Sea Storm: Children of the Waves Read online

“So far no, but you and I both know it’s only a matter of time before more are called forth. I was barely able to hold off the four attacking us today. I only managed to dispatch one before you got there. Thank you for your help. Could you imagine an army of those things, the havoc they could cause?”

  Zek shivered. “I’m trying not to think about it.”

  “Well, there’s nothing to be done tonight. I already told Cori we’d have to make this trip short, but it’s going to be shorter than I’d planned. We can spend only a couple of days. After that attack, she’ll understand. I’ve already sent a dolphin to take word to the sea witch to begin the search for the portal. It might take her a couple of days to locate it.”

  “Ah-hum.” The sound of a female voice had them turning their heads toward it. They saw the fashion coordinator standing in the entryway to the changing rooms. “Gentlemen, are you ready?”

  “As we’ll ever be,” Zek quipped.

  The woman moved aside and Cori stepped out first in a peach-colored pants ensemble. It perfectly showcased her slightly darker complexion. It looked great on her and judging from Xav’s sharp intake of breath he approved.

  “You’re beautiful, my heart. Is that what you’re getting married in? I thought you wanted a wedding dress,” his brother said.

  Cori laughed. “No silly. I’m not getting married in a pants suit. And yes, it will be a wedding dress. Otherwise, my mom would kill me; she might still because the wedding is so rushed. I’ve already found the dress, but you can’t see it until I meet you in front of the preacher tomorrow.”

  “Oh.” He grinned like the bastard who got lucky.

  Zek understood the sentiment entirely.

  Once Cori left, Des stepped into the room. The long, slinky, dark green dress she wore drifted to her ankles and hugged each and every luscious curve.

  Zek almost rose from his seat to go to her and pull her into his arms before he dragged the dress off. She looked hot.

  “You like?” she asked as she turned around for them to see the back.

  “Damn, girl!” All the blood shot straight to his dick.

  The front of the dress had a halter cut top and tied around her neck. The opening in the back went all the way down to the very curve of her ass.

  Xav laughed as he watched his reaction. “Ah, Des, I think if you really like that dress you might want to go take it off and put it in the yes side of dresses you’re going to get this evening,” he supplied.

  Des turned around and stared at Zek, but his power of speech had temporarily deserted him for the night. He could only shake his head and pant like her lap dog. Her lips curled up around the edges and she ran back into the changing area.

  The modeling went on for about an hour, oh sweet, sweet torture. He wanted to buy her everything she tried on. When the coordinator brought out matching lingerie, his dick went rock hard thinking about Des wearing them. In fact, he did buy it all and the underwear, one to match each outfit she tried on.

  “Cori’s going to need a wardrobe. She’s going to need more clothes to keep here.” Xav said grinning and did the same thing, too.

  By the time the women returned to the waiting room and joined them, both he and his brother had already forked over their black AmX.

  “That was fun,” Cori said going over to Xav. She wrapped her arm around his waist.

  Zek’s heart swelled when Des did the same thing to him. He kissed the top of her head.

  “I got you a few things, babe,” Xav confessed.

  “The pants suit?” Cori beamed.

  “Yeah.”

  “Great! I can wear it tonight.”

  “Which outfit did you like best, Zek? What should I wear tonight?” Des asked.

  He didn’t hesitate. “I liked the little black number.” The third or fourth dress she’d tried on. When she came out in it, it took everything he had to keep his butt planted in the chair. Sexy as hell in anything she wore or didn’t—and all his.

  Des smiled. “That’s my favorite too, but these sandals I’m wearing won’t be right for it.”

  Zek looked at the light pink straps that crossed over her dainty foot and shrugged. “So, we’ll pick up a matching pair.”

  “Ah, did you check out those price tags? I can either get that dress or I can get the shoes…not both.”

  He smiled. “Babe, I already got the dress for you and if you want to get shoes, we’ll get those, too.”

