Taboo (8 page)

Only the most magnificent, sensual, amazing days of his life. He glanced up to the high roof of the Dwelling. He could see figures up there, but it was too far to determine who.

“It’s over, Darrius.
This
is our world.”

His brother pushed him into the forest, away from prying eyes and ears. Finally, they stood deep in the shadows, where insects courted one another among the trees. The smell of sap permeated the air, reminding Andreus of the pudding Ariana had made. And how her tongue tasted just like it.

His cock stirred under the cloth, bringing him more heartache.

“I want to know the truth, Andreus.”

Darrius crossed his arms, leaned against a trunk. His brown eyes glittered like the impatient young man he was. He needed only another year or two before maturity would give him tolerance.

Andreus lifted a shoulder. “I have come to accept that the space craft cannot be repaired. I suggest you accept it, as well.”

“Why this sudden switch?”

Because the boat didn’t mean anything anymore. Not when he had to leave Ariana behind. “It took me a few days of solitude to realize we’ve been chasing rainbows.”

Darrius narrowed his eyes. “You always go alone, this time was no different.”

Andreus wearied of his brother’s relentless questions. Wasn’t it enough that his heart lay bare, exposed to the burning rays of the sun?

“Leave me, Darrius. I will check in on Marita and then I need rest.”

He turned to head back to the Dwelling, but a hand clamped on his shoulder. “I will not leave you until I have answers. Real answers.”

Anguish mushroomed, expanded into rage.

Andreus wheeled around. “Fine. There was a woman.”

“A woman?” Darrius stumbled back, eyes wide.

“Yes, a woman. But I cannot see her again, nor do I want to leave her.”

“Why? Who is she?”

Andreus hung his head, his chest aching. He pointed to the sky. “An Aerotaun.”

Chapter Nine

Hanken leaned against the wall, facing the courtyard. “As I said, it was no accident. The government of our home planet had a secret mission to colonize this world.”

Ariana blinked, her mouth dry, palms damp. “Colonize? Are you saying they deliberately sabotaged the space craft so that no one could return home?”

The knot deep in her gut tightened at his nod. “We were to establish a civilization. We’ve done rather well, don’t you think? We actually have two.”

She clutched the railing, gulping the wave of nausea. To be a survivor on a remote planet was one thing. But to be an unwilling victim was quite another. Her ancestors used innocent people. Tore families apart. Created a world with hostility and deception.

“Ariana?” Hanken took a hold of her elbow. “You don’t look well. I didn’t realize it would be such a shock.”

“But-but the Marimar.” She pointed down below. “They have no idea. They’ve been living here under the assumption they were stranded accidentally.”

“It’s been a very long time, Ariana. They have established their own culture and so have we. No one has been hurt by it.”

But maybe they have been hurt. The bitterness inside Andreus was genuine. He spoke as if the Marimar were beneath the Aerotaun, not respected. They even had to live by others’ rules.

She had to tell Andreus. He deserved to know the truth. If he wanted to take his boat and sail across the ocean to the space craft, he should have the chance. Perhaps it could be repaired now. Perhaps…

Ariana glanced at Hanken’s pursed lips. They would never bring her the same pleasure she experienced in the last four days. “Were there communications back to the home planet?”

Hanken’s jaw tensed. “Certainly in the beginning.”

“And now?”

He stared across the rooftop to the rising sun on the other side. “I wouldn’t know.”

Somehow she thought he did. Right now it didn’t matter. She just had to let Andreus know, tell him he could follow his dream. But would she need proof?

“I’m not feeling well.” In truth, she wasn’t.

“Why don’t I take you to my room to lie down?” Exactly what she hoped he’d say.

And, after a swift kiss on the lips and a gentle pat on the arm, Hanken left her alone in his room. Ariana waited a bit to make sure he wouldn’t return then got up to search the sparse area. Since they had to make do with whatever their ancestors brought with them, or what they found on this island, no one had many material possessions. Only the lucky few had old books, usually handed down through the generations.

Paper was in such short supply that it was forbidden except for strict business reasons to write on any. And even then it was on paper ripped from an old book.

