by Jaci Burton
"Come with me."
They swam together into the ocean's depths, each meter they descended reminding Isabelle of the same trek she'd made with Dax before. This time she didn't shut her eyes to the darkness, knowing she'd find the light at the bottom of the ocean.
When she spotted his lab, she smiled, an idea forming. She just hoped he'd go for it.
She sat down on the transparent sofa, watching Dax as he worked the scanners. He seemed lost in thought, and very quiet.
"What's on your mind?" she asked.
"Gimme a second here," he said without turning around, his gaze still focused on the screens in front of him.
Isabelle waited patiently, growing more excited as her idea began to take shape. It made perfect sense to her and was definitely workable for both of them. And if Dax agreed to it, she could tell him how she felt about him. Was it possible for her happily ever after to be looming around the corner? She didn't want to hope, but couldn't stop the joy that swelled within her.
When he finished, he sat next to her on the sofa and took her hands in his. She smiled at him, more nervous than she'd ever been before.
"I have to leave soon," he said, his gaze focused on her hands.
She frowned. "What? Leave?"
He nodded and looked up at her. She could get lost in his turquoise eyes, so achingly blue like the ocean she loved.
"I have work to do in another part of the world."
"I see." Disappointment stabbed at her. Maybe her hopes had been unfounded after all.
"But I think I have a solution to our problem."
"Our problem?"
One corner of his mouth lifted. "Yeah. That problem we have of wanting to be together."
Hope swelled again. He did feel the same way she did! "Oh good, because I have a solution, too. I'll bet it's the same one."
"Really? Go ahead, then."
She wiggled, unable to contain her enthusiasm. "I do want to be with you, Dax. More than anything. And I thought you might want to come with me when I leave the island."
His brows knit together. "Come with you? Where?"
"To Texas. Where I live."
He shook his head, his tense grasp on her hands lessening. "I can't."
"But I thought you said--"
"I can't go with you, Isabelle, but I thought you might want to come with me."
Her first reaction was to object, but before she spoke she thought about it. She could travel with him. She had autonomy in her work, and there were oceans all over the world. She could certainly make it work. "Where are you going? Don't you live here?"
"Sometimes. We really don't have one spot that we call home."
"Do all of you live like that? However many of you there are? By the way, how many of you are there?"
Threading his fingers through her billowing hair, Dax pressed a soft kiss to her lips. "I can't tell you any more until you decide."
Confusion reigned within her. "I don't understand. You can't come with me to Texas, and you don't really have a place you call home. So, why can't you just live with me, and when you have to work you can go do your...thing?" Whatever the hell his thing was.
Again, he shook his head. "It's much more complicated than that, Isabelle. I can't just leave the ocean and live on land with you."
"Why not? Are you physically prevented from doing so?"
"No."
"Then what's stopping you?" Dread formed a knot in her stomach. She didn't like the direction this conversation was headed.
"I have commitments. Promises to keep. My life is under the sea, not on land."
"Are you some kind of alien species? Like from another planet or something?" She'd seen so much in the past few days nothing would surprise her any longer. But she wanted to, desperately needed to understand who Dax was and what prevented him from coming with her.
His soft chuckle unnerved her. "No, we're not aliens. We're humans, just a little different than the ones like you who live on the land."
"Tell me more," she pleaded. Tell me everything, Dax. Make me understand. But she already knew he wouldn't.
"I can tell you everything, as soon as you commit."
"Commit to what?" Now he'd really lost her.
"Commit to me, and to spending the rest of your life under the sea. Only then can I tell you everything."
Chapter Fourteen
Dax knew he wasn't going to get the answer he'd hoped for. At his mention of committing to living under the sea with him she'd paled, her confusion replaced by something akin to fear.
It had been a gamble to even suggest it, but he couldn't help but hope she'd surprise him.
"I don't understand, Dax. What do you mean commit to living under the sea? I'd have to vow to live in the ocean forever?"
