“Axis, don’t. He’s for me to deal with,” Lucian said.
Sabre was at Eve’s side, covering her up, releasing her. With the last of her energy, she leapt off the table and into Lucian’s arms. He caught her with ease, pulling her against his chest as she snuggled against him. Tears of relief streamed down her face.
“Are you all right?” she whispered.
“I’m more worried about you. Are you all right?”
“Yes. Tired. So tired.”
“I know.”
“Your wrists. And your shoulder.” She turned his hands over in hers, looking at the ragged flesh. “Let me.”
“No, don’t—”
But she’d already covered his wound with her hand. Her palm warmed against his skin and he could feel the flesh weaving itself back together. Like before. He groaned as she took her hand away and she sagged against him, suddenly spent. Lucian scooped her into his arms, cradling her body against his.
“She’s a…a healer,” Sabre said, staring at Eve.
“Yes,” Lucian confirmed. “And now I have to kill him so he won’t tell Franco.”
“You can’t kill him,” Sabre said, nodding toward Brice.
“I can and I will. He touched my woman.”
“I’m your woman now?” she muttered.
He kissed her forehead. “Yes. You’re mine.” Forever. His heart swelled. He didn’t want to give her up. He would never give her up.
“You can’t kill him, Lucian,” Sabre repeated. “Because we’re taking him with us.”
“I’m a prisoner now?” Brice said. “You can’t do that. I’m one of Franco’s top—”
“I don’t give a shit who you are,” Sabre said. “You’re coming with us and you’re going to tell us everything about Franco’s operation.”
“I will not.” Brice clamped his jaw shut, pinching his lips together.
“You can tell us willingly…or we’ll get it out of you another way.”
“Let me question him,” Axis said. “It would be my pleasure.”
“I’m afraid that honor goes to Lucian,” Sabre said. “Now let’s get out of here before more guardians arrive. Axis, cuff him.”
“With pleasure.”
“Draco, Raven, lead the way,” Sabre said. “Lucian, bring your woman. Eden will be glad to have female companionship.”
“Where are we going?” Eve said.
“To safety, sweetheart.”
Then she passed out.
Chapter Nine
Eve awoke curled on her side, warmth pressing all around her. She snuggled deeper into the bed, enjoying the comfort. And then she remembered where she was. She sat up with a start and glanced around a room she didn’t recognize.
The last thing she remembered was fighting Brice and trying to escape. Getting shot. And then healing herself. She glanced down at her shoulder but the wound wasn’t there and she still wore the jumpsuit with the charred material.
Oh, yes. Now she remembered.
She shoved off the blankets and got out of bed, scanning the room and wondering where she was. Was this northside? The only furnishings were the bed, a table and a lamp. She could hear faint men’s voices somewhere nearby and thought she could pick out Lucian’s.
Lucian?
When she was strapped to that awful table she was certain she could hear his voice in her head. Almost as though he spoke aloud. Had she imagined that? He’d told her to stay calm. He’d called her sweetheart. She loved when he called her that. It gave her the heart squeeze. It made her stomach bottom out and she was certain she would die if she never heard him call her that again.
Okay, that was a little dramatic but it would be painful not to hear him call her that anymore. Ever. Was she sure she wanted to go home? That’s all she’d thought about in the few hours she’d been here. How long had it been? A day? Less than a day? She didn’t know. She’d been abducted at night and had been in the dark most of her time here. She had lost all sense of time.
As if thinking his name had conjured him—and maybe it had—he entered the room, pausing in the doorway. He filled up every inch of space and looked damned good. His face held a look of worry but relaxed when he saw her standing.
Lucian is so hot.
He smiled. Had he heard that too?
“Feeling better?” he asked.
She flushed. Maybe he had heard her thoughts. “Yes, better. Are we in northside?”
“Yes.”
Do you know how beautiful you are? How much I want to ravish you?
Heat flooded her body, crept up her neck and into her cheeks. Did she hear him correctly? Was he in her head?
“This is where your commander is?” She tried hard to ignore the way he looked at her then but she couldn’t. She couldn’t deny he made her feel as though she were the most beautiful woman on the planet. Or, rather, in Atlantis.
He nodded. “When you’re feeling up to it, I’ll introduce you. Eden is excited to meet you.” He stepped into the room and closed the door behind him.
I love the messy hair around your face.
Oh, god. He was talking in her head. Seducing her with his thoughts. She was powerless to resist.
She cleared her throat loudly. “Eden?”
“Sabre’s wife. Remember?” I want to take you in my arms and kiss you all over.
“I remember.”
She couldn’t stop staring at him. She needed to focus on their verbal conversation. Eden was the one who was pregnant. The one who had come here willingly and wanted to stay.
“Where are we exactly in northside?”
Lucian walked to her, stood next to her. His warmth radiated over her. Always when he stood close she felt safe and secure. He brushed the back of his hand across her cheek.
“It’s an old abandoned building we’ve made into our secret headquarters.” Stay with me, Eve.
