“And you’re out later,” the one in front, the one clearly in charge, said. “Who is this…male?”
The sneered word and the way her gaze raked Titus’s body from head to toe put Titus on alert. He focused in on his gift, searching for answers to questions unasked. “Argonaut, traitor, male” were words that rose up from the group at his front.
“No one you need to concern yourself with,” Natasa answered.
Ilithyia moved out of the trees and held her sword point out, her dark gaze zeroed in on Titus as if he were a fly she was about to grind to dust beneath her boot. “I must have missed the memo about Halloween coming early this year. But perhaps today we’ll get a treat after all, ladies.”
Titus didn’t know who the hell these chicks were, but he’d had just about enough. He stepped forward, but before he could set their leader straight on a few very key points, Natasa moved fully in front of him. “He’s my prisoner, Ilithyia, not yours.”
Ilithyia slowed, and her brows narrowed, her gaze jumping from Natasa to Titus and back again. “Prisoner?”
Yeah…take that, camo girl.
Whoa—wait…prisoner? Titus’s gaze snapped to Natasa, but from behind, he couldn’t see her eyes. Only the defiant lift of her head that told him she was serious.
A shot of wicked heat rolled through his hips, along with mental images of all the different ways he could be her prisoner.
“Yes. Mine.”
“He’s not bound.”
“I was just about to do that when you barged up on us.”
Ilithyia’s eyes narrowed even more. Tension crackled in the cool May forest. “Aella will not like this.”
“This has nothing to do with Aella,” Natasa answered in a hard tone. “She knows I have my own agenda. And she is not to interfere.”
“Oh…the queen will definitely not approve of this.”
“Natasa is so screwed.”
“My gods, is he hot or what?”
“He’s exactly what we’ve been waiting for.”
Thoughts pinged around from the group, but Titus was too distracted to tell which was coming from whom. His focus had shifted entirely to Natasa. And, lucky him, her thoughts were the only ones he couldn’t read.
“Fine,” Ilithyia said after a long beat. “Bind him and we’ll escort you back. We wouldn’t want you to lose your prisoner along the way.”
The smug way she said prisoner dragged Titus’s attention away from Natasa and back to the Amazon glaring his direction
Amazon… shit. He looked out over the group. That was what these females were. Amazon warriors. He’d never run across one, but he knew they roamed the earth, just like the multitude of otherworldy beings that stayed hidden from humans. He quickly ran through what he knew of them: they didn’t like the gods, they loathed men even more, and they marked themselves with the crescent moon.
He cut a glance at Natasa’s arms, but her sleeves fell all the way to her wrists. He looked past her to the other females to confirm his suspicions, but they too all wore long sleeves.
Natasa turned his way and pulled the rope from her pocket. As she unwound it, he whispered, “What the hell is going on?”
“Shh,” she muttered, grasping his wrists together, not meeting his gaze. “Do as I say. And for gods’ sake, don’t open your mouth. I can’t protect you if you piss them off.”
Protect him? Did that mean she wasn’t one of them? Yeah, she was tough enough, but something in his gut said she didn’t fit in with this group. He glanced back at the Amazons while Natasa wrapped the rope around his wrists. They’d spread out in a U-shape around him, their swords each drawn in aggression. But it was the glint of victory in the leader’s eyes that told Titus he’d stumbled into something he should have left alone.
He didn’t have a weapon with him. Nothing but his bare—well, gloved—hands. Sure, he could take a few down if it came to that, but he didn’t like the idea of hurting a female if he didn’t have to. He had no doubt he was faster than these chicks, which meant he could escape if he ran like hell. But what would happen to Natasa if he did that? Even if she was only part Amazon, he didn’t have to read minds to know there was a power struggle going on here. A big one.
Where the hell was Phineus? Why hadn’t he come through the damn portal yet? Titus lifted his bound hands and reached for the Argos medallion he wore on a chain around his neck, the one that was a beacon back to his order. He found nothing but skin.
