by Amy Sumida
“Ah,” I tried to pull away but I was weak from terror. “You just go ahead and I’ll watch from here.”
Thor frowned and studied me. I don’t think he really understood the depths, no pun intended, of my paranoia. “You really are afraid.” He just didn’t get it.
“No, I’m a compulsive liar,” I snorted, my hands clenched tightly at my sides.
“Darling, nothing will hurt you, I swear it.” He held both of my fists.
“Sure,” I nodded a little too quickly. “I believe you.”
“Okay,” he let me go and started over the side. “I’m going to go in and I want you to come and sit here on the edge.”
“Yeah okay,” I walked over carefully.
He jumped in, splashing me, and I even laughed at that, I was so relieved that I wouldn't have to go in. He smiled at me as he tread water, then looked over his shoulder at the pod of dolphins swimming nearby. They immediately came closer. I watched, amazed as they approached him, nudging him with heads and flippers. He swam almost as well as they did and the dolphins seemed to enjoy his attention as much as he enjoyed their company.
After awhile, he swam over to my ledge and a dolphin trailed after him. I laughed like a little girl when it popped its head up next to me, clicking and chirping in its secret language.
“What’s that Flipper?” I leaned over like I could understand. “Someone’s in trouble?” Thor’s smile was a little confused, so I explained. “It was an old TV show with a little boy who was friends with a dolphin.”
“Well, I think you’ve got a new friend,” he stroked the high gray forehead and the dolphin dipped under, then came up a little closer. “Come in with us, baby.”
Oh crap, I should’ve known this was where it was headed. I reached out to the dolphin and it jerked its head up so it tapped my hand with its snout. I laughed and a little of the fear eased away. Two more heads popped up around us and loud chirping sounds filled the air. I didn’t know dolphins behaved like this without being trained.
Most people would have loved to have been in my shoes, what was wrong with me? I looked at Thor, smiling brightly, the sunlight rebounding off the water to coat him in gold, all those beautiful mammals beside him, and I was about to relent when the soundtrack to Jaws started playing in my head. Duh nah…duh nah, duh nah.
“Darling, even if I weren’t here,” he lay back out in the middle of the pod and more heads broke the surface, “you’d be safe because of them. Dolphins can kill sharks and their mere presence will discourage attacks.”
He was telling me things I already knew. It didn’t help. You can’t reason with paranoia. Why do people always try to fix you with reason? I frowned and hugged my knees to my chest. I didn't need fixing. I just needed to be left alone. On the boat.
“I’m fine where I am, thanks.” I scanned the horizon for more fins. “Discourage doesn’t mean they won’t attack. Sharks have no fear.”
“Vervain,” he swam up to the boat again. “I want to feel your soft body rubbing against me. I want your legs wrapped around me while we swim together,” he held onto the ledge and pierced me with his eyes. I wasn’t surprised to see the lightning flashing in them. “I want to feel the heat of your mouth on mine while the ocean cools us.”
As quickly as that, the fear was gone, replaced by hot desire. I stood up as I held his gaze and the look on his face was pure sex. I undid the sarong and flung it behind me to flutter to the deck as he swam back a little to give me room.
“Oh, you’re good,” I dove into the water and came up sliding against his chest. “I give up. I’m no match against centuries of sweet talk experience.”
His breath was warm and fast against my neck when he pulled me tighter to him. “I love your surrender almost as much as your conquest.”
“Conquest?” I wrapped my legs around his waist like he wanted and let him tread water for the both of us.
“You know I’m yours,” he kissed his way up my neck and met my gaze with such heat, I was grateful for the water’s chill.
“Are you?” I was suddenly out of breath, “For how long?”
“As long as you want me,” he silenced any more questions by putting my mouth to much better use.
I felt a long, silky body slide along my back and stiffened for a second before I remembered the dolphins. I almost giggled, I was so excited. I leaned back and reached out to them. A head surfaced beneath my hand and big dark eyes regarded me with amazing intelligence. The long mouth opened and chirped excitedly.
