Ocean's Touch (17 page)

Then, after they’d said their good-byes and Alex had swooped her out of the door, she had a different thought.

Maybe he does know?
she wondered.
And if he does know…

Is he marking his territory?

Chapter Thirteen

“You miss it, don’t you?” Meredith asked.

Dylan turned around from where he’d been gazing out to the sea. For a split second, Dylan’s glamour dropped and Meredith saw him as he truly was—iron-haired, black-eyed, and clad only in his sealskin. He looked fierce, preternatural, and sublimely, frighteningly beautiful.

Then that image faded as Dylan’s magic reasserted itself, and the man before Meredith was still handsome, but human, clad in a pair of low-slung jeans.

“Of course,” he said, although he smiled at her as he said so, beckoning her closer. Meredith went to him, letting Dylan wrap his strong, warm arms around her. “I always miss the sea when I’m away from her. But I’ve enjoyed my time with you.”

His whispered words caressed her ear, and she shivered.

“Will you be going soon?” Meredith asked.

“Yes,” was his only reply.

Meredith’s heart ached at those words, despite having known this would happen. Dylan was a selkie; his world wasn’t her world. But she’d miss him.

“Will you visit?” She asked eventually.

“Of course,” he said, pulling back to look into her eyes. “As often as you’ll have me.”

“Good,” she told him, and she meant it. While she understood his need to return home, that didn’t mean she wanted him out of her life entirely.

They kissed then, gently, before Dylan withdrew, walking her up the beach to where he could lay his sealskin on dry land. Then he pulled her down onto it, so they could cuddle and watch the waves.

“How was your meeting?” he asked.

Meredith groaned. “A nightmare. Not the meeting—that was fine. But Teddy’s mother knew I’d gone to Alex’s party. She called it an orgy.”

“I think that, technically, it was,” Dylan reminded her archly, as he ran a strong hand over her ribs.

“Yes, well, she wasn’t happy. Believe it or not, however, I told her where to stick it.”

“You did?”

“Yes. I had no idea I was going to, and I had no idea what I was going to say. But she just started going at me, the way she does, and it’s like a switch flipped inside me. I realized all these things I should have long before.”

“Such as?” Dylan asked.

“That she does hate me, yes, but she would have hated any woman who came between her and Teddy. And that I’ve spent all these years doing half of what I do because I’m hoping one day she’ll turn to me and say, ‘you know what, Meredith, I was wrong. You’re a great person and I’m glad my son loved you’.“

Dylan cuddled her closer. “But she’ll never say those things,” he said.

“Exactly. She’ll always hate me. Not because of me, but because she’s got a screw loose when it comes to her son.”

“I wish I could say you were wrong, but from what I’ve heard about this woman, you’re probably right. Not all love is good or natural. There are loves that seek only to possess.”

“It’s funny—it actually makes me feel better about Teddy,” Meredith mused.

“How so?” Dylan asked.

“It’s like part of me has been wondering these last few days if I’m supposed to be mad at Teddy. If I’m supposed to reverse the way I think about him, and see him not as loving but as possessive. But realizing what he was raised with…the man did his best to love me. And he did a damned good job of loving me, when you consider the kind of love he saw growing up.”

Dylan nodded, kissing Meredith’s forehead gently.

“Anyway,” Meredith continued, “I also realized that if I’m doing half of the things I do only for Teddy’s mother, then why the hell am I doing them? So I told her I want less responsibility. Not
no
responsibility; that estate is a part of me now. But not
all
of the responsibility.”

“I’m sure she was none too pleased to hear that.”

“No,” Meredith grimaced, remembering the fury on Mrs. Casaubon’s face. “But she changed her tune when I told her that part of my letting go meant she could take a larger role. She hated being cut out of the running of Teddy’s estate, so she was very happy to hear that part of the plan.”

“And what are you going to do with all your new free time?”
 

“I’ve no idea. Honestly, I didn’t know I was going to say those things. It was just all so obvious in the moment, which means nothing’s thought through. But I’ve always wanted to travel. Maybe finish my PhD. Definitely get more involved with the art world again.”

