The barest hint of sadness touched Tessa’s lips. A trace of shadows lingered behind her vibrant gaze. Loneliness . . . or something else? Whatever it was, it vanished as soon as it had arrived. “Just me and the lighthouse, and Jasper,” she said honestly. “And now you.”
“Your sister doesn’t live here?”
“Sisters,” she corrected. “Gwen and Addison moved over to Port Rock a few years ago. They prefer the human way of life.”
Though she appeared calm, a vibe of uneasiness hovered around her. Given the circumstances behind his discovery, it was entirely understandable she would feel ill at ease.
“Must get lonely, being left behind.”
A frown crossed her face. “Sometimes.” A visible shiver coursed through her. “I think I need that drink to take the chill off. Join me?”
He nodded. “Sure.” He didn’t really need any more booze, but a gentleman didn’t let a lady drink all by herself.
Tessa indicated the sofa with a nod of her head. “Sit. I’ll pour.”
Kenneth took a seat. A hand-crocheted throw was tossed over the back of a well-worn sofa. Though it sagged a little in the middle, its thick cushions were comfortable. A twenty-gallon tank sat behind it, teeming with a multitude of colorful fish. He settled back, watching the fish swim in their tranquil environment.
He jerked a thumb toward the tank. “So these would be your cousins, right?”
Tessa put her hands on her hips. She had the grace to grin, flashing perfectly white teeth. “Cute.” Her green eyes shimmered with good humor. “You’re a real funny guy.”
Kenneth held her gaze and winked. “Humor’s a good defense. If you don’t laugh, you’ll cry. And you look like a lady who needs a little laughter in her life.”
Lips the shade of fresh strawberries settled into a sexy smirk. “You think so?”
He spread his hands. “Definitely.” Right then and there he vowed to taste her lips before morning arrived. At the moment, the notion didn’t seem far-fetched at all.
Tessa raised a mock fist. “Sit down before I knock you on your ass, please.”
Kenneth did a mental comparison. Tall and willowy, Tessa wasn’t a shrinking violet. She stood at least five-ten, fairly tall for a woman. That pretty package probably carried a lot of dynamite.
Still, he couldn’t resist challenging her. He arched an eyebrow and shot back, “You really think you could?”
Tessa’s brows arched higher. She stepped right up to the plate and swung hard. “I’m a lot stronger than I look.” She pointedly eyed him from head to foot. “And don’t forget who dragged your sorry ass out of the bay.”
She’d hit a home run. The proverbial ball sailed right over his head. He flinched. “You’ve got a point.”
She stuck out her tongue and pulled a face. “And they stick out all over my body, I know. Nobody’s ever accused me of being a nice bitch.”
Well, at least she knew herself. Most people didn’t.
Kenneth held his hands up, signaling a time-out. “Maybe we could skip the bitch part and try for pleasant.”
She shook her head. “Pleasant is the polite way of saying I’ll tolerate you for now. If you want me to be civil, I need a drink.”
“If it will help your mood, by all means, proceed.”
Tessa rolled her eyes. “About time.” She walked over to a small wet bar tucked in one corner.
Kenneth watched her walk, enjoying the sight. Tessa cracked open a bottle. Splashing a generous amount into two glasses, she delivered one to him. “Best service on the island.”
He accepted the drink. “And delivered by the prettiest girl.”
Tessa settled down across from him. The distinct aroma of sea water and warm female skin tickled his nostrils. He inhaled, enjoying her unique scent. “You may imbibe liberally and be merry.”
He eyed the amber liquid. It smelled vaguely like apricot brandy. Not his favorite, but he’d grin and drink it and pretend to enjoy it. Now that he’d gotten inside the house, he wanted to stay. The fact that she had a working swamp cooler had nothing to do with it, either. “Can’t say I really need this.”
She raised her glass in a brief toast. “Be merry tonight, hungover tomorrow. We’ll both probably be dragging ass for staying up so late.” She downed hers. “Good thing I’m sleeping in.”
A woman who took her booze straight and neat. Impressive. “Am I going to have that luxury?”
She considered. “Entertain me well and you might.”
