Reese

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The sad look on Adrian’s face gave me pause. Was he serious? I’d never erase his kisses. Just because I had this insane ability to wipe out someone’s memories didn’t mean I would use it. In fact, my sister and I had never used it except to experiment on each other to figure out if we had our dad’s ability.

But of course, he didn’t know that.

“I wouldn’t do that to you. I was simply making a point.” I gave my best effort to sound as though I didn’t care whether or not he had been affected by what I’d said. “Enough about my abilities. You said you could do more than just move water around in a glass. I want to see what else you can do.”

“We’ll need to go down to the beach.”

“The beach?”

“Yep. Follow me.” He headed out the back-sliding door and toward the stairs that led down to the small inlet I discovered earlier. I followed close behind. It was dark now with just a sliver of a moon in the sky and the stairs were rather steep, and although small lights illuminated each step, it was a long way down to the bottom. I wasn’t scared of heights, but I was a little nervous about missing a step and tumbling into him like a klutz, possibly knocking him down to the bottom. That would be just my luck. But no worries about that now that he knew about my abilities. I could easily stop the fall, couldn’t I?

He pivoted toward me. “Watch your step. These stairs can be tricky.” I relaxed a bit when I felt his hand cover mine, holding it tightly as he helped lead the way down the rest of the steps.

When we reached the last step, he turned to help me while I secured my footing. Then he pulled a black wetsuit out of a chest and handed it to me.

“What is this for?”

“You. Put it on.”

“Why?”

“Because you don’t have a swimsuit and I don’t think we’re at a point in our relationship yet where you’re ready to skinny dip with me.”

I frowned. “You want me to get in the water?”

“Yes. Go behind the partition there and put the wetsuit on. I’ll be in the water by the time you finish.” I turned to where he pointed and saw a green folding wall with tiny white daisies painted on it, partitioning off an area near the corner of the deck.

Whatever he wanted to show me must have something to do with him manipulating water. I hoped after all this it was better than just swirling water around in a glass. But why did I need to be in the water? Did he think I needed to feel the liquid he planned to manipulate? Maybe he could make the water colder or warmer. I hoped he didn’t make some awful vortex swirl around me.

I stepped behind the partition and shed his sweatpants then placed one foot into the wetsuit. “Dammit. My foot is stuck in the pant leg. Do you have any powder?”

“There’s some baby powder on the shelf behind the chair to put inside the suit.” I glanced behind me at the shelf and picked up the plastic container, sprinkling some powder into each leg of the suit, then I sat down on the chair while I wiggled into the rubbery contraption. The powder helped tremendously.

I heard a splash and figured it was Adrian. He did say he’d be in the water by the time I came out. I sat on the edge of the deck dangling my feet when Adrian came up to me and tugged me the rest of the way into the water. I let out a small gasp at his abruptness. When he let go, I was able to stand, the water coming up to just under my armpits. To my delight, it was warmer than I’d anticipated. He was shirtless, but then he could have been naked for all I could see in the dark.

“Please tell me you’re not going to make a whirlpool spin around me.” Just the thought of that made me queasy.

“Oh, ye of little faith.” He turned away from me and dove into the water. My eyes widened at the brief glimpse of his bare rear end right before it disappeared under the surface. What the hell was he doing swimming without trunks at this juncture in our relationship? Wait, did we even have a relationship? Were we forming one here? Still, skinny dipping on the first date was a bit presumptuous. Or was this our second date? We really should talk about this stuff, clear the air.

But then again, if he hadn’t stripped naked, I wouldn’t have gotten that brief glimpse of that totally scrumptious and biteable bit of firm ass ...

I swayed my hands through the water and glanced up at the stars, shaking my head. Here I was, having those inappropriate thoughts about my boss again. There was no denying the fact that I wanted him. Still. Even if he ruined my dress. Well, maybe he didn’t do it on purpose and he did get the wine out, so I guess my dress wasn’t ruined. I supposed I could forgive him.

