[Atlantean's Quest 03] Redemption (12 page)

“There’s supposed to be thirteen stones here. I only count twelve.”

His breath came in angry gasps as he glared at the men around him. “I won’t be mad, just tell me which one of you moved a stone.”

Hushed whispers spread in rapid fire throughout the group.

“No one has touched a thing, el professor.”

“Damn it all to hell!” Rumsinger stilled as quickly as he’d exploded. The male must have taken the missing fragment. No wonder the thing wasn’t working, it couldn’t, as is. He had to find the male of the tribe. The woman was of no use to him. She’d been nothing but trouble since her initial capture. Women truly were filthy creatures.

Rumsinger turned to the guards, who looked uneasy. “Has anyone been here since I sent you to stand guard?”

The men stepped back. “No, señor, you are the first person we have seen.”

The professor snorted. Surrounded by incompetence, Rumsinger knew there was nothing he could do to change the situation. He shook his head and then turned back to the trail he’d just traversed. He strolled back through the jungle, replaying the earlier battle scene in his mind. The missing piece was not small and the male hadn’t been wearing enough clothing to conceal anything, which meant he’d hidden the missing stone somewhere nearby.

Rumsinger swung his light around, looking for any place obvious that could be used for hiding an object of that size. Nothing jumped out at him. A bird squawked above him, as if the light had disturbed its beauty rest. The animal was lucky he didn’t kill it; given the mood he was in, it wouldn’t take much to kill man or beast.

Rumsinger picked up a nearby branch and threw it blindly at the creature. Within a matter of seconds he’d lost everything, the woman, the warrior, and the stone needed to operate the transport. Without the latter, he had nothing to show the world. Nothing to proclaim for his superior intelligence. Nothing to garner the respect he ultimately deserved.

Tomorrow he’d order the men to fan out and begin the search for the missing stone. He had to find it before the giant Tarzan-looking man did or all would be lost. Rumsinger gritted his teeth. He’d sacrificed too much on this bloody trip for all to be lost now. He’d kill every individual if necessary. No one was going to keep his treasure from him.

No one.

* * * * *

Ariel awoke to the sound of Coridan tossing logs onto a fire. She blinked, but wasn’t initially able to see the flames due to the depth of the pit he’d dug. Fruit had been placed next to the fire as Coridan prepared what looked to be a feast for them. Ariel stood and walked the small distance separating them.

Can I help?

He glanced up at her and smiled, causing Ariel’s heart to do a curious little flip in her chest.
I believe all is in order. Sit, it’ll be ready to eat in a moment.

Ariel did as she was told, making herself comfortable on the soft grass.
Have you been awake long?

Long enough.
He didn’t look up from the task at hand, just continued to work, slicing through the papaya and mango fruit, removing any seeds. Once finished Coridan turned to face her, his sticky hands extended, offering her the bounty he’d reaped from the jungle.

Ariel nodded her thanks, before accepting a big slice of mango. She took a bite, the juices exploding down her chin. She wiped the sticky evidence away and continued to eat. Coridan watched her for many moments, until she grew uneasy under his gaze. She cleared her throat and stared back, then and only then did he pick up a piece of fruit for himself and take a bite.

The rest of the meal was eaten in companionable silence. They finished most of the fruit, saving a few bananas for the morning meal. They washed down the delicious bounty with the water he’d stored in the gourds. Coridan then raised his hands above her before she could stop him, sending a cleansing energy burst through her body. The intimacy of the act did not go unnoticed.

His aqua eyes stared at her lovingly. Ariel wondered if he knew how much his eyes gave away. Probably not. She smiled to herself. She didn’t want to think about how that look made her feel. It was too…unnerving. Ariel thought it best to strike up a conversation, anything to take her mind off the man.

So how are we going to get to the transport without encountering the professor’s men?

Coridan’s gaze narrowed, turning him instantly back into the warrior she knew…and loved?
We aren’t. There is no way we can approach the transport without encountering a battle.

Ariel tried to keep her voice calm as she spoke to him, but worry crept in like a thief in the night.
Then what are we going to do?

We’re going to fight. Well, I’m going to fight. You are going to make your way to the transport with the missing stone and escape. I’ll hold his men back for as long as I can.

