Waterlocked

by Elizabeth Hunter

  Since Spain, he had become even more expressive in his affection, knowing instinctually how much she craved it. It was far more than the physical relationship they had shared before. He had become as much a part of Gemma as her own limbs.

  He held her there, one hand resting on her waist, the other holding her cheek gently as he leisurely enjoyed her mouth. After a few moments, he pulled away, smiling.

  “Hello, luv.”

  “Miss me?” He’d seen her at nightfall when he woke.

  “Always.” Terry looked down. “Sorry. Got your dress a bit dusty.”

  Gemma only shrugged and looked over at the new project. “It’s looking more like a boat every week.”

  “That’s the goal now, isn’t it?” He grinned. “What are you busy with tonight?”

  “I finished going over the inventory and expenditures for the shelters with Mina. She’s taken a liking to Bernard, by the way.”

  Terry grunted when she mentioned his new human secretary. Gemma imagined he still missed Carl. It was taking a while to warm up to the new man, no matter how efficient he was.

  “And I’ve cleared up the details on the trade meeting with Ernesto’s people.”

  “Will Baojia be there?”

  “I think he’s still in San Diego.”

  Terry growled. He and Don Ernesto Alvarez had a good working relationship, but it had been tested by Ernesto’s treatment of his head of security, who Terry considered a friend. The immortal leader of Southern California could be a hard man, and one known to hold a grudge.

  “Don’t let it become a wedge, darling. He’s an important ally.”

  “I know that. But he’s being a fool over sentiment.”

  According to rumor, Baojia had let a favored relative of Ernesto’s come to harm. Gemma knew it to be the father of Beatrice De Novo, Ernesto’s favorite granddaughter. Since then, the skilled water vampire had been exiled to minor assignments in San Diego and out of active participation in Ernesto’s business and political negotiations.

  “What did you want to talk about?” Gemma asked. He’d sent a note with Roger for her to join him when he usually liked working alone.

  “I’ve been thinking about Spain again.” He stepped back and picked up the wood plane, going to work on another plank that would form part of the bow. “Can’t seem to get it off my mind.”

  “Neither can I,” she said with a satisfied smile.

  He laughed. “Not the fun part, the other bit.”

  “Oh?” She sat in a scarred chair next to the workbench and watched him get back to work.

  “Leonor in Spain.” He ran the plane down the board with a level thrust.

  “Who appears to be stabilizing her position since she rid herself of Guillermo.”

  “Mmhmm. Murphy in Dublin.” He took another long swipe and a curl of wood fell to the floor.

  “Also seems stabilized now, particularly with Carwyn and Brigid nearby.”

  “Jean Desmarais in Marseilles. The Dutchmen your brother spoke about.” He planed the board again. “Me.”

  She nodded, starting to see his train of thought. “All facing challenges or unforeseen threats in the last year or so.”

  “Just when we start hearing more rumors about this bloody Elixir drug.”

  “What are you thinking?”

  He paused, hand resting on the board. “What do they all have in common, Gem?”

  She blinked. It was so obvious. Why hadn’t she realized it before? “Shipping.”

  Terry nodded. “Shipping.”

  “All those being felt out by whoever was pulling Guillermo’s strings have strong shipping interests.” Of course! Gemma wanted to kick herself for not seeing it sooner.

  “You always were a brilliant woman.”

  “A bit slow on this one. Have you talked to my father?”

  “Not yet. I want to meet with Ernesto first. All the major Atlantic shipping powers are being felt out for weaknesses. I’m curious about the Pacific. The Dutch still go back and forth; we might try a meeting with them if your brother could arrange something.”

  “He will. If nothing else than to repay the favor for Rene. I haven’t heard anything from the Scandinavians, but then, they tend to be very close-lipped.”

  “See if Jetta is amenable to a meeting. I believe she sired that bloke who attacked Brigid. You could feel out her position.”

  “So whoever is behind the Elixir manufacturing is involved in shipping.”

  Terry nodded. “Either involved or wants to be.” He swept the wood plane down the board once more before he paused. “Hundreds... thousands of years, luv. Some things don’t change much. You control the oceans...”

  “You command trade. Especially in our world.”

  “The richest immortals are still those who rule the seas, Gem. God knows that’s how we’ve made our fortune.”

  She stood. “So, what do we do?”

  Terry shrugged. “Keep an eye on the water and fortify our position. Keep in touch with allies like Alvarez and Murphy. That’s all we can do right now.” He set down the tool and walked toward her. “We’ll be fine. We just have to be careful. But you and I...” He put an arm around her waist and pulled her hard against him, swooping down to place a searing kiss on her mouth. “We’re a force to be reckoned with. I’m not worried about us.”