Tipping the glass, he swallowed his shot in a single gulp. It added to the warm glow in his belly. “I’ll sing and dance, and offer a little romance.” The words sounded insipid coming out of his mouth, but he didn’t care. Right now he was having a good time. It seemed like forever and a day had passed since he’d enjoyed a woman’s company and just laughed.
Tessa eyed him over the rim of her glass. “Don’t make promises you can’t keep.”
Kenneth willingly swallowed the bait. He felt positively giddy. “So if I’m good, maybe you’ll show me your tail again?”
Tessa released a tremulous breath. Uncertainty hovered beneath her calm facade. The subject loomed between them like an invisible wall. “It’s been a long time since I showed my tail to a strange man.”
Remembering how uniquely beautiful she’d looked sitting on the rock, tension knotted his stomach. Moonlight had lit the incoming mist, lending a magical touch to the scene of the mermaid staring out over the water.
Kenneth wished he’d had a camera to capture the fleeting moment. As it stood, he doubted he’d ever be able to forget his first glimpse of Tessa in her true form. “If it helps, yours is the first tail I’ve ever laid eyes on,” he said, trying to keep the conversation light, nonthreatening. “And now that you know me, why are you calling me strange?”
She visibly relaxed. “What would you like me to call you?” she quipped back. “A cab?”
Ken laid a hand over his heart and put on a Groucho Marx leer. “How about calling me your boyfriend?”
Eyes widening with surprise, Tessa delicately coughed into her hand. She looked at him as if deciding whether or not to take the bait. All she had to say was no, and it was game over.
Her tongue darted out, moistening her tempting lips. “Is that something you’d want?”
He leaned closer. Oh, yeah. He definitely did. “Is it something you’d consider?” Though he fully expected to be turned down, it was fun to ask. It was part of what made chasing the fairer sex interesting.
Tessa hesitated. She looked both startled and pleased. “Maybe.” Her answer intrigued.
Kenneth went one step further. The ground could crumble beneath his feet at any moment, but he didn’t care. Even if she shot him down, he had to ask. “So how do I turn maybe into yes?”
She gave a bemused smile. “You could try asking.”
The desire to be funny vanished. He leaned forward, reaching out to trace her cheek with the tips of his fingers. “So if I asked for a kiss, do you think I’d get one?” He wasn’t sure if he was teasing or not. If she allowed it, he’d definitely follow through.
Tessa tipped her head to one side. “You’ve already had a kiss.”
Kenneth gulped back a moan. Keeping his thoughts on track wasn’t easy. Right now he’d love to nuzzle the gentle curve between her neck and shoulder. “Oh, I think I’d remember kissing you.”
One corner of her fine mouth edged up. “Guess you don’t remember all that mouth-to-mouth.”
Ken’s pulse spiked. He’d always had the notion they’d already had some kind of physical connection. “Is that all it was? Simple mouth-to-mouth?”
Tessa’s gaze never wavered. Eyes he could drown in glittered mysteriously. “There was a teeny bit of Mer magic involved.” She lifted her hand, measuring off about a half inch between her thumb and forefinger.
Given the fact she could shift her shape, he wasn’t surprised. Banter evaporated, replaced with something a little more serious. Things were beginning to get a little bit more complicated and tangled than he’d initially imagined.
“Magic?” A burning sensation settled in the pit of his stomach. “As in some kind of enchantment?”
The light faded from her gaze. “Of a sort,” she answered vaguely, her expression shuttered.
Her answer was a blow against his breastbone. It vaguely occurred to him that his perception of Tessa might be—manipulated. What if his intense attraction wasn’t real, but something she’d conjured? Could he even trust his mind, his own feelings, anymore?
He wasn’t sure.
Frowning deeply, Kenneth cleared his throat. “Are you saying that you put some kind of a spell on me?”
Chapter 5
P
ulse missing a beat, Tessa’s breath caught. She was in trouble. The shit was definitely hip deep and rising by the second.
By the look on his face, Kenneth Randall wasn’t a happy man. The last thing humans wanted to hear was their emotions had been manipulated by an inhuman force.
Her brain raced as she attempted to put the pieces together in a way a human would understand. She’d known when Kenneth brought up that day he was opening a door best left closed.
Closed, and locked tight.
Lying would do no good. She might as well tell the truth. After that, she’d deal with the consequences. She silently chastised herself.
