The Nymph King (Atlantis #3)(16)

He snorted and stepped closer to her. "There are females, yes, but mostly we are males."

God, she had to get out of there. His nearness disturbed her sense of peace and reduced her to a trembling, sex-starved hormone. Already her nipples had hardened. Her stomach quivered. "Take me home, Valerian. I don't belong here."

He didn't reply. The wall began to close, gradually shutting out the view of water, gradually shutting out the now infuriated mermaids banging on the crystal. Shaye covered her mouth with a shaky hand. "Please take me home."

"Love, this is your home now. I swear to you, you will soon come to adore it as I do."

How beguiling he sounded. His husky tone promised endless nights of passion and days of wild abandon.

Resist. Flee. More than ever, she needed the safety of numbness. She squared her shoulders and raised her chin. She would feel nothing for this man; she would be rude, completely unlikable. Sometimes that was the only way to keep someone at a distance. "I'm going home," she said, determined. "With or without your permission."

Before he had time to respond, she jolted into motion and sprinted toward the whirlpool. Her sandals dug into rocks and twigs. Breath caught in her throat, burning, urging her on. Almost there... just another step...

Valerian grabbed her by the arm and twirled her around.

"No!" she shouted, kicking backward.

"If you enter the portal without me, you will die." The words held an unmistakable edge of fury. His hand tightened on her. "You will never be able to swim the length of the water alone. Do you understand? You will die out there, your body nothing more than nourishment for the fish."

She stilled, the blood chilling in her veins. The water... how could she have forgotten the water? As if he'd shackled her wrists and ankles to the wall, she was trapped. Leave and die. Stay and... what? It didn't matter, really. Living here held no appeal - not when she had King Pleasure to contend with.

"You can swim the distance," she said, using her haughtiest tone. "I command you to take me home."

"It is my greatest pleasure to give you anything and everything you request, but I cannot give you that. Anything else you desire will be yours." He released his grip on her arm and traced his fingertip along her collarbone. "One day soon I hope it will be me that you desire."

Red alert, red alert. She had to get away from him, had to escape that tempting wish. How? Where could she go?

"At least tell me your name," he cajoled.

"Up yours." The words emerged breathless, rather than insulting as she'd intended. Exquisite fire trailed the same path as his fingers, then journeyed the length of her spine. Dangerous.

A heavy pause stretched between them. All the while, Valerian radiated a sense of amusement, sadness and anger. Sadness? She frowned. Surely not. Hulking he-man warriors were never sad. Were they?

His arm curved around her waist, an impenetrable force. "Come then, Up Yours, and I will show you the palace." He ushered her up that long, winding staircase, coarse and crudely built.

Not knowing what else to do, she followed without protest. Really, what could she say? Leave me in this cold, dank cave to rot? God, what kind of nightmare had she entered? Every second that passed became more surreal and damning than the last.

There had to be another way home; she had only to find it. Shaye studied the markings on the wall. The higher she stepped, the less jagged the rocks became. They appeared to be dusted with glitter, sparkling and inviting her to touch. Unable to resist, she brushed her fingertip over the smooth surface.

Valerian stopped abruptly. She bumped into his back and gasped at the fiery, full-body contact. As she hastily backed away, he spun around and faced her. He pushed her against the cold wall, his frown fierce, his turquoise eyes gleaming with purpose.

"Close your eyes," he commanded.

His imposing stance didn't frighten her. No, she struggled against a surge of excitement. Heady, blissful excitement. "Hell, no," she said.

"That was not a request, love. That was a demand."

"You should have taken me home when you had the chance. I'll never do anything you say. I told you that before."

One of his brows arched. "Keep your eyes open, then."

She smirked. "Nice try."

He pushed out a frustrated breath. "I do not want you to know the way back to the portal. Do not force me to blindfold you."

"Force you? Please." Her smirk became a glare. "I seriously doubt I could force you to do anything you didn't already want to do. The same holds true for me. I don't like you, I don't trust you and you'll never be able to bend me to your will."

"I could have lied to you." As he spoke, he closed the small distance between them, crowding her, eating up her personal space. But he didn't touch her. No, he left her craving it. "I could have told you that you would go blind if you looked at the rocks. You would not have known the difference. But there will be only truth between us. No matter how harsh, I will always tell you the truth."

Her defiance drained, and fear claimed center stage - past the kernels of desire fighting for life. His tone was so final. He truly expected her to remain here. He truly expected her to obey him. To trust him.

Valerian had said before that he and his men wanted her and the others for their bodies. Translation: sex. Were they to be sex slaves? Was she to be Valerian's slave? Shaye's eyes narrowed to tiny slits. She'd die first - and kill every male within reach in the process. She'd spent her childhood a slave to her parents' edicts. Kiss your new daddy, Shaye. Give that woman my phone number, Shaye. Don't you dare use profanity, Shaye.