“Your secret headquarters?” Oh, the heat burned brighter and hotter inside her. Making her unable to deny him. Unable to stop looking into those gorgeous green eyes.
“Sabre intends to lead a covert operation against Dr. Franco and President Otes. He wants to release the women.” Don’t leave me, Eve.
“The ones who were captured like me?” He wanted her to stay. He wanted her with him. She swallowed hard.
“Yes. And your friend, Abby.”
“So you’ll help me save her?”
“We’ll save them all.”
“That’s good.”
His gaze searched her face as though he didn’t know what to say. She didn’t know what to say either as she shifted from one foot to the other. He’d stopped speaking in her mind but she could see the longing in his gaze.
“Sabre said the women will be returned topside,” Lucian said.
“Oh. That’s good,” Eve said.
“And you, too,” he said.
Stay with me.
She bit her bottom lip, her heart suddenly hammering in her chest. A painful staccato that wouldn’t stop tapping. That sent pain shooting to her temples. She thought for a second she saw black dots in her vision and swayed on her feet. But she steadied herself by placing her hand on his chest, letting his strength flow through her. Calm her. He had that effect on her.
That’s what she wanted—to go home. So why did she have a pang of regret, longing and fear in her gut? Why did she suddenly feel as though she was missing a crucial piece of her?
“I’ve been authorized to return you,” Lucian said.
“You have?”
“If that’s what you really want. Sabre thought it only right after the ordeal you went through with Brice.”
Brice. Oh, how she hated that man. “What happens to him now?”
“We’re holding him for interrogation. And then he will be dealt with accordingly. I’m sure you’re not the first one who he’s…touched. Eve…I’m sorry. I failed—”
“Shh.” She placed two fingers over his lips. “There was nothing you could do. I know that.”
“Still, I—”
“No. I won’t let you feel guilty for what happened. It wasn’t your fault.”
He caught her hand in his, kissed her fingertips. “I can take you topside whenever you’re ready.”
Her heart…oh, her heart hurt. She analyzed that feeling, wondering why she felt so desolate at the thought of returning home. She’d been here less than a day and was nearly raped and killed. Why should she want to stay?
Lucian. I want to stay for him. With him.
“Is that what you want?” he asked.
He sensed her hesitation. He probably read it in her thoughts too. They had become connected over the last few hours and she idly wondered if it was due their lovemaking. If they did it again, would their connection grow and strengthen? Would she then be able to speak back to him with her mind?
She’d never been with anyone like him. He was different and definitely the hottest guy she’d ever been with. He seemed to like her. He seemed to want her. They hadn’t known each other very long. It was so…reckless to even consider staying.
“Eve?”
“Kiss me, Lucian. That’s what I want.”
She wanted to feel his lips on hers again.
His arms slipped around her waist as he pulled her to him. She stood on tiptoe to reach him as he dipped down closer to her. Their lips met for a gentle kiss. But the gentleness didn’t last long. A second later, their tongues were dueling, their breaths mingling.
She wanted to have the lasting memory if she decided she really did want to go back. But did she?
When she went to the Bahamas with Abby she had silently vowed she would no longer play it safe. She would live dangerously. She would live her life every day as though it were her last. When she was an old woman in her rocking chair she wanted to look back on all the things she did and think what an adventure she’d lived.
If she went back now what would happen to her? She’d go back to her boring life. She’d go back to crunching numbers and being the accounts payable clerk that worked in a cube farm. That’s what. That was so not exciting.
But here in Atlantis she had a chance to make a difference. To become something more than an AP clerk. Here, she could be a hero. She could help in a worthy cause. She could be with a man who liked her. Maybe more than a little. A man who wanted her. Why should she give that up?
She placed her hands on either side of his face. His arms pulled her closer, tighter, holding her against his hard body. She deepened the kiss, their tongues vying for control of the other. Lucian tasted forbidden. Like the kind of chocolate she loved to eat but went straight to her hips. His clean ocean breeze scent filled her nose, tickling her senses and making every part of her sizzle with need and desire.
Eve knew if she left she couldn’t return without being with him one last time. Just one more time. Her hands clawed at his tunic. He yanked it off over his head and discarded it. Then tackled the zipper on her jumpsuit. One quick unzip and he pushed away the material, his big hands on her breasts.
Big, beautiful, strong hands with the veins under the skin evident. She watched his hands as he touched her, as her nipples turned into dark pink peaks begging for more than his touch. Her breath hitched in her throat, then turned ragged. Heat pooled between her legs.
Eve struggled to kick off the clunky boots and shove the material down her legs. While she tussled with her clothes, he toed off his boots and pushed down his pants. A second later, their bodies came together, skin against skin. He pushed her backward until they fell on the bed together.
Her legs wrapped around his waist as she pulled him to her, their mouths never leaving each other. A second later he plunged inside her, filling her up. Setting her senses on fire. Her hips rocked against him, matching the rhythm of his thrusts.
Eve arched her back, allowing him deeper penetration. Relishing the feel of him inside her, on top of her. She loved it. She loved every second of it. Of him. She couldn’t imagine not being with him again. Never seeing him again. She squeezed her eyes closed as the brilliant flash of orgasm shuddered through her. His followed seconds after hers.
