Jewel of Atlantis (6 page)

“With pleasure. Your robe is sticking to your skin, so I can see the outline of your a—”

“Gray!”

He chuckled.

“Your gaze better remain straight ahead.”

“Ah, come on. Cage Prudence, and let Blaze come out and play.”

Smothering a laugh, Jewel moved in front of him, her hands covering the object in question. “We’ll need to stay along the river’s edge.”

“Take your time. I’ll just be enjoying the view. Your fingers don’t hide anything, baby.”

“Incorrigible,” she muttered with a falsely grim shake of her head. He wasn’t like this with everyone, only his family and coworkers. For everyone else, even his women, he usually presented a gruff, take-no-prisoners persona. The fact that he favored her enough to tease her delighted her. “This way.”

Time passed in agonizing slowness as they maneuvered through trees, bushes and thick, wet sand. Knowing Marina would expect her to avoid civilization, Jewel led them toward the Inner City.

The breeze soon dried her clothes, making the material stiff, unbending. But at least they weren’t sticking to her bottom! Insects were eerily silent, and night prowlers stayed away.

“Jewel,” Gray said softly, suddenly. “Something’s wrong with me.”

She glanced at him over her shoulder, then stopped abruptly. His eyes had lost their teasing light, and now blazed with pain, the lids lowering slowly, then snapping wide open as he struggled to remain awake. His normally bronzed skin was pale and pallid, with a greenish tint. Sweat dripped from him.

It had begun.

Intense fear raking her, she said, “We’re almost there. Focus on me, on my voice, and I’ll lead us to safety.”

A wave of dizziness must have hit him because he swayed on his feet. He closed his eyes and pressed his fingers into his temples. “What’s wrong with me?” His voice emerged as weak and unsteady as his legs.

She didn’t answer, but she did race to him. He was so tall, the top of her head barely brushed over his shoulder, but she wrapped a supporting arm around him, opening her mind to his. The wall she’d encountered inside the demon fortress was still gone, and his thoughts instantly slammed into her.
The pain. Can’t give in to the pain. Must get Jewel to safety.

The vampire and demon poisons battled inside him, and she knew his blood heated to a boil. His limbs ached with the sting of a thousand needles. His head throbbed and pulsed like a war drum.

“Lean on me,” she coaxed.

“No. No help.” He tried to tug from her clasp, but didn’t have the strength. His arms fell weakly to his sides, the tube of light stretching its rays across the twig-laden ground. “I…can do…it on my own.”

She knew multiple betrayals at his job had conditioned him to rely on no one. One partner had abandoned him, another tried to kill him. Another had left him behind to save himself. In his weakened condition, that ingrained, self-reliant instinct surfaced with renewed force. She knew that, and was determined to destroy it.

“Gray,” she said softly, gently. With her free hand, she claimed the glow stick and held it up, encompassing them in golden brilliance once again.

He didn’t speak. Lines of tension bracketed his face. She sensed the panic growing inside him, heard his thoughts of,
Don’t fall. Don’t fall. Get Jewel to safety,
and tightened her hold on him.

“Gray,” she repeated firmly. “The only way to get me to safety is to let me help you. Lean on me.” Using all of her strength, she stepped forward. “Now walk.”

He gave no indication he’d heard her until he moved forward, carefully placing one foot in front of the other. Always beside him, Jewel absorbed most of his weight. Her limbs and back soon burned from the strain. All the while, she retained a steady, albeit one-sided, conversation, hoping her voice would keep him awake. If he were to fall into slumber… She shuddered at the thought.

“I only have one memory of my father, and that was the first and only time I met him. I remember how big and strong he was, how his shoulders dwarfed me when he drew me to him for a hug. I didn’t get to spend much time with him, probably five minutes. When he released me, he waved goodbye and my mother carried me away. I didn’t know it was the last time I’d see him. My mother was killed soon afterward, and I was all alone.” Panting now, she continued her monologue. “All I’ve ever wanted to do is find my father again. Well, that and—” She fumbled, realizing she couldn’t admit she’d wanted
him.
Gray.

