Warriors of Poseidon 05 - Atlantis Redeemed

Poseidon 05
    Page 65 of 232
    useful.”
    “Shoes can come off. Now, mingle. We need to mingle,” she said firmly, gently pulling her hand away. “I’ll stay in view, but I need to go be Tracy Baum. A reporter would not hang out in one place with her boyfriend, no matter how good he looks in his tux.”
    The term amused him. “I am more than two thousand years old, and in all that time, I have never been called anyone’s boyfriend.”
    She flashed a brilliant smile at him. “Stick with me, kid. You’ll have a new experience every day.”
    As she strode forward, somehow not even wobbling on those ridiculously high-heeled shoes, he felt a completely unfamiliar emotion sing through his veins. It felt like nothing he’d ever known, even before Poseidon’s curse, and it took him a full minute to realize what it was.
    Happiness. By all the gods, it was happiness.
    In the midst of a roomful of evil-intentioned scientists and surrounded by vampires who would cheerfully drain him if they knew who he really was, his emotions had stupidly, foolishly decided to settle on utter bliss.
    He suddenly realized his face felt strange, as though the skin were oddly stretched. He touched his cheek, only to discover that he was smiling. Again. He’d smiled more since he’d met Tiernan than he had in the past two millennia of his existence.
    She thought he looked good in his tux.
    He stood there, grinning like a fool, until a hand touched his shoulder. He whirled around, hands automatically reaching for the daggers he’d left in the room. It was difficult to conceal daggers in a tuxedo, but he felt naked and exposed without them.
    The little man from the television stood there, now clad in a tuxedo, self-importance oozing from every pore. “Mr. Brennan? I’m Dr. Litton. So delighted to finally meet you in person.”
    Brennan shook the man’s hand. “Dr. Litton. Sorry we were late to your party. We wanted a little time to ourselves, of course you understand.”
    His eyes sought out Tiernan, needing to reassure himself she was still in view. Litton followed his gaze.
    “Ah, yes, the reporter. Ms. Baum. I hadn’t realized she was with you.”
    “She is most definitely with me, although I fail to see why that is any of your concern,” Brennan said, a knife-edge of menace in his voice.
    Atlantis Redeemed – Warriors of Poseidon 05
    Page 66 of 232
    “Oh, no, no reason.” Litton backed up a few steps, holding his hands out in front of him. “I have to give a little speech now, but I’ll talk to you soon. I’m very much looking forward to showing you our lab tomorrow.”
    “I look forward to seeing it. I will be very interested to see what plans you have in mind for my ten million dollars.”
    Litton’s gaze darted back and forth nervously. “Ah, yes. We’ll be sure to show you plenty.”
    Brennan watched the doctor scurry away, and then turned to find Tiernan, his attention drawn to exactly where she stood, as if she were a homing beacon to his soul. She glowed like a gem in her red dress among the throng of black evening wear. One of the men in her group said something and Tiernan threw back her head and laughed. Brennan watched her and was stunned all over again by the power of the longing that overwhelmed him.
    To make her his.
    For a night, for a year, for eternity.
    His.
    He started toward her, but stopped when a hideous screeching noise sounded, and then Litton’s voice, magnified by the electronic speakers, jangled throughout the room. “Is this thing on?”
    Everyone laughed and turned toward the podium, and Tiernan made her way through the crowd toward Brennan. An odd pressure lifted from his chest, and he realized he had been holding his breath, as if he needed her presence even to draw air. She finally arrived, and he pulled her against his side, needing to feel her next to him.
    “I just don’t like the looks of that man. I know it’s stupid, but I’ve learned to trust my instincts,”
    she murmured near Brennan’s ear, an action that made the fit of his pants considerably tighter.
    Focus. He must focus. On the mission, not on the curves of her body. She was talking about Litton.
    “I agree,” he said. “I will be interested to see how your Gift reacts to his speech.”
    Litton fussed with his tie and the microphone for a bit, and adjusted the stand down to his height. “Can you hear me now?”
    After more desultory laughter from the mostly inebriated crowd, Litton continued. “I know it’s