Floating Alone (3 page)

“Do you know what happened to her in the intervening years?”

“No. I made contact with her when I was finally able to find her. It was too late to act as a parent, but I tried to support her in any way that she would accept.”

“And you came to me because...” Irdan looked at him with a piercing glare.

“I saw the way you looked at her at the fundraisers. Women surrounded you, but it was Marina that held your attention. She would stare at you when you weren’t watching, but I don’t know if it registered to her that you were not a work of art.” Herman smiled slightly.

Irdan smiled. “I felt the same. Excuse me. I have to chase my mate down.”

He walked past his guest and out onto the wide deck that surrounded his home. His blood was pounding, and he wanted to transport directly into her path, but he needed to cool down a bit.

The idea of having his mate run from him when they both needed each other was shocking, but her father was right. He might not have raised her, but he knew her impulses.

Irdan shifted into his reptile form and slid off the deck and into the water, using his tail as propulsion and rudder. The scent of Marina was thick in the water. He could follow her anywhere, and he would.

* * * *

Marina swam up the familiar path and shifted to human to climb up on the dock that she had built by hand two years earlier.

There were no neighbours. Her home abutted a sanctuary on two sides. For some reason, the slice of land she had claimed as hers had never been included in the protected territories.

A gator swam through her lagoon, and she ignored it. Predators didn’t cause a threat to an adult manatee of her size. It could stay and play as much as it wanted.

She glanced back and blinked. It was huge. Based on what she could see, it was over seventeen feet long. That was unusual, but as long as it didn’t cause trouble, she didn’t care what it did.

The boards were rough under her feet as she pattered up to her house. The key was under the fourth deck board, where she always kept it.

She shoved the door open and closed it, leaning against the wood and breathing deep at the feeling of being home again. During the long swim home, she had had plenty of time to think about what she was doing, but it was far too late to turn around and go back. She needed to come up with a new plan.

She was naked, horny and unsure of how to go through with contacting Irdan again when there was a knock on her door.

“Marina, I believe we need to have a conversation.”

She stared at the familiar furnishings in front of her and wondered if she could open the door before she hid behind her couch. It was doubtful.

“I can feel you behind the door, Marina. I am going to open it.”

She felt her feet skidding across the floor as the door pushed open. Irdan stepped into her small sanctuary and faced her with his body gleaming with water.

He closed the door behind him and flipped the latch.

She stepped back, and he caught her around the waist, pulling her against him before he kissed her. She tasted water and magic. It was all that she cared about.

She wrapped her arms around him and held tight, answering the call of the piece of her own soul that he was carrying inside him. It was insidious, but she pulled him as close as she could to get back that piece of her soul.

He pulled his head away from hers for a moment. “Bed or floor?”

She threaded her fingers through his hair. “Kitchen table.”

His grin caused a surge of heat as he lifted her in his arms and walked the dozen paces to the kitchen. Her heavy butcher-block table wasn’t designed for sex, but she had butchered animals on it that outweighed her, and she knew it could hold their weight.

The weathered wood pressed against her buttocks as he settled her on the edge. She parted her thighs in invitation.

Irdan stepped between her thighs, and she wrapped her fingers around his erection. Energy crackled under her hand, and he shook as she stroked him slowly.

He was built just like a human, only taller and better looking. Well, there were the ears as well, but she was willing to overlook those. Right now, they were completely out of her mind.

Irdan slid his hand between her thighs, and he parted her folds. Marina wanted to stare into his eyes, but she settled for looking at the straight line of his lips as he slid a finger into her. Her view let her see his mouth curl and his throat flex. The sparks under her hand were now inside her, and as he added another finger and slowly started to stroke, the harsh crackle of energy became visible.

She whimpered and leaned up, pressing her lips to his. He continued to stroke his fingers in her wet heat, and she ran her digits up and down the hot, pulsing length of him, teasing the wet tip.

Her tongue teased his, taking his heat and asking for more. They duelled together, their kiss bordering on violent as he bent her back onto the table. She let go of his cock and caught herself as she was leaned back.

With her thighs wide and her elbows on the wood, she was open for whatever he wanted. There was no doubt that she was going to have a good time; the power crackling between them assured it.

Irdan was looking at her with narrowed eyes. “I so wanted to take my time.”

She smiled. “That can be for another day. Today, let’s join and get this link cemented so that our bodies will stop pining for each other.”

He grinned. “I can get behind that.”

He positioned his cock at her entrance and gripped her hips, pulling her onto him as he slid into her. They were uncomfortably but completely joined in a matter of moments. When her breath was no longer coming in little pants, he started to thrust, leaning down to take her nipples in his teeth one at a time. The fire that the small bites tripped in her just drove her arousal higher.

When her muscles gripped him snuggly in a slow pulse, he shoved deep, rocking her against the wood as they slammed together. Marina dug her fingers into his biceps and arched up to meet him as he slid in and out of her. The magic that was sparking between them became a wild whirl of energy that crackled and snapped around them.

The air was filled with a variety of grunts and low growls. The smacking noise of skin on skin was a counterpoint that picked up tempo as they struggled to reach orgasm.

A high-pitched sigh emerged from her throat, and Marina bucked upward as the power that had been crawling under her skin came out with a rush. Her body jerked, and she held onto Irdan with all her strength.

His eyes flickered from fey to gator over and over before he shuddered and his rush of power met hers, mingled and wrapped around them.

Marina held onto him while the storm swirled around them. Irdan jerked into her with short, hard thrusts.

She threaded her fingers through his hair and pulled him to her for a kiss. “So, what happens now?”

The energy was absorbing back into their skins. She could feel something else moving in her system, making itself at home.

Irdan rubbed his cheek along hers. “Now, we work on fooling the humans into believing that we are courting.”

