Tempting Eden (5 page)

And then they stilled. His breath in her ear.
Every muscle in her body ached. Every part of her dripped
satisfaction. She smiled, finally sated.

“I can’t get enough of you,” he said. “Even
now I’m hard again. I want you.”

Eden couldn’t help it, she moaned, her eyes
fluttering closed. With his words need stirred in her lower
abdomen. How could she want him again? It was insane.

“But,” he said as he gathered her to him once
again. “I fear I might break you if we continue.” He chuckled as he
held her close. “And dawn approaches.”

Eden curled against his warm body, enjoying
the waves as they crashed over them again and again. She was sure
sand was in every nook and cranny of her body. She was sure she
didn’t care as she drifted into peace.

Sabre took one last look at Eden as she
slept. Her face was tranquil. So peaceful. She looked like an
angel. But there was nothing angelic about the things she’d done
with him. He quirked a grin at the memory of making her break
through her inhibitions and tell him what she truly wanted.

Even underwater he had sensed her longing as
she stood on the beach. How she wanted so much to be with someone
who would love her. Cherish her. It had been so powerful, so
intoxicating he had to see her for himself. He’d never been able to
read his fellow Atlantean’s thoughts but Eden’s came to him as
though she spoke them aloud. He’d heard stories that some of his
kind could hear human’s thoughts. But he’d decided that was nothing
more than hearsay. A fable or myth. It startled him to discover he
could read Eden’s loud and clear.

She’d been so lonely. Searching for someone
to love her. To make her feel alive, cherished, beautiful. He’d
been lonely too. When his woman couldn’t conceive, she’d left him.
She thought it had been his fault. And now he knew the truth. It
had nothing to do with him or his ability to have children.

As he rose out of the water and his gaze took
her in, he knew without a doubt he had to have her. He also knew
taking her was strictly forbidden. But she’d been so alluring. So
beautiful standing on the beach with the moonlight washing over her
in a blue-white veil. It was an image he would not soon forget.

What he said was true—he couldn’t get enough
of her. Something about her drew him in. He longed for her with a
deep ache inside him. As though she filled the hollowness he didn’t
even know he had.

As he watched her sleep, he knew he couldn’t
do what was required of him. He couldn’t hand her over to the
scientists as he'd been ordered. General Bastian had warned him and
he’d sworn an oath to his commander he wouldn’t do it. Yet when the
president threatened his sister’s life—do it or she dies—he
couldn’t say no.

How could he give Eden up now that he’d had
her? How could he ever wash the taste of her from his mouth or the
scent of her from his skin? She was ingrained in him permanently.
She wasn’t a test subject. She was perfect.

Maybe having her was a mistake. He shouldn’t
have made love to her. Seeing her standing on the beach, he’d
wanted her immediately. He had to have her. He had to feel those
lovely lips on his. He had to know how her body felt beneath
his.

In a way Eden had helped ease his pain. Made
him feel as though he were a man again. That he could please a
woman again. Something he’d not felt in a long time.

The eastern sky lightened and he knew the
time for him to leave neared. He was permitted to stay until dawn.
After that his body would weaken. He had to go back under the sea
until dusk.

As the waves crashed against his calves he
made a vow. He would come back for her the next night. And for as
long as she would have him. He wouldn’t take her to the monsters
that called themselves scientists. He couldn’t do it to her. She
was too precious.

Mine. I’m not giving her up.

* * *

Hot sun pressed against Eden’s eyelids. She
listened to the soothing waves of the surf. The last thing she
remembered was falling asleep with Sabre. Was it a dream? Because
she didn’t feel him next to her. In fact she felt alone. Like there
was a void. An acute sense of loss. A piece of her missing. Where
was he? How could he leave her after a night of rocking sex?

What if she’d had a sex-induced wet dream
right here on the beach and masturbated instead of getting laid?
She knew it was morning. The sun warmed her naked flesh.

Oh crap. She was still naked.

“Eden?”

Shit.

“Eden, are you all right?” It was Gillian’s
voice with concern lacing her words. And then she shouted,
“Somebody help!”

