Atlantis Allure

by eXtasy's Collective Mind

  A large fish swam by and she blinked. Maybe it wasn’t a tank at all. Maybe it was some sort of giant television screen. She jumped when the door opened behind her and turned to face the man standing in the door.

  Light from behind him spilled into the room and she squinted, trying to see if she recognized him. Her eyes widened when her mind finally made the connection and she put her hand to her throat. “Where am I?” She asked, finally finding her voice. “I know you took me from my home. Where am I?”

  He tilted his head as though he didn’t understand a word she said. She wanted to rush to him and pound on his muscular chest, demanding he take her home, but she was a coward. Instead, she glowered at him, mad at herself that she’d even thought about the size of his chest. What did she care? Turning, she looked at the large screen and tapped the front playfully. If she didn’t goof around, she just might lose her mind. It wasn’t as if she got kidnapped every day. She had to do something to keep her sanity. She froze when the dolphin on the screen looked her way and swam closer, pressing its face up to the glass.

  “This is not happening.” She pinched herself and winced. “This cannot be happening.” Turning, she looked at the man and placed her hands on her hips. “Where am I, what am I doing here and when do you plan to take me home?” And he would take her home. She refused to spend any more time here than necessary. This place was not conducive to her keeping her sanity. He moved closer and she backed up, pressing her shoulder blades against the cool glass behind her.

  “You needn’t fear me, little one. I will not harm you.” He held his hand out, palm up, and she did little more than stare at it.

  “Like I’m going to trust you,” she mocked. “You’ve kidnapped me. I want to go home.”

  “I have removed you from a place where you would no longer have been safe.”

  “Safe? I was at my home. Inside, I was safe. Outside my house, on the other hand…not so much, apparently.” She turned to stare at the large screen, marveling that the fish seemed so lifelike.

  “You were no longer safe there. Your scent was all over the area. They would have followed it back to your home. And there, of course, they would have found you.”

  “Who are you talking about?” she asked. “Are you seriously saying I stink?” She resisted the urge to raise her arm and smell her armpit.

  He chuckled. “No, you do not stink. You have a certain…scent that would have drawn them to you after they picked up the energy signature from my craft.”

  She shook her head, moved across the room and sank down onto the couch. “I know you’re not talking about a bunch of science fiction mumbo jumbo.” She waved her arms. “What craft and what certain scent?” She sniffed delicately, trying to figure out just what the hell he meant.

  Closing her eyes, she savored a luscious aroma coming from his direction and wondered what kind of cologne he wore. The man smelled delicious, decadent, and she wanted nothing more than to sidle up to him and rub herself all over his lean body. She snapped her eyes open and glared at him. “What did you do to me while I was unconscious? So help me god, if you gave me some sort of date rape drug while I was out, I’m going to beat the crap out of you when it wears off.”

  “I gave you no drug.” He shifted. “Tell me your name and I will explain.”

  Why did he seem so nervous? She was the one who’d been kidnapped, not him, for crying out loud. She crossed her arms over her breasts. “You mean to tell me you don’t even know who I am?” Her heart stuttered anew. There was only a few reasons why someone would kidnap a person whom they had no information on and none of them were good. Her throat closed off with the sudden terror she felt. “Why have you taken me? I mean nothing to anyone.” That was true. It was also stupid to tell him that, she realized too late. Idiot. Moron. What did you tell him that for? Gritting her teeth, she fought the urge to kneel before him and beg for her life. That was probably exactly what the man wanted. Unable to remain seated, she stood and made her way back toward the glass wall.

  * * * *

  Rhyne inhaled deeply, savoring her scent. She was brave, he’d give her that. He blinked slowly, clenching his fists by his sides. She was also in heat. But he was sure that was the last thing she wanted to hear. Concentrating on keeping his raging hormones under control, he moved closer. He almost smiled when she closed her eyes, obviously taking great delight in his own, unique male scent. His body hardened. It took every ounce of his control to not strip both of their clothes off and have his way with her delectable flesh.

  She was his mate. There was no doubt in his mind about that. It was strange how after all these years he would find her when he’d long ago settled for nothing more than lust with his fiancée. He’d puzzle out the strange circumstances of their meeting at a later date. His first priority now must be to get her back into his bed and mated before her first change and he took her rough, like the horny alpha wolf he was. It wasn’t any wonder he’d felt so strange, so different upon awakening. With the death of the elders came power to those of pure blood. He glanced at the woman before him. She wasn’t pure blood, but she would be before they mated. He would gift her with his blood before her first change. As alpha, his mate must also be pure.

  Her scent became stronger by the minute as her body prepared itself to accept one of their kind. How she’d managed to remain of such strong blood stayed a mystery. Perhaps there were others. He hoped there were—for his people’s sake. Only those with such strong wolf DNA could take the blood of a pure Atlantean and survive. Others may try, but they would turn into something they all abhorred—the half-man, half-wolf beast of human legend. Werewolf.

  Rhyne knew without others to carry on the pure bloodline, their species would perish and that was unacceptable.

