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  She looked around, surprised to find herself standing inside what appeared to be half a bubble surrounded by water. She shuddered. It felt unnatural, she shouldn’t be in human form while surrounded by water. How was she supposed to breathe? Or swim?

  Okay, she knew how she’d swim, she was just as capable of swimming in human form as she was when a full kelpie, but that wasn’t the point.

  “I don’t like this,” Flint murmured from behind her, and she could sense his uneasiness. She let go of the hand of the blue prince and turned to meet his worried eyes. His fire seemed dimmer than before and she wondered why. Until she began cursing herself, that was. How hadn’t she realised that being underwater, even if it was in a bubble of air, would be uncomfortable for someone whose whole body was filled with fire?

  Instead of saying anything, she slipped her hand into Flint’s and squeezed. He returned the gesture, a weak smile flitting over his face.

  “I thought you floated on the top of the water?” Cam asked shortly after arriving himself, with Jared and his na fir ghorma.

  We used to, but now the humans are too many.

  “Ah.”

  It is safer to live beneath the seas and surface only at night.

  “For you maybe,” Flint muttered darkly.

  You’re perfectly safe Flame-Man. Nothing has broken through our dome since we created it.

  “Why do you even have a dome?” Macey asked, still slightly in awe of her surroundings. She looked up, watching as marine life went on above the dome. A shadow passed overhead, swinging its tail from side to side in a graceful movement. Well, she never thought she’d see a shark swimming above her head. Or at least, not one that wasn’t in an aquarium. She shivered slightly, wondering what else was real, and suddenly feeling like she was a sheltered loch kelpie. No wonder her people traditionally went on quests, there was so much more to life than their one loch.

  We need air as well as water. Our ancestors discovered this way of getting both.

  “But I don’t feel wet,” Jared said, stepping up behind Macey and stroking her back gently. If he carried on doing that, then she certainly would be.

  The air is filled with what we need. The salt and the essence. It gives us what we need while still allowing us to breathe.

  “I’m so reassured.”

  “Flint!” Macey scolded, mortified by his sarcasm. They were guests. Instead, the na fir ghorma Prince seemed to chuckle, his shoulders lifting up and down as he did, but no real sound coming out, nor did it appear in his mind.

  I feel the same on land Flame-Man. But I promise you are safe.

  “Thank you,” Macey answered hastily, before Flint or one of her other men spoke without thinking and ruined a good thing.

  We’ll be having a feast in your honour this evening, I’ll have some clothing sent to your room.

  “Room?” Macey squeaked, causing Flint to squeeze her hand this time, and Jared to press his hand more firmly against her back.

  Yes, room. You are the Wardens, correct?

  “I...yes,” she answered, realising that denying it wouldn’t do them much good right at this moment.

  Then I will take you to your room.

  Chapter 9

  If you ignored that the bedroom had a glass ceiling that looked out into the ocean, it wasn’t all that different from a house on Earth. With the exception that it was rare to find a bedroom with seven large beds. Was that just coincidence or connected to the Seven Wardens?

  Macey was a little apprehensive about it all. It seemed like the blue men had high expectations for them. And she knew absolutely nothing about the prophecy, or what it had to do with her.

  Jared threw himself onto one of the beds and spread out his arms. “I like this place. My bed at home isn’t as wide.”

  Cam tsked and looked around, examining the room for threats - at least that’s what it looked like. Flint took Macey’s hand and pulled her towards him until she was in his arms, hugged close.

  “Are you okay?” he asked in his deep, gentle voice that sounded like embers in a hot fire.

  She was about to ask why she wouldn’t be, but that might destroy the atmosphere. So she just nodded and snuggled against his broad chest. He was so nice and warm... Maybe she could persuade him to lie down on the bed? Together? Cuddling? Maybe more? And maybe the other two could join them?

  A knock on the door destroyed her fantasies and she stepped away from Flint. They had to keep up appearances, after all.

