Warriors of Poseidon 03 - Atlantis Unleashed

wanted her.
    How much he needed her.
    This time, he yelled her name as he came, shuddering with her in a blinding explosion of power and heat and color that drove him to the edge of consciousness. As he collapsed, careful to roll to the side a little and avoid crushing her, he started laughing. “I think you may have accomplished what no enemy has been able to do in all these centuries. I think you‟ve killed me.”
    She lay panting, holding him tightly. Finally she caught her breath and she, too, started laughing. “That makes two of us. If it‟s always like this, we‟re in trouble.”
    Her laughter faded and she turned her head to look into his eyes. “What was that with the colors? Justice, I . . . I felt like I was inside your soul.”
    “It was the soul-meld, Keely. The soul-meld is a gift from Poseidon and allows an Atlantean and his true mate to see inside each other‟s souls. When you said you saw the flame of Poseidon—the blue-green flame—in my eyes, I knew. The soul-meld brands a warrior‟s heart as permanently as the mark of Poseidon marks our bodies.”
    She traced the brand on his arm. “This? What does it mean?”
     
    “Poseidon‟s Trident bisects the circle representing all the peoples of the world. The triangle is for the pyramid of knowledge from the ancients. All of Poseidon‟s warriors bear this mark as testimony to our vow to serve Poseidon and protect humanity.”
    She kissed the mark and then his chest, nestling against him for a moment. Then she pulled away from him and sat up.
    “You know, I hate to be mundane at a time like this, but we‟re in the jungle with no clothes on, and there are bugs. I really, really don‟t want bug bites on my butt.”
    He blinked at her, stunned by her matter-of-fact practicality, then started laughing again. “Not to mention any moment your stomach is going to rumble, isn‟t it?”
    She grinned. “Well, now that you mention it . . .”

Chapter 32
    He called water again and they showered, unable to keep from touching each other. Keely knew from what she‟d seen in Justice‟s soul that the truce with the Nereid was temporary.
    He‟d have to find a more permanent way to incorporate both sides of himself into a cohesive whole. Maybe the Star of Artemis really could help with that.
    She felt like she was pinning all her hopes on a magic rock, which was way out there in fairy-tale land. But, as she kept reminding herself, she‟d just traveled through space and time to the Guatemalan jungle with an Atlantean. Hard to stay in denial after that.
    “We need to go,” she said finally, after they were both dressed.
    He kissed her until she was breathless and then released her, a look of grim resolve on his face. “Yes, we do. We need to find the Star of Artemis for far greater reasons than merely my own. Although I do feel some hope for the future since the glory of your lovemaking has tamed even the Nereid inside me.”
    She felt the heat climb into her cheeks. “You‟re pretty glorious yourself, but if we start talking about lovemaking, we‟ll never get out of this patch of jungle.”
    He closed his eyes and held his hands up into the air, and she knew he was using his senses to reach out and try to feel the Star of Artemis again. It only took a few seconds.
    “I feel it. Its call is stronger now. I must be gaining strength.” He pointed in a northeast direction. “It‟s coming from there.”
    She nodded, hoping her shaky legs would carry her on another long walk. Her entire body felt limp and sore in unusual places after their intense lovemaking. She just hoped there wouldn‟t be chafing.
    She laughed out loud. Practical Keely was right. Justice would crack up if he heard her thoughts now. He turned and raised a quizzical eyebrow, which only made her laugh harder.
    “Nothing. Just a random thought. Lead on, then. It‟s going to be a long, hot walk.”
    “We‟re not walking,” he said, beckoning to her. “We‟re traveling in style. Atlantean style.”
    She could only watch, dazzled, as he transformed into a sparkling rainbow of mist that somehow had form and substance enough to lift her into the air.
    We’re going to fly, he said in her mind, and she soared up through the canopy of trees on a magical carpet of water droplets that contained the shape and consciousness of the man she‟d just held inside her body.
    Magic rocks would seem mundane after this.
    They flew over the jungle, skimming the treetops like a child‟s