Atlantean's Quest Volume 1 Page 10

  “I am not deceiving you,” he said.

  “I want you to take me back to the expedition.”

  The giant’s face closed down, hardening into an unblinking mask. “There will be no returning.”

  She scowled. “Come again?”

  “You shall not leave this place to return to your world,” he said as if his word was law.

  “I have to go back,” she shrieked. “You don’t understand. I have a life, a job—friends. I can’t give that up.”

  His expression turned thunderous. “You don’t have a choice.”

  “You mean you aren’t giving me one.” Rachel snorted. “I’ll escape, you know. I’m pretty wily when I want to be.”

  He shook his head. “I don’t think so.”

  “I will the first chance I get. You can’t keep me here if I don’t want to stay. I won’t be your prisoner.” Rachel knew she sounded petulant, but she couldn’t help herself.

  He shrugged his massive shoulders, as if her threat meant nothing. “I’m here to prepare you for your new position and I assure you it’s not as prisoner.” He picked the bowl up and began stirring the contents.

  “Position?” She scoffed. “What position is that? Maid? Slave? Errand girl?”

  “You will take your rightful place as our new Queen.”

  Rachel’s jaw dropped as she stared at him, incredulous. “I don’t want to be Queen.”

  He eyebrows shot to his hairline. “The position is not one of your choosing. Destiny chose long ago.” He walked across the small room and picked up a brush from a side storage area that she hadn’t noticed earlier.

  She tried to see around his broad shoulders, but it was impossible. “What are you planning to do?”

  He gave her a feral grin. “Prepare you.”

  “You prepare food, not people.”

  “Remove your clothes.”

  Rachel froze. Surely she heard him wrong. He didn’t just tell her to take her clothes off. “Now wait just one minute, Mister. I am not taking my clothes off for you or anyone else.”

  “If you don’t remove your clothes,” he paused, his gaze raking her, “I’ll remove them for you.”

  “You wouldn’t!” she shouted.

  He shifted, his muscles flexing and bunching in taut lines. Rachel stared open-mouthed at the giant. She didn’t have to read his mind to know he’d meant what he had said, but she refused to be pushed around.

  Rachel walked to the bed of furs and plopped down. She put her back against the wall so that she faced him, daring him to make a move. Obviously he wasn’t used to being defied. He stared at her for a few seconds, surprise plainly written on his handsome features. Then a fire sparked in those gemstone depths. He stalked toward her, his gaze never leaving her face.

  “You wish to test me?” he growled.

  It took every fiber of Rachel’s being to keep from fleeing from the blond Adonis. Her heart thudded as he reached the edge of the bed and stopped. Maybe this hadn’t been her brightest idea, but complying without protest just wasn’t her style. “I’m not taking my clothes off and you can’t make me.” She hugged her arms around her knees in a protective ball.

  The giant blinked, then reached down and snatched her by the shoulders, pulling her to her feet. Rachel’s body exploded into a typhoon of energy. She kicked and screamed, even managing to bite his thick arm before he dropped her back onto the furs. He quickly followed, blanketing her with his body.

  Rachel squirmed and squealed to no avail. He pressed her into the bed, his thighs wrapping around her own until she couldn’t move at all. She opened her mouth to bite him again and he took the opportunity to plunge his tongue inside, knocking the fight right out of her with a scorching kiss.

  His tongue laved at her, teasing, enticing, and inviting her to taste him back. Rachel shuddered. She heard her shirt rip and felt it being pulled away from her body. The sound turned Rachel on more than it should. Something primal came alive within her.

  Clinging to his mouth for her next breath, her fingers sought out his sides and she grabbed hold of his skin, letting her nails bite deep. He groaned and suddenly the kiss turned ravenous. All Rachel could do was hold on and surrender to his sensual assault.

  He inserted a knee between her thighs until he’d spread her legs far enough apart to seat himself. Cradled against her sex, Rachel moaned when his rock hard cock came in contact with her clit. Her pants might as well have been made of paper for all the protection they gave her. He moved just a fraction and she gasped. Her hips bucked of their own volition. His mouth continued to feast upon her. His teeth nipped at her lower lip, trailing down her jaw and over to her ear.

