Sea Storm: Children of the Waves Read online

  Zek released her hand and moved over to a small door. When he opened it, a light automatically came on.

  Her gaze rested on the light blue and white towels on the shelves.

  He took out two and placed them on the platform of the tub, near the shower side.

  Des spotted another door in the bathroom about the size of the one they’d entered.

  Still holding her hand, he moved in that direction and opened it.

  The light overhead suddenly came on, revealing an artichoke-shaped chandelier in the center of the closet. She’d never seen anything like it. “Ohmygod!” His closet stood off the bathroom instead of the bedroom. She loved his closet. She followed behind him but released his hand, so she could stand in the doorway and stare. Her gaze didn’t know what to rest on as she looked around and watched him move farther into the space.

  The entire bathroom and closet were almost the size of her small one bedroom condo back home. The man had racks upon racks of clothes. Suits of all different colors, a section for ties, a wall for cubbies with shoes, boots, jeans, shirts. Funny thing, the area didn’t appear even half full, plenty of empty space in there. A his and hers closet? She wondered who would take up the remaining space in this man’s wardrobe and his life.

  “Damn. I want one of these,” she said. The moment she uttered those words she realized something else, her gaze swung to his. She wanted the man. Mentally, she gave herself a shake. Stupid. A man like him could never be hers. How could she trust anything that happened between them? She couldn’t trust.

  Plus, he might have other issues. Like he suffered from a delusion causing him to question his membership in the human race.

  Although, as she glanced around she would agree he didn’t live like most humans.

  A round ottoman took center stage on the floor and a pair of sandals rested on the pearl-colored carpet under it. So far, she’d only found carpeting in this room. All the others were either wide four-inch sand-colored wood flooring or ceramic tiles, with plenty of area rugs. She gasped as she dug her toes into the weave, having never walked on anything so soft.

  He turned from the open drawer he’d been rifling through to look at her and grinned. “You like?”

  “I love.”

  He tossed what looked like boxers and t-shirts unto the ottoman, then moved over to one corner and grabbed two robes.

  She briefly wondered who last shared that second robe. Especially, when he handed it to her. Clearly a little smaller in size and made for a woman. Shit, what did she expect? Uber wealthy, drop your drawers gorgeous, which she’d already done. She needed to stop fantasizing about him, about him being special, about them being special. Yes, he saved her. He was a nice guy but she couldn’t allow herself to believe there could ever be more than this time together.

  Something inside of her clenched and cried out in pain.

  “Thank you,” she said. Taking the robe and moving away from him, she returned to the bath area and placed the robe on the vanity. She glanced in the mirror to watch as he turned the shower on. Damn. Could she do this, again? Maybe she should just go back to her room.

  Then—the man stripped. It’d been too dark earlier to see all the details of his tattoos but they ran along his side, from the waist down and angled toward his dick in the form of a wave. He hadn’t a shred of hair anywhere on his body. His long and full sex pulsed, growing larger as she stared.

  Her eyes tracked a bead forming at the slit of his cock and an answering rush of warmth flowed between her legs. Traitor. Her own body prepared for him yet again.

  Chapter Eight

  Zek didn’t give her any time to over think anything. From the moment they’d entered the bathroom and he’d turned on the shower, he’d sensed a cooling in her. He’d been afraid of that. He’d moved too quickly, told her too much. He kept forgetting—human, but in truth, he knew no other way than to be truthful with her. When he caught her ogling him in the mirror, he smiled at her seeing him as the gods had created him. “Your turn,” he said, then turned, opened the shower door again and stepped in. He placed his head under the river of warm water and closed his eyes as the cascade washed the sand off. But every part of him tuned in to the woman on the other side of the glass doors. He heard the rustle of her clothing falling to her feet onto the floor. His lungs stopped working as he waited for the sound of the door opening and then he felt her warm palm on his arm.

  One touch and his heart pumped all of his blood straight to his cock.

  Only then, did he open his eyes and lift his head to look into the depths of Des. The heat from the shower soon caused the glass to fog. The warmth sizzling back and forth between them had his hunger for her reaching starvation status. Without breaking eye contact from his bride, he took the soap from the small shelf, ran it over her shoulders and down her arms.

  She stood perfectly still, just watching him, though her chest rose and fell in concert with his. When his hands glided to her plush breasts and he rubbed the soap around one areola and then the other, she tilted her head back and closed her eyes.

  He took that as an invitation and leaned forward, capturing her chin then her mouth with his. But he pulled back, unsure where the strength came from to do that. He’d promised to get the sand out of her hair and he would, first. They had many, many days and nights for everything else he planned on doing to her for as long as they both lived. He stepped back but kept one hand on her waist.

  She raised her head so the water would beat down on her face.

  He immediately replaced the body soap. “Turn around,” he prompted, “take a couple of steps out of the flow of water and let me wash your hair.”

  She did and he reached for one of the bottles on the shelf in the corner pouring the liquid into his hand, then lathering her hair. Running his fingers through her strands and massaging her scalp. He felt sand at her nape and made sure he rinsed it out, but when she seemed to relax into his touch and groaned—he took a little longer.

  “Do you have any conditioner?” she asked.

  “Yes. I’ll use some of that, too.”

  “Please. And while that’s in my hair, I’ll take care of yours then rinse the conditioner from mine.”

  He smiled and kissed the side of her shoulder. After he finished rinsing the shampoo out of her hair, he lathered her with conditioner.

  “Hmm…I love the smell of that. It’s like a sea breeze.”

  “Mmm…I love the way you smell,” he countered.

  “I could let you do this all day.”

  His dick jerked and rubbed against her ass.

  She pressed back into him.

  “I’d rather do something else,” he whispered softly.

  Instead of acting on his arousal, she turned within his arms and reached on the other side of him, making sure her breast brushed his arm as she grabbed the shampoo. “Turn,” she commanded.

  He did and then she placed her hands on the back of his head but then removed them.

  “What?” He looked over his shoulder at her.

  “You’re too tall. You’re going to have to face me.”

  He complied and bent his head, so she could reach his hair. “I love the feel of your fingers in my hair. You have magic hands,” he stated. When she finished, he straightened up and tilted his head under the water to rinse out the soap. He rubbed his hand across his face to clear the water and saw the smile on Des’ face. “You’re beautiful.” He wanted to say something else to her. What he felt in his heart all of these years. The many times he thought about her. And as they stood there, finally together, what he knew to be true.

  The curse and the blessing of Poseidon’s children. They loved their mates. He only prayed as a human she could love him back. But he wasn’t the descendant of a god for nothing. If she didn’t love him now, she soon would.

  Zek stepped forward and wrapped his arms around her, drawing her flush against him while backing her up until she touched the cool tile wall. He bent a little and grabbed one leg
, raising it until she wrapped it around his waist. When he grasped her bottom, she lifted the other leg. He picked her up a little, then lowered her onto his aching, waiting, shaft.

  She came down on him.

  Immediately enclosed in her heat, he pulsed and her sex muscles gripped him. Not letting him go. He flexed his pelvis, tightened his hold on her ass to continue pinning her to the wall. Steam surrounded them. He only waited a moment to catch his breath before moving in and out of her.

  Her heels dug into the top of his ass, and her nails clawed him on his shoulders.

  “Yes, gods, yes. Mark me. Own me. Take me,” he growled before he captured her lips with his. Pumping into her quickly a few times he would flex and tighten his gluts once more. Pressure coursed through his body and erupted into her, seeking her womb. His entire body shook from his release. They both trembled. Slowly, he lowered her to the wet floor and then himself, but he gathered her into his arms. He stretched his legs out and placed her on his lap, his back to the falling water.

  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.