Messing around with Mercraft always comes back and bites you on the ass.
Tessa hastened to explain, make an attempt to soothe his ruffled feathers. “I didn’t mean to do it. The magic of a Mer’s kiss is supposed to break once you come out of the water.”
He looked at her strangely, as if measuring her every word for truth. “A mermaid’s kiss?” he asked. “I don’t understand. Why would you kiss me?”
Tessa shook her head. “When you were under the water, you were almost dead. I gave you back your breath, helped you to breathe under the water. Most people never remember a Mer’s kiss. I’m not sure, but I think the connection between us wasn’t broken.” She winced the moment the words came out of her mouth. That sounded lame. Really lame.
Setting his glass down, Kenneth scrubbed his face with his hands. Confusion sped across his visage, darkening his features. “Excuse me for making a total ass out of myself.” He let his hands drop limply in his lap. “Man, I feel like a fool.”
It was Tessa’s turn to frown. “Why?”
A weak laugh escaped him. “This is going to sound really strange, but I’ve dreamed about the woman in the water. The feel of her lips pressed against mine, her body . . .” Catching himself, he clenched his fists in frustration. “You say I’m not supposed to remember that, but I do. Not clearly, but it’s there. It’s been there for months, haunting me every damn day. Now that I know the truth, I don’t know if what I’m feeling for you is real or something conjured up.”
Tessa’s stomach squeezed. Frustration coiled and burned in her gut like barbed wire. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to leave you feeling invaded by my presence.”
I shouldn’t have tried to mess with things I don’t understand
, she thought, laying a mental whip across her back. There was no telling what kind of damage she might have inflicted on the human’s mind. What if more memories surfaced, images he might find even more confusing or frightening?
He shook his head. “It’s not your fault I twisted survival with desire.” Giving a quick, rueful smile, he made a helpless gesture in the air. “I’ve been lusting after you like a hormonal teenager, and you were only trying to save my life.” Laced with intense disappointment, his words sounded forlorn.
Nodding tightly, Tessa swallowed over the lump forming in her throat. An uncomfortable feeling rose in the pit of her stomach. She knew he’d believed his attraction for her to be genuine.
Now he wasn’t so sure.
She hastened to take the blame. “It was entirely my blunder. I’ve never spent that long in the water with anyone.”
He looked at her hard. “How long was I under?”
Tessa searched her memory. The details weren’t hard to locate. As much as she’d tried to put them away, they’d lingered. She couldn’t stop her thoughts from sneaking back to the disastrous event.
“At least a couple of hours, maybe more. The storm was out of control by the time I reached you. I couldn’t get you to shore so I took you down, deeper.”
His brows rose in surprise. “Deeper?”
Tessa squeezed her eyes shut a moment. Maritime lore painted mermaids as malevolent creatures. After luring sailors to destroy their ships on the rocks, they were known to take survivors and drown them. Such stories didn’t exactly inspire confidence in her species. Mers were said to be destructive and mean, their dislike of humans legendary.
“Not far,” she said, hoping to reassure him. “The island is riddled with underwater caves. I pulled you into one. You were perfectly safe.”
Kenneth studied her closely as she spoke. His gaze never wavered, recording every twitch she made. “Am I still under this hex?”
Tessa nibbled her bottom lip. “It wasn’t a hex, and I don’t know. I’ve only had a crash course in Mercraft.” The words came out in a rush, almost apologetic.
Kenneth applied his hand to his forehead. “Oh terrific. A mermaid with a learner’s permit.”
At least he hadn’t lost his sense of humor.
Tessa picked up her glass, belatedly realizing it was empty. Damn. She could use another drink right now. A double. And a lot of them. “I haven’t had a lot of practice.” She’d only recently learned to add simple verbal commands to the energies she generated, and was still a little unsure of the shape and form they might manifest into.
Hand dropping, a worried expression crossed his face. “You’re not going to experiment on me again, are you?”
She cleared her throat. “It wasn’t an experiment,” she insisted. “If I had done it right, you wouldn’t have remembered a thing.”
Kenneth unexpectedly laid a hand on her arm. A prickling sensation ran up her spine, as if his touch carried an electric charge. His compelling gaze settled on her face, intense and focused, a visual caress he clearly hesitated to make physical.