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for saving my life, I wasn’t
giving him a peep show as payment.
    “Ula?”
    I saw her small figure huddled up against a
small boulder. Her wet hair hung down her back, and her head rested
on her arms. Her body trembled. Was she okay?
    I crouched by her side and touched her arm.
“Are you hurt?”
    She shook her head, but she didn’t raise
it.
    “What’s wrong?”
    She lifted her head, and her eyes met mine.
The misery in hers pierced my heart. What happened down there?
    “I failed you,” she said and looked away.
“You could’ve been killed.”
    “I’m fine.” I held my arms out to her. “See?
No scratches.”
    I smiled. Her expression didn’t change.
Fresh tears rolled down her freckled cheeks. She looked behind me
and paled. Before I could turn and see what startled her, she
jumped up.
    “I’ve got to go!”
    She ran like the devil was after her. I
called her name. She didn’t turn back. As I watched her go, my
blood turned to ice. What was behind me?

 

    I turned with a scream in my throat. When I
saw what it was, I relaxed. The male Selkie, still in his seal
form, lay on the pebbled beach. He lowered his head to the ground.
His eyes held mine. This was why Ula ran? Who was it?
    Uncertain, I called to him. “Uh… thank you?”
If Ula was scared, maybe I should be, too. Then again, this Selkie
just saved my life. I spoke again, trying for more sincerity.
“Thank you for saving my life.”
    The Selkie’s image shimmered and stretched
vertically. As I watched, a familiar figure blossomed. With it, my
temper grew.
    “What are you doing here, Kieran?” I tried
to sound mildly curious, but my trembling voice gave me away.
    “Helping you, of course.” He shot me a sexy
grin. “Did you not just say you were grateful?”
    I bit back a nasty reply. He was right. He
did save me, but damn, did he have to look so good? Drops of water
ran down his smooth, tanned skin. I was all too aware of his
muscled physique. He hadn’t felt the need to put on a shirt. At
least he wore shorts. My eyes were drawn to the way they hung low
on his hips. Eyes up, Meara .
    Although his weathered baseball cap shaded
his eyes, I could see the look on his face. He caught me checking
him out. Great.
    “How’d you get here?” I asked, eager to get
my mind on something else. “I thought you lived in California.”
    “Near California, yes.” He shrugged. “I like
to travel.”
    I raised an eyebrow, but otherwise did not
respond.
    He stepped closer. “I wanted to make sure
you were okay.”
    “I’m okay,” I said quickly.
    It was his turn to look skeptical. “Clearly
not, since you came close to being a shark snack.”
    I snickered. “Is that like a Scooby
snack?”
    Now he looked confused. “I have no idea what
you mean.”
    “Scooby Doo?” His face remained blank. I
sighed. Pop culture was lost on Selkies. “Never mind.”
    His gaze fell to my top, and I realized too
late that I picked white. White was not the best choice when wet. I
cleared my throat, and his eyes jumped to my face. He grinned, and
I realized the shark was not the only dangerous thing around here.
I switched the shirt to black. No seeing through that.
    “Does my dad know you’re here?” I asked.
    “Not yet.” Kieran glanced in the direction
of the fortress. I couldn’t see it from where we stood in the cove,
but clearly, he knew his way around the island. Then, I remembered
what Ula told me about him. My eyes narrowed and pinned him down.
“You were engaged to my aunt!”
    He held his hands up in surrender. “Hey… we
were betrothed. In the past.”
    “You broke up with her and had the nerve to
come on to me.” The anger built in my chest. It felt good. I’d take
anger over the other confusing things he made me feel. I pointed my
finger at him and scowled. “How dare you!”
    He went from defensive to laughing. He
laughed so hard that his eyes filled with tears. I tapped my foot
and waited. Really, this was amusing to him? Why did