Warriors of Poseidon 02 - Atlantis Awakening

mother—Anubisa tortured my mother nearly to death while she made my father watch. She has some sick, twisted vendetta against my family—especially the males of our family—and she held my father captive for nearly a year before she killed him."
    Atlantis Awakening – Warriors of Poseidon 02
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    "Oh, Ven, I'm so sorry. Please, you don't need to tell me this now—"
     
    "Yes. Yes, I do. You should know what you're getting yourself into with me," he said, his voice gone flat and dead, as if he'd given up any hope that she would want him after he told his story.
     
    He didn't know her very well yet if he thought that, she thought. Seeing his pain and hearing what he'd suffered only made her want him more; want to comfort him and heal him and sing solace to his soul.
     
    "It wasn't the first time she'd captured my father. She held him briefly long ago, when Conlan and I were very young, and when he came back he was changed. Drained.
    Silent. As if she'd broken something inside him that couldn't be repaired. My mother helped him, but I never quite believed he came all the way back." He stared at the fire, and she had the feeling he was almost talking to himself, expressing thoughts he'd never before spoken out loud.
     
    "That's how my father was after my mother and sisters were killed," she murmured. "It was almost as if they took his heart and soul with them, and all that was left for me was his body, hollowed out, going through the motions of life without the intent or the meaning."
     
    Ven seemed to come back to himself at her words, and she saw warmth in his gaze again. "I am sorry you had to endure so much pain so young. I wish I could take some of the anguish from you."
     
    "I feel the same way, but we all have to carry our own burdens, don't we?" She'd meant it as a rhetorical question, but somehow it came out differently. Almost as a plea.
     
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    "No, I don't believe we do. I would have said the same thing before I saw what Conlan and Riley are to each other. But somehow they share the weight of each other's burdens and, in so doing, lighten the load of both."
     
    She thought back to the fiercely passionate looks the two had shared, whether or not anyone was watching them, and felt a moment of sharp envy… that vanished under concern. "What will happen to him if she… if she—"
     
    "He will end his existence," he replied, and the ice formed over his features again. "If she and her babe die, he will die as well, and I will be left, alone, the last of my bloodline."
     
    She pushed the sleeping bag aside and stood up, then swiftly crossed the room to him.
    "Then we will make sure that doesn't happen, won't we?"
     
    He pulled her into a fierce hug, and she felt his heart thundering beneath her cheek. "I cannot believe Poseidon has gifted me with you, no matter how briefly you choose to stay."
     
    She smacked his arm. "Hey! I'm tired of that kind of talk. It sounds like you're trying to get rid of me," she joked, trying to lighten the mood a little. He rewarded her with his quick grin. "Am I so annoying that you're already trying to dump me on some other man?"
     
    The grin vanished, and the blue-green flames flared in his pupils again. "Simply because I bow to the dictates of free will does not mean that I would not want to kill any man you took to your bed, Erin. I am a predator and have been one for nearly half a century. I would ask that you do not tease me about this one subject."
     
    Atlantis Awakening – Warriors of Poseidon 02
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    Her breath caught in her throat, and desire flared at the stark need in his eyes. "You have an interesting way of going from caveman to polite gentleman in one sentence, Ven. I'm not sure I'm witch enough to deal with your contradictions."
     
    His arms tightened around her and pain flashed so briefly in his eyes she wasn't entirely sure she'd seen it. "You are all the witch—and all the woman—that I could ever ask for, my little gem singer. Do not ever doubt it."
     
    She rose on her toes to kiss his nose, fighting the urge to rip his shirt off and kiss him senseless. She knew they were terrific together with their clothes off. Now she wanted to know how good they were with their clothes on. Just in case.
     
    Just in case.
     
    Pulling away, she took the two steps to put her in front of the fire. "So Ven is your real name?"
     
    He took a long breath before answering,