  Gemma purred in pleasure, tucking her hands under his waistband and against the cool silk of his skin. “Did you really only ask me here to talk politics and strategy?”

  “No.” Terry grinned and tossed her over his shoulder. “We’ve got a boat to christen, don’t we?”

  THE END

  An exclusive first look at the next novel in the Elemental World series…

  BLOOD AND SAND

  Summer 2013

  San Francisco, 1884

  Don Ernesto Alvarez strolled through the streets of Chinatown, his favorite daughter on his arm. The scent of human waste mingled with exotic spices and cooking fires. On the evening fog, he could smell the ocean and the scent of fish from the bay. The mist swirled around him, teasing his energy with its call. At his side, he felt his daughter’s blood pulse.

  “What is it?”

  Her fangs dropped. Paula was only twenty years immortal and often had a harder time controlling her cravings.

  “Blood.” Her nose lifted in the air. “Fresh. There’s a fight somewhere.”

  Ernesto gave her an indulgent smile. “Shall we? The opium was disappointing. We might as well see if there are other entertainments before we return to our lodging.”

  Their safe quarters that night were with a trusted ally of Ernesto’s, Ekaterina Grigorieva, a water vampire who controlled much of the Pacific Northwest. While her headquarters had recently moved to the growing city of Seattle, Katya still chose to meet with allies in San Francisco. Ernesto had traveled up the coast of California with Paula looking for amusement in the lively city, along with a more favorable price on lumber for his ships.

  Ernesto let Paula lead him down the alley, which smelled of fish and laundry soap, to see a surprisingly interesting sight.

  It was a human, a Chinese man, which was not surprising as they were in the section of the city overwhelmed by the foreigners. What was surprising was the flurry of activity surrounding him. It looked like the human had been thrown out the back door of a gambling hall. He must have displeased the proprietor somehow. But instead of the beating that would have been common from the four other men who surrounded him, Ernesto watched on, intrigued, as the human held off his four attackers with swift punches that almost appeared to flow at immortal speed.

  Punches turned into kicks. The four humans who had thrown the man out were not without their strengths, and blood was flowing. He heard Paula whine at his side, eager to taste it, but Ernesto put a hand on her arm, stilling her. He wanted to watch a bit longer.

  The human was abnormally fast. He did not try to hold off his attackers, but let them draw close, then used swift punches to knock them
back. And throughout it all, his face was mask of impassive focus. He seemed almost bored, despite the bruise that was forming on one cheek, another on his eye, and the blood that dripped from his mouth to his chin. His face said one thing, but the coiled tension in his body said something entirely different.

  What exquisite anger.

  Ernesto felt his fangs drop, and he took Paula’s hand, slowly walking closer to the fight.

  The humans didn’t notice, so focused on their own bloody feud. Despite his skill, the lone human was starting to falter; four opponents were simply too much for him. Still, he fought on, showing no signs of capitulation. Ernesto wondered whether the other humans would kill the man. That would be a shame. He was a fine specimen, and his blood was rich with the smell of the ocean.

  “Paula,” he said quietly, reluctant to interrupt the fight.

  She hissed, “Yes?”

  “Stop them.”

  He could feel her trembling in anticipation. “May I drink, Father?”

  “Drink your fill from the four, but leave the fighting one for me.”

  In the space of a blink, Paula was on them, dragging one human back to a dark corner and piercing his neck with her fangs. The copper smell of blood filled the alley, drowning out the smell of garbage and fish. The three remaining did not notice the loss of their friend; they were more focused on the slowly weakening Chinese man. The lone human did notice the loss of one of his attackers, and his eyes scanned the alley, all the while holding off the three other men as best he could. Finally, his eyes paused on the mist-clad form of Ernesto and he blinked.

  One of the attackers knocked him to the ground at that point, but within seconds, that man was gone as well. Paula grabbed him and latched onto his neck, letting his sounds of struggle fill the air.

  “Paula,” Ernesto chided. “We do not wish for attention.”

  Immediately, the man grew limp in her arms and fell silent. By this point, the two remaining humans who had been beating the Chinese man had turned to see what the commotion was. Their eyes grew wide and their mouths dropped open in horror as they watched their fellow human crumble to the ground. One darted for the door of the gambling hall, but Paula was already there. He didn’t even have time to scream. The other made for the mouth of the alley, his voice pitched high as he yelled for help, but Ernesto caught him by the hand and squeezed. The man fell silent, his mind flooded by Ernesto’s powerful amnis.