"Yes."
"Why?"
"Because it's the only way we can be together. The only way I can explain everything to you. Without your oath of commitment, I can't tell you any more than what you already know. And at that, you're lucky they've allowed you to return here after you fought past the memory block."
"Lucky to be allowed to return? Surely you don't mean to suggest they'd have tried to stop me?"
He refused to tell her what could have happened to her had he not interceded. But her joyful face as he watched her on the beach, the way she had jumped into the ocean and come looking for him, had given him enough hope to stall Ronan from placing a deeper memory loss on her. He'd explained he was certain she'd commit, so there was no reason for his concern.
Besides, he knew Isabelle. Even if she didn't commit, she'd never tell the world about their existence. Convincing the League of that fact was a different matter entirely. But convince them he would. He couldn't live with himself if something happened to Isabelle because of his stupidity.
Isabelle's hand on top of his brought him back to reality. "Dax, you're scaring me. Please explain."
"I'm sorry. There's nothing to be afraid about. If you decide not to commit I'll put a deeper memory block on you. I guarantee you won't remember anything about me or what you've seen the past few days. You'll be safe."
"I don't like the idea of not remembering you. Oh, this is all so complex!" She stood and paced the laboratory. Her arms crossed like a protective shield, she worried her bottom lip in the way he found so amazingly sexy it never failed to harden him. His cock rose and twitched. He wanted her again.
And again and again and again. Like he always would. Today, tomorrow and forever, no matter what choices she made. If she walked away today, his heart would still be hers, just like it had been from the first moment he saw her.
Her breasts rose and fell with every breath, her nervousness apparent in her wringing hands and near hyperventilating state. Dax wanted to offer comfort, but the decision rested with her. He couldn't help her.
"Tell me again how this works?" she asked, turning her bleak amber gaze toward him.
Dax read the defeat in her eyes, and felt it deep within himself. "You have to make a commitment to live the rest of your life as an ocean dweller. Once that's done, you're transformed."
"Physically?"
"Yes."
"You mean I become like you are."
"Yes."
"But I could still survive out of the water."
"Of course."
"Forever, or just temporarily?"
"Forever."
"So I can change my mind if I wanted to, after the transformation is made."
"Not really. I mean, yeah, it's happened before, but only once. They don't want it to happen again."
"Who are they, Dax?"
Frustrated at his inability to adequately explain, he said, "I can't tell you."
"In other words, you just expect me to accept this at face value, commit to changing my life, my very biological makeup and live under the sea with you."
"Basically, yes." If she loved him, she'd do it.
Tell her you love her. Tell her she means everything to you. Beg her if you have to.
No, he wouldn't do that. Isabelle had to decide for herself if a life with him was what she wanted, and not because of love, but because of choice. Her choice, not his.
She turned and stared out at the ocean, then nearly whispered her response. "No, Dax. I can't do it. I won't do it. You're not giving me enough information to base my decision on."
He knew that would be her decision. "I've given you all I can, Isabelle. I know it's a lot to ask."
Still, a part of him hoped he'd be enough for her. Her hesitation dashed his hope.
"I've loved the ocean since I was a child," she said, the sadness in her voice tearing him apart. "This is my element and I've always thought it was the place I was meant to be."
"Then why not stay here with me?"
She turned to him. "Because I also love my life on the surface. A life I've worked very hard to build. I have family, Dax. Am I supposed to tell my mother I'm disappearing for the rest of my life, see you later? What about my career? People might notice if I disappeared."
"You can quit your job. People do it all the time. You don't need money down here, or any of the superficial trappings that land humans need. Here, food is plentiful and everyone works. As far as your mother, your job, your friends...I don't know what to tell you. I know it would be difficult to leave them behind."
She shook her head. "It's impossible to just disappear. And it's not only the money and family. I love my job, Dax. 'I love what I do."
"What better place to do it than down here?" Dax grabbed her hands, feeling their icy chill. "Isabelle, the things I could show you...there's magic down here."
