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against the warm, soft fur of its front flipper. She noticed with surprise that the seal had nails.
    Who knew? she thought. And I wonder how the seals cut them?
    When the seal didn’t move at her touch, her fingers grew bolder, stroking further along its flipper. Stock still, it only snuffled gently as she scooted forward on the balls of her feet. When it still didn’t move, she touched the warm soft fur of its flank.
    It made a noise like a sigh, and closed its eyes happily.
    River couldn’t help it. She laughed with delight, a low sound of genuine pleasure, the sort she hadn’t made in a very long time.
    “You do like being petted, don’t you?” she asked the seal, rhetorically. “You are a silly thing. Like a puppy. Maybe you were raised by humans?”
    Unable to understand why a wild animal would behave this way, but too enchanted by the moment to want to ruin it, River scooted forward a little more. Now she was close enough that she could run her hand, palm down, over the creature’s flank. The feel of its fur under her hand was utterly delicious.
    “No wonder they made you into coats,” she murmured, unable to resist. One of the seal’s eyes snapped open, glaring at her in approbation. She chuckled; figuring it was upset she’d stopped petting.
    “Sorry,” she said, moving even closer so she could use both hands. She stroked over the creature’s huge, muscular shape with happy alacrity, enjoying its evident pleasure. Petting the seal was like stroking a horse, it was so large and sleek, but its reactions were more like that of a clever dog.
    She realized at some point that she was giggling and cooing like a little girl with a doll, talking to the huge animal in baby talk. She couldn’t help it. Its faith in her made something in her heart twist, and she wanted it to know she would never betray that trust.
    The seal’s eyes opened, locking on hers. A wave of emotion swept over her, but they weren’t River’s own. And yet she could feel, as clearly as daylight on her face, that something wanted her to know she could trust, that she was safe and that she was cared for.
    Tears sprang to her eyes as something deep inside of her—a voice she would never let speak under normal circumstances—answered with a resounding yes. It wanted to be safe and to trust too.
    Before she could take back such mutinous thoughts, the seal’s form began to shimmer.
    Unable to look away or to remove her hands, River’s body was engulfed in the warm glow emanating from the body in front of her. The seal’s flippers moved down, extending into hands that parted the fur from beneath her palms. Her flesh now rested on warm human skin, and when the shimmering stopped the seal had disappeared.
    Her hands now rested on Fen’s muscular belly, but the eyes that looked up at her were still the seal’s.
    There was a thud as her butt hit the sand behind her, her brain unable to process what it had just experienced.
    And then Fen began to speak.

Chapter Six
    “Hello there, River,” the selkie said, smiling down at River’s hands on his stomach.
    River snatched them back, but her still-shocked body didn’t move away.
    “You didn’t have to do that.” Fen sat up, his inhuman black eyes inches away from River’s.
    I should be panicking , River realized. Whatever this man is, he’s not human. I should be reaching for my shotgun.
    But instead, River’s surprise was being replaced by a warm calm that she knew came from Fen, but that she also knew was honest. She really shouldn’t fear him. He had no intention to hurt her.
    In fact, he clearly intended the opposite.
    River blushed, feeling an answering surge of lust rise in her own belly to meet the selkie’s. Her eyes flicked down, to where that smooth golden belly tapered down to strong, narrow hips and groin.
    Blushing furiously, her eyes popped back up to meet Fen’s.
    “What are you?” she whispered.
    “I’m a selkie,” Fen said, in the same voice one might say,