Passion In Paradise 3: Paradise Discovery

by Jaci Burton

  Oh no. This time she wasn’t going to let him distract her with sex, despite her body’s response to the quickly heating look in his eyes. She gently slapped his hand away from her hair, rewarded with his soft chuckle. “Yes, I know plenty about biology. Now tell me about you. Are you a subspecies of humans? How long have you lived under the water? Are there more like you, and if so, where are they? And what is your purpose down here?”

  He blinked, then smiled. “Damn, you’re smart.”

  “Don’t compliment me. Answer my questions.”

  “Kiss me first.”

  “Huh?”

  “You heard me. Kiss me first and I’ll answer a question.”

  “That’s not fair.”

  His eyes widened. “I had no idea you thought my kisses were that bad.”

  “That’s not what I meant at all and you know it. You…distract me.”

  The heat in his gaze melted and moistened her. Her body thrummed to life in anticipation of his mouth, his touch. Dax leaned in and ran his hand over her hair, his touch igniting the fire he’d started with just one look. “Distract you, do I? I like that. Now do I get that kiss?”

  “No.” Though she really wanted to. Her body was near demanding she lean forward and press her mouth against his. But she remained firm.

  “Aw, c’mon, Isabelle. Just one little kiss?”

  Oh, hell. “Fine,” she said, intending to brush her lips against his and then hit him with more questions. But when she leaned toward him, he reached out and pulled her tight against him, fitting his mouth over hers in a kiss that surely raised the temperature of the water outside the glass enclosure.

  His breath, tasting sweet from the blue tea they’d had, enticed her mouth. He swept his tongue inside and claimed hers, teasing with sensuous strokes until her heart pounded against her chest and her insides turned to complete liquid.

  She was falling, spiraling down in the sensations of his mouth, his touch on her body. Her pussy moistened in anticipation, her breasts tingling as they brushed against the fine hairs of his chest.

  The warning bells clanged. She had to stop or she’d never get her questions answered, and she wasn’t going to let it happen. Not this time. She placed her palms on his chest and broke contact before she fell under his spell again.

  “No, Dax. We have to talk.”

  “I was talking.” He leaned forward and kissed her neck, sending shivers throughout her body. “Didn’t you hear what I was telling you?”

  Isabelle tried not to groan, but a whimper escaped as his lips seared her skin. “Umm, yes, but it wasn’t in answer to any of my questions about your origin.”

  Oh, that felt nice. His lips moved down over her collarbone, his tongue leaving a moist trail of sizzling fire.

  They shouldn’t be doing this. But, frankly, right now she didn’t care. All she knew was his mouth was heaven and she’d rather die than have him stop. Then she remembered, again, those burning questions that filled her mind, and realized Dax was once again stalling.

  Isabelle pushed him away and stood, needing some distance between them to clear her head and calm the sensory overload caused by his kisses.

  Dax arched a brow. Did he feel the same way that she did? Was his mind filled with passion and lovemaking rather than thoughts of explanations and revelations? Or was he purposely doing this to avoid answering her questions?

  Chancing a glance at his shorts, she saw the evidence of his erection straining against the material. Desire flooded between her legs and she wanted nothing more than to jerk his shorts down, stroke his hot, hard cock and suck him until he erupted.

  Her desire must have shown on her face, because he stepped forward, grabbed the straps of her swimsuit and yanked them down to her waist. He leaned down, capturing one nipple in his mouth.

  She cried out with the searing ecstasy of his mouth on her aching bud, forgetting her questions, forgetting her desire for any knowledge other than knowing what it felt like to have his hard shaft plunging between her legs in these indefinable depths.

  She needed his possession of her. Like a ravenous shark she dropped to her knees, tearing at his shorts until they pooled at his feet. With a greedy hunger that shocked her, she took his length into her mouth, cupping his balls and feeling his life force pulsing against her throat. He threw his head back and groaned, threading his fingers into her hair and holding her still while he pumped his cock once, twice, three times in succession against the back of her mouth.