Oh hell no. The last thing she needed was for
other people to see her naked, wet and covered in sand. She sat up
quickly—a mistake because all her muscles screamed in agony. Sweet,
sex-sore agony. She groaned.

“What the hell happened to you?” Gillian
asked.

Eden peered up at her friend squinting
against the morning light. The sun was a blinding dot shadowing her
friend’s face. She shaded her eyes to bring Gillian into focus and
saw the concerned lines creasing her forehead and her full lips
pressed into a thin line.

“You’re…naked,” Gillian said. “And is that a
hickie?”

She flushed as she pressed her hand against
her neck where he’d marked her.
So it had been real. Not a
dream.

Still humiliation washed over her in a tidal
wave. “Where are my clothes?”

“How should I know?”

“They’re not here?”

“I haven’t seen them.” Gillian propped her
hands on her hips. “Did you have sex with someone on the beach? And
if so, who?”

Now there was the question of the day, huh?
How could she reply to that? She didn’t. “Don’t you have a towel or
something?”

By now she could hear people running towards
them.
Shit
. She covered her breasts with one arm, her
privates with the other hand. Funny she thought of them as
privates
now when last night had been so very different. Him
pounding so hard into her wet, hot…
Stop it
.

“Fine. Take this.”

Gillian stripped off her bathing suit cover
revealing her tiny lime green bikini and tossed it down to her. It
was a low cut mesh dress thing. Beggars can’t be choosers. Eden
hastily tugged it over her head as the group—Paul included—arrived.
Gillian still stood over her with her hands on her hips giving her
an inquisitive look.

“Is she okay?” Paul asked. “What happened to
her?”

“Oh my god! She tried to kill herself!” That
from the bleach blonde bimbo one of the guys brought.

“What? No, I didn’t.”

“That’s ridiculous,” Gillian said, coming to
her rescue. Thank goodness for her best friend. “Eden wouldn’t do
something so cowardly. Would you, Eden?” Her voice was tinged with
disbelief.

“No, I wouldn’t.” Eden pushed to her feet and
faced the horde. Paul stood beside Gillian and the blonde bimbo
next to a guy Eden didn’t know. Even Mr. Cheap Cologne had made an
appearance. She cringed. The men eyed her outfit clearly focusing
on her nipple poking out one of the mesh holes. It left nothing to
the imagination. Great. “I went for a swim.”

“Huh.” From the blonde.

Eden scowled at her.

“I believe her,” Gillian said.

“Is that a hickie?” Paul asked.

“She’s got a hickie? Cool,” Mr. Cheap Cologne
said. He couldn’t take his eyes off her breasts.

“Oh, for god’s sake.” Eden rolled her
eyes.

Gillian came to the rescue again. She took
Eden’s elbow and shielded her from the prying eyes.

“There’s nothing else to see here,
people.”

With a huff, Gilly shoved aside Paul and
pulled Eden along through the sand away from the group. It made her
love her best friend even more.

As they walked, though, Eden saw her
discarded clothes in a pile. She snatched them up as they went
by.

“Thanks, Gilly. You don’t have to chaperone
me, though.”

“Are you going to tell me what really
happened back there?” She jerked her head to the beach behind
them.

Eden wasn’t ready to spill any details about
her love affair with the mysterious Sabre who could read her mind.
She dragged her lower lip through her teeth. But Gilly saved her
from a reply.

“Eden, I know you’re still upset about
John—”

“Do
not
speak his name. He’s dead to
me.” The hurt of hearing his name stung her deep. Right to the
core. For those brief moments with Sabre she’d forgotten all about
him. It had been glorious not to think about him for that brief
moment.

“I’m worried about you.” Gillian wrung her
hands then immediately propped them on her slender hips again.
“You’ve been moping for six months. I’ve tried everything to cheer
you up.”

“I don’t need you to cheer me up. I don’t
need anyone to cheer me up.” Indignation swept through her now. She
knew her friend meant well but it still grated on her nerves.
Before she could say anything more, Eden slipped her arm free. “I
need a shower.”

