Laid Bare Read Free

impulse to answer, “I’m here.” Giving herself away to a human was forbidden, and while she knew better, it was all she could do to remain in the shadows. For reasons she couldn’t fathom this man did something to her, affected her in ways no man ever had before.
    And it was that knowledge that urged her to tuck tail and run, because without even trying he posed a real danger to her heart. But then again, perhaps if she stayed here and laid herself out bare, offering herself up to him for one night of scintillating passion it would help extricate him from her heart and her mind.
    She knew contact with a human was prohibited for safety reason, but if she erased his memories come morning, what harm could he bring to her or her kind?
    It was faulty logic, but under the circumstances any sort of logic would do because there was something about him, some unexplainable connection between them that had to be explored further before she disappeared from his life once again.
    Even though part of her knew it was dangerous, she drew a shaky breath as she warmed to the idea of seducing him. Then tomorrow, well, tomorrow, after he’d forgotten her, she’d stay hidden until her ankle healed then she’d concentrate on making her way home to become a dutiful wife to a miengu she didn’t love.

Chapter Three
     
    A fter replenishing her life force, Ella returned to the boat house to climb back into the oversized shorts and t-shirt she’d borrowed from a stranger’s clothesline earlier that morning. Even though she hated to take things that didn’t belong to her, she couldn’t very well walk around town naked.
    Once dressed she made her way back to the private dock, to await the handsome man from her past. Nervousness invaded her stomach when she finally spotted him coming her way, returning to his ocean-side cottage after a long, hard swim out to sea. Her mind raced with questions while her skin prickled with uneasy anticipation.
    Would he recognize her after all this time?
    Steeling herself she stood back and observed him as he gripped the dock and lifted his long lean torso from the sea. Water dripped from his magnificent body and when his glistening eyes locked on hers, she sucked in a sharp breath, the pull between them every bit as powerful today as it was all those years ago. Ella watched him and waited, anxious to see how he’d react to her.
    He slowly climbed to his feet and when he reached his full height, towering a good foot over her, his brow furrowed in bewilderment, clearly taken aback to find someone on his dock.
    Surprise on his face, he reached for his clothes. “How…who?”
    “It’s been too long,” Ella murmured under her breath as she gazed at his nakedness. It made her want to shed her own clothes, to return to her natural form.
    With his hand hovering over his pants, confusion clouded his eyes and he glanced at the distant houses dotting the dark cove. “Do I know—” then suddenly, before he even completed his sentence, his head spun back to her, his clothes forgotten as awareness dawned on his face.
    Ella held her breath and waited.
    He stood up, his gaze darting to her legs. At first surprise registered in his eyes—then perhaps a bit of disappointment when he glimpsed her land legs instead of her sea tail—but then…well…then something else seemed to take possession of him. As a very sexual being herself, Ella knew exactly what that something else was. Desire.
    Instead of going for his clothes, his eyes leisurely trailed upward again, visually caressing her body in a way that made her tremble. She could feel his heat reaching out to her, caressing her and pulling her under like a warm, rogue wave.
    “It’s you,” he whispered, his voice husky from both desire and amazement. “Jesus, it’s really you.”
    As years of yearning for this man twisted her insides, she bit back a breathy moan, elated that he’d recognized her, but even more thrilled to hear the need lacing his voice. It was