  A young woman entered - the first female na fir ghorma she had seen so far. She didn’t look much different though: the same large mouth, seaweed-like hair, webbed hands and bluish skin. The main thing giving away her gender were the massive breasts, covered only by two seashells. Macey gulped. Hopefully, her guys weren’t into blue-boobed girls. Size wasn’t everything, right?

  Again she noticed how in her mind, she had claimed them as hers. Which was slightly preposterous, given that she had yet to kiss one of them. And her incubus-induced kiss with Cam probably didn’t count either. Which meant she’d only kissed Flint, twice. Maybe she should focus on one of them for now instead of all three? But then she thought of funny Jared who tortured himself by not feeding, and Cam, who was still feeling guilty for kidnapping her.

  “The cook wants to know what you want for dinner,” the blue woman asked. “We don’t know what Wardens eat.”

  “We’re not Wardens,” Macey began, but Cam cut her off.

  “We like our fish cooked, if that’s possible. Otherwise, we should be able to eat anything you eat.”

  Macey hoped that was true. Who knew what these people here ate. She was aware that she might be a little prejudiced, but she was a kelpie and found these people calling themselves storm kelpies an insult to her people. They didn’t even have hooves.

  “Cooked fish? But that takes away all the flavour,” the woman stuttered, obviously confused. “We only cook kelp to make it softer. But I will pass your wishes on to the kitchen.” With a look of disdain on her face, she left.

  “How do you eat your fish?” Cam asked Macey and she grimaced.

  “We don’t eat fish. Do you eat your pets?” He shook his head. “See? We don’t, either.”

  “You keep fish as pets?” Jared gave her a doubtful look as if he wasn’t sure whether she was joking or not.

  “Of course, I had several as a child. And a lobster named Clawy.”

  Jared started laughing, but she ignored him.

  “Kelpies are vegetarians, didn’t you know? I only started eating meat when I came to live on land, but even now, I don’t eat it very often. All those animals are... weird. They don’t live in water.”

  Now Jared was close to choking, his face flushed.

  “You’re very cute,” Flint whispered, his breath hot on her neck. He gently took her shoulders and turned her around until she was looking at him. His eyes were like smouldering coals, waiting to warm her. Or burn her, if she wasn’t careful. She knew that Flint didn’t do things halfway. If she gave herself to him, he would take all of her and more. He was intense like that. Like the fire, his element.

  He bent down and gave her a chaste kiss on the forehead. Her nipples stiffened as the touch of his lips sent sparks through her body. How could one tiny kiss have that effect on her?

  He cupped her face and trailed a row of soft kisses down her cheek, then her chin, ignoring her mouth. Damn that guy, teasing her like that. She shivered when he reached her throat.

  “Would you two lovebirds please stop? We need to talk strategy,” Cam complained, but when Macey turned around, she could see the jealousy in his eyes. Damn, she wanted to run over to him and kiss him.

  Fuck it.

  She did it.

  She had to stand on her toes to reach him, but he responded immediately, opening his mouth to let her in. She found his tongue with her own and gently let him know that she was here for him. Not just for Flint. For them all.

  She broke the kiss and just stared into his eyes, ac
utely aware of both of their laboured breathing, and the weight of his hands on her hips. He wasn’t as warm as Flint was, but there was still a comfort in the strength of his touch.

  “I see how it is,” Jared said, but she didn’t turn to look at him. She didn’t need to, she could hear from his voice that he was only playing. “All the kisses for Cam and Flint, and none for me?”

  “Maybe if you sounded less pouty,” she suggested, pulling away from Cam so she could turn to look at him. Jared’s dark gaze bore into her, his eyes filled with lust. But this lust was different from the night before. She wasn’t sure exactly how she knew that, but she did.

  He reached out and pulled Macey towards him, not too roughly, but with enough force for her to know he was claiming her. Good. She wanted them all to claim her, just like she had them. He crushed his lips to hers, passionate and sure, branding her as his own. She just hoped he’d learn to share. No way was she letting Flint and Cam go too.

