Tempting Eden (9 page)

But I love him.

Of that she was certain. He was the one man
with which she’d ever had a connection. And she couldn’t stand the
thought of spending the rest of her life without him.

After her vacation in the Bahamas had ended,
Gillian had graciously offered to let her move in with her until
she could get back on her feet. Eden had no intention of finding a
job, though. She only had an intention of finding Sabre. She’d
spent the last money in her pocket on the damned pregnancy
test.

She closed her eyes and played the memory of
their last day together. Their love play had been swift and quick.
Faster than any time previous and certainly not a marathon. Eden
had been disappointed but she now understood Sabre had to be under
the sea by the time the sun hit the horizon.

That morning after he left she had stood on
the beach and watched him disappear with her heart in her throat.
She pressed her hands against her abdomen wondering. Hoping.
Wishing. Those few days had changed her completely. She had
something to live for—Sabre and their unborn child. She hoped.

Just look. Get it over with.

But she couldn’t bring herself to do it.

She’d used what little credit she had left to
buy a plane ticket to the Bahamas. Her plane left that night. She’d
packed one bag with a few meager belongings, written a letter to
Gillian and prayed her friend forgave her. Someday. She had to get
back to that beach to meet Sabre. He would be coming for her. What
would he do if she wasn’t there?

The front door slammed followed by Gillian’s
voice.

“Eden?”

She bolted to her feet still clutching the
test.
It’s now or never.
Taking a deep breath, she opened
her hand and stared down at it. Two blue lines. Did that mean
positive or negative? Where was the damn packaging? She’d shoved it
in the trashcan under toilet rolls and a toothpaste container.

“Eden, are you here?”

Her fingers fumbled as she grabbed the box
and yanked out the instructions. There in black and white letters
it stated two blue lines meant…positive. So many emotions passed by
her in that one instant. Joy. Relief. Fear. But she didn’t have
time to think about any of them. She shoved the box and
instructions back in the trash then stashed the test in the folds
of her favorite towel and crammed it in the cabinet.

“Eden, you in there?” Gillian’s voice outside
the door.

She fluffed her hair but there was nothing
she could do about her thin pale face. She hadn’t been able to keep
anything down the last few days. She flushed the toilet for good
measure then whisked open the door.

“Hey, Gilly.”

Concern creased her forehead. “You all right?
You look pale.”

“I have a stomach bug.” She pressed her hand
against her abdomen.

“Still mourning the loss of your mystery
man?”

Eden had told her they bid farewell that last
night. That it had been a fling and nothing more. Yet Eden couldn’t
get him out of her head. All she’d thought about was getting back
to that beach and him coming for her.

“A little, I guess.”

“Maybe you should get some rest.” She tossed
the unopened mail on a nearby table as she passed by on her way to
the bedroom.

Eden hated lying to her friend. The guilt
gnawed at her. “Gilly, wait. I need to talk to you.”

Slowly, she turned to face Eden with question
in her eyes.

“About the Bahamas,” Eden added. “I wasn’t
completely honest with you.” She twisted her hands together.
Somehow she felt as if she were the disobedient child coming clean
to her mother. “I don’t have a stomach bug. I’m…pregnant.”

“You are?” Tears filled Gillian's eyes.
“Really?”

“Tests don’t lie.”

Gilly flung her arms around her neck and
hugged her hard. “I’m so happy for you! I’m going to be an auntie!
Does he know yet? Your mystery man? And what is his name, by the
way?”

Eden chewed her bottom lip. “He doesn’t know
yet. His name is Sabre.”

“Well, call him. Tell him! What are you
waiting for?”

“I can’t. I…” She pulled her bottom lip
through her teeth. Gilly would never understand why she didn’t have
Sabre’s number. “We planned to meet back on the beach. That’s how
he wanted me to tell him. He wants to be surprised.”

“How romantic!” Gilly had that dreamy look in
her eyes and sighed. “When do you leave?”

“Tonight.”

“Tonight? When were you going to tell
me?”

“Um, now.”

“Are you sure it’s okay if you travel?”

