Mayan Lover (12 page)

Under the glittery residual light, Gwen looked
at Arka. His expression reflected the stunned awe she felt. As if
nothing had happened, the moon and sun lit up bright and clear in the
heavens, and the shadows of darkness retreated from their light. The
last of the day’s warm rays created a spectacular sunset
masterpiece. Its beauty held her spellbound. She smiled a slow smile
as immeasurable gratitude consumed her.

The air shimmered and Gwen gasped as Ixchel
appeared, hand in hand with an absolutely gorgeous hunk of man. The
resemblance between Arka and Kinich was amazing. Her mother wasn’t
lying … the Sun God was hot. “I told you.”
Ixchel voice tinkled with a chuckle as she placed a kiss to
Kinich’s cheek.

Before she could comment, Ixchel snatched the
amethyst skull from Gwen’s hand and tossed it over her shoulder
dismissively. Kinich smirked at his wife and took Arka's, dropping it
to the ground without Ixchel’s dramatics. Arka's eyes widened.
“They aren't fragile, my son,” Kinich responded to Arka's
mortified expression. He put his arm over Arka’s shoulder and
led him a few yards away.

“The Goddess of the Universe has refused
your sacrifice.” From beneath Ixchel’s gown, she withdrew
a skull of milky white quartz crystal. In the corner of her vision,
Gwen saw Kinich likewise withdrew a skull of solid amber. “Your
and Arka’s godhood is ratified and blessed, my light.”
Ixchel held the skull out reverently in both hands to Gwen. “I
expect you to visit me often.”

Gwen took the offering, but the Moon Goddess's
sentiment confused her. “What are you saying?”

The skull levitated from her hands to her heart,
and Gwen instinctively grasped it. Her eyes fluttered shut. A surge
of energy flooded her system, circulating between her heart and the
skull. Every cell in her body fired and tingled with renewed life. A
sense of wholeness overcame her as a single tear slid down her cheek.
The weight of the skull surrendered to her grasp like a sigh of
happiness.

Gwen opened her eyes. She felt … normal
again. Aware now that her “normal” included the essence
of the Moon Goddess. “Mother … I am the Goddess of
Moonlight.”

Ixchel stroked her hand down Gwen's hair.
“‘
Mother
’ … I’ve dreamed of
hearing that endearment from you for millions of years.” She
smiled. “This skull is a gift from the universe. It holds your
power, Goddess of Moonlight. Through the skull you may use your light
to guard the earth at your discretion during your human life. And to
visit me.”

From the corner of her vision she saw Kinich and
Arka speaking together a few yards away. The amber skull passed from
the Sun God to the man she loved and floated to his chest. Arka’s
head lifted, his body shook, and a soft warm glow accentuated his
deeply tanned skin. His chin slowly lowered and he lifted the amber
skull to his forehead, whispering something to it.

Arka dropped to one knee, bowing before Kinich
as he'd done to her many times. Gwen finally understood the position.
It wasn’t about simply worship, but honor and love too. She
followed Arka's lead and knelt to Ixchel. Tears of love filled her
mother’s eyes.

“You honor me, daughter. Soon you will
stand at my side. Until then ...” Ixchel placed her hand to
Gwen's bowed head. A feather light kiss brushed her cheek. “Enjoy
your humanity.” Gwen slowly raised her face. Ixchel was gone. A
glance toward Arka revealed that he knelt before empty air as well.
The amethyst and crystal skulls had disappeared.

Gwen rose and went to Arka. “Strip,”
she whispered in his ear. “I need you. I need to feel alive, my
god. I need to feel your primal, virile flesh against mine …
hot and hard inside me.” She left her other need unspoken.

With an impassioned growl he rose to his feet,
handed his skull to her, and dropped his shorts with the quirked-lip
grin that sent a clench of anticipation to her womb. Moisture flooded
her core. She kicked off her shorts and panties. She could feel his
eyes on her ass when she bent to set both her and his skulls on the
ground, then averted the skulls’ faces before yanking her shirt
off. Arka’s hand gripped her hip and breast as they sank to the
ground.

