"You're thinking about your family," Jewel stated. She nibbled on a soft loaf of bread stuffed with cheese. His brows arched. "And just how do you know that, oh non-mind reader?"
"Your expression is wistful. Tell me about them."
"You already know about them."
"Tell me, anyway."
Between bites, he said, "Brian is the unflappable one, always strong, always steady. Erik is the peacemaker and hard to rile, but once he's mad," Gray gave a mock shudder, "the wrath of Erik is a terrible thing."
As he spoke, everything inside him relaxed. That had been Jewel's purpose, he realized with admiration. "Denver is probably on a date right this minute with the World's Biggest Ice Queen."
"Madison or Jane?" Jewel asked with a grin. "Madison."
"I remember her. She never smiles."
"I don't know what the boy sees in her. She's emotionless and probably as much fun as an alien probe in bed."
Jewel gasped in scandalized shock. "What a horrible thing to say."
A laugh escaped him, and he was surprised by just how genuine it was. "Maybe warming up a prude is more fun than I realized."
Her cheeks reddened. "I am not a prude."
"Believe me, Blaze, I know." He reached over and squeezed her hand. "Nick is probably causing trouble somewhere with his warped sense of humor. Katie's probably giving her husband, Jorlan, hell, and my dad is probably giving my stepmom, Francis, hell. It seems to be a family tradition."
"I wish I could meet them in person."
Her words instantly flashed an image through his mind - an image of Jewel surrounded by his brothers,
sister and father. They would welcome her with open arms, would love her openness and honesty, and hell, he'd love to watch her face as his sailor-mouthed family shocked her.
"I've always wished I had Katie's strength," Jewel sighed wistfully. "When she first met Jorlan, she could have easily been crushed by his sheer maleness. But she ended up conquering him instead."
Overhead, the dome breathed an amber glow and that glow dripped onto her features, casting her in a perfect frame of radiance. His chest constricted. "Dusk is falling, so we need to finish eating. I want to wash up before lights out."
They finished their meal in silence, and Gray pushed to his feet. He held out his hand. "You ready?" "To bathe?" Jewel looked at him, her gaze unsure. "Together?"
He nodded. "If you get in that water with me, we're going to make love."
"Finally." Reaching up, she curled her fingers through his. He helped her to her feet. A rosy flush of excitement colored her cheeks as they strolled the short distance to the river's edge.
"Are Mermen going to attack us?" he asked, the thought just now occurring to him. "They are still in the city, and I do not sense them."
"Did you last time?"
She nodded. "That's why I was dressed and was not naked as promised. I'd hoped they would pass me by. We are very much alone here."
When she released his hand to unlace the knots on the waist of her robe, he stopped her with a huskily muttered, "Let me."
Movements deft, he worked at the material. The dirty covering soon floated to her ankles, leaving her in undergarments. Those he pushed to the ground, too. And then she was suddenly, gloriously naked.
He drank in the sight of her. Pink, pearled nipples, smooth-as-silk belly, a small thatch of dark curls, and long tapered legs.
Perfection.
Jewel stood completely still for Gray's perusal. Because the people of Atlantis wanted her for her psychic skills, they saw her as on object. A thing. They even called her "it" upon occasion. They'd never seen her as a sexual being. But the way Gray looked at her... she felt achy. Erotic and craved.
"You are so beautiful," he breathed. His eyes were heated, his voice husky.
"Thank - thank you." She didn't know what else to say. Need thrummed through her, and she reached out, peeling away his clothing piece by unwanted piece. Her hands were shaky. His chest was wide and laced with muscle, and his nipples were small and brown, hard points against her hands. A thin trail of blond hair led past the waist of his pants all the way to his penis. The long, thick length of him jutted up.
She'd seen him like this before. Proud. Aroused. Not in the tent, too dark, but for other women. This time, he wanted her. Was hard for her. Her blood heated with the power of that knowledge.
"We were made to pleasure each other, I think," he