Kissed by the Wave: A Forbidden Realm Novel

by Serena Gilley

  Cautiously she ducked up the stairs and scanned the deck. Empty. Silent. Peaceful. Not even another boat on the horizon. They were alone.

  Hello?

  She heard the voice clearly and jumped. But there was no one. No, she hadn’t heard a voice. Her ears detected nothing. But she’d felt it. A timid, quiet voice calling her in the same manner her people called to one another through the water.

  She peered over the side of the boat and into the water. Was someone searching for her? She hated to think what they would do if they found her here, like this.

  “Who’s there?” her mind called, reaching out toward the water. Communication was strained and awkward without the wetness surrounding her to carry the thoughts.

  I don’t know, the reply came back. But it was different from what she’d expected. Closer, even, than the water around them.

  “Where are you?”

  I like it here.

  “Where? Where are you?” she asked aloud.

  She glanced around the boat again and it was unnerving that there was nothing anywhere. Who was she talking to?

  “Here. I’m right here.”

  She whirled, but this time the voice belonged to Devin. He’d come out onto the deck behind her and was smiling. She realized she was naked again and remembered how he’d explained that humans were used to seeing each other with clothing on. Good thing there hadn’t been other boats nearby or she definitely would have drawn unwanted attention to herself.

  But Devin never seemed to mind seeing her naked. The look on his face right now made it clear he very much appreciated her lack of clothing. The bulge in his shorts confirmed it, too. That made her smile. She was determined not to waste any of their precious time together.

  “Did you hear a sound?” she asked him.

  “A sound? I heard you come up here. Why? Did you hear something?”

  She shook her head. “No, there’s nothing.”

  He scanned the lake around them. “Are you sure?”

  “Yes, I was imagining things.”

  Devin stepped out and put an arm around her. They stared off into the blue sky together. “You miss your home already, don’t you?” he asked after a pause.

  She considered his question before turning and meeting his eyes.

  “No. I don’t.”

  She spoke the truth. Every part of her meant it. She loved Devin and would be content even if she never again saw her family or friends of the deep. She dreaded Raea’s return.

  “Are you certain?” he asked.

  Yes, she was. In fact, she would do anything to avoid Raea’s return and the cursed Fairy Dust that would change her back into her old fish-self and ruin it all.

  “I’m sure, Devin,” she said, snuggling closer to him. “But I need you to do something for me.”

  “Anything.”

  It was a lot to ask. More than he could even understand right now. She shouldn’t ask him. For his own good, he should be allowed to forget her. But she couldn’t. Devin was her obsession now, just as she was his. She had to ask.

  “Take me back to the dry.”

  “Take you back?”

  “Yes. Now. Quickly.”

  He studied her face and she let him feel her thoughts. He had to understand how important it was. He had to take her where Raea couldn’t find her and where she would never be changed into her old form again.

  “And wish with all your heart that I may stay there. With you,” she added. “Forever.”

  He pulled her close for a kiss. “Of course. That’s easy.”

  Chapter Sixteen

  The afternoon sun was hot. Raea could feel its rays against her skin, on the tiny scales of her wings, and it made her drowsy. It also made her remember the heat she’d felt this morning in the field, when Kyne had…but no way was she going to dwell on that!

  What had happened between them was, as he’d said, illegal. It had been nothing more than his attempt at entrapping her, paying her back for what she’d done to Aliya. Well, it hadn’t worked. She’d gotten him to promise to give her time to fix things, and fix them she would.

  Just as soon as she found that damn boat.

  Where was it? Where had Aliya and that hormonal human gone off to? She’d been hovering over this lake for hours now with no sign of them.

  But she had to find them. It was almost time for Aliya’s wish to wear off. Raea needed to find them and administer the Forgetful Dust before the man saw Aliya in her mermaid form again. For twenty-four hours his lust had been sated by a human. Forgetful Dust would wipe that away and his obsession would be cured.

  If, however, the man knew that his lover was, in fact, a mermaid, the obsession would grow stronger and he’d remain in danger. The Old Revenge was too strong for Forgetful Dust. Raea could cure a human obsession, but not one after a Veiled creature. The man couldn’t see Aliya’s true form or they’d be right back where they started.

  No, that wasn’t true. They could possibly be worse than where they’d started. Aliya had been touched by a human. Forgetful Dust might erase the foul memories, but it would not change the fact. Whether she would remember it or not, passion would somehow leave its earthy mark on Aliya. Raea would not have believed this before, but now—thanks to Kyne—knew it for a fact.

  All Kyne had done was kiss her, yet she felt as if her whole body was different. Her mind was straying in directions it had never gone before. Her skin was craving a touch she’d never imagined before. The rest of her seemed to be suddenly aware of something, too. She wanted Kyne—wanted him that way, that human way. The way Aliya and Devin had been satisfying their wanting all night long.

  How on earth had she assumed this would never leave a lasting scar on Aliya? Human coupling was indeed much more than simple animal behavior. It truly meant something. And now that she had delivered Aliya to that man, her friend would suffer when she was forced to tear them apart. She should have listened to Kyne when he rambled on and on about the importance of the code and keeping themselves uninvolved in human life.

