“It must have been terrifying for you.”
“You mean terrifying for everyone around me.”
“No. I mean you. You were only five.”
He stiffened when he felt her hand on his back. “What are you doing?”
Both her hands pressed against his cape. “I swore to myself earlier today that I wouldn’t be afraid to touch you.”
He gritted his teeth. “You should be afraid. I just told you I killed my own nanny. Don’t you see how dangerous I am?”
Her hands skimmed around to his chest. “You shouldn’t blame yourself. It was an accident.”
“You need to stop,” he warned her as her hands moved past the edge of his cape and onto his shirt. One thin layer of insulation. “Are you all right?”
Her arms were now fully wrapped around him, hugging him. “I’m fine. You’re the one who’s hurting.” She rested her head against his shoulders.
His heart clenched in his chest. How long had it been since he’d received a hug? He couldn’t even remember. He glanced down at her hands. On her left hand, the gold of his mother’s ring glinted in the firelight. The ring that now belonged to his wife. Dammit, this was making his eyes burn, making him weak. He should put a stop to it.
“Ana.”
“Shh. Let me stay here a moment.”
As time stretched out, he slowly relaxed, slowly learned to accept her embrace. He could now feel the shape of her face nestled against his shoulder blades. With each breath, her breasts nudged gently against his back.
“Ana. I’ll always remember how you defended me in the courtyard. It meant a great deal to me.”
Her grip around him tightened. “It meant a lot to me, too.”
“I’m honored by the amount of trust you and your father have placed in me. I won’t let you down.”
“I know.” Her face moved against his back as if she were caressing him.
Did she actually care for him? Did he dare touch her bare skin? But his hands—most of his power was concentrated in his hands. Even with his gloves on, he sometimes gave people a shock.
But maybe he could touch her nightgown. Maybe he could caress her as long as she remained dressed. His groin grew harder just at the thought.
Dammit. He’d promised to protect her. Why would he risk hurting her? And why drive himself to despair, growing hard from wanting her when it was impossible?
He swallowed hard. “Good night, Ana.”
She slowly released him and backed away. “Good night, Leo.”
Chapter Twenty-five
A few hours before dawn, Brody arrived in the shallow waters near the Isle of Moon. It had been a hell of a long swim—all day and most of the night. The seals he had followed looked exhausted as they flopped onto the sandy beach.
At first, they had been wary of his presence, but he’d communicated to them that he meant no harm. A few times during the long journey, they had rested by floating on their backs, and he’d busied himself catching fish to eat. After he offered them some fish, they’d welcomed his company.
Now they dozed off in the sand, their black hides glistening in the light of the two moons. He shifted from a seal into a dog and moved away to shake himself dry. After finding a soft, grassy spot behind a rock, he curled up for a nap.
Sometime later, he woke to the sound of a female singing above him on the bluff.
“My true love lies in the ocean blue. My true love sleeps in the sea. Whenever the moons shine over you, please remember me. My lonesome heart is torn in two. My grief runs deep as the sea. Whenever the waves roll over you, please remember me. Please remember me.”
It was the same song he’d heard Lady Tatiana sing the first time the seals had come. But this was a different voice, one that was so sweet and lyrical he wondered if he was dreaming it.
“Ye came! Oh, my darling dears, how can I e’er thank ye enough?”
The seals replied with a barked greeting.
Brody peered around the rock. The sun was rising in the east, painting the sky with rosy colors and making the sea sparkle. A woman, dressed in the cream-colored wool of a nun’s habit, was descending the path to the beach. She held up her skirt with one hand, and in her other hand, the handle to a wooden bucket. When she made a final jump onto the beach, water sloshed over the brim of the bucket, dampening her gown.
“Are ye hungry?” She rushed toward the seals. “I brought ye some fish.”
As she approached, Brody realized she wasn’t quite fully grown. She had the height of a woman, but the willowy body and youthful face of a girl perhaps fifteen or sixteen years old. Her long black hair was plaited in a ponytail, although silky strands escaped to curl around her face.
Surely she was too young to take the vows of a nun. Perhaps she was simply being raised at a convent. In that case, she was most likely an orphan.
She set down the bucket and began flinging fish at the seals. When they caught them in midair, she laughed.
The sound was musical. Breathtaking. It flooded his senses, immediately making him crave more.
Suddenly suspicious, he inched closer. A breeze wafted her scent toward him, and he froze.
A shifter. The scent was faint. Barely there. Most likely she’d not yet experienced her first shifting, but she would soon. And since she could apparently communicate with the seals, that probably meant she would be shifting into a seal.
A selkie. That explained the special allure of her voice. And the beauty she already possessed. In another year or two, she would be stunning.