Page 176 of Tiger's Dream
“Look,” I said, “I don’t think that’s—”
Ana cut me off. “Is this your only demand?” she asked stiffly.
“Oh, I think that should be enough. As long as he puts his back into it, so to speak.”
I said, “No,” at the same time Ana said, “Very well.”
The mermaid clapped her hands giddily. “Yay!” She slid her lithe body up to the bench at the edge of the fountain and held out her dripping arms. “Come here, gorgeous,” she beckoned, laughing huskily.
Turning to Ana, I hissed, “Can’t we offer her something else?”
“This is her demand,” Ana said. “You know this closeness to another being is what provides them sustenance. In essence she is asking for food. How can we think to deprive her of something so basic?”
“Yeah, I know but…”
“Just do it and be done with it,” Ana commanded irritably.
“This feels like a test,” I said. “Is this a test?”
“I do not know what you are referring to.”
“A relationship test. They’re common in Kelsey’s time. Women give men little tests regarding their integrity and commitment.”
“The only assessments I employ regarding men is in their ability to protect my back during battle. If they fail in that respect, they are assigned to other duties or dismissed. You have long since proved your valor in this occupation. As this is a part of our work, it therefore does not apply to our…relationship. Rest assured, I am not testing you in any way.”
Logically, I understood what she was saying, but my instincts still told me something was off. “Are you sure you want me to do this?”
“I am certain.”
“Okay,” I said, trudging toward the fountain as slowly and nervously as a man heading to the hangman’s noose. I kept glancing over my shoulder at Ana. At first, she waved me on and then, when I got close, she turned her head away. I didn’t know if that was a good sign or a bad one.
“Now, you’d better make it count,” Kaeliora warned. “Otherwise, it’s no deal.”
It’s just sustenance, I thought. Grimly, I sat down next to her and took her voluptuous form in my arms. She wriggled, jostling closer until her scaled curves were pressed so tightly against me I was surprised she could breathe. She licked her lips, slowly, hungrily, and I lowered my mouth to hers. In the matter of a few seconds, I forgot where I was, who I was. All that mattered was her luscious kiss.
The taste of her and the scent of her were driving me mad. I needed more. Taking hold of her slippery body, I pulled her halfway out of the fountain and onto my lap, uncaring that I became soaked in the process. The water was hot, but not as hot as the woman in my arms. The bare skin I touched scorched my hands.
My hands roamed her back, slid into the soggy mass of her flaxen hair. Her sigh against my mouth was mellifluous and tasted like the salt of the ocean. I dug my fingers into her scales and she gasped a little moan of pleasure. Colors and images flashed in my mind—azure scales, orange coral, lake blue, and shark gray. They pulsed and spun faster and faster, beating a wild tune, and my body surged, dancing to the sound, drowning slowly. Together, the two of us raced to the escalating denouement.
I wasn’t aware of the cold until Kaeliora shivered against me.
She wrenched her lips from mine. “Stop,” she mumbled. “Stop!” she cried. Her lips had turned glacial blue and her skin as white as porcelain. Puffs of air bloomed from her mouth, clouding the space between us. Still under her thrall, I pulled her close again, my mind misty with desire. With a violent shove, she pushed me away, and I tumbled from the fountain, dazed, my fingers clenching with the need to take her in my arms again.
“No!” the mermaid shouted. “Stay back.”
Confused, I turned my head to see what the mermaid was staring at and saw a woman, full of fury and power. Her midnight hair stood out, floating around her and framing her face. Silver balls of light crackled in her palms. She stared down at me with a raw loathing, and as I watched, enthralled, her eyes turned from a dark olive to emerald to chrome.
The woman’s golden skin brightened, becoming luminescent. As she lifted her hands up, her body rose in the air. I was transfixed by her beauty, that is, until she threw her power straight at my head. That was the last thing I remembered before the world around me went white.
Chapter 35
A Dream Forgotten
Slowly, the white light faded. I groaned as shapes finally began to take form around me. Before my vision returned, I realized I was freezing. My body shook with violent tremors, and instinctively, I called upon the tiger, transforming to protect my human frame. Immediately, my body temperature rose. Rolling to my feet, I shook my whole body, my fur standing on end, and then opened my eyes, trying to figure out what had happened.
All at once, I knew. Ana had done this. She…she was mad about something. The last thing I remembered was the mermaid asking for a kiss. I sat beside her and…and…for the life of me, I couldn’t remember. Pacing up to the fountain, I saw the mermaid lounging in her pool of water. She was frozen solid, just like I remembered she’d been when I first saw her with Kelsey so long ago. But where was Ana?
Lowering my nose to the ground, I caught her scent. She’d gone back to the underwater lake. I rolled my shoulders as I walked. My muscles were as sore and as tired as if I’d just run halfway across India. I found Ana standing in the middle of the lake. She was soaked from head to toe and was currently submerged to just above her waist. It nearly blinded me to look at her, even in tiger form.
