by Godiva Glenn
“It is.” She held it up, allowing it to fall open to its full length. A selkie skin was the size of the selkie, and though called a skin, it was truly a thin fur pelt.
“It’s lovely.” His hand lifted for a moment, but he put it down.
She caught the action and stepped closer. “You can touch it. It’s soft.”
“I probably shouldn’t. Wouldn’t want another selkie to catch us and start a riot.”
She chuckled. “Oh, it’s fine. I wasn’t even trying to hide it, really. I trust you. But lately, I only take it out at night. I don’t know why.”
He dragged his fingertips over the short fur. “So, you’re silver. Cam is sort of… purple and brown.”
“Yes, his colors shift. And in the sun, my silver shines pink,” she boasted. “It’s actually a rare coloration.”
Pavel nodded slowly as a strained look crossed his brow. “Teall is silver, isn’t he? I have blurry memories of seeing him on that day.”
“He is, yes. A pure silver with dark spots. Fairly common coloring.” She cupped Pavel’s cheek. “I hate reminding you of that day.”
He leaned into her hand and nuzzled it playfully. “Nah. I mostly remember everything that happened before that. Like you in that pink dress, looking like a goddess on the bow of the boat. I was positively enchanted by you.”
“Oh.” She blushed.
“And I remember the kiss.”
“I remember that too.”
He closed the distance between them, trapping her skin against their chests. He lifted her chin as he lowered to cover her mouth with his. The call of the waves dulled, overtaken by the fierce pounding of her heart and the sound of her pulse racing.
His hand tangled in her hair as they kissed, and she inhaled his familiar spiced scent and reveled in his sweet taste. They’d ebbed and flowed over the last few days and she’d somewhat wondered if he’d been losing interest, but now she knew it was in her head. Pulling back, she gazed into his eyes.
“Make love to me,” she whispered.
He kissed her again, deep and slow. She swayed on her feet, dizzied by the passion overcoming her. He caressed her back through her thin dress. When he pulled away, he did so with torturous languidness and drew her bottom lip between his teeth. He bit gently then released her. “Here?”
“Could we?”
He grinned and his eyes quickly skimmed their surroundings. “I think we’re safe.”
She almost admitted that selkies loved watching other selkies but didn’t want to ruin the moment. They were alone, anyhow. She stepped away and spread her skin on the sand.
“Is that… kosher?” he asked.
“Kosher?”
He shook his head. “Nevermind. It’s just a bit strange, isn’t it? I mean, it’s not a blanket.”
She arched a brow. “It’s fine.” She spread her hands across his chest, feeling the strong muscles below. “It’s romantic.”
He pressed his forehead against hers as he gazed into her eyes. Something about the way he looked at her made the exchange like peering through an open door. He didn’t hide anything. She rubbed their noses together, and that made him laugh under his breath.
“You’re too beautiful,” he murmured.
He wound the straps of her dress around his fingers then eased the fabric down her shoulders, caressing her skin as he went. The dress fell down her body and she felt his hot stare on each inch of her flesh as it was exposed.
The breeze carried the salty spray of water, tickling her as he helped her to step out of her dress. Standing nude on the sand, she shivered against him but wasn’t cold. Rather, she was burning up and felt overwhelmed by the way his eyes drank her in. Being the sole object of his attention engulfed her and made her body respond in a primal, predictable way.
She tugged his shirt as a hint, and he responded by pulling it over his head. He then held her hand and helped her to lie back on the supple fur. He removed his pants and crawled between her legs in a seamless movement, displaying his mutual eagerness to be close.
He dragged his fingertips along her slit and spread her folds before slipping two fingers in and teasing them in and out slowly. Her hips lifted and circled, beyond eager and rushing toward desperation. Being around Pavel stoked a fire within her that was always a spark away from igniting and taking hold.
His body curled over hers and his mouth conquered hers. He’d slid from cautious to confident to absolutely dominating, and she loved it. As their tongues tangled and the scent of lust and salty water permeated her nostrils, he dropped his hips and entered her. She sucked in a sharp breath as her body welcomed him.