I let go of Thor and he gently pushed me to the dolphin like a proud papa. Slick, thick skin flowed under my hand as the dolphin dove. I caught the dorsal fin and it pulled me along under the water. I reached over with my other hand and held on tight as we broke the surface. Thor laughed and I felt so free, I joined in. Where had all my fear gone? A small part of me knew this was Thor's doing in more ways than one but I didn't care.
Have you ever rode a horse? Felt the power of a beast beneath you? Known the exhilaration of being carried along by the speed of another creature faster than yourself? Had the kinship of being connected to an animal you’d previously thought of as untouchable, too wild to be caught? Riding a horse is wonderful but it pales in comparison to riding a dolphin. Never before had I felt so honored, so welcomed by an animal whose grace and intelligence set it apart from other species to the point of almost being otherworldly. Slicing through the water with them, I felt the lure of the ocean for the first time, the beauty and power of a separate world within our own, a world in which these creatures ruled. A world into which I was being welcomed.
The dolphin brought me in a complete circle and I ended up in front of Thor again. I reached for him and he pulled me back in against his chest. He felt so good, all slick and salty. His bright, red hair was plastered to him and glittered darker than when it was dry. He had a perma-grin plastered on as well and I realized how important it was for him to share this with me.
“I knew you could do it,” he licked the salt from my lips. “Nothing scares my girl for long.”
I kissed him deeper and he groaned as he pressed up against me, hard and ready. The dolphins splashed around us, chattering and sliding against our skin. I leaned back and wrapped my legs around him, so I could float on the surface but still be connected. His hands slid up my waist and over the mounds of flesh that rose out of my blue bikini top. I sighed and rubbed little circles over his forearms, content and happy.
Then he reached behind me and undid the tie that held my top on. He quickly pulled it from me, tossing it on board the ship before I could protest. I screeched, covering my nudity and sitting back up against him, splashing water between us.
“There’s no one here but us and the dolphins,” he laughed. “I really don’t think they’re interested in you like that.”
“Anyone could come up,” I scanned the horizon for ships.
“By the time they got close enough to see you, we’d already have you covered.” He slid a hand between us and twirled a nipple in his fingers. “Let me see you. I’ve been dreaming about what your body would like clad only in the sea.”
“You’re slick, you know that?” I gave him a Mona Lisa smile and lay back slowly, drawing my hands down his arms as I went. I felt my hair trail out in the water around me, swirling like seaweed. His face went still and his chest rose faster.
“You make reality so much better than fantasy.” He stared at me, his eyes flashing brighter and brighter until I thought I’d scream if he didn’t touch me.
Then his hands were sliding over me, stroking my breasts before going lower, and I tightened my legs around him to keep my body lifted. One of his hands reached under to support me so I could relax my grip and I briefly wondered how he was staying afloat without kicking.
“Relax, darling,” he leaned over and licked first one then the other breast as I sighed in delight. “My magic is holding us, just let go.”
So I did. I let go of my fears and inhibitions as he held on
to me and changed my mind about the ocean.
Chapter Thirty-Two
We spent the whole afternoon playing with the dolphins, making love, eating sandwiches, and drinking champagne. It was heaven and I never wanted to leave. I’d never had so much fun in the water. Thor one, Paranoia zero.
When it started to get dark, we showered together in the main cabin, then rested a bit on his huge bed before heading in to shore. Thor steered while I helped, which basically means that I held the wheel and he stood pressed up against and around me as he did the real steering. Lately, life had felt like a car chase to me and letting go of the wheel was not an option. It was almost a relief to let someone else have the control for a little while.
The sun was making its last curtain call as we approached Waikiki. It clung to the tips of the buildings, turning glass and steel into a sparkling masterpiece. From a cheap print to a priceless original, the city had a moment of supreme glory until the sun finally left the stage. Artificial lights were already sprinkling on all over the island but the man-made illumination seemed a cheap imposter. I was never one for worshiping the sun, being more of the moonstruck variety, but at the moment when those last rays died out, a chill crawled over me and I had the strangest feeling that I’d appreciate the sun more when next I saw it.
