He leaned close and saw her tan pants, then yanked hard pulling her down. Even underwater, Orion heard her scream. He dragged her kicking body away from the group and swam hard downstream toward the shore. His lungs burned, demanding oxygen.
He clamped a palm over Brigit’s mouth to prevent her from inhaling water, only to have her bite him. A fighter ‘til the end. Orion surfaced, filling his lungs with a huge gulp of air, then dove back down. Brigit was thrashing in a panic from not being able to breathe. Orion pressed his mouth to hers and exhaled, filling her lungs with much needed oxygen.
He moved them further down the river, until they were too far away for the guides to see them, then shot toward the surface with Brigit’s limp body in his arms. She sputtered and gasped, choking on water while trying to breathe. Orion thumped her back to help.
“What?” she asked, blinking the wetness away. “How—what are you doing here? Come back to the scene of the crime, eh?” She coughed the last of the water out of her lungs, then smacked him on the arm. “You scared the life out of me. I thought an anaconda or a caiman grabbed me and dragged me under.”
Orion absently rubbed the spot she hit, but was otherwise pleased she was unharmed. “I came here to show you something I should have revealed at your gathering a few days ago.”
Brigit frowned. “I should let the men know that I’m all right. They may be worried.”
“‘Tis better they believe you are dead.”
She backed away fear swimming in her eyes.
Frustration boiled over in Orion. “I will not hurt you. I have told you thusly. Why do you insist on believing otherwise?”
“I heard you talking about the jungle back in the hotel room with a woman and now here you are. Not exactly a coincidence. You know things about Jac and Rachel—like the fact they’re missing. Let’s face it; you haven’t exactly given me any reason to trust you.”
He flinched at her words. “Then come with me and I’ll give you every reason to believe what I say is the truth.”
Wary, Brigit glanced at the swirling river as if debating her chances of escape.
“If what I say is not so, I shall return you to the men you hired and they can lead you out of the jungle and back to where you belong,” he said, knowing full well she belonged by his side.
“Fine! But can you at least tell me where we’re going?”
Orion smiled, running his hands along her arms. He didn’t miss the quick intake of breath or the dilation in her pupils. “I am taking you to my spaceship.”
* * * * *
Two hours later…
“I thought you said your ship was here.” Brigit’s hands rested on her wide hips as she slowly turned in a circle, searching the clearing.
Orion frowned. “It was right here.” He pressed a button on his wrist.
“Is it invisible like Wonder Woman’s plane?” She cocked a brow.
“You know I do not have any idea who that is.”
“Yeah, yeah, that’s right. You’re not from around these parts.” She shook her head. “You still didn’t answer my question.”
He glanced up from his wrist. “My ship has a camouflaging device built in to hide its presence from the primitive radar system on this planet.”
Brigit snorted. “It works so good you can’t even find it. Is there someone we can ask for directions? Oh, I forgot, men don’t ask for directions. I guess some things are constant no matter what planet you’re from.”
Orion scowled. “We’re in the right place.”
“Yeah, I can see that,” she said, nodding to appease the crazy man.
He looked around. “It has to be here.”
“We could try yelling “olly, olly, oxen free” and see if it comes out of hiding.”
He grit his perfect teeth. “A ship cannot hide.”
Brigit laughed. “Well yours is doing a pretty good job of it.”
Orion’s eyes narrowed. “You are not helping,” he said, before tapping the buttons on his wrist device.
“Sorry, oh mighty warrior, what would you like me to do? Go beat the bushes with a stick.”
He turned and leveled his gaze on her. “I know what has occurred.”
“You finally realize there never was a ship.” She ran her hands through her hair.
“No.”
Brigit tilted her head. “Are you going to fill me in?”
Orion’s lips twitched.
She didn’t like the sudden change in his demeanor.
“Gladly,” he said. His gaze raked her, pausing at the vee of her legs, then moving slowly to her breasts. A second later, his mouth split into a lascivious grin.