He wasn’t coming. Ariel’s mind rebelled.
No!

No?

No! That plan is not acceptable to me.

Coridan crossed his arms over his muscled chest.
Why not?
he asked, his brow arching in what could only be male incredulity.

The only way I plan to leave this planet is together. Otherwise, ‘tis impossible.

That is not true, seer, and you know it. He swiped a hand through the air. You are being foolish.

Foolish?

Yes! You’re acting like a…like a woman. He released a bent up breath.

Ariel’s eyes narrowed on him and her lips thinned.
You may not have noticed.
Her voice hissed in their heads as she glanced down over her body for emphasis.
But I am a woman!

Coridan glared back at her, hot and male. His gaze lazily caressed her bare skin, leaving molten heat behind.
I’m well aware of your gender, seer.
He swallowed hard.
In fact, there hasn’t been a second I’ve been able to forget it. My body makes me painfully aware of our differences every second I’m in your presence. The question is how long can I go, before my baser instincts get the best of me?

Despite his harsh tone, the threat in his words thrilled her, delighting Ariel to her toes. Coridan poked the fire, stirring the embers. Ariel exhaled, filling the air with shimmering gold. Her eyes widened, her gaze shooting to the warrior’s broad back. Ariel fanned the air in front of her face madly, praying the gold dispersed quickly. Coridan turned back to her, his gaze narrowing as he took in her frantic movements.

In one breath, she could have unwittingly given him his answer.

Chapter Nine

What are you doing?

Nothing. Ariel stirred the air.

Is that gold?

What are you talking about? Ariel glanced around.

Coridan squinted in the low light. Whatever it had been was gone now. I thought I saw gold in the air.

Ridiculous, even if you had, it would change nothing.

It would change everything…

Well it’s a good thing it wasn’t, then. Ariel shrugged. Obviously, what you saw was a trick of the light, an illusion. She held her hands out, as if to show him she had nothing to hide. This can change nothing, not until we leave this place and warn our people.

Her last statement gave Coridan reason to pause. Exhaustion beat at his body. Had he seen gold? Between the firelight and the flicker of glow bugs, he wasn’t sure. Yet Ariel’s words seemed to be offering them a modicum of hope. He latched onto that bright speck, however distant, refusing to let go. He kept his face purposely blank, so as not to draw attention to her words. Not only was her body coming around, but her mind also.

We need to come up with a plan we can both live with. She sounded exasperated.

Coridan didn’t miss the double meaning of her words. Fine. He conceded. The professor will not be expecting a frontal attack. You will go to the tree stump where I’ve hidden the transport stone and retrieve it before we strike.

All right, but we must not underestimate the professor.

Coridan’s face hardened. I underestimate no one.

Ariel nodded.

You’ll come in from the south, carrying the stone. I’ll enter the clearing from the north.

Then what?

Coridan released a heavy breath. While I’m holding the professor and his men at bay, you’ll slip to the transport and replace the missing piece.

Ariel smiled. And then I’ll join in the fight?

His brows furrowed. No! Coridan shook his head.

Ariel’s smile slipped to a frown. I’m not going to just stand there as the red-devil tries to kill you.

Coridan felt his lips thin. Try being the operative word. He will not kill me, and you will not join in the fight. Is that understood?

For a moment Ariel said nothing.

If you do not agree to my plan, then I will take you far from this place and claim you as my mate, with or without the energy bind, as is my right. We will never see the Atlantean people or Zaron again. Is this what you wish? The part of Coridan that feared returning to his home planet prayed she’d disagree, give him the excuse he needed to act.

Ariel scowled. You know something, you are such a…a…warrior!

Coridan smiled, letting her feel the heat her words brought to his blood. He was sure she’d been about to call him something else far more unpleasant. He was indeed a warrior, an Atlantean warrior to be exact. Few were fiercer in this world when called upon to do battle.

As I was saying… He arched a brow, knowing it would annoy her even more. He couldn’t resist. The pout that came to her luscious lips when she didn’t get her way held him in thrall. As if on cue, Ariel crossed her arms over her ample breasts and stuck her lower lip out in a perfect pout. Coridan laughed to himself and then thanked the Goddess for blessing him so.