He moved with the smooth grace and power of the waves lapping the shore beyond them, and Annika was taken aback by the ardor of the moment. The stars above seemed to approve, even, twinkling like distant burning rainbows. She marveled over them as her pleasure built and shut her eyes when the glow became too bright and the ecstasy filled her to a breaking point she could barely contain. It hadn’t taken long.
“Yes,” she whispered. Her voice was weak, and the wind took hold of the desperate plea and carried it off.
Pavel’s strokes deepened all the same, melding their bodies in a steady dance. Not hurried, but measured, as if he had mastered his passion and doled it out in impeccable time. Each stroke left her dizzy with satisfaction and begging for more. Her thighs pressed against his sides, needing to hold on as he plunged his thick length in and out, rocking her body against the sleek skin beneath her.
A cry left her throat, a sound of desire and fulfillment that carried over the rolling tide and Pavel’s ragged breathing. She opened her eyes to see him staring down at her, and through the corner of her vision saw that she clutched his arms tight, her nails digging in.
The moon bathed down behind him, creating an ethereal halo around his hair, which still remained perfect despite his vigorous effort in pleasing her. The bliss filling her had a pure quality to it. She loved him, and only now recognized it.
She cried out again, only this time it was more than a sound. It was his name, half-moaned and half-shouted, as her pleasure tumbled loose and ran rampant through every inch of her. At once she was warm and tingling. Her legs slid down from his sides, weakened and unstable.
He arched against her and failed to stifle the gasp that escaped his lips as he joined her in bliss. Her inner walls clutched at him, and he pulsated against her. The sensation of being filled made her smile, and since she had already been grinning from release, now she smiled all the harder.
The feeling of being filled with him carried a wondrous weight, as she now identified that he’d entered her heart and taken residence there. When she’d asked him to make love, she’d used it as an expression, but it turned out to be an accurate assessment of what they had—assuming he felt the same.
His sweat-beaded brow rested against the curve of her neck and shoulder as he caught his breath. Held between her lover and her precious skin, an overwhelming sense of security came over her.
She’d never feared Pavel, despite the danger of losing herself. The stories of the past and assumptions of the future had never felt to be written in indelible ink. This moment gave her more reason to doubt the inevitability of betrayal. He was a kind soul. He was her true love.
Thirteen
Cam
Cam sat at the table, sorting through the honey-colored pearls he’d gathered in the past week of diving trips. He intended to head inland some point this week to see if he could trade them, but it had been a while since he’d found the need to trade beyond the coast. Most of the inland fae would give him a fair bargain, however, even if he didn’t know the exact value of his haul. Dishonesty wasn’t favored amongst their kind, even if they didn’t get along in other ways.
Annika walked behind him, brushing her hand across his back and shoulders as she passed on her way to the kitchen, and it brought a smile to his face. Having her back brought him unspeakable joy, and he glanced over as she tucked her hair
behind her ears and got to work cleaning the shells he’d left abandoned.
They often worked together like this. She enjoyed using the shells she liked in various crafts, and any that weren’t attractive, she’d bring back down to the reefs to keep the colony strong.
“Does everyone have a trade on Prism?” Pavel asked.
Cam had forgotten that he sat across the table from him, reading an old book of fairy tales—the only book in the house that wasn’t written in Prism’s language, which though he could understand in speech, couldn’t read. “Not everyone, not necessarily.”
“But you barter. Yet you also have a currency?”
“The courts each have a formal standard currency. Since we don’t belong to either, they trade with us freely. The courts also use goods to trade with each other, and sometimes within the communities,” Annika explained.
Pavel placed the book down, his brow creased with thought. “How is it regulated?”
Cam sifted a handful of pearls into a small, leather drawstring pouch. “Regulated? I don’t believe it is.”
“But it has to be. Isn’t it taxed?” Pavel asked.
