The Darkest Prison

by Gena Showalter

  What does your lover think of your mark? she wanted to shout. What does the blonde think of my name on your body?

  He jerked the stupid blonde deeper into his side and, without breaking eye contact with Nike, planted a lush, wet kiss on her mouth. Of course, she reacted as any other woman would have. She wrapped her arms around him and held on for dear life. As Nike well knew, that man could make a woman come with the expertise of his kiss.

  Nike's anger intensified. Had she been able, she would have stomped down there and ripped them apart. Then she would have killed them both. Not because she wanted Atlas for herself--she didn't--but because he was clearly using yet another woman. Passion did not glow from his expression. Only determination did.

  Nike would be doing the female population a favor by snuffing him out.

  "Erebos," she called. "Come here. I want to kiss you."

  "What?" he gasped out, his shock clear.

  "Do you want a kiss or not? Get over here. Quickly."

  There was a rustling of clothing behind her and then her former lover was beside her. He was a prisoner, and sex was a rarity. He would take what he could get, even from someone he loathed. That much she knew.

  Nike turned to him; he was already leaning down. Like the blonde, she wrapped her arms around her companion's neck and held on tight. Only, she didn't enjoy the kiss, familiar as it was. Erebos's taste was too...what? Different from Atlas's, she realized, and that ratcheted her anger another notch. No man should have that much power over her.

  Still. She let Erebos continue. Atlas needed to realize that she no longer desired him. He needed to realize that he would never, never play her emotions again. She was not an idealistic little girl anymore. He'd made sure of that.

  CHAPTER THREE

  Rage. Absolute rage filled Atlas. He released his companion--he couldn't recall her name--and she gasped in protest at the abruptness of his actions. He didn't bother explaining what he was about as he stomped away from her. The rage continued to spread as he climbed the stairs that led to the prisoner's cages and to the cell holding Nike.

  His name was on her back. How dare she allow another man to put his lips on her?

  When he reached his destination, he raised his arm, and the sensor he'd had embedded in his wrist caused the bars to slide open. Several prisoners were seated against the far wall. Rapturous longing colored their faces as they watched the minor god of Darkness and the goddess of Strength clean each other's tonsils. So absorbed were they, in fact, that they didn't rush Atlas and try to escape. Or maybe that had something to do with the pain they would feel if they did so. He had only to press a button, and their collars would ravage their brains.

  Nike moaned, as if she really liked what was being done to her. Red flickered through Atlas's vision. How. Dare. She. Teeth grinding, he grabbed Nike by the collar of her robe and jerked her into the hard line of his body, away from Erebos.

  A gasp escaped her. Unlike when the blonde had gasped, he did not remain unaffected. He wanted to swallow the sound--and do something, anything, to cause Nike to make it again.

  What's wrong with me?

  "Hey," Erebos snapped, foolishly reaching for her to finish what had been started. "We were busy."

  Scowling, Atlas kicked him in the chest. The smaller man flew backward, slamming into his fellow prisoners. He jumped to his feet to attack, saw who had rendered the blow and stilled, nostrils flaring.

  "Touch her again," Atlas said, "and I'll remove your collar--right along with your head."

  The god paled, perhaps even whimpered. "She wasn't worth it, anyway."

  Atlas might kill him for his words, as well.

  "What the hell do you think you're doing?" Nike demanded, suddenly coming to life and drawing his attention. She whirled on him, glaring up at him. "I can sleep with whoever I want. And hey, I might even pick one of your friends."

  Despite her heated words, she wasn't breathless as she would have been if Atlas had been the one kissing her, and her cheeks weren't flushed. Her nipples weren't even hard. Finally, something cooled the hottest flames of his rage.

  "Just zip your mouth." He latched on to Nike's upper arm and dragged her out of the cell with him. Automatically, the bars closed behind him.

  "What the hell do you think you're doing?" she said again, tugging against his hold. She'd never been one to obey him.

