Kate Hoffmann - Riley

He grinned, the dropped a kiss on her lips. “Before we leave, I need to swear you to an oath of secrecy. You are venturing into a place that is known to only the Quinns-me, my brother Kellan and my brother Danny. And if they knew I was showing you this, they’d probably be forced to do something rash.”

She seemed amused by his teasing. Nan raised her hand. “I swear, I will reveal nothing of what I see today.”

“Good. Then we’re ready to go.”

THE HIKE DOWN the rocky cliff to the sea was frightening at times, but Riley moved slowly, pointing out the places that she needed to navigate through the boulders. Nan had wondered at the possibility of reaching the water when they first stood on the top edge, but now, just ten feet from the coastline, she glanced back up to see how far they’d come.

Riley jumped down onto the sand, then held his hand out to her. “We’re here,” he said.

He clasped her waist and set her on her feet. They were inside a small cove on the bay, somewhere beyond Ballykirk harbor. It was a perfectly private spot, invisible from the top of the cliff and from the surrounding area. The only way to be seen was from a boat in the bay.

Nan smiled. The water from the bay lapped against the narrow strip of sand. “It’s a beach,” she said. “Can we swim?”

“The water is a bit chilly this time of year, but yes, my brothers and I used to swim here all the time.” He laid the blanket out on the sand, then kicked off his shoes. “We used to call it Smuggler’s Cove. There’s a cave over there in the cliff side and we thought it was the perfect place for smugglers to hide.”

“It’s beautiful,” she said.

“We have to make sure we leave by three,” he said.

“Why?”

“Because the tide will come into the bay and this beach will be gone.” He patted the blanket beside him. “Come here. I have an overwhelming need to kiss you.”

Nan sat down next to him and he dragged her on top of him, his fingers furrowing through her hair. “Ten days isn’t long enough,” he murmured. “I’m just getting used to having you here and now you have to go away.”

Nan looked down into his eyes. She didn’t want to think about tomorrow. Pressing her finger over his lips, she shook her head. “We’re here now. And I’m not going anywhere, at least not until the tide comes in.”

She straddled his hips, then slipped out of her sweater. Her shirt followed, leaving her only in her bra. Riley’s gaze raked her body as he cupped her breast in his palm. Nan closed her eyes and tipped her face up to the sun. “This is exactly how I wanted to spend my last day here.”

She looked so beautiful, Riley mused. A memory flickered in his mind and searched for it. “Have you ever had a sexual fantasy?” Riley asked.

Nan glanced down at him, a tiny frown furrowing her brow. “Why do you ask?”

“Because I’m in the early stage of one right now,” he replied. Riley chuckled softly. “When I was a teenager, I’d come down here and I’d think about what I’d do if I found a selkie on the beach. I’d try to picture what she’d look like and you’re what I used to picture.”

“No,” she murmured.

“Yes,” he said. “I used to always like women with long hair, but my selkie always had short dark hair. Just like yours.”

“Maybe you knew I’d come someday. Maybe we’ve lived a past life together. You were a fisherman and I was a selkie.”

“Take off your clothes,” he said. “I want to remember more.”

Nan slowly stood beside him, a smile playing at her lips. She skimmed her jeans down over her hips and kicked off her shoes, then waited for a long moment in just her underwear.

“What did you do when you thought about your selkie?” she asked.

“What most teenage boys do when they think about naked women,” he said.

“Is this why you brought me here?”

Riley shook his head. “I didn’t remember until just now. I brought you here because it’s one of my favorite places.”

“I can see why,” she murmured, reaching for the hook on her bra. She tossed it aside, then shimmied out of her panties. “Better now?”

He groaned softly. “It’s not a fantasy anymore. It’s real.”

She rubbed her arms and shivered. “And was it warmer in your fantasy?” Her heart beat a little quicker at the look in his eyes, the barely controlled need sending a shiver through her. “What did you imagine?”

Riley sat up, bracing his hands behind him. “You were standing at the water’s edge. That’s where I found you, staring out at the sea.”

Nan turned and walked across the narrow strip of sand to the water. She dipped a toe in, then winced. It wasn’t warm enough to swim, so she waited. A moment later, she heard Riley behind her. He wrapped the blanket around her shoulders and his hand smoothed down her belly. She closed her eyes and enjoyed the touch, moaning as he found the spot between her legs.

Though it was his fantasy, Nan couldn’t help but get caught up in it. She tried to imagine what he was thinking, what he might have done to the wild creature he caught.

Nan slowly turned to face him. He stared down into her eyes, then kissed her, his tongue delving deep. Riley continued to explore her body with his hands as if he’d never touched her before. His touch was slow and sometimes hesitant, and then suddenly sure and determined.

When he’d had enough of kissing, he took her hand and pulled her down into the sand. She thought he might strip off his own clothes, but this fantasy must not have gone that far. Instead he gently pushed her back onto the blanket and began to trail kisses from her collarbone to her breasts.

Nan’s breath caught in her throat as his lips closed over her nipple. Riley sucked gently, teasing until her nipple grew hard. Then he moved to the other and did the same, her fingers tangling in his hair as his lips teased.

When he reached down between her legs, her breath caught in her throat. When he stopped, she opened her eyes and found him staring at her, a wry smile on his lips.

“What?” she whispered.

“This was always where it ended,” he said.

“You just stopped?”

He shook his head. “No, I finished. I never got any further than this before I finished.”

Nan giggled. “Well, you’ve gotten much better at things over the years, haven’t you?”

“I have. But I’m not sure I want to ruin the old fantasy.”

“Then let me help you,” Nan said. She reached down to unbutton his jeans and then slipped her hand inside his boxers. He was hard and ready and she freed him to her touch. “Close your eyes,” she whispered.

“No,” he said. “I can live with this fantasy.”

Nan seduced him slowly, each stroke bringing him closer and closer to ecstasy. She was determined to make the memory exactly how he’d felt it back then, new and baffling and intense. She wondered about the first time he was touched by a real woman. It was one of those stories that they’d yet to tell. She wanted to hear it someday. She wanted to hear it now.

Nan’s gaze skimmed over his naked chest and moved to his face. He was the most beautiful man she’d ever known, in body, in heart, in soul. His eyes were closed and his features relaxed. And for a moment, she became the selkie in his fantasy.

The longing for this human life, this experience they shared, was acute. She didn’t want to go back to the sea, she wanted to live here with him, to make a life away from everything she knew. The rules were certain. She’d have to surrender her life to him, to toss aside the skin of her old life for a different future.

Did she have the courage to do that? Nan had never made a rash decision in her life, at least not until she’d stepped off the plane at the airport. She had to go back to be sure. It was the only way to test her feelings, to see if they were real.