Warriors of Poseidon 01 - Atlantis Rising

out of her mind to agree to it, she nodded. She couldn't help herself. Something inside of her wouldn't let her run away. Maybe insanity, or maybe just the adrenaline high from surviving two near-death experiences in a single evening.
     
    But every protective instinct that had served her well in her job—that should have been shouting caution, caution, back away from the super hunk—was screaming yes, yes, yes, touch me, touch me.
     
    Riley snapped out of her mental ramble, realizing that the hottest man she'd ever seen was bending toward her. Slowly, ever so slowly, he lowered his face toward hers, as if to kiss her.
     
    Oh, if he'd only kiss her.
     
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    A mere breath away from her, he smiled a slow smile of sheer male satisfaction. It made him look even more the predator he clearly was.
     
    I'm down with that, aknasha. But first, I want to feel the touch of your mind. With that, he lowered his forehead to hers.
     
    For the second time that night, Riley's world exploded.
     
    Her body stiffened, and she jerked backward so hard she'd have fallen if he hadn't captured her with strong hands on her arms. He. Him. Conlan. His name was Conlan and he was… some sort of leader. Thoughts and impressions leapt from his mind to her own, drowning her in sensations and colors. His… thoughts?… aura?… soul? … a vivid blue-green, like a pool of the clearest water or the depths of the sea. But blackness—a boiling blackness swirled in the middle of it.
     
    Torture. Pain. A name—a face—dark beauty ruined by evil and madness.
     
    Anubisa?
     
    She twisted in his arms, trying to escape from the intensity of his mind's capture of hers, but he held her with arms like steel bands.
     
    Just as the pain branded in his memories held her in its thrall. Torture, pain, burning—slicing, shredding, searing agony… How could he have borne so much pain for so long?
     
    She gasped, trying to breathe, trying for distance. No longer trying to pull away, but seeking to understand.
     
    How? How was he inside of her mind? She felt him—she knew him—she understood him on some fundamental level. She could read his fierce determination to discover her, Atlantis Rising – Warriors of Poseidon 01
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    to explore her, to… have her? The intensity of his mind scan changed, with all the subtlety of the tidal wave he'd called earlier, into an outpouring of sexual longing.
     
    A violent hunger, tinged with his shock at his reaction to her. She yanked her head away from his in a desperate attempt to protect herself and thought, for an instant, that she saw blue-green fire raging in the depths of his black pupils.
     
    She shook her head to clear it, and spoke out loud to try to dampen the hunger rising between them. "Conlan. Your name is Conlan, right? I don't know how I know that, but… mine is Riley."
     
    Then, in spite of her fear, she laughed a little. "Wow. Talk about a 'me, Tarzan, you, Jane' moment."
     
    Then the memories banished the smile from her face. "How could you bear it? So much pain for so long…"
     
    She shook her head, aching for him. Aching for this man she didn't even know. "It would have driven me insane."
     
    He finally spoke, voice flat. "Don't jump to any conclusions. I never claimed to be sane."

Chapter 6
    Conlan threw his head back, gulping in a lungful of air, the ugly reality of his memories stark in the silence between them. She had more courage than he'd even guessed, this small human. With his mind thrust into hers, he'd touched the fundamental core of her—their thoughts nearly melded. The purity of her soul shocked him; his cynicism was centuries old.
     
    One touch and he knew her, somehow.
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    Intellectually.
     
    Emotionally.
     
    "Again. I need to touch you again," he said roughly, pulling her closer. "Please."
     
    He gazed down at her, willing her not to deny him. She stared back at him, fear subsiding into acceptance, and then she nodded and closed her eyes, lifting her forehead to his.
     
    But he didn't want a mere innocent touch this time. He needed just a taste of her. Just a small taste. He knew he was lying to himself about the small part even as he thought it.
     
    He didn't care.
     
    He swept down to capture her lips with his own. At the first touch of his mouth, her eyes snapped open, and she gasped just enough for his tongue to sweep inside of