  He knew. He, more than any other fairy, knew how painful this would be. By the Skies, he’d been right and she’d been wrong and now Aliya would suffer.

  And Raea would be suffering right along with her. Let Kyne take her before the council, let him tell all the other fairies about her unnatural taste for human sex, and still she’d be fighting these dreadful desires. For him. Damn and damn, but she wanted him and would just keep on wanting him. She’d be exiled from her people, and she’d be sitting out there on a cloud all alone somewhere remembering Kyne and the terrifying and wonderful taste he’d given her of pure, earthy desire. And dreaming about that bulge…

  Oh, where was that damn boat? She had to find it. She couldn’t just give up now and spend the rest of her life pining away like that. She would find Aliya, she would administer the Forgetful Dust and turn her back into a mermaid and she would make things right again. She had to. There was no other option.

  So where would Aliya be? They couldn’t have gone back to land. The sun would be setting soon and Aliya would turn into a mermaid again. Surely she wouldn’t go to land for that, it would be suicide. Right?

  Unless she was running away. By the Clouds, she wouldn’t do that, would she? Didn’t she realize it would be pointless? The wish had already been made and granted; Aliya would turn back into a mermaid at sunset whether she was on land or not. It wasn’t an option!

  Then again, maybe Raea hadn’t exactly made the details clear. She’d been in such a hurry to win that bet, maybe she hadn’t paid so much attention to explaining things. She’d been so sure she understood all this human interaction business it never dawned on her how important it was to Aliya—that the mermaid might actually want to remain human afterward.

  Well. This was not good. They could be anywhere by now! How was she going to find them? She hadn’t been on duty this afternoon, so wishes weren’t being transmitted her way. How else was she going to detect their location if she couldn’t hear D
evin’s wishes? By the time she started receiving again, it would be too late. The sun would be down and Aliya—wherever she was—would be a mermaid again.

  And Raea would be in a heap of trouble. A sudden mermaid at the local McDonald’s would certainly draw some attention. The council would bring charges of interference, and all of Raea’s stupidity would become public knowledge. She would be punished, Aliya would be punished, Devin would be lost to the Old Revenge, and Kyne would get the thrill of turning her over to public censure. He and his interesting bulge would continue on happily, and Raea would be stuck in solitude wondering what could have been.

  Things just couldn’t get any worse.

  Wait, she was wrong. They did get worse. Kyne showed up, bulge and all. And she couldn’t help checking it out.

  * * *

  “Looking for your friend?” he asked.

  Raea did not appear happy to see him. Well, he should have expected that after what he’d done earlier. Still, she might at least have the guts to look him in the eye.

  “It isn’t my friend, and…oh, you mean Aliya?”

  “Of course. What other friend did you think I was talking about?”

  Raea blushed a beautiful fuchsia. What was that all about? Maybe it wasn’t blushing. She was probably flushed with anger.

  Well, he couldn’t blame her for still being upset with him. He’d been an animal. A very frustrated, unfulfilled animal. An animal who’d still jump on her any chance he could get. He was hopeless.

  “I…I’m worried about Aliya,” she said, ignoring his question. “I’m afraid she might have gone to land.”

  “What? But isn’t she going to turn back into a mermaid? Won’t that be a bit hazardous on land?”

  Raea sighed. “Yes, it will. The deal was that she’d have until sunset today. That’s just another hour or so. At least, I thought that’s what the deal was. Maybe I didn’t make it exactly clear to her.”

  “You mean, maybe you were a little too excited about winning that bet to consider how bad you could really mess this up.”

  “Shut up, Kyne. I swear, I think I like you better when you…” She closed her mouth quickly and darted off in another direction.

  He followed. “You like me better when I what?”

  “Nothing.”

  “Aw, come on. You like me better when I do what?” She didn’t answer, so he replied for her. “When I hold on to you and put my body against you and…”

  “Shut up! No. I do not like you better then.”

  “Oh? Then maybe it’s when I kiss you, or when I…”

  He’d gotten close enough for their wings to brush, but she sped up and moved away from him. “No, definitely not then.”

  “Huh. Well, then it must be when I—”

  “It’s when you’re gone, damn it. I like you better when you’re gone. So go away, Kyne.”

  Of course he didn’t. He knew she was struggling with this just as much as he was. He was not alone in his wanting and that made it all the harder to…well, it just made it harder. It was stupid, unnatural, and illegal, but Raea wanted him the way he wanted her. Of course he wasn’t going away.

  On the other hand, if they didn’t find that mermaid soon, Raea would be in a world of trouble and then no amount of wanting would ever count for anything. He’d lose her forever, before they’d really done anything even remotely worthy of being punished. If he was going to spend the rest of his life in frustrated solitude, he was damn well going to earn it.

  “You need me, Raea,” he said.

  “No. I don’t,” she said sharply, pausing in flight to turn and face him. “I don’t need you or your disgusting kisses or your bulging…thingy. Isn’t my life messed up enough right now?”

  “Yeah, it’s pretty messed up. But you still really do need me.”

  “You started all this, if you recall. What more can I possibly need you for?”

  “You need me because I know where the mermaid is.”

