Sea Storm: Children of the Waves (9 page)

Her arms circled his waist and she placed
her head on his chest.

His heart continued to beat a rhythm as
old as time at the nearness of his mate. He wanted to tell her so badly he
loved her. Had for the last twelve years and grieved each day they’d been
apart. They were together now and whether she knew it or not, he’d never be
parted from her again. He just had to find a way to convince her they belonged
to each other. The Fates had decreed it and you did not defy the gods without
severe penalties. He would allow no harm to come to her, not from the humans
she hid from or the gods.

She raised her hand and placed it on his
chest. “Your heart is racing.”

He could tell her it paced her own, so he
did.

She raised her head to look at him. “I
guess we’re in sync then.” Her beautiful brown eyes glistened in wonder when
she stared at him. “What’s really going on here, Ezekiel?”

“The truth. I have searched for you. I
needed to find you every day for the last twelve years. Even longer.”

She blinked. “And now that you
have—what?”

“I’m not going to let you go.”

She frowned. “Don’t I have a choice?”

No! Is what his soul screamed, but he
needed to keep reminding himself.
Human.
The reason why he’d lived amongst the landwalkers and established himself here.
For her… All for her. Because she was all that mattered. He smiled sadly. “Yes,
you do. But I don’t.”

“What does that mean?”

“I belong to you, Des. Even if you left
me, there will never be another for me. Nor, will I just stand still and watch
you walk away.”

“This can’t be real. We barely know each
other. And—”

“And what?”

She blinked. “And you don’t think you’re
human for God’s sake.”

He laughed. He couldn’t help it.

“I promise I’m not crazy. Just stay.
Spend some time with me. Explore what’s happening between us. You can’t deny
the attraction. I can feel it. Feel this.” He took her hand and placed it over
his heart, then placed it over her own. It pounded against her ribcage.

Slowly she shook her head. “All right,
I’ll stay while Cori and Xav are here.”

She’d stay for a lot more, but he didn’t
express the thought out loud. He’d scared her enough but at least, she’d agreed
to spend more time with him. All he really needed with her to prove he’d spoken
the truth. He knew once her friend and his brother got there tomorrow, she’d
know he didn’t lie. Nothing like being introduced to the queen of the sea, who
happens to be her best-friend, and his brother’s bride. The chair had turned
her into a Child of the Waves and she’d dwell beneath the depths with his
brother. However, he held silent for now. He’d said enough.

“Here, let me get out the conditioner.”
He stood them both up and rinsed out her hair. Afterward, he toweled her off,
wrapped her in the robe he’d had made on a whim, and then done the same for
himself. Though he didn’t put his robe on. He stilled when he noticed her body
froze as she watched him in the mirror—her focus didn’t rest on him.
Rather, on the name he’d had stitched onto the breast of the robe.
Hali.

Her fingers traced over the letters and
then her eyes darted to his.

He smiled, picked her up and carried her
to his bed. Laying her gently down, he slowly opened the robe, revealing the
slender curved body before him. He decided not to turn on the recessed
lightning over the bed. He liked the way the soft light from the lamp beside
the bed bathed her caramel-colored skin in its glow. He lowered himself between
her legs and she spread them for him, cradling his shoulders between her
thighs.

He blew against her nether curls and
immediately he saw her woman’s dew pearling at her opening. “I know I didn’t
wait for you to get your pleasure before, but I will give it to you now. Are
you ready for me?”

She inclined her head as yes.

Without taking his eyes off her, he
stuck out his tongue and licked from the base of her nether lips, all the way
to the top. He watched her eyes roll back and her head push into the pillow. He
swirled his tongue around her nub before sucking on it. Des opened her legs
wider for him. He stuck his tongue into her canal as far as it could go. Then
getting onto his knees, he raised her legs until they were over his shoulders
and he buried his face in her. Inhaling her sweet fragrance while he wrung the
nectar of the gods from her. He used his tongue relentlessly.

Her body then spasmed several times.

But he didn’t gain satisfaction until she
uttered a primal sound in the guise of a scream, forming his name.

Her entire body shivered in his arms from
the intensity of her last release.

Only then, did he lower her trembling
legs but remained settled between her thighs. Ever so gently, he alternated
between blowing upon her heated and swollen flesh and licking her to calm her
down. Crawling up her body, he kissed each closed eyelid. “Sleep, my love,
sleep.” Rolling off her, he cradled her against him, placing her back to his
front. He curled his body around hers and fell asleep.

Chapter
Nine

Out on the water a dolphin screamed.
Ezekiel bolted up from a deep sleep. Des lay beside him, her breathing even,
her eyes closed. The room rested in shadows but dawn would soon greet the
shore. Had he been dreaming?
No.
Something had awakened him.
Danger.
He felt it in his soul. He eased out of bed, so as not to waken Des. Pausing
once to glance down at her, his heart pounding in his chest. His bride. At last
he’d found her. He wanted nothing more than to crawl back into bed and make
love to her. Again. Tell her how he really felt and prove to her he wasn’t
crazy. They weren’t crazy to feel the way they did so soon. But his senses
screamed, danger.

