Warriors of Poseidon 01.5 - Wild Hearts in Atlantis

harm to a female. The thought that you believed I would seek to harm you with my words was suddenly more than I could stand."
     
    Wild Hearts In Atlantis – Warriors of Poseidon 1.5
    Page 29 of 85
    She stared at him, rubbing the spot on her arm where he'd grabbed her. "What—I don't know what to do about you. I planned to offer you the spare room in my home for the night, but I'm not sure that would be a good idea."
     
    His body tightened at the thought of resting so near to her. Seeing her out of that uniform, her wealth of hair spread across his pillow. He slowly exhaled, fought again for control. Resolved to seek counsel from Alaric as soon as possible. "I will sleep under the stars so as not to inconvenience you again. Please do not let my impertinent actions threaten your view of my mission or my people."
     
    She stared at him for a long minute, and then a reluctant smile tugged at the corners of her mouth. "Fair enough. If the entire ranger service were judged by my bad tempers, we'd be out of business."
     
    She turned toward the house, headed for the door. He stood, unmoving, watching the sinuous grace of her walk. Her rounded hips that would fill his hands.
     
    She suddenly glanced back at him. "Well, come on. You can have the guest room if you promise to behave. You did try to protect me from those thugs, after all. There is… there is the small matter of an old debt, as well." She dropped her gaze, not meeting his eyes.
     
    As invitations go, it had been neither the warmest nor the most encouraging he'd heard in his nearly four hundred years. But surely none had ever been more welcome. He swung his duffel out of the back of the jeep, then followed her to the door, shaking his head.
     
    The poetry ambassador. Wait till justice hears that one. On second thought, maybe I'll just keep it to myself.

Chapter Five
    Wild Hearts In Atlantis – Warriors of Poseidon 1.5
    Page 30 of 85
    Kat tossed her keys on the table and tried to force her neck muscles to relax. Every instinct she had—both human and feline—was on the alert, revved up into a heightened state of anticipation. And, though admitting it was painful, arousal.
     
    All because of the man—no, the Atlantean—following her into her house.
     
    And she couldn't figure it out. It wasn't like she'd never seen a sexy man before. Ethan, for example, was flat-out gorgeous. If you liked your men long, lean, hard-bodied and arrogantly alpha, that is.
     
    She had a feeling her tastes ran more to the poetic warrior/ambassador type.
     
    She groaned. "I've gotta get past this."
     
    "Excuse me?" Even his voice was killer. Low and sexy, with a lilting cadence that sounded a bit like a distant cousin to the Gaelic she'd often heard spoken by park visitors from Ireland.
     
    Squaring her shoulders, she turned to face him. "I have to check on the cubs. I'll be back in a moment."
     
    It's not running away when I really do need to check on the babies. It's not.
     
    She kept repeating that to herself all the way down the hall, hoping that soon she'd believe it.
     
    Bastien dropped his bag on the floor near the overstuffed couch, wondering what he should do next. She probably wanted some space from the crazy fool he'd acted like in the car. He couldn't blame her.
     
    Wild Hearts In Atlantis – Warriors of Poseidon 1.5
    Page 31 of 85
    He looked around at the small but cozy room, noting the pictures of what must be her family on a bookshelf. He crossed to it and picked up a frame, recognizing Kat's strong features and height in the man who stood with his arm around a fragile-looking woman who held a baby. Baby Kat, maybe? The woman had Kat's golden coloring, but was a tiny thing. Quinn had said Kat's mother was human. Wonder how hard that had been, growing up as the half-breed kid of the alpha?
     
    A muffled shriek from the back of the house jolted him to attention, and he shoved the frame back on the shelf and took off at a dead run down the hall, automatically reaching for the daggers he wasn't wearing. He'd stashed them in the duffel bag in deference to his hostess; that little courtesy might get him killed. No time to get them now. She might be.
     
    "Kat?" He hit the end of the corridor and burst into the doorway with light spilling out, only to see a totally unexpected sight: Kat sat on the floor, laughing, while four clumsy panther cubs crawled and rolled all over her. Bastien stared at her and felt the breath leave his lungs.
     
    Serious Kat was