“Well, it might have turned out differently from what you’d imagined, but it sounds like it was a productive meeting.”

“It was,” Meredith said. Then a frown crossed her face, and he felt her stiffen, infinitesimally, in his arms. “And afterward, Alex was waiting for me.”

“Oh?” Dylan said, opening up his empathic channels farther. Up until that second, Meredith had been radiating a surreal calm very unlike herself. The discussion with Teddy’s mother had obviously clarified a lot of deep-seated anxieties for Meredith. But upon bringing up Alex, her emotions were once again roiling.

“We went to lunch. We talked.”

“About?”

“Nothing really. Which surprised me. When he first saw me he said we needed to talk, but then we only discussed random stuff. About our lives, about traveling, about the art scene.”

“Was it enjoyable?”

“Yes,” Meredith admitted. “Very much so. But before we went to lunch we ran into the Dorchesters—they’re an elderly couple here in Seal Harbor—and he made some quip about wooing me. Maybe it was just for their benefit, but after that comment and obviously after what happened at his house, I thought we did have quite a bit to discuss. But then we get to lunch, and nothing came up about what was said, or done.”

“Do you think Alex was serious about what he said to the Dorchesters?” Dylan asked. While he hadn’t been there and couldn’t be certain, Dylan would be willing to bet his sealskin Alex had meant every word.

“I’ve got no idea,” Meredith said. “He’s a mystery to me.”

Dylan gritted his jaw as Meredith’s anxiety skyrocketed.

“You’re upset, lass,” Dylan said gently. “Did he say something? Do something you didn’t like?”

Meredith shook her head. “No, we had a really wonderful lunch. I love spending time with him. We seem to have so much in common…”

Meredith’s words trailed off as, again, her emotions kicked like a mule.

“But?” Dylan prompted patiently.

“What if he is interested, and I do the same thing I did with Teddy?” Meredith asked, her voice small as her anxiety went through the roof.

“What do you mean, lass?” Dylan asked.

“What if he takes over my life, like I let Teddy do before?”

“Ah. I see. Do you think Alex’d want that?”

Meredith paused. “I know he’s different from Teddy. But Alex is still a strong person and a strong personality. He obviously has…” Meredith tried to quantify what she’d seen at Alex’s exhibition. “Tastes and predilections,” she settled on eventually.

“And you’re afraid they’ll become your tastes and predilections?”

Meredith nodded. “It’s not that I hate his lifestyle, or whatever. I barely know Alex, in so many ways. But I’m afraid that if we become a couple—or, to be frank, if I get involved with anyone—I’ll lose myself again. Like I did before.”

Dylan sighed, snuggling into Meredith’s side.

“You’re no longer twenty-one, lass,” he reminded her. “And the twenty-one-year-old you were was untested, still forming. Since then you’ve been through fire.”

Meredith frowned. She didn’t take compliments well.

“Listen,” Dylan said, looking down into her troubled, dark eyes. “I think you should try it on with Alex. See what happens. You may not even like each other,” he said, pretty sure he was lying about that last one. “And if I come back after a spell and discover you’ve dyed your hair red and grown a goatee, I’ll kick your arse.”

Meredith giggled, her anxiety dissipating. “I’m being an idiot, aren’t I?” she asked.

“Not an idiot. But you’re definitely overthinking things. Maybe Alex picks his nose at the dinner table, and you’ll never get past that first date,” Dylan joked, happy to see Meredith’s eyes sparkling again.

“Um, well, we’ll know about his table manners sooner rather than later,” Meredith said, blushing again. “We’re to go to his house for dinner. Tomorrow night.”

“We?” Dylan asked.

“Yes. He asked about you. I said you were a friend, visiting. He invited both of us.”

“Hmm,” Dylan said, wondering what Ladislaw had planned. He also knew that Meredith would need distracting, or she’d move her anxiety over to tomorrow’s dinner. “Well, that leaves us the rest of the evening. I vote we have a swim now. How about fresh lobster for dinner?”