  He’d already been to the lab and given them as much of his blood as they’d dared to take. Even now, those with a pure enough lineage lined up to receive a portion of his blood to change them back to the purest breed possible. He watched her as she bit her lip and looked through the force field, her gaze intent on dolphin on the other side.

  “Will you look at me?” He wanted to know what she looked like. Temptation spurred him on to peer under her lids while she remained unconscious, but he couldn’t bring himself to look. Instead, he dreamed her eyes would be the color of Amber or emeralds—anything, but the same common blue of his own irises. She turned keeping her face down. He frowned, wondering why her feet held her in such thrall.

  He nearly lost his breath when she looked up at him. Eyes of the purest, deepest brown greeted him and he nearly laughed with joy. His smile widened as he watched her bite her bottom lip nervously. “You are a very beautiful woman. Will you tell me your name?”

  “Tara. Tara Morgan. You’re never going to take me home, are you?” she cried, her eyes glassy with tears.

  He moved closer, pulled her into his arms and tried to comfort her. “I cannot. At least not for a few more days...your scent is strong.” He couldn’t take her back, not until they mated and her body’s need to procreate subsided.

  “What…what are you?” She pulled back to look up at him. “When you first opened the…thing you were in, you weren’t…” she looked away and started to tremble.

  “I wasn’t quite human,” he finished for her. “No. I wasn’t. Our people aren’t what you would call humans. Humanoid, perhaps.” He sighed, wishing all this could wait. The scent of her was driving him mad. And as the new alpha, he needed to have a mate and produce heirs as quickly as possible before someone challenged him. With the infusion of his blood, they wouldn’t need him anymore if he couldn’t produce heirs. It was survival of the fittest. As a pureblood, born and bred, he would win any challenge, of course. But as alpha, he wanted what was best for his people, and right now, they needed as many pure bloods as they could get. Still, it was his blood that must be used to make other pure bloods. None of them were born pure as he was. It would be at least a generation before anyone could challenge him. By then, they would
be used to his leadership.

  “I am of an ancient race, Tara. One that even outdates that of man and you are one of us. You may not realize this or believe me, but I know you are. I can smell it on you. Even now, your body demands a union with mine. Soon, you will be overcome with the need to mate with me. When I opened the pod and stepped out, your system began to change. Just being near a male in his prime has sent you into a cycle that will last at least a week, perhaps two.”

  “You’re crazy,” she breathed the words as she backed into the force field, pressing herself against it as though she would fall if she didn’t have the solidness of it at her back.

  He shook his head. “I wish I could take you home. I see how this frightens you.” He paced the room, knowing the only way to reach her was to tell her how she felt. Perhaps then, she would believe him. “Even now your body reaches out for mine.” Her eyes widened and he continued. “Your skin itches and it won’t go away. It feels as though something is inside you, beneath your skin, demanding to get out. You want me as you have wanted no other man. Your body stands rigid because you are upset that you want nothing more than to fling yourself into my arms and make love with me.”

  * * * *

  “How…how do you know all of that?” She slid to the floor, her whole body quaking with the need to have him inside her. How could he know that? He was right. She wanted to go to him, run to him and rip his clothes off, demanding that he make her his. Virgins didn’t have urges like that. It just wasn’t done!

  Still, she felt it. What he said was true. Something crawled beneath her skin, making her itch. Something, some instinct she never knew she possessed, demanded she go to this man and make love with him. Wild, mad, passionate love. Every breath he took made her want him more—need him more. She longed to reach out and run her fingers over his taught muscles, through his thick, blond hair. Her palms itched to grasp his hard shaft in her hands and guide him— Stop!

  “Because I feel it, too. My people—” he stopped. “Our people know our mates the minute we scent them.”

  She shook her head. “I’m not one of you. I’ve never changed into another animal in my life. You’d think I’d know something like that.”

  “You would only change when you met your mate, love. You could have stayed home and fell in love with a human male and had more diluted-blood children, but you and your children would never feel the urge of the change until you met your mate. It’s like a built-in security system. I am your mate. That is why you feel the way you do.”

  Tara laughed hysterically, even as she moved closer. He was mad, yet she couldn’t help drawing closer to him. She needed him, needed to feel his body rising over hers, his lips nipping and pulling at her flesh as he drove into her. “I don’t believe this.”

  “You must. You must believe me, Tara. You have precious few minutes before your blood surges and your wolf takes over. When that happens, we will come together as wolves, with violence. I don’t wish to hurt you. Don’t make me hurt you.” He reached down, opened the drawer next to him, pulled out a blade and cut his thumb. “Take my blood, become more pure and your first change won’t hurt nearly as much.”

  “I’m not drinking your blood.” She grimaced. “That’s just sick!”

  “You don’t have to drink it. You need merely let it touch your skin. Let a drop touch your skin and if I’m wrong, nothing will happen.”

  What if he was wrong? Would he have to kill her because she would become a beast? But he wasn’t wrong, she knew it. More importantly, she felt it, deep in her bones. She looked at him unsure. Can you get a disease merely from touching someone’s blood, or would she also have to have an open wound? “What will happen if you are right?”

  “You will want me more than you have ever wanted any man.”

