"Desires are a natural thing, Shaye," Valerian said. "The more you deny them, the stronger they become, until they are all you can think about, all you can see."
"Stop right there." Her voice shook, and he knew she was deeply affected by what he'd said. "Don't try to engage me in a conversation about desires, okay? I'm not interested."
He grabbed her wrist, closing his fingers around her delicate bones with soothing finesse. He tugged her in front of him. A surprised gasp slipped from her.
"You're right," he said. "We should not talk about it. I should show you."
Suddenly panicked, Shaye leaped away from him and to the wall, where she grabbed one of the smaller swords. She held it in front of her, looking very much like the warrior queen she so vehemently denied being. "I just helped you, so you owe me a favor. And I'm asking that you not touch me tonight. Do you understand?"
He froze in place, a blank shield shuttering his expression. "Very well," he said. "Tonight is yours. I will not touch you."
"Thank you."
They stared at each other, locked in a silent battle. "Tomorrow, however, belongs to me...."
Praise for the novels of Gena Showalter
The Vampire's Bride
"Thanks to Showalter's great writing and imagination, this story, reminiscent of a reality show with all-powerful gods pulling everyone's strings, will really appeal."
--RT Book Reviews, 4 stars
The Darkest Pleasure
"Showalter's darkly dangerous Lords of the Underworld trilogy, with its tortured characters, comes to a very satisfactory conclusion...[her] compelling universe contains the possibility of more stories to be told."
--RT Book Reviews, 4 stars
"Of all the books in this series, this is the most moving and compelling. The concluding chapters will simply stun you with the drama of them."
--Mists and Stars
The Darkest Kiss
"In this new chapter the Lords of the Underworld engage in a deadly dance. Anya is a fascinating blend of spunk, arrogance and vulnerability--a perfect match for the tormented Lucien."
--RT Book Reviews, 4 1/2 stars
"Talk about one dark read...If there is one book you must read this year, pick up The Darkest Kiss...a Gena Showalter book is the best of the best."
--Romance Junkies
The Darkest Night
"A fascinating premise, a sexy hero and nonstop action, The Darkest Night is Showalter at her finest, and a fabulous start to an imaginative new series."
--New York Times bestselling author Karen Marie Moning "Dark and tormented doesn't begin to describe these cursed warriors called the Lords of the Underworld.... This is darkly satisfying and passionately thrilling stuff."
--RT Book Reviews, 4 stars
Catch a Mate
"The versatile Showalter...once again shows that she can blend humor and poignancy while keeping readers entertained from start to finish."
--Booklist
The Nymph King
"A world of myth, mayhem and love under the sea!"
--New York Times bestselling author J.R. Ward Playing with Fire
"Another sizzling page-turner from one of the premier authors of paranormal romance. Gena Showalter delivers an utterly spellbinding story!"
--New York Times bestselling author Kresley Cole Animal Instincts
"Bold and witty, sexy and provocative, Gena Showalter's star is rising fast!"
--New York Times bestselling author Carly Phillips Jewel of Atlantis
"Shines like the purest gem...Rich in imagery and evocative detail, this book is a sterling example of what makes romance novels so worthwhile."
--A Romance Review, 5 stars
Heart of the Dragon
"Lots of danger and sexy passion give lucky readers a spicy taste of adventure and romance."
--RT Book Reviews
The Pleasure Slave
"This couple is dynamite and Tristan's intense sensuality will have you sweating. [The Pleasure Slave] is definitely going on my keeper shelf."
--The Romance Studio
The Stone Prince
"Sexy, funny and downright magical!"
--New York Times bestselling author Katie MacAlister
Other sexy, steamy reads from Gena Showalter and HQN Books
Lords of the Underworld The Darkest Night
The Darkest Kiss
The Darkest Pleasure
The Darkest Whisper
Atlantis
Heart of the Dragon
The Vampire's Bride
Jewel of Atlantis
Tales of an Extraordinary Girl Playing with Fire
Twice as Hot
Other must-reads
The Stone Prince
The Pleasure Slave
Animal Instincts
Catch a Mate
Harlequin Teen
Intertwined
More stunning tales from Gena Showalter are coming your way!
In September 2010 watch for the sequel to Intertwined, Unraveled
Gena Showalter
The Nymph King
Dear Reader,
I gave you a peek at Valerian, King of the Nymphs, in Jewel of Atlantis...but I didn't intend to tell his story. Well, I did--just not right away. There were several more books that I planned to write first. Bad little boy that he is, Valerian insisted I concentrate on him. (Picture me shaking my head and muttering, "Typical Nymph behavior.") I tried to say no. Really, I did. But...
I couldn't resist him. Neither can Shaye Holling, though she gives it her best shot. She's the woman Valerian is determined to claim. Like me, Shaye finds herself up against the greatest lover of all time. A mesmerizing and seductive force unlike any other. A rogue. A fantasy come to life.
Anyone else shivering?
I hope you enjoy reading their story as much as I enjoyed writing it. For more information about Atlantis and all the creatures and humans who reside there, visit my Web site at www.genashowalter.com and my blog at www.genashowalter.blogspot.com.