“It’s perfectly fine.” She pressed her hand
against her abdomen again sure she could feel the first flutters of
human life.

“Will you let me know what happens?”

Eden wasn’t so sure she could do that. After
all Sabre had said if she went with him she could never come back.
Would there be a way to get a message to her? Maybe she could send
her a postcard. She’d think of something.

“I will,” she said at last.

“And if it doesn’t work out Mark and I are
here for you. Always. Not that I’m saying it won’t work out. I want
you to know you have a place to go.”

Eden smiled. “I know. Thank you.”

But Eden knew if it worked out she wouldn’t
be coming back. The thought of seeing the fabled lost city of
Atlantis sent excitement skittering through her veins. She couldn’t
wait.

Dusk on the beach of Crooked Island. As the
sun set the clouds turned a burnt orange and the sapphire water
sparkled with a luminescence. It was beautiful.

And lonely.

The wind and the surf were her only
companions now. She hadn’t seen a soul since she plopped down on
the sand at the edge of the water to watch the tide. He’d yet to
make an appearance but then he never showed until after sunset. He
said it was their way—he could come to the surface at night. So all
she could do was wait.

She hated waiting.

The sun finally dipped below the horizon and
darkness fell across the water. How long had she waited? She hadn’t
worn her watch. She’d worn was her favorite initial necklace and
that was all. Everything else she'd left at Gilly’s along with that
letter explaining everything to her.

There had to be some way to return to see her
best friend get married. Or at least check on her to see how things
were going. She’d talk to Sabre about that.

“Eden.”

Oh…he’s here.
At the sound of his
voice her heart sped up another notch. She wanted to savor this
moment. She turned to see him standing on the beach not far from
her. This time he was fully dressed but dripping wet. His clothes
clung to his muscular frame. Dark pants, boots, a tunic. She got to
her feet and dusted the sand from her pants and hands.

“You came,” he said. He sounded as though he
couldn’t believe his eyes.

“Of course I did. Did you think I
wouldn’t?”

“I hoped. I’m glad you did.” He hurried
toward her, pulled her into his arms and kissed her deeply. “I
thought of you every single day since I left you.”

“Me, too. I missed you.” She smoothed a lock
of wet hair from his forehead. “Sometimes I thought this was a
dream. Like it didn’t really happen. But it did, Sabre, didn’t
it?”

“It happened.” He brushed the back of his
hand over her cheek. “You’re beautiful.”

“Kiss me again, Sabre.”

He did, thoroughly. Their tongues did a duel
for control each vying for dominance over the other. How she loved
kissing him. Touching him. How she loved everything about him. How
she loved him.

It was madness, she knew. She’d known him
such a short time. But now that she carried his child she couldn’t
be parted from him. And she was certain he loved her back. If he
didn’t he wouldn’t be standing there kissing her. His mouth trailed
down her neck leaving a sizzling path.

“Why are you dressed? I’ve never seen you
wear clothes before,” she panted. Her fingers slipped under his wet
tunic to land on his damp skin. It made her senses sing with
joy.

“Tonight when I return, I take you with me to
my home under the sea.” He said this through kisses down her neck,
over her shoulder, her collarbone. “I must be properly
dressed.”

“O-kay.” What did that mean? She didn’t
understand.

He pulled away then held her at arm’s length.
“There is something I must tell you first.”

“I have something to tell you too. Me first?”
Her heart raced. This was it. The moment she’d longed for. When he
nodded, she said, “I’m pregnant, Sabre.”

His blue eyes, so sharp and assessing,
softened. Then lit with joy. He pulled her to him, squeezing her so
hard she thought she might break in half.

“I’m so happy, Eden. I love you.”

Her hand fisted in his tunic. She squeezed
her eyes closed, tears seeping from the corners. “I love you so
much.”

This was nuts. She knew it. But it felt right
and perfect and awesome.

“I never want to be parted from you.”

“You never will,” she vowed.

“I hope so, Eden.” He pulled back, cupped her
face. “There will be many dangers when we return. If you’re
discovered then they will take you from me. And the baby.”

