“Did you just bite my ass?”
“Yeah. You know that’s my favorite bathing suit. I think about those ties a lot.” He slid his hands under the fabric of my bottoms, curling his fingers around bare skin.
“I think about your hands right there a lot,” I said, nudging my hips into his. “That was a pretty neat surprise. I’m wondering what you have that can top that.”
“There’s always Mexico.” He blew a breath behind my ear and I sagged into him.
“I’ve never been to Mexico,” I whispered, nipping his neck with my teeth.
“You’re going to like it. Lots of deserted beaches, empty ocean.”
“Well, school starts Monday so we’d have to be back in time for that.”
“We can do that.”
“Mexico it is,” I said into his mouth. I had my doubts whether we’d ever make it that far, but it would be a lot of fun trying.
Other Books by Kimberly James
The Emerald Series continues with:
Waterdreamer (Book 2)
Watermark (Book 3)
Turn the page to read an excerpt of Waterdreamer.
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Waterdreamer
Prologue
Rena gave birth in a storm.
A tropical storm named Dennis. At least that's what the landers were calling it. A monster storm according to the meteorologist she'd last seen on the TV screen, gripping a microphone as though it had the ability to keep him from blowing away in the steadily increasing winds.
They'd only gotten half of it right. This storm was a monster. A monster who claimed to love her. But Rena knew this monster's real name.
Athen.
Athen hadn't loved her. He'd hurt her.
Rena cradled the seed of his ravaged mind in her arms. A perfect child he couldn't know existed because his mind still raged, an uncontrollable thing that threatened to consume her. Threatened to rip her from this very house. Rena heard the threats in every powerful gust of wind, a constant howling that was her name. The deluge that promised to drown her. Drown them both.
Rena pressed her lips to the top of her daughter's head, inhaling her sweet baby scent. A scent she vowed to carry with her to her grave. Her daughter's eyes blinked bright in the soft candlelight, oblivious to the power howling outside the house. Or maybe she was calmed by it. Already she had his eyes, a pale gray that matched the clouds racing past her windows. She'd left one of the storm shutters open so she could watch the storm’s fury. As if she needed a reminder of what Athen was capable of.
"Caris," she whispered into the soft, perfectly formed ear. The thin layers of skin behind the crescent shell contracted under her warm breath, sealing closed. Her resolve almost faltered, knowing it would be a long time before they opened again. If ever.
Magic always comes with a price.
And the price was great. She wouldn't regret it. How could she when she held such a gift in her arms?
"I like it." Patrick's voice floated over her tired limbs as his gentle hand stroked over the tiny head cradled in the crook of her elbow. Patrick with his summer eyes. Eyes that told of warm breezes and endless days in the sun. Nothing stormy or threatening in those eyes, only an enduring calm and quiet strength.
"It means love." Rena looked back down, unable to keep her eyes off her daughter for more than a few seconds. Time was too short. "She needs to know she's loved."
"She'll know," Patrick said. Like her, he seemed unable to keep his hands off their baby. And Caris was his. She'd seen to that. The mattress dipped under his weight when he sat. "Is this okay? Are you comfortable?"
"Yes, it's okay. I feel good. Better than good." Rena underestimated the pain involved in telling half-truths. The way her heart would catch, the way her voice quivered. The way her mind scrambled to justify them. She was weak, her arms straining to hold the new life in them. "I couldn't have done it without you. Any of this. I'll never be able to repay you." Finally, words spoken from truth, from her heart.
"Don't be stupid. I love you, I'm just ready to get you out of here and away from him." Patrick cast a wary glance toward the window. It rattled under the force of the wind, demanding entrance. Athen was always demanding. "That is him, isn't it?"
"Yes." She would soon be free of him. They all would.
Athen was out of control, driven to some dark place by her siren's Song. The goddesses’s gift gone mad, tainted by a black heart.
"He can't hurt you anymore. I'll take care of you. Both of you."
Brave words spoken out of ignorance, but she relished them nonetheless. If Patrick was ignorant it was because she needed him to be. He never would have agreed to what she'd set in motion. None of them would. So she'd kept silent. Hoarding this renewed sense of power. Athen had stolen that from her. Her power. Her choice, wanting to make it his own. But in the end she made a choice. A choice that gave her back what he'd stolen. Power to set the course of her life, that of their daughter. Patrick's daughter now. One look into her daughter's face and a need had welled up inside her so strong it threatened to burst out of her. How could she love someone so fiercely with one look? One touch? With one smell of skin?
"I'll sit with her, Patrick, if you want to go take a shower," Lara said as she came into the room.
"Yeah, I could use one." Patrick leaned over, placing a kiss to Caris's head. Rena hoped her smile conveyed the gratitude he inspired.
"He's crazy about you." Lara took the place Patrick had vacated on the edge of the bed. "Both of you."
Rena's smile wobbled before she returned her attention to the baby she held in her arms. One look and Lara would know of her deception, of her plan to calm the storm raging outside. Her plan to save her daughter. She had to tell her. She owed Lara that and so much more for taking her in, giving her a place to call home.
