83. Summer
Chapter Eighty-Three
Summer
W e eat in comfortable silence, his thumb brushing over my thigh every few moments.
Every time it does, my skin tingles and I have to resist the urge to jump his fucking bones.
I don’t know where I get the will, but I keep myself in my chair and finish my meal, wiping my face with a napkin softer than the sheets on the bed.
“Are you ready for your surprise?” he asks, gently squeezing my thigh.
I nod. “Do I need to change?” The likelihood is high, given that I am currently wearing his shirt and nothing else.
He waves his hand, and my bikini from earlier lands in front of me. I frown, looking at it and then back up at him with an arched brow.
“I like it a lot, and we’re going to the beach,” he says with a slight shrug and a charming half grin.
I roll my eyes but can’t help my little smirk as I pick it up and head to the bathroom to change.
Somehow, in the time since I took it off in my suite, the bikini has been cleaned.
It is in such pristine condition that I wonder if it is the same one.
Looking closer, I think this one has more beads and crystals attached to it.
With a small shrug, I tie the cover-up around my waist and leave the bathroom.
As has happened every time I’ve entered a room where he is present, all his focus snaps to me, as if I am his only concern, the only thing that exists in his world.
His eyes darken, and he prowls toward me like a huge, dangerous, beautiful predator that I ache to have devour me.
“Fucking breathtaking,” he says, brushing his hand from my hip up to the curve of my bare waist. His hand tightens as if trying to get himself in check. “Let’s go before they migrate.”
“Migrate?”
He flashes me a wicked smile before wrapping his arm around me and leading me from the room.
We walk until we are past the resort’s bound-aries, to a secluded beach that looks completely untouched.
The moon casts a silvery glow over the powdery sand, and stars glitter above us, reflecting off the water like jewels.
The stranger releases my hand and steps to the edge of the crystal-clear water, the gently rolling waves lapping at his feet.
I watch as he lets out a short, sharp whistle.
Nothing happens for a moment, but then the water right in front of him ripples, and the top of a glowing blue head breaches the surface, looking at us with solid black eyes.
At first, the creature doesn’t move closer, but then it rises a little more, showing a long snout.
What used to be a large flipper turns into legs.
It sniffs in our direction, and then it starts to advance, standing almost as tall as the stranger.
He holds his hand out to the water horse, and it stretches its neck to sniff him cautiously before moving forward.
The stranger looks back at me and holds his free hand out.
I take his hand and warily move closer, but I can’t help the bright smile that curves my lips when the kelpie nickers softly at me.
The stranger makes a clicking sound, and the kelpie bobs its head before looking at me.
“You can pet him,” the stranger says.
I blink at him.
“Go on, you are safe with me, princess.”
I search his eyes, able to feel the truth of those words deep in my bones.
I am safe with him. Tightening my hold on his, I let go and step closer to the beast, reaching out.
The kelpie studies me for just a moment before pressing his muzzle against my open hand, snuffling softly.
I giggle, the wet velvet of his nose tickling my palm.
The kelpie nudges me, and I stroke a gentle hand along his jaw, my eyes wide with wonder.
He leans into my touch and rumbles, the sound similar to a purr, only smoother.
The stranger steps closer to me, and the kelpie shifts in response, nudging at the stranger’s chest with his nose, pushing him away so he can glide between us.
I laugh and stroke a firmer touch down the silky-smooth coat of his neck, completely unalarmed.
This beautiful creature has a kind, playful energy, and I know he means neither of us any harm .
“He seems to like you,” the stranger huffs.
“Jealous?” I ask, leaning lightly against the kelpie.
“Of a kelpie?” he asks, throwing me a look.
I quirk a brow at the obvious jealousy in his voice, though I know he’s not jealous that the kelpie seems to prefer me.
It’s because it’s taking my attention away from him.
The kelpie tosses his head and whinnies, and I swear he is laughing.
Grumbling, the stranger crosses his arms over his broad chest. The kelpie sinks lower in the water, offering me his back.
I glance at the stranger and grin when he nods in approval.
Excitement fills my cells as I climb on, situating myself on his back.
“Better hold on tight, princess,” he says. Any jealousy he felt seems to have melted away as he smiles at me.
Then the kelpie is on his feet, lurching into action as he runs on the surface of the water, his tread so gentle that there is barely a ripple in his wake, only a fine mist of water.
The speed incites a scream from me, and I lean forward to wrap my arms around his neck, to hold on to him as we dart over the surface of the water toward the sparkling night sky.
We run faster, and after a moment of letting the terror maintain its hold on me, I start to loosen my grip on him, his steadiness giving me confidence.
I sit up slowly, knowing the stranger wouldn’t let anything happen to me, that he knew this would be okay.
He wanted this experience for me and knew it would bring me joy.
The ocean air blasts past me as we run, and cool water sprays at me as he dashes into the darkness.
Blue and green lights illuminate the night sky as we move farther from the light pollution produced by the resort.
The feeling of weightlessness, freedom, and the magic of it all takes my breath away.
The stranger has freed me, and not just from Torin. In this moment of magic and wonder, I feel so alive, so awake . It’s so liberating that my chest aches.
