Storms & Sunshine (Crescent Cove #4)

All That I Know

TEMPEST

B

y the end of her shift, Tempest could think of nothing but dinner. Hunger rumbled through her stomach, noisy and painful. Beside her, Elliot shot her a look—one eyebrow raised, mouth quirked up in a smirk. She punched him in the shoulder and grumbled at him.

“You don’t know how much energy my magic uses up!”

He laughed good-naturedly as they put the boat away for the night. “What are you making for dinner?”

“I don’t know,” Tempest whined. “I just want warm, delicious food to appear.”

“That sounds like a very good plan,” said Elliot.

They said their goodbyes to the marine biologists. She stopped and crouched down long enough to offer the little stingray a couple more shrimp and gave him gentle pats on the head. Then they were heading out the front office and toward the rest of Crescent Cove.

Leaning against a tree and looking entirely too handsome to be real was her merman. Reed. It took Tempest a moment to stop staring, then she blinked in surprise. He wore a new outfit, which he must have bought while she had been at work. The coral tone of his shirt really suited him.

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“Who’s this, then?” whispered Elliot, jabbing her in the ribs with his elbow and grinning.

“R-Reed! I wasn’t expecting you,” Tempest managed to spit out. “This is Elliot, my partner on the rescue boat. Elliot, this is Reed, a merman from a nearby pod.”

“Is that so? A merman?” the sea lion shifter drawled, crossing his arms.

Reed stepped forward, his eyes trained on Elliot. “Yes, I know. I have seen the two of you at work.” He turned to Elliot. “I actually came to ask a favor of you.”

“Of me?” the shifter laughed, incredulous. “You mean you’re not here to sweep this gorgeous witch off her feet?”

“You are a sea lion shifter, yes? And you grew up here in Crescent Cove, on both land and sea?” The merman hesitated, looking more nervous than she had ever seen him.

Elliot nodded but didn’t elaborate. Beside him, Tempest tipped her head to one side, trying to figure out what was happening. She certainly had assumed Reed was here for her. This turn of events had really caught her off guard and she waited for him to explain.

“My family will not listen to me,” continued Reed, distress evident in his face. “They do not believe such a place could exist, or that shifters could live in harmony with humans.”

“You guys are really sheltered, huh?” replied Elliot.

“They have offered me one chance to bring a shifter to tell them of this place and convince them Crescent Cove would be safe for our kind,” the merman explained.

Tempest looked back and forth between them, blinking. “You haven’t even met Elliot yet.”

“Not met. But I have seen him. With you, out on your boat,” Reed gave her a small smile. “I saw him transform and I saw you two playing in the sea. He is good to you, therefore I trust him.”

“When would you need me to go?” Elliot asked, drawing her attention from the merman.

“They have given me three suns—days,” he said hurriedly.

“I could join you after work tomorrow,” the sea lion shifter grinned.

Reed nodded enthusiastically. “That would be incredibly helpful. Thank you.”

“Sounds good to me, man,” Elliot said, all smiles.

Elliot took off at a jog toward the Boardwalk and Tempest watched her partner disappear.

When she turned back to the handsome merman, his eyes were locked on her.

Suddenly shy about her form-fitting wetsuit and how unflattering it could be when she felt bloated, she straightened her back and tugged at her wet braid.

“Now that’s settled,” Reed said softly, stepping toward her. “Would you like to get dinner with me tonight, Little Storm?”

“Oh, yes,” she murmured, blushing.

Her heart beat faster as he held out his elbow to her, allowing her to link her arm through his as they began the short walk toward the Boardwalk. He asked about her day and she told him about her storm, about finally successfully controlling her magic. Reed listened attentively.

“I…I made the storm dissipate exactly when I wanted to. It was incredible,” Tempest breathed out in a rush. “It’s never come to me so easily. Usually I am completely overwrought before I can call a storm into existence.”

Reed paused to meet her eyes, gripping her chin so she looked right at him. “You truly are magic, Tempest.”

Flustered, she bit her lower lip and tried to wriggle out of his grasp.

Instead, the merman leaned down slowly, purposefully, until his lips met hers. The warmth of his body pressed against her as he wrapped one arm around her waist and the other behind her neck. He tasted of salt and sea and something else she couldn’t quite name and Tempest yielded to him instantly.

When they came up for air, she gasped for oxygen even as she missed the feel of his mouth on hers.

