Laid Bare (2 page)

She hobbled forward and when she came upon a long twisting driveway she followed the winding curves, taking care to shadow herself in the dark tree line until the ocean was finally in her view.

Knowing she was close to being reunited with her beloved waters, her pulse leapt in her throat. She was about to dash forward, despite the pain in her ankle, but her footsteps stilled when she spotted a large man standing on the dock. She watched him for a moment. Something in the way he held himself felt hauntingly familiar to her.

With no time to consider it further, Ella glanced around and spotted a boathouse near the edge of the water. Wanting to remain invisible, she favored her injured leg as she circled the log cottage and came around from the other side, out of the man’s line of vision. Fortunately for her the door was unlocked and she was able to slip inside. Closing it behind her—cringing as the oxidized hinges creaked in response—she took note of the boat rocking gently in the dark sea.

Moving as fast as she could under the circumstances, Ella fumbled with her clothes, her life force growing so weak her fingers barely worked. When she finally managed to shed her attire she lowered her shaky body into the cool water. She remained still for a long moment, nestled between the boat and the narrow wooden walkway flanking the vessel.

Taking deep, fortifying breaths she waited for the salt to seep into her pores and prayed she wasn’t too late. As her mind drifted, too weak to keep a focused thought, she could feel herself slipping, but moments before she blacked out, her body began to rehydrate, and when she felt a jolt of energy—her life force returning—she cried out with relief.

She quickly clamped her mouth shut, not wanting to draw any attention to herself. Dipping lower into the water, she tested her tail as it emerged. While the sea water helped alleviate the pain, her injury hadn’t disappeared. The crack in her bone had transferred to the jewels and the gaping split now hindered her ability to use it effectively. She’d be unable to make her escape until she healed and she honestly had no idea how long that could take.

Trying to come up with a new plan, Ella drew water into her lungs and swam beneath the boat. With her tail off balance, preventing her from going too far, she surfaced a few feet away from the man on the dock.

As the glorious water flowed over her bare flesh, she basked in the silky texture as she watched him, her vision unrestricted in the dark night. He looked a little lost, a little melancholy, and maybe even a little lonely as he stared out over the cove. His gorgeous green eyes were full of something she’d never seen in a male before, something dark, something desirous.

Something needy.

As she studied him, her tail began to tingle in a way it had tingled only once before. Long ago memories rushed to the surface in a kaleidoscopic burst. Ella’s eyes widened and she sucked in a sharp breath as her mind raced.

Could it be?

She looked harder, taking in his handsome face, his familiar eyes, and his broad shoulders that tapered to a trim waist. Built like a competitive swimmer, his body was firm, his muscles tight and everything about him drew her in until nothing existed but this man and this moment.

He angled his head her way and Ella stilled. For a moment she thought he spotted her, for a moment she couldn’t breathe. Because in that instant, when his gaze flitted over hers, she knew.

She knew who he was.

Taken aback by that discovery, she looked closer to make sure but there was no denying that she was staring at the teenage boy from her past.

Except he was no longer a boy.

Standing before her was a strikingly handsome man who, from the intent look on his face, desperately seemed to be searching for something.

Could it be her?

That thought had blood rushing through her veins and her mind racing with questions. She knew something powerful had happened between them that fateful day fifteen years ago, something she had no control over. Was it possible that he’d been looking for her since? That he’d been unable to get their chance meeting out of his mind either?

Did she dare hope?

As her heart pounded harder she studied him, noting the way his sun-kissed skin glistened beneath the moon. Ella didn’t believe in coincidences, so she knew there was a greater power at work here. Deep in her soul she believed some inexplicable force had once again led her to this moment. To this man.

She thought more about fate as Liam pulled his shirt off to expose a long waist and washboard abs. Unable to look away as he continued to undress she studied him carefully, her mind registering every last detail of the human male before her.

Her body stirred to life and a wave of awareness rippled onward and outward as he removed the last of his clothes. He stood before her stark naked and she could only think of one word to describe him.

Magnittieu.
Or magnificent as a human would say.

She pulled in a fortifying breath as her eyes left his face to take in his hard, athletic frame. As she took pleasure in his nakedness, as well as the glorious size of his cock—he was far more endowed than any Miengu she knew—heat bombarded her body and her mind raced with erotic images. Suddenly all she could think about was touching him and tasting him, pleasuring him in ways she’d never pleasured another. Her breath came in a ragged burst as she visualized herself beneath him, his body moving on top of hers, driving into her hard and fast until ecstasy overcame them both.

Moments before he jumped into the surf he once again looked over the ocean’s surface. His brows furrowed and he whispered into the night. “Are you out there?”

Ella clamped her mouth shut, resisting the impulse to answer, “I’m here.” Giving herself away to a human was forbidden, and while she knew better, it was all she could do to remain in the shadows. For reasons she couldn’t fathom this man did something to her, affected her in ways no man ever had before.

And it was that knowledge that urged her to tuck tail and run, because without even trying he posed a real danger to her heart. But then again, perhaps if she stayed here and laid herself out bare, offering herself up to him for one night of scintillating passion it would help extricate him from her heart and her mind.

She knew contact with a human was prohibited for safety reason, but if she erased his memories come morning, what harm could he bring to her or her kind?

It was faulty logic, but under the circumstances any sort of logic would do because there was something about him, some unexplainable connection between them that had to be explored further before she disappeared from his life once again.

Even though part of her knew it was dangerous, she drew a shaky breath as she warmed to the idea of seducing him. Then tomorrow, well, tomorrow, after he’d forgotten her, she’d stay hidden until her ankle healed then she’d concentrate on making her way home to become a dutiful wife to a miengu she didn’t love.