A grove of white trees filled her line of vision, and she ground to a halt, drawing in a shocked breath. “We’re here.” She hadn’t expected to reach the alcove so soon. At her side, a waterfall crashed into the river, falling from a towering cliff.

Gray moaned. His shoulders were slumped, and his breathing shallow. Though they were headed toward the Inner City, they were closer to the Outer. Noises reached them, footsteps and conversations blending with the rush of the water. Scents of freshly baked bread and dewy fruits wafted on the breeze.

“Five more steps and you can rest, Gray.”

“Rest,” he repeated, the very word brought forth on another moan of pain. He shook his head. “No rest! Protect Jewel.”

“We’re safe here. I’m safe,” she promised, urging him forward, toward the secluded glen. When they finally reached it, Jewel eased Gray to the ground. He collapsed onto the bed of leaves with a grunt.

Few creatures dared enter this area. The Forest of Dragons belonged to Darius en Kragin, Dragon King and Guardian of the Atlantean Mists. Fierce, bloodthirsty warlord that he was, only the most desperate of people tempted him to anger by trespassing.

“I’ll take care of you,” she said. “Don’t worry.” She dug her satchel out of Gray’s bag, amazed that the contents inside were completely dry, and withdrew her robe. After ripping several strips, she strode to the river edge and soaked them in the pink sand.

Thankfully she no longer needed the glow stick. Above them, the crystal globe approached its dawn cycle and swept thin, golden fingers of light over the forest.

Cloth heavy with the healing sand, she hurried back to Gray and wrapped it around his arm wound. He didn’t make a sound. He didn’t move. Her fear and ap
prehension grew, and she fought against a sting of tears. He’d saved her life, only to die himself? No.
No!

This was her fault. She had guided him to her, had convinced him to rescue her. She
had
to save him.

But he looked so pale, so near death…. She pressed her lips together to cut off a sob of terror.
He’s stubborn,
she reminded herself. When he accepted a mission, he succeeded. Always. Whatever the cost. Whatever the consequence.

“You have to beat the poison, Gray, or your mission will fail. Do you want to be a failure?” She shouted the last, desperate for him to hear her.

No response.

“Do you want to be a failure?” she repeated brokenly, shaking him this time.

Not even a flutter of his eyelids.

With a growl, she ripped two more strips from her robe, filled them with sand, and used them to bind the bite on his neck. The vampire cut on his thigh had opened and now oozed a thick, black blood. She bound that with sand, too, fighting back a rising sense of hysteria.

She couldn’t lose him. He was a part of her, had always been a part of her. But what more could she do to help him?

She watched the slow, shallow rise and fall of his chest. She possessed so many gifts, that of knowing truth from lie, the ability to sometimes see the future, the ability to read minds, and yet none of those could help Gray.

Her eyes widened in horror as he gasped for air—then stopped breathing altogether.

W
HAT THE HELL
was happening to him?

The panicked thought tumbled through Gray’s mind with dizzying speed. He tried to search his surroundings, but he couldn’t open his eyes. He couldn’t fucking open his eyes.

The knowledge hit him, and his body jerked; his lungs seized. Sharp needle-pricks stung his chest, and he realized he didn’t even have the strength to draw in a single molecule of air. My God, he was going to die.

Every survival instinct he possessed screamed for him to fight, to take action. To do something. Anything. All he needed was one breath. As seconds passed and he didn’t get it, the lack seared him with fire. The flames ate at him, consuming him. Devouring him. Colors flashed through his head, so many colors, all too bright in their intensity.

But with the colors came calm. Not acceptance, never that, but a sense of knowing his pain would vanish completely if he sank into the never-ending void of darkness that awaited him, beckoning. How beguiling the void was, like the last cold beer in the Sahara.