Annika chuckled. “No. How would you tax everything fairly? How would you put a price on magic and seek to profit from it?”
“You trade magic?”
Cam tied the filled bag and grabbed an empty one, repeating the process. “Usually simple enchantments. Most of the fae have innate abilities that can manifest if encouraged.” He motioned to the ceiling. “You’ve been fascinated since day one about our lack of electricity. By allowing a wisp to live with us for a year, we now have ambient lighting.”
Pavel nodded slowly. “That’s how they dim or brighten with mood or thought? Because it’s wisp magic?”
“Of course. They get a bad reputation on your planet. They tend to drift aimlessly, and humans thought they were being led astray,” Annika said.
“Wait.” Pavel tapped his fingers on the table as he thought. “Will-o-the-wisp? Is that what you mean by wisp? A ball of light that supposedly appears in swamps and such?”
“They appear in dark, damp areas most easily on Earth,” Cam noted. “But they’re always around. Something about your moon and sun makes them invisible to your eyes, but here we see them at any time, in any place.”
Pavel sat back. “Okay. That’s… strange.”
“The one we invited in was quiet. Kept to herself. I think she had a crush on Teall,” Annika said with a devious smile. “She’d glow a bit pink when he would walk around.”
Cam laughed, recalling the common occurrence. Of course, Annika left out the part that Teall would walk around in the nude, as it was most comfortable to him. “He never noticed.”
Annika snickered, joining him in reminiscing while Pavel watched them both with a mildly amused expression. After a moment, he asked, “What do you plan on trading the pearls for?”
“I haven’t entirely decided,” Cam lied.
He’d overheard Annika and Pavel talking about dresses and discovered that Annika missed the fashion of the human realm. The shore inhabitants tended to dress plainly. Clothing was something that served a basic purpose and was quickly discarded to swim.
But he wanted to get her some lovely fabrics that she could make prettier dresses with. The other fae wore all colors, but he’d only ever seen Annika in shades of white or beige. She dressed practically. He wanted her to be able to wear something pleasing for a change.
A set of rapid knocks sounded behind Pavel and they all looked to the front door. Annika rinsed her hands and wiped them dry. “That’ll be Teall. I told him to come by to discuss things.”
Pavel grimaced and turned back to the table. “We’ll be here.”
She headed out rather than inviting Teall in, leaving Cam and Pavel alone. They didn’t find themselves together like this frequently, and the shift in the atmosphere was notable. He wasn’t jealous of Pavel—not exactly—but he was finding it difficult to be as comfortable with Pavel’s relationship with Annika as he’d been when she was with Teall.
“I know I agreed to him hanging around, but I still wonder if I made the right choice,” Pavel grumbled. “Or maybe I was delirious.”
“You probably shouldn’t make decisions after sex,” Cam agreed. He’d witnessed their tumble on the beach the night before and heard them talking when they came in after. Pavel had told Annika he’d tolerate Teall in order for him to earn his skin back. “But I appreciate you giving him a chance.”
Pavel shrugged. “He has to have some redeeming qualities if Annika’s been with him for so long. And you don’t strike me as the type to keep him around if he was entirely bad.”
“Fair assessment.”
“It’s clear that you don’t want Annika hurt. Which means you saw something worthwhile in their relationship.”
Cam dropped the last of the pearls into a bag and tied it shut. Something in Pavel’s words drew his attention. “That’s true.”
“If I’m being honest…” Pavel exhaled and stared intently at the table. “I feel like maybe you and Annika are closer than you say.”
Cam studied Pavel’s tense posture. The last thing he wanted was for this to cause strife. “We’ve been friends for a long time.”
Pavel shook his head. “I hate the feeling that I’m crowding things by being here.”
“Crowding things?”
“I have the feeling that…” He pursed his lips. “Nevermind.”
Cam stood and retrieved a bottle of dark liquor and two small glasses. He poured a small helping of liquid into each glass then slid one across the table to Pavel. “I’m going to be honest, but I think we need these.”
