Gena Showalter: The Amazon's Curse

"It's all right. It's all right, sweet. I'm here, and I'm not leaving without you. No matter what. You freed me. I will find a way to free you."

The burst of strength her nervousness had given her drained, and she expelled a breath. "As long as I have you, I'll be all right."

"Yes, you will." He stretched out beside her and angled his head, displaying his neck to her. The scent of him filled her nose. Dark spice and tree dew. She inhaled deeply, savoring.

"Drink," he said.

"Wh–what?" Even when they'd been trapped on that island, he had not let anyone drink from him. Not from his wrist, and certainly not from his neck.

"Drink. I know biting and blood are distasteful to your kind, but you will heal faster if my blood flows inside your veins."

"No, you don't understand. I don't mind drinking from you. I just don't want to disgust you. I know you do not like such things being done to you."

"I want to give you everything, Nola. Even this. With you and no other. I need this, so please. Please."

Please, this proud, strong man had said. How could she deny him? She cried out as she edged toward him and sank her teeth into his neck, hard as she could, cutting past skin and hitting vein. Blood instantly trickled down her throat. Once, the thought of doing this would have been distasteful to her, as he'd claimed. But this was Zane. She wanted him inside her. Any part of him that she could get. And like him, she wanted him to have everything she had to give.

"I never thought to allow someone to take from me again," he said, petting her head. "The demon queen, I was her slave for many centuries and she took from me whenever and however she desired. Her methods sickened me, but I allowed them because she had something—someone—my compliance was supposed to purchase. Did I ever tell you that?"

He was trying to distract her from her task, she suspected, as the warmth of his blood spun through her, lighting her up from the inside out. But she did not stop, because she wanted to hear more.

"When she died and I was freed, I thought to never endure such things again. You, though, I think I would allow to do anything to me. It has been that way since the first. I don't understand it, either. Your presence doesn't drown out the memories or take away my revulsion for this act with others. My…need for you simply overrides it. But why do I need you, do you think?"

Finally she pulled from him. She didn't move away, but snuggled into his waiting embrace, head cradled in the hollow of his neck. The action pained her, but only a little. She could feel the flesh weaving together on her back.

"When I was a child, my mother mated with a man and left the Amazon camp to live with him. They had no money and so they…sold me, time and time again," she said, heat spreading over her cheeks. "I know the desire to never again be touched by another. But with you…"

"Oh, sweet. I am so sorry."

That gentle tone brought tears to her eyes.

He wrapped his arm around her, careful of her injuries. "You once told me your family had destroyed you, that you had killed them for it, but I had no idea they'd done such things to you," he said.

She flattened her palm against his chest, exactly as she'd wanted to do all these months while watching him. His heart beat, fast and hard. "Maybe we remind each other of what we were like, before. Unafraid, untainted. Maybe we see the future in each other and the past ceases to matter."

He didn't reply, which disappointed her. Instead, he settled her onto the blankets and sat up, which angered her. Did he not want a future with her? Was that what his silence signified? Did he—

He traced a fingertip along her spine, and she shivered. "All healed," he said huskily. "And now, all mine."

Thank the gods. She wasn't sure what she would have done if he'd rebuffed her as she'd once done him.

"Make love to me, Zane." She'd never been with a man of her choosing. Never given herself completely. She was suddenly desperate to know what that was like. With this man. Only this man, who was surely a gift from the heavens, even amid her curse. "Please."

Zane flipped Nola to her back so that she was peering up at him. A gasp escaped her, but she didn't try to scramble away, even though he loomed above her, dressed in his blood-splattered battle clothes while she was naked.

Her breasts were small but firm, perfectly tipped with hard pink nipples. Her stomach was flat, her skin sun-kissed and smooth. He could see every ridge of her ribs and knew she hadn't eaten since his departure six days ago. Damn her sisters! Had she not already been through enough torment, without her tribe adding to it?

He was going to burn away the images of what they'd done to her. Burn away the memories of the men who had used her. He would replace both with thoughts of himself. He didn't care what he had to do to accomplish it.

"Have you ever experienced pleasure in the act?" he asked.

Up and down her chest rose with the force of her breathing. "No. You?"

"Long, long ago." He only prayed he remembered how to please his woman. With the demon queen, he hadn't cared to try. He'd simply endured. Never had a female's enjoyment been more important to him. "If I scare you, do something you don't like, tell me."

She nodded, nervously licked her lips. "You tell me, as well."

It was his turn to nod. Rather than suck on her nipples as he desired, he lifted himself off her, reached behind him and tugged off his shirt. He tossed it aside. His boots and pants quickly followed, leaving him as bare as she was.

Nola's gaze traveled the length of him, and fire leapt inside her turquoise eyes. "Zane…"

"Afraid?"

"No. You won't hurt me. I just wanted you to know I like what I see."

Her trust emboldened him, as did her praise. Gently he eased atop her. Skin against skin, hardness against softness. They moaned in unison. Contact with anyone else, even his king, was hell. Contact with Nola was heaven. Her legs opened, allowing him a deep cradle.

"I want to kiss you now," he said.

Only when she whispered her consent did he lean down and press his lips against hers. Softly at first, barely even a touch. But the sweet scent of her was in his nose, her nipples hard against his chest, her thighs pliant against his, and soon he had to have more. He licked at her, and her lips eagerly parted. His tongue glided past their teeth to intertwine with hers.

He'd had her blood, but he'd never had her mouth. To his delight, this was even better. Sweeter, headier, not for living or healing or even to relieve hunger, but simply for pleasure. It was addictive, and he wondered how he'd gone without this for so long.

Tentatively, she tangled her hands in his hair. And at first, her tongue was hesitant against his. Seeking, as if she wasn't sure what to do with it. But the more he explored her mouth, the bolder she became. Soon their teeth were banging together, their bodies writhing against each other. Sweat was beading over his skin, his blood heating as though lava flowed in his veins.

"Going to…suck your…breasts now," he managed to say between pants. "Like that?"

"Yes. Yes." She, too, was panting. She, too, was sweating. Her eyes were closed and her head was thrashing from side to side.

I did that. Pride filled him as he lowered his head, fitting his lips around one tight little pearl. He laved it with attention before turning to the other one—careful, so careful to deliver pleasure without any sting.

When he kissed his way down her stomach, she quivered and gasped his name.

"Stop?" he asked. Would be difficult, but he would find a way.

"More."

Thank the gods. Never had he been more determined in his life. He would know this woman, every inch of her. Nothing would be prohibited. Body, mind…soul. Mouth watering, he licked between her legs. Wet, wild, wanton.