Skata. He’d lost it. Probably when he’d been rolling around in the dirt with Natasa. Goofing off instead of doing his fucking job.
“Come,” Ilithyia said after Natasa cinched down on the rope. “Queen Aella is waiting.”
The twine cut into his skin, but Titus barely felt it. Because Natasa’s eyes finally met his. And in their emerald depths he saw worry, and the unspoken plea Do this. For me.
His heart picked up speed, and that warmth he’d felt before came rushing back. Her prisoner. He could pretend to be her prisoner for a little while, couldn’t he? Theron had told him to find out who the hell she was and what she was after. By staying with her, he’d only be doing his duty.
Images of being tied beneath her, of being forced to do whatever sinful thing she wanted rushed through his mind.
His blood pulsed, his heart raced, and any lingering doubt disappeared.
Yeah, he could do this. After all, they were just girls. What was the worst that could happen?
* * *
“Theron? We have a problem.”
Isadora turned from her sister, Casey, and the prepared speech she was about to give and looked toward the leader of the Argonauts.
The sitting area in her royal office was full. In addition to Theron and her sister, several of the Argonauts were in attendance providing security. Zander and Demetrius stood across the room, quietly speaking, while Gryphon sat with Maelea on the blue velvet couch, his arm around her shoulder, her nerves as palpable as Isadora’s since she had to face the crowd too. In seconds, Isadora was to step out onto the veranda that overlooked the city and address her people with the news that the evil goddess Atalanta was finally dead.
For most, that would be enough to set one’s nerves on edge, but Isadora had bigger issues to deal with. Not only was the Council waiting in the ballroom downstairs with the Misos delegation—a race the Council deemed unworthy—but somewhere in the mix, Nick, the leader of the Misos—a man most hated by the Council—was wandering around, looking for the female that had been in Maelea’s room earlier. Any number of fireworks could go off with the current mix of people in the castle, and the unease Isadora heard in Phineus’s voice about some problem wasn’t helping matters.
Theron pulled the communications gadget Titus had recently been experimenting with from his pocket and pushed a button. “What’s going on, Phin?”
“We lost her.”
“Dammit,” Theron muttered. “Where?”
“Through the portal.”
Isadora handed the papers to her sister and crossed the room to stand at Theron’s side. Tension radiated from his powerful shoulders. Across the elaborate space, she felt Maelea’s worry as if the female were right next to her.
“Well, go after her,” Theron said. “Her coordinates should be easily accessible.”
“Titus did go after her,” Phin said through the com unit. “Grabbed on to her leg as she jumped through. But we can’t follow.”
Theron scrubbed a hand over his head in clear frustration. Casey—his mate—moved to stand on his other side. “Why not?”
“Because something’s wrong with the portal. It’s not working. Orpheus and I have tech guys here looking at it, but the panel’s totally fried. We have no idea where they went or even if Titus can get back through this way.”
Theron shot a look at Demetrius and Zander, then to Gryphon and finally Isadora. “And just how in Hades did that happen?”
“We’re not sure. But, Theron? Man, you should see the guard down here. That female put
her hands on him when he got in her way and tried to stop her. His armor damn near melted beneath her palms. Guy’s got third degree burns all over his chest. Callia’s looking at him now, but I’ve never seen anything like it. I mean, skata, even I can’t do that.”
Callia was Zander’s mate and Isadora’s other sister. She was also a trained healer. Gryphon stood from the couch and moved closer. Demetrius and Zander did the same.
Unease flitted through Isadora’s veins. She could tell the guardians were all thinking the same thing as she. Phineus’s gift was the breath of fire, bestowed upon those in his line from the Fates in honor of his forefather, Bellerophon, the great hero who’d slayed the Chimera, a gigantic fire-breathing beast. But Phineus rarely used his gift, for reasons Isadora didn’t quite understand. And the fact he was telling Theron this female—this Natasa—had done something even he couldn’t do, meant things were far worse than they’d all assumed.
