She deliberately relaxed her shoulders and tried to let all the stress leave her body. Seth’s hands brought a different kind of stress, but that was a welcome feeling of warm lethargy that was as exciting as it was relaxing. She tried again.
“That feels really good,”
she sent to him, wondering if he’d hear her thoughts, and if so, what he would think of her frankness.
“Glad to be of service,”
came the intimate reply in her mind.
“As apprentice to the healer, I have mastered many forms of massage.”
Did the twinkle in his eyes mean he was flirting with her, or was it just a trick of the dancing firelight reflecting in his clear gaze? Either way, she was well on the path to being enchanted by the man—which was all wrong, wasn’t it? Hadn’t she decided on Gowan just the other day? Hadn’t she decided to put aside all her girlhood fantasies about Seth? And hadn’t Gowan taken up residence in her heart in the place formerly reserved for unattainable Seth?
Only…Seth didn’t seem all that unattainable at the moment, and if she examined her heart in depth, she was sort of shocked to find that Gowan hadn’t replaced Seth there. He’d taken his place right alongside her long-time crush. How could that be?
Was she really that fickle?
Stars above! She really hoped none of those thoughts were leaking out, making their way from her mind to his.
“So you can hear me?”
She had to get back on track somehow.
“I can. And I bet Hrardorr will hear you, too, if you keep him firmly in mind when you send your thoughts. Want to try it?”
“No time like the present,” she mumbled as Seth removed his hands from her person. She missed his touch, but she knew she had to concentrate in order to reach the dragon.
“Hrardorr? Are you there? It’s Livia.”
She kept thinking it over and over, hoping that she was getting through.
“All right, already. I hear you, Livia. Stop repeating yourself,”
came the grumpy reply in her mind.
She felt a smile bloom on her face as she opened her eyes and looked at Seth. “He answered. He hears me.”
“How is he?” Seth asked quickly.
“Grouchy,” she replied just as fast. “Let me see what else I can get.” She closed her eyes, trying to recapture the feeling of what she’d done before. It was easier this time.
“Thank you for answering me. Are you all right? The storm out there sounds vicious.”
There was a bit of a pause before he answered.
“It is not that bad under the waves.”
“But you can’t breathe under water. Can you?”
“No, Livia. I’m only part sea dragon. I don’t have gills.”
There was a pause before he went on.
“How is it you can suddenly speak to me this way? Who taught you? And why now?”
“Don’t get mad at me,”
she warned before proceeding.
“Seth feels terrible about what happened. He walked down to the water to look for you, but when he didn’t see anything, he came here, to my house. Hrardorr, he’s more miserable than a wet cat, and dripping all over my carpet. I’ll be amazed if he doesn’t catch his death of cold from this.”
“I told him not to feel bad…”
“Feelings don’t work like that, my friend. He told me he would not rest this night until he was sure you were safe. He feels responsible for driving you out into the storm. He’s very upset.”
Livia discovered she could open her eyes and not lose the connection with the dragon. The silent way of speaking was becoming more natural to her by the minute. She found Seth watching her intently.
“Well, so am I,”
Hrardorr said with an almost petulant tone.
“He wants to make things right. He wants to apologize.”
“Yes, I heard. I just don’t want to talk to him right now.”
Oh yeah, that was definitely petulance if she’d ever heard it. Sounded like the dragon was throwing a tantrum.
“Can I at least tell him you’re safe, so he won’t go back out into the gale looking for you?”
Hrardorr made her wait for his response. When it came, it sounded as if the dragon had gotten over at least some of his snit.
“I’m safe, though thoroughly uncomfortable when I have to come up for air. You can tell him that’s his fault.”
Livia wanted to laugh at his disgusted tone, but knew that wouldn’t be helpful at the moment. She had to think… How could she fix this so that both males would be satisfied?
“Hrardorr, can you find my boat in the dock? I mean, can you tell which one is mine from underwater?”
“Yes, of course. How do you think I find you each day?”
Now he just sounded insulted.
