“Oh, excellent idea! Grab a goblet.” The pink-haired woman—he hadn’t cared to remember her name—palmed one of her daggers, sliced a groove in her wrist and held the wound over the offered goblet.
His mouth watered at the sight and smell of that crimson nectar; his fangs elongated.
She approached him and held the cup to his lips. Thankfully, her skin did not touch his. “Drink.”
He obeyed, swallowing three precious mouthfuls. Instantly, warmth spread through him, followed on its heels by strength.
“It’s working. His color is returning.” The cup was removed from his mouth, and he found his gaze locked with that of his captor. She was pretty, if he cared for such things. He didn’t. He only cared that she had pink hair rather than black, brown eyes rather than turquoise, and she did not smell like Nola. Like sea and storms and flowers.
There was a pause, then a purr of agreement. “He’s beautiful, isn’t he?”
“Don’t forget he’s mine” was the snapped reply.
“Well, his cock is still flaccid, so you won’t be claiming him any time soon,” the other Amazon lashed back.
As the blood continued to work through him, the lethargy that had plagued him all these many days dissolved, leaving energy in his muscles, a sizzle in his bones. Escape, he thought, a growl working its way past his throat.
Both Amazons jumped away from him with a yelp.
“Hurry! Let’s bind his mouth.”
“Don’t touch me!” Growls intensifying, Zane jerked at the chains circling his wrists and ankles. He hissed and snapped, kicking as much as he was able as the Amazons maneuvered around him. “No touching! Do you hear me? I’ll kill you.”
Suddenly a golden ray of light spilled inside the tent, and he would have sworn he caught a glimpse of Nola.
“No—” He stilled, his heart slamming against his ribs.
His captor moved, reaching for his neck, blocking the vision.
“Out of my way!” he shouted, bumping his hip against hers and sending her toppling to her face. He’d imagined Nola before, there in the battle tent. This vision, he planned to enjoy as long as possible.
Sure enough, there was a shimmering outline of long black hair, a glow of turquoise eyes, as Nola tried ineffectually to tug his captor away from him. He lost his breath. So lovely. His shaft hardened quickly and painfully. Nola. His sweetest tormentor.
Sadly, the illusion didn’t last more than a few seconds. He wanted to scream and hurt and maim. To kill and be killed. The desire came too late, though, his stunned immobility costing him. The Amazon was able to leap to her feet and easily hook a thick strap of material around his mouth.
“Finally.” Sighing with satisfaction, she leaned away from him, crouching on her haunches and smiling smugly. “And just as I suspected, your rod is—” Her words halted and her smile faded as his cock withered before her eyes. “But…you were…why…”
He had only imagined Nola; he knew that, but he couldn’t stop his gaze from searching for another glimpse of her. To his dismay, he saw only furs, carved furniture and weapons. Even as his captor attempted to arouse him once more, stripping for him, caressing him, he did not stop searching.
Finally, exasperated with him, the Amazon dressed and stormed from the tent, leaving him alone with his insanity.
CHAPTER THREE
AS MANY TIMES as Nola had been chained and used in her life, she knew the humiliation, frustration and helplessness Zane was feeling. He must want to kill Amelia, his new owner. She did.
Hurting another Amazon went against every instinct Nola possessed, every rule she’d ever been taught, but she would have sliced the warrioress to pieces if she’d been able to grip a blade. Zane’s eyes had been so wild, his snarls desperate. And she’d been unable to aid him, had only been able to watch in horror.
“I will take his place,” she shouted to the ceiling, not knowing if a deity listened. Or if they even cared. Zane didn’t deserve this. No one did. But at least she had endured servitude before. The women wouldn’t rape her, of course, but they would work her and beat her, both of which she could survive.
Air sucked through Zane’s nostrils, and his body suddenly jerked. Then he began struggling against his bonds again. Her attention whipped to him. He was staring directly at her, his dark gaze boring into her.
“Zane,” she said, rushing to his side and kneeling. “Shh, now. Shh. You’ll only injure your wrists and ankles further.” Already he was bleeding, losing the blood he’d just been given.
