Mayan Lover by Wendy S. Hales Page B

it
herself. If you can’t, you’re not worthy of her.”
    Arka knelt and bowed in homage. “Thank
you, Sun God.” His anger had been replaced by knowledge. Gwen
must have had her reasons, must have believed she would survive
without him. He still hated it, but he could see past it.
    Kinich Ahau touched the top of his head. “Claim
your bride and retrieve the skull, my son. The Moon Goddess needs the
daughter born of her essence.”
    Claim your bride … my son? The
term slammed into him as the blinding tunnel sucked him back into his
body. Arka lifted the skull and returned it to the bag reverently.
His steps lighter, he returned to the camp. The woman he'd loved his
entire life was meant to be his mate. Was it possible she loved him,
too? He had to find out.
    The sun was high and he could hear the people
working the other sites, but Gwen’s sat empty. Enrique jumped
up when he approached. “Gather equipment. Concentrate the dig
to the spot I pointed out. I’ll meet you shortly.”
    Enrique smiled. “Glad to have you back,
uncle.”
    Arka returned the smile and lightly rapped on
the door. Maggie opened it; he could tell he had woken her. She
opened the door wide for him to enter. Gwen lay sleeping. Her brows
were furled, lips pursed, the bruises at her throat vivid against the
purity of her skin. “Maggie, I’d like a moment alone with
her.”
    Maggie rubbed her eyes and yawned as she stepped
down the step and softly closed the door behind her. Arka sat next to
Gwen, drinking in her beauty. He brushed the stray hair from her
cheek and she sighed. Careful not to disturb her, he lightly touched
his forehead to hers. Rather than just hearing her thoughts, he found
himself in the pitch black of her dream. Gwen’s lonely despair
hammered into him. He could feel her pain. “Gwen.” He called out into the darkness of her dream.
    Like a moonbeam she lit up. She was sitting on
the ground with her legs clutched to her chest, rocking. Her eyes
held a mixture of sadness, heartbreak, confusion and …
tentative hope. “I’m so sorry—.”
    He squatted down and pressed a finger to her
ruby lips. “The past is gone, Gwen.” For both of
them he added to himself. “Will you be my wife and mate for
eternity?” S he hurled herself into his chest, knocking him
to his back. He chuckled, loving the feel of her against him.
    “ Did you mean it when you said you love
me?” The vulnerability in her eyes made him love her even
more.
    Her startled gasp trailed into a giggle as he
rolled her beneath him. “Need you ask? I love you with all
that I am, Gwen.”
    She lifted her head till their lips were a
hairsbreadth apart. “I love you, too.” Her lips
met his and he felt his soul meld with hers.
    His loincloth and her gown vanished with a
thought, leaving them bared to one another in every way. He sunk into
her heat slowly. It went beyond a psychical coupling. This was
spiritual. She met him stroke for stroke. Their tongues tangled. Her
need for release matched his. They cried out in unison as her inner
walls milked his seed. The light of the sun and the moon bathed them.
    He opened his eyes and met her alert gaze.
    “Oh, my God, did that just happen?”
The awe in her voice mirrored the awe he felt.
    “Gods.” He corrected. “And
yes. It did.”
    She bit her bottom lip and grinned. “What
was that?”
    He grinned back. “A spiritual mating. Our
shaman told tales of them happening between gods.” My son. He’d always known about Gwen, yet he’d never suspected
that he too might come from the essence of a god.
    He lay on his back and she straddled his chest
his with crossed arms. “So you think you’re a god now?”
    “Gwen, I am not named after the
Journeyer … I am Arka the Journeyer,” he began.
She crinkled her brows with confusion. “I have lived
twenty-five cycles of the seasons just like you. I was born the same
instant you were. We have been linked by destiny from birth. Only my
birth took place more than