  She looked up at him and experienced a sense of feminine power that thrilled her. His head was tilted slightly back, his eyes closed, his body coiled tight with tension, jerking slightly each time she took him in her mouth.

  Isabelle dug her nails into the flesh of his naked buttocks. She pulled back slowly, licking the tip of his shaft, loving the salty taste of his fluid.

  “Damn, Isabelle,” he choked, then looked down and watched her suck him. The juices of her arousal coated her pussy as their eyes met and held. She took him deep, then quickly, using her mouth and her hands to pleasure him.

  “Enough,” he said.

  Dax pulled her up and kissed her, his body quaking with tense passion. “I want to see your body, all of it.” He quickly discarded her swimsuit and scooped her up in his arms, then effortlessly swam through the archway of his home and into the open sea. Water rushed into her lungs again and yet her breathing never missed a beat. If she hadn’t been filled with the desire to make love with him, she’d have questioned how that could happen.

  Where was he taking her? Why outside? Why not in his house where it was dry?

  Oh, screw the questions. Isabelle had only one question on her mind right now. How long would it take before she could get Dax inside her?

  Chapter Eleven

  Isabelle’s heart beat swiftly against Dax’s chest as he carried her outside his lab. Her arms were wrapped tight around his neck, her body tense with anticipation and an equal amount of the raging desire coursing through his body.

  While he swam, he captured her lips in a heated kiss, plunging his tongue inside her mouth. His sonar made it easy to determine location so he could concentrate his gaze on the golden mermaid in his arms.

  Damn, she was hot. Hot and full of passionate urgency. He’d been prepared to talk, to tell her as much as he dared, when her eyes had darkened, her pupils dilating, her gaze focusing on his growing hard-on. Then she’d attacked his cock with her sweet, hot mouth and he’d lost all capability for rational thought.

  He pulled his lips away from hers, settling her on a soft embankment. Her eyes were closed, her dark lashes resting against her cheeks.

  “Open your eyes, Isabelle,” he said softly, wanting her to see where he’d brought her.

  She did, then smiled at him, her half-hooded eyes sexy as hell.

  “Look around you.”

  “I only want to look at you.”

  She reached for him and he was caught in her spell. But he stopped himself before his need for her took him over completely. “I want you to see this.”

  With a huge sigh she sat up, her eyes widening as she caught a glimpse of what he’d brought her here to see. “Oh my God!”

  Exactly the response he’d hoped for. The grotto was his favorite place to relax, think and enjoy his life. He’d never shared it with anyone before now. And now, he saw it anew in Isabelle’s eyes.

  “Dax, this is…it’s amazing!”

  He followed her gaze to the waving underwater ferns and the rainbow of coral in every shape and size. Some were as small as a few inches in height, others tall as an oak tree. He’d always loved swimming among his sea-life friends. The Angel Fish were out in force today, their yellows and blues, stripes and solid colors a near blur as they swam quickly by. He let out a contented sigh. This was his wonderland and always had been.

  “It’s like a playground of color.”

  What he enjoyed the most right now was watching Isabelle’s awestruck expression. His heart swelled with the lov
e he could no longer deny. He’d hoped she’d fit into his world, and she’d exceeded his expectations. Where most land humans would be paralyzed with fear over the unknown, Isabelle embraced the beauty and wonder of his life in the same way he always had.

  He reached for her hair, stroking the silken tendrils until she turned her head, her amber eyes bright and glittering with tears that no normal human would be able to see under the water. But he saw them. They sparkled like diamonds falling from the corner of her eyes and touched him in ways he couldn’t begin to fathom.

  “It’s beautiful, Dax. I don’t understand how this can all be. I have so many questions my head is spinning. But thank you for sharing your world with me.”

  “You’re welcome.” He leaned in for a kiss, lightly brushing her lips with his. She slipped off the embankment and reached for him, drawing herself against his body. When she wrapped her legs around his waist, his cock came to life, pulsing and hardening.