  He bit down on the tender lobe, sending shockwave after shockwave through Rachel’s body. She ached and very nearly begged him to fuck her. He suckled on her lobe, soothing the sting. Her body responded to his touch as if it had been made for her and her alone, as if she’d lain with him a thousand times before.

  You have…in your dreams.

  He thrust against her and Rachel’s channel flooded with her own juices. She had to have this man, right now. She opened her mouth to tell him, then closed it before she did something she would regret. Confused and panicked, Rachel pushed him away. “Enough,” she gasped. “We have to stop.”

  * * * * *

  Eros stilled. He’d been so out of his mind with lust that he had almost not heard her plea. What was he doing? This was no way to prepare his woman. Did he want to destroy the only chance his people had for getting off this planet?

  Disgusted with his lack of control, he sat up. His body screamed for release, but it would not have it from Rachel tonight. He stood on shaky legs and held out his hand. Without protest, she placed her fingertips in his and rose.

  Her lips were swollen from his kisses and her chocolate colored eyes were glazed. A rosy flush covered much of her skin and her breathing was labored. The shirt she’d been wearing lay in tatters around her shoulders. The scent of her arousal reached out to him, entrancing, enticing, luring. He inhaled and closed his eyes against the temptation.

  His voice was graveled as he spoke. “Please, remove your clothes.”

  * * * * *

  Chapter Nine

  With trembling fingers she unbuttoned what was left of her outer shirt, pulling it off quickly and dropping it onto the hides. Rachel felt the heat rise in her face as she unzipped her pants. She slipped her T-shirt over her head and toed off her boots. Standing in front of the giant with just her trousers and bra on, she hugged her sides in a futile attempt to cover herself.

  “I’ve seen you bare before.” He gave her a slow, sensual smile. “You have nothing to hide, my Queen.”

  Rachel blushed and waved a hand in the air, dismissing his words. “Yeah well, I didn’t know you were there so it kind of changes things.”

  His smile tuned into a devastating grin. “You were aware of my presence. You felt me in the jungle long before I visited you.”

  “I was n—,” Rachel stopped. She had known he was there. Maybe not consciously, but subconsciously she’d known it was her dream man lurking in the darkness.

  “’Tis so, no use denying.”

  “Okay, so maybe I did know you were there or someone was there. That doesn’t change what’s happening right now.” She blew out a ragged breath. “I don’t see why I have to remove my clothes.” She hugged herself tighter and felt the color drain from her face. “Are you going to rape me?”

  The giant looked horrified. “I have never raped a female, and never would I. Tis not honorable. Your safety is my highest priority. I could never harm you.” He ran a frustrated hand through his golden hair. “I’ve never had need for force. Women come willingly to my bed furs.”

  “I bet they do.” She couldn’t keep the sarcasm from oozing out in her voice. “If you have so many willing women ready to grace your furs, then why do you want me naked?”

  Rachel waited, half excited and half terrified by what his answer would be. She t
ried to ignore the lump that formed in the pit of her stomach at the thought of other women in his bed. She didn’t know this man. It shouldn’t bother her one iota what he did with his private time, but for some reason it did.

  He held up a cloth. “From now on, this is the only type of clothing you’ll need,” he said, ignoring her question.

  Figures.

  Rachel stared at the scrap of material in his outstretched hand. There wasn’t enough there to cover one of her thighs, much less anything else. He’d obviously not taken a good look at her butt.

  “You’ve got to be kidding, Mr…Mr…what is your name?”

  “I am known as Eros.”

  Rachel laughed. She couldn’t help herself. “Eros? Like the god of love, Eros?” She cracked up. Her belly ached and tears of mirth formed in her eyes. He can’t be serious.

  “I’m no god.”

  She snuffled and pressed her lips together to keep from laughing again. “Obviously. Eros is a myth.”

  He frowned and dropped the clothes at her feet.

