She wrapped her arms around his neck and Zach dropped his hands to her thighs, lifting her to hold her even closer as he kissed her. She wrapped her legs around his thighs, sinking into the heat of his mouth and reveling in the pressure of his hard length pressed between them.
Every time she touched him, the Shadows grew clearer, more demanding, and she shivered as her mulberry tones embraced his sea-blue Shadows. The fluttering in her belly danced to life while expanding Shadows rippled through the air around them.
The sun was hot on her shoulders. The sea was cold, tugging at them as waves and currents surged. But the pressure building between her and Zach was hotter and stronger than everything else. All the kissing, all the touching, and all the ways he’d shared his secrets and his trust had built her need into a furnace. Before he left, she wanted everything he would give her.
He let her go with a last, firm press of his lips to hers, his eyes full of promise. “Are you going to show me the bay?” he asked, his voice low and rumbling.
She could hardly breathe, but she made herself nod and concentrate on what she was doing as they climbed back on their boards. As much as she wanted to drag Zach back to her house and spend the rest of the day naked, she also wanted to share this part of her life with him.
She took him on a tour around the bay, pointing out her favorite places. He particularly enjoyed the stories of the pirates who had once hidden behind Old Harry’s Rocks waiting for passing merchant ships. Maybe one day they could walk up the headland and look out across the bay together.
Eventually, she reached the end of her tour and they sat on their boards, letting the sea rock them in the sunshine.
Slowly Zach’s smile faded and the lines reappeared on his forehead. “I should get out on the water more,” he admitted. “I wish I hadn’t spent so much of my time working for people who didn’t care and were never going to change. People who never had anyone’s best interests at heart except their own.”
Whatever his friends had told him had unsettled him and she already knew he would try to push those feelings away. “Do you want to talk about it?”
“Not really,” Zach murmured. “But we probably should.”
He dipped his hand in the cool water, watching the horizon for a long moment before turning to face her. “We think Gordon has taken control of the Council. They’re supporting him. And he’s been maneuvering toward a meeting with the Prime Minister.”
Damn. No wonder Zach had looked so concerned. She paddled closer and rested her hand on his arm—it was slowly becoming more natural to simply reach out to him—wishing she could help.
“Emma, is there anything at all that you think could help us find Gordon? Maybe where he lives or might have gone? If we knew where he was, maybe we could stop him before this gets any worse.”
Emma shook her head sadly. She’d hidden away from her father and the Order for so many years. And now, when she needed to help, she couldn’t. She couldn’t even help as a Seer. “I’m sorry. You know I would do anything to stop him. Do you think maybe if I went to London—”
“No. I don’t want you to go anywhere near Gordon. Honestly, I’m glad you’re out of it.” He gave her a tight smile. “We’ll figure it out.”
“Okay, but I think—”
“Please, Emma. I don’t want you to have to face Gordon again.”
She nodded slowly. Zach was right, there wasn’t anything she could do, and she didn’t want to make it worse for him than it already was. “Okay. But if you think of something I can help with, then we need to talk about it again.”
Zach grunted. He didn’t agree, exactly, but he didn’t disagree either. He covered her hand with his own, holding her close. “There is something else I want to speak to you about.”
He sounded so serious that she almost shivered. But his hand was big and warm on hers, and he’d turned himself in a way that made it seem as if he was building a shield with his body, a wall of protection between the rest of the world and her.
“Do you remember when I told you about how Ethan and Bryn Healed James?” Zach asked quietly.
She blinked at him. “I remember.”
A swell lifted their boards and Zach’s hand tightened on hers. “How would you feel about trying something like that yourself?”
How did she feel about someone looking at her Shadows? How did she feel about opening herself up like that? God. “I don’t…. I mean, I can’t….” A hundred bullying taunts came back to her in a rush and Emma forced them away. They didn’t define her, not anymore. Zach was trying to help her. “I don’t know,” she murmured.
Zach lifted his hand to cup her chin, tilting her head so that she looked straight into his eyes. “You are perfect exactly as you are.”
“But?” she whispered.
A muscle clenched in his jaw. “There is nobut. The last thing I want—the very last thing—is for you to think that’s what I’m saying.”
She leaned her cheek into Zach’s palm, allowing herself to absorb the reassuring strength of his hand and to feel the connection that hummed between them. “Whatareyou saying?”
“Ethan thinks he and Bryn might be able to Heal your Shadows,” Zach said softly. “But only if that’s what you want.”
The sun beat down, hot on her skin. Somewhere, in the distance, children played. A motorboat roared across the bay. But they might as well have been a million miles away. There was only her and Zach.