He tracked her every movement.
Could he…no. Not possible. No matter how many times she’d wished otherwise, she’d remained as unnoticeable as the air he breathed. Besides, if he knew she was here, he would be fighting her as he’d fought Amelia. Perhaps even more violently. How many times, before this terrible punishment, had she rebuked his advances? Tried to hurt him? Called him vile names? All because she’d been too frightened of her feelings. I am not worthy of being an Amazon warrioress.
Frantic, Zane rubbed his jaw against his shoulder until the material fell away from his mouth. “Nola,” he rasped. “Nola, Nola, Nola.”
He could see her. Could she touch him? Her arm shook as she reached out, meaning to brush his hair from his face, but as always, her hand ghosted through him. She moaned in frustration.
He laughed, the sound full of sweet satisfaction. “I’ve finally slipped over the edge of sanity and I don’t care.” He relaxed against the blankets spread out beneath him. “My Nola, here to comfort me. As beautiful as ever.”
His Nola? A shiver moved through her. Oh, if only… “You aren’t imagining me, Zane. I’m truly here. I’ve been here since the day of your arrival.”
Zane didn’t seem to hear her. His gaze was too busy drinking her in. “Of course I would imagine you like this, soft and lush, but still not mine to possess.”
“Listen to me. The gods cursed me, as they cursed you, only I am not to be seen, heard or felt.” Until now. Why, why, why could she now be seen and heard but still not felt?
Finally, her words seemed to take root. His eyelids narrowed and his lips pulled tight against his teeth, revealing the tips of those deadly fangs. “How can I see you now, then?” he asked, mirroring her thoughts.
“I wish I knew,” she said on a sigh. Would others be able to see her, as well?
“So. Another curse is to be heaped upon me. To see, but never to touch.” He turned his head from her, as if he couldn’t bear to look at her another second. That was the treatment she’d expected from him, but it still hurt. You deserve it. Take it like a warrior.
At least he no longer thought himself crazy.
“Why aren’t you with Brand?” he demanded.
Brand, the dragon shape-shifter who had been cursed right alongside them. “I don’t…” What? She liked Brand, but she wasn’t concerned with his treatment. He had not fought his captivity like Zane. He had embraced the thought of an Amazon owner. Other than Lily, that is. Lily had been too young for him, and he’d been nothing more than a maid for her. Since she’d released him to the ownership of the other Amazons, though, he’d looked nothing but content.
But even if he had not been enjoying himself, Nola still would have chosen to watch over Zane. His strength and determination, and even his wildness, drew her.
Maybe because that wildness had never truly extended to her. Even when she’d stabbed both of his shoulders with spears, he had not attempted to hurt her. He had cried out for her, wanting to be with her.
“Why haven’t you used your…gift to help you escape?” she asked, ignoring his question. Much as this man had to hate her, she wasn’t ready to voice her softer feelings. Even she didn’t understand her change from tormentor to tormented.
His cheeks heated in embarrassment, but still he did not face her.
He’d once used that gift on her. Had slipped inside her dreams and showed her how good it would be between them. How he would kiss and taste every inch of her body
, enjoy her, help her enjoy him. “You can show the Amazons the destruction you will unleash if they fail to release you.”
“I was stripped of the ability when I was sent here. I can no longer enter dreams. Or create nightmares. I can no longer transport myself to other locations with only a thought.”
Damn them! “There has to be a way to free you. I wish I could leave camp and visit your king. Word has spread through Atlantis that he is wed now to my sister, Delilah. They would help you, I know it. And maybe, like you, they would be able to see and hear me. But I am bound to this camp, as surely as if I were shackled. I cannot leave its boundaries.” Or perhaps she could, now that part of her curse seemed to be lifted. She wanted to check, but couldn’t force herself to move away.
Zane shifted even further away from her, and his chains rattled. It was another stark reminder of their doomed circumstances. “Why would you help me?”