"I did something, Lara." Rena hugged her baby tightly. Lara would understand. She had sons of her own. She would understand.
"What did you do?" Lara's eyes narrowed, the smooth skin on her forehead pleating under the mass of dark hair.
"What I had to." The words broke through Rena's cracked lips, and to her own ears they sounded desperate. "I won't risk her, Lara." Her voice was like crushed shells, a gritty scratch in her throat.
"But I thought…" Lara's words died in the wake of comprehension. Pale green eyes shimmered in the candlelight. The flames flickered as if somehow the wind found them. "She's Athen's."
"No." No, no, no. Never his. "She's mine. This is my choice. The goddess has given me her blessing."
"Whatever you've done, undo it," Lara demanded. The muscles in her young body bunched in defense, as if she could stop what was about to happen. As if anyone could. The exchange was made. Rena already felt it deep in the recesses of her bones, the very center of her being. It was a sacrifice she'd make a thousand times over if it would keep her baby safe. Keep all of them safe.
"Don't you hear him? He won't stop, Lara. You know he won't. Not before he destroys everything." Rena dared another look at her friend, setting her jaw in determination. "He'll destroy her. Wouldn't you do the same to protect Jamie and Noah?"
Her friend stared down at her as if she were a stranger. As though she hadn't just encouraged her and held her hand while she brought her baby into the world. As though she hadn't rid the bed of the soiled sheets and helped Rena clean her own body.
"This isn't your sacrifice to make," Lara pleaded.
Who else could make it? It was up to Rena to put Athen out of his misery. To put her out of hers. As much as she would like to lay all the blame at Athen's feet, she couldn't. Not if she were honest.
"I won't let you do this."
"He'll take care of her." Rena knew Patrick loved Caris already. It had been love at first sight. For all of them. Rena never would have believed she could love a regular human boy. She would die loving a human boy. She would also die loving a different boy. A
man. A man she hoped found peace without her.
The candle by the bed flickered, sputtered nearly out, then flamed again. Candles scattered around her room joined in the dance, casting shadows on the walls.
Magic stirred on the air, seeking what was promised. Rena's ears popped as the wind shifted. Without looking, she knew the priestess stood in the doorway.
"We must be quick." The priestess’s voice held an ageless command.
"Rena, no." Lara's hand gripped her arm. "You can't do this. I won't let you. I know Athen hurt you, but this isn't the answer, Rena. This is madness."
"It's done," Rena said, feeling the finality of it in her soul. Oddly, she wasn't afraid. Not anymore.
"Then undo it." Lara's eyes misted. Her lip trembled then set in an anguished line. "Does Patrick know you're using him like this?"
Rena understood the contempt in her friend’s tone. Her daughter's life would be built on a lie. A lie Lara now shared.
"No. Patrick can't know. He won't understand. Promise me you will never tell him. He'll be good for her, you know that."
"How can you do this? How is he better than her own mother? He's twenty years old. He can't take care of a baby by himself."
"He can. He's a good person." And I am not. Rena thought. But this will make it right. This will make me good.
"Rena, it's time."
Rena's arms tightened around her daughter at the priestess’s words. She cradled her closer, listened for the tiny beat of her heart, the light rhythm like the flutter of wings against her breast. Rena held her for one last cherished second. "Goodbye, Caris. My love."
Then Rena's heart was lifted right out of her arms.
"Forgive me, Lara." Rena willed her own eyes dry. "You'll see, I'm right. You'll see." Her sacrifice was just. She wouldn't cry over something so good.
Good. What she and Athen created was good.
Rena watched her daughter's fuzzy platinum head as Lara carried her toward the priestess’s outstretched arms. Lara paused and looked back at her, offering her one last chance to change her mind. They both knew it was too late.
"It's all right," Rena whispered.
"I won't forgive you for making this choice."
"Yes, you will."
Caris squirmed, raising a tiny fist, mewling a protest.
Rena's eyes closed, unable to watch them take her baby away. Her head fell heavy to the side, her strength slowly fading. When Rena opened her eyes again she found Lara's son, Noah, standing in the doorway, his green child's eyes watching her, condemning her.
"I had to," she said, trying and failing to lift her arm. So fast. It was happening so fast. Noah stood in the doorway as if he were afraid. As if he felt the magic pulsating through the room, taking from her what she freely offered.
"Tell her I love her. Take care of her for me. You'll do that won't you, Noah?" Nonsense. Rena was talking nonsense to a two-year-old who couldn't possibly understand, would never even remember her or her baby.
Noah's image swam in and out of focus. Her daughter's Song sang to her from some faraway place. She closed her eyes to the lyrical sound and listened until she couldn't hear her anymore.
About the Author
When not sitting at my computer writing, you can find me at the local Crossfit gym. I have four young adults of my own, three labs, and two cats. I like going to rock concerts with my better half. I have an obsession with french fries, and rarely wear any shoes other than flip-flops. I aspire to one day live somewhere that I can ride my bike to the beach and the grocery store. I’m thinking the Emerald Coast.
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Copyright © 2014 by Kimberly James
All rights reserved.
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Waterborn (The Emerald Series Book 1) Page 34