The Shifter's Kiss Read Free Page B

his flesh to hold the shaft of the spear steady. His skin was warm with life but wet with his blood. She applied pressure there while drawing out the spear with a steady hand.
    Even though he was unconscious, he groaned from the pain. For a moment his eyes flickered open, but then dropped closed once more. Marvelous blue eyes, like the ocean that was truly her home.
    As she worked the spear out of his flesh, a sickening sucking sound turned her stomach as the spear came loose and blood flowed freely from the wound. Her father quickly joined her, packing gauze against the exit wound as she did the same to the front. Then they bandaged the injury tightly, using the pressure to stem the bleeding.
    Satisfied with their handiwork, they gently lay him flat on the bed. Nali experienced relief at the gentle rise and fall of his chest and the steady beat beneath her fingers as she checked his pulse.
    “Will he be all right?” she asked as her father brought over a basin with fresh water and a towel so they could wash his body clean of the ocean’s salt and his blood.
    “If infection doesn’t set in.”
    Infection. She’d forgotten how fragile mortal bodies were but was reminded of it yet again as she passed the damp towel across the scars marring a large part of his left upper body. She ran her fingers along the rough skin, wondering how he had been hurt.
    “Burns,” her father said, in tune with her thoughts. Then he quickly added, “He was a firefighter.”
    She nodded and continued her chore. Seeing that she was apparently in no rush, her father pulled up a chair opposite her and sat.
    “It’s been too long, daughter.”
    “It has, and I’m sorry. But it’s no longer safe for me to visit too close to shore. I wish I could visit and spend more time, but you know that after a week, each day that passes makes it harder to shift back.” Holding the man’s arm, she wiped it clean and tried to ignore the skitter of desire at the feel of his skin beneath her fingers. Tried to keep her gaze from wandering to the leanly muscled body whose beauty was not diminished by the scars. If anything, the scars were like a badge of courage from his past profession.
    “What’s his name?”
    “Victor Edwards.”
    “Why is he here?”
    “I rented him the shack because you were no longer visiting,” her father answered obtusely, well aware that wasn’t the answer she sought. Also obviously wanting to foment guilt at her absence, no matter how justified she’d been to stay away.
    Playing his game, she looked around her old home and shrugged. “I don’t see any fires here.”
    Her father chuckled and shook his head. “He’s no longer a firefighter, Nali. He’s got a research grant to study the reefs in this area. To study you.”

Chapter 4
    The kind of study she had in mind was far from
scholarly, Nali thought as she washed Victor’s body. As she pulled off his wet
trunks to reveal his gorgeous cock, her insides clenched as she imagined him
hard and filling her with his thick length.
    Because she was too tempted to linger and explore, she quickly
swiped the wet towel across him and then rushed to finish, heat flashing across
her body. She swiftly turned away from her father to hide the way her nipples
had tightened and hurried a few feet away to a small closet. Inside, several of
her dresses still hung, and she quickly tossed one on to hide her want.
    But she had not fooled her keen-eyed father. “I shall leave you
now, Nali. If a fever should set in, call me.”
    As he rose, she rushed over and hugged him hard, missing him
and the feel of his arms around her, the smell of him, so comforting.
    “I won’t go without coming by again,” she promised.
    He smiled, a tired smile, and caressed her cheek. “You are so
like your mother. But both your memories fade with your absence.”
    She fought down the knot of anguish that tightened her throat
and brushed a quick kiss along his cheek. “I will be by. I have some time before
I