A part of him longed to simply fall into the peaceful
abyss. The other part, the part that refused to be a failure…failure—was that Jewel’s voice he heard? He fought to reach her, grinding his teeth together, clenching his muscles, and squeezing his hands into fists.

Where was she? He needed to ensure her safety.

Hissing voices and grunts of fury suddenly echoed in his ears, claiming his focus; his own death dripped from each timbre, the evil sounds chilling his every cell. And with the sounds, a need to taste blood, warm and living blood, grew inside him. He yearned to drink sweet, crimson nectar from someone’s throat. Yes, he needed to, would die if he didn’t.

What the hell was happening to him? Around him? Inside him? His eyelids remained heavy, too heavy to open and look. He heard the clang of…swords? Claws? The louder the intonations became, the weaker he became. His chest constricted, making him all the more aware he needed to breathe but couldn’t.

“Gray.” The gentle beseeching drifted above the chaos encompassing him, drowning out the horrifying battle sounds. “Gray.”

Jewel.

He recognized her sexy accent. She seemed closer than before. Reachable. The need for tasting blood abandoned him, replaced by a need to see Jewel. With every ounce of strength he possessed, he finally managed to pry open his eyelids—no, not his eyelids, but his mental eye—the very act more excruciating than taking a bullet.

In a flash of white light, Jewel materialized.

Dark walls surrounded her, and he realized they weren’t in the forest. They were in some sort of shadow land.

“Your mind,” she said. “We’re inside your mind.”

He saw her float toward him, her hips swaying seductively. Her sheer white robe whispered around her ankles, a vivid contrast to the silky black hair cascading down her back. She looked like an angel.

Her rose-petal lips eased into a sweet smile. “Gray,” she said again. “Breathe with me.”

Can’t,
he wanted to tell her. His mouth refused to obey.

“Breathe with me,” she repeated, the command sharp. “In. Out. Open your mouth. In. Out.”

Never had anything been so impossible. The paralysis affected both mind and body, leaving him completely frozen.

“Perhaps there is another way, the way you helped me in the water.” Jewel closed the remaining distance between them, crouched down, and pried his mouth open with her fingers. She fit her soft, soft lips over his. Her hair hung like a curtain around them as she blew her very essence into his mouth. The sweetness of her breath seeped down his throat and little by little, his lungs accepted the offering.

The fragrance of sea-storms and magic wafted to his nostrils. Jewel’s scent. So lovely. So necessary.

“In. Out. In,” she said when he began breathing on his own. “You’re doing wonderfully.”

With her face hovering over his, his lips tingling from the touch of hers, he couldn’t help but remember
how turned on he’d been when she’d talked about having sex on a waterbed—how he’d wanted to be the man doing those naughty things to her, touching between her thighs, sinking his fingers into her hot, wet sheath. Bringing her to climax while she shouted his name.

Two hissing black plum clouds flew past his shoulder and slammed into the far wall of his mind. The moment they hit, Gray’s body jerked, his muscles spasming. The little bit of air he’d managed to draw in evaporated, and darkness once again crept insidious fingers around him. Images of Jewel faded.

“What’s happening?” he croaked.

“Don’t worry about that right now.” She smoothed a gentle hand over his brow. “Concentrate on me.”

Yes,
Gray thought.
Jewel. Think only of Jewel.
His gaze met hers, silver against fathomless blue, and he was overwhelmed by a compulsion to do whatever she asked. She was his lifeline.

Behind her, in an obsidian swirl of sulfur and blood-scented evil, the dark clouds whirled and gelled until two separate creatures formed, circling each other. One vampire—fangs elongated, saliva dripping from its mouth. One demon—claws sharpened, eyes glowing bright red.

Shock chilled him from head to toe.

The two creatures leapt at each other, oblivious to everything except the other’s destruction. As they sliced, bit and kicked, it was
Gray
who experienced pain. Gray who felt the sting of each blow.