Warmest regards, Gena Showalter
To Leigh Michelle Heldermon and Shelly Mykal. Cousins. Extraordinary women. Angels (a long time ago I might have added "fallen" before that last one, but that's neither here nor there).
To Jill Monroe. You had me at hello, and now you complete me. You are the wind beneath my wings. I am nothing without you.
The Nymph King
CONTENTS
CHAPTER ONE
CHAPTER TWO
CHAPTER THREE
CHAPTER FOUR
CHAPTER FIVE
CHAPTER SIX
CHAPTER SEVEN
CHAPTER EIGHT
CHAPTER NINE
CHAPTER TEN
CHAPTER ELEVEN
CHAPTER TWELVE
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
CHAPTER NINETEEN
CHAPTER TWENTY
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
EPILOGUE
CHAPTER ONE
Atlantis
UPON AWAKENING, Valerian, King of the Nymphs, untangled himself from the naked, slumbering woman beside him...only to discover his legs were entwined with two other naked, slumbering women.
With a sleep-rough chuckle, he fell back onto the softness of the bed, dark strands of feminine hair cascading atop his shoulder. Silky red tendrils floated over h
is stomach, intertwining prettily with another woman's blond tresses. Satisfaction hummed inside him.
There were only four females in residence, and all four were deliciously human. Utterly sexual. Captivating. A few weeks ago, right after his army had taken control of this fortress, the women had accidentally entered through a portal leading from the surface world. The gods must have been smiling upon him last eve because three of them had found their way into his bed.
He grinned slowly, and his gaze traveled over the sated beauties sleeping so peacefully around him. Tall, rounded and sun-kissed they were, with faces ranging from daringly bold to endearingly plain.
Whatever they looked like, he didn't care. Quite simply, he loved women. He loved his power over them and wasn't ashamed of it. Wasn't repentant. Oh, no. He enjoyed. Relished. Savored.
Devoured.
Though none in particular had ever been more to him than a passing fancy, he adored every luscious inch of them. Their sweet softness, their breathy moans. Their decadent flavors. He loved the way their legs tightened around his waist (or head) and welcomed him into paradise, allowing him a gentle slide or a rough pounding--whichever he happened to prefer at the time.
As he lay there, light uncoiled slender fingers from the crystal ceiling above, caressing everything it touched and bathing his companions in a haze of glittery shadow and shimmery illumination. Desire scented the air, nearly palpable in its headiness. Heat radiated from each of the female bodies, weaving a dangerously seductive cocoon around them.
Yes, he led a sweet, sweet life.
Women had only to look at Valerian to crave him. Smell his erotically seductive Nymph fragrance to ready themselves for his pleasure. Hear his husky, wine-rich voice to strip for him. Feel a single caress of his fingertips to erupt into peak after delicious peak and beg for more. He was not boastful about this; it was simply fact.
Just then the female with the raven hair stirred and rested her small, delicate hand on his chest. Janet? Gail? He wasn't sure of her name. Couldn't recall any of their names, really. They were bodies, in a long line of well-pleasured bodies in which he found succor; females who had chosen to eagerly allow him inside.
"Valerian," the dark-headed one breathed, an exquisite prayer. Her expression remained soft from sleep, but her hand began a slow, downward glide and wrapped around his cock, stroking up and down, awakening it from slumber.
Without sparing her a glance, he reached down and clasped her palm to his, stilling her movement and bringing her fingers to his lips for a chaste kiss. She shivered, and he felt her nipples harden against his side.
"Not this morning, sweet," he said, speaking in her native tongue. It had taken him the entire length of the past two weeks, but he'd finally mastered her oddly fluid language. Once he'd figured it out, it was as if some part of him had always known it. "In a few moments, I must be on my way. I'm needed elsewhere."
As much as he would love to stay and lose himself in another hour (or two) of such delicious debauchery, his men awaited him in the training arena. There, he would help them hone their sword skills and vanquish the frustration plaguing them so fiercely all these many days. Hopefully their ever-present carnal needs would be forgotten as they prepared for the war he knew waited on the horizon.
War. He sighed. Since his army had conquered this palace and stolen it from dragons--dragons already weakened from a previous battle with humans--war had been inevitable. He accepted that. But now his men were weakened. Not from battle, though. They were weakened from lack of sex. And that was unacceptable.
Sexual contact helped their minds and bodies retain strength. Such was the way of the nymphs. Perhaps he should have brought the nymph females with them to this palace. But to keep them safe, he'd forced them to remain behind. He had not anticipated being separated from them this long.
Since the initial battle was over, he had summoned their females here. Unfortunately, they had not arrived and there was no trace of them in the Inner or Outer cities. Concern grew inside him daily. He'd sent a battalion of men to search for them--with an order to kill anyone who might have hurt them. Woe to that enemy, for a nymph's wrath was a terrible thing.
Despite his concern, he would not doubt if the females--who needed sex as desperately as the males--had stumbled upon a group of men and had yet to end their orgy. That didn't help his men, however.
