Vision of Seduction (17 page)

up driving right off a cliff. Horses definitely had an advantage as a mode of

transportation in some cases.

She leaned over the horse's neck, urging the animal to run faster and to put

as much distance as possible between her and the ruined paradise they had

just left. The sensation of the devastation following her made the hair on

the nape of her neck stand at attention. Most likely it was her own

confused thoughts that followed her.

As the greenery and vibrant colors thickened around her and even

encroached on the path, Katelyn slowly began to breathe easier. She could

rationalize that this was because there was more oxygen here, due to all the

plants, but she knew part of her reaction was due to the strange emotions

roiling through her.

Even if this had only been her imaginary play land as a child, Tador felt

like an indelible part of her. The thought of it dying away tore at her

emotions and made her chest tight and her eyes burn with unshed tears.

Somehow, in just a short time, she felt a close bond with this place she had

never experienced anywhere else.

She followed Grayson into a dense patch of foliage and the sight on the

other side scattered all her thoughts.

Her horse took a few steps inside the large clearing and then stopped to

crop grass as though he had visited this spot many times.

Katelyn looked around, trying to take in everything at once and wishing

she had a camera, though she knew a picture could never capture the aweinspiring beauty that surrounded her.

Thick strands of trees ringed the clearing on three sides, but it was the

fourth side that captured her attention. A small mountain of sparkling

white balda thrust out of the ground until it disappeared behind a covering

of vines and clinging ivy liberally scattered with multicolored flowers. No

wonder everything in this world was made of the snowy-white rock—it

seemed to be the only type of rock on the planet.

A small path wound from the base of the mountain up to several steaming

pools that appeared to be etched into the rock but still not manmade.

Katelyn found herself standing on the ground but didn't remember

dismounting. The sparkling waters drew and held all her attention.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" Grayson's voice whispered against her ear, and she

jumped, since she hadn't heard him approach. His low laugh warmed her,

but her gaze remained fixed on the sight before her.

"Breathtaking." The word couldn't begin to do justice to the sight before

her, but she was so awed her usually prolific mind couldn't seem to conjure

any other words.

Grayson looped his arm around her waist, and she relaxed back against

him, his chin resting on her shoulder, leaving the two of them cheek to

cheek. A comfortable silence fell between them, and Katelyn just enjoyed

his nearness.

Just a few moments earlier, her emotions had churned through her in an

exhausting rush because of the deadened piece of the planet she'd seen, but

now she felt safe, happy, and content. She wasn't usually a woman who

experienced mood swings, but something about this planet and this man

had really thrown off her rhythms.

Her gaze tracked around her, letting the pinelike scent of the trees and the

clean, fresh scent of the grasses and flowers fill her senses. The seclusion of

the clearing was intimate and special, like a hidden retreat. Grayson's

strong presence radiated against her aura, leaving a gentle buzz of energy

between them.

He pulled back, the short stubble on his jaws chafing against the sensitive

skin of her face and neck and leaving her to remember how those rough

cheeks felt against the insides of her thighs.

The thought made her smile with definite speculation, and a warm hum of

arousal zinged through her body.

"This is one of my favorite places to come to think. I wanted to share it with

you because it's also one of the most breathtaking places on the planet."

His unsaid words—at least for now—hung between them, and the tension

she thought had left her flooded back, tightening her chest and shoulders—

her apparent favorite place to hold stress. What was it about this place that

made her feel she had to do something to save it? She was only a Seer, not

a queen or even one of the natural residents.

She chewed her bottom lip and dropped her gaze to Grayson's chest. Her

usual manner of easy confidence seemed to have escaped her all of a

sudden, and she missed it. She felt exposed and vulnerable.

Grayson's roughened fingers raised her chin until he captured her gaze

with his.

A flash of intensity sparked between them, and Katelyn knew she couldn't

look away—and she didn't want to. For the first time, his gaze lost the

teasing, sensual quality, and he looked at her with what she somehow

knew was a rare glance at the real man beneath the easygoing facade.

She stood on tiptoes to brush her lips over his.

Grayson cupped her cheeks in his large palms and returned her kiss,

unhurriedly exploring her mouth as if savoring a delicacy.

His lips were warm and firm, and he tasted male and spicy, a flavor she

thought she would never tire of.

She pressed her breasts against his muscled chest, and she fisted her hands

in his tunic, enjoying the slow assault on her senses. A slow burn started

deep inside her belly and fanned out in every direction.

When Grayson gently pulled away, his hands still cupping her cheeks,

their gazes locked. Katelyn was afraid to move— afraid she would break

the spell they had somehow fallen into.

"Let me show you the springs before I lose all control and take you right

here on the grass." He smiled down at her and brushed his lips over hers

once more before dropping her hands and stepping back.

Katelyn blew out a long breath as she allowed her body to adjust to the loss

of Grayson's assault on her senses. She sucked her bottom lip into her

mouth, enjoying the lingering taste of him on her tongue. "Wow. Do they

teach all the men on this planet to kiss like that, or are you just extra

gifted?"

Grayson smiled, but it looked strained around the edges. "I haven't kissed

any of the men, so I can't really say, but you could definitely give some of

the Klatch women a run for their money." He unhooked the saddlebags

from his horse and draped them over one of his shoulders.

She laughed and then remembered her intense attraction to the queen this

morning. "Thanks. I think."