  "What the hell did you think you were doing?" he countered. When he reached the bottom of the steps, he stopped. The blonde, who just happened to be the goddess of memory--damn it, what was her name? Mini? No, but close. M and M? Minisong? Closer. Mnemosyne. Yes, that was it--Mnemosyne, as well as the three other warriors chosen to guard Tartarus today, were gaping at him.

  "What?" he snapped. At least Nike stopped resisting him. She stilled at his side, attention darting from him to the others, the others to him.

  "You can't just remove a prisoner," Hyperion, god of light, said. He was a handsome man, though as pale as his title suggested, and Nike had better not be eyeing him as a possible bedmate.

  "I'm not removing her," Atlas replied stiffly. "I'm relocating her." To a cell of her own, where no one could put their dirty, disgusting lips on her. Where no one could put their roving hands on her body. There was nothing sexual about this decision, either. He simply didn't want her experiencing any type of pleasure. She didn't deserve it.

  "Why?" Mnemosyne regarded him curiously, not a single thread of upset or jealously in her expression.

  Why? he wondered himself. She'd been eager to date him for months, summoning him constantly. Last night, she'd even shown up at his home naked.

  She was beautiful, yes, and he'd almost given in and slept with her. His body had been worked into a frenzy after what had transpired with Nike, and he'd been desperate for release. But before he sealed the deal, he'd sent the determined goddess away. He'd felt too guilty to continue. As if he were cheating on Nike. Which was ridiculous. The only relationship he had with Nike was one of hate.

  Besides, who wanted to spend time with a female who would never forget your mistakes? A female who would remember your every transgression? Not him. Yet he'd flashed to Mnemosyne's home this morning and asked her to spend the day with him, just so he could bring her to the prison this morning. He'd been strangely jubilant at the thought of parading her in front of Nike.

  So again, he wondered why Mnemosyne did not feel as if Nike were a threat. Though most females didn't, he knew. He'd heard them talk. Nike was too tall, too muscled, they said. She was too hard, and too coarse. But those were the things that had first sparked his interest in her. She could handle his strength. She gave as good as she got. She would never wither under his glare. She would never run from his anger. She would always face him head-on. And he liked that. A lot. No other female he'd ever encountered had that kind of courage.

  And she was pretty, he thought. Yes, only yesterday he'd thought her barely so, but, just now, that seemed wrong on every level. Only a short while ago, when he'd first walked into the prison, he'd felt her gaze on him and had looked up. For a second, only a second, her defenses had been lowered. She hadn't known he'd been watching her, so she hadn't guarded her expression. An expression that had been soft, wistful, her eyes luminous. The sight of her had heated his blood as if he'd been caught on fire.

  That still didn't mean he desired her, his enemy. The fact that his name was spelled across her back was simply playing havoc with his mind, his sense of possession, he was sure.

  "Well," Mnemosyne prompted.

  "Yeah," Nike said. "We're waiting for an answer."

  To what? Oh, yeah. Why was he moving her. He raised his chin, refusing to look down at her. Not that he would have had to look far. At six foot, she was nearly as tall as he was. "I don't need a reason. I'm responsible for this prison and everyone in it. Therefore, if I want to move you, I can."

  The last was meant for the Titans. They would do well not to question him.

  Without another word, he dragged N
ike away. Where should he take her? To his office, he decided. At the moment, there wasn't an empty cell in the entire realm.

  "You're lucky I don't have that bastard slain," he said when he was sure the others couldn't hear him.

  She didn't have to ask who "that bastard" was. "What for?"

  For touching what's mine. "He didn't have permission to consort with you." Atlas snaked a corner, and there at the end of the hallway was his door.

  "Consort with me?" She laughed without humor. "Oh, wait. I get it. You can screw anyone you want, but I can't."

  Good. They were on the same page. "That's right." He pushed his way inside and finally released her. His hands itched to return to her, but he kept them at his sides. Rather than settle behind his desk, he faced her, placing them nose to nose. "You are to suffer in solitude." Gods, she smelled good. Like passion. Pure, white-hot passion.

  "As if. I have more fun with myself, anyway."

  The image those words evoked nearly sent him to his knees. He should back away. Before he did something stupid.

