Atlantis Rising

of his size and strength.

Not exactly the kind of stranger you wanted to be alone in a room with.

Except—except she'd been inside of his mind. And there was nothing but integrity in what she'd felt of his emotions. She didn't know how she knew that, but she did.

He looked up at her, his black eyes intent. He was the most beautiful man she'd ever seen—more handsome than she'd ever imagined a man could be. Maybe she was dreaming.

The tiny flame of blue-green she'd thought she'd imagined before flickered in the center of his pupils. 'I am sworn to be a protector of all humankind, and—but for one brief lapse of time—have fulfilled this role for centuries. Yet tonight, in one moment, you showed more courage and bravery than I have ever known.'

She started to speak, but he stopped her by taking her hands in his own. 'You have my gratitude, and you will be under my protection for now and until the waves no longer touch the shore.'

It had the feeling of a promise—the feeling of a vow.

Suddenly, Riley was having a hard time remembering any reason why she shouldn't want to hear promises or vows from this man. Except… except… something he'd said—

'Humankind? Well, it was pretty clear out there that you weren't human, what with the balls of vamp-incinerating energy. So just what the hell are you?' she said, breaking out of the trance his words had put her in and backing away.

Conlan smiled and rose gracefully to his feet. 'I'm not of any of the nine hells,' he said. 'I am Conlan of Atlantis.'

Riley burst out laughing. 'Oh. Right. Of course you are. And I'm Alice of Wonderland.'

She shook her head. Old Alice had it right. Curiouser and curiouser.

Chapter 13

Conlan put his hands behind his back, clasping them together. He couldn't let her know the self-control it was costing him to stand in this room with her.

Alone.

With a giant bed taking up most of the floor. Every part of his body tensed at the thought of wrapping her back up in that quilt.

Wrapping her up in his arms.

What in the nine hells was wrong with him? He was worse than a randy recruit coming out of training. He'd never reacted this way to a woman.

Any woman. Especially not a human. Even one who looked flushed and sleepy and exactly as she would look in the morning after a night of pleasure in his arms.

Focus.

His thoughts flickered to the Atlantean maiden who had been selected for him.

The woman he'd never met—who'd never met him.

More archaic Atlantean politics, cold and dead.

Unlike the woman who stood in front of him, warm and alive.

'Hot, even,' he murmured.

Riley only stopped moving away from him when she backed into the bed. His gaze was drawn down to her legs. Miles of legs. Endless legs wrapped in snug, faded denim.

He wanted her legs wrapped around his waist.

Breasts tempting even under that oversized shirt, generous enough that he could see them press against the fabric when she moved in certain ways. He'd felt them against his chest on the beach. Her waist curved in perfectly. Just the right size for his hands.

She was lush and luscious. Not a stick figure of a woman like the type popular this decade. He could hold her under him, drive into her without the worry of breaking her, fill his hands with her—

'Atlantis. Right,' she said again, jerking him out of his fantasies and maybe even stopping him from coming right there in his pants.

He cursed under his breath in ancient Atlantean.

'And you can stop that right now,' she continued, cheeks pink again. As pink as they'd been when she looked at his chest. The thought of it sent heat crashing back through him, and he took a step toward her.

'Stop what?' He took another step.

Her voice was breathless, husky. 'Stop staring at my legs. Stop looking at me like I'm on the menu. Stop coming closer. Stop being so… so… so over the top.'

'Over the top?' Another step.

She held her hands up as if to ward him off, though he was easily another five steps away from her. 'And stop repeating everything I say,' she said, stomping her foot.

It made him smile. So fierce! No wonder he couldn't shake her from his thoughts.

He was in trouble.

He didn't care.

'If I promise to stop repeating your words, may I take another step?' he asked, drinking in the sight of her. In the golden glow of the bedside lamps, her hair was firelight on amber. Sunshine on the golden dome of Poseidon's Temple. Eyes as blue as the ocean surface at twilight.

Damn, suddenly he was a poet. He was losing his mind.

Maybe another step closer wasn't such a good idea. He stopped walking.

She shook her head, then nodded. 'I don't think—yes, no, aargh! Why is it so hard to think around you?'

Conlan folded his arms over his chest, reason suddenly returning. 'That's a good question,' he said, eyes narrowing. 'Why do you have such an effect on me? What are you? How can you access the Atlantean mental paths and—more to the point—how can you feel our emotions? How can I feel yours? Are you a weapon sent to test my defenses?'

'Weapon, yeah, right, you idiot. I'm not a weapon, I'm a social worker.' Stepping sideways, Riley began to edge around the bed. 'And I see we're back to the Atlantis thing. You're from the lost continent. The figment of Plato's imagination that supposedly disappeared more than eleven thousand years ago. That Atlantis?'

He unfolded his arms and took another step toward her. He couldn't help himself.

He didn't want to help himself.

'Plato was disciplined for his talkativeness in the Critias and Timaeus. The poet Solon knew no better than to share with Plato the secrets he'd gained from that Egyptian priest. But our descendants know to keep the secrets of Atlantis.'

Another step. Her tantalizing scent reached him. Fresh. Slightly floral, with a touch of green. Ocean ferns, perhaps.

He inhaled deeply, knowing he could find her by scent alone from that moment. Loving her scent in his nostrils.

Wanting her taste in his mouth. His hands actually ached to feel her skin.

She was looking at him. Oh, right. Something about continents. 'Not so much a lost continent. We always knew where we were,' he said. 'We've simply developed shields to hide the Seven Isles from your technology.'

He smiled. 'Your invention of submarines was almost a problem for a while.'

She backed clear around to the other side of the bed. 'Okay, show me your gills.'

Completely caught off guard, Conlan stared at her for a moment, then threw his head back and roared with laughter.

Riley looked at him as if he were insane.

Of course, she wasn't that far off. He probably was insane.

Catching his breath, he shook his head. 'Thank you for that, aknasha. I needed to