Gods, why did that always feel so good? She wondered.

Kissing had never felt exhilarating with anyone else. Man, woman, shifter, witch—no one felt like this. Like him. As if she really could just go without air, forget to breathe, as long as he kept holding her like that.

“You must be hungry,” Reed said quietly, maintaining eye contact. “Where should we go?”

“Toast & Tide is the best for dinner and drinks,” she replied just as softly.

They stepped up to the podium and informed the server it would be just the two of them.

She nodded and grabbed their menus, leading them to a small two top by the water.

Tempest pointed out her favorite meals and explained new concepts to the merman as they perused the menu, finally deciding on fish and chips for her and mahi mahi for him.

As the server disappeared to put in their orders, Reed took her hand from across the table. “Tempest, I really like you. I hope it’s not too forward of me to say so this soon.”

“Oh, Reed,” she squeezed his hand reassuringly. “I really like you, too.”

Those hazel eyes held hers as he spoke again. “Where I come from, there are…expectations. I am the last merman of my line. I’m also the youngest mer in my pod.”

“What does that mean for you?” Tempest asked carefully, worry furrowing her brow.

“I am the only merman left of breeding age and they will fail without me,” Reed said tightly, his jaw clenched. “If I do not, the Cascadia mer will die out with my generation.”

She watched his face contort at the confession. “That’s so much pressure for you to carry alone. I’m so sorry, Reed.”

“Yes. It is not what I want for myself,” the merman sighed, turning toward the sea.

“What do you want?” Tempest squeezed his hand once more, prompting him to look at her. “If you could have anything you wanted in this world, Reed, what would it be?”

“You,” he whispered.

The chatter of the busy restaurant behind them faded in an instant, until all that existed was the two of them. Her heart pounded in her chest as she replayed that word over and over in her mind.

You, you, you. In all her days, Tempest had never been anyone’s first choice for anything. Not once.

Yet here sat this stunningly beautiful merman, this magical being from another place, and he wanted her. More than anything else in the world. He liked her. He had called her magical and lovely and comfortable to talk to, words she had never heard in reference to herself.

“What will it cost you to stay here with me?” she asked softly.

Her eyes locked on those glittering hazel eyes of his as he ran one hand through his windswept dark tresses, pulling the hair out of his face.

Tempest had never met anyone as truly gorgeous, inside and out, as Reed.

In a matter of days, he had made her feel wanted and chosen and pretty.

More than that, he had made her feel safe.

As much as she wanted to see where this chemistry between them might go, she hesitated to be the one to insist without knowing what he would have to give up. He needed to decide what mattered most to him, for his future. Tempest held her breath as she waited for his reply.

“I must leave behind all that I know…,” Reed began, choosing his words carefully. “If the pod does not listen to Elliot and decide to join me here, I will be dooming them to extinction.”

“Goodness, that’s awful,” she hissed.

The merman lifted his gaze once more to meet her eyes. “I cannot promise you much. I don’t know if any children we might have would be human, or mer, or some combination. Would you…still want me?”

“Reed,” Tempest whispered, reaching across the table to place one hand on his cheek. “I have never met anyone like you before. I’ve never felt like this about anyone else. If you are willing to give all that up for a chance at happiness together, I’m with you.”

His whole world was tumbling down around him, yet he continued to choose her. The hot mess of a storm witch who could barely control her powers and whose family barely tolerated her. Tempest’s heart ached at the way it made her feel.

When her merman leaned over to kiss her once more, she truly thought she might melt into a puddle of pure happiness. His hands in her hair, his lips on hers, the warmth of his body as he slid closer to her.

Had Tempest ever been this happy in all her life? No memory seemed to come even remotely close to this feeling. This must be what people meant when they talked about falling in love and losing your mind a little along the way.

It felt nearly as electric as the first time she had commanded a storm.

Humans with Magic

REED

A

cross the table, his beautiful, magical storm witch fought back tears as she looked at him.

Reed paused to appreciate how deeply she felt for him, his situation, and the cost of being together.

The mermaids he had been told to choose from were less than empathetic with the fact he had no interest in marrying someone his mother’s age.

Yet Tempest, who had only known him for a handful of days, looked as if her own heart might break at the thought of him being married off against his wishes. This woman who made him feel seen in a way he never had before among his pod, with her big feelings and bigger heart.