Kelpie (Come Love a Fey) (18 page)

There
was a small splash, and I straightened.  I couldn’t see Leith, but there were
fading ripples in the water where he’d dove in.  I made my way to a large rock
at the edge of the lake and sat, inching my toes toward the water.  Taking a
deep breath, I slipped my foot in.  Leith was right, it wasn’t as icy as I had
expected.  I still did not feel inclined to plunge my whole body in there. 
Maybe he was crazy after all.

I
glanced out at the water, still seeing no sign of Leith.  Just when I was
starting to worry, his dark head broke the surface.  He was halfway across the
lake, treading water.  He turned and swam smoothly back toward my rock, coming
to stand waist deep not too far from my perch.  His sleek hair was plastered to
his head, and sparkling rivulets of water made their way down across his wide
shoulders and sculpted chest.  He had really filled out since I’d first met
him.  “Come play.”

I
licked my lips and pulled my feet back up on my rock.  I wished he would stop
using that word.  It was distracting.  “Sorry, I didn’t bring my swimsuit.”

He
crossed his arms.  “Neither did I.”

 “There
are probably snakes and leeches in there.”

He
laughed.  “Most likely.  I’ll protect you.”

I
shook my head.  I was only partially joking.  Water snakes and hidden things in
the water scared me.  He took a step toward me and I shrank back on my rock. 
Aw,
crap
.

“If
you don’t come in, I’ll come get you- clothes and all,” he warned evilly.  I
stood and hastily backed away.  “You skipped out on work.  I thought you were
living on the edge.”  He was laughing at me now.

I
gritted my teeth.  “Fine, fine,” I said, holding up my hands to ward him off. 
“Just wait, okay.  Unlike you, I actually enjoy wearing dry clothes.”

I
went to the blanket and took off my t-shirt, glad that I had worn a layered
tank underneath.  I considered for a moment before shedding my bra.  Since
Leith wasn’t human, he wouldn’t be fazed at my lack of decency, and I wouldn’t
have to wear a soaking wet torture device when I got out.  Sighing, I pulled
off my jeans and stood there in my tank and my polka-dot underwear.

“
Aaaaaada
….
any day now…,” Leith called mockingly.

I
turned and walked back to the water, feeling utterly ridiculous.  Leith was
standing where I had left him.  He grinned at me and pointed out across the
water.  “I’ll race you to the middle.”

I
rolled my eyes.  “Yeah, like that’s fair.”  He was a non-human with some sort
of affinity for water.  But then again, I’d spent every summer swimming in the
Great Lakes.  I gave him a pathetic look and he took a few more steps toward
the shore, decreasing the distance between us.  I pried my eyes away from the
beautifully sculpted area around his hipbones.  “I don’t know if I can,” I
whined.  “I’m not a very good swimmer…”

He
fell for it, relaxing his stance, and holding his hand out to me.  “Just come
here then.”

I
launched myself into motion and hit the water running, leapt past him, and dove
under the surface.  I spluttered as my head broke the surface, but I managed to
keep my arms and legs moving so I wouldn’t lose my slight advantage. 
Christ
it was cold
!

I
struck out toward the center of the lake, my body automatically falling into a
nice rhythm.  There was a splash behind me, but I didn’t turn to look.  I swam
as fast as I could, quickly realizing that the center of the lake was farther
away than it looked.  I felt my arms growing heavy and my breathing difficult. 
I glanced ahead to see Leith treading water in the center of the lake. 

“Son
of a bitch,” I gasped. 

His
deep laugh drifted to me across the water, and I gave up.  I flipped over to
float on my back while I tried to catch my breath.  Damn, he was fast.  
Oh
yeah
, I reminded myself,
not human
.  I floated closer to Leith and
he cupped his big hands in the water, spraying me like a geyser.  I turned
around and paddled back the way I had come, making sure to kick hard enough to
splash him.  The cool water felt delicious on my skin, and I had to admit I was
glad he had talked me into swimming. 

Finally,
I paddled to my rock.  It was on a bit of an outcropping, and there was a good-sized
drop-off right in front of it.  I was able to swim close then clamber up to my
seat.  I hugged my knees to my chest self-consciously, hiding the thin, clinging
shirt.