“Over my dead body.” She put her hands over
her stomach as if to protect their unborn child from whoever
they
were.

He grinned. “That’s my girl. Now you must do
exactly as I say at all times. Can you do that?”

“Yes,” she said. “What happens when I return
with you?”

“I intend to hide you away until the threat
is over. There is a remote place in the north section of the city.
There are men I trust. Men who will help us. They will keep you
safe when I cannot be with you.”

“You’ll have to leave me?”

“At some point. I’m a soldier, Eden, for the
Guardians of Atlantis. We are tasked with protecting the continent
from intruders. Namely humans.”

“Why? I’m a human after all.” She tried hard
not to be offended.

“Most humans—not you, love—seek Atlantis to
destroy it with their attentions. They wish to run tests on our
people, to steal our property as artifacts for your museums and to
steal our advances in medicine and science. We cannot allow that to
happen. You must understand we kept our advanced society a secret
for a long time because we wished no interference from humans.”

“I understand.”

“The men I have entrusted to guard you are my
friends. They will do everything in their power to keep you
safe.”

“If you trust them then I will trust
them.”

“Good.” He kissed her forehead. “You must
wear a specially designed suit to protect your fragile body from
the pressure of the ocean. And…there is one other thing. The only
way to get you there is to inject you with a serum that will allow
you to breathe in the depths. That way you will not drown.”

Not drowning was a definite plus.

He thought she was fragile? No man had ever
called her that. It made her feel…feminine.

“Will the injection hurt the baby?”

“No. Are you ready?”

“Almost.” With a sly smile, she tugged her
shirt over her head. “Make love to me one last time before we go,
Sabre. Here on the beach.”

He smiled. “With pleasure, my little
vixen.”

Eden looked at him with such unwavering
trust, such tenderness and love that he knew she spoke true. He
couldn’t fail her. He
wouldn’t
fail her. When he told Raven
and Lucian of his plan they had looked at him as though he’d lost
his mind. Maybe he had. Maybe he was letting his emotions drive
him.

He knew he couldn’t keep Eden hidden forever.
But if he could keep her to himself until the baby was born then
Dr. Franco wouldn’t take her away. That was his plan anyway. He
realized she was giving up everything to be with him and it made
him love her all the more.

She was incredible. Amazing. And she was
his.

He kissed his way down the column of her neck
while she wiggled out of her clothes wasting no time getting naked
for him. He gently lowered her to the ground. He loved her perfect
little body. The way her breasts curved into his cupped hand. The
way her body molded to his as though she had been made for him.

From her thoughts Sabre knew she wanted soft,
sensual. Not the usual frenzied pace they’d had before. He could
give her that. He would always give her what she wanted. She had
become everything to him filling a void he’d had for so long. He
could sense the same from her—that she’d been lonely and searching
for someone for a long time. Someone who would love her. Protect
her. Cherish her.

As he slipped over her, her legs parted and
wrapped around his waist. He guided his hard shaft inside her with
a gentle ease. Even so she gasped, arched her back and thrust her
breasts forward. They were ripe for his kissing. His tongue laved
over the pretty pink peaks. He loved touching her, kissing her.
Making her his again and again. He had marked her, branded her as
his. She’d never shied away from that.

He pushed himself up to look down the length
of her exquisite body. Now her abdomen was flat and supple. He
couldn’t wait for it to swell with their child, to feel the kick of
their baby's foot.

They climaxed together their bodies meshed as
though they were meant for each other. As though they belonged to
each other. Afterward he cradled her against his chest, his hand
slipping through the silky strands of her hair. The silence
stretched between them but he could sense her contentment and her
happiness.

* * *

It was time to go. Eden pulled on the wet
suit that would keep her “fragile” body safe. It hugged her curves
from head to toe. All that was left was the serum injection. She
had so many emotions churning inside her. Excitement for what was
to come. Contentment Sabre was truly in love with her. Fear of this
strange new world under the sea. She thought the continent of
Atlantis had been nothing more than a myth. But Sabre confirmed for
her the truth of it.