And then everything stilled. He didn’t move, still buried deep inside her. She blinked her eyes open, met his gaze as he looked down at her. And that look shredded whatever thoughts of going home she had.
She couldn’t leave.
He brushed hair from her forehead. “I don’t want you to go, Eve.”
Her stomach flipped and then her heart squeezed. “I don’t want to go, Lucian.” The truth burst from her, surprising her. But it was true and she knew she couldn’t stand the thought of being separated from him.
A heartbeat passed and then a smile creased his mouth. “So you’ll stay?”
“I’ll stay. If I can stay with you.”
This was living dangerously. This was living on the edge. Something she’d always longed to do. She would throw her old life away to stay with this man. The one man who could make her feel so damned awesome.
I’m glad.
The one man who could speak into her mind. She smiled and whispered, “Me, too.”
“I can hear your thoughts, you know.” He kissed her forehead.
“I can hear your thoughts too. How is that possible?”
“Not sure. I couldn’t before. It was after we…in the…”
“Yes, I know,” she said. Silly man. He didn’t want to say it.
“I like you, Eve. A lot.”
“I like you too. A lot.”
“I hope it’s not too soon but I might even…love you a little.”
“Only a little?”
“A little.” He held up his hand and made a small space between thumb and forefinger. “I don’t want to rush into anything.”
She giggled. “I might even love you a little too. No rushing or anything.”
“So maybe if you stay…we could love each other a lot. Eventually.”
“We could. Eventually.” But he didn’t even know her.
“I know enough.”
She flushed. He’d heard that.
“I know enough to know you’re fearless. You not afraid to fight for yourself. For what’s right.” He kissed her temple. “It’s one of my favorite qualities about you.”
“I don’t know what came over me here,” she said. “I’ve never done anything like that before.”
“I’ll teach you more. How to defend yourself.”
“You will?”
“I never want you to be afraid again.”
“I won’t. As long as you’re with me.”
“As long as you’re here, you’re mine. I’ll never let anyone harm you. Not Franco or Brice or anyone.”
And she believed that. How could she trust him so quickly in such a short amount of time? She didn’t know. But if felt right. And she didn’t want to lose that. Ever.
“I want to help release the women.”
He trailed kisses down the side of her face, her neck. He was making her lose her focus.
“Okay,” he said. “You can.”
“Just like that?”
“We need all the allies we can get,” he muttered against her skin, his breath warm. It sent zinging sensations through her entire body. Right to her center core. “I want you again.”
“I want you again, too, but Lucian I’m serious.”
He flicked his tongue over the notch at the base of her throat. Ohh…
“So am I.” He licked his way to her earlobe.
“So that’s…it then?”
“That’s it. You can stay. With me. Forever.”
“You don’t have to get permission from your commander?”
“I don’t have to get permission from anyone except you and you’ve already said yes.”
That was good. She liked that. She smiled. “I need something binding for our new alliance. You know. Something to seal it.”
There was a lascivious twinkle in his eyes. “And what might that be, sweetheart?”
Swoon! “I need it sealed with
a kiss.”
“Ask and you shall receive.”
As his lips met hers, Eve sighed with contentment.
###
About the Author:
Michelle Miles is the award-winning author of fast-paced, fun-filled paranormal, fantasy and contemporary romances. She is the author of the Ellora’s Cave epic fantasy romance series, Realm of Honor, which includes her latest book, Only for a Knight, the second in the series set in the Celtic Otherworld.
Currently, she is writing and publishing her Guardians of Atlantis series about the sexy men of Atlantis and the women who love them. She is also the author of the Coffee House Chronicles, a contemporary romance series set in and around a coffee house, as well as an action-adventure series The Adventures of Ransom and Fortune. She is a member of Romance Writers of America®, PAN Liaison of the Dallas Area Romance Authors chapter and member of the Fantasy, Futuristic and Paranormal chapter. Her work has placed in the highly-acclaimed Writer’s Digest Writing Competition and the Stroke of Midnight Contest sponsored by the Passionate Ink chapter. She is also a contributor of the charity paranormal anthology, Entangled, which has donated over $10,000 to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation.
Discover other titles by Michelle Miles!
Guardians of Atlantis
Sizzling Paranormal Romance
Tempting Eden, Book 1
Seducing Eve, Book 2
Ravishing Helene, Book 3
Realm of Honor
Epic Fantasy Romance
One Knight Only, Book 1
Only for a Knight, Book 2
A Knight to Remember, Book 3
A Knight Like No Other, Book 4
Her Fierce Knight, Book 5
The Coffee House Chronicles
Hot Contemporary Romance
Talk Dirty to Me, Book 1
Nice Girls Do, Book 2
Take Me I’m Yours, Book 3
Sex Lust & Martinis, Book 4
The Coffee Wars, Book 5
The Adventures of Ransom & Fortune
Time Travel Romance
A Bend in Time, Book 1
Seducing Eve (Guardians of Atlantis) Page 8