"Hmm, you feel good," the dark-haired woman beside him whispered. "Being near you is better than making love with any other man."
"I know, sweet," Valerian uttered distractedly.
With no end in sight to his army's abstinence, he should have felt guilty for his excess last night. And he would have felt guilty, if he'd been the one to summon the women here. But they had followed him, tearing at his clothes and tracing their tongues over every inch of his flesh before he stepped a single foot into the room.
Truly, he had tried to peel them off and send them to his men, but the women had attacked him all the harder. What else could he have done but give in? Any other man--with a fully functioning cock, that is--would have done the same.
Perhaps, after the training session, he would suggest once again that these delectable morsels find other lovers.
"I know you have to leave, but...I'm dying to touch you, Valerian." Black lashes fluttered coyly, and the raven-haired female dipped her lips into a pouty frown. She eased to her elbow, placing her lush breasts in his direct line of vision. "Don't tell me no," she beseeched, tracing a fingertip around his nipple. "You took such good care of me last night. Let me take care of you now."
On his other side, his other companions stirred.
"Mmm," the one with the fiery curls breathed. "Morning."
The other stretched like a contented kitten, uttering a low, throaty purr. As she inched into a sitting position, her disheveled golden locks tumbled onto her shoulders. When she spied him, she smiled slowly, seductively. "Good morning," she drawled, sleep clinging to her voice.
"You were amazing," the redhead said, her pale blue eyes wide with remembered satisfaction.
"As were you...sweet." Again he tried to remember her name, but couldn't. He shrugged. It wasn't important, anyway. They were all sweet to him. "Morning has arrived, and it's time for everyone to go about their duties."
"Don't send us away. Not yet," the dark-haired one said. Her warm breath fanned his ear a moment before her tongue flicked out and traced the curve of his left cheek. "Let us have another--" she kissed his jaw "--taste of--" nibbled his throat "--you."
Three sets of hands and breasts were suddenly all over him. Hot, greedy mouths sucked at him. Wet, needy female cores rubbed against him. The scent of new desire wafted from the bed, enveloping him.
"Just being near you makes me desperate to come," one gasped.
"You always know what I want even before I know," another panted. "I can't get enough of you."
"I'm addicted to you," the third breathed. "I'll die without you."
Moans and cries of pleasure echoed in his ears, the women's insatiable lust making them frantic for his touch. A fiery heat ignited in his own blood, strengthening him as only sex could. At times, when the need came upon him, he was reduced to an animalistic state, taking his lovers with a savage intensity better suited for the battlefield.
Now was one of those times.
With a growl, he opened his mouth and accepted someone's kiss, his hands tangling in hair and sweetly fragranced skin. Perhaps he'd join his men for lunch....
CLANG. WHOOSH. CLANG.
Sweat trickled down Valerian's bare chest, riding the ropes of muscle and pooling in his navel as he swung his sword, slamming the heavy metal into his opponent's upraised weapon.
Broderick stumbled backward and fell on his ass, flinging dirt in every direction. Some of it sprinkled on Valerian's freshly polished boots.
"Get up, man," he commanded when Broderick remained prone.
"Can't," his friend panted.
Valerian frowned. That was the fou
rth time Broderick had hit the ground during this training session, and they'd only been practicing an hour. Usually as stalwart and powerful as Valerian himself, Broderick's weakness today was disconcerting.
The guilt he'd managed to deny earlier roared to life. He should have sent the women on their way last eve, should have resisted them more determinedly this morning. While he was stronger than ever, these battle-hardened warriors were reduced to this.
"Damn it all," Broderick muttered, his voice strained. Still he remained on the ground, head bent and held in his upraised hands, golden hair shielding his eyes. "I'm not sure how much more of this I can take."
"What about the rest of you?" Valerian slashed his sword's tip into the sand, a tip that had been shaped and honed into the image of an elongated, lethal skull--a tip that inflicted irreparable damage. He'd aptly named it The Skull.
His gaze traveled the ranks of his army. Some were sitting on a bench, sharpening their blades, while others leaned against a silver-and-white stone wall, expressions lost, far away. Only Theophilus appeared ready for anything more than a nap. And only Theophilus paid him the least bit of notice.
Well, that was not quite true. Joachim was hunched over, elbows resting on his knees, his head tilted to the side as he gazed up at Valerian with undeniable sparks of fury.
What was his cousin angry about now? "Line up," Valerian commanded the entire group. "Now." The sharpness of his tone finally snagged their attention.
Slowly they ambled into a clumsy line, only a few of them trying to appear alert. His frown deepened. They were tall and well-muscled, his men, with bronzed skin and perfectly chiseled features. The force of their beauty sometimes caused grown women to weep. But right now they sported lines of tension around their eyes and mouths, shaky grips and unsteady legs.
"I need you strong and capable, but you're as weak as babes, every one of you." At any moment Darius, King of the Dragons, would learn Valerian had taken this palace, defeating everyone inside, and attack. How quickly these warriors would fall if they were challenged today.