The Sheik and the Siren (Elemental Series) (10 page)

She pointed to it, and he just knew that that was
where she had found the crystal dolphin. He looked up and the dolphins swam around above them, smiling, circling in and around the pillars and he couldn’t help but think that this was their home at one time.

He motioned to her for air, and
she swam to him again, the sun rays illuminating the two of them as she wrapped her arms around his shoulders and pulled herself into his embrace. Pressing her lips against his once more, she shared with him the kiss of life.

But this time when she meant to pull away, he held her around the waist and pulled their naked bodies closer. She had that look in her eyes like the day s
he’d read his mind, and he couldn’t help but hope she would know that he wanted to make love to her right there, in the center of the sunken city deep under the waters of the ocean.

She smiled and nodded and came back to him for another kiss. He felt himself instantly harden at the thoug
ht of coupling in such an unusual place with such an exotic woman. He was the luckiest man in the world.

He grabbed her hips and hoisted her up to his waist, and she locked her legs around him. This felt so righ
t, and at the same time so addled that he couldn’t even believe he was attempting it right now. He lowered her onto his aroused form and had all he could do not to cry out or breathe as she wiggled atop him and he thrust into her. She wrapped her legs around him tighter and their mouths interlocked in a kiss so long that she gave him the air when he needed it. Then they floated in the water, each a part of the other – as one, until they were both finally sated.

The dolphins were at their sides
again and she was signaling to him that it was time to return to the surface. He was starting to feel so comfortable in the water that he thought he could have stayed there all day.

Then they parted, and the dolphins brought them to the surface, and he broke through the water, letting forth a loud roar.

“Is that the sound of a sea lion?” she asked, as he reached up and grabbed the side of the boat.

“Nay, that is the sound of a man fully sated, who’d held his cry until he left the water.”

“Did you enjoy that?” she asked, floating around next to him, not struggling to stay afloat, but just being one with the water.

“Couldn’t you tell?” he asked, trying to catch his breath.

“I meant the ruins.”

“Oh, aye, that was magical and beauti
ful as well. It makes me envious that you get to live in the sea and experience this all the time.”

“Now you understand me more,” she said.

“That I do, and I love it.”

“
Ace, I have to admit to you that I deceived you the other day.”

“What do you mean?”

“When you thought you were only dreaming, it was really me in your bed that night.”

“You little sly
siren,” he said, reaching out for her.

She laughed and dipped below the water and came upon the other side of the boat.

“What other little tricks did you play on me?” he asked.

“That
’s all,” she said, disappearing once again and this time coming up behind him and wrapping her arms around him. He turned and kissed her then, and looked into her eyes.

“Have you ever made love in a rowboat?” he asked.

“Nay, why do you ask?”

“Because this is your lucky day,” he said, scooping her up in his arm, still holding on to the side of the boat.

He never wanted this day to end, and though he said it was her lucky day, he knew that he was the luckiest man in the world right now.

Chapter 10

Ebba woke the next morning in Ace’s arms, in his bed. Since they’d spent so much time in the water yesterday, she’d had enough energy to spend the night on land.

The sun broke in through the window, and lit up Ace’s face
. He looked like a golden god lying there, with his thick lips and his bushy brows. She ran a hand through his hair, playing with it, loving the way it felt between her fingers.

He opened one lazy eye and then the other and gathered her into his arms for a morning hug and kiss.

“Yesterday was the best day of my life,” he told her.

“I enjoyed it too,” she said.

“That sunken city is truly amazing. Thank you for showing it to me.”

“You are the only human who has ever seen it,” she said. “As well as the only human wh
o has seen the crystal dolphin.”

“What?” he asked. “Y
ou mean you never even showed the crystal dolphin to your father?”

“Nay. My mother thought it could only cause trouble in the long run. If he knew
about it and happened to mention it to another lord, there could be a war because of it.”

“What do you mean?” He sat up in bed and stretched
.

S
he slid off the bed and grabbed her mother’s ivory handled hairbrush from the bedside table. She ran it through her long, blue locks as she spoke.