  She frowned. “I don’t want you buying the dress for me. I can afford to buy myself a nice dress or a great pair of shoes, every now and then. And besides, I’m buying the long green one. I’m wearing it for the wedding tomorrow. It’s on sale.”

  He squeezed her to him. “I know you can afford to buy your own things, but please let me. I want to. I have so much and no one to spend my money on. Let me spend it on you.”

  A frown remained on her face. “You can try giving some of it to charities. There are a lot of them that need help.”

  “Hey, I do that too.” He didn’t want her thinking he didn’t give a damn. “I have a foundation set up for under-privileged kids in the U.S. who have an interest in marine sciences to attend summer camps on a special sail boat for the summer. Further, my company provides scholarship money for them to attend university. Oceanus Enterprises is involved in several charitable foundations around the globe. Right here on the Caymans, we support free clinics for those who don’t have access to proper medical care. So, no worries. I’m not just hoarding my wealth.” He didn’t mean to go off on her, but it bothered him how she might think him shallow. He took his responsibilities about everything seriously. He might not have been born a landwalker but he’d made the land his home and worked to make it better.

  She placed both hands on the sides of his face. “I’m sorry. I misjudged. I’m sorry.” She kissed him. “Yes, of course, I’ll take your gift of the black dress. And I’ll get the green dress and look for a pair of shoes to will go with it. Only, can we go someplace not quite so pricey?”

  Xav raised his eyebrows at him as if to say, ‘Uh oh’.

  Crap. Now what did he do? He had to tell her he actually already bought her everything she tried on.

  “Ah, since you’re the maid of honor, Cori and I have decided to get you the dress as a maid of honor gift.” Xav interjected. “Please accept our deepest gratitude for being there with us tomorrow and supporting Cori.”

  Des smiled and hugged Cori. “Thank you.”

  “Wait!” Zek said, “You’re not giving him any flack about buying you that dress?”

  She smiled. “No, now I can get the shoes.”

  The coordinator came back and before she could say anything Des turned to her and said, “Yvonne, I’m going to take the shoes I tried on with the short black dress.” She reached to open her purse and pull out her credit card.

  Zek cringed.

  “What about the other shoes you tried on with the other outfits?” Yvonne asked.

  “I loved them all but, unfortunately, I’ll only buy the one pair of shoes. However, these two gentlemen will take care of the green and black dresses for me.”

  Yvonne glanced back and forth between them her expression one of confusion as she took the card from Des’ hand. “But what about the others?”

  “Nothing’s changed,” Zek immediately piped in. Not wanting to have an argument, then and there.

  Cori frowned at him but his brother spoke quickly before she could comment.

  “Just box everything up in separate packages and one of my people will pick them up in about twenty minutes,” Xav stated.

  “Can you return the peach pant suit and the black dress to the changing room for us? We’re going to change into them before we leave,” Cori asked Yvonne.

  “Certainly.”

  While Cori and Des returned to the changing area, he and Xav followed Yvonne to sign for their purchases. Zek mouthed, ‘Thank you,’ to his brother.

  Xav pulled out his cell. “I’m going to have Aaron and Cy
rus swing by and pick up the stuff while we’re at dinner, since they’ve already had theirs. They can meet us at the club after.”

  “Sounds like a plan,” Zek agreed as he signed the receipt and placed it in his pocket before Des could see it. He dodged a bullet but temporarily. He still needed to tell her he’d actually bought her everything, including the shoes.

  Chapter Thirteen

  The warm tropical night, the sweet scent of the native flowers mixed with the sea, all made this a surreal place for a wedding. Cori picked a beautiful dress to get married in. For choosing a wedding outfit on the fly, she found the perfect one, off white, strapless, with an empire waist and straight line. However, it was the intricate beadwork resembling seashells running about four inches straight down the center both front and back which really completed the dress. Cori decided not to wear a train, and she’d found beaded shoes to match the design on the dress. She also got a matching headband, and would wear her hair brushed back straight to her shoulders.

