More Than a Fantasy (4 page)

“You’ve neglected a very vital organ.”

The voice from behind startled Mara. She dropped her brush, splattering drops of Phthalo blue on the floor.

She gasped when Poseidon put his heavy hand on her shoulder. “How did you get in here?”

“I blew in with the breeze.” He smirked and leaned over her shoulder to inspect her painting.

“The security guards will—”

“They have no idea I’m here.”

“Every room of the house has video cameras.”

“And I appear on none of them.”

“Why?”

“Because I’m only a dream.”

Mara’s heart pounded. She felt the heat of his skin, and smelled the familiar scent of warm sand and male musk. She permitted herself a momentary downward glance and was
relieved
to see he wore a normal-looking pair of denim jeans and nothing else.

His hand trailed down her back and settled on her hip. He dipped his head into the curve of her neck. “I’m impressed. You’ve captured my essence with such a commanding pose.”

Mara didn’t respond. She stood still, wishing he would go away.

“You have left out one important aspect, though. Vanquishing a sea monster with a beautiful maiden at my heels would give me a raging hard-on.”

“Maybe in the next painting,” she said, her jaw tight.

“In the next scene, it would be buried deep inside her.”

The image sprang to Mara’s mind of Poseidon and the nymph tangled on the sand. A traitorous pressure built between her legs, and she wondered if Poseidon were reading her thoughts. “You’d better leave before someone sees you.”

“I will leave before someone sees me, but that could be a while. I’ve created another diversion to occupy the men who hold you prisoner.”

“What?” She turned, disconcerted by how close he stood. She had to put her hands on his chest and push him back a step. “You created the radar glitch?”

He nodded. “I’m just experimenting now, but eventually I will create a diversion that will allow you to escape from your captivity.”

Mara swallowed the words and a sardonic laugh bubbled up. “Escape from the island?”

“Yes.”

“And go where?”

“I’ll take you anywhere.”

“Why?”

“Because you wish it. You want to be free of this place. Tiran told me.”

“Tiran? Where is he?” The memory of her intimate conversation with Tiran came back to her. As they lay dreamily on the beach, she’d told him about her loneliness, how she longed for her freedom even more than she needed to fulfill her sexual fantasies.

Apparently, he’d shared her deepest confessions with Poseidon.

“Tiran is occupied below. He has several females to entertain.”

“Ah.” Mara felt an odd twinge. Was it jealousy? Why would she care what Poseidon’s brother did with other females? “Let me ask you this, if you come and go with the wind, how am I supposed to go with you?”

He laughed. “I can show you. My race has many amazing abilities.”

“Your race? You just said you were a dream.”

“I’m many things. A dream. An illusion. A fantasy, but also a man, and the progeny of a god. Atlanteans have roamed this planet since before your people recorded time using knotted string or flint marks on cave walls. We are myth and legend made flesh.”

“Uh-huh.” Mara crossed her arms and leaned back, regarding his muscular torso. “So show me.”

“Show you what?” He leered.

She rolled her eyes. “How you’ll get me out of here without security seeing me leave.”

“Of course.”

Poseidon reached for her hand and tugged her fingers toward his chest. He flattened her hand into the rigid valley between his bulging pectorals, and she felt a very real heartbeat under her sweating palm.

With one hand over hers and the other sliding down her back to rest on her ass, he pulled her forward just slightly.

Before Mara could protest, the room began to shimmer. Brilliant sparks of light danced between their bodies and swirled outward, forming a silvery barrier between her and her surroundings.

Her body
became
light, empty and strangely cool. Her head spun, and she found she could focus her dizzy gaze on nothing but the ice green of his eyes. Reluctantly, to keep from falling, she clung to him as everything around her turned pearly white.

In the next instant, Mara could focus on her surroundings again. Behind Poseidon, she saw the whitewashed outer wall of her studio. Her shadow and his entwined against it in the fading light.

“We’re outside…”

“Without opening a door or a window,” he said, finishing her thought.

Mara pushed out of Poseidon’s embrace and looked around. I’m definitely dreaming.

“That was just a momentary trip. I can take you hundreds of miles using only the wind to convey us. In moments, you could be on any of a thousand islands. I could even take you to places no human could ever find you.”

Mara’s heart leapt at the selfish possibilities. “You can really take me anywhere?”

“Yes. For a price.”

A cold pressure closed over Mara’s lungs. Of course there would be a price. Perhaps it was one worth paying to escape this useless existence.

She gave Poseidon a narrow glare that meant she might be willing to negotiate, but she wasn’t going to agree to just anything. “What do you want?”

He smiled broadly. “The price is one of your fantasies. Let me be the man you’ve been dreaming about. Let me do the things you long for a man to do to you. Surely, that’s not so high a price to pay for your freedom?”

Mara took a few measured breaths, her mind reeling. Did she dare trust him? If this figment of her imagination wanted her to show him a good time in exchange for a one-way ticket out of Zander prison, she was certainly up for it.

If only it had been Tiran making the offer.

“I’ll consider it,” she said finally. “Give me time to think it over.”

“I’ll give you a day. What I’m going to do for you is against our laws
,
and I can only do it once. So be certain this is what you want. I’ll be on your little beach tomorrow at this time, just before sunset. Bring nothing with you. You must leave everything of this life behind. If you’re there, I’ll take you.” Poseidon laughed, his eyes gleaming. “Then, I’ll take you away.”