Their combating forms maneuvered toward Jewel,
and for a long, protracted moment, she was wrapped in a cloak of malfeasance, shielding her from his view. When Gray lost sight of her beautiful face, his body cramped horrendously. Sharp. Like knives slicing him. He fought against the pain, determined to save Jewel.

Growling low in his throat, pushing past his injuries, he leapt to his feet and attacked full force. He used the only weapons he currently possessed—his fists and legs. But each time he punched or kicked, the cloud darted away with a violent, taunting laugh.

“Step away from them,” Jewel commanded.

“Get out of here.” As the battling pair whizzed past him, he jumped onto the demon’s back, wrapping the winged creature in a chokehold.

“Gray,” she shouted, frantic. “You cannot beat them alone, but I can do nothing while you are in the middle of them. Let me help you.”

The demon threw him off. Gray immediately sprang up and launched himself atop the vampire, ripping at its throat. All the while teeth and nails sliced at his back. His breath grew ragged, unsteady. Any moment, he would lose the ability to inhale again. His limbs shook with increasing lethargy. He’d spent his entire life protecting those weaker than himself, first prowling the streets of Dallas as a police officer, then as a detective, then stalking other worlds as an OBI agent.

He wouldn’t stop now. He’d kill these hell-bound bastards if he had to die to do so.

“Please,” Jewel cried, the sound distant. “Please step away from them, and let me help you.”

Her desperation and fear penetrated his killing rage,
but he refused to do as she asked. If he released the creatures, they might attack her and that he would not allow. Not knowing what else to do, he used the last of his mental strength to shove her out of his mind.

He would not risk her.

“Leave. Now!” he shouted.

A burst of white light erupted, and she disappeared.

A hint of sadness lingered where she’d been, making his chest constrict. His deepest male instincts wanted only her happiness. Wanted to grant her every wish. But if her wishes put her in danger, he’d refuse her every time.

Using his distraction to their advantage, the creatures closed over him, cutting at him, drawing blood.

A
BRUPTLY
J
EWEL JOLTED UPRIGHT
.

Panic thundered inside her, panic she could not subdue. Gray had actually shoved her from his mind, and she’d been unable to maintain her hold. Right now his physical body lay at her side, jerking every few seconds as the creatures ravaged him.

The golden stick still glowed, chasing away lingering hints of night’s shadows. As she forced her heartbeat to slow, she studied him. His skin carried the greenish hue of sickness, and several cuts on his face and chest bled profusely. Bruises curved under his eyes.

How much longer he had, she didn’t know. Not long, though.

The dire warning echoed through her.
Not long.

Hand shaky, she reached out, wrapping her fingers around his wrist. His skin was cold, his pulse weak.
Before her eyes, a cut appeared on his forehead, slashing from brow to hairline. Every wound he received internally appeared externally.

All her life, he’d been her anchor and her only source of happiness. Watching his life unfold had been her greatest joy. If she had any hope of helping him, she had to find a way back inside his mind.

Think, Jewel. Think.
How could she slip past his mental shield?

There was no magical answer, really, she realized a moment later. She’d just have to try harder, to force her way back inside, through the one method guaranteed to get his attention.

Jewel drew in a deep breath and as she released it, she eased herself on top of him, her legs straddling his waist. She tangled her fingers in Gray’s pale, silky hair, and the pulse at the base of his neck leapt. He sensed her touch!

She closed her eyes and dragged in another breath. The air boasted summer scents, dewy foliage and blooming flowers. Mocking, all. Very slowly, she lowered her head until her lips met his. Her tongue pushed past his teeth and into his mouth. His masculine flavor consumed her senses, caused her blood to heat, her thighs to ache.

His nostrils flared, his mouth widened, and he kissed her back.

As their tastes blended, her sense of awareness traveled into Gray like a storm cloud moving from one city to another. Physically, her hands and feet grew cold, her stomach numb. Spiritually, she grew warmer.
On a soft, almost glowing exhale, her conscious mind abandoned her body completely. On a strong, forced inhale, it entered Gray’s.