Grayson captured Katelyn's small hand in his, making her feel petite, and

because she'd been five-foot-nine since the sixth grade, the feeling was

something she had rarely experienced.

Grayson raised her fingers to his lips and brushed a gentle kiss over her

knuckles. "Shall we begin?"

Katelyn only nodded and allowed herself to be led toward the path. As

they neared the base of the mountain, she was surprised to find several

couples or small groups, as well as a few lone Klatch, already utilizing the

pools. The people were still far enough away that Katelyn couldn't quite

make out individual features or even see what they were doing—but she

had a pretty good idea.

She held Grayson's hand, trusting his lead while she tried to look

everywhere at once. The path beneath her feet was covered with thick

green grass that had been trampled a bit by foot traffic. She glanced down;

white rock was visible through the grass blades, which confirmed her

initial assumption, that the mountain was made of solid balda. She wasn't

sure how the grass grew out of solid stone, but she admitted she was no

botanist.

Everything glittered white and pink on the mountain ahead of them. If she

didn't take the texture of the sides of the mountain into account, it seemed

as if the entire thing were made of pristine snow with pink jewels sprinkled

in. Phoenix didn't get a lot of snow, but she had visited Flagstaff or

Colorado enough times to see snow up close and personal—or at least as

up close and personal as a desert dweller would want to get.

As Grayson and Katelyn neared the base of the mountain, the grass

disappeared, leaving a path of only smooth, timeworn balda. It was easy to

imagine several generations of Klatch walking between the pools, slowly

wearing down the path into the mountain rather than chiseling it out.

Grayson led her silently, as though he sensed her need to steep herself in

the beauty of this place after the desolate wasteland she had seen earlier.

They followed the winding road for several minutes before they came even

with the first of the steaming pools of water that dotted the mountain. Each

pool looked just big enough for two to four people, but the pools were

spaced far enough apart to offer a modicum of privacy.

"Is this natural, or did the Klatch dig these pools?"

"Entirely natural and surprisingly well designed for something that

happened through eons of erosion from the hot springs below." He pointed

up the path, and as her gaze followed his direction, her mouth dropped

open. From this vantage she could see hundreds of similar pools.

"There are thousands of pools all over the mountain," he said, blowing her

estimate out of the water, so to speak. "Some are outside, and the Klatch

who don't mind, or who even encourage being watched, tend to prefer

those."

He didn't need to spell out what these Klatch were doing while allowing

themselves to be watched. Two days on the planet were enough to drive

that point home to Katelyn. "Some of my favorites are the more concealed

caves with their own private pools," he said, "where the pink crystals glow

in the dark."

"Glow in the dark?" Katelyn wasn't a geologist, but she knew most crystals

reflected and didn't emit light.

"The crystals are conductive, so the crystals outside the mountain collect

the sunlight's energy and feed it to the inner crystals, which allows them to

glow."

Katelyn wanted to see for herself, but mostly she wanted Grayson alone.

The sensual intimacy that had blossomed between them just before their

earlier kiss hadn't disappeared, and she found herself wanting to explore

the limits of this strange new sensation. "Can you show me your favorite

cave with the glowing crystals?"

He smiled and led her forward, deeper into the mountain, skirting dozens

more pools. When they reached the end of the path, Grayson led her to the

right, down a long tunnel that seemed to curl and twist into the bowels of

the mountain. After a dozen steps or so, the path curved to the left, cutting

them off from the bright sunshine outside.

The thickness of moisture in the air increased the farther they walked, and

the slight tang of sulfur on the back of Katelyn's tongue told her these

springs were probably the result of a long-dormant volcano. A faint, pink

glow from the crystals in the rock around them allowed them to see the

path, but not much beyond. However, Grayson's steps never slowed as he

guided her.

A companionable silence fell between them, and neither seemed in any

hurry to break it.

Grayson turned sharply right, and she was surprised to see him continue

into what she would've sworn was a wall of solid rock.

She stepped behind him into the inky blackness and found herself inside a

tight space with solid stone on either side—if the smooth, cool texture

against her cheek was any indication. She hadn't ever seen balda without

the rough deposits of pink crystals running through it—even the furniture

had the crystals, though the balda furniture had been sanded so it was

smooth to the touch.

Maybe this was some other type of rock?

Katelyn's breathing didn't echo around her as she expected it to, which told

her that while the crevice was a tight fit for her, it probably opened quite a

distance above her. After several minutes of following Grayson inside what

appeared to be countless winding, S-shaped curves—like a huge, curly

straw— the angles of the walls became gentler and finally widened.

A faint glow emanated from somewhere up ahead, and as she continued to

follow Grayson's lead, the glow increased until it resembled soft, flickering

candlelight.

Abruptly, they emerged into a large cavern tinged pink by millions of

glittering crystals.

An intimate, steaming pool of water sat off to one side, surrounded by fine,

white sand that covered every inch of the floor. Katelyn glanced up and

then tipped her head back to get a better look. The glittering, pink glow

rose so high she couldn't even estimate how tall the roof of this cavern was.

Maybe even as tall as the mountain itself.

"Wow again." She turned in a circle, taking in the beautiful sight. The

intense sensation that this place was her home thrummed through her,

churning her emotions. She shoved them aside and spoke, trying to break

this strange closeness that had formed between Grayson and herself. "You

really know how to impress a girl. How many women have you charmed,

with the help of this out-of-the-way cavern?" She grinned over at him, but

her lips became a straight line when she saw the expression on his face.