Tempting Eden Read online

  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.

  Chapter Six

  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 propp
ed 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.

  No. That wasn’t right. That wasn’t lovemaking. That was pure sex. Pure, carnal, passionate, lusty sex.

  Eden giggled.

  A pounding on the bathroom door rocked her out of her reverie making her jump.

  “Eden? Are you okay in there?”

  Gillian shouting through the door, her voice muffled over the water.

  “Yes,” Eden shouted back. Go away.

  All she wanted was a moment’s peace. To close her eyes and remember every last detail of last night. Every kiss. Every lick. Every suck. She flushed again at the thought of what she’d done with him. Her body throbbed begging for touch.

  Who was Sabre? Could he truly be from Atlantis? Why had he come for her? Not that she was complaining. All she knew for certain was he made her heart patter. He made her enjoy sex with him. Crave it. Savor it. Want more of it.

  “Are you sure?” Gillian again interrupted her thoughts.

  “Yes, I’m sure! Go away.”

  Can’t a girl enjoy her privacy? Enjoy herself?

  Her fingers slid down between her legs, between her wet folds. Over the nub he’d so lovingly laved with his tongue. She pressed her back against the cold tile wall opening her legs as far as she could. Her fingers pumped back and forth, her eyes squeezed closed. Her heart did a wild beat at the thought of doing this for him. Letting him see her come.

  She climaxed a second later with a strangled gasp.

  “Eden? Open the door!”

  Gads. Why couldn’t she leave her alone? Eden cut off the water, snapped back the shower curtain and snagged a towel. She wrapped it around her as Gillian burst through the door. She’d changed from her bikini into khaki shorts and a tank top.

  “What?” Eden asked. “I was showering.”

  “For thirty minutes?”

  Wait. What? She’d be in the shower for thirty minutes? She glanced down at her hands, saw her fingers turned into prunes. How long had she been…doing that?

  “I’m worried about you.” She blocked the doorway.

  “Gillian, I’m really okay. Nothing to worry about.”

  “I found you naked on the beach.”

  Eden heaved a heavy sigh. “I went skinny dipping last night and fell asleep afterward. That’s all.”

  “Then how to you explain that?” She pointed to her neck.

  “I don’t know,” she said quickly.

  Gillian narrowed her eyes. “Did you have a man with you?”

  “Geeze, Gilly.” She nudged her friend out of the way. “No. There was no man. There is no man. I was all alone. All night.”

  Eden dug through her suitcase looking for something to wear. She came across a white spaghetti-strap sundress. She tugged it over her head. Found panties and slipped them on. Dragged her fingers through her damp hair and turned to Gilly who stared at her.

  “What?” Eden asked.

  “You have a bite mark on your shoulder.”

  Good grief. “I do not.”

  “Yes, you do. Who is he?”

  “He’s no one.”

  “So you admit there was someone?”

  Did she admit that? Gillian was trying to trick her. “There was no ma
n. I admit nothing.”

  “It was that pencil-neck guy with the cheap cologne, wasn’t it? And you’re too embarrassed to admit it.”

  Hell no! There was no way she’d ever screw Mr. Cheap Cologne.

  “Have you lost your mind? You know I’d never sleep with that guy.” Eden made a motion of gagging by putting her finger in her mouth. Gilly laughed. Hearing her friend laugh at her, Eden softened. “There might have been a man.”

  Gillian whooped and did a fist pump in the air. “I knew it! Details. I want them all.”

  There was no way Gillian would believe her. Well this man rose up out of the sea, read my mind, knew all my deepest, darkest fantasies. He screwed my brains out all night long and gave me the best orgasms of my life. He said his name was Sabre.

  Because, yeah, that sounded plausible. “Ah, I met him down the beach. He’s…a, ah, native.”

  “He lives here?” She scrunched her nose. “On the island?”

  “Yes,” Eden said, sounding more confident about her story than she felt. “And he was…amazing.” She couldn’t help the wistful sigh that escaped.

  “Are you going to see him again?”

  Sadness enveloped her. “I don’t know.” They’d made no plans to get together again. She didn’t even know where he lived. In the sea? That was silly. But the thought that he could be from Atlantis niggled at her. She couldn’t quiet the little voice in her head that told her so.

  “That’s it?” Gilly asked.

  Eden laughed. “Nothing else. That’s it.”

  She pouted, crossed her arms over her chest. “I’m kinda hurt you won’t tell me all the sordid details. I thought I was your best friend.”

  “You are my best friend, Gilly. We’ve known each other since grade school. You know me better than anyone.” She put an arm around her friend’s shoulders and hugged her. “I really appreciate you bringing me here and trying to make me forget that rat bastard that broke my heart.”