“The crystal dolphin enables one to see the past, present and future.”

“That part I know,” he said.

“If a greedy warlord ever got his hands on it,
he would be able to see his enemy’s secrets, as well as who would win the battle.”

“But I was under the impression a siren had to somehow activate it.”

“I am not exactly sure. Neither was my mother since we’d never let anyone else try it. She said we were to be guardians of the crystal dolphin from the ancient city long ago.”

“Couldn’t you look into the past and see what happened to that city?”

“I’m not sure I’d want to know,” she said, staring out the window and brushing her hair. “Sometimes things are better left undiscovered.”

“Well, did you ever think you could look into the crystal and see your mother and where she is now?”

“I didn’t know before now that I had the ability to scry. But, aye, I suppose I could.”

“You do want to know if she is dead or alive, don’t you?”

She put down the hairbrush and stood next to the bed. “I’m frightened to find out,” she told him. “I’m afraid if I found out she was dead, every hope would be dashed from me. It’s been the only thing keeping me going these past few years.”

“Well, then I’ll come with you,” he said. “We’ll go through it together. And mayhap I can see into my future while we’re at it. I’d like to know what my path holds.”

“Nay! I cannot allow that.”

“Why not?” He got out of the bed and started to dress. “After all, if we have the power at our fingertips, why not use it?”

“That’s exactly what I’m talking about. Thoughts like that are what gets a man into trouble.”

“It won’t get me in
to trouble,” he said.

“Just forget about it,” she told him.

“Then I’ll go with you and just be there for you to find out about your mother.” He urged her on, and she knew he wasn’t going to take no for an answer.

“Nay. I’ll go myself. Right after we break the fast. Now let’s get going as I promised to help Cook prepare the morning meal.”

* * *

Ace could barely concentrate through
out the meal, as he noticed that all the men kept eyeing up Ebba like hungry wolves. Now that they were getting their confidence back he was sure that they were getting back their manly appetite as well.

Ebba was talking to Juturna, wearing naught but her little shift again, and
stood and reached over the table in front of him to grab an apple, her shift gaping wide open and allowing him to see her rosy little nipples, the back of he shift riding up enough to see that she wore no undergarments beneath.

“Ebba, sit down, honey,” he said, noti
cing the other men looking her way. If he saw it, then they did too. And if they were as aroused as he was around her every night and day, then this was going to be a problem.

“
Can I have everyone’s attention?” He called out across the table.

The men looked up and stopped their speaking and even Cook came out of the kitchen.

“What is it, Lord Ace?” asked Cook from the door.

“I just wanted to mention that today is the day Boots will be returning, hopef
ully, with my ship. And I was wondering – since it’s been a long time that you men have been on this island – well I thought you may be in need of a shore leave.”

Whoops and cheers went up from the men, and even Cook nodded eagerly in agreement.

“What for?” asked Ebba in her gullible but adorable way. “The men live here now, why would they want to go back?”

He cleared his throat and leaned over to whisper in her ear.

“Because every man here, if you’ll notice has been staring at your breasts and backside since they realized we’ve been making love like heated rabbits.”

“No, they haven’t.” She looked across the table and her face darkened when she realized they were all looking directly at her. She crossed her arms o
ver her chest and leaned back toward him. “Mayhap you are right and I just didn’t notice.”

“I know a good
stew in Lornoon,” Ace told the men. “If you’d like, you can all return with Boots for a few days and get a taste of it.”

“Aye, we’d like that.”

“Can’t wait to taste it,” said another.

“Is this stew better than mine?” Ebba asked innocently.

“No, sweetie, no one’s is better, but yours is for my tasting alone,” said Ace.

“What?” she asked.

“He’s speaking about a brothel,” Juturna spoke up. “Ebba-Tyne, you are the most naïve out of all the fae girls. I think you’ll have to meet with your friends soon so they can fill your ears with the ways of the world. Living under the sea so long has kept you living in a dream world. You need to know what the rest of the world is doing, sweetie, be you a fae or not.”

