CHAPTER TWELVE #2
“Oh, just about a dozen people who saw me pin you against the wall when…” I pretend to think hard. “What was your ex’s name again? Ah, yes. Brody Braxton.”
“He’s not my ex-boyfriend.”
“And yet you basically begged me to kiss you.”
Her jaw drops. “I absolutely did not beg you to kiss me.”
“You held out your hand and asked me to act like we were dating. I simply committed to the role.”
“That is not the same thing!”
I smirk up at her. “Agree to disagree.”
She crouches near the edge of the pool, cheeks flushed and eyes sparking with irritation.
Or embarrassment. Maybe both.
“And what do you mean a dozen people saw us?”
“Well,” I say, keeping my voice casual, “after we split up, I got about twelve texts asking who the girl I had pinned against the brick wall was. A few specifically asked if it was the Prescott daughter.” I shrug. “Small town. Word spreads fast.”
Her eyes widen in horror.
“That’s—I—” She presses her lips into a thin line before standing abruptly. “Thanks for dinner. I’m going to head home.”
Uh oh.
Just as she turns, the water beside me surges upward.
A ribbon of water lashes around Catherine’s waist before either of us can react.
“Catherine—”
She yelps as the water yanks her straight into the pool.
My heart slams into my ribs.
She disappears under the surface in a splash of dark hair and frantic limbs, bubbles bursting from her mouth as panic floods her face.
I don’t think.
One second I’m human; the next, my body shifts into my demi form as I dive beneath the water. My sea lion instincts take over completely as I grab her around the waist and kick hard toward the surface.
She breaks through the water gasping, coughing pool water while clutching me so tightly her nails dig into my shoulders.
“I need to get out,” she chokes out, panic sharp in her voice. “Take me to the edge. Elliot, please. I don’t want to drown.”
“I’ve got you, Wren.” I keep one arm locked around her waist while easily treading water with the other. “You can loosen your death grip a little.”
“No.” Her arms tighten around my neck. “Absolutely not.”
Despite the situation, warmth spreads through me.
Cute.
Terrified, furious, magically unstable, but cute.
“Why would you do that?” she demands breathlessly. “Why would you pull me into the water? Wasn’t nearly drowning once enough? You thought I’d enjoy a second time?”
“I didn’t.” I flick my tail under the surface and nod toward the water. “I’m not the one with water magic, remember? I’m just a shifter.”
Her eyes dart downward, finally noticing the sleek dark tail cutting through the glowing water beneath us.
“You’re saying I did this?” she sputters. “Why would I intentionally drag myself into a pool? I told you before. I. Don’t. Swim.”
The water around us ripples harder with every word, reacting to her emotions.
“You and your magic are like two magnets,” I say carefully. “And you keep trying to force yourselves apart while it’s trying to pull you back together.”
“You’re being dramatic. Magic doesn’t work like that.”
“Then explain this.” I gesture around us.
She opens her mouth, then shuts it again.
“I hate that you’re making sense right now,” she mutters.
A laugh escapes me. “Trust me, sweetheart, I hate being right almost as much as you hate admitting it.”
She splashes water at me.
Unfortunately for her, the pool answers.
Water swirls sharply around us, small waves rocking her against my chest. Her eyes widen as panic flickers across her face again.
“You need to learn control,” I tell her more gently this time.
“Make me.”
The challenge in her voice hits me low and hard.
The water around us begins to churn.
My pulse kicks.
So I do the first thing that comes to mind.
I close the distance between us and kiss her. Soft at first. Tentative. A distraction more than anything.
But the second she melts against me with a startled little sound, all restraint snaps tight inside me.
Her lips part beneath mine, and I deepen the kiss instinctively, tasting saltwater and her. My hand slides into her wet hair, fingers tightening against her scalp as I pull her closer.
We break apart panting, nothing but the sound of our ragged breaths and the gentle lapping of pool water against the infinity edge as my tail swishes beneath us, keeping us both afloat.
The string lights overhead cast shimmering gold across Catherine’s damp skin, and for one reckless moment all I can think about is kissing her again.
Drawing another one of those breathless sounds from her throat.
“What was that for?” she asks, lifting trembling fingers to her swollen lips.
“I needed to distract you before your magic drowned us both.”