  Her eyes narrowed. "You haven't changed, you know. You're as much of an ass now as you were years ago."

  "However," he continued, as if she hadn't just insulted him. Stupid, be damned. She was here, and they were alone. "If you need to be kissed, I'll take care of it."

  CHAPTER FOUR

  There was no time to protest. In less than it took to blink, Nike found herself smashed into the wall, Atlas pressing against her, solid chest to soft breasts, his hands pinning her temples, his mouth slamming into hers. His tongue thrust deep, without warning, forcing its way past her teeth.

  She could have bitten him. Wanted to bite him, actually, and not in affection. She wanted to draw blood, pain. Instead, her body became his slave, as if centuries of hatred hadn't passed, and she welcomed him inside. She wound her arms around him and arched into his erection. Erection? Oh, yes. He was hard. Hard and long and thick.

  His taste was decadent, wild and burning, like dark spices. His muscles were tensed under her palms. Up she moved them, until her fingers were tangled in his hair. The short spikes abraded deliciously, causing her to shiver.

  Touch me, she wanted to shout. It had been so long, so damned long, since she'd experienced this. Oh, she'd been with other men since giving herself so foolishly to Atlas, because she'd been searching for something as intense as what they had shared. But each experience had left her hollow, unsatisfied. And then she had been captured--by Atlas himself--and unceremoniously stuffed into this prison.

  With the lack of privacy, there'd been no opportunities to find companionship. Not that she would have wanted to or had even tried. No one drew her anymore. No one but Atlas, damn him.

  Yes, damn him. Him. The man who had held her down only yesterday and etched his name into her flesh. What was she doing, allowing this? He would think she still cared for him. He would think she still pined for him, dreamed of him...craved him. That might be true, curse it, but she would never allow him to know it.

  Panting, she tore her mouth away. "I don't want you," she lied. "Let me go. Now."

  A low growl erupted from his throat. "I don't want you, either." Once, twice, he rubbed his shaft against her. "But I'm not letting you go."

  Tremors slid the length of her spine. Sweet heaven. He'd hit her sweet spot, and sensation rocketed through her. Then one of his hands lowered and cupped her breast, and her knees almost buckled.

  "Why?" The word was a mere whimper. And why was she allowing him the choice? Why wasn't she ripping away from him? You are Strength. Act like it.

  "Why won't I let you go?" He rolled her hardened nipple between his fingers.

  That was why she remained as she was, she thought, dazed. The pleasure was building, flowing through her veins, burning her up, recreating her into a new being. Someone who lived for satisfaction alone. Someone who didn't care that the one responsible for her desire was an enemy.

  "Yes."

  "I just...I..." Those fingers tightened, stinging her a little. "Just shut up and kiss me again."

  Their mouths met again, and this time she rose on her tiptoes to meet him. She couldn't stop herself. As their tongues clashed and warred, he cupped her ass and lifted her feet off the floor. Forcing him to hold her weight would have been fun, but not nearly as pleasurable as winding her legs around his waist and pressing her needy core against his shaft.

  With her braced against the wall, he was able to tunnel both of his hands under her robe. Their bodies were too close together for him to reach her slick center, where she wanted him most, but having his hands on her cheeks, skin against skin, was almost as welcome. He was hotter than she remembered.

  His lips left hers, but before she could moan her disappointment, he was kissing and licking his way down her neck.

  "Yes," she gasped. "Yes. Like that."

  "More?" His nose nuzzled the golden slave collar as if it were a trinket rather than a device that could kill her. For once, she even liked the collar.

  "Yes." More. At the moment, that was the only word she was capable of. Unless...did he think to make her beg?

  Fury suddenly blended with desire. Well, she would show him. She would beg for nothing. Not even this. Especially this. Not for him.

  "Then more you shall have," he said, shocking her. He tugged the fabric of her robe down, revealing her breasts. Air hissed through his teeth. "So lovely. So perfect." His tongue flicked out and circled the nipple he'd pinched just a short while ago. "So mine."

