Chase the Moon

by Kristen Strassel

  “So you’ve been searching for your mate ever since the curse?”

  He shook his head. “We were bound to the bottom of the lake until our mate awakens our slumber. So in reality, I’ve only been looking for you for the last few years.”

  A chill ran down my spine. “Don’t say that.”

  “Why not? You deserve to know the truth. I’ve more than learned my lesson, Tori. Love is the only thing that will save me.” He stood and unbuttoned his shirt. I should’ve told him to stop, but I really didn’t want him to. Not only because the man was made of solid muscle, but I wanted to see that mark again. The one he said bound him to me.

  He pushed the flannel down his arm, and there it was. Iridescent silver lines that reflected baby pink, lavender, and light green. Last night I’d thought it was a fake tattoo he hadn’t bothered to remove after a last-minute costume change.

  I should’ve thanked him for breakfast and ran. Not that I was going anywhere...my house was still stuck in the sand. On his land.

  “Can I touch it again?” I asked.

  “Please.” He closed his eyes for a long blink. “You have doubts. We all did at first.”

  “Am I taking something from you?”

  “No,” he said quickly. “At first, none of us believed that love and beauty were the most important things in life. We thought we had to provide for our families. Have the most stuff. Take from others.”

  I put my hand down. “That’s why I’m on this trip. Everyone around me was working themselves to death, living for five o’clock, for Friday, for their two weeks of vacation. They were never happy with what they had. So I saved as much money as I could, sold my stuff, and bought my tiny house so I could have more time to actually live. Love my life. I wanted to do all the things we talked about over breakfast and not be stuck in some cubicle. This country is so amazing and I want to experience it, not just look at other people’s pictures and hope that someday I’ll be able to do what I want.”

  “That’s beautiful,” he said.

  My hand shook as I raised it to the mark. It was bigger than my hand and the colors came to life on contact, rocketing the visions into my brain like a bolt of electricity. It was so much clearer now that I knew the story.

  This time, I saw Abel sleeping at the bottom of the lake. Surrounded by jewels. He had a tail, the same colors of his mark. His long hair swayed with the current of the lake. His eyes were closed, but he wasn’t at peace.

  Then they snapped open, like he was looking into my soul. Like he saw nothing else but me.

  I gasped as I pulled away.

  “So you’re free now,” I said. He’d found me. Game over.

  “Not exactly.” Of course not. “We must take our mates the way Tamsin bonded to Bjorn. My mark would blossom on your skin, and only then would I not be called back to the water as the moon wanes.”

  My hand was still hot from contact, and I ran it over my own bicep, picturing myself wearing Abel’s mark. Imagining what it would be like to be his. “We have to sleep together.”

  He nodded.

  “And then what?”

  “You’d be my mate.” Peace washed over him, like he saw no other way for this story to end. “We’d spend the rest of our lives together. I’d give you every single thing that you ever wanted.”

  I couldn’t breathe. This man just confessed he’d been waiting for me for centuries, and I was just passing through. On my way to something else. But was it better? Was this endless road trip really any different than the coworkers I’d begrudged always wanting something more? I’d always be off to the next place, chasing the next adventure. Never staying in any place long enough to grow roots or watch the seasons and appreciate how things stayed the same as much as they changed. To grow old with someone, to have our love deepen and grow stronger.

  What was I running from? Why did this idea of staying still scare me so much?

  Abel stood with his shirt bunched at his wrists. His chest muscles strained against his wife beater. He filled the tiny kitchen with his huge body and his presence. It was easy to believe that he could be the ancient, mythical creature he claimed to be...

  He was everything I wanted. But what if he wasn’t enough? What if even he couldn’t keep me satisfied?

  “I appreciate your offer.” Each word shook. “But I have to be honest with you. I have no idea what I want.”

  Chapter Eight

  ABEL

  “It’s not an offer, Tori. You’re my mate.” Never in my hundreds of years of being trapped in the bottom of Sapphire Lake, sentenced to slumber, did I ever dream that my mate would say no. That she’d hear my story, that she’d be this close to me and send me back to the lake. Possibly forever.

