Free [Atlantean's Quest 01] The Arrival by Jordan Summers Page A

their busy noises.
    He raised his large palm, pointing it in the direction of the man holding the club. Brilliant energy shot out, ripping the weapon from the man’s grasp, searing the native’s hand. The guide screamed, clutching the burned limb.
    The natives stepped away from Rachel’s limp body and scattered. As they ran away, their panicked voices shouted about the fierce ghost tribe.
    Eros jumped down from the tree he’d been perched in, and ran a shaky hand through his long hair. His fingers trembled as the excess energy was absorbed back into his system.
    He approached the woman slowly, carefully, his body as sensitive to his surroundings as an exposed nerve in a loose tooth. Natural predators gave him a wide berth, sensing the danger.
    She lay bound, her sable hair thrown in disarray around her face from the struggle. Long lashes fell in soft crescents against her pale cheeks. The hat she’d worn sat amongst the leaves about ten feet from her small body.
    He crouched and reached a fingertip out to move the stray locks from her forehead. She was warm. The breath from her pert nose came out even and deep. He picked her up as if she were the finest gem, brushing leaves away from her clothes and out of her hair.
    Eros ran a hand over her, examining her for injuries. She’d be bruised if he didn’t treat her. He sent energy through her, the heat permeating her body, healing her from the inside out.
    It was time to take her home.

    * * * * *
    Rachel awoke in mid air, her arms and legs hanging limp. She must be floating up to heaven. At least she hoped she was. Her muscles were numb and sore from lack of circulation. The strange thing was her head didn’t hurt.
    She opened her eyes and caught a glimpse of large feet, then long legs, bulging biceps and a wide muscled chest.
    Yep, definitely heaven.
    Her eyes were drawn up and up and up. The man lifting her was a giant. At least he seemed like it to Rachel. The rainbow stick, the guides, the attack, being tied up. Flash by flash the pictures collided in her fuzzy mind. Rachel wriggled and thrashed.
    The man held her with one hand, her feet dangling a foot off the ground as if she weighed no more than a rag doll. Her struggles went unnoticed. He pulled a huge knife from a sheath at his waist and sliced through the vines binding her hands and feet. He left her gag in place.
    She squirmed, trying to break his hold, all the while knowing escape was futile. She looked into his face.
    Rachel’s breath seized.
    His eyes, a rich shade of blue, held her gaze—locking her to him, drawing her in, arresting her until all thought of escape vanished like a dream upon waking. Undisguised desire flared from their aqua depths, promising, imploring, and beseeching.
    He was lethal.
    His features were starkly handsome, as if he’d been chiseled from Michelangelo’s granite. Long sun-kissed hair hung wildly around his face and down his back, past his narrow hips. His lips were firm, but full. An inkling of familiarity danced across her mind.
    Then it hit her. This was her dream man .
    Except he wasn’t a dream at all.
    Rachel stilled, every fiber of her being honed in on his body. She reached out, unable to stop herself from touching his bare chest. She had to make sure he was real for her own peace of mind. Her fingers met with steeled warmth, and tingled on contact. He was a man of contrasts. Soft, yet hard. Tender, yet fierce.
    Rachel pressed her palm flat, scraping his flat disc of a nipple.
    He flinched. His blue gaze widened in surprise, then turned tumultuous like the ocean in the midst of a storm. Before she had a chance to speak, he flung her over his massive shoulder. The air rushed out of Rachel’s lungs, leaving her gasping for breath behind the gag. The giant took off, racing through the jungle at an astonishing speed.
    Rachel squirmed against his arm. She tried to untie the vine holding her gag in place, but her fingers weren’t cooperating. She had to go back. She owed