“I’d love to, thank you.” Ted wanted to ask about the ‘we’ she kept referring to, but Irma was already gone, closing the door silently behind her. Exceptionally pleased with his choice, Ted busied himself unpacking and putting things in order. He liked to know where everything was, and in under an hour he had his clothes sorted; his workbooks, computers, and technology tucked away in the desk; and his swim trunks on. A flicker of movement caught his eye as he smeared reef-safe sunscreen on his arms, and Ted turned to walk to the balcony.
He promptly dropped the bottle of lotion at his feet.
A goddess if he’d ever seen one, a woman emerged from the water, her dark hair slicked back and so long it almost hit her waist. Her curvaceous body was clad in the tiniest scraps of red material he’d ever had the joy to look upon, which barely contained her considerable assets. His mouth went dry as he watched her saunter up the sand, turning to laugh back at someone behind her. When another woman emerged from the water, Ted swallowed as sweat broke out on his brow. He’d seen his fair share of beautiful women – hell, you couldn’t walk ten paces in Boston without a stunner turning your head – but these women were something else.
His eyes were drawn back to the dark-haired woman. He watched her unabashedly, for he felt hidden in the shadows of the balcony. She was the stuff dreams were made of – no, fantasies, really – and his hands itched for a pencil to sketch this moment into his brain. No earthly woman could be this stunning, could she?
Heat flashed over his face when she turned and looked him dead in the eyes. Caught staring, Ted’s face flushed with heat and he was glad for the hat that shaded his face – surely she couldn’t see his blush from down there. Smiling up at him, the goddess blew him a cheeky kiss before continuing her saunter inside.
Ted dropped to the low-slung chair and took a few moments to just breathe. Never had he felt the punch of a woman’s power like he did this one. It was like her energy had rolled across the beach and grabbed his soul, twisting it in knots until he didn’t know whether to beg or run away. All he knew was that he had never in his life seen a woman so confident in her own power.
And it appeared they were staying in the same inn.
Not sure whether to be grateful or terrified, Ted waited the requisite thirty minutes for the sunscreen to soak into his skin before venturing to the beach. He needed that time to calm his racing heart down as well, and push any untoward fantasies from his head. It wouldn’t do to fantasize about another guest, he reminded himself. He was here for his work.
His one true love.
Chapter 3
Jolie slammed the door to her room and raced to the bathroom, closing and locking that door before Mirra read her emotions and came after her. She just needed… a second. Or thousands of them. Her heart hammered in her chest and she gripped the sink, staring into the mirror. She looked slaphappy – giddy, almost – with wide eyes and pink-tinged cheeks. Bending, she turned the tap on and splashed some water across her face. It wasn’t enough. Needing to cool down, Jolie stepped into the shower and ducked her head under the cool stream of water.
Her skin burned with need and her hand slipped to the straps of her bikini, untying them slowly and imagining the hands of her lover following their path over her body. Gasping, she pressed her hands to herself, once, twice, and finally offered herself a quick release of the tension that had shot through her the instant she’d caught sight of him.
Him.
The one she’d been waiting for all these years. Searching, Irma had said; Jolie was always searching. She’d be first to greet a new boat of sailors visiting, or happy to welcome any new tourists to town. It wasn’t out of curiosity or boredom, oh no – it was because Irma was right. Jolie had been looking for her man, the one who’d been shown to her ages ago, the one she knew she’d feel the instant he was before her.
Grateful that she hadn’t fallen into a puddle in the sand and had instead blown him a cheeky kiss before bolting inside, Jolie braced her arms against the shower wall and let the water run over her, soothing her skin. She took a few deep breaths to calm her scrambled thoughts.
It had been the oracle who’d shown her. Rarely did Jolie keep secrets from Mirra, but they’d kept their readings private from each other. It was a tradition of her people: The oracle provided a reading upon a child’s birth and on their sixteenth birthday. Jolie remembered that day vividly.
It had been one of their biannual trips deep into the ocean to visit her mother’s family. Though Mirra and Jolie were technically considered half-breeds because their father was human, they were always welcomed with open arms. In a society that was slowly dying off, babies were a reason to celebrate.
The oracle had swum with her, taking her deep inside an underground cavern where her magick would be hidden. Only then did the oracle close her eyes and project her reading on Jolie. The reading, presented in images in Jolie’s mind instead of words, had seared into her memory.
She’d seen babies, many of them, and herself laughing with a man. A bridge, the oracle had kept flashing at her, until Jolie realized that part of her destiny was to be a bridge between their two kinds. It wasn’t just about love – not for Jolie, at least. It was also about bringing understanding, acceptance, and growth to the merfolk who so desperately needed it. For centuries they’d been hunted, and as their numbers grew lower, a new choice was upon them: Bring humans into their fold or perish. It seemed the oracle wanted her family to work on it – as they were of both land and sea – and with that, her fate had been sealed.
But the man – oh, she’d only seen him for a second in the vision, but he’d also been imprinted in her mind. Not to mention how happy she’d looked.
She’d searched ever since, for ten years now, and was beginning to think the oracle had been wrong about her. Maybe she’d confused the reading because of Jolie’s human blood?
But one look at Dr. Theodore Macalister had told her everything she needed to know.
And for that, she needed to bring out the big guns. Straightening, Jolie turned off the water and dried off, then wrapped her long hair into a towel and padded naked to her closet to examine her first line of attack – her wardrobe. She’d learned a lot about men over the years, and one thing she knew was that they loved a woman who showcased herself well. Biting her lip, she pawed through racks of dresses until she found something short, tight, and red. Red was a good color for her, and she knew for a fact it got men’s pulses racing – she could feel their hearts start pounding from across the room.
Jolie pulled the dress over her head and shimmied it down her body inch by inch. She decided to forego any undergarments and let her body do the talking. She didn’t expect it would be long before Dr. Macalister would be taking it off of her anyway, so why bother with underwear?
Humming to herself, she approached her makeup bag, then stepped back and examined her face in the mirror again. The shine was still on her, and Jolie decided the dress would be a statement on its own. After tucking some turquoise dangles in her ears, she unwrapped her hair and let it drop to her waist, knowing the sea breezes would tease it dry shortly. Humming, Jolie padded barefoot to the kitchen to dig up something to eat – as well as the gossip on their newest houseguest.