  She pressed her body into his, revelling in how well their bodies fit together. Thought fled, and the only thing she could focus on was the hand he’d tangled in her hair, tugging ever so slightly, and the other that held her firmly to his chest. Her nipples peaked beneath the thin material of her shirt as they rubbed against his chest. Macey moaned into his mouth, lost in the moment. Jared ended the kiss, staring down at her with promise in his eyes.

  “We should go see where the fish has got to,” Flint muttered.

  “Do we have to?” Cam almost whined, but Macey ignored him, only having eyes for Jared. She wanted the other two. Oh, how she wanted them, but something told her that Jared needed her the most.

  “Yes, this time.” Flint’s tone dripped with promise, one she hoped he’d fulfil later. But he was right, this time wasn’t for them.

  “Fine. But next time...”

  “Yes, you can monopolise Macey next time,” Flint said with an unhappy side. Something inside her whinnied, pleased that he wanted her so much. But not now. Now, she only had eyes for Jared.

  “Just go,” Jared growled, making Macey’s skin tingle. There was raw power in his words, power that no one could deny, and she wondered if it was part of his incubus magic, or if it was just something more him than that. She heard Cam and Flint leave the room and smiled, until she saw the serious look on Jared’s face. “Take your clothes off.” He looked deadly serious, his eyes burning into her, and igniting her in a way even Flint didn’t.

  Anticipation built within her as she stripped herself of her shirt and jeans, dropping them to the floor and leaving her bared to him in just her underwear. Despite the openness of the room, she didn’t feel exposed though. Not at all. Instead, Macey felt electrified. Her blood sizzled and she was about ready to beg for his touch if it didn’t come soon.

  He circled her slowly, almost close enough to touch, but not quite. Macey whimpered. He needed to touch her soon. He had to. If he didn’t, she’d melt into a pile of need and might never surface again.

  “Please,” she whispered hoarsely. She hadn’t meant to let him know quite how desperate she was right at this moment, but it was too late for that now. Jared chuckled.

  “Please what, Macey?” he almost purred her name as he stepped up behind her. She could feel his warmth against her back. And yet he was still holding back.

  “Touch me,” she begged.

  “Not yet.” Macey could hear the amusement in his tone, and if she hadn’t been able to pick up the slight undercurrent of something else too, then she might have been mad.

  They stood unmoving for another few moments, the anticipation between them almost being too much. When it became clear he wasn’t going to make the first move, she turned swiftly and pressed her body against his. Macey raised herself on tip toes so she could capture his mouth with hers.

  There was nothing gentle about this kiss either. It was intense. It was powerful, and it was everything that she needed right at this moment. Maybe she shouldn’t be kissing one of the men who’d effectively kidnapped her and held her to ransom, but she pushed the thought away quickly. If they’d wanted to take advantage of her, then they could have done while she was under Jared’s magic the first time. Well, the only time. She was definitely under his spell right now, but it was a spell of a different kind.

  Jared’s strong hands lifted her so that she could wrap her legs around his waist without losing the connection between them. Once she was settled, he made this way over to the bed, and Macey tried her best not to rub against him too much as he walked. Getting there was by far the most important thing right now.

  He pulled away and looked at her with a tender expression on his face, before dropping her down onto the bed and pulling his shirt over his head. Macey propped herself up on her elbows, watching intently as he revealed his toned chest. She licked her lips, anxious for him to reveal more.

  Jared’s hands rested on his fly, but he didn’t make any move to take off the rest of his clothing. Instead, he grinned at Macey knowingly and nodded towards her.

  “Oh,” she said, scrambling slightly to remove what remained of her own clothes, not giving a second thought to how exposed that would make her. He’d already seen her naked after all, this was no different. Plus, it wasn’t exactly the same for her, not with her having to be naked to shift all the time, and her kelpie form didn’t wear clothing anyway.

