Gladiator's Prize Read Free Page B

the arena and passed through a large reception area full of well-dressed men. Supporters and well-wishers, gathered to congratulate the champion. Most of them looked to be off-worlders, probably here to see the fleet off.
    The startled looks on their faces matched her own—K’rilla made her move.
    “Help, he’s kidnapping me!” she shrieked. Darius growled at the first man to step forward.
    “Admiral Darius, perhaps you should put her down?” he said, looking far too uncertain for K’rilla’s comfort.
    Darius shook his head.
    “Do you really want to fight me?” he asked. The man glanced at K’rilla and swallowed. Then he turned away. The others murmured, but they didn’t meet her eyes or step forward.
    Cowards, she thought, twisting around to see where Darius was taking her.
    Nothing but cowards down here. Of course, most of them weren’t Saurellian, so she couldn’t really blame them… Even among their own people, Darius was bigger and stronger than most and he was a champion of the arena. Only a fool would take him on.
    They left the lobby area behind, entering a broad, open underground avenue lined with personal transports that waited to take people away from the arena.
    15
    Joanna Wylde
    K’rilla didn’t know what to do next, events had caught her up and swept her away without warning. Darius made his way toward a sleek, black atmospheric ship with military markings, surrounded by a half-dozen men in uniform. They snapped to attention as he approached, although several grinned at the sight of her. Darius gave another of those growls and the grins disappeared instantly. She’d never seen such fearsome men look so cowed. She scowled at them from beneath his arm, feeling sick to her stomach.
    “We’re going straight to the Glory ,” Darius said without pausing. “Arm yourselves, they might try to stop us.”
    “Yes, sir,” said one of the men, slapping his palm against the ship’s portal. It quickly opened and the ships exterior lights flared bright. The true enormity of her situation finally hit K’rilla. He planned to take her off-planet.
    “You can’t do this,” she said, trying to keep her voice calm and cool. Not an easy task. “This isn’t some kind of game, Admiral, they won’t let you get away with it. Just let me go now and we’ll pretend it didn’t happen.”
    Darius walked up the ramp and into the ship, then he swung her down. She swayed and he grabbed her shoulders, holding her steady as he spoke. His eyes bore into hers, dark and filled with a smoldering passion she’d never seen in anyone. K’rilla shivered and he smiled at her. Unfortunately it looked more like a snarl, and for an instant she knew exactly what it felt like to be prey.
    “It damn well did happen,” Darius said, his voice low and rough. “I’ve never felt anything like I did when I touched you and I’ll be damned if I’m letting you go now.
    And they can’t stop us now. The greatest danger was in the arena underground. It’s too late to do anything more.”
    “My family—”
    “Will be thrilled to have an alliance with the commander of the invasion fleet,”
    Darius said, his voice harsh. “And even if they aren’t, they’ll keep their mouths shut.
    You know as well as I do that we can’t afford any kind of scandal right now.”
    16
    Gladiator’s Prize
    “And you think this won’t cause a scandal?”
    “Of course it will,” Darius replied. “But they’ll spin it as true love, some shit like that, and none of the people will ever know what really happened back there.”
    “Not even I know what really happened and I was there,” she muttered. “You’re insane, you do realize that?”
    “It’s been mentioned,” Darius said, giving her a grin that sent molten heat running down her spine. How did he do that? He pulled her forward into the main cabin, a sleek and streamlined compartment holding a row of acceleration couches and nothing else.
    Built for speed, not comfort. Darius guided