“So female Kelpies don’t have bridles?”
“No, just the males grow them. Like this.” He touched his Adam’s apple. “Tullius and his laws forbid islanders in Hy’Brasil from growing bridles. If they do, they do it in secret and hide it. If they are caught, they are flogged in public and their bridles removed. It’s very painful when removed that way.”
I had a feeling they were flogged and hanged for having bridles. His was around his neck, in plain sight, as though he was wearing it with pride.
“He’s changed the claiming process. Tuh’rens cannot mate with Kelpies in Hy’Brasil and its territories. Instead, the king uses the royal bridle that’s been passed down through our family, for generations, to turn mass Tuh’rens into Kelpies before allowing them to join the Hy’Brasil society and mate with the islanders. Turning a lass or a lad should be a private matter between mates. Sometimes, Tuh’rens don’t want to be turned. Most of us understand that and accept their decision. Others just need time, and we give them that. It is the traditional way. The king takes away that choice and causes unnecessary suffering.”
“Are you saying it’s painful?”
He nodded. “Yes, but having someone who loves you takes your mind off the pain. It is much better than being dumped in a room and forced to change. When the mind wars with the heart, the transition is painful.”
Yikes. I couldn’t afford to focus on that yet. “How did you and your friends hide your bridles?”
“By staying ahead of Tullius and his guards. We made sure we were seen often and parts of our bodies were exposed, but we kept moving our bridles around—until the last centennial games. One day I’ll tell you the entire story. For now, just know that he hanged us by our bridles, yet we managed to escape and commandeer a ship.”
I wanted to hear that story. “So when you all jumped into the water to fight Tullius’s men, you shifted?”
Storm nodded. “Water makes it easy to switch back and forth. His people also shifted. Not all of us are Kelpies and Selkies.”
The sea dragon. Man, how could I have forgotten that? “You have dragon shifters?”
He chuckled. “A water dragon shifter. Levi is the only one left. His words, not mine. Of course, he knows there are water dragons all over the world, especially in the Pacific Ocean near Asia. But he’s the only one left in the Atlantic. And we have Mermaids.”
The glowing blue eyes now made sense. The dragon had blue eyes and ribbons of blue under its skin, horn, and mane.
Storm asked me if I wanted more drink, but I declined it because I was no longer freaked out about him or his people. I was intrigued. There was so much to learn about his world.
“So are you all from Scotland?”
“No. Though I can trace my Celtic roots to Ireland, water horses can be found in many waters around the world.” He sipped his drink. “You just call us by different names. Bunyip in Australia. Wihwin by Native Americans of Central America. Bäckahästp in Scandinavian countries. Ceffyl Dŵr in Wales and many more. You might use different names, but we are the same. Whatever the color, winged or not, good or bad, we are everywhere. Same with Selkies and Mermaids. And then there are land shifters like werewolves, bears, the fliers, and cat families. We are all favored children of the gods.”
“Which gods?”
He chuckled. “All gods from all cultures. Kelpies, Selkies, and Mermaids are the children of the sea gods, so they are found in all waters around the world. Lemuria is in the Pacific, and the islanders there are mainly Polynesian and Native Americans. Atlantis islanders are mainly from Spain, North and West Africa. Kumari, Lisboa, and Romeiros islanders in the Indian Ocean have ancestors from India, Tamil, parts of Africa, and surrounding lands. Avalonians trace their ancestry to Britain. Thule is near Norway, and the islanders have Scandinavian ancestry. I could name every island I’ve visited and its origin, but it boils down to one thing—we came from the gods. There’s a coalition of sea gods, just like there’s one for land and sky gods. Sometimes they collaborate and sometimes they fight, but the one thing they always did was have children with Tuh’ren men and women. They gave those children the gift of magic and the ability to change forms. Every islander around the world has the blood of a god in them. And to honor them, we name our ships after them. Manandán mac Lir is the sea god of my Irish forefathers before we moved to Hy’Brasil. Yemaya is the sea goddess of Levi’s Yoruban forefathers before they moved to Atlantis. There’s Poseidon, the Greek god of the sea. Tangaroa, the Māori god of the sea and father of Maui. Varuna, the Hindu god of the sea, and many more.”
