Waterborn (The Emerald Series Book 1)

by Kimberly James

  I set my cup on the table, knowing I was no closer to finding any answers, but feeling better for having asked the questions. “You’re a very good listener.”

  Outside the door, the sky had grown completely dark. Lights from the shops lit the night. People milled about, getting ready for the concert. When I reached the door, I crouched down to say goodbye to Felix, running my fingers over the wrinkles on his head.

  “Caris?” I turned when Maggie called me. “You don’t have to choose. You can be both. The girl with the charm and the girl without. They both suit you.”

  * * *

  Music blared from the speakers on either side of the stage. I sat between Erin and Ally on our own little blanket island in a chain of other islands spread over the trampled grass.

  “What is this?” Red liquid swirled in my cup.

  “It’s silly juice. Drink it,” Erin admonished, tipping her own cup to her lips.

  Words sounded in my head spoken in Noah’s voice like a voiceover in a movie trailer. Something about too much alcohol, but I was here for fun and to hang with my two new besties. We had all bought light-up necklaces and I wore mine headband style to keep the hair out of my face.

  I sat back, scanning the mass of people, eyes gravitating to a particular blond head that stood over the crowd. I recognized Jeb immediately. He was not the kind of person easily forgotten. His blue V-neck shirt made his eyes look especially bright, even at a distance. His hair hung loose around his face. Almost as an afterthought, it had been braided at the ends, one hanging down each side on his chest. No two ways about it, the guy was stunning. The girl on his arm was tall and lanky, dressed in white shorts with legs that went on forever thanks to a pair of three-inch wedges.

  On her other side was a dark-headed guy who looked vaguely familiar. My head buzzed with memory. Eel tattoo, cobalt eyes. Cree, I thought his name was. He’d shaved his dreads and now his dark hair was sticking up on end. I wondered if they had just been part of his pirate get-up. The shirt he wore covered most of the tattoo, a plain white tee over faded jeans that he’d cuffed at his ankles, and unlike the girl between them, both he and Jeb were barefoot.

  “What is he doing here? I thought he understood he was not invited,” Ally said with a pouty frown. Her eyes, like mine, were on the two not exactly humans.

  “It’s a public concert,” Erin said. “He doesn’t need an invitation.”

  “Yeah, but he knew we’d be here. Shouldn’t they be somewhere else where they can compare toe jam or split ends?”

  I choked on my drink, spitting a shower of silly juice over my bare legs.

  “I’m sorry, Caris. I don’t mean you. You are definitely not like them.” Ally patted my knee as though I were some cute puppy she’d come across on the road.

  I squished my toes together, ignoring the unintended sting of her words. She had meant them as a compliment, but I bristled under the insult. I had already kicked off my flip-flops due to the fact I now had a thin layer of skin sprouting between my toes. I was kind of proud of it.

  “Love the dress, Caris,” Erin interjected as though sensing my growing inner hostility. I had never been referred to as a them before.

  “Thanks.” I took another sip of juice.

  “Look at her,” Ally quipped, and it took me a minute to realize it was Jeb and his arm candy she was obsessing over. Though objectively speaking, he was her arm candy.

  “She’s pretty,” Erin said, raising her eyebrows at me and smiling while Ally seethed between us. Whatever private message Erin was trying to send was totally lost on me.

  “She’s a stick person with boobs,” Ally observed.

  She cussed under her breath when Jeb spotted us. He smiled and I thought I heard a collective sigh from the entire female population. He leaned over and said something close to Cree’s ear. Threading his hand with Stick Person’s, he headed our way. About that time, the band made their appearance on stage. The crowed erupted in a dull roar accentuated with whistles as one of the guitarists strummed the first chords of a song. It sliced through the air, charging the crowd even more.

  “Oh, no he’s not.” Ally jumped up and grabbed hold of my arm. “You’re coming with me.”

  She didn’t give me time to decide if I wanted to go with her or not. She pulled me from the blanket and dragged me deep into the bowels of the now writhing mass of people.

