“Is a naked woman in the shower so different that a naked woman tied to the bed?” she asked sweetly, batting her eyes at him. She opened the curtain a little wider, exposing the water sluicing over her curves and dripping from the curls between her legs. He blushed and she laughed with delight. “Promise you’ll let me go and you can join me.”
Something dark flickered in his eyes, desire or something close to it. For a split second, Ana caught a glimpse of the healer’s libido—and it looked hungry. Her breath fluttered in her throat, her confidence wavering as her own arousal rose. It seemed that with this selkie, seduction would be a double-edged sword.
Brec took a step closer to the shower and a thrill ran between her thighs. Every inch that vanished between them heightened her temperature until her flesh burned. He wanted
her,
she could see it in the way his gaze hungrily traveled over her body, the way his eyes darkened when he looked at her. She would coax him into her arms and use every charm the gods had given her to bend him to her will. An answering hunger howled to life inside her. And she would
enjoy
it.
Finally he stood close enough that the mist from the shower dampened his shirt. She stared into his eyes from underneath lids gone heavy with desire. He raised an arm toward her. Her heart beat in her chest like a trapped animal as his hand closed over the back of her neck. All too willingly she tilted her head to the side as he pulled her closer for a kiss.
She’d expected a sweet brush of the lips.
Something that reflected the gentle nature of a healer.
In no way was she prepared for the demanding passion that met her lips as his mouth crashed down over hers.
A sharp intake of breath brought his sea-kissed scent to her nose as his mouth plundered hers. His lips were soft, but insistent, plying hers with a hunger that wouldn’t be denied. A liquid hotter than the water from the shower pooled between her thighs and she moaned when his tongue caressed her lips, demanding entrance.
Pleasure curled around her spine as she opened her mouth willingly. Their tongues danced together in an erotic expression of desire. He tasted wild and distinctly masculine. She moaned as his other hand rose to cup her naked hip. His mouth left hers and trailed over her jaw before drawing a hot line down her neck. He lapped at the water on her skin, giving her just a hint of teeth as he nibbled her flesh.
“Brec,” she breathed, her head swimming with the dizzying sensations his talented mouth brought her. She tugged impatiently at his shirt. “Take your clothes off and get in here.”
“Tell me where the skins are.”
His words shot through the fog that his attentions and the heat of the shower water had built around her, straightening her spine and shattering the pleasure building inside her.
“What did you say?”
The bastard had the nerve to lay another searing kiss on her neck, his tongue tracing over her collarbone between words. “Tell me where the skins are.”
A grunt of surprise escaped his mouth as she shoved him away from her and he nearly slipped on the shower-kissed tiles. Still breathing heavily from their erotic encounter, he met her eyes with a dark gaze that even now threatened to reawaken her passion and steal her anger. She clenched her teeth, steeling herself against the allure that had driven so many human women to the shore in search of selkie lovers.
“You asshole,” she seethed. “Do you really think seducing me will make me bend to your single-minded will?”
He narrowed his eyes, not a hint of apology on his face. “Isn’t that precisely what you were trying to do to me?” He straightened to his full height, regarding her with a strange combination of arousal and scorn.
“ At
least I’ve shown you respect in my attempts to get back the skins you’ve stolen.”
“You tied me to the bed—naked!”
she screeched, the world tinged with red.
“I tied you up because I believe you are a threat—
after
you stole my skin,” he countered evenly. “The fact that you were naked is a result of your own inclinations.”
Her eyes widened, her anger burning into an inferno.
“My own inclinations?
What the fuck is that sup—”
“And I have been nothing but a gentleman as far as your nudity has been concerned,” Brec continued loudly, not letting her interruption destroy his tirade. “You were the one who decided to taunt me with your body, trying to use the lure of your flesh to get me to change my mind.” He smirked and crossed his arms over his chest. “You have no one to blame, but yourself that you fell into your own trap.”
“Fuck you, I didn’t fall into any trap,” she hissed. “You don’t know where those skins are—and I will
never
tell you!”
The selkie moved so fast it tore a gasp from her throat. Suddenly he was standing only an inch in front of her, his black eyes boring into her own. Fear and arousal warred within her as she stared up into the determined anger radiating from his body.
“Understand me now, Ana. With or without you, I will find those skins. And when I do, you will answer for your crimes.”
He whirled on his heel and stalked out the door, leaving it stuck in the wall so that nothing stood between the bathroom and the bedroom.
Ana stared after him, too pissed and befuddled to speak.
Her breasts throbbed, feeling heavier in the aftermath of his kisses. She cursed her reaction to him, cursed even more the fact that her mind insisted on replaying the kiss in her head like some insane video loop.
“Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck,
fuck
,” she swore, jerking the curtain closed before burying her face in the hot spray. She pressed her hands over her face. At least it
had
been a hot shower.
Now it felt lukewarm at best, shamed by the heat of the arrogant selkie’s kiss.
She snatched the shampoo bottle from the corner of the tub and poured a generous helping onto her hand. Working it into
a lather
, she breathed deeply, taking in the sweet scent of strawberry. Her brain teased her with the sea scent that had clung to Brec’s skin and she stifled a howl of frustration. What would it take to get rid of him?
