Ronan rose onto his knees and threw the tangled covers off their already too hot bodies, treating her to the magnificent sight of his chiseled form in the early morning light. The sight stole her breath away.
Then, all at once, he was back on top of her, driving into her. She gasped and opened herself up to him, wrapping her legs around his waist and glorying in the way he filled her. She pushed against the bed with her heels and thrust her hips upward to take him in even further.
“I think you’re going to be the death of me,” he rasped. “Where the gods failed, you are surely killing me.”
Cindy laughed in wicked triumph at that admission. Then he pulled himself out of her, teasing her with his length before he thrust inside her once again. He repeated this motion, working her up into a needy frenzy then quickened the pace. She met his rhythm greedily, stroke for exquisite stroke. Riding each wave as the motion wound her up tighter and tighter until, finally, they crashed and she broke, crying out as her body clenched around his.
Ronan stilled when her core started to pulsate around him. He pulled back just enough to catch a glimpse of her in this unguarded state ─ head thrown back, neck and breasts arched up, eyes liquid. She could imagine what he saw. His muscles tensed and he drew back through her satiny channel, torturing them both with the agony- bliss conundrum until neither one could take anymore. He stroked forward at a glide then picked up speed and pumped. Cindy urged him further with her hips and hands until he was nearly at her womb, then with one last stroke, his hot seed flooded into her.
Later on, after their heartbeats had resumed a normal rhythm, an oppressive disturbance came over the villa. The whole structure started to shake with what might have been the beginning tremors of an earthquake, then a sound like water splashing on tile reached them. Ronan came fully awake and bolted upright in bed. He immediately tugged on a pair of pants.
Cindy sat up.
“Stay here,” was all he said as he stalked across the room to the door.
Of course, she disregarded that command and immediately jumped out of bed, wrapping a sheet around herself. She made it down the giant staircase in record time and arrived in the great room at nearly the same time as he did. He was looking down at the front of the fountain but turned when he heard her bare feet hit the stone floor. She moved up beside him and gasped, her hands flying to her mouth in disbelief.
There, in the middle of the fountain’s sparkling waters were two ruffled cats.
“Beauregard, Snookums!” She squealed and scooped them up.
Even with the knowledge that they could slip through the Tides and visit earth whenever they wanted, Cindy had still worried about leaving everyone behind. Having her pets with her would make the island feel more like home than anything.
Ronan looked askance at the felines mewling in her arms but she just laughed. For all the grumbling he did about Poseidon’s constant stream of jolting ‘intrusions’ that shook the villa every time he decided to send them something, she thought it was sweet and this was the best present yet.
She snuggled Beau and Snooks until they started to squirm then set them down to slink through the boxes of all the things that Poseidon had gifted them. Cindy still didn’t understand the unique power system of the Atlantean crystals that made it possible but she did appreciate the presents. He’d sent clothes, electronics, books, wines, even a pair of horses! Male and female Andalusians, they’d named them Lois and Clark Kent. James about had an aneurism getting them out to the stables.
She hadn’t had a chance to organize everything, mostly due to all the times Ronan had “distracted” her from the task and taken her to bed or wherever else they happened to find a private spot to make love. Looking at it all now though made her cringe. One of the things she’d learned about her heritage was that, as keepers of the Time Wheel, the Emanians were extremely organized people, so even that personality quirk of hers had been explained.
Poseidon had asked her to organize a list of all the relics out there that might help him find the rest of the kings and the pieces of the Fire Stone. She was glad to have a role in fighting the demon invasions, no matter that Ronan tried to derail her whenever he had a spare moment. A delicious shudder ran through her at the thought of some of those moments.
Ronan’s face brightened with an intuitive look and he drew her close. She smiled impishly up at him and shook her head slowly.
“What are you thinking?” He asked, his blue eyes twinkling.
“I was just thinking what a big mess you’ve made of me,” she teased.
“Mmmm, I think you’ve benefited greatly from my messing with you,” he said without apology and stepped into her. She lifted an eyebrow up and he tangled his fingers in her curls.
“You obviously have no idea what a neat freak I’m famed for being.”
“So what you’re saying,” he inched closer and placed a strong hand at the small of her back, “is that I ‘rocked your world’ so to speak?”
Cindy laughed.
“Where did you hear that?”
Ronan shrugged his shoulder.
“Something I saw on TV.”
“Well, well, look who’s such a quick study.”
“That’s right, I mean to learn everything about your pop culture and about you,” he pulled her into him then until their bodies were touching and Cindy felt a wave of heat rush over her.
“Might take you a while,’ she said, “I’m a pretty complex creature, moon demi-goddess and all you know?”
“Mmmm,” he growled seductively, “that’s alright, I have plenty of time cara. Remember? You are mine. For another eternity.”
He dropped his head until their noses touched. Cindy closed her eyes, savoring those words then opened them to gaze into his eyes again.
“And you’re mine. I love you.”
“And I love you,” he answered back.