  He stepped closer to the Chinese man, handing Paula the human’s hand as she finished drinking his comrade.

  “What are you?” the human asked in perfect English.

  “You speak very well.” It was true. He had a distinct accent, but his words were clear. “What is your name?”

  “What are you?” the human asked again, wiping the blood from his eyes and inching toward the dark street.

  “How did you learn to fight like that? It was fascinating and very effective.”

  The man never took his eyes off Ernesto, but he straightened a little. “My father taught me to fight.”

  “He would be proud.”

  “No.” The man was inching along the grimy brick wall. “He wouldn’t.”

  There it was again, just a flicker in the human’s eyes. Such exquisite anger. What would it be like with immortal power behind it? What would it take to leash the power of such a creature? Ernesto’s blood pumped in his veins and he bared his fangs at the thought. The human saw his opportunity and ran out of the alley, silently fleeing the vampires and disappearing into the night. Paula appeared at his side half a second later.

  “You didn’t drink, Father.”

  He turned and smiled, patting her cheek and taking his handkerchief from his pocket to dab at a spot of blood on her chin. “I’m not hungry for blood tonight, mi querida. Did you enjoy yourself?”

  “Si, Papa. Gracias.”

  “Good. Now that you’ve had your fill…” Ernesto finished tending to his child, then his eyes grew cold as he turned to the foggy night. “Find the human, Paula. And bring him to me.”

  ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

  Dear readers,

  This little story had an unusual start. I love Terry and Gemma. I’ve loved them since they first appeared in This Same Earth, but I didn’t really know whether they had enough of a story to warrant a whole novel. I knew they had a different kind of relationship, and didn’t really know how Elemental Mystery and Elemental World readers would like it, to be honest.

  Toward the end of 2012, I was coming to the end of a very hard year. I decided I wanted to finally write Terry and Gemma’s love story, even though it wasn’t a full book. Even though it was just for fun.

  Because really, it was just for me. I needed to take a deep breath and connect with readers more directly. I needed the pure fun of writing again. I decided to post Waterlocked on my website as free fiction for my dedicated readers, and see if they might enjoy it, too.

  I wrote. I sent it to my most excellent first reader, Kristine M. Todd. Then I posted. I posted one chapter a week, and I was overwhelmed by the reaction. I had the highest site traffic in my blog’s history on posting days! Needless to say, it was incredibly gratifying to read the comments from my wonderful fans who enjoyed a lighter love story like Waterlocked.

  It was just what I needed.

  I finished up the editing on the first Cambio Springs book, Shifting Dreams, and started on the next full novel in the Elemental World series, Blood and Sand. I finished the first draft in record time, just over two months, and the story will be published this summer.

  Thank you to everyone who enjoyed Gemma and Terry along with me. And thank you to readers who are reading it in its final form, too. I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it.

  Thanks for reading,

  Elizabeth

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  Elizabeth Hunter is a contemporary fantasy, paranormal romance, and contemporary romance author. She is a graduate of the University of Houston Honors College in the Department of English (Linguistics) and a former English teacher. She once substitute taught a kindergarten class, but decided that middle school was far less frightening.

  She currently lives in Central California with a seven-year-old ninja who claims to be her child. She enjoys music, writing, travel, and bowling (despite the fact that she’s not very good at it.) Someday, she plans to learn how to scuba dive. And maybe hang glide... but that looks like a lot of running.

  She is the author of the Elemental Mysteries and Elemental World series, the Cambio Springs series, and other works of fiction.

  Website: ElizabethHunterWrites.com

  Elemental Mysteries fan site: ElementalMysteries.com.

  E-mail: elizabethhunterwrites@gmail.com.

  Twitter: @E__Hunter

  Find me on Facebook!

  Waterlocked

  Copyright © 2012

  by Elizabeth Hunter

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping, or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the products of the author’s imagination, or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  The scanning, uploading, and distribution of this book via the internet or any other means without the permission of the publisher is illegal and punishable by law. Please purchase only authorized electronic editions, and do not participate in or encourage electronic piracy of copyrighted materials. Your support of the author’s rights is appreciated.

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  Other Books by Elizabeth Hunter:

  The Elemental Mysteries:

  A Hidden Fire

  This Same Earth

  The Force of Wind

  A Fall of Water

  The Elemental World series:

  Building From Ashes

  Waterlocked (An Elemental World Novella)

  Blood and Sand (Summer 2013)

  The Cambio Springs Mysteries:

  Long Ride Home (Short Story)

  Shifting Dreams

  Other fiction:

  The Genius and the Muse