Warriors of Poseidon 02 - Atlantis Awakening

this off the street." She turned to disappear through the dark doorway. As Ven followed her, still holding tightly to Erin, his gem singer threw him an elbow. Hard.
     
    He grunted, but didn't let go. "What was that for?"
     
    "Oh, I don't know, let's see. Maybe an introduction would have been nice," she whispered. "Quinn, this is Erin. Erin, this is Quinn. See how easy it is?"
     
    "She's right, you know," said a voice Ven remembered very well. The owner of the voice flowed around the corner, moving with a lethal grace that was uncharacteristic of such a big man. Unless the man were a shape-shifter who became a five-hundred-pound tiger when he was in a bad mood.
     
    "Jungle boy!"
     
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    "That's jungleman to you, fish face," Jack said, holding out his hand to clasp Ven's.
    Then his eyes shifted to Erin, and he leaned toward her slightly and inhaled deeply.
     
    "Who's the witch? Are you finally settling down, gonna raise some guppies?"
     
    Ven tensed and shot out a hand, shoving the tiger back several inches. "Don't sniff my woman like she's your territory."
     
    Jack blinked at him, then laughed. "Your woman? So that's the way of it, is it? Well, don't let it be said that the alpha of my streak doesn't recognize the rights of a mated pair."
     
    Beside him, Erin murmured something under her breath and lifted her hands. The next thing he knew, he and Jack were both sitting on their asses in the hallway, staring up at her in shock.
     
    She made an exaggerated show of wiping her hands together, and then held one out to Quinn. "I am Erin Connors, and I'm pleased to meet you."
     
    Quinn shook her hand, grinning down at Ven and Jack. "Oh, honey. It is seriously my pleasure."
     
    Quinn introduced Erin to the dozen men and two women who stood around tables in the back of the warehouse, but she only used first names and Erin had a strong feeling most if not all of those were aliases. Her magic sensed that at least eight of the group were shape-shifters. All of them, humans included, looked tough and somehow weary, and greeted her with cautious reserve. She had the feeling that only Jack and Quinn had met any of the Atlanteans before, and the rest were curious about them, from the way Quinn's group was scanning them.
     
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    Erin had never been around so many shape-shifters in her life, and her amber was singing a frantic song. The music was different from what it sang when vampires were around. This song was deeper, earthier. More sensual. As if the gems realized Erin wouldn't be all that averse to getting up close and personal with a handsome shape-shifter if the world were different. The big, gorgeous, scary guy, Jack, had slanted eyes that told her some kind of cat was the other half of his dual nature. From the deadly menace he projected, she was betting he wasn't your everyday, average housecat, either.
     
    She glanced at Ven; somehow just thinking about getting up close and personal made her want to reach out to him. Memories of the way he'd touched her, held her, and slid his hard length inside her flashed through her mind and her mouth went dry as her emeralds purred a sultry song. He caught her looking at him and something must have given away her thoughts, because his eyes darkened and his gaze practically branded her as she stood.
     
    She closed her eyes for a second and drew in a steadying breath, then purposely turned her body so he wasn't in her line of sight any longer. "Quinn, I understand Riley is your sister?"
     
    Quinn smiled and the first real warmth she'd shown glowed on her face. "Yes, although you couldn't tell it to look at us, could you?"
     
    Erin studied Quinn's face. "Actually, yes. You have the same delicate facial features, the same cheekbones, and the same terrific porcelain skin."
     
    Jack started laughing. "Oh, that's not the way to make friends here, Erin. Call Quinn delicate, and she's liable to rip your arm off and stuff it down your throat."
     
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    Erin blinked but Quinn only rolled her eyes. "Great, Jack. Scare the nice witch, why don't you?" She put her hand on Erin's arm. "Ignore the tiger. He gets grumpy if he doesn't eat a few natives every couple of weeks."
     
    Erin glanced back and forth between the two of them, smiling uncertainly, because she had the uncomfortable feeling that there