“Yes. Let’sdefinitelyhave an escort.”
He laughs and sets some money down on the table, leaving an extravagant tip, judging by the waitress’s smile when she comes over to take it. She pats his shoulder. “Don’t leave it so long, Sigurd. I like seeing that bonny face and pretty smile.” She winks at me. “It’s a lot more in evidence today.”
I beam at her, inexplicably pleased.
After exchanging goodbyes, we walk outside where the wind and rain hit us. “So, how do we get there? Will you fly?”
“Not this morning. We will take the car to one of the entrances.” He smiles. “Ah, that disappoints you?” I nod, and his smile deepens. “Then, when we leave, we will come out another way, and I will fly us back.”
The wind intensifies. Waves are now battering the harbour, sending spray over the nearby shops. I stagger at a sudden gust that sends me reeling into him. He sets his hand on my back to steady me, his eyes concerned as he looks at the seething water.
“Let us move quickly, Cary. I think we may not have as much time as I initially thought.”
We make haste to the car, and I set up my new phone so as not to distract him as he drives along the coast. The winds shove at the car, and his big hands are tight on the wheel.
I notice an email from Adrian informing me that my temporary contract has been cancelled, and I wrinkle my nose.Cock.
I look at Sigurd. He’d never punish me if we part ways. I know it with a deep certainty. He has too generous a nature. Still, I suppose Adrian did me a favour in the end. If he hadn’t mantrummed himself off, I wouldn’t be here now, having the adventure of a lifetime with the most fascinating man I’ve ever known.
Finally, we slow and Sigurd parks in a deserted National Trust car park.
“Here?” I say in astonishment. “The entrance to the watery underworld ishere?”
He chuckles. “With your flair for the dramatic, mayhap you should be starring at the Minack rather than merely visiting it.”
I reach over and pinch him, enjoying his laughter. The laughter dies, and he reaches for me, cupping my face in his hands. “So pretty,” he murmurs. “The prettiest face I haveeverseen.”
After I mumble a disagreement, his eyes sharpen and he says, “If I had years with you, I still do not think I could stop your self-deprecation.”
“It keeps me humble.”
He laughs and brings his mouth to mine. The kiss is soft at first, just the gentle brush of his lips over mine, but the ever-present hunger rises in both of us, and he growls, pressing me back against the car seat as his hands begin to roam.
A sudden squall rocks the car, dying away to a lonely wail, and our lips separate.
“Later?” he says.
“Definitely.”
He drops a kiss on my nose and pulls back. “Then let us go. We have a little walk ahead of us, but if the cliff path is too dangerous, I will shift and bear us down.”
In the end, he doesn’t need to do that. It’s a windy little path that I might think twice of taking in this weather, but with Sigurd’s tall, steady body next to mine, I don’t fear anything.
We step onto the sand, and I look around curiously. The beach is beautiful, even in a storm; the sand is pale and golden, and the water is a strange blue-green shot through with purple. Sigurd takes my hand in his and guides me quickly across the sand towards the towering cliffs at the beach’s edge.
Even at the pace of a route march, it’s nice to hold hands with him. I don’t think I’ve ever held a man’s hand before, but I’m prepared to bet if I’d done so with a thousand men, nothing would feel as nice as with Sigurd.
We reach the rocks, and he stops. “Careful here, Cary. It is very slippery. One misstep and you will end up in the sea.”
We scramble across them, and I see a huge gap in the cliffs in front of us. “Is that a cave?” I ask.
He nods, pausing at the entrance and looking back across the beach. “This was once a pilgrimage site,” he says, his eyes unfocused as if he’s watching his memories. “I would come here sometimes with Merlin, and the line of penitents would stretch all the way across the beach.”
“What was he like?”
He smiles, refocusing on me as he comes back to the present. “You would have liked him.” He cups my cheek. “And he would have liked you far too much for my peace of mind. Let us hope that won’t happen.”
“But he’s dead, isn’t he?”