  As we danced, my eyes kept wandering over to them. Their group had grown by two. Daniel, the beach service guy, along with another girl I didn’t know, another them. She had the kind of hair that made me think of a sunset. The way the sun tinted the clouds pink. It danced around her hips as she swayed to the music. Cree had made his way over to Erin, stopped, and leaned over to say something to her. She shook her head, but he persisted and she laughed, letting him haul her to her feet.

  Another song started, this one more upbeat and apparently a crowd favorite. Before the first chorus ended, Cree and Erin were dancing beside me. He took my hand and I’d had enough silly juice that I let him. He pressed his mouth to my ear, talking loudly enough for me to hear over the music. “Sorry about the other day. Festival days get kind of crazy.”

  His eyes were bright against dark skin that reminded me of the inside of the Derby pie my grandmother used to make at Thanksgiving, smooth and luscious, and when he smiled, dimples appeared in his cheeks. Now that I knew what he was, what I was, he didn’t seem near as intimidating.

  I looked at Erin and she shrugged as if to say, “What can you do?”

  I waited for thunder to clap as my seemingly separate worlds converged. Erin danced with Cree. I could still see Jeb and Daniel and their dates over all the bobbing heads. I decided, on further observation, that Jeb’s date wasn’t one of us. She had a decidedly tourist look about her. Ally had her face planted in the crook of Jax’s neck. Where had he come from? His hands curled around her butt, breaking the number one rule of girls’ night—no boyfriends. He smiled, our eyes colliding as he looked down his nose at me. I scanned the crowd again, disappointed when I didn’t see Noah, even though I had no reason to believe he would be here. I’d been half hoping he would show up.

  A warm body moved in behind me. Hands gripped my hips, pulling me back against hard thighs. He smelled of the Deep and I inhaled, closing my eyes in relief. We swayed, bodies pressed close, and in that moment I could have kicked myself for asking Noah not to kiss me. His mouth was next to my ear, his breath warm on my neck. I turned in his arms, intent on just getting it over with. I had been stupid to think I could keep my mouth off his.

  “Noah.” My smile faded. Instead of green eyes, I was confronted with a pair of eyes so lifeless they may as well have been made of wax. I dropped my arms. “What the hell do you want?”

  The first time I had seen Sol his hair had been wet. Dry now, it hung over his shoulders and down his back in Medusa-like spirals, coiled so tight I thought if one were stretched all the way out it would have reached his knees. It was the exact same color as mine, except his had a few platinum streaks courtesy of the sun. He wore a lavender button-up shirt, open down the middle, the torso underneath all hard lines and ridges. His white shorts hung indecently low on his lean hips.

  I blinked, momentarily stunned.

  Sol’s hand closed around my wrist, lifting my arm around his shoulder, pulling me closer than I ever wanted to be. He smelled of salt and sand, and the pearl at his neck gleamed eerily in the meager light. Was he kidding? Did he think I would actually dance with him? I jerked my arms free and shoved my way through the throng of people, intent only on getting as far away from Sol as possible.

  “Come on, Caris. Stop,” he yelled over the pounding music, following me to the fringes of the crowd where the music wasn’t so loud.

  I thought about ducking into the bathroom, but that seemed too much like running. I refused to let him bully me this time.

  I whirled to confront him. “You cut me.” My finger poked him squarely in the middle of his chest between the
fabric of his shirt, and it was like poking steel.

  “You’re welcome for that. Probably made it easier for you.” His smile was meant to be disarming and I supposed if he weren’t my brother it would have been. He wasn’t as tall as Noah; the top of my head was even with his chin.

  “I almost drowned,” I accused.

  “That would be some feat for a breather. Drowning.” He crossed his arms in front of his chest, looking down on me like I was a spoiled three year old throwing a tantrum, completely devoid of anything resembling remorse.

  “You don’t know anything about me.” It was on the tip of my tongue to tell him who I was, but I found a perverse thrill in keeping our relationship a secret. I wondered if he knew there was even the possibility of me. Now that I knew, there was no mistaking the resemblance. We both looked like our father.

  “I was trying to remedy that.” He smirked, cocking his head so that a spiraling curl fell over his jaw next to his full mouth. His hair was too pretty, his eyes too dark.