He leaned in to devour her lips in a kiss that sealed her fate as surely as the amulet could seal the Tides. She melted into Ronan’s embrace, supported by the swell of love she felt for this man, this king, her missing piece and soul mate. Times might be getting stranger by the minute in the universe but she was buoyed by the thought that, no matter what kind of chaos the next tide might bring in, they’d ride it together.
The End
About the Author
Amanda is a Colorado native and fully admits to being a library dork growing up. To this day, she loves the smell of book paper on an almost fetish level (okay, maybe not, but that gives you a peek into the dark and twisted mind of this author). One of her first book romances came at the age of nine when, in a far back aisle, she found the story of King Arthur and was entranced by the blood purple canvas cover with gold leafing (she likes shiny things.)
Since then, she’s been hooked on stories with magic, mythical beings, daring heroes and, of course, desperate romance.
Today, all of the thumbnails on her e-reader sport book covers with chiseled jaws and “shiny” abs but the stories are no less magical, no matter what genre. She writes paranormal and fantasy romance from her home where she lives with her family and a Bassett hound who she routinely has to fight for the “soft” end of the couch to set up with her laptop. She likes chocolate, wine, coffee and kids, in no particular order ;).
If you’re distracted by shiny things too, visit Amanda on her website at www.amandavshane.weebly.com and join her mailing list for news, upcoming events and freebies! (shiny freebies)
Contact Amanda by email at [email protected] . She’d love to hear from you!
Excerpt from Crystal Tide!
The second book in Amanda V. Shane’s Tides of Atlantis Series
Crystal Tide
They parked the golf cart and made their way to Esmé’s apartment. It was way more normal than Kay expected with only a few crystals hanging in the windows and a couple of coffee table sized books on the metaphysical. Actually, her collection of weird paled in comparison to the full wall bookshelf that was stocke
d entirely to the brim with romance novels. Old, new, hard cover, paperback ─ the selection was impressive.
“It’s all research,” Esmé’s voice floated over the half wall of her kitchenette. Kay jumped and turned her way. Esmé just smiled that big smile of hers and pointed the plastic bowl she was holding at the bookshelf, “the books,” she clarified.
“Oh, umm, that’s cool,” Kay nodded, “I’ve never…”
“You’ve never read one?”
Kay shook her head.
“Nope.”
Well, try anything you like,” she said then went back to rattling around at the sink. Kay almost laughed. What would her dad think of her reading romance novels? It had been ages since she’d cracked open anything besides a science journal. She reached out and pulled a book off the shelf. The title was familiar, she’d kind of wondered…”
“Oh no, don’t start with that one dear!”
Esmé’s voice nearly startled her out of her skin. The old lady had come up right next to her somehow. Hadn’t she just been in the kitchen?
“Save ‘Fifty Shades’ for another time,” she said, taking the black and white book from Kay’s hands and re-shelving it. She grabbed a different book from higher up. This one was older and had to be where the term “bodice ripper” came from, judging by the picture on the cover.
“It’s always a good thing to start with a classic I think,” Esmé said and smiled indulgently.
“Okaay,” Kay nodded, just to get past the matter, “thanks.”
“You know,” Esmé’s expression turned thoughtful and she squinted at her in a way that was unnerving, “I’m getting something from you.”
Uh oh, what could that mean?
“Come sit here dear,” Esmé plopped down into an adjacent couch and patted the seat next to her.
Against all her better judgment, Kay walked over and lowered herself down. Esmé pulled off one of her long beaded necklaces and held it up.
“Go ahead and put it on dear,” she said, nodding her encouragement. Kay sighed and slipped the length of beads over her head. Might as well get whatever craziness the old girl had in mind over with and then decide how to proceed with the day. She should call back home to see if the police had turned up anything on the break-in at her parents’ house. She hadn’t given them much to go on other than that the man had been wearing dark clothes and had chased her in a small black car. Hopefully, their investigation would turn up more information.
A gentle chuckle brought her attention back around.
“You are just like your father was” Esmé said. “That mind of yours is going a mile a minute all of the time isn’t it?”
She didn’t wait for an answer but reached out and opened the top half of the coffee table they were sitting in front of and pulled out a few items. When she had the table top back in place, she set everything down except for a notebook which she handed to Kay.
“That was your dad’s. He brought it down to Miami with him. The rest is in the spare bedroom waiting for you.”
“Thanks Esmé,” Kay said, holding the book to her like it was a piece of him. The other woman smiled and shrugged.
“Yes, well, let’s get down to business shall we dear?” She said the words while lighting a stick of incense and wafting the smoke towards her.
Kay started coughing immediately on the sweet smelling fumes and waved her hand in front of her nose.
“What are you doing,” she choked out.
“Just setting the mood dear,” Esmé answered as she arranged several crystals on the coffee table. She hummed a little and closed her eyes.
“Are those quartz?” Kay asked.
Esmé just smiled again and shook her head, continuing to hum. Before long, the crystals started to vibrate steadily to the sound of Esmé’s voice. When the psychic was satisfied, she turned to Kay.
“Let’s begin dear,” she said.
“Wh-what are we doing here?” Kay asked, nervous now. “Why are they doing that?” She asked, indicating the rocks on the table.”
