“Where are you staying?”
She hadn’t thought about where she was staying. Her only concern was to stop the marshes from being filled and to protect Linc. She had nowhere to go.
Linc. She began to speak to him in her head, the question she wanted to ask too personal to say aloud. Where do you come from?
Chapter Six
The answer to Edythe’s question was not simple, and it could not be answered while she stood in front of him, lips blue with cold. He reached for her, swinging her into his arms. “I will show you.”
He heard a splash and a yell. “Hey!” It was a human’s voice, full of shock. He could only imagine what the human saw—a looming, black-scaled creature, sweeping a human woman into his arms.
“I didn’t think,” she said quickly, pushing at his chest as if to force him to let her go. “There were signs all over the place warning about trespassing. I just plowed right by them. I’m sorry, Linc.”
A flashlight shone in his eyes. “Holy shit!” the man said.
Instinct took over. He felt his skin change, his scales re-appearing in the places Edythe touched. He growled, feeling his muscles bunch and tense, readying for a fight.
Leave me! she directed. Run!
That was never happening again. He turned and ran, holding her tight to his body.
“Hey!” The voice called after him. “Let her go!”
He had one goal—Edythe’s safety. He sprinted through the water, dodging the grass and leaping across the sand dunes until they were on the beach. Her hands linked around his neck, and he could hear her heart beating rapidly. In his rush to get her to safety, he hadn’t paid attention to what she was saying. Once he stopped, her heard her. Please, Linc. Just go. Just go.
It made his heart ache to think she didn’t want to be with him.
No, you dope! I want you safe! Please! Don’t let anyone hurt you again. “I couldn’t take it if something happened to you.”
“Nothing will happen to me,” he growled, looking toward the ocean. He had planned on showing her where he lived, but not in the manner he now considered.
“Wait.” She stared over her shoulder, back toward the dunes and the marshes. “They may have left.”
In the distance, Linc heard the high pitched wail of sirens. He met Edythe’s eyes.
“Please?” she begged.
He took a deep breath, closing his eyes. You are my mate, he thought. I could never leave you. He opened his eyes, pleading with her to understand, and then he kissed her.
Her lips gave way beneath his, but she was no reluctant recipient. It took only a second before she was holding onto him, swinging her legs to wrap them around his waist. She held his neck tightly, lifting herself to deepen the kiss. He tasted her then, and she was more delicious than anything he could have imagined. His tongue dipped inside her mouth, swirling around her tongue. He heard her groan, both aloud and in her head. The images she sent him unconsciously had him straining for control. She wanted to press against him, feel him against her skin, feel him deep inside her.
He slowed the kiss, knowing what would happen next. He felt the moment it did. Edythe’s head arched back, the muscles in her neck straining as she cried out in pain. Watching her, he walked slowly to the ocean, aware any jolt would feel like agony. But she had to be in the water. Her eyes fixed on his, and he felt her shock. He went inside her head, hoping to shield her from the pain that came with a transformation.
It happened faster than he’d expected. He only had ancient stories to guide him. He knew something in his saliva would change her, giving her the ability to breathe under water and protect herself, forming scales along her skin, if needed. He had hoped to explain this to her, but she was threatened, and he had to protect her.
The only place she would be safe was in his home, deep beneath the ocean.
Edythe’s teeth chattered, and he saw her clench her jaw. Her body was a riot of nerve endings, all of them lighting up at once, jolting her like a million volts of electricity.
I’m sorry. Edythe, I am so sorry. He didn’t make excuses. He tried to send her waves of love. Her mind, mercifully, shut off, protecting itself from the pain her body underwent, and she lost consciousness.
The sirens got louder and louder, and soon he heard dogs barking and men yelling. He turned her head gently to one side. Beneath her ear he saw slits, a tell-tale sign she would be able to breathe under water.
Linc picked her up, and at the same time, a flashlight shone in his eyes. He threw up one hand instinctively, wrapping the other around Edythe. He closed his eyes tight, and listened for the sound of the waves before leaping into the water. He heard people cry out, and a gun went off. He could feel the air as it shifted, the bullet whizzing by him. He spared one last glance at his mate, praying she’d be all right, and dove beneath the waves.
Chapter Seven