“If you can find my boat and follow that pier back toward shore, you’ll find my family’s boat house. It’s small, but it should be able to shelter you for the night. It is sound and has weathered many a storm. You should be safe there, though it won’t be warm, unfortunately.”
Silence greeted her daring plan until finally, it seemed, Hrardorr relented.
“That could work. I will look for it.”
“Let me know when you get there.”
Livia squeezed Seth’s hands as communication with the dragon ceased for the moment.
“He’s all right. He is going to look for my family’s boat house, and I think he can shelter there for the night, out of the storm.”
Relief showed in Seth’s expression. “Where is it? Can I go there?” He stood, taking his damp socks off the hearth as if he was going to leave that very minute.
“It’s behind the house, down the hill. Though the stairs will be treacherous in this weather,” she warned.
“It doesn’t matter. I have to see him. To check on him.”
Truthfully, Livia was feeling the same compulsion. She wanted to see Hrardorr and make sure he was really all right. She stood, making a decision.
“I’ll get my cloak while you redress. We’ll both go.”
Seth caught her arm when she spun to head for the door. “Mistress, it’s not safe. You said so yourself. Please don’t risk it.”
She thought of all the things she could say to make him understand, then settled finally on the simple truth.
“I must. I love him. I need to know he’ll be safe.”
Seth held her gaze, a silent understanding passing between them. Finally, he let her go, with a few words of advice.
“Dress warmly. It is bitter cold, and the rain drives needles of ice right into your face. Wear a scarf over your cheeks, and a heavy hood. I’ll protect you as best I can, but it is purely dreadful out there.”
Happy he understood, she reached up on tiptoe and placed a quick kiss on his cheek, which shocked them both a little bit. She was acting on pure impulse, but she wasn’t sorry she’d done it. She’d always wanted to get close to Seth. This short interlude might be her only chance, and she wasn’t going to waste it over-analyzing every little thing. An innocent peck on the cheek was hardly something to feel guilty over, after all.
CHAPTER NINE
Mere minutes later, Seth found himself leading the way down a set of slippery wooden stairs in the driving rain. He could just make out the dark shape of a building at the bottom of the stairs. That had to be the boat house.
He slipped and slid a few feet at one point, but was able to catch himself. He turned just in time to see Livia taking the same little tumble. He caught her in his arms, each of them stopping for a moment, in the pouring rain, to catch their breaths and just look into each other’s eyes.
It was as if time stood still. Never had Seth imagined he’d have Livia O’Dare in his arms, looking at him in such a way. Maybe miracles did happen.
“Thanks,” she said, dragging him out from under the spell. He became aware of the rain pounding on his shoulders and the way her body curved into his, allowing him to shelter her from the worst of it for a few precious seconds. The top of his hood draped over her head as well, forming a little pocket of peace amid the tempest.
“Livia, I—”
A crashing noise from below interrupted whatever it was he’d been about to say. He wasn’t even too sure of what was going to come out of his mouth at that point. A declaration of undying love? A plea for her to notice him? A dinner invitation? It could have been any of those, or a few thousand other things he’d always dreamed of saying to her, but now was not the time.
“One of the boats came loose and crashed into the dock,” she shouted, peeping around his head to look out over the water. When she returned, she met his gaze. “I hope Hrardorr realizes it.” She looked so worried he took her hand and squeezed it in reassurance as he turned around and started down the last bit of the stairs. They would do this together. He’d watch over her, and she would help him watch over Hrardorr—whether the dragon wanted his help or not.
“Maybe I can catch it and tie it up again,” he muttered, already thinking of what he could do in such a dangerous situation. Not much. But then again, maybe he’d get lucky.
They made it to the bottom of the stairs without further mishap. There was a landing at the bottom, where the rock and sand of the shore met the water. A deck made of wooden planks led from the shore, over the water. It was a large square of open space that branched out into different docks. On the right side was open dock space. Two boats were tied up there, happily riding out the storm. On the left was the boat house they’d been aiming for.
