Oasis of Eden (5 page)

She took a breath to defend the captain of the rowing team at U of C who’d taken her virginity during her very first petting party when she caught on to Eli’s insinuation. “You sure have a funny way of flattering a gal.”

“How long ago did your encounter with him take place?”

“Four years.” She shrugged. “A lifetime ago.”

“You no longer love him?”

“Not on your life.”

His look suggested he didn’t understand.

“That means, no. I don’t love him.”

“Is he the reason you became a Lambish? Did you think no one else would join with you?”

Lambish. Lambish. What the heck is that
?
“I’m sorry. What is a Lambish?”

A strange look crossed Eli’s features in the dim light of the room. It must have been morning by now, but Jade wasn’t concerned. She just wanted to know what the hell “Lambish” meant.

Chapter Four

Calling a woman a whore was not the greatest way to establish a relationship. Elydian searched for an answer while his cock settled back down. An alteration of focus just might help evade his thoughtlessness. “This man who hurt you. What was his name?”

His feisty desert blossom pinned him with a look that could melt sand. “His name is not important, but the definition I seek is. Now what does Lambish mean?”

Elydian sat up and ran a hand through his hair. “You are not going to let this go, are you?”

She sat up as well and pulled another nearby pillow to her body. “I’m waiting.”

Which would be worse: ordering her to change the subject or telling her I thought she was a camp whore
?
“Look, I—”

“It’s bad, isn’t it?” She stated the question, hugging the pillow to her chest, her eyes narrowing at him.

He felt like the lowest form of life. “You have to understand. Lone females just don’t appear in a camp without being sent to fulfill a purpose.”

With a sharp intake of breath, she stood, still clutching the pillow. “You…you think I’m like that…that Have-Laya woman?”

Falk
.
This was exactly what he was trying to avoid. “Havliah. And no, I don’t. Not anymore.”

“But you did! You thought I was here to pleasure you for payment!”

Now she was getting personal. “No, for protection.”

“For… Oh, I see. I provide you with frosting for your cupcake, and you protect me from the big bad world along with the other cookies in your jar!”

Elydian watched wearily as she gathered her discarded clothing, slipped her wrist jewelry on, and marched over to the entrance.

“Do not open that curtain.” The warning issued, she completely ignored him.

“I am not the type of gal who’d be content joining some twisted harem! See ya.”

He reached for her, but she hurried up to the entrance of the greeting room. “Do not—”

She grasped the thick fabric and flung it aside. “Oh!” She staggered backwards down the incline and landed upon the pillows. A blast of hot air stole some of the coolness from the room.

Stepping forward he sealed off the entrance again.

“Applesauce! Is the world on fire? I think I just got pasted in the puss by Manhattan in July.”

“I told you not to lift the curtain.”

She looked up at him as if he had two grown another heads. “Yes, but you didn’t tell me about the oven on the other side.”

“It is why we sleep during the day here.”

“I don’t remember it ever being that hot. I think the weather’s gone bazoolie,” she murmured. “So I’m stuck here for at least, what, another ten hours?” He watched her shuffle through her garments, attempting to redress herself.

Elydian felt her frustration from where he stood. His assumption wasn’t his fault. The alluring garment she’d arrived in had assisted in the indication of what he perceived to be her profession—unless the latest style of dress beyond the borders of his camp had become so brash. Her delicious assets had been put on display through the almost sheer material.

And falk, if she wasn’t about to don the same condemning clothes.

In two strides, he crossed to her. “Is that all you have to wear?”

Looking up she glared at him. “Yes,” she hissed. “I didn’t bring a valise of clothes with me if that’s what you mean.”

He swallowed. Her lack of fear shot straight to the head of his cock, but the things she said absolutely perplexed him. He scraped at his scalp again. “Can I get you something else to wear, at least temporarily?”

Her gaze softened some, and Elydian wished she’d always look at him thus—with a fire in her eyes that assessed his very soul.

“Thanks. That would be very gentlemanly of you.”

Even though she sounded stung, he was more than pleased with her acceptance of his offering. He reached into a fabric-lined basket that held his very best clothes and pulled out the softest shirt in his possession. Running his palms over the fabric, he turned and held it out to her. “Will this do?”

Nodding, she took the garment from him and slipped into it. “Thank you,” she murmured and turned to face him. “I-I’m sorry I opened the curtain.”

His shirt looked utterly fetching on her. The bottom brushed just below her knees and at the top the collar gapped open to reveal the curve of one of her lush breasts. When she moved her hair out of her eyes with a sweep of her hand, the sweet, flesh-toned edge of her nipple peaked out, but only for a brief moment. He felt the shock all the way down his spine. “So you believe me now, that I am innocent of thinking you a Lambish?”