Her eyes widened, that old familiar sparkle of enthusiasm appearing for a flickering second, then gone. "I can't. It's just too much change for me. Too much risk."
Her words were all too real, making the concept nearly impossible to fathom. "It's difficult, I know."
"No, it's beyond difficult. It's impossible. I love my job. I'm a marine biologist and a damn good one, if I say so myself. And I'm a teacher, too. Children's eyes light up when I tell them stories of the sea and the wonderful life that can be found below the ocean's surface."
"You can teach down here."
She shrugged. "I don't know what I can or can't do down here. I mean, I love it in the ocean, Dax."
"But?" He knew there was more, something that she wasn't telling him.
"But nothing. I can't give up my life to follow you. If I did that I'd be no better than my..."
Her eyes widened and she sank into a nearby chair.
Dax followed her, crouching down to peer up into her dejected face. "No better than who, Isabelle?"
She waved him off. "Nothing. Forget I said that. I can't do this, that's all, I just can't. I want to go back to the surface, Dax. Take me back home, where I belong."
The finality in her voice pained him. Her rejection couldn't have hurt him more if she'd physically stuck a knife in his heart. She didn't care enough about him to make her life down here, and he refused to abandon his promise to protect the seas in order to live with her.
"You're right, Isabelle." He stood and pulled her up.
Without so much as a glance in her direction, he grasped her hand and led her out of the laboratory, starting the swim to the surface. "Neither of us is willing to give up the life we have to be together. Some things just aren't meant to be."
*
When they surfaced, Isabelle breathed in the humid air, no longer able to take in the seawater that had been her breath just seconds before. She and Dax swam to shore in silence.
She'd never hurt so much, had never suffered a pain so deep. How could she have known what it would be like? She'd never loved anyone before. No wonder her father's abandonment had nearly killed her mother. She had no idea the ache of loss was this severe.
Dax followed behind her onto shore. She stopped and turned to him, not knowing what to say, and yet knowing this was their final goodbye.
The thought of never running her fingers through his sun-tipped hair, never feeling his heart beat against hers again, caused an anguish so deep she wanted to curl up and die.
"Stay with me tonight," she pleaded. Yes, she knew it was postponing the inevitable, but she wanted one last night in Dax's arms. A memory to hold onto forever. If he'd even let her keep her memories.
She waited, breath held, while he stared at her, the unspoken pain they both felt alive and burning in his sea blue eyes.
"Of course I'll stay with you."
Letting out her breath, she held out her hand and offered as much of a smile as she could.
She couldn't give him forever, but she could give him tonight.
"Would you like something to eat or drink?" she asked, fumbling for what to do next.
He shook his head and stepped toward her, gathering her in his arms. Without a word he crushed his lips against hers.
She met his assault eagerly, desperation tinged with her growing passion. Their bodies melded together, wet and glistening with the drops of the sea. Had she noticed before how perfectly they fit together? How every part of her connected with every part of him?
He really was her destiny. And she was about to defy the love she'd been fated to have.
"Let's take a shower," he murmured against her lips, not waiting for her response. He picked her up and carried her past the bedroom and into the bathroom, setting her down only long enough to reach in and turn on the shower.
The warm water heated the room, providing respite from the chill that had nothing to do with the air conditioning inside the bungalow. Dax's eyes never left her face as he stripped off her swimsuit and then his. They stood naked together and Dax turned her around to face the long mirror in the bathroom.
"You're so beautiful," he said, his tongue licking at her neck. She watched as his hands cupped her breasts, letting them rest in his hands as he shifted behind her. His cock, already hard, brushed between the cleft in her ass. She shivered, wanting him so badly she feared she'd resort to begging if he didn't make love to her soon.
When he stepped around and stood next to her, Isabelle's gaze roamed appreciatively over the body she'd come to know so well over the past several days, wanting to memorize every part of him so she'd never forget.