A faint crease forms between her brows. “I told you before, my magic isn’t that strong.”
I huff out a laugh, unable to help myself. “Little Wren, your magic is currently throwing tantrums every time you get emotional. I’d call that pretty damned strong. Not to mention, both our houses lie directly over a magical ley line. It’s feeding your magic like a live wire”
“You don’t know what you’re talking about.” She pushes away from me stubbornly, water sloshing around us.
The moment she leaves my arms, she sinks.
Her eyes widen as her mouth disappears beneath the surface with a startled splash.
Stubborn. Witch.
I dive instantly, catching her around the waist and hauling us both back up. She bursts from the water gasping, arms locking around my shoulders hard enough to bruise.
“Relax.” I brush soaked hair out of her face. “I’ve got you.”
“I told you,” she sputters, clinging tighter, “I can’t swim.”
“You can’t because you panic before you even try.” I shift us carefully, supporting most of her weight against my chest. “Same problem you have with your magic.”
Her glare could level buildings. “You’re insufferable.”
“And yet you keep ending up in my arms.”
Color rises in her cheeks despite the water dripping from her lashes. Goddess, she’s beautiful like this. Flushed and annoyed and wrapped around me like she belongs there.
I force myself to focus.
“Take a breath,” I say more gently. “Feel the water instead of fighting it. It wants to hold you up, Wren. Kick your feet slowly. I won’t let you drown.”
Not in this pool. Not in your magic. Not in yourself.
For a moment she only stares at me, fear and frustration warring in those sea-glass eyes. Then she inhales shakily and does as I ask, kicking one foot and then the other.
“There you go,” I murmur. “Good girl.”
Her breath catches at the praise.
Mine nearly does too.
Before I do something stupid—like kiss her senseless again—I roll onto my back and pull her against my chest. My tail flicks beneath the surface, propelling us smoothly across the pool.
Catherine squeals, fingers digging into my shoulders as she wraps herself around me.
“Elliot!” she yelps into my neck. “Put me down.”
I grin against her damp hair. “Okay.”
I release my grip entirely.
The second I do, she lets out another startled squeak and locks both legs around my waist.
Every thought in my head evaporates.
Warm thighs. Bare skin. Wet swimsuit clinging to every curve of her body while she straddles me beneath the moonlight.
Sweet mercy.
It takes every ounce of self-control not to carry her straight out of this pool and onto the deck.
Instead, I slide one steady hand against the small of her back and slowly guide us toward the shallow steps.
“I didn’t mean literally drop me in the middle of your pool,” she mutters, though there’s laughter buried beneath the indignation now.
“You said put you down.” I shrug innocently. “I’m just an obedient fake boyfriend.”
“You are the least obedient person I’ve ever met.”
“And yet you still came over for dinner.”
She opens her mouth, then closes it again when I stop between her knees on the pool steps. Water streams down her skin in shimmering rivulets while her chest rises and falls inches from mine.
Too close.
Not close enough.
“Speaking of fake boyfriend duties,” I say lightly, even though my pulse is hammering, “there’s an event next week I need a date for.”
Her brows lift. “Another one?”
“Small-town curse. If I show up alone one more time, somebody’s aunt is going to try setting me up with their cousin.”
“What’s wrong with their cousin?”
I brace my arms on either side of her legs, trapping her against the pool steps. Her breath stutters exactly the way I hoped it would.
“Nothing,” I murmur. “They’re perfectly nice.”
“But?”
“But they aren’t my type.”
Her lips part slightly.
I can practically feel the question hovering there between us.
Then I shift back before I do something reckless, letting my body morph into human form as I climb from the pool. Droplets trail down my skin while I grab the towels from a nearby chair.
Catherine’s eyes flick downward before snapping guiltily back to my face.
Cute.
I toss her a towel, smirking when she fumbles the catch.
“I’ll take your silence as a yes,” I drawl. “To the event. And the swimming lessons. And practicing your magic.”
She wraps the towel tightly around herself. “You’re very confident for someone who threw me into a pool.”
“And you’re very dramatic for someone who survived it.”
“I hate you.”
“You absolutely do not.”
Her cheeks flush pink enough to tell me everything I need to know.
A grin slowly spreads across my face. “Besides, I can’t have you out there drowning in unsuspecting bathtubs.”