Brigit’s nipples pebbled and her sex swelled. “Stop that!” Her voice came out as a breathy command. “We don’t have time.” She moved back as her fight or flight response kicked in.
“Actually…” Orion stepped forward. “Now that Cassandra has taken the ship into orbit around this planet, we have all the time in the world.”
“Who the hell is Cassandra? You better not tell me she’s your wife.” Brigit threatened, intending to cause Orion bodily harm, if he gave her the wrong answer.
He laughed. “She is a fellow Atlantean, who came here to find her true-mate. I have not lain with her.”
“Lain?” She frowned, then her expression cleared. “Oh, you mean fucked her.”
“Quarg! Such a crude language you have.” Orion shook his head.
“Yeah, yeah, whatever, tomato, tomahto! Is that the truth?”
His fingers moved to the front of his costume. He pulled it away, exposing the muscled planes of his chest, then slowly crossed his heart. “Cross my sternum and hope to drive.”
“Okay.” Brigit pressed her lips together to keep from laughing again, or was it to keep from drooling? She wasn’t sure anymore. She doubted she’d ever tire of seeing this man sans clothes. She inhaled. The orchids growing nearby smelled intoxicating and left her feeling dizzy. Or maybe it was from standing so close to a half-naked Orion. She tore her gaze away from his flesh and glanced down at the ground. “We can’t do it here.” She pointed at the moss and ferns lining the jungle floor. “There are bugs and worms in there.”
Orion threw his head back and howled with laughter. When his gaze returned to her face, his smile faded. A look of concentration shadowed his expression. Sweat broke out across his brow and his hands began to glow. A golden beam shot out from his palm a moment later, creating a spot large enough to encompass two adult bodies. “It will be fine now. I have repelled the miniature crawling creatures,” he said, reaching for her.
Brigit jumped, not realizing he’d covered the distance separating them. “I’m not even going to ask how you did that or what you just did. I don’t think I want to know.”
“Good, because the time for talk is over.” He reached for her and ran a rough palm down her arm.
Brigit trembled. “We-we—”
Orion’s mouth enveloped hers, cutting her words off. Brigit sank into the kiss as he worked his lips back and forth over hers. His teeth nipped her and she opened, allowing him to sink his tongue deep inside. She moaned as the wild taste of him exploded across her senses. The man could kiss like a bandit.
His fingers slid to the front of her shirt and began popping buttons out of their holes. Orion’s knuckles grazed her flesh inch by tantalizing inch until her shirt fell open, exposing her lace bra. He pulled back from the embrace to stare at the front of her. Emotions swam in the depths of his eyes. For an instant, the intensity scared Brigit. Before she could react to that fear, he recaptured her mouth, drugging her with more kisses. They were both naked in a matter of seconds.
Orion sank down onto the jungle floor, pulling Brigit on top of him. “You should be safe enough here from the small creatures.” His lips curled at the corners mischievously.
Brigit smiled back. “Safe? With you?” She laughed, but the sound cut short when Orion bucked his hips, sending his cock sliding through her already flowing juices. The r
ings around his shaft began to glow, and then vibrate. Brigit whimpered, grinding her clit into him until she made contact with the rings. Her lids dropped as her eyes rolled back in her head.
She barely felt Orion’s hands grip her hips and lift her. Her eyes flew open the second she sank down onto his fully erect cock. “I will never get over the feel of you entering me.”
“You don’t have to,” he grit out between clenched teeth.
“You know that you’ve ruined me for other men.”
“Good, because there shall be no other men welcome in your body. You are mine. This is mine.” He pressed her clit for emphasis.
Their eyes met a second before he began to move. The ride was excruciatingly slow at first, the gentle glide rasping the inner muscles of her channel while steadily stroking her knotted flesh. The rings pulsed, sending waves of heat lashing through her body. Brigit’s hands clamped down on top of Orion’s arms.
“You’re making me crazy,” she gasped as her nails dug into his flesh.