Slowly, I loosen my death grip on the kelpie and sit up completely. Holding my arms out, I throw my head back, sinking into the feeling.
The kelpie huffs, and I pant as we slow. He trots to a rock that is propped in the middle of the ocean, with two stunning mere women resting on it. They are brushing their long hair, the moonlight flashing against the scales of their iridescent blue and purple tails.
I pat his neck as he chuffs at them, neighing softly. He trots around the rock, his head held high. The mermaids vocalize, clicking and hissing, obviously communicating with him. The kelpie’s ears droop a little, and one of them tuts, shaking her head at us.
My brows furrow and I stroke his neck, trying to console him, though I have no idea what they’re saying.
The kelpie huffs sadly and trots away from them, back toward the resort.
I glance over my shoulder at the mermaids to see that they are still watching us as if making sure he is following their instructions.
One even plunges into the water, and I notice her swimming beneath us.
The second we start running again, that sense of freedom envelops me once more, and my heart races from the rush of it.
The lights of the resort come into view, along with the darker smudge of the shore, and the kelpie slows, seeming almost reluctant to return.
“What’s wrong?” I ask, stroking his neck.
He neighs softly, and I scratch his neck. He chuffs and then sets off again. The stranger is right where we left him, but he looks angry, and as we approach, he starts clicking in the same tone the mermaids used when they were talking to him, clearly admonishing my new kelpie friend.
The stranger reaches up and grips my waist in his large hands, pulling me from the kelpie’s back. The kelpie neighs defiantly and rears up.
“It’s okay. I’m okay,” I say to the stranger, placing my hands on his shoulders, both of us ignoring the beast.
The stranger blinks, looking at me. “Are you reassuring me?”
I nod. “He was just playing. It was amazing, and I am safe.”
“You speak Mermish?” he growls, pulling me to him.
“No, I?—”
“So you’re going off my tone?” he asks, waving the kelpie away as the beast buries his nose in my hair and huffs. The kelpie doesn’t move, completely unconcerned.
“It sounds similar to what the mermaids were saying, and you look angry like they did.”
“Well, he was trying to take you home with him.”
“Why?” I ask, my brows drawing in confusion.
“Because kelpie are fae, and based on his reaction to you, I believe he may be a member of your court, not Kai’s.” My frown deepens. “I think kelpies are subjects of the Seelie Court. I think?.?.?.” He glances at the kelpie. “Speak to him in Daoine Sith.”
“Hello,” I say in the language of my people .
The kelpie looks at me and steps back before lowering into a deep bow. “Your Majesty,” he says, the words projected straight into my mind.
My lips part on a gasp.
“What is it?” the stranger asks, grabbing me, ready to whisk me away to safety.
“We?.?.?. I have to go.” I turn away from both of them, nearly running up the beach, my heart thundering in my chest, and my mind swimming. I don’t get far before his hand finds mine. His warmth seeps into me, granting me a sliver of clarity amid the chaos of my mind, but I keep walking.
“Princess,” he says, tugging my hand.
“Do not call me that,” I snarl, the reaction coming from somewhere deep within me.
He pulls me into his chest, his arms wrapping around my back.
“Baby,” he soothes, and that endearment does something completely unexpected to me.
The stranger started calling me princess this year, but I knew he was just trying to get under my skin.
This sends a shock through me, the visceral sensation of rightness grounding me as I hear the emotion infused into the word.
I tip my head back to meet his gaze, and he lifts his hands to cup my cheeks. “Hi,” he says.
“Hi,” I exhale through some of my panic, allowing him to bring me back to myself.
“It’s me. Okay?”
I nod.
“Your stranger.”
I place my hands on his chest. “Fuck, I wish you could kiss me,” I say, sliding my hands over his chest. To distract me.
To banish the thoughts from my mind. That kelpie called me Your Majesty .
He said it straight to me, with recognition and a reverence that means he feels it.
I bury my face against his chest, needing the comfort of him.
“I don’t want this,” I whisper, the words barely audible.
“Me?” he asks, and even though he wraps his arms around me, I can feel his entire body tense as if he is readying himself for a blow.
I pull back to look up at him, but I feel his hands tighten on me as if he is afraid I am going to run from him. “What? No, this whole Seelie bullshit.”
He scans my eyes, and his face softens. “I know. Great destinies are rarely given to those who want them.” He lifts his hand, and I immediately miss his hold on me, but then two oddly shaped runes on his palm catch the moonlight, flashing eerily in the dark.
“When I was a child, a seer foresaw my future.” He looks at them, sadness filling his eyes.
“My destiny is also great, but terrible as well.”
I’m desperate to ease his sadness away, and I lift my hand, pressing my palm to his. “Perhaps it’s time we take our destinies into our own hands. Refuse to conform to the higher beings who don’t have to face the consequences.”
“Fuck them all,” he says, his eyes sparkling.
I look at our hands pressed together, noticing how much smaller mine is against his, before I meet his intense gaze. “What do you want, Stranger?”
“What I’ve always wanted,” he says, his eyes dark. “You.”
There is danger in his words, but I’ve never wanted to run less.
I interlink our fingers. “Take me to your room.”