“Juturna,” Ace said, grabbing one of Ebba’s hands in his own. “My little siren is just perfect the way she is
, even if she is a bit naive.”

“I need to leave now,” said Ebba, pushing away from the table.

“Aye, and I’ll come with you,” he said, knowing she was going to the coral cave.

“Nay,” she said, holding up h
er hand. “I want to be alone.”

With that, she left, leaving everyone staring after her as she ran through the hall and out the door.

* * *

It didn’t take Ebba long t
o make it to the water’s edge. This time she jumped in with her clothes on, not wanting to waste time to remove them. She looked back over her shoulder once again to make sure Ace wasn’t following, then ducked beneath the water heading straight for her coral cave.

She felt embarrassed by not knowing every man had been lusting after her. She’d known them since she was a child and had never expected anything like this. If her father had been alive, they never would have even looked in her direction.
And then she’d felt so naïve because she didn’t know the ways of the world.

She’d been living in
a dream world her whole life, Juturna was right. She didn’t know a single thing about what went on outside the sea or even at the mainland. Obviously, according to Juturna, her fae friends were more versed in what happened. But then they were not elementals of the water. They lived around other people every day of their lives.

She swam furiously into the cave, and didn’t stop until she reached down into the barrel sponge and pulled forth the crystal dolphin. Holding it up in the sunlight, but submerge in water since the tide was high, she looked within it but could see nothing.

Oh Mother, I miss you,
she thought, and with that, the crystal clouded over, and a vision started to appear. She was thinking about her mother, when suddenly her face appeared in the crystal. Her mother almost seemed like she saw her, and Ebba watched as her mouth moved. She listened to the water all around her, and realized the woman was alive and trying to give her a message.

Then she looked harder and she saw that her mother was dressed in a scanty outfit with veils, and trapped in some sort of exotic room with a large pool of water. So she was still alive, she realized and found herself wonde
ring what happened to that awful man who took her. Then she saw his dark eyes and beard as he looked out over the water. He was on a ship and looking for someone or something. Then his eyes turned and looked directly at her. She jumped back and dropped the dolphin, knowing this was the sheik that had taken her mother. And from the message of the water around her, he was in his ship and headed for Dolphin Island, and looking for her!

Chapter 11

Ace launched the small boat off into the water with the last load of men who were boarding the Paradigm to go to shore for a day or two.

“Are you sure you won’t come with?” shouted Boots as they rowed toward the ship. “After all, Lord Drake may have saved your neck this time, but if you don’t show up at a port soon with trade, no one is going to employ your services again. You are starting to get a bad reputation.”

“Just bring back more supplies,” he called out. “Some tools to build with also, as I want to start fixing up the castle.”

“You’ll be able to use the wood from your ship
soon as scrap so don’t worry. After all,” he called out, “you won’t be able to afford it much longer, and you’ve already lost your whole crew. They don’t work for free you know, and neither do I or my brother.”

“And you’ll be rewarded handsomely
, I assure you,” he said with a wave of his hand and walked away. He hoped he’d be able to keep that promise, because if it weren’t for Boots and the man’s loyal brother, Bear, he’d have no one to sail his ship back and forth from Lornoon.

He walked away with a smile on his face, having sent the men and Juturna away, and now he had the whole island for
just himself and Ebba. He was looking forward to a few days of fun and frolicking in the sand and waves with the fae girl who he realized he’d fallen in love with over the last few days. He hurried to the castle to prepare some special surprises that she was sure to enjoy.

* * *

A little while later, Ace walked over to the shore by the coral reef and called out across the water. “Ebba, where are you? Come on up and play, sweetheart. I’ve been waiting patiently for you.”

He waited for a long time, and was getting ready to turn around and go back to the castle, when she
finally emerged from the water and came to join him on the shore.

“I was getting worried you wouldn’t show,” he said taking her into his arms and kissing her. Something was upsetting her, as he’d
never seen her like this before. He held her at arm’s length and looked into her eyes. “Ebba, are you all right?” he asked.

“I . . . I don’t know,”
she answered.