  She faltered mid-flutter. “What?”

  “Yeah, I know where she is.”

  It felt good to get her attention.

  “You do?” she asked, eager.

  “I do.”

  “You saw them?”

  “No, not exactly, but I know how to find them.”

  Now she was suspicious. “How?”

  By the Skies, suspicion and distrust made her eyes alive with fire. Obviously she was warring with herself. Part of her wanted to believe him, part of her wanted to hate him, and part of her wanted to…well, he really hoped there was still an itty-bitty part of her that wanted to do exactly what he wanted to do. Badly.

  But first, she was still waiting for him to answer her question. Well, they were never going to get on with things if they didn’t take care of the mermaid issue. He had to get his mind back on business. For now.

  “I can feel where she is,” he said simply.

  It wasn’t a detailed explanation, and he hoped she’d let it go at that. He would rather not explain the details, or how he could feel where she was.

  “You can feel where she is? What exactly does that mean?”

  “She’s a mermaid. They’re telepathic.”

  “Yes, but I can’t feel where she is. Their telepathy works only in the water, between mermaids, you moron.”

  “No, the water helps but that’s not it. You can’t feel her because you’re a fairy.”

  “So are you. What does that have to do with anything?”

  “Don’t pretend you haven’t heard the rumors about me. You, of anyone, must know the truth by now.”

  “The truth?”

  He was going to have to tell her, wasn’t he? There was no way around it. For the sake of making this right, of setting the balance, he’d have to be honest with Raea.

  “It’s true, what they say,” he admitted with as much dignity as he could manage. “I’m half human.”

  She didn’t cringe or pretend to be shocked. She simply nodded and shifted her eyes, toward anything but him.

  “Yes, I suppose I figured that.”

  “It’s my human half that can feel them, can sense them.”

  “Because humans are more telepathic than fairies?”

  “No, because…”

  By the Skies, he hated admitting this. He hated anything that forced him to acknowledge his human side. He hated that Raea would have to know the very worst of him this way.

  “Why, Kyne? How can you know?”

  “Because she’s with the human.”

  She dipped lower, toward the water, scanning in earnest for the boat that was simply not there.

  “But there’s no sign of him. Did she take him down with her, underwater?”

  “No, they’re not here. They’ve gone to the docks, near the land.”

  “But that’s miles and miles away. How on earth can you feel her that far?”

  He could see Raea was still confused. She would drag this confession from him, wouldn’t she? He took a deep breath and continued.

  “Because she’s with the human. I can feel it.”

  If they’d been standing on the ground she would have stomped her foot. As it was, she just glared at him and buzzed her wings furiously.

  “You can’t feel a human so far away. Humans aren’t telepathic, Kyne.”

  “No, but mermaids are and she’s with the human. I mean, she’s with him. Right now. They’re…doing it again.”

  “What?”

  “Look, I can feel the passion, okay? When humans are…aroused…I can feel it.”

  “There’s nobody else around here, aroused or otherwise,” she said, then gave a meaningful glare. “Believe me.”

  He ignored the insult. “The mermaid’s telepathy makes it stronger. I can feel them a longer distance away than usual. And believe me, she’s with him right now. At the docks.”

  He couldn’t help but notice her involuntary glance down at his most human attribute.

  “You’re sure?”

  “Yes. The bulgin
g thingy is not entirely on account of you.”

  She dragged her eyes up to his face. The fuchsia crept back into her cheeks. Apparently it had not been purely from anger before. That was just slightly encouraging.

  “Okay, so where are they?” she asked.

  “I’ll show you. Come on.”

  “No, just tell me.”

  “I can’t tell you. I won’t know exactly what dock they’re at until we get there.”

  “Oh, so you want to get closer so you can feel them better.” She rolled her eyes.

  “Exactly.”

  “Pervert.”

  “Pervert kisser.”

  “Shut up!”

  He started off to lead the way and she followed grudgingly. He could hear her wings a nice, safe distance behind. He’d rather be following her so he could enjoy the view, but figured having Raea staring at his backside all the way to land wasn’t such a bad thing. Might give her some interesting, unfairylike ideas.

  “Told you that you needed me,” he called back to her.

  “I don’t need you, Kyne. Just concentrate on finding Aliya.”

  She needed him, all right. By the Skies, he was determined to make sure it would be for far more than just locating a mermaid.

  Chapter Seventeen

  Devin’s lovemaking had been heavenly. Aliya would never tire of being with him this way. Or any other way he could think of. Devin was a very creative human.

  Their journey to the dry had not taken very long. She was surprised by how fast Devin could make his boat travel. It was invigorating to move through the air so quickly. They had arrived at what Devin called his marina, and she was surprised to find how many other humans kept boats there. Some of them even lived there, on their boats. She liked that idea. Maybe she could live here with Devin.

  She had waited on board while Devin used ropes to secure the boat, and he had said they would leave, then to go to his home. But she had become confused about the clothing he’d given her to wear and he’d tried to help her dress and things got all out of control.

  Once again they’d ended up in each other’s arms and Devin had come inside her in that wonderful way of his. Time had slipped away and it was nearly sunset. Raea was probably out looking for her again.