Ellora's Cavemen: Tales from the Temple II (10 page)

Cold air brushed her backside when she leaned over the bed and took deep, steadying breaths. The hospital gown did little to cover her body as a cold sweat broke out all over her skin, making her shiver.

“I—I can’t. I’m too weak,” she moaned out in frustration.

Remember my promise, Eriana. I will give you my strength
, he replied at the same time she felt a surge of energy rush through her body, washing away the weakness. She stood and tested her legs, amazed the weakness had disappeared.

Marvel later. Now move that lovely ass of yours! We haven’t much time.

As she turned toward the door, his voice entered her head once more.
Find the stairs.

Take them to the roof.

56

Dream Walker

She peeked out the door and saw one security guard reading the paper and the other one flirting with a nurse sitting behind the desk right outside her room. Opening the door another inch, she strained to see down the hall. A silent sigh of relief escaped her when she saw a red exit sign hanging over a door at the end of the hall.

Biting her lip, her heart thudding in her chest, Erin slowly opened the door. Just when the door reached a point she could finally slip through, the hinges creaked, drawing the guards’ attention.

Throwing open the door, she bolted down the hall as fast as her feet would carry her. One man yelled out for her to stop while the other one talked into his walkie-talkie.

“She’s out of her coma, sir, and trying to escape. We’re in pursuit.”

A coma?
she thought in shock as she reached the exit door and pushed it open.
Oh
boy, no wonder I made up an entire fantasy. But why am I going to the roof? There’s nowhere to
go once I’m up there!

No voice with a witty answer entered her head as she rushed up several flights of stairs. The sounds of men’s booted feet trampled the metal stairs behind her.

When she reached the roof and closed the door, Erin looked around. The helicopter was heading straight toward her. Oh God! She began to run across the building to hide behind a utility unit and mentally groused,
Why the hell would my own new split-personality suddenly abandon me in a crisis. Oh, yeah, because it’s chicken-shit!

Such skepticism, Eriana. Where’s the trust?
Kian’s amused voice entered her head.
Run
to the edge of the building as far from the door as possible. Wait there.

Now I truly am losing it
, she thought as she veered away from her original destination and ran toward the edge of the building. Not that she could explain it, but somehow she trusted the confident voice echoing in her head.

When she reached the edge, the helicopter now hovered above the building. Its bright spotlight made her wince as the two soldiers opened the door to the roof and stepped outside.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a black blur rush past her, and then the helicopter pitched sideways as if it’d been knocked by a heavy force. The sudden tilt made the blades come dangerously close. To avoid the danger, Erin threw herself to the ground, her adrenaline pumping through her body as her breathing turned choppy and erratic.

The helicopter pitched once more and this time its blades took a large chunk out of the building, causing the aircraft to nosedive straight to the ground. When the helicopter landed with an earth-shaking thud, exploding on impact, she screamed and covered her head as fire and debris shot to the sky and against the side of the building.

Glancing up at her pursuers, she noticed the explosion had knocked the two soldiers down to the ground.

As the men quickly scrambled to get up, a huge black panther emerged from behind the utility building, his powerful shoulders rising and falling with each step he 57

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took toward them. He walked with a steely confidence, his entire bearing demanding respect for his size and lethal nature.

The animal’s gaze never left the men as he moved to stand between the soldiers and Erin. His long black tail hung nearly to the ground, the tip of it twitching back and forth as if he waited to attack.

One of the soldiers radioed his commander. “Um, we have a panther up here on the roof, sir.”

The radio clicked off.

“A what? Repeat soldier,” the gravelly voice came across the line.

“A huge, black jungle cat, sir,” the man clarified as he trained his gun on the cat.

Before his commander could reply, the cat let out a loud roar and dove toward the men. She watched in shock at the speed with which the cat moved. In a matter of two seconds the men were down. Not a single shot had been taken. Though very little blood was spilled, neither man moved.