  Isabelle kissed him back, her tongue dancing against his until sparks of arousal shot between his legs. His heart pumped madly as she explored his body with her feather-like touch, brushing his shoulders with caresses and moving her hands ever so slowly downward.

  His cock rubbed against her soft mound and she whimpered, then leaned back, exposing her breasts to his touch. Wrapping her legs firmly around his hips, she tilted backward in the water. Dax petted the rosy nipples with his thumbs until they stood like hard peaks. His hands caressed her breasts and she tightened her legs around him, rocking her pussy against his cock.

  With little maneuvering he slid fully inside her. She grabbed his arms and held on, grinding herself against him. He reached between them and stroked her swollen clit, rewarded with her cries of pleasure.

  “Yes, touch me there, Dax.” Isabelle leaned up and grasped his shoulders, her heated gaze meeting his.

  Utilizing as much control as he could gather, he extricated himself from her vise-like grip, then pulled her body fully against his until they were entwined, legs tangled together, their hearts beating in rhythm against each other’s chest.

  He rolled them around the water together in positions they’d never be able to get into on land. When he turned them upside down, her hair stood on end and she laughed. When they stood upright but didn’t touch their feet to the ocean floor, his cock pumped hard, buried to the hilt in her hot pussy. But side-by-side and undulating through the water was the position he enjoyed the most. Their lips touched, their bodies became one and he felt every part of her against him.

  Especially the part of her that was soft, feminine and made for him. That part of her drove him to the brink of distraction and beyond. He couldn’t think straight when he was inside her, could only bask in the pleasures of her sweet body and inhale her peach and musky woman scent that even under water remained a part of her essence. When she tightened around him, he knew her orgasm was close.

  He wanted this to be special for her, this first time making love fully under the sea. He learned her body so quickly it stunned him, but every gasp, every small contraction of her pussy around his cock told him when he’d touched the right part.

  “Dax,” she breathed his name in a throaty whisper. Her voice was barely a whisper as she worked feverishly against him. She ground her pussy against his pelvis, pulling him ever deeper inside her until she cried with her climax. Dax held on tight and rode out the storm with her, never wanting to let go. Finally, he crested with her, his orgasm so powerful it rocked him to his toes.

  They sailed through the water as their orgasms rushed through them. Dax finally slowed their pace, coming to rest against the soft embankment where he’d set her earlier.

  After catching his breath, he sat up on the ledge and pulled Isabelle into a seated position in front of him. They sat together with fingers entwined, content to watch the colorful wonderland. Dax grinned at the sea creatures swimming playfully around them. He felt at ease when Isabelle laughed contentedly.

  “Thank you,” she said, brushing her back against his chest.

  “No, thank you. I can’t seem to think straight whenever you look at me the way you did.”

  She tilted her head back and met his gaze. “I look at you a certain way?”

  “Yeah. Your eyes darken like molten gold and I lose myself in you.”

  “I like that. I can’t help it. You do something to me.”

  He knew the feeling. She was certainly doing something to him. Making him forget who he was, who she was. Falling in love with Isabelle wasn’t something he should have done, and now that he had, he knew he’d end up hurting her.

  A school of dolphins approached, hovering no more than an arm’s length away from them. Isabelle raised her hands to them, giggling when they swam just beyond reach of her fingertips. When they drew close enough for her to pet them, she squealed with delight, pushing away from Dax and swimming along with them. They swarmed around her as she hovered in the water, and Dax caught his breath, wishing he could paint a portrait of her just like she was at that moment.

  She was beautiful, her hair billowing out in all directions, at least a dozen dolphins surrounding her. Her bronzed body glimmered like a golden statue, giving her the appearance of a sea siren calling the creatures of the oceans to do her bidding.

  Apparently word had gotten out about her arrival, because the neon blue Parrotfish made their appearance shortly thereafter, along with yellowtail and blue tangs, all rushing in to catch a glimpse of the human water nymph who had joined their world.