Esmé’s serene smile never faltered.
“They are divining crystals from the old world,” she explained.
“Old world,” Kay repeated.
“Very old,” Esmé nodded, her eyes crinkling at the corners as she smiled.
“So what are you going to do with them?”
“I’m just going to do a read on you. Don’t worry it won’t hurt a bit. Just sit, make yourself comfortable and close your eyes.”
Kay was skeptical but she went along anyway. She had to admit she was intrigued by the supposed ‘love psychic’ and wanted to see what those crystals would do. Feeling something warm being placed in her hands, she opened her eyes and saw that Esmé had given her one of the stones. Its shaking intensified and the warm rose color of the crystal seemed to get brighter until it was almost glowing. Kay pulled in an astonished breath at the phenomenon and her inner nerd started to probe for a scientific explanation.
“All right now hold on,” Esmé closed Kay’s hand over the crystal, “and no peeking dear.”
Kay closed her eyes again and concentrated on the tickling sensation in her palm. She felt a small tug on the necklace Esmé had put on her and then the strange woman began to hum again but, this time, in a single droning tone. Kay nearly giggled at the absurdity of what they must look like but, before she could, something like a strong wind or the pull of a vacuum came over her and she felt like Alice being sucked down the rabbit hole.
***
Just when she thought she might develop a migraine, the whooshing feeling stopped and everything went still. When she opened her eyes and looked around, there was a grand marble hall before her. It was so long that she couldn’t see the end of it and every twenty feet or so there were thick copper bands that ran from the floor to the arched ceiling which marked the doorways. She took a step but halted when she noticed that her feet weren’t actually touching the floor. It was like she was floating or hovering above everything. What was in that incense that Esmé was burning? The old bat would be a hit at college parties that was for sure. Kay had to find her way out of this trip, psychedelics were not her style.
She continued down the hallway, gliding across the black, white and red floor tiles until she heard voices and stopped outside one of the doors. It was open so she peeked inside. There were a few people in the room, all men, and they were dressed like they were from ancient Greece or Egypt or somewhere like that. She couldn’t really place their nationality but it must have been somewhere warm because they had a lot of skin showing. Just as that thought struck her, someone moved across her line of vision and she felt her heart stop in her chest.
A man stood with his back to her in the middle of the room. He wore only some type of short white skirt or kilt with a gold, jeweled band at his waist. It was one of those things that a dude could get away with wearing and not have his masculinity questioned, especially when he had as much prime muscle as this guy did. Kay swallowed. Every plane of his wide shoulders and back was delineated and covered with a sheen that made his golden skin glisten as he moved in front of a long table. He had a narrow waist and hips that stood out just above his belt. Kay thought she detected a couple of little divots right where the curve of his lower back disappeared under that linen skirt thing and rounded into what was probably the most perfect ass ever born. He shifted his weight and that area of his anatomy flexed. Kay snapped her eyes up to the back of his head.
His hair was worn long and banded down to the middle of his back. It was a golden blonde and shone in the light that was streaming into the room from somewhere up above making the gold and black ring that circled his head gleam. He was the only one in the room wearing anything like it. He was also the tallest, standing at six four or five at least. Everything about him was radiant and magnificent like he was some kind of…
Kay nearly gasped out loud as he started to turn. She didn’t know why, this was just a dream after all and if she’d known that her min
d could produce hallucinations this good she would have taken her first year roommate up on her shrooms offer all those years ago. The vision started to turn but then stopped and started pointing at something on the table. He was speaking. What was he saying? She moved a little closer to hear but no one noticed her. Cool, she was a ghost in her own dream ─ a voyeur. This kept getting better.
“It must be bigger though, you understand?”
Dream man’s voice rumbled with authority. A smaller man with dark hair, wearing more of a robe stepped forward.
“Bigger, anax? It’s already supposed to be ten cubits tall. The palace wall isn’t any higher.”
The golden specimen shook his head.
“No, it has to be bigger. Put it outside on the front of the palace. I want all the Amenians to be able to come and gaze at this glorious stone history and know that they live in the most beautiful region in Atlantis.”
“As you say King Amphere,” the smaller man all but sighed. There was a hustle of activity as he and some other men started to roll up great sheets of parchment, then they all exited the room. The one they’d addressed as “anax” remained. He stretched his arms to his sides in an act of satisfaction. Like a male lion that was very pleased with himself at the end of the day. Wide-eyed, Kay watched the play of muscles on his back and shoulders, then, once again, he started to turn her way.
For half a second, his profile was caught in shadow. His features morphed into something almost evil as a feeling of terror chilled her to the core. She wanted to turn and run but she was glued to the spot.
This must be where her trip down the rabbit hole turned bad she thought. But when he came fully into the light, the lines of his face smoothed. If the back of him was something to gape at, then the front was no disappointment either. Her eyes travelled up the length of him. From his sandaled feet, over a pair of long powerful legs, past the linen square that hid god knew what, up and over a shiny golden eight pack abdomen that made her mouth water and the best set of pecs her imagination could dream up, to the vision’s face.
Moontide Page 29