“Because I—” She peered down at her hands. Her fingers were twined together and twisting the leather of her skirt. They wanted to be on Zane’s body, learning his every nuance. What would make him gasp in pleasure? What would make him moan? “I owe you. I hurt you, and I’m sorry for that. Sorrier than I can ever express. I want—”
“Enough,” he growled, cutting her off. “I don’t want your apology. I never did. I’ve always wanted you…your body.”
Need trembled through her. “Yes.” Yes. That’s what she wanted, too. “But you can’t touch me. How…”
“We will figure it out. Climb on top of me.”
She did, straddling his waist. His eyes closed, and he arched up. She imagined his hard shaft rubbing against her and moaned. “Zane, I—”
The entrance to the tent flapped, and Amelia strode inside. “Well, vampire. I have decided—” Her eyes widened, and she stopped. “Nola? What are you doing here?”
Nola jumped up as though burned. She wanted to scream in frustration, but held her tongue. One question had been answered, at least. Others could see her. “Hello, Amelia.” Did she sound as breathless to the warrioress as she did to herself?
“We thought you were dead.”
“You thought wrong.”
Amelia’s dark gaze swung to Zane, then back to Nola. “Either way, you will move away from my slave.”
“Nola,” Zane said, and there was a warning in his tone.
A warning of what? Nola didn’t face him, but squared her shoulders and forced her expression to harden. “How is he truly your slave when you have not yet battled every female who would lay claim to him? Amelia, I challenge you for the vampire.”
CHAPTER FOUR
“HURRY! SHE’LL RETURN any moment, and she’ll have others with her. Perhaps the entire army.”
Zane watched as Nola tried and failed to jerk the head of his chains from the iron pole they were attached to, a pole that was anchored deep in the earth. As before, her fingers merely passed through the object.
His shock had yet to diminish. Nola was here; Nola thought to help him. After her announcement, his captor had stormed out of the tent with every intention of speaking to the Amazon queen. Nola wanted him for her own.
Earlier when she’d apologized to him, it had not been remorse thickening her voice. It had been desire. Then she’d climbed on top of him without hesitation, had moaned when he’d arched into her. He hadn’t been able to feel her, but oh, just the thought of doing so was enough for him.
“How do you propose to fight her?” he demanded. “You cannot hurt her, and she cannot hurt you.”
“I didn’t want to fight her. I wanted time. And why are you just lying there?” She peered down at him, hands on her hips, dark hair streaming wildly around her delicate face. There was the soldier he knew. “Fight free!”
“You will come with me? If I escape?”
“If I can, yes. I want that more than anything,” she added in a whisper.
Again, there was no hesitation. There was even a flicker of hope in her magnificent eyes. She truly did not hate him.
What had brought about this change in her? Doesn’t matter right now. Everything he’d craved these many months of his captivity—Nola, freedom, a chance to be together—was now being offered to him. No longer did he feel cursed. Never had he been so blessed.
He couldn’t feel her? So what. Being with her was more important.
He was suddenly fueled with a fervor he had never experienced before, not even when he’d been whoring for the demon queen, desperate to save Cassandra. He wanted this. Would have this. Just as…soon as…he broke…free. For what seemed an eternity, he pulled hard at his wrists and ankles, straining so forcefully his bones eventually gave way.
Out came both his ankles; out came both his wrists. The pain of it nearly bowled him over as he sat up, then stood to trembling legs. He didn’t care. He was free at last.
“I hear them,” Nola gasped. “Come on.” She made to grab him, but her hand misted through his body. “Damn this!”
There was no sensation, no chill, but the knowledge that she had tried to touch him caused him to shiver rather than shudder. From the very first, it had been that way. Others he ran from. Others he abhorred. Her, he only yearned for more of. Why?
“This way.” She raced to the far end of the tent. “Raise the flap.”
He lumbered to her, stumbling constantly, and did as commanded. All the while, his battered body screamed in agony, black winking over his vision, stomach threatening to heave. Vampires were fast healers, but he’d been without blood too long, the few sips he’d had earlier already used up.
