Page 71 of Loched in Love

I love him, and I know it.

I take a deep breath, letting that reassurance fill me and step forward to slip my hand into his, as his skin begins to burn hot against mine.

“I’ll be right here, but there’s something I must show you,” he whispers, his voice thick with emotion.

He squeezes my fingers once in a solid and silent thank you and steps backward away from me into the water.

The lagoon doesn’t splash, but it does seem to swallow him whole as he sinks beneath the dark surface in a slow, perfectly graceful motion. The water closes over his head, leaving the cavern entirely still and silent except for the soft lap of the bank and my quick intake of breath.

The silence stretches. And then, the deep black depths begin to churn.

A brilliant light ignites far beneath the surface in an explosion of vibrant blue green, a luminescent glow that radiates upward out of the water. It stains the walls of the cave in hues of neon turquoise and deep emerald as the water rises and powerful waves begin to rip aggressively against the bank.

I take an involuntary step back, my heart hammering at my ribs, but the mate bond pulses against my chest like a supportive and uplifting hand.

Don’t be afraid, his presence somehow whispers into my mind. Look at me.

The center of the pool breaks apart in a watery rush. Water cascades off a massive armored form that breaches the water’s surface.

It’s gigantic.

First comes a colossal dragon shaped head, sculpted from bright iridescent blue-green scales that catch the bioluminescent light. Long elegant horns twist upward back from his brow, and heavy ancient ridges frame big eyes that are the exact shade of green I saw in his human form when he partially shifted. He’s gorgeous and absolutely majestic to behold.

He rises higher and higher, the water parts around a gigantic serpentine body that coils and flexes with terrifying grace. His spine is crested with fins like sails that remind me of his ear fins.

He towers over me, a literal myth brought to life that fills the entire cavern with his immense and breathtakingly gorgeous form. The sea dragon lowers his giant head until his snout is just inches from my face. A low, vibrating rumble rattles the stones beneath my feet, a sound that should terrify me, but through our mate bond I only feel his love and the affection that almost brings me to my knees.

He gazes at me with his majestic head twinkling in the light. He’s waiting to see if I’ll run.

My gentle sea dragon.

Instead of running, I step closer to the water’s edge and lift my hand to reach out toward the huge expanse of his snout as the heat radiating from his scales is intense, warming the damp air between us.

The moment my fingertips brush against his smooth blue tinted skin, an electric flare of power ignites straight through our connection, filling me until I can feel my fingers and toes tingling.

The mate bond explodes, and the golden cord flares into a roaring conduit of emotion. A rush of his overwhelming relief and violent devotion crashes into my mind, causing the oxygen to catch in my throat as the force of his feelings threatens to lay me out.

“Lachlan,” I breathe.

The low rumble in his chest turns into a deep and shuddering purr that arcs through my skin. He leans his giant head into my touch and closes his oceanic eyes, as if my acceptance is keeping him anchored to the spot.

I pat his giant head and scratch behind his ears as he bends into my fingers, and I laugh as his purr deepens.

His big tail begins to wag and my heart melts. “You are magnificent,” I breathe, completely in awe of him.

Not wanting any more distance between us, I slip into the lagoon and brace myself for freezing shock, but the deep water feels like liquid silk against my skin.

Lachlan’s body shifts in the pool of water, coiling around me in a protective massive ring that shields me from the currents. He lowers his head back to my level and his glowing fins brush the water’s surface as he invites me into his world.

Elena.

Lachlan’s voice echoes directly into my mind, but the sound is richer and layered with deeper undertones. Don’t fight the feelings when they come, my flower. And let our bond change you.

I close my eyes and surrender, letting the feelings inside me spread until I swear I can feel the sparks again, that same tingling of something in the tips of my fingers and toes. The moment I stop resisting, magic reaches out to greet me, and it takes me over into its plush and ethereal arms.

My legs begin to sting as a strange pins and needles feeling seems to numb my toes before an intense warmth takes and fuses them together. I sink lower into the warm waters, watching in unafraid fascination as my skin transforms, hardening into a shimmering pattern of iridescent teal scales that perfectly mirror the glow of his body.

With a soft splash, a wide translucent fin flairs out where my feet used to be.