She lifted her chin and closed her eyes. Her mouth moved slightly as she murmured soft words to command the Divine Scarf. I felt the whisper of threads move around both of us. As I watched the scarf do its work, I noticed every tiny change—the shape and color of her eyes, the length of her toned arms, the texture of her hair where it brushed against my arm—and marveled as the goddess, the woman I’d known as a boy, was revealed inch by inch.
When the fabric settled, she opened her green eyes. “Ana,” I said in a worshipful whisper. Gently, I stroked my thumb across her cheekbone and felt the tingle of our connection shoot through me as she sucked in a breath. Though I was still me and she was the same woman she’d always been, I felt as if I was seeing her anew, through the eyes of the boy I used to be so long ago.
As an adoring, dreamy-eyed youth, I’d imagined embracing her, touching her hair, and taking her hand as we set off on adventures, but the reality of holding her in my arms was entirely different. I was keenly aware that I was now a man on equal footing, at least as equal footing as one could be with a goddess. I reached up to trace her hairline and captured some silky strands between my fingertips.
Slowly, I slid my fingers down, and then my eyes moved unbidden to her mouth as she licked her lips. My heart pounded when her hands skimmed down to my chest. I wanted to kiss her. Everything in my mind and heart screamed at me to seize her in my arms and capture her lips. To pull her close and make her a part of me. Ana was mine. Ren would never, ever take her away from me, the defiant, proud boy within shouted. A shiver went down my spine as I imagined getting lost in her embrace.
For a long moment, our eyes were locked. Our breaths were shallow and pulses quick. Every instinct I had said to move in. That she wanted this closeness as desperately as I did. That she might be the answer to everything. The reason for it all. The person I’d been waiting for.
Instead, I took a step back, trying to shake the memories of the earnest boy I once was and remember the Ana I’d come to know. She didn’t take kindly to amorous advances, and I’d promised that I’d never try to kiss her again. A kind of acid leached into my belly as I reined in the emotional tide that had shaken me. I needed time to sort out all my conflicting feelings and memories.
“Thank you,” I said and captured her hands, still pressed against my chest. Slowly, I lifted one to my lips and kissed her palm in a chaste, deferential manner. “I am glad to have my memories back.”
When I let go of her hand and moved away, she came after me, an expression of confusion on her face. “You are not angry with me?” she asked, placing a hand on my arm.
“Why would I be angry?” I asked, shifting to the side and heading across the beach away from the party so we could leave.
“I thought you would resent the fact that I took your memories,” she said, trailing behind me.
Turning back, I shrugged lightly. “You did what you had to do. What I don’t understand is why you went. You said you wanted to get to know me better. Did you find what you were looking for?”
“Yes,” she said and then shook her head. “No. Not exactly.”
“Well, what do you want to know?” Walking backward, I stretched out my arms. “I’m an open book, Ana. All you have to do is ask.”
I smiled at her then, widely, then turned and took off running, feeling gratified when I heard her soft footfalls in the sand behind me. It only took a moment for her to draw alongside and I said, “Wanna race?”
“Race?” she asked. “What is the purpose?”
“To enjoy the journey. Think of it as sparring. Testing your limitations. Unless you’re afraid your tiger will beat you.”
“No man can defeat me,” she announced pompously.
“We’ll see about that,” I said, and immediately doubled my speed.
For just a moment, I was winning. I raced down the beach, my feet barely touching the wet sand, then I heard a grunt, and in the corner of my eye, I saw long legs keeping stride with me and then overtaking my lead. Once she edged ahead, I slowed slightly and let her gain ground. Something in me came alive. Though I was wearing my human skin, the tiger wanted to play. I bounded after her, a growl in my throat.
I could have done the same thing to beat her that I’d done with Ren in another time and another place. Ana’s long hair streamed behind her, and it would have been easy to wrap my hand around it and tug her aside, but that idea quickly morphed into pulling her back against me and falling together to the sand in a tangle of limbs.
She glanced back and a delighted smile lit her face when she saw how far behind I trailed. My mind flashed again to racing Ren on a very different kind of beach and how I’d demanded a kiss from Kells as my prize. I hadn’t negotiated anything with Ana prior to racing her, but the idea of such a boon should I be the winner invigorated me.
Redoubling my efforts, I blazed a path behind her, and when it became clear that she would win, I cheated. One second, I was Sohan Kishan Rajaram, and the next I was Damon, the black tiger, the companion of a goddess. In my tiger form, I raced down the beach, stretching my legs out and eating up the short distance that separated us.
Finally, I overtook her and leapt in the space in front of her. She cried out, trying to stop herself before barreling into me, and ended up falling over me and tumbling in the sand. Worried, I went over to her and nudged her shaking back with my nose.
Ana, I said to her in my mind, are you all right?
Her quaking became worse, and then she quickly turned toward me and tossed a fistful of sand at me. After I shook it away, I realized she was laughing, not crying, and her laugh was amazing. It was the tinkling of bells, dulcet and all things happy and free.
Growling playfully, I crouched down, my tail twitching, and pounced on her, being careful not to land on her body. She squealed and threw up her arms but she was too late. With my legs trapping her, I leaned down and licked her cheek, leaving a shiny trail.
“Kishan!” she cried, rubbing her face with her closed fist. “That was disgusting!”
I moved as if to do it again, and she shrieked and shifted her head side to side, laughing and trying to thwart my efforts. When she tried to wriggle away, I crouched down, putting only as much weight on her as I thought she could handle. She beat halfheartedly against my shoulders and begged me to move, complaining that she couldn’t breathe. I repositioned myself just enough to make sure she was comfortable but still trapped.
When her struggling subsided, I huffed, shifted over, and fell onto my side. Sand clung to my fur and bunched between my claws, but I didn’t care. She lay back in the sand, stretched out her arms and legs, and let out a deep sigh. Though she’d changed her form, she still wore the green bikini. The cover-up was bunched up underneath her, and a happy smile of contentment remained on her face. It was strange seeing her now with my old memories mingling with the new ones. As a boy, I’d been infatuated with her.
If I’d met her before Yesubai, before Kelsey…but then, I did. It was so confusing. I still loved Kelsey. Didn’t I? I was loyal. I was never the type of man to seek out a variety of women. I wanted just one woman to love. One who was completely mine. A life mate who was as devoted to me as I was to her. I’d hoped that Kelsey would be that girl.
I peered at the goddess through a half-closed eye and quieted my thoughts, a much easier thing to do as a tiger than a man, and just enjoyed the moment. The sound of the waves lulled me, and the earthy smell of the nearby grass mixed with the scent of the woman at my side was heady. Ana turned toward me, cradling her head on a hand, and extended her other to me.
She buried her fingers in the ruff of my neck and stroked my fur. We stayed like that for a long time, just looking into each other’s eyes and feeling the strength of our connection. The moon rose over the waves and the sand glistened with the blush of moonlight. A slight breeze kissed my fur, bringing with it the scent of the trees, flowers, and the ocean. If paradise existed, then I was in it, I thought. There was only one thing missing.
I must have fallen asleep, because the next thing I knew, Anamika was shaking me awake.