Orion smiled. “I want you to know who possesses you.”
“Possess? I don’t think s—” He thrust hard. “Ohh.”
“Think again,” he said rolling Brigit beneath him. He began to fuck her in earnest.
All thoughts of possession scattered on the wind. Brigit wrapped her legs around his firm ass and hung on for dear life. Surge after surge of energy rolled through her sending her into an endless orgasm. Orion refused to stop, even after she started begging him to. Brigit didn’t think she’d be able to take much more of this without her clit exploding, but she was wrong.
“Be still, little love. Our brief separation has left me famished and I’m not nearly sated.” He stroked the side of her head, brushing her damp curls away from her face.
“I don’t think I can do this,” she ground out between gasps.
Orion kissed her. “Yes, you can.” He pulled his cock from her body and rolled Brigit onto her stomach. He lifted her hips until she was kneeling, then pressed her face onto the soft mossy ground. “Ah, so beautiful,” he murmured, brushing a finger though her swollen lower lips.
Brigit quivered.
“You are like a flower in bloom for my eyes only.” Orion brought the finger that dripped with her juices to his mouth and sucked hard. “Your feminine pollen is sweet. I think I need more.”
Brigit moaned, the sight so erotic that she thought she might collapse under the weight of it. Her nipples stabbed toward the ground and her sex ached with renewed fervor.
Orion lowered his head and stuck out his incredible tongue, until it was flattened from her anus to her clit. Brigit’s body wept as he slowly curled it over her flesh. “Please Orion,” she whimpered.
He paused. “Does this please you as much as it does me?”
Brigit rocked her hips in response unable to speak.
Orion chuckled, the vibration strong enough to reach her core.
“Oh Goddess,” she cried out.
“The Goddess cannot help you now.” He plunged his tongue into her greedy channel, filling her completely.
“Yes,” Brigit screamed, trying to get closer, but Orion held her hips. Warmth spread through her, building in intensity. The sensation was strange, but wonderful.
Orion continued to tongue her.
“What’s happening?” Brigit asked, gasping as her womb started to flutter.
He didn’t answer. Couldn’t answer. Orion’s skin glowed one minute, then a wave of light burst from his body, washing her into oblivion.
Orion slipped his tongue out of her, then sank his cock in. He rode her hard, branding her with his body. Brigit mewed as her release reached a final crescendo, collapsing on the ground, taking Orion with her. A moment later, he grunted and emptied himself inside of her. His orgasm seemed to go on forever, bathing her womb in his seed.
When he was done, he rolled off her and pulled her into his arms. They lay panting on the moss-covered ground, drenched in sweat and sated like two fat felines intoxicated by catnip. Orion stroked her hair, while placing tiny kisses on her shoulder. His touch was gentle and loving. Brigit closed her eyes against the well of emotion threatening to swamp her.
“What do we do now?” she asked softly, not wanting to break the fragile connection they’d just formed.
“We’ll have to go through the portal. Cassandra can disable it afterwards.”
Brigit sat up onto her elbows. “What do you mean we have to go through the portal?”
He glanced at her with a patience that hadn’t been there before and then rose to get dressed. Brigit followed suit.
“Come and I shall show you.”
Orion led her through a thick grove of trees into another clearing, much smaller than the last. An ancient-looking stone circle dotted with giant red crystals stood on end. Yellow flowers grew around the small field, their fragrance strangely arousing.
“What is that thing?” Her voice cracked.
“‘Tis a portal or transport if you will.”
“Why is it making that noise?” The sound rose like a tornado dropping a car onto a tin roof. Dark clouds swirled at its center, thickening before her eyes. Brigit gaped. “You’re not getting me in that thing. It doesn’t look stable.” She scratched her thigh, then swatted another blood-hungry mosquito.
“It’s perfectly safe,” Orion said glancing uneasily at the swirling mass.
“Have you ever used one?” she asked.
He grinned. “Yes.”