Leith
plunged beneath the water and I waited patiently for him to appear.  I saw a
glimpse of something dark beneath the water in front of me and smiled.  Leith
dripping wet was a sight to behold.  And I was pretty sure his underwear were
still sitting on the bank with the rest of his clothes.

The
water started to ripple over the deep spot just in front of me.  A massive head
broke the surface of the water, and I froze.  Water purled off a sleek black
head and dripped off the long wet mane of the creature before me.  Glowing red
eyes fixed on me, and the thing glided toward my rock.  I jumped to my feet
with a shriek and leapt to the shore, heart pounding.  There was a massive
splash behind me, followed by the sound of something large moving across the
rocky bank of the lake.  I didn’t look back.  Everything inside me was
screaming for me to run- and that is exactly what I did.

I
scrambled toward the woods as fast as I could.  I didn’t take time to orient
myself.  I headed toward what I thought was where we had left the car, and
prayed I had it right.  I didn’t have keys with me, but I would at least be
able to follow the road. 

There
was a crashing sound behind me, and I pushed myself to run faster.  I stubbed
my toes on sharp rocks and fallen limbs.  Sticks and branches tore at me as I
ran, their fingers like live things.  I heard Leith’s voice calling to me from
behind.  I didn’t slow down.

“Ada! 
Ada, please stop!”

I
gasped for air.  My lungs were screaming and my legs felt heavy.  I couldn’t
run flat out through the woods for much longer.  Part of me wanted to stop- it
was only Leith after all- but another, more primal, part of me said I should
run until I couldn’t run anymore.  I tripped over a branch and crashed to the
ground in a hurricane of moss and dead leaves.  There was a searing pain in my
knee as I rolled over and tried to find my feet.

I
pushed myself to my hands and knees and batted my damp hair out of my eyes.  As
I did, I caught a glimpse of Leith, standing right in front of me.  I froze for
a moment, then slowly pushed myself up to a kneeling position.  Even if I
jumped up and started running again, he would catch me in no time flat. 

He
had thrown on his jeans, but was still barefoot and bare-chested.  His eyes
were that light, light blue that said he had done some kind of magic.  He stood
there among the trees looking half-wild- and not a bit human.

He
came to squat in front of me, close, but not touching.  “Ada, I won’t hurt
you.  Are you okay?”

I
stared up at him.  I didn’t know what to say.  My mind was still denying the
thoughts whirring around inside my head.  He reached out a hand to tuck my hair
behind my ear and I flinched.  He dropped his hand with a sigh.  “I’m sorry
Ada.  I didn’t know it would frighten you so badly.”

He
shrugged.  “I thought maybe you had let your guard down enough to accept me.”

I
finally found my voice.  “That wasn’t you.”  It was barely a whisper and it
sounded frantic, even to my own ears.  “It’s not possible.  Things like that
don’t exist.”

He
ran his hand through his tangled hair and regarded me with a blank look for a
moment.  “Ada, darling, you need to let it go.  Stop clinging to the lies
you’re telling yourself before you drive yourself mad.”

I
shook my head.  “I’m…you’re not…”

He
stood and took a step back.  “Watch.  Don’t run away this time.”

I
shook my head in denial.  He shucked his pants, and I kept my gaze trained on
his eyes.  They flashed red and his body began to waver.  I scrunched my eyes
closed.  “No!”

I
sat there, eyes closed, frozen in terror.  There was a shush of movement and
velvety lips nuzzled my shoulder.  I cowered, and warm breath stirred the hair
by my ear, making me jump.  I scrunched up my face and stretched out a hand,
blindly feeling silky hair and rippling muscle.  I took a deep breath and
opened my eyes.

The
first thing I saw was a gigantic black hoof.  My eyes traveled up a long,
muscular leg with flowing black fetlocks, to the massive shoulder that filled
my view.  I turned my head and the creature stepped back.  It was the biggest
horse I had ever seen.  It…
he
… was a deep coal black with long, feathery
fetlocks and a mane and tail that flowed unnaturally, as if they were floating
on water.  He perked his long ears forward curiously and regarded me with
bright, burning red eyes.