Brec took a deep breath and rubbed a hand over his face. His heart beat so hard he could feel each pulse of blood flooding through the painful stiffness of his manhood. Every beat of his heart sent another wave of pressure, an insistent reminder of the pleasure he’d found in the taste of Ana’s sinful mouth.
What were you thinking?
Hadn’t he told Nu, in no uncertain terms, that he would not resort to sexual manipulation? That he would not tread the line between a gentler persuasion and rape? He pressed a fist to his forehead as the sounds of the shower threw up images of Ana’s naked body, her skin glistening with water as if she’d just rose from the sea. He could still see the water dripping from the hardened buds of her nipples, begging him to lower his head and drink from the rosy peaks. His erection grew more painful in the strict confines of his jeans and he clenched his hands into fists.
Get a grip, Brec.
Kissing her had been a result of his weakness. She’d poked him, mocked him. Flashing her body at him like that—taunting him by insinuating that the startled look on his face was the result of some naiveté about the fairer sex. As if somehow he was a boy—ignorant of the pleasures of the flesh and flustered by the sight of a beautiful woman without the barrier of her clothing. In that moment, he’d known she considered herself a sophisticated temptress, capable of using the naïve selkie’s desires to muddle his mind and bend him to her will.
It all went back to his reputation as a healer. People used words like “gentle,” “kind,” and even “wise.” They were words to bring comfort to the sick and injured, but not words to entice potential mates. Not in a world of half-animal existence where despite all the modern conveniences a passing killer whale could still bring a bloody visceral end to one’s existence. Females wanted “strong,” “alpha,” and “powerful.”
He’d had to show her how wrong she was. Had to close the distance between them and show her with the press of his mouth, the erotic coaxing of his tongue, that he was no stranger to the pleasures of the flesh. He wanted her to know that if she engaged in a war of sexual seduction, she would be facing an enemy more than capable of meeting her on her level. If he’d been a different type of man, he could have taken her wet naked body in his arms and pressed her against the steamy wall of the shower. He could have dipped his fingers inside her body and twisted her nerves with pleasure until she writhed against him, begging for—
“Don’t follow that train of thought,” Brec said aloud. He shook himself as if he could physically rid his mind of the erotic images that threatened his tenuous control over his libido. He took a deep breath and turned his attention to Ana’s room. As long as she was in the shower, he might as well take the opportunity to search her bedroom.
Unlike the rest of her house, Ana’s bedroom wasn’t decorated with expensive paintings and sculpture. Quite the contrary, it was almost barren. From his position standing in front of the bathroom door, Brec saw her bed directly in front of him, between the bathroom and a window overlooking the sea. To his right, against the far wall, there was a small black dresser with a shelf above it. Against the wall beside the bathroom door there was one more dresser, with the same sleek black finish as the first. A tall mirror stood directly opposite him on the wall beside the dresser.
Brec strode over to the first dresser under the bookshelf. A pot of red geraniums sat on the far right corner, filling the air with their sweet apple scent. Leaning against the pot was a small poppet. A different scent mingled with the fragrance of the geraniums and Brec picked up the poppet to see if that was where the scent was coming from.
“Eucalyptus,” he murmured. He raised an eyebrow.
Poppets
stuffed with eucalyptus were used for healing rituals. He eyed the geraniums again. Geraniums were also used for a variety of healing purposes.
Turning a new eye to the room, he noticed another pot of flowers sitting on the other dresser.
Hyacinths.
He used hyacinths for his patients who suffered from nightmares due to fevers.
“What is she up to?” Brec said softly to himself. His mind traveled back to the circle of herbs on the lower level. “What are you doing, Ana?”
“Still think she’s a ‘lousy person?’”
Nu’s voice drew Brec’s attention up to where the little pixie sat perched on the books lining the shelf. The fey canted his head to the side as if waiting for Brec’s response.
“If I didn’t know any better,” Brec said slowly. “I would say Ana is a healer of some sort.”
Nu frowned.
“But?”
“But, no healer would ever steal a
skinwalker’s
skin,” he finished firmly. The emotions he had toward Ana, hostility, frustration, and a sharp edge of attraction soured every possible explanation that came to his mind. For all the times he’d cursed the stereotypes that surrounded healers, he knew at least one aspect of that reputation was true. “The amount of pain losing a skin causes a
skinwalker
is too great for a true healer to ever excuse.” He gestured at the plants. “I don’t know what she’s doing here, but she’s no healer.”
“So she just has peculiar reading tastes?”
Brec frowned and raised his gaze to the line of books on the small shelf. Disbelief parted his lips as he read the titles.
“These are all healing texts,” he murmured. “Some of them are rare.” He pointed to one of the more ragged volumes. “I thought this one had been lost decades ago.” He ran a finger over the titles, moving slowly and caressing each one like the gift it was. “These first ones are all dedicated to burns.”
A strangled gasp from behind him jerked his attention away from the books. He turned to find Ana standing in the doorway to the bathroom, staring at him as if she’d just caught him pissing in her planter. Before he could ask her what she was looking so outraged about, the look vanished from her face and she stomped over to the dresser opposite him.
“Some of those texts are old, please don’t touch them.”
Her voice sounded strained, as if she were upset and fighting not to show it. Brec turned more fully to face her, narrowing his eyes. “There are books here I didn’t think existed anymore. Where did you get them?”
“Not much of a healer then, if you didn’t care enough to look for them,” she snapped. “They weren’t that hard to find.”