Page 7 of Entangled

“Nay. I come from the Aegean Sea. Near Greece,” she told him.

“I’m sorry, but you are making no sense right now. Back! Everyone back,” he shouted, shooing away the onlookers. He wanted to speak to this creature in private. The only place to do so would be in his private solar. He hurried into the keep and up the stairs, kicking open the door to his chamber since his hands were full.

“Where are you taking me?” asked Merrow.

“Somewhere private.” He turned and used his foot to close the door, not daring to loosen his grip, not wanting to drop the sea nymph. He walked over to his bed and gently laid her upon it. Sebastian stood up, wiping his wet hands on his tunic. His eyes fastened on her tail again. “I’ve heard of sea creatures such as you but have never before seen one.”

“Stop staring at me as if I am naught but an oddity.”

“But you are. Or at least you are in Mura. We don’t have sea nymphs here.” He turned and walked across the room to pour them each a glass of wine. “Tell me, what were you doing in the water?”

“Another stupid question. I’m a sea nymph. Of course, I live in the water. Is that so hard to understand?” came her muffled voice from the bed.

“I know that. But, how is it that you are from another land? How did you get here?” He filled both goblets and replaced the cork on the bottle of wine. He heard a soft padding across the floor. His instincts made him whirl around, his hand raising to catch her hand which held his dagger.

“Don’t even think of it!” he spat through gritted teeth, realizing she had lifted his dagger as he carried her and was now trying to kill him with his own weapon. Such gall! He squeezed her wrist tight in his fist, causing her to drop the dagger. It clanged to the ground and she whimpered, trying to pull away from him.

Suddenly, he realized she was standing. How could she? His gaze lowered to find two long, beautiful shapely legs and bare feet. Her body was totally naked. The necklace of shells was all she wore. Her long hair covered each of her breasts, but he saw a thatch of tri-colored hair below her waist.

He quickly released her hand and took a step backwards. That is when he noticed the blood on the floor.

“You’re bleeding.”

“Yes. My desire to kill you backfired and ironically I am the one who was stabbed by the blade. When you made me drop the dagger, it sliced open my foot.”

Sebastian groaned. “Damn. I didn’t mean to hurt you.”

“Didn’t you.” It was a statement, not a question.

“Please, clothe yourself and I will wrap your wound.”

“With what?” she asked him, doing nothing to cover her nakedness. She seemed comfortable being this way and it made him wonder if all mermaids or sea nymphs ran around in the nude.

“You had clothes. Before.”

“Yes. And I also had a tail, pointed ears, and webbed fingers and toes.”

“I suppose you did,” he said, realizing all her sea nymph features had disappeared and now she looked just like a human. “So…your clothes disappear when you—when you…”

“When I shift into my human form, yes,” she finished for him, doing nothing to move.

“Doesn’t being naked make you uncomfortable?” he asked her, trying his hardest to look only at her face but it wasn’t easy when she had such a shapely, inviting body.

“Should it make me uneasy for some reason?” was her wry remark.

“Nay, I guess not.” Sebastian cleared his throat, feeling very uncomfortable in this position, even though he was the one who was clothed. He walked over to a trunk, opened the lid and pulled out a tunic and a pair of his breeches. He turned and handed them to her. “Here. You can wear these.”

“Those clothes are made for a man.” She looked down her nose at them as if they weren’t good enough for her. It unnerved him. For some reason all that mattered was that he please her. He didn’t know why he felt this way and wondered if it was a power of a sea nymph making him act like this. He’d have to ask her about it later. After she was fully clothed.

“Please. At least wear the tunic. You can wear it like a gown. I’ll find you a cord to tie around your waist.”

She reluctantly took it. “If you insist.”

He put the breeches back and searched for a belt or rope of some kind, but she had a tiny waist and anything he could possibly give her would be much too large and bulky. “I’m sorry. I don’t have a belt for you.” He turned to see her standing next to his bed.

“Don’t bother. I’ll use this.” She took the piece of yellow cord that held back the bedcurtains and tied it around her tiny waist. “Better?” she asked, holding out her arms and turning in a full circle.

Damn, the sea nymph had looked alluring in her mermaid form, but with legs he found her even more breathtaking. What in the world was the matter with him to be thinking about a sea creature in this way?