“Okay. I want you to hold me.”
His eyes shot to her as if the words shocked him, but then he was smiling broadly again. “Okay!”
He put out his arms and she leapt into them. He wrapped his arms around her, nuzzling her tightly against his chest. Against him, it didn’t even feel cold.
It took her a second to realize she could feel the swish of his tail keeping them up. There was the tiniest part of her that felt surprised by it. In so many ways, he felt so human.
“Are you going to swim at all,” he teased, “or am I doing all the work today?” His eyes told her that was more than fine by him.
“I’m going to swim,” she said, trailing her fingers across his chest. “I’ve got to show you my moves. Why? You don’t want to hold me?”
“I’ll hold you forever.” There was such desire in his voice that she had to swallow.
“Well,” she started, but everything in him tensed and he put up a finger.
“What?” she whispered but she saw it as soon as she said it. Her boat was coming around the bend of the cove, Mr. Wilson at the helm.
Her heart lurched and she pressed down on both his shoulders. “Get down and hide!” she hissed.
Kallias looked shocked but quickly did so, right as Mr. Wilson’s head became visible around the rocks.
Oh Lord, had he seen Kallias? Though she knew him to be a good man, she hoped not for if he told even a single soul, she knew there would be no containing it. What if they thought him a monster? What if men of science came to study him? She hated it but she could not trust her own kind with Kallias’s safety.
“Miss Wains!” Mr. Wilson cried, clearly in shock at seeing her in the water. He started paddling toward her all the faster. “Good God, are you alright?” he called.
Thank God there seemed to be a distinct moment he noticed her. He probably hadn’t seen Kallias either then.
“I’m just taking a swim,” she said, quickly glancing around tomake sure she saw no sign of Kallias, and thank the Lord she didn’t.
“Taking a swim,” he repeated more to himself than to her, as if he was absorbing just how crazy her crazy was.
“One second,” she said. “Let me get out.”
She pushed up onto her rock and grabbing the towel, stood. She wiped her face, only to look up and see Mr. Wilson red as a tomato and unable to look at her.
“Mr. Wilson, are you alright?” He didn’t look well at all.
“Daria, that’s not…uh…not quite a bathing dress. Please do forgive my momentary gaze.”
She looked down. The white cotton clung to her closer than Kallias’s hugs. “Oh. I see,” she said, dragging out the ‘e’ and quickly wrapping the towel around her. “Please excuse me, Mr. Wilson.”
“It’s no trouble,” he said, clearly not trusting the towel—or perhaps himself—enough to look again. “But you must be careful with strangers, Miss Daria. Were a rogue sailor to see you—” He stopped himself abruptly and peeked over. Clearly finding the view acceptable enough, he nodded once and looked at her. “Well, we won’t speak of such things, but perhaps I should get you a gun?”
“Mr. Wilson!”
“What? It couldn’t hurt.”
“It certainly well could hurt. That’s what it’s designed to do. I could never shoot someone.” Though she thought Father had one somewhere, he had never used it nor taught her how to either.
His jaw got hard. “Well, I much rather you shoot someone than…” His words died off and he looked away again. “Miss Daria, I don’t mean to startle you, but I hope you realize the dangers.”
She wasn’t sure she fully did. Father had never wanted to speak of it either. No, he had always left it at one simple fact: men could be the real monsters.
“Have you ever considered taking a husband?” he asked when she said nothing.
“That’s very unlike you.”
“Oh?” he asked, again not able to look at her, though this time it seemed to do with the question rather than her state of dress.
