Read Online People of the Ark (Ark Chronicles 1) by Vaughn Heppner - Free Book Online

the hatchet thrust through his belt. Besides, from the waist down water covered him. Not like her.
    All thoughts of Jubal and his guilt had vanished. He’d never seen such a desirable woman.
    “ Have you been watching me?” she asked.
    “ I-I was taking a swim. You startled me. So I hid behind a rock.”
    “ You’ve been there the whole time?” she asked.
    “ Uh, no, well, yes, maybe.” He flushed crimson.
    She laughed; it was such a musical sound, so pure and rich.
    “What’s your name?” he shouted.
    “ Naamah. Why don’t you swim over here so we don’t have to shout at each other.”
    His heart beat wildly . “Um, shouldn’t you put on your dress first?”
    “ If you swim over I will.”
    He plunged in and swam across . She waded to the bank and plucked her dress off the reeds, slipping it on, although she stayed standing in the water, turning to smile as he swam up.
    He studied her . Long dark hair, green eyes. There was a certain hardness in her eyes, but somehow he found that made her even more appealing. She had a wide, laughing smile, and a mocking way of twisting her lips.
    His feet touched bottom . He waded as her eyes swept over his torso.
    “ Swarthy and handsome, and young, too,” she said.
    His throat constricted . All he could think was that he wanted to possess this beauty.
    “ Are you too shy to speak?” she asked.
    “ No.”
    “ Oh, very good. You can do more than just stare at me.”
    He blushed crimson once more.
    “You really shouldn’t sneak up on girls,” she said. “That isn’t nice.”
    “ I already told you that I didn’t sneak up on you.”
    “ You didn’t hide behind your rock and watch me, knowing that no one else was around?”
    His face seemed to burn even more scarlet.
    She laughed again and clapped her hands. It was the most beautiful laugh he had ever heard.
    “ Come closer,” she said. “Let me feel those muscles.”
    He waded toward her until she reached out and touched his biceps.
    “You’re like a tiger.” Her hand moved to his shoulder. “And so broad. Are you a warrior?”
    He grabbed her wrist, pulled her near and kissed her.
    “Oh, I like impulsive,” she said.
    Burning with passion , he kissed her again.
    She laughed, pushing away from him, teasing . “Have you come to steal me?”
    “ Yes.”
    Her plucked eyebrows rose in calculation . “How long have you been tracking me?”
    “ Ever since I’ve seen you.”
    “ Indeed. How long is that?”
    He reached for her . Playfully, she shifted aside.
    “ So you were lying about being surprised by me?” she asked.
    “ No. I was telling the truth,” Ham said, wading after her.
    Her left eyebrow rose upon seeing the hatchet thrust through his loincloth . “So you are a warrior. But against Ymir you can’t use that.”
    “ Ymir?” he asked.
    “ My master.”
    “ You’re a slave?” he asked, indignant at the idea.
    “ I belong to Ymir, although I wear no golden collar. He is a mighty warrior.” She slapped Ham’s pectoral. “But perhaps Ymir is not as mighty as you, eh?”
    H am’s mind reeled. What he was getting himself into? Looking at her, at her wet clinging dress… passion consumed him.
    “ Brave warrior.” She came into his arms.
    “ I will make you my wife,” he said shortly.
    “ After you’ve defeated Ymir?” she asked.
    “ Forget Ymir. Flee your wicked master and come with me.”
    “ Where would we go?”
    That brought Ham up short. Where indeed, back to the Ark? What would his father say to Naamah? What would Naamah say about the Ark?
    “ Unfortunately,” Naamah said, “as much as I want to go with you, I can’t simply leave Ymir.”
    “ Why not?”
    “ Are you afraid of him?”
    “ No!”
    “ Ymir is a strong warrior,” she said.
    “ I too am strong.”
    “ Yes,” she said, “you are strong.”
    “ I am stronger than Ymir.”
    “ No, Ham, you’re not that strong.”
    H am laughed, knowing himself to be stronger than most men.
    “ Ymir is a