there?'
'If there is a portal at Darius's palace, doesn't it stand to reason that there is one at Javar's, as well? The human will want to travel through it. You can kill him and we can take the first and easiest portal, then worry about the other.'
Her eyes widened. 'You are right. We will kill the human, steal back my slave, and I will take possession of one of the portals. Perfect.' And so much easier than she ever could have imagined.
'Don't you mean
'I will gather the rest of my army and return within the hour.' Offering no other explanation, he disappeared, moving so quickly it was as if he'd never been there.
Marina finally allowed her smile of victory to emerge. Life suddenly seemed so sweet.
CHAPTER EIGHT
Bright light poured from the crystal skyline, so bright Gray had to squint to prevent his eyes from watering. Even the trees looked white—wait. They
His head pounded, and several minutes passed before he was able to orient himself completely. He lay on a soft bed of foliage. Jewel knelt beside him. The long length of her silky black hair tumbled down her shoulders, caressing his skin and drifting a magical sea-storm fragrance in its wake. She wore an expression of intense concentration as she gently massaged a grainy paste into his arm wound.
The injury burned as if she'd poured molten lava inside it.
'What kind of poultice is that?' he asked between gritted teeth. His voice cracked with each word, his throat raw.
Startled, she gasped. Her hands still, and she blinked over at him. 'You're awake.'
'Seems like it, doesn't it?' Reaching up with his good arm, he massaged his temples, his neck, The ache slowly receded.
Her gaze bore into his, deep and penetrating, the otherworldly blue of her irises mesmerizing. 'How do you feel?'
'Like shit.'
'I've done my best to make you more comfortable.'
Maybe he should have lied, he thought, studying her crestfallen features. Told her he felt like spring roses, or some other romantic crap women liked to hear. He'd hurt her feelings, and the knowledge didn't sit well inside him. Plus, he had pride—more than most and more than he should—and he didn't want the woman he planned to bed to think of him as a pansy-assed weakling who couldn't take a little pain.
Gray frowned. Wait He was not going to bed this woman. Think about it, sure, but that's as far as he could allow it to go. Much as he imagined every touch, scent and sound, every breathy sigh that would purr from her lips as he dragged his tongue over her nipples, between her legs—he cut off that line of thought, hoping to slow the amount of blood pumping into his dick—starting a sexual relationship with a non-earth girl wasn't smart One, he wouldn't risk pregnancy—did human and Atlantean DNA even mix? And two, he simply didn't do flings.
What's more, a man involved sexually with a woman tended to relax his guard and lose his edge, thinking of nothing but getting the woman naked again. Gray snorted. He hadn't slept with Jewel, but he thought of her naked constantly. Hell, he'd already lost his guard with her. He'd passed out in front of her, for God's sake. The reminder mortified him, but how much more relaxed could a man get?
'You're doing great. My feeling like shit is a good thing,' he said grudgingly.
'True,' she replied after a moment's contemplation. Her expression brightened, and she offered him a soft, sweet smile. 'A man who feels like shit is a man who's alive.'
He pressed his lips together to smother a laugh. Hearing Jewel cuss, no matter that the dirty words sprang from such a luscious, made-for-sin mouth, was like hearing his potty-mouthed dad sing a chorus of hallelujah. It just didn't fit with their respective personalities. But damn if he didn't get a thrill every time Jewel talked dirty.
She returned her attention to his arm, massaging the grainy, feels-like-fire substance into his wound. 'Do you remember anything that happened last night?'
'You mean my passing out like a little girl?' His adrenaline rush must have crashed hard-core. 'Yeah, I remember.'
'What about after?'
He searched his mind and shook his head. 'No.'
Tendrils of different emotions curled over her expression: relief, disappointment, resignation. 'While you were out, you muttered in Klingon. Something about a Khesterex thath—a screwed up situation.'
His cheeks reddened. He felt the burn of it, and that made him all the more embarrassed. 'How do you know about Kling—' He frowned. 'Never mind. I don't want to know.' Passing out in front of a woman was bad enough. Passing out in front of Jewel and muttering in Klingon was an ego killer. He'd tried his damnedest to make her see him as strong, capable. Invincible.
Too late now.
'Help me up,' he said darkly. 'You need to remain—'
'Help me up or I'll do it myself.'
With a growl, Jewel slid her arm under his neck and applied pressure, helping him rise. The higher his head, the more lightheaded he felt.
'Want to lay back down?' she asked smugly.
'Hell, no.' He raised his knees, planted his elbows there, and dropped his face in his waiting hands. 'Just give me a minute. Damn injuries.' His stomach rolled in protest, and didn't stop rolling. 'Yes, damn it. Back down I go.'
She eased him onto the ground, remaining at his side. He liked her there more than he should have, liked the feel of her against him. Liked the way her scent encompassed him.
She was beginning to get under his skin.
'You could be a lot worse, you know, and if you don't lie still, you will be.'
'Wounds aren't to be recovered from, they're to be conquered. I'm not worried. I've beaten worse.' Trying not to wince, Gray motioned to his arm with a tilt of his chin. 'The poultice. What is it?'
'Sand,' she answered, as if it was the most natural thing in the world to rub a potentially bacteria-infested clump of mud into an injury.
He jerked his arm away from her, his eyes wide with horror. 'Sand? Did you say sand? As in, off the ground, stepped on, spit on, God knows what else has been done on it, sand?'
Confused, she nodded. 'Are you hard of hearing, as well as stubborn and foolish? Yes, sand. Now give me back your arm.'
'No. Putting dirt in a wound can cause an infection and an infection can cause a limb to rot off. And what do you mean, I'm stubborn and foolish?'
'The sand possesses many healing qualities your body needs.' Her shoulders squared, and she pulled her gaze away from him, concentrating on the wound. 'Stubborn because you refuse to listen to reason, instead doing whatever you think is right Foolish for the same reason.' As she spoke, she wound a strip of white cloth around the injury.
He didn't protest further. Instead he watched her, watched the way she nibbled on her bottom lip as she worked. Images probed at the back of his mind. Dark images, dangerous images. Erotically seductive images. Last night he'd dreamed of battling a demon and a vampire, but what he remembered most was dreaming of Jewel. Kissing her. His lips had moved against hers, savoring the softness. His tongue had dueled with hers, devouring the sweetness. All the while, the soft mounds of her naked breasts had pushed into his chest, her pink, pearled nipples creating a delicious friction.
The pleasure he'd received from that one dream-kiss had astounded him. He still remembered the taste of moonlight and stars. And magic. Yes, she'd tasted of magic and possibilities.
In his dream, he'd known her thoughts. Known she craved him like she craved air to breathe. Known she
