Page 2 (1/2)

The feht dazedly, dispassionately

She'd won hiht for him - one day? Two? Weak as he was, he'd lost track of time All he kneas that she'd tried multiple times to bed hiiven it to her

Denying her had delighted him

Noo of those wretched A down at his naked body If he hadn't been half-starved and teetering on the brink of total collapse, those stares would have sent hi looked at astouched

He'd spent too many centuries as the demon queen's whore, hers to use, hers to hurt And he'd suffered those indignities willingly, all for the love of a woman A slave, as he was supposed to be now Marina, that detestable queen, had prorew tired of hirown tired of hiun to hate him as a result Yet, still he'd stayed, determined to finally win his prize

And then Layel, the va, had done the i both Zane and Cassandra, and he'd thought to earn back her love After all, everything he had done had been for her Only, she'd fled him For another man Perhaps that was for the best

Zane was not the man he'd once been He eschewed females and wanted no part of theht of it The things he'd donethe things that had been done to himsickness churned in his stomach Had he eaten that day, he would have vomited

But then Nola had walked into his life Beautiful, passionate, fierce Nola A woman who hadn't wanted him, who had rebuffed hi, despite what had been done to hiods had taken froaods had set her free, but sometientle glide of her hands

The first tiods For why else would he have been able to endure - no, enjoy - her touch and no other's? Now, he thought that perhaps she'd been another curse He craved her still, yet like Cassandra he could never have her What did I do to deserve this?

"I' his attention, "so of course he desires ainst one, yet I owned that arena But he's too weak to be claiiven blood, he'll be able to raise his head and bite me"

Both of the fe of flesh and the drinking of blood and who thought to rape him to steal a child from him - not realize the child of a vampire would most likely need to bite and drink blood to survive?

Would they kill the halfling if it proved to be h the haze of weakness, rage sparked inside his chest He would kill them first

Perhaps they ht next The idea mollified him somewhat

Before his last escape atte him three small cups of blood a day Who had donated the blood, he didn't know Didn't care What they didn't realize was that he never took fro source He only took from those he'd killed As he was too weak to hurt the bitten Even starved as he was

He would be lying if he said he didn't enjoy their fear and distaste

But all of that was moot, he knew He would never leave a child of his behind What was his, was his