* * * *

“What you propose, Tiran, may cause political unrest. I caution against it.” Mykonos, father of Tiran and Poseidon, himself named for one of the glorious islands that floated above the
ir
Atlantean abode, paced the length of the Triumvirate Hearing Room. Tiran had cornered his father here after a session of the ruling body, and broached the forbidden subject.

“It’s not politics that concerns me, Father. It’s morality. We’ve long considered ourselves superior to humans because we have no wars and no physical suffering among us. Don’t we have an obligation to help someone in need?”

“The Triumvirate will never agree, Tiran. The implications of bringing a human to live among us with no preparation are too immense to consider.”

“All I ask is that you make the suggestion, Father. The Articles of Autonomy allow for granting asylum to someone who is oppressed in their own society. We could allow Mara to leave her prison.”

“It’s too dangerous to bring a human among us. With even one living here, others would follow and our society would suffer.”

Mykonos paced, and Tiran’s hopes for saving Mara diminished with each step. He began to realize, as the argument continued, that even with ancient laws to back up his request, the Triumvirate feared humans too much to begin to change their ways.

“We should help her, Father.”

“No, Tiran. The fact that you’ve shown yourself to her is distressing enough. The Triumvirate could choose to punish you for this, and I could not stop them.”

“I’m sorry, Father. But I feel it’s time we revisited the old laws and considered the possibility that we may one day need to merge our society with that of the humans. This would be a start.”

Mykonos shook his head and began to dissolve into his liquid state, signifying the end of the discussion. “Not in our lifetimes, son. Go now
,
and do not speak of it again.”

Tiran watched the dark current of his father’s morphed form as it snaked out of the Hearing Room. He should have felt ashamed after confessing to Mykonos that he’d been conversing with a human, but instead he
was
angry at his father’s narrow-mindedness. Mykonos had a reputation for being fair and just, the most forward-thinking member of the Triumvirate, yet he refused to even consider the notion of bringing a human to live among them, even in the interest of Atlantean superiority.

Despite the fact that another visit to Mara might increase his chances of punishment, he had to see her again and figure out a way to set her free.

* * * *

That night, Mara didn’t sleep. She paced the floor of her bedroom until her legs felt weak. Her mind played out all the terrible possibilities and left her no closer to a solution at dawn than she had been at midnight.

Was Poseidon real? Or had she finally gone insane? If he was an Atlantean, could he really get her off the island undetected?

If she left, could she go home to New York and resume her life?

No. Her father would find her, or worse, his enemies would.

She’d lived too long always looking over her shoulder, ready at a moment’s notice to go into hiding until Thanatos told her it was safe to resume her normal life.

Maybe riding the winds with Poseidon was the best offer she’d ever get. If she could let her father know she was safe and happy, he could live easier. Maybe that was a gift she could give him, freeing him from constant worry about her safety.

The first pink rays of morning light burst over the horizon, reminding Mara she’d barely blinked all night. Her eyes stung, and she crawled across her wide bed and sank into the soft pillows. Still, sleep eluded her.

She considered Poseidon’s price. Of the two brothers, she preferred Tiran, but ultimately, did it matter? Poseidon promised to be her fantasy. What girl could turn down an offer like that?

She forced herself to close her eyes and get a few hours of sleep before breakfast. She had a busy day ahead of her if she were to take Poseidon up on his offer.

Despite the warmth of the evening breeze, Mara shivered as she walked along the path between the dunes. She wore only her gauzy cover-up over a tangerine bikini. Her hair hung down her back, loose and curling, and despite her nervousness, she felt completely free.

She’d left a letter for her father in a spot where he wouldn’t find it until morning. Though she’d steeled herself for the possibility that she’d imagined it all and would spend the evening alone on the beach waiting for a figment of her overactive imagination, she did
experience
a pang of remorse at leaving without a face-to-face conversation. She had no other choice, though. Her father would not understand why she wanted to leave his secluded world forever.

The beach glowed with the vibrant orange light of sunset, and the calm surf sparkled.
She might miss this place, but not enough to give up her chance for freedom.

She stood at the edge of the water and let the breakers wash over her feet, wondering if she hoped Poseidon would show up or hoped he wouldn’t. Relief and anticipation flooded her when a warm hand grasped her shoulder and his familiar voice whispered in her ear.

“I wasn’t sure you’d come.”

“I’m still not sure you’re real.” Mara’s nipples hardened when he blew a cool stream of air over her left ear and trailed his fingers beneath the filmy fabric of her cover-up to rest on her hip.

“I’m about to show you how real I am.”

She gasped when he scooped her into his arms and turned away from the rising tide. “Where—?”

“To the olive grove. It’s private there.”

Mara wrapped her arms around Poseidon’s neck and studied his features as he strode down the path to where a dozen ancient trees formed a perfect circle.

Like Tiran, he was beautiful. Mara couldn’t deny that. He carried her effortlessly, his expression feral and determined. The feel of his rippling muscles made her tense with desire.

Once within the barrier formed by the twelve gnarled trunks, Poseidon set her down and appraised her with a hungry look. He gently pushed her backward, walking step by step with her until her buttocks touched the smoothest of the weatherworn boles.

Her breath caught when he roughly dragged the cover-up and the strap of her bikini top off her shoulder. His mouth came down on her exposed breast. Despite
her reservations
, she arched against the heat of his tongue. He drew her nipple into his mouth with such force that she swore she felt the sensual pull in her womb. Her clit began to pulse. He suckled harder and harder until she cried out in a mixture of pleasure and pain.