted.

“There’s something between them, I think,” Blankka noted. “They are both from Eastbury. There must be more to it.”

Kit couldn’t have commented even if she wanted to. She had some kissing to do. As the winners headed her direction, most of them still shirtless, she cleared her throat. “Gentlemen! I want to say congratulations to Cassius’s team! What an amazing game! All of you, both sides, did so very well!” There was some applause and cheering as she continued. “I have decided to amend my previous reward!” The men grew silent, looking at her inquisitively. “Rather than just the winners receiving a kiss, since everyone played so well, the team that did not win…”

“You mean the losers?” Jecobian shouted out, which had several men from his team chuckling.