Tempting Eden: Guardians of Atlantis, #1

By Michelle Miles

Book 1: Guardians of Atlantis

Eden doubts a trip to the Bahamas will make her forget her cheating boyfriend, empty bank account and dead-end job. But when her best friend insists the trip is what she needs to forget her troubles, Eden can't refuse the all-expenses paid vacation. Little does she know a new kind of trouble awaits.

As an elite Guardian of Atlantis, Sabre is on a mission to bring back human females from the surface. The lost continent's lead geneticist wants to impregnate the women, mixing Atlantean DNA with human genetic material in order to save their dying race. If Sabre refuses, his sister will be killed. Despite his revulsion to such a mission he has no choice but to obey.

When Sabre walks out of the sea and finds Eden on the beach, he can read her deepest fantasies loud and clear. At first it's enough to simply bring them to life, touching her to ecstasies she's never before experienced. But when his heart falls under her spell he knows he can't take her back to the scientists and a life as a guinea pig. He intends to keep her for himself...no matter the price.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Dusty Tome Publishing
• Release date: Apr 2, 2013
• ISBN: 9781386353751

Michelle Miles

MICHELLE MILES believes in fairy tales, true love, and magic. She writes heart-stopping urban fantasy, young adult and adult fantasy, and paranormal romance with an action/adventure twist that will leave you breathless. She is the author of numerous series that includes everything from angels and demons to fairies, dragons, and elves. She is a member of Romance Writers of America (RWA) and Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Association (SFWA). A native Texan, in her spare time she loves reading, listening to music, watching movies, hiking, and drinking wine. She can be found online at Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and more! Your Adventure Awaits

Book preview

Tempting Eden

Guardians of Atlantis, Book 1

EDEN DOUBTS A TRIP to the Bahamas will make her forget her cheating boyfriend, empty bank account and dead-end job. But when her best friend insists the trip is what she needs to forget her troubles, Eden can’t refuse the all-expenses paid vacation. Little does she know a new kind of trouble awaits.

As an elite Guardian of Atlantis, Sabre is on a mission to bring back human females from the surface. The lost continent’s lead geneticist wants to impregnate the women, mixing Atlantean DNA with human genetic material in order to save their dying race. If Sabre refuses, his sister will be killed. Despite his revulsion to such a mission he has no choice but to obey.

When Sabre walks out of the sea and finds Eden on the beach, he can read her deepest fantasies loud and clear. At first it’s enough to simply bring them to life, touching her to ecstasies she’s never before experienced. But when his heart falls under her spell he knows he can’t take her back to the scientists and a life as a guinea pig. He intends to keep her for himself...no matter the price.

Chapter One

SABRE KNOCKED ON HELENE’S door and waited for her to grant him entrance. When she didn’t, he pushed it open and peered into the small confines of her apartment. In the darkness he could see shapes of her furniture strategically placed in her home. She was meticulous in her décor and he knew there wouldn’t be as much as a speck of dust on anything. He could see sunlight slashing through the cobalt waters beyond the floor-to-ceiling windows and fish swimming by as though they had not a care in the world.

Stepping inside, he closed the door and listened in the silence for some hint of life.

Helene?

No answer. He flipped on a light to chase away the shadows and scanned the room. Everything was in its place. The sofa sitting atop the handmade Atlantean rug, the modern art on the walls and the heavy wood coffee table and end tables. Yet there was no sign of his sister.

Helene, are you here?

Her bedroom door opened but still she did not emerge. She knew he was there, opened the door to let him know where she was yet didn’t come out to greet him. Balling his fists, he charged toward her bedroom...and stopped short in the entrance.

His baby sister was curled on her side on the bed with her knees drawn up to her chest. Her eyes were closed and her dark hair was fanned out on the pillow behind her. A stabbing pain slashed through his heart.

I came to check on you, he said.

I don’t need you to check on me, Sabre. Her voice was cold, unfeeling. Desolate.

He paused, not sure how to proceed. He knew she was hurting. He knew she was devastated. He also knew she would survive. She had to. She was all the family he had left. He couldn’t bear the thought of losing her too.

He didn’t want to ask about how she was feeling—he knew the answer. He also didn’t want to tell her he wanted to make sure she was all right—that would cause her more pain. She’d lost her child after all. She’d been angry and depressed since.

He’d talk to her about something else.

I’ve been called to a special meeting with General Bastian, he said.

So? She never opened her eyes. Never looked at him.

It’s also a meeting with the president. Top secret. That got her attention and she finally blinked open her eyes. He pressed on. General Bastian thinks it’s about what’s happening.

What’s happening? You talk as though it’s nothing to be concerned about, she snapped. Do they even really care, Sabre?

She sat up, her chocolate locks falling around her face. Her thin, gaunt face. He could see the shadows under her eyes and her sunken cheeks and it pained him. She was not the lively young woman of their youth he remembered. The one who looked up to him as her hero. The one who used to tease him about his fascination with humans. It was why he joined the Guardians and why he worked so hard to become General Bastian’s second-in-command.

Why he wanted to keep her safe and make sure nothing ever happened to her.

Yes, they do. And they are concerned. That’s why they’re going to do something about it.

What can they do? We’re a dying race and everyone knows it. She clutched the blanket tighter around her shoulders, shivered and laid back down. Her back was to him as though she’d shut him out already.

Sabre feared their world—the one they’d so carefully built over the last few centuries—was coming to an end. He’d known it was bad—he’d experienced it firsthand when his sister miscarried. Her husband, devastated by the loss, committed suicide. The losses had been so hard on her she’d fallen into a deep depression. One he couldn’t get her out of.

But their tragedy wasn’t unique. The women of Atlantis could seldom conceive and if they could, like his sister, they couldn’t carry the babies to term. Atlantean geneticists had determined their race had become too small for them to survive. Even his general wasn’t immune to the tragedy. His wife had lost their child.

The men and women of Atlantis would soon be extinct.

What if they found a solution? he asked. What if they discovered a way to allow us to continue on? To make sure you could conceive?

What if who cares? She flopped over, sat up and glared at him. I’ve begged you for weeks now, Sabre, to get me out of here. I don’t want to stay here any longer. Can’t you understand? Take me to the surface. Leave me there. Why can’t you do that?

You know why I can’t.

He clenched his fists. They’d had this argument so much it was old news. Why couldn’t she understand her place was here? Going to the surface was strictly forbidden and she knew it.

Yeah. Duty and honor and all that shark shit. She rolled her eyes. Leave me alone.

Frustration clawed through him. It took all his self-control not to grab her and shake some sense into her. Going to the surface was never a good idea. Humans weren’t stupid. They would be able to see she was not one of their kind right away by the tiny gills behind her ears. And then they would run tests and ask her questions and demand to know where she came from. Which would lead them right to the lost city of Atlantis.

Several centuries ago a human scientist found the location of Atlantis. He had come to their world and learned everything he could about them before returning to the surface. The mistake had been allowing the human scientist to return. He’d spread the word about the fabled lost city. The next thing they knew the Atlanteans were invaded by humans determined to out them and make the location of the secret continent known. They’d raped their women and pillaged their city, stealing artifacts to take back. That left the Atlanteans no choice but to fight back and that was when the Guardians had been formed.

I’ll go, Sabre said at last. But if there’s a way for our race to survive I will do whatever necessary to make sure that happens.

She said nothing as he turned and left her. He closed the door behind him and headed to the conference room to meet General Bastian and the president of Atlantis.

Chapter Two

SABRE WASTED NO TIME getting to the conference room. When he entered General Bastian, leader of