Oceanborne (21 page)

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Authors: Katherine Irons

Tags: #Romance, #Paranormal, #Fantasy

BOOK: Oceanborne
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Holding the golden ring tightly in her hand, Elena sank into the tub and closed her eyes and sighed deeply. The gardenia-scented water, strangely buoyant, bubbled around her, warm and relaxing. She could feel the tension seeping out of her body and soothing the turmoil in her mind.
Scota lifted a silvery cord from around her neck. “Perhaps you would like to put your ring on this,” she suggested. “That way it won't be lost in the tub.”
Elena nodded, opened her eyes, and watched as the dainty little woman threaded the cord through the ring, looped it, and slid it over her head.
“Now, it will be safe,” Scota said. “If you want anything, just call. The girls will be happy to serve you in any way you wish.” She hesitated. “
Any
way at all.”
“No, thank you,” Elena replied, rubbing the heavy ring between her fingers. “I don't want to seem rude, but I'd like to be alone, if you don't mind.”
“As you please, but they are very skilled at massage.”
“No,” Elena said. “I'm fine.” Only a few of the twinkling stardusti remained to illuminate the tub area, leaving the rest of the room in deep shadows. The flickering lights were almost mesmerizing, and just watching them caused a delicious surge of contentment in her chest.
“I'll tell the girls to wait outside in the passageway. If you change your mind, you have only to call out,” Scota said. “You are our honored guest. We want you to be …”
“Just the bath.”
Scota giggled. “If you wish it. Take as much time as you like.”
Elena held her breath, listening, as Scota padded away, leaving her blessedly alone with her thoughts. Cushions were heaped at one end of the tub, and, still fingering the ring, Elena scooted back to rest her head and neck. Unanswered questions tumbled in her mind. The ring, with its mysterious carvings, seemed to give off pulsing warmth, almost as if it were a source of power. Was it her imagination, or was it possible that this could be the same ring that her father had drawn in his sketch book? And if it was, how had it appeared here in her pocket?
Somehow, she felt that Orion was the key, but that was only a wild hunch. As a scientist, she'd been taught not to make assumptions, but to rely on only that which could be backed up with solid proof. Still, both Orion and this place defied all logic. And the intense attraction he had for her was both magical and an enigma. Orion couldn't exist … and yet … he was as real as her own right hand.
Everything that had happened to her in the past few days was perplexing and wonderful. And somehow, she felt that if she could understand how the ring had returned to her, the puzzle fragments might come together to make sense. Her gut instinct told her that this ring was an important link to Orion and to her father. And … in some crazy way, perhaps the ring was a clue as to what had happened to her father in his last hours.
Weariness made trying to make sense of everything even more difficult. With a sigh, she released the ring and allowed it to dangle securely between her breasts. Closing her eyes, she allowed the warmth of the bath to ease her tension. She might have drifted off, but the next thing she knew, someone was gently massaging her temples.
Elena started awake, opened her mouth to protest, but groaned instead. Whoever her bath attendant was, she had marvelous fingers. Ribbons of pure pleasure unfurled over Elena's scalp and down the back of her neck. “Umm,” she murmured. “That feels wonderful.”
“Did you call for us?” came a lilting voice from the corridor. “Is there something more you need?”
“No,” Elena answered. The magical fingers had moved up and back, rubbing her scalp in tight, circular motions. She groaned as the invisible attendant concentrated her attention on the nape of Elena's neck and the base of her skull.
Elena had always enjoyed professional massage as a way to relax after a particularly grueling expedition, but when Scota had offered the services of the girls, Elena had assumed that the little woman was referring to something more intimate than a neck rub. But this was fantastic. “You know all the spots,” she said.
Orion leaned close and whispered in her ear. “I hope so.”
Elena gasped and would have cried out, but he seized her shoulders, twisted her toward him, and stifled her surprise with a demanding kiss. In a heartbeat, without breaking the kiss, he slipped soundlessly into the tub and pulled her into his arms.
She clung to him, inhaling his scent, reveling in the hard body pressed against hers. “I thought you couldn't be here,” she managed when their mouths parted, “but I'm glad you are. So glad …”
“Shh,” he warned. “We can't let them find me.” He motioned toward the gently blowing curtains that separated the bathing room from the passageway. “We have to be very quiet.”
“But how did you …” He cut her off with another kiss, and she was swept up in the fire of his touch. His strong fingers moved over her, touching, stroking, teasing her nipples and sending shivers of desire through her body. The bath, the chamber, the strange land of little people and magical fireflies faded before the intensity of the sensations that rocked her as their kisses deepened and all her inhibitions fell away.
An exquisite sweet heat seared her wherever Orion's skin touched hers. She couldn't get close enough, couldn't get enough of stroking and tasting him, of feeling the excitement of having him in her arms. His rigid erection pulsed heat, driving the fatigue from her muscles, instantly inflaming her with a burning need to have him deep inside her.
When he'd made love to her in the sanctuary, she'd believed that nothing could equal that experience, but here and now, the world fell away and left them as if they were the first man and woman ever to come together.
“We'll have to be very quiet,” he whispered, before slanting his mouth over hers and nibbling at her lower lip.
His breath was warm on her face. She was conscious of how fast her heart was racing as she leaned even closer. “What will they do if they catch you here?”
“Try to kill me.” A warm hand closed over her breast, and Orion teased her nipple with the ball of his thumb. “I see you're taking good care of my ring.”
“Your ring?” Her voice sound breathy in her ears.
“Yours now.”