She pointed. “Have you ever used that one?”
Orion shook his head. “No, but your friends did.”
Her eyes widened. “Jac and Rachel went through that thing without coercion.”
“Yes.” He nodded.
Her brow knitted. “Are you sure? That doesn’t sound like something Jac would do, unless someone was chasing her.”
“Someone was,” Orion’s voice chilled.
Brigit glanced around at the jungle. “Are they still here?”
“Not that I can detect, which is odd, but that does not mean we aren’t in danger.”
She hugged herself. “I don’t know.” She wasn’t sure which was worse, dying by a spray of bullets, having that stone structure collapse and crush her to death or being sucked into oblivion.
“‘Tis the only way to return. I would not ask this of you otherwise.” Orion’s face grew pained.
“I thought you said that Cassandra had your ship?”
“She does, but someone must be here to disable this device so it cannot be used again.”
That made sense, but it didn’t make stepping into the unknown any easier. “Are you sure this thing leads to planet Zaron?” Brigit walked behind the portal. “It looks like nothing but jungle to me.”
“Yes, it leads to my planet. You are stalling, little one.”
Brigit began to pace. “Orion, I really want to believe you, but…”
His jaw firmed. “No ‘buts’. Either you trust me or you do not.”
She stopped and stared at the ominous entrance. “I trust you,” Brigit said, realizing she meant it. She took a step toward him.
“But do you care for me?” His question brought her to a halt.
She blinked in confusion. Where had that come from? Brigit searched her heart and realized she no longer felt the panic that rose every time she confronted her feelings. She did care about Orion. Goddess forbid, she might even love him.
“Yes, I care,” she admitted to him and herself.
He watched closely. “Enough to join with me?”
“I thought you said we were already linked.”
Orion hesitated, uncertainty flashing in his jade and aqua eyes. “We are, but ‘tis not complete without the blessing of the Atlantean people.”
“Atlanteans? As in lost continent of Atlantis?”
“Yes.”
She stepped back. “Whoa! This is too much to grasp, even for a New Age metaphysical lover like me.”
“‘Tis your choice.” He touched her
gently, love shining clearly on his face.
Tears sprang into Brigit’s eyes as the full import of his words hit her. “You are giving me a choice.”
The silence stretched between them.
“You’ve always had a choice,” he whispered so low she almost didn’t hear him.
Brigit smiled, then let out a squeal before kissing Orion soundly on the mouth. Her fingers curled into his biceps, relishing the feel of his strength beneath her hands.
“Now I must contact Cassandra, so she can secure the portal behind us. I’ll remove a crystal as I step through and she can disable the rest.”
Brigit released him and then stepped toward the portal before she lost her nerve. “What are we waiting for?” she asked as she stuck her foot inside the tumultuous mass.
“Wait!” Orion shouted and tried reach for her. “You must lean back or you’ll fall.”
Brigit felt the tug the same second she heard Orion yell. She tried to turn, but it was too late. His hands swiped through the air missing her, while his words garbled in the roar of the machine. Had he said to lean forward?
The dark air swirled around her, disorienting Brigit until she wasn’t sure which direction was up. She screamed in terror, but the sound disappeared, swallowed by the churning gray mass. She couldn’t breathe. The air was too thick. The next second, she found herself tumbling. Instinctively, Brigit held her hands to break her fall.
She collided with something or someone hard, sending the object sailing before she fell to the ground. Her wire-rimmed sunglasses slipped to the floor. Brigit heard feet shuffling, but her eyes refused to focus. As the room slowly came into view she saw a man impaled on a sword, blood seeping out of his head. The other man holding the weapon tilted his sword and the body slid to the floor with a thump. Crimson pooled on the opaque tiles.
“I’m sorry. “I didn’t mean to—” Brigit sputtered and frowned. She squinted and tried to make out the figure on the ground. “Who is that?” She pointed to the body lying twenty feet from her.
Atlantean's Quest Volume 2 Page 27
