Warriors of Poseidon 04 - Atlantis Unmasked

your great-grandpappy three times over, if what he told me about Atlantis is true.”
     
    “You—I—” Grace sputtered, but couldn‟t quite come up with a reply to that before Alexios turned on his heel and left, flinging his last words over his shoulder at her.
     
    “Your friend Michelle is in need of you. I thought I‟d give you the message before my advanced age made me incapable of remembering it.” Then he stalked off down the hallway toward the courtyard muttering something about monkeys.
     
    Sam burst out laughing, almost doubling over with the force of it. “That boy sure is fun to pester,” he gasped, once he could get words out again.
     
    Grace planted her hands on her hips and glared at him. “Why? Why do you want to pester our best trainer and strong ally? Now that you know about Atlantis, you must understand why he‟s so important to us.”
     
    Sam wiped his eyes, still chuckling. “Yes, sweetheart. I know why he‟s so important to the cause. But I also figured out how important he is to you. I‟ve seen the two of you circling each other like buzzards for three days now.”
     
    “Buzzards? Wow.” She slapped a hand to her chest. “Be still my heart. When Sam goes for the compliments—”
     
    “Okay. Horny buzzards. I saw you in the sparring ring last night before I left for supper, Grace. It‟s a wonder this old fort didn‟t burn clear down from the heat of the sparks you two were putting out. I was half afraid I‟d find the two of you shacked up in your bedroom this morning.”
     
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    Heat flamed in her cheeks, and she pushed past him to leave the suddenly way-too-cramped office. “That didn‟t happen. Not that it‟s any of your business. And I‟d appreciate it if you‟d leave poor Alexios alone.”
     
    He followed her into the courtyard, chuckling again. “That boy ain‟t „poor‟ anything. He‟s one of the best fighters—hell, make that one of the best men —I‟ve ever met, and that‟s saying a piece. If anybody deserves you, Grace, it just might be Alexios.”
     
    She sped up, leaving his outrageous comment unanswered. There was nothing she could say. Whatever Alexios might deserve wasn‟t the question. It was more that whatever Grace had to offer, he wasn‟t interested. Last night‟s play in the ring hadn‟t meant anything to him but just that—play. After driving her nearly insane with wanting and need, he‟d abruptly disappeared.
     
    Kissed her on the forehead, for Pete‟s sake. She smiled a little at the thought of “Pete.”
    Anyway, it wasn‟t, she tried to convince herself—had tried to convince herself all night long—that she‟d wanted him to kiss her.
     
    She escaped her dark thoughts and raised her face to the bright morning sunshine.
     
    “Grace! Lovely! Let‟s go have some breakfast with these boys,” Michelle said, her arm through Alaric‟s like the two of them were having a stroll through Buckingham Gardens or something.
     
    Grace had to smile. There was just something about Michelle. Everybody loved her.
    Even scary Atlantean high priests, judging by the half smile on Alaric‟s face.
     
    “No time,” Alexios snapped. “Grace has training to do, if she‟s quite done socializing.”
     
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    Grace clenched her fists, ready to jump right in his face, but then she realized something that made heat rush through her in an entirely different way. He was jealous.
    He was jealous .
     
    She flashed her most dazzling smile, suddenly feeling lighter than she had in months.
    Men weren‟t jealous over casual flings, or women they just wanted to play with.
     
    “Alexios is right,” she said, still smiling. “Michelle, you and Alaric go. We have so much work to do here. I‟ll catch up with you afterward, and we‟ll go to dinner together, okay?”
     
    “I‟m disappointed, but I understand,” Michelle said, rushing over and giving Grace a hug. “Back soon.”
     
    Grace watched Michelle tug a slightly bemused-looking Alaric away, then turned to Alexios, still smiling her biggest smile.
     
    He narrowed his eyes. “What are you up to?”
     
    “Who, me? Up to something?” She batted her eyelashes outrageously. “Don‟t be silly, Alexios. Now why don‟t you get your, hmmm. What was the expression? Oh, right.
    Pretty little ass in the ring, and let‟s put these guys through their paces.” With