I
slowly stood and brushed the dirt and leaves off my damp underwear.  My head
barely reached the beast’s shoulder.  I swallowed hard and took a deep breath,
feeling like my entire world was poised on some precipice. 

I
reached out and ran my hand down the creature’s neck, patting him gently on the
shoulder as I would a normal horse.  His hair was unbelievably silky under my
fingers…just like Leith’s.  He swiveled his head to look at me and I pressed my
forehead to his.  “I’m sorry,” I said softly.  “I’m sorry I’ve been such an
idiot.”

He
withdrew his head and nudged me in the shoulder again.  Then the magnificent creature
bent his front legs and knelt down.  I took a nervous step forward.  He tossed
his head impatiently and I buried my hand in the long, silky hair at the base
of his mane.  Closing my eyes, I took a deep breath and swung myself up onto
the broad back.

It
had been a long time since I had ridden a horse, and never one so huge.  I
gasped and clamped my knees to its sides as the creature-I couldn’t think of it
as Leith- stood and started walking.  He headed back the way we had come, his
movements smooth and fluid.  I relaxed a degree and he picked up the pace,
trotting, then breaking into a full out run, effortlessly dodging the trees and
branches in his way.

At
first, I clenched my eyes closed and hung on for dear life, but I slowly
realized that it was physically impossible to fall off.  Some magic kept me on
his back.  I opened my eyes and watched the forest fly by.  It was exhilarating
and I laughed aloud, startling myself.

 We
reached the clearing by the lake and he circled a few times before stopping by
our stuff.  I put my legs on one side of his back and clumsily slid off,
collapsing on the blanket.  I rested my arm over my face to block out the glare
of the bright afternoon sun, still shaking with laughter.

There
was a movement at my side and I glanced over to see Leith, in human form,
stretched out beside me.  He propped himself up on an elbow, and grinned down
at me.  “This is more the reaction I was hoping for,” he admitted happily.

I
looked up at the wispy white clouds over our heads.  The sun was warm on my
skin.  “I don’t know how to take all of this,” I said slowly.  “But I believe
you.  I thought I believed you before- but I didn’t.  Not really.”  I glanced
over at him.  “You must think I’m the world’s biggest moron.”

He
shrugged, not denying it, and I slapped him lightly on the shoulder.  “Jerk.”

He
chuckled.  Deep blue eyes sparkled down at me.  “I did say you would regret
your disbelief.”

He
was enjoying my embarrassment.  Meanwhile, I was growing more and more aware of
him.  It must be the magic, I told myself.  Every time he did something
strange, I felt myself being pulled into his orbit.  I closed my eyes to block
out the radiance.  There was a whisper of movement and Leith sat up.  “I’m
sorry you were hurt,” he said seriously. 

I
shook my head.  “I’m fine.”

There
was a soft touch on my leg and I opened my eyes to see him inspecting my
injured knee.  I sat up to see a massive scrape there.  It looked pretty deep. 
As I watched, a drop of blood oozed from the gash and began to trickle down my
leg.  I moved to wipe it away, but Leith caught my hand.

“Let
me do this for you.”  I met his eyes and they flashed to red as they had the
day I cut my finger.

He
slipped his big hands behind my leg, cupping the back of my thigh and calf to hold
my leg still.  I  held my breath as he bent and gently licked the wound.  The
pain disappeared instantly.  He lifted his head and those glowing eyes met
mine.  I blushed, realizing that his hand had slid up as he held me still.  His
long fingers softly stroked the back of my thigh, and I closed my eyes.

“Ada,”
his low voice was a whisper of sound that lit a fire in me.  He had never
denied the fizz of chemistry between us, but he was always careful to
acknowledge the promise he had made to me that first night- that he wouldn’t
cross this line.

I
had upheld that distance too, denying my feelings, and his effect on me.  But
just now, I couldn’t remember why.  I opened my eyes and slipped my arms around
his neck, pulling him down to me as my fingers stroked the silky hair at the
nape of his neck.  He held himself over me for a moment, those red eyes
watching mine, gauging my seriousness.  Then he lowered his lips to mine.  It
was like opening a floodgate.  I ran my hands down along his broad back,
exploring the magnificent body that I had admired from a distance for so long. 
He shifted his weight, slipping a hand behind my head, and deepened the kiss.