  “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to laugh at you.” She held up her hands placating. “Your name just struck me as funny. I really am sorry.”

  “Put that on.” He scowled and pointed to the pile of fabric on the floor.

  Obviously he wasn’t used to being laughed at or teased.

  Rachel picked up the outfit. The material started to glow everywhere her fingers touched. She ran the sheer garment over her hands and it turned emerald green. It was beautiful. She looked up into Eros’s handsome face. He appeared satisfied by her reaction.

  “Could you please turn around?”

  “We are alone, my Queen. You need not hide yourself from my grateful eyes.”

  “Please stop calling me that. I’m not your queen.” The wounded look Eros gave her caused an unexpected pang of guilt. Dang it, she hadn’t done anything wrong. She wasn’t their queen. The sooner Eros and the tribe accepted that fact, the better off they’d be. Rachel waited. Eros frowned and slowly turned to face the door.

  Rachel shucked the last of her clothes and tried to put on the outfit he’d brought. She pulled the skirt over her hips, but it kept slipping down, riding low across her pubic bone. She looked around but couldn’t find the top. Maybe it was supposed to be worn higher. She pulled it up, but the second she moved the material slithered over her bra and settled back at her pubic bone.

  “Eros, I don’t think this is my size,” she said tugging at the material.

  He swung around and sucked in an audible breath. Rachel covered her breasts with her hands, even though she still wore her bra. She felt heat rise over her body as his eyes took in her almost naked form. “I need a shirt.”

  “You have not finished undressing,” he said, his gaze locked on her breasts as they spilled out of the top of her bra.

  “It’s just my underwear,” Rachel said.

  “I asked you to remove everything,” he said. “There is no covering for your upper body, as is custom.”

  “What?” she shouted. “You didn’t mention anything about going topless. No way! Not happening.”

  “You did not ask, my Queen.”

  “Stop calling me that,” she said through clenched teeth.

  Rachel watched his lips twitch. He thought this whole thing was funny.

  “The skirt’s too big,” she said. “I need a smaller one. Preferably one that’s not so sheer.”

  “Actually, the skirt fits you well, my…Rachel.”

  It hardly seemed possible, but hearing her name coming from his mouth struck her deeper, more intimately than when he had called her ”my Queen”. Rachel closed her eyes, trying to block out the sexy man before her. He was way too dangerous for her sensibilities. She tamped down on her feelings, attempting to keep her mind clear of such nonsensical thoughts. She glared at him instead. “The skirt is almost falling off me.”

  “’Tis as it should be.”

  Rachel looked down at the loose material. If she didn’t have her underwear on, her pubic hair would’ve been sticking out of the top of the skirt it hung so low. The bottom of the drapey material reached her ankles. There was no way she was leaving the hut looking like this.

  “’Tis the acceptable covering for the women of my tribe.”

  “Well it may be acceptable for them, but it’s not for me. I look like I’m part of a harem.”

  Eros flashed a grin. “You will get used to it. Now finish removing your clothing.”

  Rachel crossed her arms over her chest. “I won’t be here long enough to get used to it.”

  “Hurry,” he said. “We aren’t finished.” Eros raised the brush from the bowl. Red liquid dripped off the end.

  “What are you planning to do with th-that…is that blood?” Rachel’s head swam at the thought of having blood spread across her body.

  “’Tis dye from the lipstick plant.” He swirled the liquid around and around the bowl. “I will paint your nipples with it once you remove that offending piece of clothing.”

  Rachel looked down at her bra. It didn’t look that bad. Then his words finally registered. “I’m sorry, did you say paint my nipples?”

  “Yes, you heard me clearly, my Rachel,” he said. His eyes crinkled at the corners and his lips quirked.

  She backed up, putting distance between them. “You stay away from me, Eros. And keep your kinky tribe away, too.”

  Eros threw back his head and laughed, vibrating his whole body. He set the paintbrush into the dye. “This will not hurt.” He pulled the two gold rings from a pouch on the side of his loincloth and placed them on the table next to the dye.