Now I understood why Nerissa and her mother claimed the gods created mates for them. “Does that mean you can be killed with a silver bullet like the werewolves?”
“Are you planning on killing me and escaping?” he shot back. The smile disappeared from his face, and I wished I hadn’t joked about the silver bullet. “I had planned to tell you about us tonight, lass. Usually, we wait until we’re closer to Selection before explaining who we are to new Tuh’rens, but your situation is different. The group you came with will be told the truth in a few days. When it’s time for Selection, they will have a chance to select a mate. If they don’t find their true mate, they will stay here as part of our community and keep searching, but their lives back at home are over. Our existence must be kept a secret or the Undine Court intervenes, and whenever they do, everyone suffers.”
Then why the hell had he nodded when we’d discussed my brother?
“Silver can poison our blood and kill us.” He leaned forward, his eyes acquiring a weird intensity, his voice becoming silky. “Are you planning on killing me while I sleep, muh’Lexi?”
What an idea. “Of course not. For starters, I don’t have anything silver. Second, I’m not a killer, and death is a cop-out.” I gave him a pointed look. “I’d rather make someone’s life a living hell.”
He laughed.
“Do you talk in horse form, too?”
He grinned. Of course he did. Just like Ryun had. I narrowed my eyes.
“Did your wings grow back? When you jumped off the balcony into the pool at the hotel in Cocoa Beach, there was a gush of wind and I was knocked down on my ass.”
A weird expression crossed his face, and I wished I hadn’t asked about his wings. His evil grandfather chopping them off couldn’t bring back fond memories. The bastard was one Kelpie I’d hate to meet.
“Don’t answer that. Couldn’t you have just warned me or signaled me or something when I was drooling all over your Kelpie?”
“And miss all the hugs, the caresses, and tummy rubs? I don’t think so. You thought I was magnificent.”
“Magnificent is relative.”
“My coat and mane are gorgeous.”
“You are a despicable, low-life, up-to-no-good Kelpie pirate.” His eyes twinkled, and he looked so damn sexy I forgot he wasn’t really human.
He leaned forward, silver eyes turning smoky. “If you ride me again, I might just show you how good a Kelpie I can be. Maybe even reveal more of my secrets.”
I ignored the double entendre. “Yeah, like I’m going to pet you or be palsy-walsy with you after today.” Liar. I looked forward to hearing him talk.
“You can’t resist me, Lexi. This is just how it is between our kind and yours. Everything about us is designed to seduce a mate and propagate our species. Our voices. Our eyes. Our bodies.” He stood and stretched, the shirt lifting to show his taut abs. Horse or man, he was graceful and powerfully built. He chuckled, and my eyes flew to his. “I’m sorry if I hurt you when I jumped, lass. My wings will never be the same.”
Did that mean he had them? Were they retractable?
“I think you have enough information for today, she’lahn. I’ll answer the rest of your questions when I return.”
Dang it. I needed to know more. I missed computers. I would have done research and found out everything there was to know about Kelpies. I might threaten Storm with silver, but I would never hurt him
or his people. I would love to take on the Undine court and challenge their support of Muh’rens’ kidnapping practices. It was wrong. We had families who worried about us.
“Are you okay with what I’ve told you?” Storm asked, studying me.
“No.”
He scowled.
“What do you have a problem with?” He was back to talking to me like I was the most unreasonable woman in the world.
“Watch it with the attitude, Kelpie. I want to learn more.”
“Why didn’t you just say that?”
“Because I was designed to resist you,” I said, and he chuckled. Watching him, I had to admit I was losing that battle quickly.
“We are faster than Tuh’rens on land and sea, so you can’t outrun or outswim us. We control elements and use mind control to plant suggestions into your heads, and you can’t fight us. And we can shift and live longer than the average Tuh’ren.”
“Are you trying to scare me or show off?”
“Neither. Just stating a fact.” He closed the gap between us, silver eyes darkening. I knew that look. He was about to kiss me. I had no idea what I’d done to trigger it this time. I wasn’t naked. I stood.