  My heart burned like I was on that sinking ship all over again. How could this human be even crueler than Tamsin? No gods were coming to save me this time. I’d failed them.

  No. I had to make her stay. Make her want to be mine.

  I took a step toward her, and she backed away. Shit.

  “Here’s the thing,” she said, eyes wide, looking anywhere but me. Looking for her escape. “I came here for an adventure. I’m not ready to settle at my first stop. There’s so much to see in the world, and if I stop at the first place that seduces me...”

  Her logic was weak. I had a chance.

  “I never said you couldn’t leave,” I said. Her trip sounded incredible and I’d be more than happy to experience all those things with her. I’d been bound to Sapphire Lake for so long and travel hadn’t been an option. I could tell her this, but it wasn’t the place I had to sell her on, it was me. She couldn’t even say it out loud yet.

  Her lips wobbled up into a grin. “Right now, I’m not exactly free to go because my tiny house is stuck on your beach.”

  I could lift that thing easily and push it back to the pavement. If I wanted to. “I’ll call a tow truck for you.”

  She sighed, hugging herself. She kept running her fingers over the top of her arm. The same place my mark would blossom if she’d let me make her mine, like she was imagining what it would be like to have it there. She flicked her gaze up to me. “How long do you have?”

  “Before I have to go back to the lake?”

  She nodded.

  “Monday night.” Two more days. A blink of the eye compared to how long I’d waited for her.

  “I can’t say yes right now.” She swallowed hard. “But I don’t want to say no, either. Your story is...straight up banana pants, but deep down, I know you’re telling me the truth. That all these old legends have some shred of real life in them.”

  Her description made me laugh. “They’re more like scaly pants, with one leg,” I said. “A giant sock that comes up to my waist and sparkles in the sunlight.”

  “You have a sense of humor about this.” Her eyes sparkled, a reflection of the mark she finally wasn’t scared to look at anymore. “I like that.”

  “I spent too many years without any hope. Trapped at the bottom of the lake. Aware that my friends were finding their mates. That they were free. Wondering when it would happen for me.” I took another step and this time she didn’t move away. “I can give you two days. I can give you more than that, but I’m hoping that two days will be all it takes to win you over. To make you want to stay here with me. If it isn’t, I’ll always be right here, waiting for you to come back to me.”

  “That’s so romantic.” She sighed. “You have to be supernatural because no human man has ever come close to making my heart flutter like that. Crap, I’m making this too easy for you.”

  One more step. All that was between us were our clothes and the undeniable heat. The tension that said I had a chance in these two days to make her stay. “No, you’re not. Because now I have to keep making you feel like that.”

  She parted her lips, and I leaned in for the kiss. Putting my hand on her back, I expected her to try to get away from me. Instead, she went up on her tiptoes so she could kiss me back with all the fire and passion
that had been trapped inside her for too long.

  She braced herself, curling her fingers into my shoulders as I invited myself inside. Tori tasted so sweet, like sugar and promise and forever. I could get addicted to the way she tasted, to the way her body moved against mine. The way she sighed as we deepened the kiss.

  We separated with a gasp, and her eyelids fluttered, like she was as intoxicated from that little bit of contact as I was. Like I’d only scratched the surface. We had much more in common than I realized. This woman was a free spirit who appreciated beauty, nature, and living in the moment. But she was afraid. I had to break those walls down for her.

  I tipped her chin up to meet my gaze. She fought her smile when our eyes met, but only for a moment. It would be so easy to kiss her again. And again and again and again. To spend the next two days doing nothing but kissing her, even if it wasn’t enough to keep me from going back into the water. I’d make her crave me the same way I ached for her. On the next full moon, she’d be waiting for me.

  “That was one hell of a kiss,” she said. “Thank you.”

  “A little bit more formal reaction than I was expecting,” I teased.