  “What are you planning on doing with those?” Rachel stared at the rings. Maybe they were earrings. That wouldn’t be so bad. Her ears were already pierced. They might be a little heavy, but she should be able to wear them.

  Eros walked to a cabinet that lay hidden in the wall and removed an alien looking instrument that could easily have found a home in a gynecologist office.

  Rachel’s gaze locked on the tool in his hand. “If that’s what I think it is, then you’re too late. I’ve already had my yearly exam.”

  He gave her a quizzical look, then returned to the table and carefully laid the instrument down. The gold hoops glowed in the firelight. A flash of gold on his chest caught her attention. She hadn’t noticed it before. She’d been too preoccupied with what he was doing. When had he gotten pierced? Rachel was positive that he hadn’t been when he left here earlier. A flutter rose in her belly as her gaze darted from his nipples to the table and back again. The hoops were identical. Those weren’t earrings.

  Her eyes widened as it dawned on her what he planned to do with the rings. “Oh, no you don’t, Mister. You’re not piercing my nipples. It’s bad enough that you want to paint them. I draw the line at piercing.” She slashed the air with her hand. “I nearly fainted when I got my ears pierced. This is so not happening.” Rachel tried to dodge around him to get to the door, but tripped on her stupid, pubis-exposing, floor length skirt. She would have fallen face first had Eros not stepped forward and caught her.

  “I promise, Queen Rachel, you will not feel any pain.” His voice grew husky and dropped an octave. “Only pleasure.” The words barely left his mouth when Rachel felt her entire body begin to tingle. Her bra dropped to the floor. Heat emanated from his hands in what felt like physical waves lapping at her skin. She had a faint memory of this occurring before, but it fluttered away before she could grasp it. She struggled against his firm hold, unable to break his grip.

  “Eros, please, no,” she whimpered in defeat. Rachel knew there was nothing she could do to stop him. He was far bigger and stronger.

  “Trust me,” he murmured, stroking her hair. With the flick of his other hand, her underwear landed next to her bra, leaving Rachel naked except for the over-sized skirt.

  “Please stop.” She fought down the heartache and the overwhelming urge to cry as she remembered another man asking her to trust him. She rec
alled the agony of finding her fiancé, Stan, in the arms of his bubble-headed secretary, Bambi “boom-boom” Murphy. Who names their child Bambi? Did they want her to be a stripper?

  Her muscles tensed and she held her breath as Eros raised the first gold hoop to her left nipple, then stopped before he touched her quivering skin. Tears pooled in Rachel’s eyes and she released a ragged sigh.

  Eros stopped. His hands trailed over to her arms to rest gently upon them. He leaned forward until his forehead touched hers. His breathing, shallow and labored, matched hers breath for breath. “I am not Stan,” he whispered, then rubbed his nose across hers in an Eskimo kiss. “I will never dishonor you in such a way.” His thumb stroked her arm, then slid over to caress her nipple. He grazed the sensitive nerves with his fingernail, teasing the nub until it tightened and peaked.

  Rachel bit her lip to keep from groaning.

  Eros dropped to his knees before her and sucked the protruding areola between his lips. He moaned against her breast as he licked, nipped, and feasted upon her. The rumbling sound only served to add to her arousal. He filled his hands with her fullness, devouring her with his insatiable hunger.

  Rachel was tired of fighting, tired of trying to resist the carnal demands her body was making on her. Hell, she was tired of being celibate. Men were capable of fucking without emotional attachments, so why couldn’t she be?

  With that last fleeting thought, Rachel lost herself in the moment, unable to think or even speak. She relished the feel of Eros ravishing her ample bosom. Her head dropped back, exposing the long column of her neck. She moaned, sinking her trembling fingers into Eros’s long blond hair. He was satin and fire all rolled up into one and she couldn’t get enough, which was why she only vaguely noticed him guide the hoop into place. A quick pop and Rachel’s left nipple was pierced.

  She jumped, her unfocused gaze latching upon the gold hoop now dangling from her areola. She’d all but forgotten what his original intention had been. As promised, she hadn’t felt a thing.