Once you’ve put the stone in place and made sure the transport works, you will send me a signal letting me know it is safe to make my way to the portal. His gaze locked to hers, willing her compliance. At which time, you will slip through the transport and I will follow.

I don’t like it.

You don’t have to like it, you just have to do it. I cannot do battle and worry about your safety at the same time.

Ariel’s shoulders squared. I am perfectly capable of taking care of myself.

That’s not what it looked like when I found you.

Her nostrils flared. The professor had gotten the jump on me. You would have fared no better.

He snorted. You think not.

Ariel’s jaw closed with a slight clank. What kind of signal should I send? She asked, easily avoiding the subject.

Any will do. Coridan waved his hand in the air. In the end, it wouldn’t matter. It was basically the same plan he’d suggested earlier, but wrapped in a nicer package. He didn’t bother to tell her that once she was safely through the other side he would stay behind and destroy the transport, ensuring the safety of the Atlantean people and his reluctant mate. Hopefully his last heroic deed would change his family’s reputation from disgrace to honor.

* * * * *

There was something about Coridan’s plan that didn’t sit well with Ariel. She knew he wasn’t revealing all and it sounded suspiciously like the old plan reworded. Did he think her a fool? There had to be another way other than direct assault. A full frontal battle would amount to death. Before she could formulate her own plan, he spoke.

‘Tis best we rest while we can. Tomorrow will be a busy day, fraught with much danger and peril.

Ariel returned to where they’d lain together. She settled once more into the soft grass and willed herself to close her eyes. Her mind churned with ideas that she gradually dismissed one by one. She was no strategist. Ariel glanced at her warrior. Coridan crouched near the fire, feeding the hungry flame, his gaze distant, tinged with what appeared to be sadness.

The last thing Ariel saw before exhaustion claimed her was the resolve chiseled in Coridan’s expression, as if he’d made a monumental decision. One which Ariel was sure she would not like or agree with.

* * * * *

Ariel awoke as dawn stretched like a lion’s claws across the horizon. She immediately closed her eyes against the light. Her body felt snug and warm, tucked protectively next to Coridan’s bulk. She shifted her legs and then her arms, feeling a wonderful stretch. Her mind focused on each movement as her lashes fluttered open. Her fingers flexed, clasping a nearby branch. Ariel’s mind stilled. At least she thought it was a branch.

Ariel frowned a second, before her eyes opened fully. Coridan’s aqua gaze bore into her, his jaw was set, and his nostrils flared as she moved her hand. Her gaze traveled from his chin, over his chest to where her hand rested. Somehow, during the night, she’d clasped his cock. Her eyes widened as she started to uncurl her fingertips.

Do not!
Coridan bit out as if he were in an extraordinary amount of pain. He took a deep breath and cleared his throat.
If we are to die today, then I ask one request.

Her gaze met his, steady and strong.
We will not die.
The trouble was Ariel could not be sure what their fate held. She didn’t have the herbs needed to bring about a vision.

Be that as it may. His voiced hissed in their minds. I’d like to experience the sensation of being inside you before we go.

You’ve already been inside of my body.

You know what I mean.

Ariel’s stomach clenched. She’d denied him and herself for so long. What if they died today and never got to experience the pleasure of a real joining? Her heart stammered at the thought. There was a good possibility they would not succeed. Could she meet the Goddess without knowing the pleasure of having Coridan’s, her true-mate’s, cock inside her aching pussy? She didn’t think so.

Moreover, what of the energy bind that would bond them for eternity? No, she must stand firm on the binding. As for the other, she’d denied him and herself for long enough. Her mind made up, she focused once more on Coridan.

Come to me, warrior.
She exhaled, sending gold floating in the air.

* * * * *

The second Ariel acquiesced Coridan practically pounced on her. He pinned her body to the ground, allowing his weight to settle upon her feminine curves. With a simple exhalation, she’d confirmed his suspicions. The sun made the gold sparkle. This was no trick of the light. No wonder she’d not allowed him to kiss her earlier. She’d mentioned the energy bind as being something possible, not probable. He’d seen the gold last night, but his mind had refused to accept the truth.