Page 85 of A Soul’s Awakening

He stooped down to roughly scratch Biscuit’s head. “I missed you too, boy.”

Rose made her way over to the pair, casting a knowing eye over them.

“Did you two fall over on the beach? A lot?” She gestured to them, their bodies covered head to toe in sand.

Lance grinned, faint lines appearing at the corners of his lips. “Good to see you, Red.”

“You too, Fish Boy,” she said, beaming. “Glad you finally made it back. Len has been like a lovesick puppy since you left.”

Helena rolled her eyes at her friend’s teasing. “Thanks, Rose.”

“I live to give.” Her eyes passed between the couple, after a moment, the edge of her lip quirked upwards. “I am going to head to the village early, visit Will. Maybe the boys and I will stay there tonight too after I pick them up from school.”

“Will? Who’s the lucky man?” Lance asked playfully, raising a thick, black eyebrow.

Helena coughed. “Willow. The lucky woman is Willow.”

She watched Lance carefully and Helena giggled as the wheels seemed to turn in his head.

“Willow? Oh…oh!” He grinned down at Rose. “I’m very happy for you.”

Rose flushed in response. “I will leave you lovebirds to it. See you tomorrow.” She winked and glanced at the dog sitting on Lance’s feet. “C’mon Biscuit,” she said, tapping her slim thigh.

The dog panted, hefted his chunky body off Lance’s feet and trotted behind Rose as she walked past the rosemary bushes and exited through the garden gate. Helena watched her go as she made her way down the road until she vanished from sight.

Lance rounded on Helena, a wide grin revealing his pointed teeth and a glint of mischief in his eyes. “Let’s get cleaned up.”

“Cleaned up?” Helena asked, looking down at herself, her body caked with sand “Good idea.”

Lance focused on the well a short distance away. Limestone blocks surrounded the deep hole. A canvas shade cloth strung to four wooden poles was in place to protect the person gathering water from the strong Seelieland sun. Lance reached his magic down, spiralling the fresh water up. He felt a rush of soothing power rise in him like a tide as he did so, the magic so innate it was an extension of himself.

The Merman could conjure water, but only salted. He could, however, manipulate any fluid. The well water twisted into a floating orb suspended above Helena’s head.

“Drop your towel, Len,” Lance said, his eyes plummeting from the floating water orb to her body.

“Here?” she asked, a flush blooming on her cheeks, looking side to side.

“Who’s going to see?” he challenged playfully.

Lance watched with rapt attention as Helena slowly unravelled the towel, her throat bobb as it dropped to the floor at her bare feet. He studied her short stature. She was bronzed and freckled from a life mostly spent in the sun, with thick and lovely sweeping curves, accentuated with well-toned limbs. Lance drank her in, his mouth watering, as he tamped down the surge of desire he felt.

The Merman’s lips quirked upwards at the sight. “So perfect.”

He turned his focus back to the freshwater orb. Lance used his magic to pull tiny strands of water down onto Helena. The pace continued until a gentle shower of drops fell onto her. Lance had even taken the tiniest parts of the water he could sense and vibrated them together, so it was warm to the touch. He felt a minute drain on his strength, as he always did when he used his magic out of the sea. He ignored it, focusing on the moment.

The Merman watched blissfully, heat blooming in his chest, as Helena tilted her head towards the warm water raining down on her. Her shoulders dropped and she gave a contended sigh. Lance channelled all the water floating in the orb, sluicing the sand from her body, and she rewarded him with a beaming smile once he was done.

“I Faedamn love it when you do that. Thank you,” she beamed.

Lance felt a pulse of joy from her praise. Helena was so genuinely appreciative of the things he did for her. It was one of the things he adored most about her. “My pleasure, as always.”

“Let me get some more towels,” she said, glancing down at the sandy, wet fabric lying in the dirt.

“Sure,” Lance replied.

His core tightened at the sight as she leant forward to scoop up the towel and swimming equipment she had abandoned in the garden, greedy eyes focused on her round ass as she walked away from him. He watched eagerly as she deposited her items by the back door before, soaking wet, she stepped in the villa.

Lance spiralled more water from the well. He calmed his thundering heart, which urged him to hurry, desperate to get Helena back in his arms immediately.