  The clothes only needed to be slightly taken in at the waist, but Yvonne said they were prepared for any tailoring and the dress would be ready for pick up by noon tomorrow. They both had appointments first thing in the morning with a hair stylist and cosmetician but they’d come out to the island to take care of them.

  Zek didn’t kid about being loaded. Cori confirmed Xav’s status as king of the Children who dwelt under the sea. Not that she thought Zek lied. However, Zek neglected to mention his own status, a prince of their race, and their leader while on land. Only Xav could over rule him. But Zek held success on land in his own right. He owned the shipping line they’d been on.

  What the hell had she gotten herself into? Then when Zek took her into his arms, she forgot about everything else.

  They didn’t stay at the club too long; they were all tired and had a big day tomorrow. The wedding would be a small one, Cori said there would be eleven people total. Des couldn’t comprehend why she didn’t freak out more.

  After they got back to the island, Zek hopped out of the helicopter first and then had her on the ground next. She didn’t understand his rush. She only had time to turn and wave good night to everyone else before Zek pulled her along behind him. “In a rush much?” she asked.

  “Hell yes, I’ve been hard for you all night.”

  “What about my things?” she laughed.

  “Jerry will take care of it.” He’d been waiting for them on the helipad.

  Des hid her surprise when Zek took her to her guest room and not his bedroom.

  He shut the door behind them and she lost all semblance of rational thought. He backed her up to the bed, but turned her so he could sit down on it. Pushing her dress up, he tore off her underwear and had her sit on his lap. Resting her ass right on the bulge in his crotch. He held her by the waist and fisting his hands in her hair, he lay back taking her with him. She laid spread out over him. He pushed up until he rested across the bed. Still holding onto her and dragging her with him, not releasing her mouth from his. He wrapped his tongue around hers the same way his body encircled her.

  She pulled away from him to look upon his beautiful face. She ran her fingers down his slightly long sideburns, and the I-haven’t-shaved-all-day’s worth of soft bristle on his face, until finally she brushed her fingers through his hair. “What am I going to do with you?”

  He pushed the hair falling over her shoulder behind her ear. “Love me. That’s all I need.”

  “I think I can do that.” It didn’t shock her to realize her words were true. She could love him. She feared she already did.

  He smiled at her, and his eyes lit up, showing her reflection in their depths. “I already love you, Hali. I always have and I always will.”

  “No. How can you? This is crazy!”

  “No. Crazy is us having to wait a dozen years to find each other again. I won’t let you go again, Des. Please, don’t ask me to.”

  “I have a life, Zek. Maybe we should take it slow. I only have a few vacation days left. We’ll spend them together and then maybe you can come visit me in New Mexico for a week or so, whenever you can get vacation time.”

  “Is that what you really want? A long distance relationship, where we sneak in time together?”

  She lowered her face to his chest and kissed the spot over his heart where she could feel and hear it beating. “No. Not what I want, but it’s my real life. And let’s not forget, me and my family have a death sentence still hanging over our heads. We’ve been moved three times over the years to ensure our safety.” She and her brother were both adults now, so it made it easier for them to hide. As far as they knew, they were all safe, but still not safe enough to ever resume their real identities.

  “I told you, you don’t have to worry about that. And none of you need run any more. Those thugs cannot hurt you ever again. But that has nothing to do with us. Do you think you can love me?”

  Did she? The plea in his words ran bone deep. Her emotions for him were such she’d never felt for anyone else. The thought of walking away from him caused a physical ache inside. So yes, she was falling in love with him, maybe already there. She just didn’t know if she could trust herself. Trust, the emotions running hot and heavy between them. While she believed what he’d told her and shown her. Hard not to. It still seemed like being in the middle of a fairytale and at some point—reality would intrude. She raised herself and shifted, so she lay partially off him but kept her hand on his chest. “I—I don’t know. I know there’s something there.”

