Tempting Eden (10 page)

His ancestors had discovered a way to hide
their technology from the world by sinking the island. A few
remained behind to tell the tale of the lost city of Atlantis to
make sure the continent was remembered as nothing more than a
fable.

As the years wore on their scientists learned
more about their genetic make-up. They used their advanced skills
in medicine and genetics to alter their DNA. They discovered a way
to make it possible for them to swim from the depth of the ocean
back up top. They also discovered a way to allow their breathing to
be like a fish. Over time with all the “adjustments” in their DNA
code, their bodies had become resilient to the depths. Once the
Atlanteans discovered they could return to the surface there were
many who escaped and disappeared. Others who escaped were caught,
returned and punished.

They stood with the surf washing over their
feet—his booted, hers bare. By now Gillian would have read the
letter and learned Eden wasn’t coming back. Pain sliced through her
heart at the thought of never seeing her friend again. She hoped
Gillian would understand.

Deep down she knew this wasn’t a mistake. She
was doing the right thing. She’d found her soul mate. The one man
she could love forever.

He brushed her hair from her face and kissed
her again on the forehead. He pulled the syringe of his pocket.

“Are you ready?” he asked. She nodded. “I
have to inject this in your shoulder.”

“All right.”

He uncapped it and she turned her head not
wanting to see the needle go into her skin. She hated needles and
could never watch her doctor give her a shot. A small jab and a
moment later the serum was injected. Would it make her feel
different? She didn’t know. And she wasn’t entirely sure Sabre
knew.

“This will keep me from drowning, right?” she
asked.

“Yes. But you must stay by my side at all
times.”

“Do I need to hold my breath?”

“You should be able to breathe as
normal.”

Weird. She wasn’t sure if she could force
herself to take in the water. Wouldn’t the salty water sting?

He must have sensed her hesitation or read
her thoughts or something. He clutched her to him as though he
never intended to release her. She marveled at this man how he
could love her so completely, so unconditionally and so quickly.
But it was the same for her.

“I won’t let anything happen to you, Eden. I
swear it.”

“I trust you.” And she did. Implicitly.

“Come. It’s almost dawn.”

Gripping her hand, he led her out into the
surf. The cold water against her legs made her shiver even through
the suit. Farther and farther into the water they went until it was
up to her shoulders. She could barely keep her head above water.
Her toes fisted at the sand trying to keep her balance as her head
bobbed above the surface. Fear wanted to set in. She had never been
a big fan of the water and walking out to the sea seemed insane.
She clutched his hand tighter.

“Don’t be afraid, love,” he said.

“I-I am. A little.”

“Allow the fear to enter. Acknowledge it and
then push it away,” he said. “I will be here with you.” He gave her
a reassuring smile, brushed her cheek with the back of his hand.
“I’m glad you’re coming with me. I wanted you from the first moment
I saw you.”

Eden never thought this would happen when she
first laid eyes on him. She expected it to be a onetime deal. Now
they were running away together. He kissed her, stealing her
breath. Then he floated behind her and put his arms around her
waist.

“Here we go.”

Together they dove under the water. Instinct
took over and she held her breath. They dove down, down, down into
the crystalline waters. But she’d squeezed her eyes shut and
refused to look. Behind her Sabre clutched her tighter.

Open your eyes, Eden. Look.

She knew he spoke in her mind. How he was
able to do that, she wasn’t sure. He hadn’t done it before. She
feared the water could hurt her eyes but she opened them anyway.
The water had a strange ethereal glow to it. Fish and other sea
creatures passed by as though she and Sabre weren’t even there. All
the while she couldn’t allow herself to breathe. She knew she
wouldn’t be able to hold her breath any longer.

Panic set in. She couldn’t do this. She had
to go back. She flinched in his grip and fought against him and the
current.

Calm, Eden. I’m here with you. I won’t let
anything happen to you.

Yet she all she could think about was
drowning. Dying. Black edged her eyesight. Or was that the water?
She couldn’t tell. Her heart pounded a wild beat and she flailed
her arms and legs again trying to get loose from him and swim back
up.