“Skata,” Theron muttered. He glanced toward Zander. “Phin, I’m sending Z to you. The queen’s about to take the podium and Demetrius, Gryphon, and I can’t leave just yet. Figure out a way to get that portal working again and find out where the fuck Titus is. Fire-and-brimstone shit goes along with our suspicions that she’s working with Hades and Zagreus. As long as she’s out of Argolea, that’s all I care about. But I want Titus back ASAP. You got me?”
“Got it.”
Theron clicked off the com unit and slid it back in his pocket. At his side, he squeezed Casey’s hand and whispered, “Don’t worry.” Then he turned his attention to Zander. “Find him. The last thing I need is another lost Argonaut. Skata, you guys keep disappearing on me like fireflies.”
Gryphon chuckled, and one side of Demetrius’s lips curled—a smile Isadora loved to see. But her joy was short-lived.
As Zander headed for the door, she looked toward Theron. “Burnt armor? Who is this female?”
“I don’t know,” Theron muttered. “But we’ll find out. Right now, let’s just get this speech over and done with. This celebration is quickly turning into a friggin’ nightmare.”
Reluctantly, Isadora turned for the double doors that led to the veranda. She hadn’t foreseen any of this coming, but then her gift of foresight wasn’t exactly predictable, especially not now when she was pregnant. She waited while Gryphon and Demetrius opened the doors, then drew in a deep breath and prayed Theron was wrong.
They couldn’t afford to lose any of the Argonauts, especially Titus. His gift of reading minds was too valuable to their cause.
Chapter Five
Titus didn’t try to speak to Natasa as they walked through the forest. The looks she shot him and the way she tugged on the damn rope attached to his wrists whenever he slowed to glance around told him not to even try. If it were just the two of them, he’d have tugged back until she fell into him and her skin brushed his again, but the six Amazons with their blades drawn—three in front and three in back—nixed that little fantasy.
Still, his view wasn’t all that bad. Natasa had one fine ass in those fitted black pants, and the way her hips swayed when she walked brought all kinds of other images to mind. Like what she’d look like dressed in a black leather bodysuit, wielding that rope like a whip and ordering him around in a sexy dominatrix voice.
He stepped over a downed log covered in moss and flanked by sword fern. Above, gigantic sequoias rustled in the wind. The weather was cool but not frigid, and the teasing warmth of early summer could be felt in the damp breeze. His gaze followed the thin layer of fog rolling through the maples and red alders. They had to be near a coast somewhere. In a place with gigantic evergreen trees. The redwoods, maybe?
He wasn’t sure. All he knew was that they’d been walking for about three hours, and the rope was starting to seriously piss him off. As was the fact no one—not even the Amazons—seemed to like to talk. Their thoughts he could hear, but he’d stopped focusing on those about thirty minutes into their trek because they weren’t telling him anything that would help his situation. It was mostly meanderings about hunting and skinning deer, concerns about their food supply and speculations about the size of his dick.
They might not be interested in men, but they obviously still thought about them.
His mind spiraled to what kind of ‘agenda’ Natasa had, and where the hell they were really heading.
Ahead, Ilithyia drew to a stop and held up her forearm. As a unit, the others halted and raised their weapons. Titus was so lost in his thoughts he didn’t realize they’d stopped until he slammed into Natasa’s back and nearly knocked them both down.
She grunted, pushed against him until he stumbled back a step, then glared over her shoulder.
A smile worked its way across Titus’s mouth. She was gorgeous pissed. That flame red hair fanning out around her, the flare of heat in her eyes. He bet her skin was hot right now. Hot and soft and so damn alluring he wanted to feel it against him. Everywhere.
“A garrison,” Ilithyia whispered in a harsh tone. “Spread out.”
The Amazons moved with lightning speed, disappearing into the forest as if they’d never been there. Natasa tugged on the rope bound to Titus’s wrists and quickly pulled him into a dense copse of trees.
Darkness surrounded him. He tripped over a downed limb, bumping into Natasa again, only this time she didn’t seem to mind. She grasped him by the shoulders, whipped him around and shoved him up against the trunk of a tree the size of a house. Then she plastered her body to his and whispered, “Shh.”