  Hell, she already wanted him more than she’d ever wanted another man. What did she have to lose other than her freedom? Your virginity, Tara, or your life. She realized then, that no matter what happened, he couldn’t let her go, she’d seen too much. Whatever he was, he could never let her go back home for fear that she would report him and his kind to the media. Not that she was that stupid. They’d have her in an asylum so fast her head would spin. Standing, she moved closer to him. Looking up at him, she noticed his startling blue eyes. How she loved blue eyes. “Kiss me first.”

  He cupped her jaw with his wounded hand. His thumb brushed over her cheek as he lowered his head and touched his lips to hers, spreading a streak of his blood on her face.

  She groaned as his tongue parted her lips and explored the dark recesses of her mouth. Her hands moved up to his chest, then over his shoulders to wrap securely around his neck. The fire in her blood surged hotly and she pressed herself against him, rubbing her body greedily against the length of his.

  She felt it then. Something moving inside her, making her blood surge, her skin itch with some unknown need. What if he told her the truth? If he had, they would come together with force. She would be injured. As a wolf perhaps it wouldn’t be so bad, but the way he talked, he made it seem as though she would return to her own form and be sore. Did she want her first time to hurt or did she want it beautiful? Would he make it so—could he make it so?

  She pulled back, licking his taste from her lips. Something wild in her raised its head and snarled. It wanted the contact with him. Still, she couldn’t bring herself to let him ravish her. She would take what precious time she had and wring a few promises from him. “Will it hurt?” She bit her lip, looking up at his handsome face.

  “If you are still a maid it will hurt for a bit, then the pain will subside and I will do my best to help you enjoy it.”

  “So, that’s a big yes.” She sighed and turned in his arms. He didn’t release her. Instead, he held her close to him, his arms looped around her, holding her just under her breasts while he kissed her ear and the side of her neck.

  Gooseflesh beaded on her skin and she groaned. Tilting her head to the side, she gave him better access. There was nothing for her to do but let him love her. Let him take her and hope that what he said was true. She prayed that if he did speak the truth, that with time, some more tender emotion would come with the heat.

  “It does,” he rasped into her ear. “Our emotions are tied with the passion. Our people, like the wolves on your planet, mate for life,” he murmured, telling her she’d spoken out loud. His hands moved up to cup her breasts, his thumbs brushing over the taut tips. “Can you not already feel some tender emotions for me?” He rolled his hips forward, pressing the proof of his desire into the cleft of her behind.

  She groaned. Her whole body felt on fire. Her nipples hurt with it and her hips ground back into his involuntarily as he held her captive in his embrace. “How could I feel anything for you? I don’t know you.” It was the truth, she didn’t know him, but she wanted him with a hunger she’d never known before.

  Turning in his arms, she wrapped her arms around his neck and pressed her lips to his. Their mouths fused together, their passion holding both hostage to their desires. She knew she could never leave him, not without first ridding herself of the hunger that consumed her. Consumed them both.

  Their tongues dueled and she buried her fingers in his hair, pulling his head closer, trying to crawl inside his body, needing his warmth, needing something, that she knew only he could give her. Her stomach clenched as he reached down and grabbed her rear. Lifting her, he pressed the lower halves of their bodies together. He groaned when she wrapped her legs around his waist, hooking her legs at the ankles.

  He carried her to the corner where she’d woken, the bed reappeared, bigger this time and he lowered them down onto it. Tara barely noticed. Her body had gone up in flames as soon as he’d touched her. He lay above her, her legs still wrapped around his waist as she tried to pull him beneath her skin. Her hands clawed at his shirt, ripping it from his hard frame. Her fingers sank into the soft hair of his chest. She smiled when he ripped his mouth from her and groaned.

&nbs
p; “If you keep that up, I might lose control,” he breathed against her neck, his voice hoarse.

  Tara wasn’t sure she cared at that point. Too far gone with her need, she bit his bottom lip and drew it into her mouth.

  “There’s only so much a man can take, love.” He grasped the collar of her nightgown and ripped it down the front.

  She squeaked with fear, her eyes growing wide. “You said you wouldn’t hurt me.”

  “Then get out of that damned thing and let me get undressed before I totally lose my mind.”

  * * * *

  Rhyne had reached the final pinnacle. He could take no more of her heated caresses. His mind was gone—so far gone, he could think of nothing but burying his cock into her tight sheathe. He hopped off her and stripped himself bare in a matter of seconds. She removed her tattered gown and came back to him, her hands making small circles over the whorls of hair on his chest. He jerked and groaned when her fingers found his nipples.

  He wanted nothing more than to sink himself in her softness, but knew this was her first time. She needed to feel in control. He would give that to her if it killed him. Reaching up, he cupped her breasts, his thumbs brushing lightly over the tightened peaks.

  She mimicked his action and his hips thrust forward involuntarily.

  Jerking, he almost came on the spot when his cock brushed her belly and she looked down. She was a goddess. Her platinum hair floated about her head like a halo. Her small white teeth bit her bottom lip. As she looked back up, passion in her gaze, he almost groaned with the need to sink his shaft between those full, moist lips.