You’re allowing the fear to control you.
Control it, Eden.

Easier said than done. She couldn’t do this.
She
couldn’t
. She’d been wrong. She was going to die.

Breathe, Eden! Breathe! Open your mouth and
take it in.

When she continued to thrash he clutched her
tighter, jerked her to hold her in place. She got the message. With
her heart beating wildly, she quieted her mind. Could she do it?
Open her mouth? Let it in?

Do you really want to go back to your
dismal life?
she asked herself. The answer was a resounding no.
She opened her mouth.

Sea water poured in filling her lungs. She
coughed, sputtered, choked. Disoriented. She flailed against him
again but he held firm. The water may have been in her lungs but
she didn’t feel as though she were dying. Another moment and the
panic passed and she realized…she wasn’t drowning. She was
breathing! She wasn’t going to die.

Now the fear and panic was replaced by
relief. He felt the change in her and relaxed his grip.

See? You can breathe. Just as I said.

Sabre headed down again and a moment later
he’d joined the current and allowed it to take them without
swimming. In the distance a pale light gleamed against the depths.
As they neared she could see it was a city.

The lost city of Atlantis.

It was quite a bit bigger than she expected
or imagined. The wagon-wheel shape was built under a large dome and
the glow from it stretched forever with the light glowing upward.
Because of their depth there was no chance the light would reach
the surface. Was this how they’d managed to survive all these
centuries? Unnoticed?

A set of gates carpeted in algae greeted them
guarded by stone sentries that had seen better days. They were
crumbling yet stood silent watch with unseeing eyes. The gates
opened outward allowing their entrance then closed behind them.

Ahead the dome beckoned them home.
Home
. This was her new home. Sabre led them toward an
entrance with some sort of panel on the side of it. He pressed his
hand to it and a moment later the door slid open. Once they were
inside, it closed and she realized they were in a pressurization
chamber. The water quickly drained leaving them air to breathe.

The sudden loss of water made Eden fall to
her knees, gagging on the liquid in her lungs. He held her hair as
she vomited it all at their feet. She hated that. Hated he saw her
weakness. Hated he saw her throwing up at his shoes. Once the
heaving stopped he patted her back with a gentle hand.

“Better now? I forgot to tell you about that
part.”

She flashed him a glare and started to retort
but a loud blower kicked on, the loud whine drowning out any
questions she might have had. It lasted only a few seconds before
it stopped, the silence nearly deafening.

“The sanitizer,” he said. “It makes sure we
don’t bring back and bacteria from topside.”

“Oh. Great.”

“I should have warned you about that.”

She wiped her chin with the back of her hand.
“Why didn’t you throw up?”

“I am well accustomed to the change in
environment.”

Right. He would be.

Going through that again was not exactly her
idea of a swell time. She didn’t enjoy it at all. He wrapped his
arm around her shoulders and she leaned into him grateful for his
strength. Another door opened to the city. Two men stood on the
other side.

One was as tall as Sabre with black eyes and
short cropped hair. He had a wicked tattoo of a blackbird down one
side of his face. He had the look of danger as he scowled. His
muscles strained against his shirt threatening to pop the
seams.

The other guy was as muscular but he looked
more civilized. With brown hair brushing his shoulders he had the
greenest eyes she’d ever seen. And a smile on his chiseled
face.

“This your woman?” the green-eyed man said.
“Nice work, Sabre. Where can I get one of those?”

“Is the area secured?” Sabre asked, ignoring
him. “Like we talked about?”

“Northside has been deserted for quite some
time. I doubt anyone will be looking for you there,” he
replied.

“Your apartment awaits,” the tattoo man
answered. He scowled at Eden. Practically curled up his lip in
disgust. “And, yeah, we secured the area. With any luck we’ll get
there without being noticed.”

“Eden, this is Raven and Lucian. They’re here
to help us.” Raven was the one with the bird tattoo.
Not a
blackbird…a raven
. Lucian was the other one. “I trust them. So
can you.”