“What a delightfully old-fashioned word.”

He lifted his head and smiled. “It was all the rage a few hundred years ago.”

She was beginning to believe that she might have agreed a little too quickly.

The moment that they uncoupled was peculiar. Marina wanted to feel him inside her until she fell asleep, but on the table, she would soon have a rude awakening.

“Now, do you wish to have this conversation here or at my place?” He bent and lifted her in his arms.

“Um, here is where my clothes are. I don’t think I have anything that will fit you.”

He quirked his lips and carried her to the bedroom. Her thighs were sticky, but it was just one sensation left while the rest of her felt a little bit bruised and achy.

The mosquito netting was standard in the everglades. Irdan brushed the panel aside with his shoulder and set her onto her bed.

He found the bathroom after a little exploration and returned with a washcloth. She blushed but didn’t fight him as he cleaned the cum from her thighs.

He left her again and returned to her, joining her in the bed and spooning against her back. “We will need to rest to complete the joining.”

She blinked. “Complete? I thought it was done.”

He pressed a kiss to her shoulder. “No, now our bodies have to link to the power exchange. You might be taller and your ears may have changed, but the power hasn’t settled, and shifting now would be dangerous.”

Marina clutched at her ears. “You are... you aren’t kidding. What the hell?”

“The idea is that your body will be able to pass for fey, and your life in the public eye will be considered to be under a glamour. Those who knew you before will just think you have been fey all along.” His hand slowly stroked the curve of her hip and belly.

“That’s a lie.”

“Yes, but it will become a truth in time. The fey are out in the public eye and well thought of by the humans, so we will ease you into the human awareness, and the shifters will pull us back from the edge of extinction. It will be a solid cooperation.”

She smiled slightly. “And where does that leave the mages?”

“In the shadows, where they are content to live. Few communities burn witches anymore, so it is the safest place for them to be.”

Marina felt fatigue pulling at her. “What other changes are there going to be. The ears are weird enough.”

He pressed a kiss to her shoulder. “I have no idea, but won’t it be fun finding out?”

She wanted to smack him, but the familiar surroundings relaxed her and pulled her under.

She pulled on the edge of the tank top for the third time. “What the hell?”

Irdan had dug out some sweatpants left by a lover long gone. He leaned against the dresser and watched her. “I told you, you are taller.”

“This is ridiculous. I can’t go out like this.” She turned to him, and he grinned at the four inches of exposed midriff on what used to be a top she could tuck into her shorts. The shorts themselves were stretched to capacity.

“At least my feet are the same size. Why didn’t you shrink?”

He grinned. “I have my own adaptations that occurred with the balancing.”

“Like what?” She turned back to the mirror and scowled.

“Well, my lifespan is linked to yours now. We will die on the same day.”

Shock rippled through her. She turned slowly. “What?”

The sound must have been a little shrill, because he winced.

“It is part of the sacrifice the fey are willing to make to bring forth a new generation.” He shrugged, and the gator tattoo on his chest flexed.

“There are tons of wild magic zones around here. There is no shortage of magic or of the fey, for that matter.”

He smiled. “Yes, but none that call to me as you do.”

She had to admit that while she hadn’t met him before, she had enjoyed watching him at the local animal fundraisers. There were bunches of small rescues like hers, and it was expected that she had to attend as many as she could. It filled out the crowd, and the donors always had someone to talk to about animal health and survival.

Marina sighed and ran her hands over her butt. “This isn’t going to do.”

“I can assist you there if you will let me.”

“Um, sure.”

He walked toward her, and she was soon wearing a sundress with only a hint of underwear.

“What is it with you and skirts?”

“They are the easiest clothing style to create, and that way, I can do this.” He leaned in, gripped the back of her thighs and stood straight, carrying her with him.

She looped her arms around his neck and hung on. There was a flash of light, and they were back in his bedroom.

“So, you can just go from place to place without pausing?”

He nuzzled her neck. “Yes, all I need is a knowledge of what the landing site looks like. Once the first explorers landed here, it was easy for the first fey to arrive and integrate with the locals. The fey on board simply transported home and then returned with its family.”

She sighed and closed her eyes as he gently rubbed his lips across her neck, nibbling as he went.

“I have to get back to the rescue.”

He nodded against her throat. “I guessed as much. I was just attempting to distract you.”

Marina chuckled. “It nearly worked. If I didn’t have to let the lady and her baby out into the water today, I wouldn’t have interrupted the distraction.”

He nodded and slowly lowered her down his body. When his hands left her butt, she felt cool, but when he was wearing a skintight t-shirt and well-worn jeans a moment later, she felt hot all over again.

She blasted air upward to fluff her bangs and smiled at him. “Ready when you are.”

He smiled and wrapped his arms around her. He sighed happily and murmured, “I am really pulling for a two-month honeymoon.”

She was blushing scarlet when they arrived at the rescue.

Irdan landed them near the tanks, and Toby came running the moment that they landed.

“Marina, you won’t believe what they are planning to... What the hell happened to you?”

Marina stepped away from Irdan but kept hold of his hand. “Fey STD. Now, what were you saying?”

Toby shook his head and nodded. “Right. They are going over an expansion and are planning to fund us for a decade!”

He hugged her and then stepped back. “You’re taller.”

“Yeah. That happened.”

“And your ears are pointy.”

“Yep.”

“You are half elf?” He put it together as most humans would have.

“Sort of. I definitely have a bit of fey inside me.”

Irdan murmured, “Or you did a few hours ago.”

She moved toward him and elbowed him in the ribs.

He made a satisfying sound, and Marina was back to business.

“How is the momma and calf?”

“Healthy, happy and ready to leave.”

Marina pulled Irdan with her as they walked toward the tank with the pregnant females.

“Do you have the camera handy?”