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It is time to begin seducing my mate.
Keri
In retrospect,I’m not so sure this whole pool thing was a good idea. With so much water available to Ro, his fins flutter and dance through the water in ways that feel a lot more seductive than the simple flirtation we had in the lab. I record him with my phone from the observation area as he moves gracefully through the water. His body curls sinuously as he rolls through the water slowly to reverse his direction and head back toward me. Although I’m certain that he could move much faster if he wants to—and I’ll have to eventually get him to quit playing around and show me how he really swims in the sea—I recognize the flirtation for what it is as he swims.
He’s trying to tempt me into joining him in the water.
I see it in the soft glow of his eyes as he watches me through the glass, the heat in his gaze unmistakable. The playful, graceful movement of his tail and fins a carefully orchestrated seduction. I don’t have to know anything about his species to know this. I know it simply by the effect it has on me and by the focused way in which he watches me as he swims as if he is calculating every reaction I have.
And I have plenty. My belly churns with a longing that I can press up throughout my chest like I’m caught on a hook but neither able nor eager to escape. I want to tumble through the water with him and that is a dangerous desire.
But fuck, he’s beautiful.
He’s also a huge distraction. I don’t mind the time away from the library doing something productive but I’m enjoying this time with him so much that I’m not focusing at all on my magical studies and trying to locate that one thing at which I excel. Instead of going through our collections of grimoires, I spend the rest of my day at the library replaying the day through my mind like a lovesick idiot.
Over a merman of all things. Aquana, I mean.
It doesn’t matter what he’s called, the fact remains the same: I can’t get swept up in his magic. I know that’s what it is, even if I don’t know how it is affecting me. Maybe that’s something I need to research. Perhaps there is a potion that can make this a little easier by creating a barrier between me and whatever magic he exudes. It might not even be intentional on his part but something instinctual to his species for all I know.
Oh, I’m sure some parts are intentional. The fact that he’s trying to seduce me is entirely intentional. But the way his magic is affecting me, it could just be because of what he is, and it wouldn’t be fair to judge him for it. It makes me feel guilty that I was ever so wary of him. Ro is extremely flirtatious, but he has never tried to harm me in any way. Nor has he used his song on me except for that first brief moment, and even then it seemed as if he couldn’t help himself anymore than I could help my reflexive gasp when I felt his magic collide with mine.
But he’s still a threat because merfolk steal people and I don’t think I will get as lucky as Aunt Katherine. He’s on land now but he’s still a creature of the sea, and once he’s done here he will eventually have to go back. To keep him out of the sea would be cruel, and I couldn’t survive there, even if his magic made it possible. I couldn’t be cut off from everything I know to live in a terrifying unknown place under the water.
Just imagining the dark depths filled with predators makes me shiver and momentarily dulls my enjoyment while I watch him. I’m certainly nowhere near equipped to survive in the depths like he is. Despite how leisurely he moves through the water, Ro is powerful. I can see it in the muscles of his arms, back, and torso. His tail alone could be considered a weapon with the way he flicks it and the long stinger just above his tailfins.
The white stinger catches the light as he turns nimbly in the water. He continues to roll… and the alarm on my phone jangles cheerfully in my hand, startling me. I stop the video and look at the time.
One o’clock. Time to get back to my real job. I’m grateful that Lynn covers the first half of my shift, but she has other things she must do as well so I can’t be late. I’m disappointed that I didn’t get a chance to bounce questions off of Ro today. I usually take at least a half-hour, if not a full hour, of our time together to talk to him about his species, but that will have to wait until tomorrow. I have no regrets for becoming so enthralled with watching him. His enjoyment of swimming freely in the pool is pure poetry in motion. He captures in movement alone everything I’ve ever felt magic to be.
Which is why I also hate that we have to part now.
Leaning forward, I tap on the glass. Ro immediately turns toward me and with a flick of his fins propels himself toward me with a speed that makes me stumble back. I feel kind of stupid that I do since obviously there’s a thick glass barrier right there and I’m in no danger. It just caught me by surprise. I feel a little better when Ro pulls up short just before reaching the glass and gives me an apologetic smile. I smile in turn and tap my wrist. Although I don’t wear a watch, the gesture is one that he’s become familiar with over the days that we’ve worked together.
Ro nods and shoots up to the surface while I make my way up the stairs from the observation area. By the time I step out onto the main floor, he’s climbing out of the pool and shaking the water from his tail. His fins spread wide with his magic and appear to unravel in a bright glow that rapidly slides through his body, leaving behind his muscular legs and a smooth chest uninterrupted by gills when it departs. Ro never looks unhappy to lose his tail as he stands and scoops his jeans off the floor. Then again, he never looks unhappy to lose his legs either when he submerges in the water. Whatever form he is in, he embraces it fully and it makes me wish that I were selfish enough to keep him on land always so I can enjoy more of this than just the few weeks we have together.
He beams at me as he brushes a wet lock of hair behind his ear and then steps into his jeans. The muscles in his ass and thighs flex enticingly but then disappear from sight as he slides his jeans over his hips and fastens them over his sheath.
Ro grins and pushes his feet into his boots. “This was highly enjoyable, Keri. I appreciate you for bringing this idea to that insufferable male.”
I stifle a laugh behind my hand at his description of Mr. Clarence, but I can’t say that he’s wrong. “That insufferable male is providing all the funding for this to happen, so be nice,” I chide.
He grunts but gives me a crooked smile filled with amusement. “We shall return here tomorrow, correct?”
I nod. I skimmed the message from the Arcane Society while we were in the cab on our way here. The schedule that they worked out with the aquarium is clear.
“We have the next three days with full use of the dolphin pools. That should be enough time to get the necessary observations done.”
And conclude our first week together. It is a little distressing how fast time is going. Then we will have only a couple more weeks left.
Ro nods, oblivious to my internal distress. “It will be enough time, though I know that there is not much time for us to speak when I’m underwater. But there is plenty of time for us to talk.”
He looks so hopeful that I want to agree, but Lynn is waiting for me.
“I can’t. Lynn is waiting for me to take over at the library for the rest of my shift. I’ll be there until five before my replacement comes in.”
“Then afterward,” he agrees easily with a wide smile. “We can walk along the docks and eat. There is a lot of good food offered there.”
I give him a skeptical look. I know nothing of the diet of Aquanas except watchingThe Little Mermaidwhen I was a kid, and that wasn’t exactly seafood friendly. “Most of it is restaurants and little stands that cook up whatever is caught from the sea. Are you okay with eating fish and things like that?”