“Welcome to Atlantis, Eden,” Lucian said and
flashed a winning smile.

“This way.” Raven wasted no words on
pleasantries.

The vibe she got off him was something a bit
stronger than dislike. Maybe he didn’t like humans. Maybe she was
disgusting. Maybe he saw her puking in the air lock and was
revolted by her.

Maybe she didn’t care.

The two men turned and hurried down the
corridor with Eden and Sabre following close behind. She didn’t
have time to take in her surroundings. This part of the city seemed
so sterile. So military. So stark. There was nothing welcoming and
warm about it. It felt like she had fallen into some kind of
underground bunker except with clear walls and one hell of an
aquarium outside.

They walked so fast she couldn’t process the
sights. She knew she would have to explore later. As soon as she
stopped feeling so queasy.

They rounded a corner and another. Until she
was completely lost in the maze of the city. The corridor opened up
into something totally different and fantastical. It was just like
any other city she’d been in only underwater. There were streets
lined with lamps. Dilapidated two-story buildings stood dark and
silent. But they didn’t look like any traditional building with
which she was familiar. These were concrete and steel with no curb
appeal whatsoever.

The place was bleak. This must be the
abandoned northside with the deserted streets.

Eden wondered if they had cars here or some
mode of transportation. Something that would move them from one
point to the other. A quick glance overhead told her there was a
monorail system that looked as though it’d seen better days. A
rusted abandoned railcar sat atop it. It had two broken headlights
and the door was stuck open.

“That’s the ELL,” Sabre said. He noticed her
gazing at the monorail. “It once serviced this end of the city long
ago. Before people moved to the more appealing southside.”

They headed for one of the buildings at the
end of the street. Of all of them this one seemed to be in the best
repair. The paint peeled from the exterior walls but it at least
looked as though the walls wouldn’t fall down. Raven used a card to
swipe across as pad with a red light. The light turned green and
the front door slid open.

“In here.” He ushered them inside the
darkness.

This was a crude apartment. The first room
was spacious with several cushy chairs and a sofa. A low table.
Lights overhead illuminated the place in a soft yellow glow. A
small kitchenette nestled in one corner with a tiny dinette set.
Stairs led up to the second level. Eden ventured further inside and
found a bedroom with a bed and not much else. She flushed. There
was a small bathroom with barely room for one.

“Dr. Franco knew you were gone,” Raven
said.

“Did you stall him?”

“I told him you were preoccupied with the men
giving orders. Making sure they brought back more women. Per his
request.” Raven scowled, his dark face looking even more
menacing.

“Does he know we’re here?” Sabre asked.

“No. I made sure he was occupied with the
women.” Raven’s dark eyes glinted with something dark and
dangerous. “But he’ll be looking for you soon enough.”

“And I’ll see to him when I can. Right now
Eden’s safety is more important. What about Helene?”

“She’s fine. I made sure myself,” Lucian
said.

“Thank you both,” Sabre said. “I owe
you.”

“You do.” Raven gave one last glance at Eden
before stalking out the door.

“Don’t pay him any mind, Eden.” Lucian smiled
and took her hand and kissed it. “He’s standoffish at best. It was
a pleasure meeting you.”

“Keep me posted on Dr. Franco’s movements,”
Sabre said. “I want to know what the bastard is up to.”

“You got it, boss.”

He gave him a jaunty salute as he left them
alone.

“Who’s Dr. Franco?” she asked as soon as the
door had closed. “Is he the bastard that wants the human
women?”

“Yes,” Sabre said. “And if he knows you’re
here he’ll want you especially because you’re with child.”

“Well he can’t have me.” She crossed her arms
in defiance. She would fight with everything she had if he tried to
abduct her or take her child away.

Sabre grinned, clutched her to him and held
her close. He kissed the top of her head.

“Welcome home, love,” he said. “It’s not much
but this is only temporary until the baby is born. And then I’ll
move us.”

“Where?” she asked.

“To a better place. More suitable for a
baby.” He stroked her hair. “I love you so much.”