A
fter replenishing her life force, Ella returned to the boat house to climb back into the oversized shorts and t-shirt she’d borrowed from a stranger’s clothesline earlier that morning. Even though she hated to take things that didn’t belong to her, she couldn’t very well walk around town naked.

Once dressed she made her way back to the private dock, to await the handsome man from her past. Nervousness invaded her stomach when she finally spotted him coming her way, returning to his ocean-side cottage after a long, hard swim out to sea. Her mind raced with questions while her skin prickled with uneasy anticipation.

Would he recognize her after all this time?

Steeling herself she stood back and observed him as he gripped the dock and lifted his long lean torso from the sea. Water dripped from his magnificent body and when his glistening eyes locked on hers, she sucked in a sharp breath, the pull between them every bit as powerful today as it was all those years ago. Ella watched him and waited, anxious to see how he’d react to her.

He slowly climbed to his feet and when he reached his full height, towering a good foot over her, his brow furrowed in bewilderment, clearly taken aback to find someone on his dock.

Surprise on his face, he reached for his clothes. “How…who?”

“It’s been too long,” Ella murmured under her breath as she gazed at his nakedness. It made her want to shed her own clothes, to return to her natural form.

With his hand hovering over his pants, confusion clouded his eyes and he glanced at the distant houses dotting the dark cove. “Do I know—” then suddenly, before he even completed his sentence, his head spun back to her, his clothes forgotten as awareness dawned on his face.

Ella held her breath and waited.

He stood up, his gaze darting to her legs. At first surprise registered in his eyes—then perhaps a bit of disappointment when he glimpsed her land legs instead of her sea tail—but then…well…then something else seemed to take possession of him. As a very sexual being herself, Ella knew exactly what that something else was. Desire.

Instead of going for his clothes, his eyes leisurely trailed upward again, visually caressing her body in a way that made her tremble. She could feel his heat reaching out to her, caressing her and pulling her under like a warm, rogue wave.

“It’s you,” he whispered, his voice husky from both desire and amazement. “Jesus, it’s really you.”

As years of yearning for this man twisted her insides, she bit back a breathy moan, elated that he’d recognized her, but even more thrilled to hear the need lacing his voice. It was that need that spoke volumes and told her that he hadn’t forgotten about her either.

“Yes, it’s me,” she returned without regard for the secrets of her people, but knowing that come morning she’d wipe his mind of her no matter how hard it would be. She realized she wanted him to remember her, wanted him to reminisce about their time together after she disappeared beneath the sea, the same way she would think about every moment of this stolen night, when she was locked in a loveless marriage.

A low tortured noise sounded in his throat and pain haunted his eyes when he asked, “Where have you been?”

Ella took a tentative step closer, craving so much from this man. “All that matters is that I’m here now.”

His gaze moved over her face, assessing her. “I’ve been looking for you,” he murmured and she didn’t miss the tremor in his voice, the undeniable need lacing his words when he added, “I’ve been searching for so long now.”

Desperate to know more—everything—about him, she rushed out, “What’s your name?”

“Liam. Liam Jackson.”

“Liam,” Ella repeated thinking it was the most beautiful name she’d ever heard. “I’m Ella.”

His smile was slow, shaky when he admitted, “I haven’t been able to stop thinking about you, Ella.” Just hearing him say her name for the first time and knowing he’d been thinking about her all these years filled her with a new kind of want.

“I haven’t been able to stop thinking about you either,” she admitted honestly and as her body beckoned his touch, she placed her hand on his shoulder in a means to hurry along the intimacy. She wanted him, had needed him for so long now that she didn’t want to waste one more glorious second of the night.

He stroked her arm and she shivered beneath his touch, the strange bond between them tremendous, even after all this time. “I never had the chance to thank you.”

Ella smiled, “Seeing you alive and here today is thanks enough.”

His brows furrowed and conflicting emotions passed over his eyes. “What took you so long to come back?”

Ella frowned, unsure of what to say. How could she tell him that meeting him like this was forbidden, and that after tonight, after she wiped his memory—something she should have done fifteen years ago, yet couldn’t seem to bring herself to do—he’d never remember her again?

He stepped back to examine her, his gaze heartily drinking her in. She could tell by the look on his face that he was still shocked to find her standing on his dock.

“You’re just as beautiful as I remember,” he whispered and everything in the way he studied her promised of something far more intimate. “Except now you’re all grown up.”

His beauty took her breath away and there was nothing she could do to stop her body from quaking, but she knew she wasn’t just reacting to him physically. Even though it wasn’t logical, and they were from diverse worlds, she wanted this man on a whole different level.

Her breath grew shallow as she looked at his nakedness. “So are you.”

He studied her face and suddenly seemed unsure. She could almost hear the wheels spinning as his mind raced with unanswered questions. “That day, that day you saved me, you took off before I had a chance—” She touched her fingertip to his mouth to silence him.

“Shhh…”

He closed his mouth, instantly understanding now was not the time for questions.

Another shiver moved through her and he must have mistaken it for something else. He stepped closer and gathered her into his arms like it was the most natural thing for him to do. Her body molded into his and she felt his blatant need as his cock pressed against her stomach.

His soft whisper covered her like a blanket and she could sense his trepidation when he asked, “Are you okay?”

As she looked up at him she feared she’d never be okay again, especially if she followed through with her plan to seduce him. But she’d come too far to back down now, and it was clear just how much—and for how long—they both wanted each other.

Taking care with her ankle, which pained less thanks to the sea water, she moved against his hard body, letting him know why she was here, what she really wanted, no
neede
d, from him.

“Ella,” he whispered in a shaky voice, and everything in the quiet way he spoke her name brought them to a deeper level of intimacy. It was as if they’d known each other their entire lives. Then again, perhaps they had, perhaps the time they’d both spent thinking of the other helped counteract the time they’d spent apart and made this reunion feel all the more familiar to them.