I shook off the unsettling sensation as Thor docked the boat and took me ashore for some dinner. We walked up into Waikiki from the Yacht club and into The Hawaii Prince Hotel. The entire two-story wall facing the ocean was glass. It was beautiful but glass walls made me nervous, nothing to hide behind. So I passed through the cavernous lobby, sneaking glances over my shoulder at the fragile barrier. Night had turned the glass into a mirror, making it even more disturbing. There could be monsters lining up out there and I wouldn’t know it till they came crashing through. I shook my head free of my violent musings and focused back on Thor.
He led me up the escalator to the hotel’s restaurant for a dinner that we were both supremely under-dressed for. The staff barely looked twice though. It’s Hawaii, casual is the dress code everywhere. You can dress up if you like but being under-dressed doesn’t earn you the same stares as it would on the mainland. So I stopped worrying about dining in my bikini-sarong combo and just enjoyed the meal.
It was fabulous. The food, the view, the company. I forgot about my earlier unease under Thor’s appreciative stares. How could any woman keep thinking morose thoughts with that kind of attention? It’s just not possible, so I let it all go and allowed myself to relax.
It was one of the best days of my life, right up until I headed into the ladies room. Someone grabbed me by the hair and pushed me into the cold marble counter. My forearms took most of the impact and I used it to push myself around and face my attacker. She was blonde and very pale.
“You think he loves you?” She spat at me. “He doesn't love you. Just look at you, you're disgusting. Fat and ugly with hair the color of dirt.”
“What the fuck?” It took me a second to figure out. “Oh, Sif, right?”
“Yes, right,” she sneered and threw a punch. I ducked and punched her in the belly. She made a nice satisfying noise and then I pushed her head into the marble and she made an even more satisfying sound.
“I don't give a shit what you think about me,” I spat into her ear as I kneed her in the stomach. “You're not the one he just had crazy ocean sex with.” I pushed her away from me and she landed sprawled against the far wall. “I am.” I walked out and back to our table with a huge grin. It was terribly petty and part of me was disappointed in myself but I had enjoyed beating on Thor's ex-wife. The only problem was, I still had to pee.
I was relieved to find that Thor had already paid the bill, so we could leave immediately. He raised his eyebrow when I headed into the first public restroom we came across but he was a gentleman and didn't say anything. I wasn't sure if I should tell him about Sif or not. Would it change anything for him to know that his ex really was hunting me down? Maybe she had a friend hire the wolves for her.
A growl came out of the darkness and I automatically threw down my hands to release the blades from the gloves I wasn’t wearing. You'd think I'd have remembered from my recent fight with Sif that I was completely defenseless, not even a protection spell handy. You would also think that I'd be more on my guard just in case she followed us. And while you're doing all this thinking, maybe you could think up a way for me to not be such an idiot.
“Damn it!” I searched the shadows, “another werewolf.”
“Froekn?” Thor glared at the shadows around us.
As I continued to scan, I heard a second and then a third growl. They were getting cautious and increasing their numbers. I should’ve been flattered I guess.
“How many are there?” Thor asked a second before a wolf launched itself at him.
“Thor!” I screamed but the wolf wasn’t after Thor, he kept sailing over Thor’s head and landed on me, knocking me to the ground. I felt the asphalt dig into my back and hissed as the road-rash spread, but my main problem was the wolf snapping at me on my chest.
I’d raised my arms as I fell, so he didn’t get my throat but he was snapping at my arms and clawing at my belly. The sharp tang of my blood was already in the air and the pain from multiple cuts was beginning to overwhelm me. In seconds I’d either be gutted by those thick claws or lose my throat to his teeth. Thor would never make it in time.