  Her head fell back, and her nails scratched at his back. So good. The heat...the wetness...the--"Yes!" The suction. He was sucking at her so forcefully, her stomach muscles were quivering. "Atlas," she groaned. "Don't stop." A command, not a plea.

  "I won't. I can't." He straightened, his narrowed gaze suddenly pinning her in place far more effectively than his body. "I want you. All of you."

  She struggled to regain her breath. Her senses. "You mean sex?" Yes, yes, yes. Here, now.

  A clipped nod was the only answer she received. She opened her mouth to reply, but somehow found the strength to stop herself. She drank in the sight of him--a sight that delighted her almost as much as it angered her. Angered? Why? His nostrils were flared, his lips pulled tight. He looked as if he barely had himself under control.

  Did he want her that badly? she wondered. Or was he merely that good an actor?

  Yes, she mused darkly. He was that good an actor. And that was where the anger sprang from. He'd looked at her like that once before, the last time they'd had sex. That look had been the catalyst to her decision to free him, despite the consequences to herself. Consequences that could have resulted in a death sentence. But, she'd thought, he truly loves me with the same intensity that I love him. She'd thought anything worth the risk of freeing him. Of possibly being with him for eternity.

  How they would have managed that, she hadn't known. But she'd wanted to try. He had not.

  Thank the gods she'd encountered one of the members of his skank parade mere minutes after escorting him from the building and into the clouds outside, where he would have been able to flash. He'd still had his collar on--she hadn't wanted to remove it until they'd bypassed every single guard. That way, everyone who saw them walking together would have assumed she was simply moving a prisoner.

  But outside, they'd been seen. No one could flash out of or into the prison itself, so everyone had to walk through the front door. Aergia, the goddess of laziness, of all things, had decided to come to work early, surprise, surprise--just to be with Atlas again. She'd stopped Nike to question where he was being taken.

  I'm taunting him with what he can never have again, Nike had claimed.

  The goddess had frowned. Well, take him to my office when you're done.

  Why?

  The frown became a slow, sensual smile. So I can dish my brand of...punishment to him.

  Dread had sparked inside her. And how do you punish him?

  How do you think? But don't worry.
I'll leave him begging for more. I always do.

  Atlas had tried to run then, mowing right over them both, but with his collar still in place, he hadn't gotten far. Nike had locked him back up and, suspicious, questioned all the female guards. Nearly every single one of them had had a go at him. And he'd told them all the same thing: You are beautiful. I want to spend my life with you. All I need is my freedom, and I will be your slave for eternity.

  So, have sex with him again? "Hell, no."

  "You want me," he snapped. His grip tightened on her, his fingers digging deep, bruising. "I know you do."

  Just like that, she knew what this little make-out session was about. He planned to sleep with her, make her fall in love with him all over again, and then dump her. He'd grind up her pride, spit it out and stomp all over it. All to punish her, she was sure, for daring to tattoo him as she had. Marking her with his name clearly wasn't enough.

  "Wanting you dead and wanting your body aren't the same things." With a sugar-sweet grin, she patted his cheek. "And I can promise you that while I do want the first, I was only teasing you about the second." Now who was playing who? "So...if we're done here...?"

  He ran his tongue over his teeth. His arms fell away from her, and he stepped back. She nearly collapsed, but managed to shift her legs and absorb her own weight.

  "We're done," he said, his tone clipped. "We are definitely done."

  CHAPTER FIVE

  Atlas had to empty a cell of its seven occupants and place those gods and goddesses within other, already cramped cells to make a place for Nike. The time and effort was worth it, though. He couldn't tolerate the thought of her with that bastard, Erebos, doing the same things to him that she'd once done to Atlas.

  Not. Going. To. Happen.

  And maybe, perhaps, there was a slight chance it had nothing to do with punishing her and everything to do with the pleasure he'd earlier denied. In her arms, he'd come alive. That had happened last time, too, but he'd written it off as prisoner insanity. Now, he couldn't write it off. He wasn't a prisoner; he was a warden. He'd come alive, and he needed more. Of her, only her. Yet she claimed she'd merely been playing him.