Yet, Ariana searched through the room for any paper record of what Hanken just told her.

Folded neatly in a basket next to his bed, she found a brittle sheet of paper. The writing scribbled around the margin of the original letter, inviting Hanken to join the leadership. There was nothing telling in there.

But as she looked closer at the original letter, she could still make out a few words. Her pulse jumped as she saw an official looking symbol at the top of the page. And elsewhere she caught the words “civilization” and “colony”.

Pain sparked in her throat. By the stars, Hanken had been correct. And Andreus had been more right than he ever realized. His people were not survivors of a lost expedition. They were victims of a government research expedition.

Ariana folded the letter and tucked it inside her waistband. Slowly she peeked out the door. Hanken was nowhere in sight.

She watched the sun crest over the treetops as she clipped on her wings. Then, for the first time, Ariana descended to the dark water below.

Andreus left his brother and started for the Dwelling steps. A murmur rose from a gathered crowd on the beach.

As he got closer, fingers started pointing his way, then the group of people broke apart. And in the middle stood Ariana.

His heart trembled, breathing halted, groin roused.

She was beautiful. Like an angel, a butterfly. His little bird.

Ariana ran over to him, her eyes bright. He didn’t expect her to fall against his chest. Gasps rose from the onlookers, but she didn’t seem to care.

Andreus wrapped his arms around her, inhaled her sweetness. Contentment swam through his blood. “Oh, Ariana. What is it, my love?”

“It’s awful,” she said against his skin. “You’ve been right. But it’s worse than you ever expected.”

His pulse accelerated. “What is? I don’t understand what you’re saying.”

She glanced around then led him down the beach to a private alcove, where several rotting tree stumps faced a fire pit. Birds chirped in the branches above them. “Hanken began to tell me the Sacred Words…”

Pressure banded about his chest. Had she gone back to that man? Was she lost to him for good? “Sacred Words?”

“My Rite of Passage. He told me what really happened, that not only did my ancestors disable the space craft,” she sniffed, “they did it on purpose.”

He narrowed his eyes, clenched his jaw. She didn’t make sense. Why would the scientists strand themselves here on purpose? “Sabotage? But why?”

Ariana brushed her hair over her shoulders. “Because they were ordered by the home planet’s government to colonize this world.”

Air rushed out of his lungs. “Colonize? Establish a civilization?”

Biting her lip, she nodded.

“And we were never to be told?”

“No. I think even some of my ancestors didn’t know. Only a select few had knowledge of the true reason for the journey.”

Andreus sank to a tree stump, too stunned to feel the fury he knew would come later. “I-I can’t believe this.”

“I’m so sorry.” She pulled out an ancient paper. “Here is some proof of the conspiracy. But don’t you see, you should take your boat and try to find your way back. I’m sure many others will want to join you now.”

He glanced at her. “Would you?”

She crossed her arms and looked away. “I don’t know. It’s all so shocking, so frightening.”

Andreus jumped up and took her into his arms again. “I won’t leave this place without you, Ariana. I’d rather stay here, even if I can not have you.”

“I-I’ve thought of nothing but you these last hours. I would go with you over the sea if it meant being close to you.”

He kissed the top of her head, breathing in her pure essence. “And I love you more than anything, even my dreams of leaving here.”

Ariana looked up, tears glistening in her eyes. “We could run away to the little hut on the beach.”

“The hut is gone. I tore it down last night.”

“And the boat?”

Andreus grinned. “The boat is still there. Shall we make it a shelter so it won’t be against the law?”

“By that lovely lagoon? Absolutely.” Her sexy, curved lips squeezed his heart and hardened his cock.

She leaned forward and pressed her mouth against his. Their tongues danced in a perfect rhythm, as if they’d never parted. Ariana tasted like the sunshine, the clouds, the rain. She was the air. She was heaven.

“Come.” Andreus led her back to the crowded beach. “I want you to meet my brother. He’ll want to hear the good news.”

“Good news?”

“Our dream is still alive.” He enfolded her soft fingers into his own. “And now with you by my side, the fantasy has become real.”