  “Go to hell.” I turned to go find Erin.

  “Been there. I have a better idea. Let’s go somewhere a little more private.” Before I could take a step, he took me by the arm, gripping right above my elbow.

  Clearly he was accustomed to getting his way and having people bend to his will. Erin and Jax had sure caved in his presence. I searched the crowd for Erin but she was lost in the mass of bodies. The back of Jeb’s head bobbed over the crowd but his back was to me, making it impossible to get his attention.

  “I’m not going anywhere with you.” Even as I said the words, my feet were already moving as if by their own volition, rendering my words meaningless.

  “I just want to talk,” he said.

  “Noah will be here soon.” Which was a lie, and rather pathetic on my part. Then I realized I could make it be true if I wanted to, but I didn’t want to. Sol was my brother, whether he knew it or not, and I didn’t think he would hurt me. His bullying tactics left a lot to be desired, though.

  “Undoubtedly.” Sol ushered me down the sidewalk away from the square, away from the throngs of people, away from our little blanket island. There was nothing between us and the beach but the meandering boardwalk.

  The beach, to my dismay, was deserted. Not that I really felt like I was in danger, but that didn’t mean I wanted to be alone in the dark with him, brother or not. He was still a virtual stranger who had used a knife on me before.

  Sol hauled me around, his face masked in shadow. Over the Gulf a thin fog appeared, floating toward us on a non-existent breeze.

  “What do you want with me?” I demanded when he finally released my arm. “Why do you keep harassing me?”

  “I’m just curious.” His eyes raked over my face while one hand plucked at the ends of my hair. His other hand trailed down the length of my arm, too close.

  “Why?” I shied away from his touch. He seemed to lack the understanding of the idea of personal space.

  “I’ve never known anyone like you before.” His brow furrowed, as if he were genuinely baffled by my existence. I searched his eyes for some clue as to his intent, but there was nothing there, no sense of emotion, just dark emptiness.

  “I’m nothing special,” I said.

  “I think you are.” He reached for me, his fingers like clamps on my arms.

  “Stop touching me.”

  The fog had found us. It was like we were standing in a cloud. And then the rain started. Small drops of it fell cool on my skin.

  “My, my, Caris. What a little bag of tricks you are?” He let out a sudden bark of laughter.

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” I searched the beach. Sand and fog were one and the same. I listened for the water. I could barely hear it even though I knew it was only a few steps away.

  His laugh faded, the remains of it echoing over the dunes, his expression molded and hard. Then his mouth crashed down on mine, all biting teeth and tongue. It was so unexpected that for a few seconds I just stood motionless. When I regained my senses, my hands grappled at his chest and I pushed. He was strong, way stronger than me. He only pulled me closer, crushing me tighter against him. His chest vibrated with laughter. Oh God, something in me was responding, a feverish chill seeping out of me into him. His hands gripped my face.

  “Who are you?”

  My mouth dropped open. His body was ripped from mine. I stumbled backward and almost fell. Rain slashed through the fog and pelted the ground.

  “Caris?” Noah filled my vision, his voice booming in my ears. His hands cupped my jaw, eyes lighting on my face. “Are you okay?”

  I nodded, not sure where my voice had gone. It was raining harder, soaking my skin. I heard a voice over a loud speaker calling an end to the concert.

  “Come on, Noah. I was just having a little fun.” Sol teetered backward before Noah released me then turned on Sol. He grabbed Sol by his shirt, bunching it in his fists.

  “She’s your sister, asshole.” Noah cocked one arm back, and I had just enough time to meet Sol’s stunned gaze before Noah’s fist smashed right into his chin. Sol went down hard, landing flat on his back, spread eagle in the sand.

  Noah walked over to me and his hands cupped my face. “Are you sure you’re all right?”

  “Yeah. I’m fine.” My eyes fell to the prone form of Sol still laying in the sand. He hadn’t moved.

  “Don’t worry. He’ll be fine.” Noah smiled. “He’ll have one hell of a headache tomorrow, though.”

  The fog dissipated. The rain that minutes before had been falling in sheets dwindled to a sprinkle.