He figured
she was upset that he had called her naïve earlier and knew he had to do something to make it up to her.

“
Everyone is gone from the island for tonight, mayhap even a second night if we’re lucky, he told her, putting his arm around her and walking her to the castle. “We have the entire island to ourselves with no one to bother us.”

“Oh. That’s nice,” she said, seeming a million miles away.

“I’ve prepared a special meal for you.”

“Really, I’m not hungry.”

“I see.” They walked in silence until they made it inside the castle. “Then, I suppose we can go right to bed,” he said, “as that would be fine with me.”

He escorted her to the solar and opened the door, waiting for her to enter.

Ebba was taken aback by all the candles that were lit in the solar
, lighting up the room in a soft, flickering glow, making it seem so romantic. She walked in and looked down to the ground to realize rose petals were scattered across the floor, leading a trail straight to the bed. A bowl of the shells she’d seen on the floor the other day were now displayed on the bed stand next to two goblets and a flagon of red wine.

“I could run down to the kitchen and get the food if you get hungry, so just let me know,” he told her, closing the door behind them.

“This is all beautifully romantic, Ace, but I’m really not in the mood.”

The look of disappointment on his face about tore her heart from her chest. Still, she wasn’t feeling much like a playful fae,
nor a sultry siren at the moment. Instead, she was feeling more like an insecure child, scared and at the same time angry, not knowing what to do about the vision she’d seen in the crystal dolphin regarding her mother.

“How about you get into some dry clothes and we have a goblet of wine?” he suggested. He walked over to the trunk and opened the lid, pulling out a nightdress that was her mother’s. “You can wear this, can’t you?”

She took it in her hands reverently, fingering the fine, smooth silk. Then handing it back to him, she slipped out of her wet clothes, and hurriedly donned the nightdress. Once again, disappointment shadowed his face, and she guess it was because she hadn’t remained naked.

“I’m sorry, Ace, I guess I am just upset.”

“Then come – have some wine and we can talk.”

He removed his belt and sword
, and also his tunic and then his shoes and hose, leaning back on the bed in only his braies. He poured two goblets of wine and held one out to her.

“Join me, please.”

“All right,” she said, hoping the wine would help her relax. She sat down on the edge of the bed and then scooted up next to him.

“To the mo
st beautiful girl I’ve ever met in my life,” he said, raising the glass in a toast.

“Ace, I appreciate the romance and the kind gestures but I am afraid they are being wasted on me tonight.”

“Never,” he said, bringing the goblet to his mouth. “Was there something bothering you that you wanted to talk about?” he asked.

“Aye.” She downed the wine and placed the goblet on the table, alread
y feeling her head spinning.

“Well, go ahead then.”

Suddenly, she felt as if she were being selfish. Just like Juturna had said. She was only thinking of herself and instead she should be thinking of the man who went to all this trouble trying to please her.

“Nay,” she said. “Instead, I’d like to hear about your family and where you grew up, as you’ve never really told me.”

“Oh.” It was his turn to quaff the wine now, and once he did, he reached over her, his essence filling her senses as he refilled the goblet and returned to his spot on the bed.

“Go ahead,” she said, repeating his own words.

“Well, what is it you would like to know?”

“Where did you grow up, Ace? Who is your mother and father and do you have any siblings?”

He took another draw from the goblet and the playful, relaxed look on his face she’d seen earlier suddenly disappeared.

“I know I’ve been avoiding answering these questions,” he said, looking down into the cup rather than to look at her. “I didn’t want you to judge me before you got to know me.”

“Nothing could make me change the way I feel about you,” she said, putting her hand on his arm. “Now tell me about your life, so I can get to know you . . . Asad.”

He looked up in surprise when she’d used his birth name.
“Who told you my name is Asad?” he asked.

“Juturna,” she said, supplying where she’d gotten
the information. “She also said a few more things about you as well.”

“Like what?” He looked at her anxiously.

“It doesn’t matter. I’d like to hear it straight from you.”