She shuddered at their swift deaths and stood up on shaky legs, her heart ramming in her chest. Then the panther turned and started to walk toward her his movements swift and purposeful. Oh God, she was next. She could try to run but the panther was too fast. She knew if she ran it would only encourage the large predator to hunt her down.

As he approached, the raging fire behind her reflected in the panther’s striking green eyes, reminding her so much of Kian. An ache settled in her chest. Why couldn’t he have been real? As the animal stalked toward her, he reared up on his hind legs, letting out his wildcat’s roar. Before her eyes, he changed to a man’s form. Kian’s beautiful, handsome form.

As she succumbed to total shock and her knees crumbled underneath her, Erin’s whole world went black once more. She felt Kian’s arms catch her and heard his voice from far, far away.

“We’ll have to work a little harder on this ‘staying conscious’ thing,
a nara
.”

* * * * *

Erin jolted awake at the sound of car horns honking. The crisp fall breeze blew through the window and the scent of smoky fires teased her senses. Smoky fires…the thought made her memories come rushing back.

“Kian!” she called out and sat up quickly, her rapid heart rate causing her entire body to jerk in time to its thudding rhythm.

“I’m here,” he responded in a quiet tone from a chair near the window.

She turned at the sound of his voice. Kian wore faded jeans, a black t-shirt, and boots and had his long hair tied back away from his face. But his eyes, God, his jewel-toned eyes mesmerized her.

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Dream Walker

He stood, opened a thermos, and poured the liquid into a cup. Walking over to the bed, he handed her the cup saying, “Drink this. You were in a coma for three days. This should help you get your strength back.”

The orange liquid smelled so good, like tomato soup with elusive spices she couldn’t quite place. Her hands shook as she tried to raise the cup to her lips. With concern reflected in his gaze, Kian sat down on the bed and held the cup for her so she could sip the broth.

As the delicious soup slid down her throat, Erin stared at him over the rim of the cup, wondering about his feelings. If everything she’d experienced was a dream, they’d never physically touched, let alone made love. She realized he’d somehow created a safe, secure place, a fantasy for her so she could overcome her fears and emerge from her coma. Then why did it hurt so much to look at him?

His green eyes darkened and his gaze slid hungrily over her body. She followed his gaze and realized the comforter pooled around her waist, revealing her naked flesh.

Embarrassment swiftly set in as she pulled the covers back up to cover her chest.

“Remember what I said about covering your body,” he warned.

“
Your
skin seems to have an even deeper layer, doesn’t it, Mr. Panther?” she responded defensively with a half-laugh.

“It’s who I am,” he sighed. “I have feline blood in my genetic make-up. All Aradanians do. I’m also a dream walker, Eriana.”

His reminder of their time together, even if only in her dreams, embarrassed her further. She needed a layer of protection. “Where are my clothes?”

He nodded to a set of clothes on the table. “I collected some things from your house to prepare for when you finally awoke from your coma.” Returning his gaze to hers, he continued, “While you were unconscious, I brought you to this hotel and bathed every inch of your body.”

His lips quirked at the heat that rose to her cheeks. Then his expression turned serious and intense. “It was the only way I could touch you and not get physically involved. I assure you, I enjoyed every brush of my hands on your skin.”

Tormented emotions swirled in his gaze: frustration, sexual hunger, regret. “Your dreams were as real to me as they were to you. I’ve never become physically involved in another’s dreams, but you were pure temptation,
a nara
. I’ve watched you for a month while this whole thing stirred to its inevitable conclusion, but once I entered your dreams, I couldn’t resist. I had to touch you, make love to you, even if only in our minds.”

She finished the broth and set the cup down on the nightstand. Meeting his gaze, she touched his arm, hurt stabbing at her heart. “You talk as if it’s a bad thing…you touching me.”

He moved swiftly, putting his hands on the bed on either side of her, blocking her in. His expression angry, intense, almost…explosive. “I want nothing more than to spread your soft thighs and slide my cock into your warmth. To fuck you again and 59

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again until your body contracts around me, milking me dry. I’d want us both totally satiated and exhausted until neither can move,” he replied in an intemperate tone.

