Chained Read online

  Maggie had no idea but she did know somehow that this wasn’t over yet.

  * * * * *

  He looked up at her, her adorably flushed cheeks and her tousled curls. Her oculars were slipping down her nose and he could almost make out the color of her eyes. He wanted a closer look but he sensed she wouldn’t be up for that right now.

  Gods, her little hands had felt good on him! So soft and gentle and tentative but strong too, when they needed to be. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d been touched in such a way. Mostly all the females that had been sent to him while he was still fighting were for breeding purposes only—none of them stayed long enough to form much of an attachment.

  But this little one—the girl of his dreams—wasn’t hardened or jaded like the females he’d been with in the past. She was innocent and sweet yet very brave. Touching him embarrassed the hell out of her but she'd done it anyway, because she knew it was the only way to help him. If only she’d helped him a little longer, he was certain he would have lost control completely.

  Maybe it’s better she stopped when she did, he thought darkly.

  Wincing, he put his fingertips to his throat, where the black leather inhibitor had been for so many years. What would he be like without it? He only dimly remembered the incident which had prompted his master to make him wear it in the first place but it hadn’t been pretty. He had never been allowed to take it off—not even in the arena when he fought at the Blood Circuit. He would never hurt this sweet, shy girl who had saved him—not on purpose, anyway. But without the inhibitor, he wasn’t sure what the hell he might do.

  Well, the first thing to do is get out of here before Pope’nose shows up. True enough, and if his rescuer was really as innocent as she seemed, she might need some rescuing of her own to get out.

  Shaking off the morbid thoughts, he rose to his feet and held out a hand to her.

  “Come on.”

  She looked up at him uncertainly. “What, you’re better? Just like that?”

  He shrugged. “You washed off the verium. My strength is returning.”

  “Uh-huh.” She looked skeptical but allowed him to help her to her feet.

  “Good.” He nodded. “Let’s go—you’re coming with me.”

  “Wait a minute, go where?” she protested. “I never said I would go anywhere with you. I…I don’t even know your name.”

  He sighed. “This isn’t the best time for introductions but I was called Korexiroth during my time at the Blood Circuit.”

  “Ooookay,” she said slowly. “That’s quite a mouthful.”

  “It means The Demon.” He watched her closely, wanting to see if she was afraid of him. But though his fighting name had struck terror in the hearts of countless opponents, she still showed no fear. Brave little thing.

  “That’s…interesting,” she said at last. “Maybe I could just call you Kor for short? Unless you go by something else when you’re not in the, uh, Blood Circuit, whatever that is?”

  “Before I was The Demon, my master just called me ‘slave.’” He shrugged. “I don’t have any other name.”

  “Kor it is,” she decided.

  “Kor it is,” he repeated gravely. He wondered if she knew that the giving of a name constituted ownership. She had, in effect, just claimed him. Kor didn’t know how he felt about that—though he’d been raised a slave, a part of him had always remained free. What was it about this little female with her blonde curls that made him think she could tame that part and make it her own?

  Don’t be stupid, he told himself firmly. She’s just a girl. True, you dreamed about her and she rescued you but there has to be some explanation for that. Maybe something to do with that damn Dream Gas they’re all using here all the time.

  “So what’s your name?” he asked, trying to move on.

  “Maggie.”

  “Maggie…Maggie…” He rolled the name on his tongue. “I like it. What does it mean?”

  “Mean? Uh…” She shook her head. “I don’t know. We don’t…names don’t always mean something where I come from.”

  “Must mean courage,” Kor decided. “It took a lot of guts for you to come save me.”

  “You’re not quite saved yet,” she pointed out. “It must be near morning. We need to get out of here and be far away by the time Lady Pope'nose wakes up.”

  “Exactly.” He held out a hand to her. “Which is why you need to come with me. Now.”

  She drew back. “I’m not going anywhere with you! I have a fiancé back home and a ship waiting for me across the chasm.”

  “Oh?” He raised an eyebrow at her sardonically. “And do you have a way to get to this ship?”

  “Uh, well…” She looked uncertain. “Lady Pope'nose's servant—her slave, I mean—brought me here in the first place. I guess he was supposed to take me back again too.”

  “And do you want to risk using her resources when at any minute she could discover me missing and call the slave to bring you back?” Kor demanded. “I can promise you, she won’t go easy on you just because you’re a guest.”

  Maggie shivered. “Okay, I guess you’ve got a point. But do you have a better idea of how to get out of here and cross the chasm? I mean, that hole is freaking huge.”

  “We’ll steal a hovercar,” he said calmly.

  “I can’t steal a car!” she protested. “I’m not a thief.”

  “Yes, you are.” He grinned at her. “You stole me. And knowing what I do about Yonnite currency, I’m worth a hell of a lot more than even the most expensive luxury vehicle on this whole damn planet.”

  “Oh my God…” She put a hand to her forehead. “Why am I always getting myself into these kinds of messes? I just wanted to keep her from hurting you—I never meant to commit Grand Theft Slave…or whatever they call it here.”

  “Too late for regrets, blondie.” Kor stretched, working out the kinks in his muscles, and took a deep, cleansing breath. “What’s done is done and I’m a free male, thanks to you. Don’t worry about the hovercar,” he continued, seeing her worried look. “There are plenty of rich mistresses around here who won’t even notice one of their cars has gone missing for days. By that time we’ll be long gone.”

  “In…separate directions?” she asked uncertainly.

  “Of course,” he lied smoothly, although he had no intention of letting her go. He needed to make sure she was safe—and how could he do that if he just let her walk off? No, she needed to stay with him, at least for now.

  “All right,” she said at last, reluctantly. “I guess if you—”

  Just then the door to his cell banged open, revealing a livid Lady Pope’nose.

  “I knew it!” she hissed, glaring at Maggie. “I just knew you’d get up to something you little fraud! And now you’re going to pay!”

  Chapter Five

  “Oh! Lady Pope’nose!” Maggie gasped, putting a hand to her galloping heart. “What are you doing here?”

  “Checking on you.” Lady Pope’nose glared at her. “I had a premonition that you might try something like this. After your ridiculously soft-hearted display yesterday evening, I knew you wouldn’t rest until you’d caused trouble.”

  Maggie put up her hands. “Look, I know how this looks and I admit, I was setting your slave free. But the way you were treating him—”

  “Is nothing to what I’m going to do to you.” Without warning, Lady Pope’nose strode forward and slapped her hard, across the face. “How dare you?” she hissed. “How dare you touch another woman’s slave?”

  Maggie opened her mouth to answer—although she had no idea what she was going to say—but just then she became aware of a low, rumbling sound in the room. Looking to one side, she saw it was Kor—he was growling. Even worse, his formerly pale blue eyes were glowing a hot, burning red.

  What the hell? What’s going on with him?

  “Leave her the fuck alone. If you touch her again, you die.” Kor’s voice was deep and menacing, filled with the warning of a