“No, I think you’re trying to scare me. The joke is on you, pal. I don’t scare easily. I like Delia, and Max, and Glyn, and even cranky Gráinne and her all-seeing eyes. I don’t care whether they are Selkies or Kelpies. I also like Zale. He’s beautiful. Not too sure about Levi. His dragon grabbed my leg under water and I almost swallowed seawater.”
Storm gripped my waist and pulled me flush with him. “What about me?”
“I trust you, but I’m not sure I like you. You do things that annoy and confuse me.” Like that freaking nod.
“You trust me?”
“Sort of. If you’re planning on kissing me or…”
“I plan to do much more, mon stór.” He cupped the back of my head and tilted my face, his eyes burning as he studied me. “I’m going to claim you, lass, and once I do, I’ll be able to feel and find you wherever you are.”
I didn’t have to deal with just scent now? Jeez. At least my panties would be safe.
“If you claim me now, I’ll tell Delia I want a new mate,” I warned him, my heart pounding with excitement and dread. I wasn’t ready to be claimed, damn it. Kisses? Yes. Orgasms? Sign me up. “One who listens to me and keeps his promises.”
He gave me a cocky, marauder’s grin. “Delia can’t keep you from me, lass. No one can. You are mine, and nothing will ever change that. Run, and I’ll follow. Escape, and I’ll find you. I risked everything for you and will again. Do you know what freshwater does to a Kelpie?”
The switch in topic threw me off. I was waiting for the damn kiss. “No.”
“It drives us mad, yet I jumped into that pool of water at the hotel for you.”
“For me? You were drowning.”
“I was activating my Kelpie senses without shifting. I needed to clear my lungs of the polluted air from your cities so I could scent you better. I jumped into the pool by the waterfall to get you the finest and most rare pearls in the world. Because you deserve the best.” His lips touched mine in a whisper of a kiss when I’d expected a hungry invasion. Yet I felt its effect to my core. “I would do anything for you, Alexandria Greendale. Risk madness for you.”
And just like that he had me. He brushed from one corner of my mouth to the other, tracing the shape of my lips with his, his movement slow, his breathing easy. We shared a breath, then two. He was slowly crawling under my skin.
But when he ran his tongue along my lower lip, I whimpered as need rocked through me. My entire body came alive, nipples tightening and bones liquefying. He nibbled my lower lip, then my upper one, barely grazing the sensitive inner flesh. My chest hurt and a ringing started in my ears. I realized I’d been holding my breath. When I gulped, I breathed him in, flooding my lungs, my entire being.
“Your scent is…” I whispered.
“Yes?” he asked.
“Intoxicating.”
A groan escaped him, and he crushed my lips with his. One minute I was standing and worried about my knees failing me, the next, my back was on the bed with him on top, his lips not leaving mine, his hand firm on my head as though to hold me in place.
Everything ceased to matter. What he was. What I was. Where we were. Escape. Tommy. Claiming. I was lost in sensations and didn’t want it to stop. Every breath I took was his scent. The taste of him was on my every taste bud. The feel of him… hard, hot, and unmistakably and unapologetically male, balanced my softness.
His mouth eased off mine and left a heated trail along my jaw, nibbling and sucking, until he reached my neck. He took my earlobe into his mouth and pulled it between his teeth.
I moaned, grabbed his face, and brought his mouth back to mine. I wanted more of everything, his breath on my skin, his taste in my mouth, and his hands on me. Touching me. Stroking me. Loving me. I wanted my legs wrapped around him, but the damn medieval skirts won. I growled in frustration.
He wrenched his mouth from mine and studied me from under the hoods of his eyelids. I grabbed his head and kissed him, wanting to get lost in him again, and he obliged me, taking possession of my senses until I was gasping.
He cursed, rolled away, and dropped on his knees right at the edge of the bed, hand on my thigh, the double layer of dress and petticoat no barrier to the heat from his body. Any second, I expected him to tear my skirts off or flip them over my head. The ache between my legs was unbearable.
Nothing happened.
Cold replaced parts of me he’d covered, and I propped myself up to see what was keeping him. He looked like he was struggling to pry something loose from under the bed.
“What are you doing?”