His lips crushed down on hers with the perfect
amount of pressure, ending with the exact amount of sting when he bit
her bottom lip. Gwen pushed him to his back and straddled him. He
chuckled a groan. His hand moved to the back of her head for another
kiss, but Gwen had other things in mind. She slid down his body.
“What are you doing?” He pushed up to his elbows.

She ran her tongue from the base of him to the
tip. He groaned with pleasure. “Don’t pretend you’ve
never had a blow job before.”

His eyes narrowed with curiosity. “You’re
going to blow into my manhood?”

Gwen grinned and took him deep into her mouth.
His rich, decadent taste was better than fine, aged malt liquor.
Swirling her tongue, she lifted to the bulbous head, teasing it
before plunging him deep again. “Oh, gods,” he grit out
as she tortured him a few more strokes.

She lifted and held his gaze as she turned to
present him with her backside. Did she dare ask him for what she
wanted? Needed? He rose to his knees behind her.
Smack.
His
palm came down on her ass, sending a flood of moisture to her core.
She moaned with ecstasy. He pushed through her folds with a single
hard thrust, instantly spiraling her to the edge of sensory abyss.
Her muscles contracted around him. His hips slapped against her
backside with a frantic rhythm. Her climax, so close, remained just
out of reach. She cried out in frustration. Arka’s fingers went
to her bundle of nerves with fervor, and she crested with a scream.

He groaned long, tensed, and twitched deep
inside her. Gwen floated as ripples of pleasure raced through her.
He’d known. Without asking, he’d known. “I love you
so much.” A single tear of happiness escaped down her cheek.

“And I love you, my goddess,” he
whispered against her ear.

Excerpts from other works by Wendy S. Hales

The Enlightened Species Series

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Jess jogged out to the parking lot, not
surprised to see him leaning against her Jeep. He was taller than she
had realized at about six foot three, with long, lean, well-defined
muscles beneath his jeans and T-shirt. In the waning sunlight, his
hair appeared darker, with auburn highlights. What captured her
attention was the deep forest-green of his eyes, the color darkened
the closer she came. A kaleidoscope of brown specks clustered in the
center.

She studied him. He gave her a cocky grin. She
was pretty sure he was reading every thought in her head, and yes,
she thought he was even sexier up close, the bastard. It didn’t
change the fact that he knew her name, what she drove, probably her
weight and favorite color, all without her telling him, and she still
didn’t even know his name.

“You can stop shielding me or whatever you
are doing now,” she grumbled, knowing she should feel grateful
for his help. Instead she felt uncomfortable with him having so much
knowledge about her. She hated that he was aware of her weakness when
it came to psychic overload.

“I haven’t been shielding you for
awhile now.” He shrugged, following her around to the driver’s
side of her car, holding out his hand for her keys. She blinked up at
him.

“You are not driving my Jeep! Where do you
think you are going with me anyway?” She tossed her bag into
the back seat “What do you mean you aren’t shielding me?
I would be in agony if you weren’t.” Turning to face him,
she shot one question after another at him. A dam of curiosity burst
through her. Pointing her finger at his chest, she interrogated him.
“What did you do to make it better? Can you teach me how? Why
did you call Jerika your protégé?” Hands on her
hips, she had backed him several steps away from the door of the
Jeep. “What is a protégé? Why are you watching
her? How come the officers let you be there at all?” She hoped
that last bit didn’t sound quite so jealous and petty to him as
it did to her. Jerika was none of her business.

“Whoa, damn female. The deal was I shield
your psyche, and you answer a few questions. What the hell?”
Holding up both hands defensively, he was laughing at her again, a
deep, sexy sound. Her first reaction was to purr and rub up against
him like a cat. She felt the blush rising up her neck to redden her
face.

“Sorry. Sorry, I know … I just,
wow. Today was such a great day. I don’t hurt, at all. I can’t
remember not being in some sort of psychic pain. At least …
not since my mom. I guess I’m just excited.” She chewed
her bottom lip, thinking. Was excited too forward a term? ”Could
you at least tell me your name?”

“If I can drive?” He was grinning at
her again.

