This fact makes Amber’s smile widen as she pats a free space on the blanket next to her. “Sit?”
The Nolan has returned to Nia’s side, so I do not want to go back there. I settle between these females, half-listening to their names as they introduce themselves.
They offer grapes, but I decline. There are times when grapes taste sweet and other times when they are very sour. There is no telling which type of grape these are, so I should not eat them with an audience. These Seelie would not be impressed if I found a sour one and spit it out right in front of them. That is what the bush behind my wagon is for.
The one who introduced herself as Charlotte trails a sharp blue nail down the veins on the back of my hand. “You have large hands.”
“I bet everything about you is large, isn’t it?” There is hunger in Amber’s eyes when she says this, but I do not believe she is thinking of the grape she pops between her pink lips.
“I like to think so.” I might not be the tallest male in my clan, but I am also not the shortest.
This response earns me many giggles. Their laughter does not please me as much as another’s. Their smiles do not make me want to wear one of my own.
“Are you swimming today?” Bonnie asks as she shucks off her loose dress, revealing a swimming costume as blue as her eyes.
As if she heard their question, Nia abandons her Nolan and jogs back to the water alone. This is my chance.
“I think I will.”
Amber and Charlotte hop to their feet and take one of my hands each, pulling me to mine. The soft grass tickles my toes as we make our way between blankets and towels to the quarry’s edge.
All the sunlight makes the lake much warmer than the water on our side of the canyon. There are many squeals and playful splashes from the Seelie fae, but I do not join them. Instead, I swim out to where Nia floats on her back, her eyes closed as if lost to dreams.
The way the tips of her breasts peak against the peach fabric stirs my deepest, most secret desires. Thankfully, the effect she has on me is hidden beneath the water.
Our ripples kiss, then dance apart.
“I think I was born to be a mermaid.” Her eyes remain closed when she speaks, her voice whimsical and soft. A tender caress.
Does she realize I am the one who swims beside her, or does she think I am the Nolan?
“What is a mermaid?” This is a word I do not know.
Her lips curve higher, a smile for the sky above. At least she does not frown when she hears my voice. “A creature with a tail that lives in the sea.”
“Like a trout?”
She barks a laugh, a carefree sound that lifts on the breeze and straight into my heart. There is something wild andunrestrained about a laughing Nia that feeds the desire in my blood.
Her legs drop beneath the surface, and she pushes the water aside as she treads next to me, tiny droplets rolling down her cheeks. “Yes, Maddox. I wish to be a trout.”
If she were a trout, then I would drive my wagon to this quarry just to be close to her. If she were a trout, then?—
Splashing at my back disturbs our moment of peace. I turn in time to see Amber kicking through the water. When she reaches me, she smacks my back with a rushed, “Tag. You’re it.”
This “tag” must be some sort of Seelie custom?
“It means she wants you to chase after her,” Nia says with a roll of her eyes. “It’s a game.”
I do not want to chase after that one. She is a slow swimmer. There will be no sport in that.
Instead, I tap Nia’s shoulder. “Tag. You are it.”
Her eyes narrow, and she shoots forward, propelled by long, beautiful legs.
I slip under the surface and swim as fast as I can toward deeper waters, away from red-haired fae and unwanted interruptions. Who knows? Perhaps Nia will grow tired, and I will need to carry her to shore on my back, her legs wrapped around my torso, her chest pressed to my bare skin, only the tiny slip of fabric separating our bodies . . .
A glorious dream, indeed.