His strong hands moved over her, sending shivers of delight from the crown of her head to her toes. “I don't want you to put yourself in danger for me.”
“But you're glad I'm here?”
“Yes.”
He chuckled. “Beautiful Elena.” Catching the lobe of her left ear between his lips, he bit gently, sending another jolt of electricity through her.
She inhaled sharply and pushed him away so that she could stare directly into his eyes. “Why did you come if you knew you would be in danger?”
“Because I couldn't bear to be away from you.” He lowered his head to kiss her throat and the hollow between her breasts. “I kept thinking of what I wanted to do to you … to have you do to me.” He lifted her breast and suckled at the taut nipple until she wanted to scream with pleasure.
“I want you, too,” she whispered into his ear. “But not at the risk of your life.”
“I suppose it depends on how good you're going to be to me … or how bad.”
“Tell me about the ring? Where did it come from? Why …” She trailed off as Orion kissed and suckled her other breast. It was hard to think, let along talk rationally, when he was making love to her.
She reached for him, and smiling, he ducked beneath the surface of the water. She gasped as he captured her right foot and nibbled his way slowly up her ankle and calf to the inside of her knee. And each time he brushed her skin with his tongue or nipped at her flesh with his strong teeth, she fought to contain whimpers of raw lust.
He lifted his head above the water. “Shall I kiss you here? Or here?” His teeth closed on her inner thigh and she gasped, digging her fingers into his shoulders, nuzzling his hair, and burying her face in his neck.
She glanced toward the doorway where the gauzy curtains stirred. This was crazy. He shouldn't be here. She shouldn't let him be here. At any second, Scota or one of the others might return and find them together. No amount of physical pleasure was worth Orion's life, but … She gritted her teeth to keep from moaning aloud. What he was doing to her felt so good.
And all the while, she had no claim to innocence. Her own hands were busy, her fingers stroking the contours of his broad chest and massive shoulders, and caressing the thick, muscular column of his beautiful neck. And his unbound hair was a curtain of liquid gold that brushed and tantalized the surface of her skin until she wanted to bury her face in it and inhale his scent.
It was impossible to remain still under his assault. She squirmed and her breathing became ragged and quick as the aching between her thighs intensified. But Orion showed her no mercy. He kept kissing and licking, and biting, slowly working his way toward the source of her hunger.
“Do it!” she urged him. “I can't wait.”
When his mouth touched her pubic bone, she came. Intense contractions of sweet pleasure rippled through her body and she clamped a hand over her mouth to keep from screaming. But before her climax retreated, Orion began to kiss and touch her slick folds. She shivered as his hard tongue invaded her body, and before she could catch her breath, she dissolved in yet another incredible release.
Laughing softly, he surfaced, rolled onto his back and pulled her on top of him. “Mount me,” he urged.
Trembling with desire, tears rolling down her cheeks, she eased onto his swollen erection. He was so big that, for an instant, she thought that she couldn't take all of him, but somehow she did. Once they had come together, her desire kindled afresh. She clamped her legs around him and rode him hard, giving as good as she received. Her excitement rose to fever pitch before, finally, she felt him shudder beneath her. She lowered her mouth to his, and for one long moment, they were one.
The wave crested and broke, and she collapsed onto his chest, weeping and laughing, forgetting the need to remain silent. Orion cradled her in his arms and kissed her. He whispered into her ear, and long sweet notes of joy unfurled through her body.
She clung to him. “Don't leave me,” she murmured.
“I have to. I have things that must be said … must be done. And it's safer for you if you don't remember that I was here.”
“You think I could ever forget this?”
He chuckled and kissed her bruised lips. “You will,” he promised. Then he pressed his palm to her forehead and she heard a shower of tinkling bells, so faint that she wasn't certain it wasn't her imagination.
“Orion?” She looked around the pool. Had he been here? She'd been so sure that they had made fantastic, glorious love. She could still smell his scent, feel his touch on her skin, and still feel the echo of sensation in her veins.
Or had she dreamed him? Suddenly, she felt sleepy. Her eyelids seemed weighed down. She climbed from the pool, wrapped a towel around herself, and lay down on a soft bed of heaped evergreens. Almost before her head hit the cushions, she heard Scota's voice.
“Your food is ready. It's best if you don't remain too long in the bath. The effects of the water can be overwhelming for someone not used to it.”
Elena forced her eyes open. “Could I rest here for just a few minutes?”
“If it pleases you.” Scota smiled at her. The little woman touched Elena's forehead. “You seem feverish. I hope we didn't let you stay in the water too long. You must be very tired. It's natural for visitors to be somewhat disoriented. Do you feel unwell?”
“No.” Elena shook her head. “Just …”
How did she feel?
It seemed that there was something that had occurred in the bath, but … She sighed. Maybe Scota was right, and she was disoriented. “Just let me lie here for a while longer,” she said.
“Did you find the bath water refreshing?” Scota asked. “Most do.”
“Yes …”
“Don't be concerned if your mind seems to play tricks on you. Our oxygen content is not quite the same as yours on the surface on the earth. What you breathe here is richer, purer. It can have the same effect as strong wine.”
“Oh.” Elena smiled. “I thought … that is, I think I was dreaming …”
Scota chuckled. “The water is most conducive to dreams of a passionate nature.”
“But you said that this water was different from the pool where Orion and I …”
Scota shrugged and spread her hands. “They are different. The pool makes the swimmer lusty. The bath is said to fire the imagination.” She giggled. “The girls will come in to rub you with scented oil and brush your hair. Please accept their assistance. You are such a novelty to us, and they would be quite hurt if you don't allow them to make you comfortable.”

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