“Will you tell the others what I’ve told you?”

Andreus stopped and gazed down at her bright eyes. He would do just about anything she asked, including tearing the boat apart, splinter by splinter. “Do you wish me to?”

“I merely brought you the information.” Ariana leaned on him, her small breasts pressing deliciously against his chest. “It is up to you to expose it to the others.”

He tilted her head back, cupped her jaw. “Why me?”

Ariana licked her lips, a promise of the night to come. “Because you will be the one to lead them.”

About the Author

To learn more about Leslie Dicken, please visit
www.lesliedicken.com
.

Send an email to Leslie at
[email protected]
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Look for these titles by Leslie Dicken

Now Available:

The Price of Discovery

Taboo

Beauty Tempts the Beast

A Tarnished Heart

Coming Soon:

The Iron Heart

She can save him…or bring him to ultimate ruin.

A Tarnished Heart

© 2010 Leslie Dicken

The Earl of Markham’s life is unraveling before his eyes. The harder he tries to pick up the frayed ends, the quicker his carefully guarded control slips from his iron grasp. Five years after the death of his wife, the threat of blackmail hangs over his son’s inheritance.

His only hope to quell the gossip before it begins lies in a headstrong young commoner as wild and free as the English countryside she loves. She is wrong for him in every way. Yet she brings life to his colorless world—and warms his heart with a fire that threatens to shatter the wall around his heart.

Lizzie Parker is content with her garden, her village and caring for her aging father. She wants no part of the glittering London Season, but her father will not be denied his wish to see to her future. Still, she plans to do everything in her power to vex the man charged with taking her away from her beloved home. The man who once broke her heart. Markham.
 

She never expected his kisses to tame her resistance. With each touch he rouses her senses, until suddenly she’s not at all sure where she belongs…

Warning: Blackmail! (oh my) Secrets! (oh my) Love Scenes! (oh oh my) and even a trip to the magnificent Crystal Palace in London. You won't be able to put this one down.

Enjoy the following excerpt for
A Tarnished Heart:

Lizzie picked up her pace, biting back hot tears.

“Miss Parker! Come back here.”

Instead she lifted her chin and continued.

Markham’s now familiar growl echoed behind her.

“Lizzie! Wait for me,” Edmund called.

But she wasn’t going to slow down for him, either. Home. It was all she ever wanted. What a fool she’d been to venture into the village when she could be spending every moment with her father.

Clopping horses approached, then the animals reared to a noisy stop and the door swung open beside her. Before she could react, Markham climbed down the steps and lifted her like a sack of feathers.

“Put me down, you boar.”

Edmund yelled for her, but it mattered little against a man the size of Markham.

Her captor dropped her onto the seat cushion, yanked the door closed, and rapped on the wall. Within seconds, the vehicle sprang forward. The dowager wasn’t there.

“How dare you? You think because there is no chaperone you can carry me off like a barbarian?” Her pulse leaped at her throat, an anxious pacing tiger trapped within a cage.

Markham settled into the seat opposite her, his black hair in disarray like a horse’s mane. “It is time to return to London.” The blasted man was not even out of breath.

“But I’ve not spent enough time with my father.”

His dark stare glinted with restrained emotions. “It is not my fault you chose to squander your time, Miss Parker.”

“Squander my time.” The nerve of him. “And that gives you the right to lift me off the ground and kidnap me?”

“You were being stubborn, as usual.”

Oh, that man and his bloody self-importance. “I’ll show you stubborn.”

She reached for the door handle but Markham’s powerful fingers clamped down on her wrist. Without letting go, he moved onto her side, pushing her away from the door.

“I won’t have you leaping out.” The words tickled down her spine, spiked awareness deep in her core. Her breasts ached, nipples tightened.

His spicy, foreign scent washed over her in a conquering wave of dizziness.

“Let me go.”

Markham leaned closer, his penetrating eyes halting her resistance. Her breath stilled as those perfectly formed lips hovered just inches from her face. She could see every nuance of his skin, every fine line around his eyes. “Apparently, you don’t know with whom you are dealing.”