Eden knew she would eventually spill her guts
to her friend about everything that had happened to her last night.
She didn’t want to answer the million questions that would come
next if she tried to tell Gillian the truth. Plus she really needed
some serious thinking time. She had to figure out what had
happened. Why it happened. Who the hell was that guy? He’d come out
of the sea. He’d seduced her. Made her into a puddle of goo. Made
her do things she’d fantasized about when she was alone. He reached
right into her deepest, darkest thoughts and pulled out all her
heated desires.

Eden hurried toward the beach house,
increasing her speed until she trotted though the sand made it
difficult to hurry. The hot morning sun beat down on her exposed
skin still covered in sand. She ran up the stairs to her room,
banging the door closed.

She flung her clothes in the far corner and
paced back and forth biting her thumbnail. Why couldn’t Gillian
leave her alone? Why did she have to bring
him
up again?
She’d been so happy without the thought of her ex hanging over
her.

Sabre
. His name wafted through her
mind and made her smile. On a sudden impulse, she went to her
suitcase and flung it open. She dug around to the bottom and pulled
out her book on Atlantis. Perching on the edge of the bed, she
opened the cover and her heart skipped a silly beat.

She hadn’t known why she packed it. Only that
she needed to bring it with her. The illustrations were in full
color as she flipped through the pages. She paused on one about the
people of Atlantis. The book was written by a Dr. James Rabbin, an
archeologist who’d spent many years searching for the lost city
underwater. He had been considered one of the foremost experts on
Atlantis back in the early twentieth century.

Her gaze skipped down the text and she paused
to read a passage.

I have long thought the lost city of Atlantis
lay beneath the Bermuda Triangle and set out to prove my theory.
Despite the sneers of fellow archeologists and oceanographers, I
have found proof Atlantis exists under the sea there, which also
proves the mystery of the Bermuda Triangle resides with the lost
city. Upon entering the triangle, I experienced unusual magnetic
anomalies. Compasses ceased working. And once I dove into the
water, I was immediately caught in an ocean current that carried me
deeper and deeper into the depths. What I found filled me with
wonder. The people greeted me, welcomed me into their fold.

Skipping down a little further she read the
next passage. One sentence stood out to her.

The people of Atlantis possess advanced
intelligence and psychic abilities I have never before encountered.
Some have the ability to read minds, sense motions or have
telekinetic abilities. But all are identifiable by small gills
behind their ears.

That stopped her cold. Sabre could read her
mind. Did he have the gills behind his ears? She hadn’t noticed.
She was too busy enjoying all his other parts.

It was more proof she hadn’t hallucinated the
whole thing with that…man last night. With Sabre. Even thinking his
name gave her warm fuzzies. But no. She couldn’t have. She had the
sore muscles to prove it. Remembering the mark, she slammed the
book closed and rushed into the bathroom. Flipping on the light,
she leaned into the mirror.

Sure enough there on her neck was a red mark.
He’d marked her all right. It hadn’t been a hallucination. It had
been real.
He
had been real. She pulled off the cover up and
turned her back toward the mirror to get a good look at her
shoulder. She’d been sure he’d bitten her when he was behind
her.

She could see the mark there too.
Mine
, he’d said.

You like me licking you.

You taste like sweet nectar.

You’re like paradise.

Remembering his words sent a heated flush
over her skin making her feel all warm and dewy. Making the heat
slick between her legs. She cupped her breasts and watched the
nipples peak and the areolas darken in arousal. How was it he was
the one man who could elicit such a response from her? How could he
make her weak with need and desire with one glance?

It didn’t make any kind of sense.

Eden dragged her hands through her tangled
wet hair. She stepped into the shower and turned it on. Delicious
hot water pelted her skin washing away the sand and the grit. She
ducked her head to wet her hair. But no matter how hard she
scrubbed the scent of salt water lingered on her skin, in her nose,
in her hair. The taste of it, of
him
, in her mouth. Had he
done something else to mark her? Did he leave his scent on her too?
Because she was certain he’d smelled of sand and sea when he made
love to her.