  Dax sat back and fed on Isabelle’s delight, still in awe that she’d adapted so well to undersea life. A glimmer of hope ignited inside him, and he wondered if—

  “Don’t even think about it.”

  Isabelle’s playland of fish stopped their circling and swarmed immediately around Ronan.

  Damn. Just what Dax didn’t need or want right now.

  * * * * *

  Isabelle froze at the imposing figure who’d magically appeared next to Dax.

  Imposing was an understatement in describing the tall man. Dark hair flowed behind him, nearly long enough to capture in a ponytail. His cerulean eyes glowed against his tanned face as he frowned in her direction. He had the body of a god, beautifully sculpted muscles that rippled against the water. Clothing similar to a long loincloth covered the lower half of his body, but his gorgeous chest was bare.

  Older than Dax, the man appeared to be in his forties, if age were even a factor with the mysterious undersea people here. And there had to be people, many of them. Instinctively she knew that more than just Dax and this stranger lived down here.

  The stranger was gorgeous. Not like Dax, who possessed looks and a body that made every cell inside her tingle with awareness. No, this man was so incredibly handsome it was almost painful to look upon him. And yet something about his imposing countenance frightened her. She longed to swim to the safety of Dax’s arms, but was afraid to even twitch. The stranger carried a trident in his hands, a long pitchfork that she didn’t want to get any closer to than she already was.

  “Isabelle, come here,” the stranger commanded in a voice that reverberated deeply through the water.

  Shocked that he knew her name, she looked to Dax, who shrugged nonchalantly and nodded. Surely he wouldn’t send her to someone who would hurt her. With great trepidation, she slowly approached the giant, stopping in front of him, trying not to notice the tan cloth that rode low on his hips, barely concealing his genitals.

  Then it struck her. Oh God, she was naked! How could she have forgotten that? She quickly moved to cover her breasts and crossed her legs as tight as she could.

  The stranger lifted a brow and said, “Many are naked or nearly so down here, Isabelle. We think nothing of our natural state unlike you land people.”

  Easy for him to say, he had clothes on. Damn. This was mortifying.

  “You’re scaring her to death, Neptune. Knock it off.” Dax swam over to her and put his arms around her.

  The nam
e hit her instantly. “Neptune? You’re Neptune? The Neptune?” She looked at Dax then back at the striking man. “I thought the gods were mythological, a fictional fantasy that didn’t exist.”

  Ronan smiled benignly at her. “I never use that name and Dax knows that. I am Ronan and that’s what you can call me. “ He glared at Dax, who shrugged. “And this legend of Neptune it is mythology. At least what you land humans have read. A bunch of nonsense written by people like you who could only guess at our lives down here. Believe me, I’m nothing like what you’ve read about.”

  Oh yeah, that made her feel so much better. She’d just met Ronan, sometimes called Neptune, or Poseidon. He was the god of the Sea.

  “Not god of the Sea. Not even close. I’m just a guardian here.”

  Ronan read her mind just like Dax could. Was there no end to the magic she’d discovered down here? “A guardian?”

  “And you give me a hard time for revealing too much,” Dax said, folding his arms and casting a smug look in the man’s direction.

  Ronan glared at Dax. “Mind your manners, boy, or I’ll turn you into a sea slug.”

  Isabelle gasped, but Dax just snorted. “No you won’t. And quit scaring her.”

  This whole scenario was surreal. She had to be dreaming it all. She finally exhaled when it became apparent she wasn’t going to be run through by Ronan’s trident. Then the inevitable curiosities came bursting forth from her mind. “Would someone mind answering the, oh, let’s say about a thousand questions I have?”

  Ronan’s eyes narrowed as he looked at Dax. “I warned you this could happen. You’ll have to take care of this, you know.”

  “I’m aware of that.”

  Ronan sighed and turned to Isabelle. “Ask your questions. Some I’ll answer, some I won’t.”

  She started to object, but knew it would get her nowhere. “Who are you?”

  “I’m Ronan. I think we already established that.”

  “Okay, then what are you?”

  He arched a dark brow. “I’m a man.”