  She lay back down on the bed and watched as Jared finally pushed down his jeans, revealing what she really wanted to see. Her mouth went dry, and while she wanted to demand he join her, she couldn’t find a way to actually form the words. Luckily, she didn’t seem to need to, as the bed dipped down when Jared settled in beside her.

  Gently, he trailed a finger down her cheek, drawing her mouth to his in a kiss that was completely different to their previous ones. It was softer, with a soft edge to it that conveyed that this was far more than just about the physical. It was odd how she knew that. She hadn’t known him long, and yet this felt so right.

  Jared’s free hand trailed across her skin, leaving tingles in its wake and making her hot with need. He seemed to sense it, and moved his hand inwards, so that his fingers brushed across the sensitive skin of her inner thighs, making her shiver. She opened her legs wider, hoping he got the hint without them having to end the kiss so she could tell him to hurry the fuck up.

  The moment he slipped a first finger into her, she let out a loud moan, ending the kiss she’d been anxious not to just seconds before. He gave her a self-satisfied smile before adding a second. By the waves, it was like nothing else before. Something began to mount inside her, spreading through her like the pull of water before a tsunami hit.

  “Jared,” she moaned.

  “Yes, Macey?” He sounded almost as breathless as she did, even though she wasn’t doing anything to him, which only wound her up tighter.

  “More,” she just about managed to get out through her erratic breathing. He didn’t say anything, just increased the rhythm in which he moved, leaning in to trail a path of kisses down her neck. He nibbled gently, and that was all it took for everything to unlock, and a wave of pleasure to course through her. She arched off the bed, shuddering and unable to control the noises she was making.

  After a few moments, the intensity subsided, and she collapsed back onto the bed, spent and wanting more. Her eyes met Jared’s and she smiled at him.

  “Did you know your hair’s green?” he asked, brushing a stray lock away from her face as he did.

  “It is?” she asked weakly.

  “Yes. But it’s fading now.” She couldn’t quite describe the look on his face, but then again, she could barely form a coherent sentence in her head, so that wasn’t all that surprising really.

  “Oh.”

  “Anger and orgasms turn your hair green. Good to know.” He chuckled and dropped a quick kiss on her lips. “Want to see if we can do it again?” He smirked at her knowingly, and she wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him closer so that she could kiss him again and tell him
without words that more was exactly what she wanted.

  “Did you know that you’re sparkling?” she whispered as he broke their kiss to take a deep breath. “Just like vampires.”

  “Vampires don’t sparkle.” He looked down on himself. “And neither do I.”

  “But they do, I read it in a book. And not your body, silly, but your eyes.” She gently stroked his cheek with her thumb, staring into his dark, sparkly eyes. “It’s like you have a whole little universe in there. Lots of stars.”

  “Are you alright? Did I break you somehow?” He chuckled and began to adjust himself over her. She felt him at her entrance and spread her legs even wider in anticipation. Feeling his fingers had been amazing, but now she was ready for the real thing. Sparkling or not.

  “Do it,” she moaned as he kissed her gently.

  “Say please,” he whispered hoarsely.

  “Please, Jared.” Hearing herself so desperate and needy made her feel even more turned on.

  “Hold on tight, little kelpie. You’ve never had an incubus before, but I’m going to show you why we are desired by every female on this planet.” She was probably supposed to laugh at that grandiose statement, but right in that moment, he pushed inside her and she forgot whatever she had been thinking. Bliss and a slight tinge of pain were all she could feel. He was everything.

  She screamed as he began to move in her, wrapping her legs around him to pull him closer. Deeper. He was filling something deep inside her that she hadn’t realised had been empty. Not physically... although he was filling her in that way too... but no, it was different. Like a piece of a puzzle that had been lost and was now finally being added. And it fit perfectly. Only... it felt like other pieces were missing too. Strange.

  He pulled her up without warning until she was sitting on his thighs, him still inside her.

  “Does that feel good?” he asked, almost as if he wasn’t quite sure.

  “Yes, and now continue, you silly incubus,” she moaned, grinding on his lap to convey the message.