  “That’s a start. For now, be with me, Des. Believe me when I say, if I could move my operations to New Mexico tomorrow, I would. But there are too many people who depend on me in this location.”

  She frowned, a thought occurring to her. “How long can you stay on land? Do you have to keep returning to the sea?”

  “I can stay on land for as long as I want. But the longer I remain on land and the farther I get from the water over time the powers I draw from the sea are lessened. I become no different from most mortal men. I will begin to age, but maybe slower than the usual. And I’d lose the ability to swim down to the depths.”

  “Wow. So, is that why you stay close to the water, so you don’t become more human?”

  “Yes. And because I happen to love the water. While I can live inland, I don’t want to. It would kill something in my spirit.”

  The thought of anything about him suffering didn’t sit well with her. “I understand. And I love you as you are.” Wait ‘love’, she didn’t mean to say it. Not yet.

  “I love you, too.” He grinned. Figures, he’d pick up on her slip. “Now as I was saying, do you want a long distance relationship?”

  “Wait! I didn’t mean it that way,” she tried to protest.

  “Babe, I’ll take it anyway I can.”

  He was pushing her and they both knew it.

  Could she really just walk away from him in two days? Then sit around waiting for him to get away and come see her? Yes, she had a life, but a low-key one as an executive assistant for a lobbying firm. She made descent money to splurge once in a while. While she enjoyed her job, she could be an executive assistant anywhere. “What—what if I say I’d be willing to try?” she offered.

  That’s as far as she got before his mouth fused to hers again. They moved their arms all over each other’s bodies in an attempt to get rid of their clothes. Only separating long enough to take off every piece of clothing.

  Then, he lay back on the bed and placed her on top of him. She grasped his dick and lifting her hips, guided him inside her. She pushed down, threw her head back and enjoyed the sensation of being filled by her mate. The thought had her opening her eyes and staring into the blue green swirling depths of his.

  “I love you,” he said. “Stay with me.”

  How could she say no? She didn’t want to.

  They moved together in perfect sync. The pressure building between them. Then suddenly, he raised her off him and rolled her onto t
he bed, shifting over her. Using his weight to press her into the mattress, he entered her, filling her and it began all over again.

  Taking her to the depths of emotion.

  His strokes harder, faster, she thought she heard thunder rolling overhead and lightning striking nearby. It occurred to her each time they made love she heard those things. Then, as he pumped one last time into her an electric charge surged through her body, and this time lightning erupted inside her. Her body continued to shake even when he pulled out of her and gathered her into his embrace.

  At some point during the night, he lifted her into his arms and carried her to his room.

  “What’s wrong?” she mumbled, nestling against him.

  “I need a bigger bed.” And he used every inch of his California King sized bed during the night. He explored all the outer layers of her body and some of the inner, too.

  The morning sunlight streaking across her eyelids had them fluttering. Des forced her eyes open. She probably needed to get up and go to her room to take a shower. Moving made her aware of each and every body part. They hummed with a delicious ache but ached nonetheless. She turned her head to look for a clock, but couldn’t see one in his room. From the angle of the sun, she guessed the time probably late morning. She really had to get out of bed.

  Rolling out from beneath Zek, she tried not to wake him, because if she did, who knew how long till she’d be able to leave the room. Des smiled thinking about it. Tempted. She shook her head to get rid of the thought, insatiable for Zek.

  After stepping into the bathroom, she headed straight for the shower. Thinking she might as well shower here and she could grab her robe. After her shower, she dried off and headed for his closet to find her robe. She’d only taken a few steps and stopped. Unable to believe her eyes, she moved farther into the closet and checked the familiar clothes hanging off the racks that hadn’t been there before. “EZEKIEL!”

  Chapter Fourteen

  “Uh oh.” Zek grimaced at the edge of frustration in Des’ voice but he didn’t care. He shrugged and got out of bed to face his bride. First, heading into the toilet area and closing the door. He washed his hands then, he went into the closet.