Gladius

The Hussies #9

by Nathalie Gray

The Hussies series. To Opal Seleria, champion in a long line of fighters, training gladiators to compete in her remote world’s games is the only thing she knows. Denying her body’s need to be held, to be touched, to be taken by a man stronger than her is how she protects her heart. Until Dar Skara is brought to her. The long-haired, tattooed man is more powerful and vicious than any gladiator she has ever trained. As her clashes with Dar turn into a battle of wills, a long-dormant fire awakens in her. One that stirs up needs only his forceful touch can satiate. Dar can deny it no longer. He is falling for his beautiful enemy. Their forbidden encounters and duels of raw sex break down his defenses until she is all he can think about. Even as she teaches him how to harness his power into the gladiatorial games, he, in turn, has something to teach her - what Dar Skara wants, Dar Skara takes.

159 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 27, 2008

About the author

Mother, spouse, older sister, writer, ex-soldier, high school drop-out, dog owner (or dog owned), half couch potato, half intermittent jogger, wannabe renovator and avid reader who watches too much television, sinks too much money in clothes, likes animals more than humans, recycles, wore braces, never downloads copyrighted stuff, was a nerd without the grades, has a belly laugh that turns heads in theaters, can't stand bullying, is mother hawk more than mother hen, votes even if candidates aren't that great and thinks formal education is highly overrated (probably because she has none).

Reviews

[Netanella · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gladius is a futuristic romance set in a space-faring imperial galaxy modeled after Rome, with senators, praetors, and gladiatorial contests. Dar Skara is a Conan-like colonial, captured and brought to the main planet for gladiatorial entertainment. He's big and mean - an equal-opportunity hater - but honorable. Opal Seleria is a trainer of gladiators, serving a sadistic praetor out of a misguided sense of duty to empire. She'll also kick your ass rather than take a number, so the two of them hit it off tremendously well, especially since their idea of foreplay is hand-to-hand combat. Despite the rough sex these two enjoyed (I mean physical rough, not bondage games), I really enjoyed their story. Dar is sweet - he pines for his Nan, he loves Opal and her fighting spirit. Opal is tough but allows her feminine side to emerge with Dar.

A word on the setting - although this is a futuristic setting, it reads more of a fantasy. Except that there are the use of blasters and derma-patches, all else feels likes an alternate history/fantasy setting. A very good read.