Jewel swept into his mind for the second time, tearing at the barrier piece by piece. Her eyes widened as she watched his essence combat the creatures. He was noticeably weak, his punches and kicks ineffective as he swayed on his feet.

“Gray.” She had to get him away from the combatants.

He spun around, facing her. “Jewel.” His gaze narrowed. “Leave. Before they come after you.”

“Come here,” she said, using her most seductive voice.

“I told you to leave, woman!”

“Come here.” She licked her lips, mimicking an action the women of his world used to draw a man’s attention. “I want to kiss you.”

“Now is not the time.” He shook his head and—reluctantly—turned back to the dark fog, slapping at it with his fists.

“Kiss me. Now is the perfect time.” If he wouldn’t come to her, she would go to him, hopefully forcing him to meet her halfway to keep her from the action. One step, two. “I thought your philosophy was anytime, anywhere. And right now I want your tongue in my mouth.”

Something hungry and hot flickered over his expression. Something cold and hard at the same time. Then the creatures swirled and laughed around him
like naughty children, and he kicked out his legs. He missed, earning another laugh from his enemies.

“You’re in danger here,” he growled to her. He sounded stronger, more like himself.

“My nipples are hard just thinking about our kiss. There’s an ache between my legs, and I
need
to feel you there, touching me.”

For a moment he stopped fighting and turned his back on the fog, leveling her with a hot gaze that traveled the length of her body, lingering on her breasts, on the juncture between her thighs.

He took a step toward her, then stopped himself. “No. No.” With a growl, he spun back to the battling vampire and demon, tendrils of their darkness wrapping around him. He swung out his arms and slammed his fist into the demon’s face.

The creature flew at him, tossing him backward, chomping for his throat. Jewel gasped and almost fell to her knees in fear. Thankfully the vampire launched himself into the demon, rolling him away from Gray. Saving Gray’s life.

“Soldier,” she called desperately. “I command you to kiss me.”

Former military, the urge to follow a commanding officer’s commands was ingrained. Her tone gave him pause, and he shook his head, as if trying to clear his thoughts, to focus. He stood. The fight continued around him.

“Everything feels surreal.” He massaged his temples. “Illogical and out of sync.”

“I can make it better. You just have to trust me.”

He grimaced and grabbed his side, hunching over, suddenly gasping for air. “It’s almost like…I’m viewing a Dali painting where the world…of reality melts and turns inward on itself. What’s real? What isn’t?”

“I’m real. Touch me and see.”

“I want to, God, I want to, but I can’t,” he said raggedly. “I can’t. Must…stop them. I’m an OBI employee and I will…fight to protect you.”

She curbed the urge to cover her face and cry. His protective instincts were buried so deep, she might never breach them. If so, he would die. Desperation clamped sharp claws around her, cutting deep. Her eyes narrowed. He could resist her promise of a kiss, but could he resist a naked female form?

She quickly untied the shoulder straps of her robe. The material fell to her waist, revealing her breasts, her beaded nipples, and the flat plane of her stomach.

Gray’s eyes widened. “You’re flashing me. You’re seriously flashing me.”

“Touch me.”

“No, I’m an OBI employee and I will fight to protect you. I’m an OBI employee and I will—stare at the most beautiful pair of breasts I’ve ever seen.” He shook his head, but his gaze remained locked on her. “I’m an OBI—your breasts will fit perfectly in my hands.”

Her skin warmed. “Why don’t you make certain?”

He slowly closed the distance separating them, limping the entire way but never stopping. When he was in front of her, his arms reaching out to caress her breasts, Jewel shivered with anticipation. She wanted so badly to accept his touch, but she couldn’t. Not yet.
And so, she did something she never thought she’d do. She hooked her leg around Gray’s knee and shoved him, hard. Weakened already, he fell, his expression shocked as he landed. He winced, staying on the ground, trying to orient himself.