  “No, it’s...” Another sigh. “I’ve been waiting my whole life for someone to kiss me like that. Like I was truly the air they needed to breathe. I didn’t think it was possible, so I’d resigned myself to mediocre kisses. And not as many of them because why bother. Why am I telling you this? I haven’t decided if I’ll stay...”

  “What did you tell me you planned for your weekend in Aurora Falls?” I asked.

  She narrowed her eyes, confused. “I wanted to feel the spiritual charge of the lake, maybe buy a new crystal pendant. Get a massage. Eat some yummy food.” She shrugged. “It all seems pretty ho-hum after that kiss though.”

  I laughed. I could win her over, and Aurora Falls, the place I’d considered my prison for so long, would be my greatest ally. Leaning in, it took all the restraint I had to only give her a peck on the forehead. Even that quick contact made her melt. How was this beautiful woman starving for affection? I could be mad about it, or I could appreciate the way human men were repeating my mistakes.

  I didn’t plan on making the same one twice.

  “How about we start checking some of those things off your to-do list?” I asked.

  “I’d like that.” She squeezed my hands. “At some point, we probably should call a tow truck for the tiny house. Not that I plan on leaving, but I feel bad trespassing on your land. I didn’t see the sign. I was so tired and frustrated from sitting in traffic when I got here.”

  “Don’t worry about that now. We’ll get it moved.” And I would. It wasn’t fair to keep her here if I couldn’t win her over. “But first, let’s get you that pendant.”

  She picked up her jacket and adjusted its fuzzy collar up around her neck, and pulled her hat over her head. Her dark hair spilled over the coat, down her back, and her brown eyes glittered as soon she stepped into the sun. I’d dreamed of her for so long, but she was even more beautiful in person.

  “Careful,” I warned as we approached the lake. “The frost can make the rocks slippery in the morning.”

  “How come there isn’t a path down to the water?” She grimaced as her foot slipped, but she steadied herself on my shoulder.

  “Because we don’t want humans coming to this part of the lake.”

  Her eyes widened. “Can they get trapped in the water too?”

  “There’s a serpent that protects us while we sleep. He sees all humans as a threat.” I’d left that part out of the story. She’d been overwhelmed enough with the details she needed.

  “Why would you need to be protected?” she asked.

  “Because there are only a few humans that know about us. We call them Keepers. One of them is Dolly, she’s running the Festival this weekend. She’ll probably be able to answer some questions for you that I can’t.”

  “What happens if humans find out about you?” She didn’t let go of my hand when we reached the wet sand. She shook her head and frowned as she looked out over the water. “I know. We’d ruin it. We’d hunt the Mer and harm you. We’d take the jewels from the lake just like your people did, and we’d suffer our own curse.”

  I kissed her again. This time she tasted like fresh air. Sunshine. Tori was everything I wanted. “It’s okay to take the jewels. They’re meant to be enjoyed. I’ll go get you one now.”

  She raised her eyebrows. “Now? You mean you’ll turn into a merman?”

  I nodded, shrugging out of my shirt. I hadn’t bothered buttoning it again after she’d touched my mark. I pulled my undershirt over my head and unbuttoned my jeans.

  “You’re really getting naked. Right now.” Her expression was priceless. Eyes wide, mouth open, and that beautiful flush on her cheeks.

  “Have you ever tried to swim in wet jeans?” They were gone now. There was no hiding anything about me. Not my mark, or my impossibly hard cock.

  Her gaze dropped to the ground. “It sucks.”

  “Can’t fit my tail in human pants, either.” I teased. I wanted to touch her more than anything, but I couldn’t risk giving her my mark before she was ready for it. “Be right back.”

  Chapter Nine

  TORI

  Abel was absolutely shameless and as magnificent naked as I imagined he’d be. Solid muscle, golden-brown skin like he’d been bronzed in the sun. Holy crap, his package was huge. And hard. And ready for me.

  Nope, couldn’t keep staring at it. If his story was true, taking advantage of that very large opportunity would bond me to him forever.

