Warriors of Poseidon 01 - Atlantis Rising

she'd been shot.
    "What happened, Riley? Who was that man, and how did he heal my shoulder?"
     
    "I'm not exactly sure how he heals, Quinn. His name is Alaric, and he—"
     
    "Alaric," Quinn broke in, eyes widening. "I knew it. Somehow, I knew that was his name.
    It's almost as if he talked to me when he was inside me."
     
    "Inside you?"
     
    "Yes. I could feel him working inside me to heal my shoulder. It was the strangest thing.
    Almost as if a ball of energy—blues and greens and silver, but with darkness shadowing it—was literally traveling inside my skin."
     
    Quinn shook her head, then shoved dark curls out of her eyes. "Or am I just losing my mind?" she asked, anguish clear in her eyes.
     
    "You're not losing your mind. I've been through almost the same experience with Conlan. There is something amazingly different about these Atlanteans. I can reach into their emotions on a level far deeper than I've ever done with anyone except you, Quinn."
     
    Riley jumped up and started pacing the length of the small room. "And they can feel my emotions, as well, to a certain extent. This is almost unbelievable, but Conlan can read my mind, at times. He… I don't know how to describe it. It's beyond anything I've ever felt."
     
    Riley turned toward Quinn at the sound of her low whistle. Quinn stared at her, searching her face with her gaze. "What's that tone in your voice, Riley? I haven't heard that tone from you since college. No, maybe never. Do you have feelings for this guy?"
    Atlantis Rising – Warriors of Poseidon 01
    Page 190 of 351
     
    Riley's face burned, and she ducked her head, but not before Quinn had seen it. "I don't know. I don't know what I feel, except that I've been inside his mind, Quinn. And I've never seen anything like it—I've never felt anything like it."
     
    She crossed the room to sit on the edge of the bed next to her sister. "He saved me. He saved me from some thugs on the beach who would have raped me or worse. Then he saved me—well, we sort of saved each other—from a band of vampires who went batshit on my front lawn."
     
    Riley grabbed Quinn's hand again, held on as if to a lifeline. "I've seen inside him. The pain—I don't know how anyone could have survived the torture I saw in his memories."
     
    "Another stray animal you want to bring home?"
     
    "Want to bring home," Riley mused. "The want part is certainly true. I—I can't believe I'm admitting this, but we have this amazing animal attraction thing going on. I want him more than I've ever wanted anything or anyone in my life."
     
    She shook her head. "It's completely nuts."
     
    Quinn pulled her hand out of Riley's and grabbed her sister by the shoulders, then gave her a little shake. "Are you—and I ask this in the nicest possible way—out of your tiny little mind? How long have you known this guy? It seems like I would've heard from you a little earlier, if you'd been dating Mr. Hotshot Atlantis Dude for very long."
     
    Riley shook her head. "We're not even dating. I only met him last night. And yet I know him more than I've ever known anyone. Except for you. And when we're together, well—"
     
    Atlantis Rising – Warriors of Poseidon 01
    Page 191 of 351
    Quinn whistled again. "You don't even have to say it, little sister. I can tell by the color your face just turned that you and he set off some serious heat. Did you sleep with him?"
     
    "No! I didn't! I just met him. But, well." Riley bit her lip, considering. "Okay, here it is. If I'd had a chance, I probably would have. I've never felt that kind of attraction to any man. Ever."
     
    She stopped midthought. "Wait a minute! Forget my nonexistent sex life. We're talking about you here. What on earth were you doing with a band of shapeshifters? And what is this tough-guy act? It's not like you're… I mean—"
     
    "I know what you mean. Poor, fragile Quinn, who everybody always has to protect,"
    Quinn said bitterly. "Well, sometimes you have to grow up. And I didn't bother to let anybody know that I'd changed, because being weak and useless is a good cover.
    Think Zorro or the Scarlet Pimpernel."
     
    "But when… what…" Riley's voice trailed off. She wasn't sure how to ask her sister what needed to be asked.
     
    She wasn't sure she wanted to hear the answer.
     
    "Later. I'll tell you about it later. Maybe." Quinn stared at her for a long moment, then swung her legs off the bed and bent to pull on her boots. "You're better than I ever was at