Outside, light poured from the crystal dome surrounding all of Atlantis, heating and stinging his now-sensitive skin and making his eyes water. This kind of reaction had only happened once before. On that cursed island of the gods. The reminder of his time there infuriated him and that fury gave him strength. Tent after tent dotted the surrounding land. Amazons were scattered throughout. Some were bent over a fire and hammering at weapons; some were hanging animal hides.
“Walk behind me,” Nola said, “as if you are my slave.”
She moved forward, head held high. Behind him, he could hear a murmur of voices inside his captor’s tent. Amelia had returned, and she had indeed brought an army with her. Zane kicked into motion. Thankfully, no one paid them any heed—until a horn blasted. The Amazons around him straightened, a few even reaching for weapons.
“Run,” Nola shouted, picking up speed. “Run.”
No longer content to remain behind her, he matched her pace. A forest loomed a few yards ahead, thick trees promising cover.
“Nola!” someone shouted. “Stop!”
“Vampire,” his captor screamed. “Not another step. I will punish you.”
Zane tripped over a rock. He lurched forward, his broken ankles unable to support him. When he hit the ground, he hit hard and lost every bit of oxygen in his lungs. Grimacing, he lumbered back up. Started running again.
All the while, Nola encouraged him. “You can do it. I know you can. That’s the way. Just a little farther.” But when they reached the trees, she stopped and screeched. “No! No, no, no.”
He, too, stopped and faced her. He tried to grab her, but as always before, encountered only air. “Come. Now.”
“I can’t. It’s like a wall is blocking me.” Frantic, she tossed a glance over her shoulder at the scowling Amazon warrioresses bearing down on them. “Go. Please. Just go.”
He remained in place, the screams in his head no longer for his bodily pain. He couldn’t leave this woman behind. But he couldn’t stay here, broken as he was. He was no good to either of them.
“Will they attempt to punish you?” he asked.
“They can’t hurt me. They might be able to see me, but I’m untouchable, remember?” She smiled, but it didn’t quite reach her eyes. “Now go, before they take you. They will not be as gentle with you this time.”
“Nola…”
“Zane. Go. Please. Save yourself. You are not meant to be any woma
n’s slave.”
A muscle ticked below his eye. “I will come back for you. Soon as I’m healed, I will come back.” As he spoke, he walked backward. Only when she was blocked from his view did he spin and run.
CHAPTER FIVE
NOLA FACED OFF with her sisters. They formed a menacing half-circle around her, each glaring at her.
“You freed my slave,” Amelia growled, and several warrioresses booed and hissed at Nola.
She had always been something of a tribe outsider, so she wasn’t surprised at the cold welcome. “He isn’t yours, but yes,” she said proudly. “I freed him.”
A frowning Kreja stepped forward, separating herself from the masses and placing herself nose-to-nose with Nola. “I want five of my elite armed and hunting the vampire within the next five minutes.”
Footsteps echoed as the warrioresses complied.
“And you,” the queen continued, “you know the punishment for stealing your sister’s slave?”
“Yes,” Nola repeated. The punishment—a savage, wish-you-were-dead whipping. Not that they could administer it. But even if she’d been tangible, she would have risked it. Zane’s freedom was worth losing the skin on her back. At the very least.
“Delilah returned and told us you lived still, but that did not stop our worry for you. And now I find you here, working against us. Why would you do such a thing?” the queen asked, sounding genuinely curious rather than enraged.
“The vampire had endured enough at the hands of the Amazons. Like us, he is a living being with feelings. He is courageous, wild as the animals in this forest and fierce beyond imagining.”
And he would return for her. She trusted him.
Never before had she trusted a man, but she trusted Zane. Having watched him these past few months, she knew he was not the kind of man who made vows lightly. She knew he did not say things simply to placate his audience. Oh, yes. He would return.
What they would do when he reached her, she didn’t know. She only knew that she needed to be with him. To see his face and hear his voice. She could live with any curse, as long as he was alive and well and with her.
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