“You trust me, so I want to show you that I feel the same.”
“I’d rather you kissed me,” I wanted to say but clammed up. How could he kiss me like that and walk away? My body protested, the ache unbearable.
“I’d rather make love to you too, lass, but this is important,” he said.
I frowned. “I swear you can read my mind.”
“You wear your feelings on your face.”
That was not a good thing. I studied his expression, the things he’d said darting through my head. “Did you really risk madness when you jumped into the pool at the hotel?”
“The dumbest and the most brilliant move I’ve ever pulled. Freshwater is not good for us. Like any sea creature, we absorb it and sink. But I was desperate. Ah, got it.” He straightened, a wrapped up cloth in his hand and a triumphant smile on his face. He cupped the back of my head and pulled me down. The kiss he laid on me was possessive and scorching. “By the gods’ mercy, I don’t want to leave you.”
“Then take me with you,” I said, for once, not thinking about escape but being with him.
“No. You’ll distract me. Your safety will be more important than the safety of my crew, and that will not do. I’ll be back before you know it.” He continued to kneel on the floor and put the cloth on my lap. It looked old with strange writings on it.
“Unroll it,” he said. “Be careful. It’s sharp.”
Curious, I found the edge of the wrapper and unrolled it slowly until I saw what it was hiding—a silver dagger with beautiful etchings on the handle and a blade with smooth edges. It looked like something a hunter of supernatural beings would carry.
“That’s a silver dagger. It’s the only one on the island. Possibly the only one in the Atlantic that wasn’t destroyed when the Undine Court strengthened the Veil and sent a pulse of magic to vaporize weapons and anything that could kill us. The cloth protected it. Take it.”
I frowned, not understanding. “Why?”
“You trust me, so I’m going to show you that I trust you, too. But before I do that, I want you to know I never want you to be scared or feel you can’t defend yourself against my kind. I know how it feels to be helpless. I see it in my people’s faces in Hy’Brasil. It is hu
miliating and demoralizing, and I never want you to feel that way. If any of my people threaten you in any way, I’ll deal with them. If I ever give you a reason to fear me, get this dagger and use it on me. When I’m home, it is hidden in a secret groove under this bed. I’ll show you where. Go on. Pick it up.”
Swallowing, I did but started panicking when Storm gripped my wrist and leaned closer until the edge pressed against his neck.
“What are you doing?” I screeched.
His grip tightened, his eyes not leaving my face. “Trust is a fragile thing, lass. A split second decision can destroy it or strengthen it. Just like a nick with this dagger can poison my blood and kill me in forty-eight hours.”
My stomach hollowed out, my hand shaking. I could nip him, damn it.
“Stop it, Storm.”
His eyes continued to probe mine as though trying to read what I was feeling, which was shitty and pissed and helpless. I hated feeling helpless. It was like being back at home and staying mute with my head bowed while my stepmother spewed shit at me.
“I would never use the dagger on you,” I whispered. “Let go of my hand. Please.”
He leaned back, and I dropped the dagger, tears rushing to my eyes. I shoved him hard, putting my anger and fears behind it. He fell backward and landed on his ass on the floor.
“What’s wrong with you?” I yelled. “That was a shitty thing to do. I could have cut you. God, of all the stupidest moves.”
He grinned.
“What’s so fucking funny?”
“You’re adorable when angry.”
“Adorable?” I was panicking because I might have cut him and it was all a joke to him. “Get out.” It was our bedroom, but I didn’t care. “I can’t believe how crazy you are.”
“I knew you wouldn’t hurt me, Lexi.”
“You don’t know that.”
“I trust you.”
“Well, that was a shitty way of showing it.” I tried to stand up, but he was there, boxing me in. His body heat and scent swirled and wrapped around me, inviting me to lean closer. I fought both their effects.
“I’m sorry I made you cry.” He wiped the wetness from my cheeks with his rough thumb, his touch gentle. I hadn’t realized I was crying. “Words don’t bother me, mo chéadsearc. I love your passion, and I’d rather you hurl insults at my head. Your tears are another story. It pains me to see you cry.”
[Phantom Islanders 02.0] Storm Revealed Page 6