After a few minutes when Adrian didn’t come back up, I scanned the surface of the water, searching for air bubbles. How long had it been? I wrapped my arms around my midriff and chewed my bottom lip. Where did he go? He couldn’t possibly hold his breath that long. No one could. Unless that was his ability. But just as I was about to dive in to see if I could find him, a dolphin broke the surface, clacking away at me. I gasped, and then it dove underwater and circled me before nudging me from behind.

There was something familiar about this dolphin, the way it kept pressing its snout against my rear. I giggled when it swam in a circle around me, pressing its slick body against mine. This dolphin was darker in color than most I’d seen. It had a lot of blue covering its body.

Then the dolphin did something so very strange. It came up and pressed its closed mouth against mine and kissed me with a loud puckering sound. Then it swam away. I smiled at the intimate gesture, but then frowned when it dawned on me. A few minutes later, Adrian popped up from the water in front of me with a grin on his face, looking at me expectantly, waiting for me to say something.

“You’re a shifter.” The statement was barely audible. My shoulders drooped uncontrollably, and I broke eye contact, shifting my gaze to the water as I tried desperately to hide my disappointment, failing miserably. I liked Adrian, liked him a lot, but getting involved with a shifter wasn’t exactly on my bucket list. I’d seen what life was like for them, always needing to make the shift at least once a day, leaving the human world behind them. I didn’t want that.

He nodded, though the grin he’d worn a few short seconds ago turned flat. “The dolphin is my favorite.” He said it with pride, but I noted a slight sound of regret in his voice. Maybe it was the disappointment in my lackluster response to something he was most certainly proud of. Of course, most shifters were proud of what they could become. It was, after all, an amazing ability. Just not for me.

Why this was a shock to me, I didn’t know, and I honestly was having a difficult time expressing the letdown squeezing like a vice against my stomach. I knew his ability would have something to do with the sea. I just never guessed it would be shifting. Breathing underwater with gills maybe, but not actually changing form. The minute he’d mentioned that he’d had some ability; I’d copped a clue with all the fish tanks all over the building where he worked and more here at his house, and let’s not even mention the freaking underwater hotel he was constructing. I knew shifters existed; I even went to school with one. But ...

It wasn’t that I was prejudiced or anything, I just didn’t like the idea of kissing someone who could turn into something else whenever they wanted. I didn’t want a relationship with anyone who could instantly shift into some other being. It didn’t appeal to me, at all. The idea just ... I don’t know what it did to me. I just didn’t like it. I turned away from him wanting to leave.

“Reese, wait!”

I ignored Adrian and took a couple of steps toward the deck. I needed to get out of the water. I needed to go home. Home. Home to my apartment here in Kauai or home to Whisper Cape?

Had I made a mistake by coming here? Pursuing something so outrageous, not even my mother could talk me out of it. She’d worried and tried consoling me after my father had thrown one of his fits about where I was moving. She hadn’t exactly taken his side, but she did try to get me to understand his concerns. He worried about me. I got that. I loved my father and I knew he loved me and meant well, but he was controlling and had been overbearing most of my life. I needed to get out from under that and spread my wings. I wanted to make him proud, but I wanted to do it my way. I wanted to fly with the eagles and reach my highest potential. I envisioned success feeling as though I could soar through the sky like a large bird. Taking this job had been the start of that dream.

I climbed up the short ladder to the deck and quickly stepped behind the partition. When I tugged off the wetsuit and bent over to pick up the sweatpants and shirt that belonged to Adrian, I froze. Shit. I didn’t even have my own clothes down here to put back on.

I had abilities beyond the norm, yet for some reason, I couldn’t accept that Adrian was a shifter. Why? Why was that so terrible? My sister’s boyfriend was a shifter. Was that the reason I didn’t want to get involved with a shifter? Because Quinn was? Was it so bad that I might like a shifter too? Did it mean I was copying my sister? She spent a lot of time alone during those times her boyfriend needed to shift. I didn’t want that kind of relationship. I wanted a man I could do things with, things we had in common with each other. If he shifted to a dolphin, I’d never be able to keep up with him in the water. It just wasn’t possible.