The emotion in his gaze and the ferocity of his words told her just how much he wanted, but she didn’t understand.

“Then why— “

“If I get physically involved with you, I might impregnate you. Then when I return to my time, I would leave behind a part of my race in your time and your world,” he bit out angrily. Kian pushed himself away. Standing up, he clenched and unclenched his fists as if it took supreme effort not to act on his wishes.

“Get dressed, Eriana. We’ve got to get back to the University and destroy your creation.”

Kian had never felt so powerless in his life. He was a commanding leader among his people, yet here, in the presence of this one woman, he felt both impotent and enraged.

As Eriana got dressed and ran a brush through her shoulder-length light brown hair, he watched through a hooded gaze, coveting every movement. He desperately wanted to see her hazel eyes turn that beautiful shade of green when she came in his arms. He knew they would.

While she dressed, she argued, “Are you certain, Kian? I use the monthly pill. Surly that’s enough protection.”

In his heart he wanted to believe. He might come from a very advanced race in many ways, but his people still held on to certain superstitious beliefs. Her birth control might not work and he’d never leave behind a cub.

Dressed in a short black skirt, a lightweight white sweater and tennis shoes, she stood in front of him, a confused expression on her face. “Why did you pick out a skirt?”

Kian flashed an unrepentant grin. “I might not be able to touch but I may as well enjoy the view while I can.”

She frowned and backed away. “That’s just cruel, Kian.”

Hiking her skirt, she pulled down her underwear saying, “Well, two can play at this game.”

Kian set his jaw. The idea of her running around with nothing covering her sex would drive him nuts. Already he smelled her arousal.

“Not a good idea, Eriana. Put your underclothes back on,” he ground out.

She twirled her underwear around her finger with a challenging look in her eye.

“Make me.”

Kian knew that if he touched her, he’d have her bent over and his cock thrust deep into her warmth, his hips meeting hers as he stroked in and out of her body, faster than she’d ever been taken. It would be too late for him. He’d be bound to her and her world.

60

Dream Walker

His chest constricted at the thought, for his heart already belonged to her. But he had a duty to fulfill and fulfill it he would, even at the expense of his own personal sacrifice—losing his one true mate. Their mental connection was too strong to be otherwise. In his race it took both a strong mental and physical connection to conceive a child. For that reason, each birth was a rare and precious gift on his planet.

He’d been physically attracted to Eriana from the first moment he saw her. But he couldn’t have anticipated the special mental connection they’d have. Even now, outside of her dreams, he could still hear her thoughts. She wanted him.

Fuck!

He liked that human word he’d discovered in his studies of Earth. He liked the versatility of its uses. But right now all he could think about was fucking his mate again and again. Lust seared through his body, tightening his balls, knotting his stomach.

Kian took a couple of deep breaths, opened the hotel room door, and mumbled,

“Suit yourself. Let’s go.”

Erin put her hand on his arm and pulled him back in the room. “Not so fast, Kian.”

Shutting the door behind him, she gave him a seductive smile as she reached for the waistline on his jeans and pulled him against her. “I believe there’s one fantasy we didn’t fulfill.”

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“Eri—” he started to warn, but instead he ended up sucking in his breath when she grabbed his balls through his jeans and held him in a firm grip.

Standing on tiptoe, she whispered in his ear, “I want you to know what my mouth feels like on your cock. I want you to have your own fantasy before you leave.”

Kian fisted his fingers in her hair and pulled her head back, intending to push her away. His anger, borne of unfulfilled sexual frustration, rose until he stared down into her eyes—eyes the color of Aradan jade—beautiful, desire-filled eyes. They stripped him bare. Goddess, he wanted her.

She released him and slid her palm up the front of his jeans. The pressure against his throbbing cock was almost more than he could bear. Her floral scent filled his senses as she kissed his jaw and then his neck before she pulled open the buttons on his jeans.