Read Shifting (Swans Landing) for Free Online Page B

waiting there on shore, as she had many times before. I let myself believe briefly that this summer wouldn’t be so bleak.
    But then I pushed that thought away and headed toward shore. I stopped only a few yards out, studying Elizabeth as she stood knee deep in the water. We looked at each other for a long moment in silence.
    Finally, she smirked. “Nice boxers,” she said, nodding her head toward my clothes.
    I admired the lean, muscled look of her legs protruding from her cut-off jeans. “Nice legs.” I’d never been good at flirting, but there was something different about Finfolk Dylan that made me do things Human Dylan never would.
    “I suppose you don’t have any of those right now, huh?” Elizabeth asked.
    I laid back in the water, letting my tail fin flip and splash water toward her. The scales shone a brilliant blue in the sunlight before disappearing back under the water.
    Elizabeth didn’t even protest when the water sprayed across her, leaving a big wet spot on her shirt. Her eyes were wide as she stared at the water. “How do you do that?”
    “What?”
    She gestured toward me. “Grow a tail and scales.”
    I shrugged. “It’s just what happens.”
    I started toward shore, ready to shed my finfolk form and be human again, but Elizabeth held up her hands.
    “Wait.” She waded deeper into the water, fighting to stand up in the rushing waves. “I’ve...I’ve never seen a finfolk up close like this before.”
    It seemed strange that she had lived her whole life on the island without seeing a finfolk up close, though it wasn’t entirely unbelievable. Her father didn’t like finfolk, so when would Elizabeth have ever had the chance to be around one in the water?
    I extended a hand toward her. “Come on.”
    She hesitated, looking down at the water around her legs. It was up to her thighs now and she wobbled as she tried to keep her balance.
    “I’ll hold onto you,” I promised. “I’ll keep you above water.”
    She bit her lip, then walked toward me, reaching her hand until our fingertips touched. I entwined my fingers in hers, pulling her toward me. When she couldn’t touch the bottom anymore, I wrapped my other arm around her waist to pull her close and keep her head above the surface.
    We were so close, I could see the tiny golden flecks in her eyes. Her hair spread out on top of the water like octopus tentacles. Her teeth chattered slightly, but she didn’t make any movement back toward shore.
    “Can I touch your tail?” Elizabeth asked quietly.
    I swallowed. “Go ahead.”
    Her hand slid down my chest, her fingers fluttering over my stomach. I suppressed a shudder when her palm pressed against the area where skin became scales as a warm tingle spread through me.
    “I’ve never touched a...someone like you,” she said. “It’s different than I expected.”
    “What did you think it would feel like?” I asked.
    Elizabeth tilted her head to one side. “Like a fish. But you’re more...I don’t know. Smooth.”
    I couldn’t help laughing. This whole situation, being here in the water with Elizabeth, was so strange and unexpected. It felt like at any moment I’d blink and find it was all a hallucination. She would still be Elizabeth Connors, the girl who lived to torment finfolk, and I would be invisible Dylan Waverly again.
    “Why are you here?” I asked.
    “Do you want me to leave?” She moved closer, running her hand over my skin and scales again. “Do you want me to stop?”
    I fought against the wave of tingles that shot through me at her touch. “I’m serious. Why are you out here with me? You’ve always been the biggest bitch in school toward Sailor and Mara and me. And now, you’re hiding out with me, sneaking around behind everyone’s back?”
    Elizabeth pulled back from me. She slipped under the surface for a moment, then came back up, sputtering. She glared at me through the rivers of water trickling from her hair. “If you don’t want me here, I’ll