  Noah’s eyes danced over my shoulder and I turned my head to find we had attracted a small audience. Some of the faces I recognized, some I didn’t. The whole lot of them were soaked, as was I. No one made a move to go help Sol, not even Cree.

  “You want to get out of here?” Noah asked.

  “Yeah,” I said, relieved when he folded my hand in his. I needed away from here. Away from the dozen openly curious eyes all focused on me. I swear if I could have unzipped Noah’s skin and crawled inside, I would have.

  Jeb and Noah exchanged a knuckle bump and Noah said, “Thanks for the call.”

  I felt Erin’s hand on my arm as she pushed my bag into my trembling hand, the one that wasn’t getting crushed by Noah’s grip. “Thanks.”

  “I’ll take her home,” Noah said to her.

  I wanted to say, “Move along people, there’s nothing to see here.” Anything to get all those eyes off of me.

  I couldn’t crawl into the Bronco fast enough.

  Twenty-Two

  Noah

  “He kissed me.” Caris stared out the passenger side door, a concentrated bite to her tone. “I think I’m going to be sick.”

  She did look kind of pale. I was driving at a snail’s pace already, but I let my foot off the gas just in case.

  “You want me to pull over?”

  “No.” She didn’t sound too sure, voice quaky and small. She appeared to be okay, physically at least. The thin strap of her dress had slid off her shoulder and hung around her arm. I reached over and put it back in place, fingertips brushing against cool skin. She shivered and I wasn’t delusional enough to think that it had anything to do with my touch. Sol had rattled her. Again.

  “What were you doing out there with him in the first place?” I clamped my jaw, reigning in the accusation. He was her brother and had every right to talk to her. Natural, I guess, that she would want to talk to him. That didn’t mean I liked finding them alone on the beach with his damn mouth on her. Mauling her more like it.

  “I didn’t think… I thought it would be okay.” She leveled her gaze on me and for the first time I got a good look at her face. She had a nice gash on her lip, glaring red under the passing streetlights.

  “Did he hurt you?”

  She tongued the spot, eyebrows drawn, almost as though she hadn’t noticed it yet either. “I think he bit me.”

  “Shit.” I swerve
d off the road, roaring into some random parking lot across from a public beach access. I shoved the Bronco in park and hopped out. When I walked around the front of the Bronco, Caris was already out of her seat, waiting for me, bottom lip trembling.

  “I want it gone,” she whispered.

  It was like we shared some kind of silent understanding, a need to erase what Sol had done. It had only been a kiss, but that should have been my kiss. I was so thankful in that moment that mind reading wasn’t part of what was between us, otherwise she would have gone running, screaming in the opposite direction, because there would have been no way to convince her she hadn’t driven me crazy. That’s how I felt—crazy to get her in the water and crazy to wipe that kiss out of my mind and out of hers.

  We crossed the street hand in hand, and I led her down a narrow path, cutting between two houses, ignoring the scratch of tree branches and the startled shadow in one of the windows. I tried to slow down, but I was practically dragging her. I doubted she had a bathing suit under her dress and I was about to pull her in fully clothed, not that it would have mattered. Her clothes were already soaked from rain.

  She stopped and tugged her hand from mine, and when I turned around she was already pulling her dress over her head. Underneath she wore a strapless bra and a thong. And just like that all the blood thrumming in my head flooded downward, settling between my legs.

  “Jesus, Caris.” My head spun. My shirt joined her dress in the sand. She tucked her hand in mine, and this time she dragged me. I wasn’t sure I could do this. I wasn’t sure what she wanted from me.

  The moonlight bathed her bare skin from the tops of her shoulders down the wind-blown fall of her hair and over the rounded curve of her ass. My knees nearly gave out. I was surprised I made it into the water without falling and making a fool of myself. We ducked under the water, and even though it was too dark to see, I knew she was looking at me, sucking me in with those eyes. So close our hair weaved together. We laced our fingers in an intimate joining of hands and waited endless minutes. Longer than it should have taken for her to heal. I wanted it to be gone. I didn’t want her to feel anything but the touch of my mouth when I kissed her. When we finally surfaced, we were both breathless with anticipation.