They say before you die, your whole life passes before your eyes. Well, I don’t know about everyone else but my past didn’t show up at all. What I saw was my future, or maybe it was just what I’d hoped my future would be. I saw everything I wanted to do, places I wanted see, and people I’d never meet. I saw children I'd never have and knew a great despair that they’d never be born. Which was really weird since I wasn't even sure I wanted children. In fact, my lifestyle kind of worked against it. Then I saw Thor and the kind of father he’d be to those potential babies.
All of it I saw in a second and before it was through, the wolf was off me, dangling in the air above me. I looked up, a little shocked to be relatively whole, and saw a wolfman holding the wolf and shaking him like a bad puppy. In the shadows around us more wolves crept, snarling and snapping in the wolfman's direction.
“Enough,” he growled back at them, “don’t make me kill you all for a human. She’s mine, you smell my scent on her and still you track her. You've brought this on yourselves. You know I’ll fight you all if I have to.” He threw the wolf at the others and they backed quickly away, whining. “I don’t want to but I will. A life for a life, I’m bound to her.”
The wolves receded and the wolfman reached a hand out to help me up. I eyed the dangerous claws sticking out of that grotesque paw but really had no reason to fear them. He’d just saved my life after all. So I took the soft but dangerous paw, his claws closing gently around my hand, and let him help me up. Thor was standing off to the side. Lightning was flashing not only in his eyes but in the sky as well. He stepped forward when I regained my feet.
“Vervain, I’m sorry I failed you,” he pulled me against him and I hissed in pain when his stomach brushed mine. “Shit,” he pulled away. He bent and inspected the cuts closely. “They’re superficial. Teharon can take care of them when we get home.” He looked up at me but I was staring at the wolfman. Thor stood and turned to face him as well.
“Trevor?” I peered cautiously into his wolf face. He was even bigger than the last wolfman who attacked me, taller and broader even than Thor, and he had a thick, beautiful black coat that shone silver in the moonlight. His muscles rippled under all that fur and although he had the head of a wolf, he practically oozed virile masculinity. Man and beast together in one fuzzy package. I knew then why Persephone thought they were sexy.
“Yes, I’m sorry I couldn’t prevent the attack entirely,” Trevor looked down toward his wolf feet, took a deep breath, and then stared up at me like he’d made an important decision. “I vow it will not come to that next time.
I’ll defend you with my life.”
“You did more than enough,” I reached out a hand and after a moment, he gave me his paw. “I saved you. You saved me. Thank you but we're even, consider the debt paid in full.”
He nodded curtly, like I'd said exactly what he'd expected me to, and released my hand. “We werewolves are a stubborn race and we take our obligations very seriously. As long as the contract stands, they will come after you. You must be more careful, Godhunter.”
“We will be,” Thor put an arm around my shoulder and I almost punched him. He was being a possessive ass in front of someone who had just saved my life.
“Thor,” I put some consternation into my voice. “This is Trevor, he just saved my life. Trevor this is Thor, my well-meaning but rude boyfriend.”
Trevor smiled, at least I think it was a smile, and surprisingly Thor smiled as well before he said. “I like it when you call me your boyfriend. I don’t think anyone’s ever called me that.”
“Okay,” I shook my head, “we can talk about your strange Atlantean ways later but right now I’d like a little consideration for the man that just saved your girlfriend's life.”
He dropped his arm and held it out to Trevor immediately. “My apologies and heartfelt thanks,” he said as they shook. “Vervain’s right, I wouldn’t have been able to save her in time. I owe you a great debt.”
“You owe me nothing,” Trevor’s voice was still that deep rumble. “Your woman spared me and I spared her, but watch her well in the future, Thunderer. I can’t control every wolf.”
I felt Thor stiffen and I gave him a warning look. “I’ll do my best. Give my respects to Fenrir.”
“He’ll be pleased that you sent greetings, though probably not in the way I received them.” Trevor smiled that wolf grin again, full of teeth and a shockingly long tongue. Then he nodded to me and disappeared into the night.
