Masters of Desire. Layla Chase
cove.
He’d found it.
Far from the elation he should have felt, all he could muster was quiet determination. He had to make Busara understand how important it was for him to be human and resume governorship of the island. If she didn’t, he had no recourse but to kill her in order to break the spell. If Braithwaite continued on his course of destruction, Busara would lose her cove and the Carib peoples their freedom and lives.
As he entered the warm waters of Siren’s Cove, he dug deep within himself to change back into a man so that he could complete his task. Not always did his concentration affect the change. To his relief, it worked this time.
As his tail disappeared and legs took their place, swimming became more difficult. He surfaced to breathe and tread water.
Ahead a figure emerged onto the shore. By her supple shape and movement it had to be Melodie.
When he opened his mouth to call out to her, something feathery brushed against his legs. He jerked to the side and stared into the inky waters. Then something grabbed his big toe and yanked down.
Unprepared for the sharp tug, Rafe went under, water filling his nostrils.
He surfaced, coughing and sputtering.
Was that a child’s laughter he heard? Without waiting to find out, Rafe struck out for shore. As he swam he felt as if tiny little fingers were pinching, poking and pulling at him.
What was the Obeah woman hiding in Siren’s Cove? A new kind of miniature monster she planned to use to infect the sea?
He swam faster until his feet hit bottom and he ran the rest of the way up the shore onto dry land. The tinkling sound of giggles followed. He didn’t have time to explore the source because several yards ahead of him, Melodie entered the edge of the forest.
If he wanted to catch her, he must hurry. On bare feet, he raced across the sugary sand, closing the distance before she disappeared down the twisted trail. He was upon her before she heard him and, to keep her from sounding the alarm, he clamped a hand over her mouth and one around her waist.
She jabbed her elbow into his gut, but he held on. He carried her kicking and squealing down the path, eventually emerging in front of a ramshackle hut he recognized as Busara’s.
The old woman stepped through the door carrying a small, glass vial in her hand. “I expected you sooner.”
He set Melodie on her feet, removing his hand from her mouth, but not the one from around her waist. “Then you know why I’ve come.”
Melodie twisted in his arms and beat against his chest, tears streaming down her cheeks. “You can’t kill Busara, I won’t let you.”
Rafe clasped both her hands and held them. “That’s completely up to the old woman.”
Busara sighed. “Killing me will not be necessary. I have what you came for.” She held out a dark brown vial. “Take dis and leave Siren’s Cove. When you return to your ship, swallow all of what’s inside. But you can not return to de sea before dawn of de second day, or de potion will not work and you will forever be what you are today.” When Rafe took the bottle from her, the old woman waved her hands. “Now leave.”
“What is it?” Melodie grasped Rafe’s hand.
Instead of answering Melodie, Rafe focused a steely-eyed stare on Busara. “If this is a trick, I will return and then I will kill you.”
“No tricks. You have proven your worth to de island. Perhaps I was not fair wit’ de young governor. Take de potion and be gone.” She spun on her heel and disappeared into the darkened doorway.
Rafe didn’t trust her. Not after what she’d done to him. If he had any other choice he’d have taken it, but with Braithwaite poised to claim the cove the following evening, he had to trust that the old woman wasn’t lying.
He turned to the beauty standing beside him.
She stood proud and naked, unconcerned by her nudity. Her light mocha skin glowed in the light from the torch burning at the edge of the hut. Her luminous brown eyes glistened with moisture and her lips quivered.
He ran his free hand through her silky golden hair and captured the back of her head, drawing her close. With his lips hovering over hers, he promised, “I’ll be back for you.” Then he touched his mouth to hers, his lips claiming hers, his tongue delving in to taste tangy sweetness.
She pressed against him, her nipples tangling in his chest hairs, her hips grinding against his.
His cock filled and swelled, pressing against her belly, eager to take up where they’d left off back at the boulder.
“I want to come with you,” she said against his mouth.
Her words brought back all the reasons he’d sought out the crafty, old Obeah woman to begin with. “No.” He broke the kiss and held her away from him, drinking in her beauty one last time. If the potion didn’t work, he couldn’t come back for her. He couldn’t make her wait for him to return. He left her standing by the old hut and strode down the path to the cove, his pace quickening the farther away he moved from the sweet siren. Before long he was running, his lungs near bursting by the time he dove into the cove’s warm waters. As fast as he could, he swam toward the sea, his body changing into the monster Melodie could never see. With luck, he’d return as a man.
5
After being threatened once, Melodie didn’t dare disturb the old woman until she emerged from her hut. With the sun high in the sky and half the day gone, she’d paced the path between the cove and the hut at least a hundred times. She’d gone for a swim and rested her eyes for all of half an hour, and still the old woman remained in her hut. How long would Busara sleep?
When the Obeah woman finally surfaced, Melodie all but pounced on her. “What did you give him? What was in the potion?”
“Dat is between me and de young lord.”
“It won’t kill him, will it?” Melodie had never known the woman to use her magic to kill another living thing, but the precious secret of Siren’s Cove was sufficient reason to consider poisoning anyone who might destroy it.
Busara frowned at her. “He will get what he deserves when he chooses his fate.”
Melodie flung a hand in the air, all patience for Busara’s riddles gone with the long sleepless night. “What is that supposed to mean?”
Busara’s lips lifted in a secretive smile. “All will reveal in time.”
“By Poseidon!” Melodie spun and walked away.
“Where you be goin’?” Busara called out to her.
“Somewhere away from here, where people don’t talk in riddles,” she flung over her shoulder. Her feet carried her toward the cove, the last place she’d seen Rafe. Before he’d disappeared into the water.
“I have need of your assistance,” Busara called out.
“Kanoni can help. I’m leaving.”
“Aw, then you do not wish me to make your potion?”
Melodie was halfway into the woods when she ground to a halt. She made a slow turn. “You wouldn’t tease me, now would you?”
The old woman laughed. “Busara never teases.”
She took a step toward her. “You’re truly going to begin preparation to make me a mermaid forever?”
The old woman’s gray head dipped in a regal nod. “Dat I am.”
After wishing all her life to be a mermaid forever, now that the time had come, why was she so hesitant? Melodie trudged back to the hut and stood in front of Busara. “You have my attention. What do you need me to do?”
Busara reached inside the doorway and hauled out a heavy iron