Titus’s adrenaline surged. This close he could smell the lemon scent of her skin. Could feel the heat radiating from beneath her clothes. Blood rushed to his groin, messing with his thoughts. Focus. Control. To try to keep his brain on line so he wouldn’t give away their location, he looked over her head at the trees around them.
The small area was more like a cave than a forest. The spruce so densely clustered, their limbs were devoid of needles. The packed groundcover told him some kind of animal had recently bedded down in here, and the foliage on the outside of the tree-lined circle was thick enough to block whatever lay beyond.
Footsteps pounded in the forest. Muffled voices reached their ears. Titus tried to focus on the words and thoughts of those around them, but Natasa’s rapid breath drew his attention. And the way she gripped his sleeves tighter in her fingers, the way her heart raced next to his drowned out all other sound.
Instinct overcame reason. He lifted his bound wrists over her head, slid them down her back so his arms were tight around her. She didn’t protest. If anything, she moved closer into the strength of his body. And yeah, she was warm—like he expected—but the tremble that rushed through her told him she wasn’t quite as confident as she’d seemed earlier.
He lowered his mouth close to her ear, only just missed brushing her lobe with the tip of his nose. “Whatever’s out there…I’ll protect you.”
She stilled against him, then slowly tilted her head back to look up. Heat radiated from her hands pressing into his sides, from her breasts resting against his leather chest plate. He wished he’d taken off the formal gear earlier in the forest. Wished right now they were naked, skin to skin, so he could see if she felt as good against him in other places. Wanted, more than anything, for her to rise up on her toes and press those plump, tender lips against his so he could know what it was like to be kissed again.
He couldn’t remember the last time he’d been kissed. Couldn’t remember what it felt like to press his mouth to someone else’s, to taste their essence on his tongue. Couldn’t remember how good it must feel to get lost in nothing but warm, blissful wetness.
She’d be all three, he bet. Not just in her mouth, but between her legs, where he ached to touch her, skin to skin.
“You can’t protect me,” she whispered. “No one can.”
The finality to her words slowed his racing heart and brought his focus up to her eyes. They were so green, so fathomless, he wondered if he could see her soul. But they were
also haunted. By a fear he sensed was the root of who she really was.
Her panic attack back at the colony whipped through his mind. Followed by the way she’d run from him in Argolea. He had no doubt whoever or whatever was out there was here because of her.
“Who’s hunting you?”
Her gaze slid from his eyes to his lips, where it hovered, jacking his already overheated body temperature up another five degrees. For the first time in his life, he wanted to know the thoughts of another. Then she licked her lips, like she wanted to take her own sinful taste, and all that supreme control he’d mastered during his lifetime flew right through the trees. His cock swelled beneath his fly until need consumed him.
Kiss me. Gods, just kiss me.
“Natasa?” Ilithyia’s rang out.
“Shit.”
Natasa lurched back, her one panicked thought slicing through the sexual haze. But Titus’s arms were still bound around her, and she didn’t get far.
She struggled to break free, and amusement stole through him. He might not be able to read her thoughts clearly, he might wrestle with her expressions, but he recognized body language. She wanted him. Maybe not as much as he wanted her, but enough.
She jerked out from under his arms and smoothed her hair. Then held up a finger and shot him a look. “Not a word.”
A broad smile spread across his face. Yeah, he’d discover who she was for Argonauts. He’d uncover what she was running from and figure out a way to protect her for her. But he was going to have her for himself. Screw the consequences and whatever was keeping him from feeling her emotions. For the first time in over a hundred years, he wanted something just for him. And he wasn’t going to walk away until he had his fill. No matter what happened next.
“They’re gone,” Ilithyia called. “We move on.”
Natasa’s chest rose and fell with her deep breaths. Color stained her cheeks. Heat all but rolled off her in waves. “Come on,” she snapped. “And stay quiet. Don’t make me hurt you.
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