“That sounds delicious,” Meredith said, since Dylan had already proved himself to be quite the chef. But she had needs other than hunger.

“As long as somewhere along the line we get to have sex. At least twice,” she added. Dylan laughed, already pulling her cardigan and turtleneck over her head.

“Deal. But I’ve one other request, in payment for my services,” he said, grinning as she tried to look offended and failed. She stripped off her boots, skirt, and tights before answering.

“And what would that be?” she asked, cocking one sexy hip as she reached behind her to unclasp her very unsexy bra. Dylan stared hungrily at her breasts as they were revealed by the falling fabric.

“We burn your wardrobe,” Dylan replied, then picked Meredith up and carried her off to his ocean before she could argue with him.

Chapter Fourteen

Alex felt honored that Meredith had worn something so different for him, and not just once, but twice.

He’d grinned broadly when he’d opened his door to find her standing there in the shortest skirt he’d ever seen her wear. Granted, it was modestly cut at right over the knee, but still. She was also wearing silk stockings instead of her usual thick tights, and high heels instead of boots. It took him a bit to tear his eyes away from her gorgeous long legs, and as he mixed Dylan and Meredith a martini each, he couldn’t for the life of him remember what she was wearing on top.

Maybe nothing?
he thought wistfully as he poured their drinks and headed back to his guests.

What he didn’t know was that Meredith hadn’t had any choice but to wear something new for Alex—Dylan had been completely serious about getting rid of her “uniform” of tights, long skirts, turtlenecks, and cardigans. Meredith hadn’t actually let him burn them, although he’d tried. Instead she had finally, grumblingly, allowed her selkie lover to gather all of her old clothes in garbage bags, to be donated to charity. No fool, Dylan had insisted they drop the bags by Goodwill that afternoon, on their way to buy Meredith new clothes.

Also no pushover, Dylan had made her get rid of everything. Meredith had to wear one of her yoga outfits—the only clothing he let her keep was her new dress, new lingerie, and workout gear—to go shopping. Knowing she felt self-conscious in her gym clothes, they’d started at Wendy’s, who was thrilled to see them again so soon. Then they’d gone to a mall an hour away to fill out the rest of Meredith’s wardrobe.

Now, instead of clothing that made her look like she might belong to a patriarchal religious cult, Meredith had fresh, modern suits with sleek cuts; an assortment of casual clothing that was still well tailored; and, at Dylan’s insistence, a wide range of lingerie and night things, the like of which Meredith had never owned.

But she had to admit she felt wonderful. The soft silk of her blouse rustled against her skin as she reached out for the gin martini Alex offered her. Granted, she nearly spilled her drink when he replied to her thanks with a cheeky wink, but she managed to salvage it, blushing fiercely instead.

Once Alex had taken his own seat across from Dylan and Meredith, he raised his glass in a toast. They were seated in a small, comfortable corner of Alex’s vast living room that housed two love seats set up around a narrow coffee table. An enormous painting of a woman and a black swan by Tara McPherson loomed on the wall above Alex’s head.

“To new friends and to old friendships redefined,” Alex said, and his guests clinked their glasses with his.

When they sat back, Alex smiled at the couple across from him.

“It’s nice to meet you properly, Dylan,” Alex said.

“And yourself,” Dylan said, smiling and exuding as much friendliness as he could. He didn’t want Alex to see him as competition.

“I’ve been trying to place that accent, but it’s confusing. Not quite Scottish, not quite Irish…”

“I’m from those parts, but farther north. I’ve mostly lived on the sea,” Dylan said vaguely.

“Ah. And how do you know Meredith?”

“Oh, we just met. I like her beach,” Dylan said, causing Meredith to blush an even deeper shade of red.

“I’m sure you do,” Alex said, smiling. “And how long are you staying?” Meredith couldn’t help but wonder why he was so carefully grilling Dylan about questions she’d already answered at their lunch the day before.