And in front of it was a larger vessel that had to have come loose from somewhere else, farther up the shore. It was still intact and afloat, but it was careening wildly, bashing into the wooden piers that held up the boat shed.
“That can’t go on for much longer. Something’s going to break apart. Either the boat, or the boat house,” Livia shouted to be heard above the wind and rain.
Seth silently agreed with her assessment. He had to do something, but he wasn’t sure what good is single man could do against such a large obstacle. Still, he had to try.
“Wait here,” he called to her as he made his way down to the boat house.
As he worked his way around the side of the structure—there was an open walkway on either side—he felt each jolt of the boat crashing into one or another of the sunken piers that held up the whole contraption. He sent up a prayer that it would hold together, and that he could figure a way to stop the destruction.
He was almost to the front of the boat house when the crashing stopped and he saw something big emerge from the water. It was so dark, but he recognized the gleam of dragon eyes. Hrardorr had come. And he was holding the boat away from the boat house.
“Hrardorr!” Seth called. “Can you hold it?”
“Where would you like me to put it?”
came the very welcome and rather wry reply in Seth’s mind.
“If you can tow it to the dock, we can tie it up,” Livia shouted over Seth’s shoulder. He hadn’t heard her behind him, but he guessed he should have known that she wasn’t the type of lady to stay behind.
“I can put it in the slip right behind your vessel, Livia,”
came the dragon’s reply in both their minds.
“You should not be out here in this weather,”
Hrardorr chastised her, in very real sounding concern.
“Neither should you, my friend,” she admonished, already running back down the dock to meet the dragon at the other finger of dock where the boats were tied. Seth followed in her wake. She was really fast for such a little thing.
Seth kept one eye on Hrardorr. He hadn’t complained, but he was using all his effort to controls the boat in his claws. He even had his tail wrapped around the bow as he struggled to tow it through the water. Any other dragon couldn’t have done what Hrardorr was doing. None of them could swim like that—as if they’d been born to the water. Seth was impressed. Majorly impressed.
And he would say as much to Hrardorr. If they all lived through this little escapade.
Livia reached the slip first and started reaching for lines that had been left there, working busily on the sodden ropes, trying to untie knots. Seth knew a bit about boats, but clearly not as much as Livia. He was more than willing to take her lead on this rescue mission, though he drew the line at letting her do anything truly dangerous.
“One of us needs to jump onto the boat and either find the line that broke—which I think is probably a losing proposition—or secure new lines to it. I know the knots,” she said, looking up at him finally as if raring to go, putting herself in danger on a storm-tossed loose ship. No. Way.
“I know knots too,” Seth said firmly, taking the coil of line from her hands. “I will jump. You can catch the other end and tie her to the dock, all right?”
Livia looked like she wanted to argue, but finally, she nodded. She looked over Seth’s shoulder, her eyes gazing into the distance.
“He’s coming,” she said shortly, prompting Seth to turn so he could see the dragon’s mighty struggle for himself.
It was nothing short of amazing. Hrardorr was swimming mostly upside down, with some of his talons wrapped around the side of the wooden boat, his tail holding the bow. He kept his head underwater except to come up for air once in a while.
“He has senses that allow him to see underwater,” Livia commented, standing at Seth’s side. “He’s amazing.”
“I agree,” Seth said quietly, knowing it was a huge understatement. What Hrardorr was doing—blind as he was—was nothing short of heroic.
“Keep coming toward the dock,”
Seth sent to the dragon, filling him in on the plan.
“When you’re close enough, I’m going to jump on board and either tie new lines or retrieve the old, then toss them to Livia on the dock.”
“I will hold steady next to the dock as long as I am able. You should know, there is a strong undertow, so speed on your part would be welcomed,”
came the wry reply.
“Understood. I’ll hurry.”
Seth waited for the perfect moment and then timed his jump to coincide with the rise and swell of the waves. He landed on the deck and rolled as the boat came out of the water for a moment, the dragon still wrapped around it. The storm was intensifying. They’d have to do this quick, for all their sakes.