  Although, right now I couldn’t remember why that was such a bad thing.

  “Don’t you have any neighbors?” I whispered loudly, like speaking in a normal volume would call their attention to Abel’s glorious nakedness.

  “I do.” The man had the audacity to wink at me as he stepped into the water. “They’re used to it. We go through this every month. Stay here, you’ll catch a glimpse of a lot of Mer in transition.”

  The water gently lapped against his feet, welcoming him back to Sapphire Lake. He stepped in further, deeper, pushing the water away with his hands when he was in up to his waist. He dove in, and my heart stopped as he disappeared. Rationally, I knew he’d be back up for air in a moment, but the only thing that smacked the surface was a silver-teal tail.

  Holy. Shit. Abel turned into a merman.

  I rushed to the edge of the lake, stopping short when I remembered the addendum to the legend. A mean old serpent who chomped on humans as snacks. Did it matter if I was a Mer mate or not...

  Was I actually considering myself his?

  I had a few moments to get up close and personal with that fantasy as he swam. Looking for jewels. For me. Past boyfriends had bought me jewelry before from some chain store at the mall, and a lot of them had the audacity to ask for it back when we broke up. Humans were so gross. No wonder the goddess Tamsin cursed the first group she came in contact with.

  Abel had learned his lesson. Would this jewel be a souvenir of our time together, or the start of a whole new life for me?

  That kiss...it shot lava through my veins and I’d been rendered powerless to do anything but move with him, in time with his body, like we weren’t two different people. Like we belonged together. Holy crap, was I smitten. I wasn’t lying when I’d said I’d never been kissed like that before. Abel was offering that and so much more.

  Forever.

  All I had to do was say yes.

  On paper, it was the easiest decision ever. In my head, things were more complicated. You have plans, I silently screamed at myself. To have this great adventure and see the world and—

  Find exactly this. I was going crazy, arguing with myself. It didn’t have to be one or the other. It could be everything.

  His tail came to surface again. He had to be doing it just for me, slapping against the waves, sending water high into the air. It was magnificent.

  His head shot
up between the waves, and he shook his hair, spraying water on me. The air changed, and he came to shore. Two legs. Still naked.

  Still magnificent in all the right places.

  Stooping down so I didn’t stare, I handed him his jeans.

  “I saw your tail,” I said, changing the subject to anything but how close and how naked he was. “You can change back and forth during your three days?”

  “If we have to.” He shimmied into his jeans and picked up the rest of his clothes. The white wifebeater clung to his wet skin when he put it back on. It was possible for the man to be even more irresistible with clothes on than naked. He held out his hand. “Was this what you had in mind?”

  It was a perfect cylinder, as blue as his eyes. I’d never seen a sapphire so pure. “It’s perfect.”

  He grinned. “Good. Because if it wasn’t, I grabbed a piece of labradorite too.”

  This stone was blue too, but completely different than the sapphire. Oval and opaque, it had little beige veins running through it. I imagined it as grains of the sand Abel slept on while he waited for me.

  “It’s a great stone to have with you as you go through changes in life,” he explained. “It gives you strength and awakens your spiritual abilities.”

  “I love it.”

  “Many Mer have used it as the stone in their mating rings.” He met my gaze and the chill in the air disappeared. “I hope you’ll consider it.”

  He’d just given me the stone for my wedding ring. Nothing could be more swoon-worthy than that.

  Shit.

  Two days. My tiny house waited for adventure and the open road. All the magical things I wasn’t supposed to find on the first stop.

  “Let’s head into town,” he said when I didn’t answer. “The festival is in full swing but the locals have secrets.”

  “No kidding.” I didn’t have anywhere to put the stones than in my glove, and then in my pocket. I didn’t feel like a safe place. I wouldn’t forgive myself if I lost them.

  He grinned. “Not just about the lake. We have coping mechanisms for big festival weekends, and all the other events we hold to draw our mates to us.”