Bluedawn (A Watermagic Novel, #2) (21 page)

“My baby,” he said as he pulled me into his
arms. His arms wrapped around me securely.

By now, I couldn’t help it, my body was
shuttering as I tried to hold back the tears. Being next to him
like that, made me feel so warm and secure. Until now, I hadn’t
processed the full extent of how messed up my life had become with
the sirens.

My mom rushed over. “My God, Hailey,” she
cried as she stole me from Dad. She took my face into her hands and
looked at me. Tears were streaming down her beautiful face. She
held my cheek against hers and then she pulled me into her arms
hugging me. Her body was shuttering too, but she didn’t hold back
the wails. “My sweet love,” she kept saying over and over. “My
Hailey, my darling baby.”

Dad looked teary eyed as he wrapped his arms
around both of us. He kissed me on my head. And then, I felt his
hands stroking my hair. “We missed you so much.” His voice was
laced with emotion.

When they released me, I saw my mother’s
cousins were gathered around us. “Come, come,” Marine sang with a
smile on her enchanting face. “We don’t want the whole neighborhood
to see us.”

I took Dylan’s hand and we walked inside to
the foyer. Dylan and I looked into each other’s eyes. Electricity
shot through my insides. My body tingled at his gaze.

“I’m so happy to be home,” I whispered to
him.

He ran his fingers down my cheek. “I’m glad
too.”

In that rush of feeling, he kissed me lightly
and I was reassured that this was a once in a lifetime love that I
hoped would last forever, always. He took me into his arms. To my
surprise, he kissed me hard on the lips and dipped me backwards
like we were ballroom dancing.

I giggled like a school girl, remembering how
Dad often did the same thing to Mom.

“Okay, love birds,” Mom and Dad said at once.
“No public displays of affection please.” And Mom looked down at
the diamond bracelet Dylan had given me and smiled knowingly.

“Welcome home,” everybody said in unison and
we all laughed.

“Breakfast time,” Laurent called from the
kitchen, winking at me as we approached. He was wearing an apron
over his ruffled shirt and designer slacks.

Dad was plugging his nose at the odor of the
meal wafting through the house. I noticed he was keeping a little
distance between him and Mom’s cousins maybe for fear of seeming a
little more delicious than the breakfast that smelled so bad to
him. Funny enough, he didn’t seem appetizing to me all, just
overwhelmingly cuddly and loveable.

We all walked over to the long dining table
to see a huge skinned cow in a pool of blood on a grand silver
platter with a gigantic black and white striped sea snake swimming
in a glass bowl beside it. The table was set with Mom’s finest
china.

“Forget about humans, Hailey,” Brigitte sang
in a voice like water, liquid and alluring. “You’re eating with us
now!”

Laurent’s cell phone rang. I looked over at
him. As he glanced down at the phone, his blue eyes lit up, but his
cheeks blushed. He mumbled under his breath, “It’s Grace,” A
crooked grin lifted on his perfect bronze face.

“Don’t answer it,” Pascal and Marcel said at
once, urgency in their lyrical voices.

“Give me that,” Marine gasped as she tried to
grab the cell phone out of his hands.

But he held it over his head taunting her.
Then he walked over beside the bar lining the kitchen and answered
it with one hand on his hip. “Grace,” he sang her name in a way
that would make anyone swoon.

Immediately, his demeanor changed. His face
paled under the light of my mother’s sparkly chandeliers. He
grasped the phone tighter and hurried to the kitchen digging
through a drawer. Once he found a pen and scrap piece of paper, he
said, “Okay, give it to me.” He scribbled something down, his mind
troubled.

“Wait for me,” He demanded. His voice was
edgy. As he closed his phone, he looked at us with intensity. His
nostrils were flared and his jaw clenched. “I’ll catch up with you
all later. Welcome home, Hailey.” He hit the table with his
hand.

Before anyone could protest further, he was
at the front door. I looked down the hall at him. But just as he
was opening the door to leave, a drop dead gorgeous girl with fiery
red hair who was even more beautiful than Gia, if that was even
possible, threw her arms around him.

“It’s Sabine,” all the mers said at once,
including my mother. In a rush, they jumped out of their seats and
hurried to the door.

“Oh God, Laurent!” Sabine cried. “Your
girlfriend’s father just killed Savanah!” She buried her head in
his neck, her red long hair falling over his shoulders. “My
sister’s dead and my school is going after him.”

Everyone appeared panicked. I looked at Dylan
and squeezed his hand.

“I guess this adventure has only begun.” He
smiled wryly at me, but his eyes looked disturbed. I noticed the
vein in the side of his neck was raised.

He pulled me up out of my chair and pushed up
against me. I felt his heart beating fast beside mine. “No matter
what happens, Hailey, we are together in this.”

I felt dizzy with desire. “Just looking at
you hurts more than anything else could,” I whispered.

And then, he brought his face close to mine.
I could feel his sensual breath on my lips, his green eyes boring
into me. I started going weak in the knees, but before I lost my
balance, he kissed me like the world was on fire.

This fantasy isn’t over yet…

Bluesong (A Watermagic Novel, #3)