As kids, Quinn and I had done practically everything together, even had a crush on the same boy at the same time, until he chose her over me; that same shifter who was now her boyfriend. That had hurt. Maybe that was why I didn’t want to get involved with a shifter. He’d liked me and Quinn both, but he picked her. Would Adrian eventually choose someone else over me?

Now, when it came to our life choices, Quinn and I had almost nothing in common. I was rebellious, though I supposed I’d always been. She was more subdued in her endeavors. She still lived in the same small town we were born in, working at our father’s bar. In college, I’d majored in interior design. She majored in child development. I wanted to travel and see the world. She never went anywhere and wanted to settle down and have four kids. My hair had natural auburn highlights, she dyed hers dark, not liking the extra attention the red gave us, and she always did whatever our father wanted her to do. And she dated a shifter. A shifter who’s family was friends with our family; so of course, my father approved of their relationship. I pulled up the sweatpants and tugged on the T-shirt and then made my way toward the stairs to Adrian’s house to find my dress.

“Reese, Where are you going?”

“I’m sorry, Adrian. I need to go,” I called over my shoulder and kept going.

“Wait! I’ll drive you.”

“That’s okay. I’ll call an Uber.” As I took another hurried step, I tripped over the too-long hem of the sweatpants and banged my knee on the step above me.

“Ouch!” Pain throbbed and tears stung my eyes from the sting of the impact that was sure to leave a nasty bruise. Just one more painful memory added to the mess I was making of the night right now.

What was I doing? He didn’t deserve to be treated this way just because he was a shifter, and I, whether I liked it or not, I needed my job. I wasn’t a quitter. I wasn’t going to go home with my tail between my legs after my first endeavor away from under my father’s controlling rules.

The problem was, I was extremely attracted to Adrian, shifter or not, and that’s what really bothered me. I’d spent my entire life being forced to hide my ability. All I wanted was some semblance of normalcy. But Adrian wasn’t normal. He just wasn’t. No matter how much I liked the idea of getting to know him better.

His fingers wrapped gently around my arm, and I turned to glance up at him. He had a towel draped around his waist and his eyes were dark, sad even, and I was such an ass for making such a big deal about his shifting. As gorgeous as he was, I didn’t want a relationship with a shifter. I closed my eyes as I recalled the memory of Quinn and me on our first day in public school. Seventh grade. We’d met a shifter that day. We’d been walking home when a rather large dog came charging out of a yard toward us. It stopped in front of us, growling with slobber flowing from its jowls. Quinn and I held onto one another, frightened and unable to move. We hadn’t come into our powers yet, so there was nothing we could do except scream. A woman came out of the house and scolded the dog, “Douglas, stop terrorizing those girls and get in here.”

The next day at school, a boy named Douglas approached us. He was a bit overweight and had freckles all over his face. I would never forget the way he stood there pointing his finger at us. “You two are pussies. Scared of a little old dog. Haha,” he laughed. Quinn and I glanced at each other and then watched him walk away. That afternoon, the same dog came running out from that house as we walked passed it. This time, it latched onto my pants leg and tugged until I fell to the sidewalk screaming. It stood on my back, the collar of my jacket in its mouth, tugging. Quinn picked up a rock and hit it on the head. The dog jumped off me and whimpered, staggering back toward the house, shaking its head from the impact. The next day, we saw that same boy, Douglas, who’d laughed at us the day before, only this time he had a large bruise on his forehead. It turned out he’d recently come into his shifting abilities and thought it would be fun to terrorize us when we walked by his house. I never got over the experience. I guess Quinn had, but then it wasn’t her back the dog had been mauling.

“Reese. Dammit, please don’t leave.”