“All right,” he said, running his finger around the rim of the goblet. “I can’t avoid it anymore.” Then he put the cup aside and took her hands in his. “Ebba, I have come from the land of sand and sheiks from across
the sea. My homeland is called Tamaris.”

“I was right,” she said with a nod of her head. “So you are a sheik then?”

“Nay,” he answered quickly. “My mother . . . my mother was a harem girl to the powerful Sheik of Tamaris. I was raised as the man’s son, but didn’t find out until I was seven and ten years of age that the man was not really my father.”

“W
ho is your father, then?”

“I still do not know the answer to that question.”

“Couldn’t you ask your mother?”

“Nay, for she was ordered executed by the sheik when he heard the truth from one of the other harem girls.”

“How horrible. So then did she die?”

“She died by his hand, and I was ordered to be executed as well.”

“So how did you escape?”

“At the time, Lord Drake was overseas securing a trade. I often helped unload the ships when they came in to harbor, as I was young and adventurous and loved to be aboard the foreign ships.
It was my dream to travel over the seas and my mother knew it. When she found out we were to be executed, she ran to the docks to warn me and to instruct Drake that it was her wish that he take me with him overseas. She begged Drake to take me away from that horrible land and protect me and guide me as best as he could. But before I could protest, a guard sent by the sheik cut off her head right in front of me.”

“Oh, that is awful.” She wrapped her arms around him in a protec
tive hug. “I am so sorry, Ace. You don’t have to continue with the story, I had no idea.”

“Nay,” he said, his mouth held firm and his jaw twitching. A vein in his neck throbbed. “Let me finish.”

“All right,” she said, laying her head against his shoulder.

“I wanted to kill the guard for what he’d done, as well as the man who I’d known for all my life to be my father
for having given the command. But when I started after him, an army of men raged forth from the castle. I would have taken them all on by myself I was so angry, but Lord Drake pulled me aboard the ship and we sailed away quickly to safety before they could reach us. It was a bold move on Lord Drake’s behalf as he sealed his fate with Tamaris that day by what he’d done. He’s never been able to go back, for if he did, they would kill him. I asked Lord Drake later on why he’d done that instead of fighting, or letting me go. He told me it was my mother’s dying wish, and he would honor it until the day he died.

“Lord Drake is the man married to Brynn?” she asked.

“Aye. He wasn’t always as admirable a man, but he is living proof that men can change.”

“And you’ve never gone back to confront the man for killing your mother?” she asked. “Or to try to find your father?”

“Nay,” he said, shaking his head. “And I live in shame for these past five years, but the site of my mother being beheaded and her blood on that soil is engraved in my mind forever. I have not been able to return there, nor do I know if I ever will.”

“And that’s why you changed your name to Ace?” she asked.

“My name only reminds me of the man I used to be. It reminds me of my homeland and also of the man who raised me to hopefully someday be just like him. You see, I was one of only a few sons born from his harem as the man was cursed with many daughters.”

“I don’t see a daughter as being a curse.”

“To a man of my land, a son is more valuable,” he relayed. “The sheik had high hopes that I would follow in his footsteps and someday take his place upon the throne.”

“My God, that is the most horrific story I have ever heard,” she said, pulling him into her arms. “Thank you for sharing it with me
, Ace, as I know how hard that was for you. But now I feel as if I know you better.”

“Now tell me, Ebba. What is it that is bothering you?”

Suddenly her troubles seemed minimal compared to his. She didn’t want to burden him with anything else this night, especially with anything that reminded him of his homeland.

“Tell me, Ace,” she asked curiously. “Are there many lands across the sea with sheiks
or only yours?”

“Aye, there are many, as Tamaris was just a speck of sand in the vast desert of the lands of sand and sun.”

“Let’s not talk of our pasts anymore,” she suggested. “I am getting hungry.”

“Let me go get the meal I’ve prepared,” he said, starting to scoot off the bed.

“I’m not hungry for food,” she told him with a hand on his arm to still him.

A smile graced the corners of his mouth as he brought his lips to hers. And in each other’s arms they made glorious love to one another, forgetting their troubles even if it was only just for one night.