Dax opened the shower door and pulled her inside, drenching them both with spray. He gathered her in his arms and kissed her deeply. She met each thrust of his tongue with her own, pouring out the longing and regret she couldn't speak. But she felt it, so deeply it was like an illness, sucking the life and joy from her.
Desperation born of the sense of aching loss spurred on her passion, and she reached for his buttocks, pulling his hard shaft against her mound.
He cupped her breasts, searching and finding her distended nipples, plucking at them relentlessly until she captured his cock between her legs. She rocked against his erection, her desire spilling over his turgid flesh.
"You're so wet, Isabelle," he ground out between panting gasps.
"I want you, Dax. I need you inside me. Now."
He pulled back, searching her face, his eyes dark like an impending storm. "Not yet."
Frustration caused the moan to escape her throat. Dax pushed her back against the cool tile wall of the shower, then dropped to his knees and spread her legs apart.
"Oh, God," she murmured, watching his head bend toward her throbbing pussy. His tongue snaked out and sipped her nectar and her legs trembled.
"I'll miss the taste of peaches," he said, and tears welled in her eyes. She threaded her hands through his hair and pressed her back against the shower wall as he licked her outer lips, then plunged his tongue deep inside her.
She couldn't hold back the shrieks of pleasure at the magic his mouth and tongue performed on her sensitive flesh. The shower spray rained over her, pouring off her body but not cooling her desperate passion.
Instead, it built, like a rising wave, ever higher and higher. When he took her clit in his mouth and sucked, she cried out in agonizing
bliss. He pulled and nibbled the aching bud until she was mindless with the quest for completion.
When he inserted two fingers into her pussy, she bucked against him, the dual sensation of his mouth on her clit and his fingers fucking her driving her over the edge. She held on to his head and screamed as her orgasm washed through her, a wave so intense her legs nearly buckled.
Panting so hard she could barely catch her breath, she looked down at Dax. The water pummeled them both, but still he looked up at her and smiled. She caressed his cheek and he stood, covering her lips with his.
She tasted her juices on his mouth and tongue. The intoxicating sensuality of licking her own essence from his lips had her pussy aching for his cock.
But not yet. She pulled away and pressed him against the shower wall, then kissed his neck, slowly trailing her tongue over his collarbone and finding his nipples. She flicked her tongue over one, then the other, smiling when they hardened. Dax sucked in a breath as she leisurely moved down his body, palming his flat stomach and feeling it quiver under her hands. Where her hands explored, her lips and tongue followed.
Finally she dropped into a crouch, his hard-on at eye level. She looked up at him, his eyes like a wicked hurricane, dark and violently hungry. Never taking her gaze from his, she enveloped his shaft between her lips.
"Christ, Isabelle!" he shouted, his body tensing.
His salty flavor spilled onto her tongue and she lapped it up greedily, sucking him deep, the tip of his shaft bumping against the back of her throat. She took him in deeper. When she began to move, taking him from tip to base in rapid rhythm, he groaned and cursed, wrapping his hands around her head and setting the pace.
"Do you like that?" he asked, his gaze meeting hers as he fucked her mouth. "God, Isabelle, I love to watch my cock disappear between your lips. It's so fucking hot I can hardly stand it."
She cupped his balls in response, tugging lightly until he groaned out loud.
If she were any more aroused she'd pass out. His cock was hot and twitching against her tongue. When she moaned, he did too, then pulled his shaft from her mouth and lifted her up.
Quickly he turned off the shower and gathered Isabelle in his arms, kicking the shower door open and marching into her bedroom. Water dripped along the floor as he moved through the room. He laid her on the bed, then climbed on top of her.
"You drive me crazy, do you know that?" he asked, settling between her legs.
She raised her hips to stroke his cock with her damp mound. "No more than you do me," she replied, holding out her arms for him, desperate for this last union with him. She realized with a start that she wanted to crawl inside him and make him hers for the rest of her life. How was she ever going to let him go?