Goddess of the Sea (Goddess Summoning #1)(93)

She wanted to call to Dylan. She had planned to—until she had stepped onto the beach. What would Dylan think when he saw her with Andras? Would he trust her, or would he be angry and jealous? Or worse, would he feel hurt and betrayed? Questions filled her mind as she made polite noises at the knight to keep him talking.

The shoreline bent to the east, then it curved back abruptly to the west. In the middle of the bend was formed a shallow cove that was littered with large, smooth rocks. The water there was more tamed than the wild waves that jarred the shore beneath the monastery. CC pulled her skirts up a little higher and walked out into the cove, climbing easily up on the rounded top of the nearest rock.

"Undine, those rocks are slick with sea water," Andras said.

"Oh, they're really not very slick. See?" She tapped the sand-colored rock with her toe. "The tide is out and the top is dry." She smiled at him. "Andras, would you say that the stones from which Caer Llion was constructed are the same color as this rock, or do they look more like the gray stones of the monastery?"

Andras rubbed his chin, pondering rock colors and shades of his beloved Caer Llion. CC stepped to the next rock. By skipping from rock to rock she had traveled well out into the cove and was four stony mounds away from the knight before he finished the description of the wall surrounding Caer Llion.

"Undine, perhaps you should return to shore now."

CC glanced over her shoulder at him. He had walked closer to the waves and was nervously watching the water. This time CC didn't stifle her grin.

"Andras, can't you swim?" she asked.

The knight stuck out his well-defined chin. "No. I cannot."

CC's laughter danced across the water. "You really should learn—it's a lot of fun, not to mention excellent exercise."

"I have no desire to engage in such barbaric behavior." He took one step closer to the water. "You should return now, Undine."

Before she could answer him, a flash of brilliance caught the corner of her gaze. Her heart thumped wildly as she saw a familiar golden shadow just below the surface of the water. It was gliding toward her rock.

"I think I'll sit out here a little while," CC said quickly. Gathering her skirts she sat on the smooth, cool surface of the rock. Her legs dangled down into the water, which covered her feet and calves. "I think I am a little tired. I should rest before I try to climb back to shore." She gave him an apologetic look. "I guess you were right, again."

"I will come to you." Andras's voice was curt as he put one booted foot into the edge of the waterline.

"No!" she shouted. The knight paused, and CC continued in a more controlled voice. "I'll be fine in a few minutes, and I wouldn't want you to fall into the water. I'm pretty sure that it's well over your head out here."

Andras gave the waves a distasteful look.

A few yards from her rock the water flashed golden.

"I'll just sit here," she said. Then she looked down at her legs. Widening her eyes, as if noticing for the first time that she was showing so much skin, she squeaked a little gasp of shock. With what she hoped was maidenly modesty, CC shifted her seat until her legs were facing seaward, their partial nudity hidden by the bulk of the rock. She twisted at the waist to look back at the knight. "How foolish of me to get into this situation. And I certainly didn't realize I was being so immodest."

"It is just the two of us, Undine." Andras's voice deepened suggestively.

"And what a relief that is to me!" CC said, filling her voice with naïveté. "I'd be mortified if anyone else knew. I hope I can trust you not to mention this to my father."

"Your honor is safe with me, Undine." The look Andras sent her was long and intimate.

"Thank you. Now, I'm going to sit here and rest for a little while. Why don't you continue with your description of Caer Llion? You haven't told me yet about your personal chambers."

"I would rather that you visited those chambers yourself someday, Undine," Andras said.

"Why don't you whet my curiosity with a description?" she said quickly.

As Andras launched into another lengthy description, Dylan's head broke the surface of the water near her feet. His body was shadowed by the rock, and as long as he remained on the seaward side of it he would be shielded from the knight's vision.

"Is all well, Christine?" The merman's whisper was strained and his eyes were dark with worry.

"Yes. But don't let him know you're here." CC glanced nervously over her shoulder and nodded attentively at the knight's description of the tapestries that covered the walls of his bedchamber.

He holds you prisoner ? Even inside her head the words sounded fierce.

Not really. He is just escorting me on a walk. CC sent her thoughts to him, pouring all the love she felt for him through her eyes. Lir has sent word to Gaea that he will be in these waters tomorrow night. She is sure that he will bless our union and tell Sarpedon to back off. Tomorrow night I can return to the water and to you. Forever.

Dylan reached out and with one strong hand he stroked her right calf with a slow, sensuous touch. CC shivered at the current of desire that traveled up her leg to nestle, pulsing with heat, deep within her.

It seems an eternity from now till then . Within her mind his voice was a seductive lure.