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“His…his heart beats. I will not harm him. There is a large shark heading for the boat. Do not enter the water tonight.”
I didn’t give them time to react. Leaving them frozen in stunned disbelief, I sank beneath the waves again. I had to get Kye out of the water so I could get him breathing. I knew just the place, but first I had to outrun a hungry shark who had just realized that I had stolen her meal.
I swam like my life depended on it, and maybe it did. My heart told me that I might not make it if the stranger in my arms died. My teeth had lengthened and need began to pound out a beat that matched the frantic pounding of my heart. He was being hunted by two predators tonight. I might not be able to save him from both.
I pulled his body tighter against mine, trying to reduce the drag as much as possible. My powerful fluke displaced enormous amounts of water, surging me forward. My body undulated, but my companion’s limp body made my movements jerky. Glancing over my shoulder, I saw that the sleek queen of the bay had turned from the boat and was streaking toward me. Her entire body was built for speed and efficiency in the water, so it wasn’t a surprise that she was closing the gap between us horrifyingly fast.
Gritting my teeth, I dug deep inside me, and something shifted in my chest. Water curled and spun around us, and my burning muscles moved through the water without any strain. We were being sucked along a current. A current that just so happened to be taking me exactly where I wanted. I would have been more concerned over the fact that I now had the ability to manipulate water, but in that moment all I felt was relief.
I bolted into the stone opening next to my cave. My scales shimmered, bathing the dark tunnel in eerie green light. The sharp cave walls angled upwards, and I followed the curve without slowing. We shot up out of the water, slamming hard into damp earth and cool stone. I had moved fast, but Kye had still been underwater for ninety seconds. Wasting no time, I rolled him over and began working to clear water from his lungs.
Water bubbled from his mouth, but he didn’t take in a breath. I slammed my fists against his chest and snarled in frustration. Leaning down, I pressed my warm lips against his pale ones. The coolness of his open mouth was a stark contrast to the burning heat of my own. We were both motionless; the moment frozen in time.
A soft gurgle came from his throat, and I jerked back. Nothing happened. Kye remained still. I wanted to see his playful smile and bright green eyes. I reached out and brushed a finger along his stubbled jawline. Water trickled from the corner of his mouth, but instead of submitting to gravity and slipping to the ground, it moved toward my finger that rested against his jaw.
In disbelief, I slid my finger up his cheek. The water trailed after my finger like an obedient pup. Lifting my finger away, I held it several inches above his face. Water followed my finger like a snake responding to a charmer. I dropped my hand, absolutely dumbfounded. The thin stream of water fell to the ground.
Clarity smacked me in the face. Moving forward, I pressed my hands against his chest where I guessed his lungs would be. Focusing hard, I thought about what I wanted the water to do and crossed my fins that it would work.
I moved my hands up, trying not to be distracted by the incredible feel of the hard muscular planes of his chest. My body flushed with desire, missing the note that this was not the time.
My hands slid along the column of his neck and along his jawline to his mouth. Water gurgled and bubbled out of his mouth again. Keeping my hands steady, I lifted them away from his mouth and toward me. The water began to rush from his lungs, following my motions. It splashed against me, soaking the ground around me.
Kye choked, automatically rolling to his side. Powerful coughs wracked his body as he worked to clear the remaining water from his lungs. I scooted toward him, patting his back and supporting him as he propped himself up. It took several minutes before his breathing grew less raged and more natural.
He lifted his shirt hem, rubbing at his face. The damp material did nothing to dry his face, and when I caught a peek of his abs, the shirt wasn’t the only thing that was wet. I wanted to smack myself. Sure, it had been centuries—fine, millennia—since I had felt my body intertwined with a man. But that was no reason to be this easily aroused.
I bit my lip and tasted blood. The sharp tips of my fangs were still strange to me, and I forgot about them far too often. In this moment I was struggling to hang onto the human traits I had learned. It was futile attempt because I wasn’t fully human. I was beginning to question if I was human at all.
With a pained groan, Kye turned toward me. He took in my appearance for the first time. His eyes grew round, and his pupils dilated until the green of his irises disappeared. Chaotic thoughts tumbled through his mind while he tried to make sense of his current situation—and me. I waited, not wanting to admit how much I dreaded hearing his reaction out loud. But nothing on this earth could have prepared me for his reaction.
The tension in his face eased, and his heart slowed from erratic to only slightly faster than normal. He lifted his arm and rubbed the back of his neck in an adorable, but practiced, gesture that was designed to show off his toned abs. His biceps flexed as he moved, affecting me more than it should. I was a warrior that had trained among gladiators without my body reacting. Yet this human man with the kind smile, boyish charm, and gentle thoughts, was stirring the desire to hunt inside me. The desire to hunt and devour him. My mouth watered.
Through the eyes of a predator, I watched him catch his lower lip between his teeth for moment, biting gently before letting go. I stopped breathing, unable to look away. His chest rumbled as he spoke, his voice a deeper pitch than I had heard him use before. Was the human male attempting to lure me with his voice, just as I had done with several of my recent victims?
“Hey baby, are you a mermaid or am I the one who made you all wet?”