He didn’t bother to get dressed; he
simply opened the glass doors of his room and headed for the beach. He almost
never swam with clothes on anyway. But as soon as his foot hit the sand, he
heard the sound of a dolphin in distress again. While he headed toward the
water, he heard two sets of footsteps pounding behind him. Running full out
now, he dove into the sea. Faster than both his half-brother and Aaron anyway,
he didn’t bother to slow down. He moved far out before diving deeper. Swimming
as fast as only a child bred of the sea could swim. While hours ago his heart
raced in excitement, now it raced in fear.

His eyes allowed him to see perfectly in
the shadowy depths. So, he spied the area where red and black blood swirled
around his brother and his mate. They fought for their lives in the midst of
three dark creatures he’d never seen before. The horrors appeared to be a cross
between bi-pedal lizards, with long horse-like horned heads and scale armored
bodies. His brother raised his trident but it had no control over the beasts.
Power lashed from the forks, striking the nearest and drawing dark blood. So…at
least they could be harmed.

Two dead dolphins floated near them and
Zek sensed others hovering on the perimeter of the fight. Xav must have called
them off. No way could they have any hope of fighting off those armored demon
spawn.

Not so for Zek, he called forth his own
powers of lightning. His palms glowed until they turned bright white,
electricity crackled through and around him. He raised his hand and threw an
energy bolt after the dark claw reaching to grab his brother’s queen.

The bolt sliced the claw off, causing the
beast to swing in his direction.

He let loose another spear of power, this
one catching it in the middle of its third eye right above the horn. It
immediately rippled and disappeared.
By
the gods, what manner of beast was that?
Zek spoke telepathically to the
others.
The way the Children
communicated under the sea.

By then Xav managed to get rid of the
other two beasts just as Aaron and Cyrus arrived.
What the fuck was that?

My
sentiments, exactly,
Xav
sent to them all.

Are
you all right?
Zek
asked.

Yes.
They surprised us. Four of them, came out of nowhere and I had no control over
them,
Xav replied
.

Fuck!
Four?

Yes,
I managed to destroy one before you arrived.

How
can that be? You have the full powers of the trident,
Aaron interjected.
Yet, they attacked you.

I
think the white witch summoned them. They’re demons spawned of Hades, not of
the depths,
Xav replied.

Xav,
can we please get out of here? We can discuss this on land,
Cori piped in
.

I
am sorry, my queen,
Zek
answered.

She smiled and he understood why his
brother had fallen in love with his bride. Beautiful indeed. Like his Des.
It is an honor.

They turned and made their way back to
land with not quite the haste they’d used to cut through the water but still
remaining alert. Moving quickly, in case any more of those creatures tried to
come back.

Zek took point, Cyrus and Aaron brought
up the rear with Xav and Cori in the middle.

While they ascended toward the surface,
Zek heard Des’ cry at the same time he noticed the motorboat hovering in the
water above them. He smiled and angled their rise to cross to it. He turned to
grin at his brother and Cori, knowing they could all see the motorboat.
It’s Des.

Cori smiled. All five of them broke water
at the same time, but Des faced the other side of the boat. They swam toward
her and she swung around gasping when she saw them. “Oh, my God! Is everyone
all right? What the hell happened? Cori? What the fuck…?”

Zek reached the side of the boat first
but instead of using the ladder hanging off the back, he used the water like a
springboard. He propelled himself right onto the deck beside her.

She yelped and took a step back.

Cori and Xav did the same thing.

“We’ll meet you guys at the house,” Aaron
yelled, as he and Cyrus swam back to shore.

“Des!” Cori yelled and rushed forward to
embrace her friend.

Des held up both hands to hold her off.
Looking back and forth between them all, her mouth opened and closed but no
words came forth. Finally, her eyes rolled up into her head and she crumpled
onto the deck.

Des woke up alone in bed, but when she
touched the sheet, she found it still warm. She sat up but she couldn’t hear
Zek in the bathroom, something pulled her out of bed. The breeze from the open
doorway leading outside brushed past her. Zek had closed it when they’d first
come in. Perhaps he’d gone out there. She went into the bathroom and put on the
sundress she’d left on the floor, then returned to the bedroom. Going over to
the open doorway, she pushed the screen aside.

A blanket of stars covered the darkened
sky but she saw a faint orange glow barely brushing the horizon. Dawn lay
moments away. Maybe that’s why she noticed the three moving silhouettes. One
already swam in the water, the other two racing for it. She recognized them. “What
the hell!”

She hurried after the men though she
could no longer see Zek’s dark hair; he must have gone under and had yet to
surface. She watched Aaron and Cyrus swimming farther out. Oh, my God, Zek! The
man thought himself some kind of merman descended from Poseidon. Crazy or not,
she couldn’t let anything happen to him. She might not understand the intense
attraction between them, but it went beyond mere lust. Her heart contracted in
pain at the thought of losing him. She raced over the sand and out to the water
after the men. They were so far out. She tried to mark where they were going as
best she could. Praying and hoping they’d get to Zek in time to save him.

Suddenly, when both men dove and didn’t
come back up, she panicked. The water seemed calm moments ago, but now rocked
like it would during a storm. Except no storm swirled overhead. Glancing up the
beach, she saw nothing and no one who could help. She looked to the other side
where the housekeepers resided but it would take too long to get there and then
back. Making a split decision, she sprinted for the dock. There were three
boats moored there. She couldn’t sail the larger crafts by herself, but the
relatively smaller motorboat she could manage. Plus, it had speed.