Enticed: An Erotic Sacrifice by Colette Gale Page A

suddenly as he snagged a vine at the last minute. Their descent slowed as his muscles bulged against her…then something gave away and they were in free-fall again. But the ground was closer now, and all at once they thudded into it in a tangle of limbs and loose leaves, his arms curled protectively around her. Jane landed on top of him, and felt him go still.
    “Zaren,” she gasped. Though the breath was knocked out of her, Jane scrambled off him in a swirl of flower-bedecked hair. “Zaren,” she cried again when he didn’t move. The sound of voices and thrashing through the jungle was much too close.
    The arrow had snapped in half during their fall—probably causing his second jolt as it tore up through his skin—and blood oozed from its jagged wound. He was panting, and she noticed a second arrow in his leg as he shifted and his eyes fluttered open. He’d protected her from the worst of the fall, twisting at the last minute to take the brunt of the impact after slowing their tumble as much as he could.
    “Jane,” he said, reaching for her even as one hand went to touch the broken arrow still in his side. His blue eyes were fierce despite the tremor in his fingers. He pulled to his feet more slowly than she would have liked, and the crashing sounds and voices were too close. He tensed, like a cobra ready to strike. “You run. Go!”
    “No,” she said, tugging at his solid arm, trying to pull him into the jungle with her. But even stunned and injured, he was as immovable as a boulder. “Not without you.”
    “No. I will fight them.” His eyes blazed with the fury of a wild animal, and for a moment even Jane was afraid of him. “I will stop them.”
    “You’re hurt. They’re coming! Zaren, please!” Why wouldn’t he listen? She saw his heaving breaths, the blood leaking stubbornly from the two injuries, the gingerly way he moved. He wouldn’t last two minutes if they attacked him.
    “Not hurt!” As if to prove this, he yanked the arrow from his leg. Blood spurted from the wound, and before Jane could stop him, he pulled the other one from his side—this time with a roar of pain and outrage. “You go!”
    But it was too late. Their pursuers burst into view, spears and arrows at the ready, and all at once they were surrounded.
    Cold Eyes stumbled into the clearing behind them, brandishing the biggest spear of all. He was panting, and his eyes were bright with fury. He snapped something to his tribal companions, and two of them lunged forward with their sharp blades.
    Jane dodged in front of Zaren, spreading her arms wide, knowing they wouldn’t dare hurt their “goddess.” Zaren growled in her ear and tried to yank her away, but she ducked out of reach and stomped on his foot as hard as she could.
    “No,” she hissed back up at him. “ No .” Perhaps there was something in her eyes, for he didn’t attempt to move her again—though he clamped a solid arm around her waist from behind as if to be prepared to do so if necessary.
    “Let us go,” Jane said boldly to Cold Eyes. “You’ve had your pleasure, taken it all from me, and there is nothing left—”
    “We aren’t finished with you, goddess. There is still much more to come.” His eyes glittered darkly and he stepped closer to her as his men eased back.
    Zaren’s arm tightened around her waist. He growled, low and threatening, sounding so much like a feral cat that some of the villagers glanced uneasily up into the trees.
    Cold Eyes looked at him closely for the first time, and his eyes flared in surprise. A little, ugly smile twitched his lips. “You. The wild man who was raised by wolves. I have heard of you.”
    Zaren’s only reply was a sneer, with a different deep, guttural sound. The threat and his antipathy couldn’t be more evident.
    “So he doesn’t speak? Nevertheless, I cannot let you go, goddess. You won’t make it far. This man is weak and bleeding. His injuries will attract the animals and you won’t last the