NocC 005 - Caridad Pineiro - Amazon Awakening - Harlequin 2011-12 by Nocturne Read Free Book Online Page A

which had ebbed after their lovemaking, rose up once more. He stopped before her, inches away to keep from touching her with his hardness, but it didn’t stop him from raising his hand and cradling her breast. From flicking his thumb along the turgid tip.
     
    That little action brought a flood of moisture between her legs and a noticeable hitch in her breath.
    “You tempt me beyond belief,” he confessed, continuing his languid caress, but making no overture to take their interlude further.
    “And that’s bad because?” she surprised herself by saying even though she knew dozens of reasons why it was bad, beginning with the fact that things were moving too quickly between them. Except…from the first moment she’d met him, she had been drawn to him. Connected somehow. And that sense of being linked with him had only grown stronger with each second they spent together. Making love to him had only strengthened that sense of belonging.
    “Being here opens us up to emotions and sensations we would not feel back in our world,” he explained, that magic hand still working her breast, reviving intense need within her.
    “What is ‘here’?” she asked again, looking past him to all the astonishing flora and fauna.
    “It is what might have been. Some even say it’s the Garden of Eden before man despoiled it.”
    If Adam and Eve had been feeling anything like she was right now, she could understand how the situation had gotten out of control. Rey must have sensed her thoughts. He ripped his hand away and then motioned for her to walk ahead of him toward a path that cut through the jungle.
    She did so, striding barefoot along soft moss-covered earth. Enjoying the many sights and sounds without her earlier apprehension as the peaceful energy in the place calmed her spirit. With that serenity within her, Paola could understand why some thought this was Eden, a place with no cares, no worries and no fears.
    They had walked for about half an hour when Paola spotted a clearing ahead of her. As she stepped within the opening, she took note of the assorted huts and beyond them, the banks of the river. Familiar and yet still different.
    As they marched toward the settlement, people emerged from the shelters and nearby forest area. Gloriously beautiful people in all shapes, sizes and colors, their faces wreathed in hospitable smiles as she and Rey approached.
    She had a moment of hesitation at her naked state, but all the people were likewise unclothed and unashamed, lessening her embarrassment.
    “Welcome,” she heard in her head.
    When she faced Rey with a questioning look, he said, “There is no need for speech here.”
    Soon there came a babble of voices in her head, all from the individuals gathered nearby. It was nearly overwhelming until Rey’s voice rose up from all the others.
    “She is not yet trained,” he explained mentally and the riot of voices quieted. In the silence which followed came one strident vocal challenge.
    “I see you wasted no time getting her here.”

Chapter Five
    The man who had spoken up slipped from the throng of people.
    Emilio Ribiero. She had met him at dinner earlier and had not cared for him. There had been something rapacious about him as he had leered at her as if he wanted to eat her up instead of the meal.
    “Patricia suggested the time was right tonight,” Rey replied silently, challenge in his tone.
    “Patricia always did favor you. I can see the jaguar spirit has already claimed her, as have you,” Emilio replied caustically and shot Paola an accusatory look.
    To Paola, the entire exchange seemed very Cain and Abel-like, eroding the tranquility she had been feeling earlier. “Gentlemen, I am not some prize for the two of you to fight over,” she said aloud, earning a disbelieving grunt from Emilio.
    “I guess he has not told you yet,” Emilio replied, directing a laser-like stare in Rey’s direction.
    Rey ignored the statement. “What are you doing here?”
    Emilio