Pavel wrapped his hand around the drink. “That’s not reassuring.”
“It’s complicated.” Cam tossed back his drink and hissed at the burn down his throat. He waited until Pavel took a cautious sip before speaking again. “Forever ago, and I really mean forever ago, Annika had eyes for me.”
“Not the other way around?”
“Nope. I was a bit older than she was, and I was living a self-gratifying life.”
Pavel arched a brow at that.
“I was drinking a lot and basically screwing my way up and down the coast.”
“I can’t imagine you doing that.”
Cam grinned crookedly. “I know. I suppose in selkie years I was just a teen. And Annika was this bright-eyed girl that saw something in me that I didn’t see in myself. Because she didn’t just want a one-night fling. She hung around and got it in her head that we’d be a couple—and to be clear, true couples are rare in selkie society.”
“Because of the openness?” Pavel guessed.
“Maybe. I know couples and groups… combinations of lovers that have been together for as long as I can remember, but they never made it official. They never went to the fire and had the union blessed. Annika, though, she was transparent. She wanted commitment.”
“I see.” Pavel took another sip of his drink then took the bottle and filled Cam’s glass before topping off his own. “And you were a playboy, so you turned her down.”
“Playboy?”
“A perpetual bachelor.”
“Yes, that I was. And I thought she’d do better with someone closer to her in passion.”
Pavel scoffed. “And that was Teall?”
Cam took a drink and spun the glass on the table, studying the bronze liquid. “It was. I didn’t understand it at first.”
“But how did you come to stick around?”
“Things just fell into this place somehow. Something to consider is that we all know each other here. Annika’s cousins wanted me to watch over her, and though I didn’t care for that—she didn’t need supervision, after all—she was fun to talk to. We got along easily. And in time I stopped roaming and we moved in here.”
“I see.” Pavel lifted his glass. “And then it got complicated?”
“Incredibly.” Cam scratched his chin and settled back in his chair. Years of
standing aside had honed his regret like a fine blade. “When I realized what a mistake I’d made, Annika had already found Teall, of course. Teall was a friend of mine. Now, it’s not uncommon for a female selkie to have multiple suitors, so I considered putting myself out there—”
“Teall doesn’t seem the type to share,” Pavel guessed.
“Yeah. He had a singular devotion to her. I suppose I could have asked, anyhow, but I didn’t want to risk our friendship or my friendship with Annika. I figured it was my mistake to live with.”
Pavel took a sip and frowned. “But you’ve both said that they fought often and broke up again and again.”
“They did. But pursuing Annika during one of their off-moments felt wrong.”
“But I suppose if I left the picture and Teall’s chance was really gone, you’d step in.”
“In a heartbeat.” Cam motioned to the glasses. “Which is why I’m doing this. Being honest.”
“I think most men would keep it a secret and just try to ruin Annika and my relationship,” Pavel admitted.
“I don’t want to ruin it. I was actually wondering if I could join it.”
Pavel coughed mid-swallow. He nearly dropped his glass as he shook his head. “I think I heard you wrong.”
“I doubt it.”
“You can’t join a relationship. That’s not how it works.”
“On Prism, it works in exactly that way,” Cam reasoned. “For all my yearning, I didn’t push to be with Annika and Teall. There’s was a tumultuous love. I didn’t want to have a part in the chaos and pain.”
“And I guess you see us as less chaotic?”
“Don’t you?”
Pavel pushed a hand through his perfectly placed hair, disheveling it, and looked aside. “This is insane.”
“I wouldn’t mention it if I didn’t think it would be a well-balanced arrangement. You and I get along well, and I appreciate the joy you bring to Annika.”
“This isn’t strong enough to counter this conversation,” Pavel muttered then downed his glass. “How can you even ask me, though? Where I’m from, we don’t share, and we don’t cheat, and we certainly don’t make arrangements like this over a woman as if she has no say or opinion.”