“Yes, I do. But that baby-grand, Lothar-Canute, on the other hand—”

Eli’s eyes turned hard. “Stay away from Lothar-Canute. He’s a lazy excuse for a male whose only goal in life is to play.”

Eli didn’t have to tell her twice. “‘Play’ as in play hide and seek with his serpent?”

He almost smiled. “I understand he has a very small reptile for a pet.”

Jade giggled. “So, you have a sense of humor after all.”
Oh, yeah., Poolie, you’ve got his number.

He grinned and shook his head. Jade’s tummy fluttered girlishly at the sight.

“Come, let’s not argue. I’m tired.” He held out his hand to her.

The fact that she was stuck here with him was only half the reason she was compelled to stay. Would that she could chronicle the sight before her. A god beckoned her to sojourn with him. What pleasures awaited her at his mercy? She placed her fingers in the center of his warm palm, and he lowered them once again to the pillows.

In a matter of moments, he had captured her body in a perfect spoon. Oh, how she loved spooning. She snuggled as close as she could to his solid body. “Mmmm. Ten hours may not be enough,” she murmured.

“Neither would ten days.”

Jade would have laughed had she detected a sliver of humor in his voice. “Be that as it may, I must return to the dig.”

The arm around her waist stiffened just a bit. “What dig is that?”

“Why, Dr. Harper’s dig, of course.”

“I have not sanctioned a dig. It isn’t near the oasis of Anuk-dye, is it?”

Oh, brother. This is where I came in
.
“I don’t think so.”

He lifted his head, and she twisted to lock gazes with him. “How can you not know if the is dig is near the oasis or not? If it is, the entire digging party, including you, is subject to eradication from the region.”

Sick and tired of over-bearing, territorial males, she turned her face away from his and settled her cheek upon the pillow. The quicker she got out from under the spell of
Commander
Eli, the better. “I would be more than glad to leave this place and have the dig break up. In fact, the second the sun sets, I’m outta here.”

Eli went quiet for some time. Good. Maybe he, too, looked forward to her leaving. The very idea plucked at her already bruised ego more than she would have imagined, but she shoved the thought aside.

With her plan resolved in her mind, Jade fell asleep, her thoughts drifting to a totally different place. However, the peace she’d found didn’t last. His irritated words pulled her from her misty dream.

“I will take you to this dig of which you speak. However, if you leave my care on your own, you may as well serve yourself to Lothar-Canute on a platter.”

“What? Why?”

“Because believe it or not, Lothar-Canute is second in charge in the camp of Omari Amun, after myself, of course.”

“Ew.” She shuddered at the thought of Lothar’s hands on her person. “How did that happen?”

She felt him shrug. “He is related to an important political power in Anuk-dye, the city the oasis supports. He was appointed the post as opposed to serving the people and earning the rank.”

“Ick. I despise unproductive nepotism. So what does Lothar do?”

“You mean, what is he supposed to do? He is supposed to go once every month to supervise the guards of the oasis—make sure they have what they need, that they are doing their jobs and bring in more recruits.”

“And he doesn’t go?”

“No. As I said, he is a lazy excuse for a male. He is very adept at providing justification as to why he cannot make the journey.”

“Let me guess. You go in his place, right?”

He sighed. “If I didn’t go in his stead, he’d complain to his relative, and I would lose the rank I fought so hard for. You see before you the youngest Omari in history.”

“Another thing I loathe, politics. Well, you’ve impressed me. I’m sure your rank is well-deserved.”

Eli’s arm tightened around her waist. She rolled over in his arms, and he grinned down at her.

“The best things are worth fighting for,” he murmured, gazing into her eyes.

Ah, more flattery from Mister Coax-me
.
“You’ll find me an easy victory, bub— especially when you look at me with those peepers of yours.”

He bent his face to her neck and kissed every exposed inch, but she craved more of his touch that sent her to the moon and back. Jade squirmed beneath him and shimmied out of the shirt he’d lent her. As he did the first time, he paid expert homage to her breasts, murmuring unintelligible words of praise against her skin—the whispers and vibrations causing delicious goose bumps to skitter across her body. His cheeks and chin sported a light shadow of hair, and he used the texture to titillate her nipples. The pain-pleasure drew breathy moans from deep within her.

Flipping them both over so that Jade was now on top of him, he slid her up his chest so that her breasts fell to either side of his face. He licked at them, smacking his lips like she was a stick of candy. She arched toward him, offering her sweets to him.

Eli positioned her once again on her back so that he had access to all of her. He captured her leg between his knees and spreading her wide, explored the juncture of her thighs with his tickling, probing fingers. She’d be more than happy to let him satisfy his curiosity and hoped he took all the time in the world to do so; she could do with a few trips to heaven and back.