She was so sick of being his private little
joke, his arrogant attitude instantly spiraled her to pissed-off.
Grateful to feel something empowering rather than the awkwardness he
seemed to bring out of her, she pounced. “You seriously expect
me to hand over my keys and get into the car with you? Without even
knowing your name? Really?”

His grin only widened. “You, Beauty, can
definitely take care of yourself. Don’t even pretend to be
afraid of me. I’ve watched you kick ass all day.” There
was admiration underlying the amusement in his gaze.

“Not being afraid of you does not mean
being stupid. If you don’t want to tell me your name, then we
can stand right here … safely and in front of a
police
academy
. While you ask me whatever it is you seem to think you
want to know.” Still irritated at him, she retraced the few
steps back to the side of the Jeep. “Of course, if you really
aren’t shielding me, then maybe the deal is off anyway.”
Spinning her keys to make loud snapping sounds into her palm, she
pretended to consider whether she should leave.

“I really was beginning to like being
called Bleacher Boy.” He sighed. “My name is Shanley
Einar. You and I both know that we are not going to be able to speak
freely here.” He held his hand out for her keys again. “You
already knew my name the same way I knew yours. Call me Shane.”

When he said his name, she realized she already
knew it. She had known it from the minute he spoke to her. The keys
slipped from her hand into his, and she pivoted to walk back around
the Jeep, taking a seat on the passenger side. Shane stood at the
open driver’s door, holding her hard-won keys. He stared at her
a few moments, then climbed into the driver’s seat, adjusting
it to fit his long legs.

“Where to?” he asked, starting the
motor.

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“
You will return to me.”
It
had been so long since Zakel had pushed against her mind that Umbrae
hadn't realized how lax she'd become in guarding against him. He was
close, very close. That thought didn't terrify her; if anything she
felt anticipation. Irsu had never explained why the warriors didn't
kill him the day they rescued her. She'd punched a wall when she'd
told Umbrae he'd escaped. Not wanting to incite her friend further,
she'd never pushed for more information.

She saw Irsu walking from the direction of a
house. Her friend’s lack of smile and intensity was telling.
“Zakel is near.” She spoke before her friend had the
chance.

Irsu gave her a subtle nod. “We have been
observing him since he arrived in Mesa a few days ago. Someone tipped
him off to your arrival. He sits in the bluff behind me just outside
the weave.”

“Watching for me?” Umbrae verified.

“We believe so.” Irsu confirmed. “He
is watching us now.”

Umbrae noticed Hans tense beside her. They'd
each been given bios on each other before they were partnered
together. Hans had never asked her a single question or mentioned
what he'd read in hers, a courtesy she had returned. His reaction
verified he knew of her blood slave past.

“Tell me the Survivors Ball invitation was
your way of bringing me in on this hunt.” The rage creeping up
on her made her voice lower.

“Oh, the invitation is real, and you are
going to the ball.” Irsu’s eyes never wavered. “That
was in the works long before Zakel reared his evil head. The Oracles
declared you a member of the hunting party this morning. You will get
to face him, and if I have my way, you will get to kill him.”

“The Oracles?” Umbrae had met a few.
They were mysterious by calling. The idea of Oracle influence gave
her more pause then Zakel. “Why?”

Irsu grinned for the first time. “Why do
they do anything? We're needed in Greenland; there are others who
will be joining in.”

Enlil
. The name floated through her mind,
and her stomach clenched at the thought. It had to be him. So often
she'd wanted to seek him out and tell him of Etana, especially when
she started hearing his name whispered amongst the warriors at the
end of her training. She'd never found the courage, nor did she ask
anyone about him. Enlil was the love of Umbrae's life, though she had
yet to meet him.

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Aymee nodded even though he still refused to
look at her. “I’ve been attacked. There were four of
them. I … I knocked out three but one of them … got
away.” She gave the 911 dispatcher her location and snapped the
phone closed on the nasal voice asking her more questions. Eros
peered at her from the corner of his eye, a streak of silver between
long, nearly black lashes. “They’re on their way.”
She lifted her hand to cover her breast again.