Warriors of Poseidon 01 - Atlantis Rising

but a girl had limits as to how much she could absorb in one night.
     
    That unbelievably sensuous smile quirked the edges of his lips, and he leaned back against the headboard of the bed. "No, no bubbles. No mermaids, either, before you ask. Hollywood movies aren't really a source of historical fact, Riley, in spite of what my brother might think."
     
    "Hey! I loved mermaids when I was a little girl. I wanted to grow up and have a dolphin for a pet and swim with my fish tail and the whole thing," she said indignantly.
     
    He leaned forward, suddenly intent. "You were at the beach tonight, after experiencing traumatic events, instead of retreating to your home. Why was that?"
     
    Suddenly uncomfortable, Riley shifted on the bed, looking anywhere but at him. "I don't know," she admitted. "I've always been that way. I go to the ocean for solace, for solitude. For healing."
     
    The starkness of her words hung in the silence between them for a long moment, and then he leaned back against the headboard again. "That may be important, Riley. I don't know why, but it feels like something important. Maybe Alaric will know."
     
    The name sounded familiar, and she squirmed a bit. "Alaric? Is he the scary one who looked at me like I was a bug stuck to the end of a pin? I kinda threatened to hurt him."
     
    Atlantis Rising – Warriors of Poseidon 01
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    His eyes widened, and then he grinned. "Oh, I'd give half the royal treasury to have seen that."
     
    Riley laughed, trying not to freak out about a guy who calmly said things like "half the royal treasury." Holy crap.
     
    He raised one eyebrow, and seemed to get tense all over again. "You're not going to tell me that you thought he was great-looking, too?"
     
    "He looked like a convicted felon," she said flatly. "He made me want to call for backup.
    So, no worries, not even the slightest hint of an attraction there."
     
    He leaned forward so quickly she almost didn't see him move and lifted one of her hands to his mouth, kissed it briefly, and released it. "Thank you for that, Riley. I don't understand why—and I have to be honest, I don't like it one bit—but I seem to have a need to know that you're not attracted to any of my warriors. To any other males at all."
     
    She rolled her eyes. "Look, Conlan, I know you might think otherwise, because of the way I reacted to you, but it's not like I'm some kind of nymphomaniac."
     
    "And that would be bad because…" he drawled, the gleam coming back to his eyes, and the intriguing blue-green flame in his pupils flashing at her.
     
    "Don't be a pervert," she said, laughing. "Okay, and that's another thing. Why do your eyes get that blue-green flicker in the middle of them, like right now?"
     
    He sat up fast, ramrod straight. "My eyes do what, exactly?"
     
    "Sorry, didn't mean to upset you. It's just that your pupils are so black, until you get that blue-green flame in them. I was a little bit curious."
     
    Atlantis Rising – Warriors of Poseidon 01
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    Conlan shot up off the bed. When he turned around to face her, she noticed that his eyes had gone black again. When he spoke, his voice was icy. "It's very late, Riley. I need to discuss strategy with Alaric before I rest. You should also get some rest, because we'll undoubtedly be leaving early in the morning."
     
    He strode toward the door, leaving her gaping in his wake. "What the hell just happened? Do you Atlanteans have split personalities or something? And why do you think I'm going anywhere with you in the morning? You still haven't explained anything to me, Prince Conlan, or whoever you are," she said, temper rising.
     
    He stopped at the doorway, looked back at her. "I am Conlan, high prince of Atlantis,"
    he said, voice flat. "I need explain myself to no one. The Warriors of Poseidon have been the defenders of humanity for more than eleven thousand years, and I have been their leader for centuries."
     
    He yanked the door open, took a step, then stopped. "My reaction to a human female, aknasha or no, changes nothing."
     
    Before she could even begin to think of a response blistering enough to peel strips off his hide, he was gone, slamming the door shut behind him.
     
    "You—you jackass!" she yelled, jumping up to run for the door. But before she could reach it, she heard the unmistakable click of a lock. Momentum carried her the rest of the way and she yanked on the handle, but only confirmed what she'd known when she