Estelle pulled off her glasses and rubbed her nose. They’d been working steadily for hours and her back was stiff from sitting. Stephan remained bent over his laptop as she walked to the balcony and gazed out the window. It was almost dusk and the sky a pale mauve.
“Let’s go for a walk,” she said suddenly. “Out on the beach.”
Stephan looked up from the laptop, blinking as he adjusted his eyes from the screen. “What?”
“The beach. I need to move.”
“We can get something to eat.” He yawned and stretched. “Yeah. I think we deserve it. This is as good as it’s going to get.”
They’d worked all day on plans to get into the resort and now Estelle was tired of it. She packed away all the papers and locked them up before they took the elevator to the lobby.
“A drink first?” asked Stephan.
Estelle shook her head. The crash of the surf was audible through the marbled lobby and she wanted nothing more than to put her feet in the water. “After.”
They walked out. Estelle pulled off her shoes and wriggled her toes. With the different polish on them even her own feet looked unfamiliar. Never mind. She dug her toes in sand warm from the day’s sun. A few tourists dotted the beach and workers collected lounge chairs and umbrellas for the night.
She led the way to the water and tied her long skirt to mid-thigh so it wouldn’t drag. The water was refreshingly cool and she paused to let the tide pull the sand out from around her feet until she balanced on little wet hills. Stephan stood beside her and they looked out over the water.
“There are times I wish I was a mer,” Stephan said.
“Can you take on a mer masque?” she asked curiously.
“The exterior, but not any of the traits that would keep me alive in the water.” He grinned at her.
They walked down the beach in silence, Estelle conscious of his hand near hers. She could take it so they were holding hands, like a pair of lovers. His fingers would intertwine with hers. Maybe he would pull her in close and kiss her, the water swirling around their ankles.
She stopped and pretended to fix her skirt, deciding that she needed to keep her distance. She couldn’t have any distractions, not now with Agata and her brother and the Dawning and God knows what else clamoring for her attention. Stephan waited politely and didn’t comment when she began walking again, this time a bit further away from him. They’d spent all day working so well together—she didn’t want to ruin that bit of professional peace.
The plan had come together in bits and pieces but she was satisfied it would work. Estelle would haunt the bars, shops, and salons, striking up conversations with arcana who were there and pretending she was looking for the Dawning’s base to join as a new recruit. They assumed there would be a good chance of striking the jackpot. Stephan was going to a temp agency they’d found online and try to get hired that way.
Then, they’d see.
“How was Agata when you left?” asked Stephan abruptly. “You didn’t say.”
“She was fine with it.”
He raised an eyebrow at her, then pointed at a restaurant that sat on the beach, festooned with lights. “How about that place to eat?”
It was exactly what she liked, a bit seedy and full of personality. “Perfect.”
Two margaritas and a beautiful ceviche later, Estelle was feeling fairly good about life. Stephan had told her stories about some of his adventures with Eric that had her laughing until she almost cried. She was even getting used the feel of the extensions brushing against her back. It felt kind of sexy.
The fish tacos arrived and she picked up a lime slice. “How many of these locations do you think they have?” She knew Stephan would understand she meant the Dawning. “Besides the three we know about.”
“I don’t know. Evie is trying to figure out if they’re concentrated in North America or if they have bases on other continents.” Stephan held up his margarita glass and two fingers for a passing waiter.
“I think it’s here for now.”
“Why?”
Estelle licked her fingers. “Have any other of the Hierarchs found dens like they had here? Or even the same level of dissatisfaction?”
“Not that they’ve reported.”
“Nor have the eastern vampire queens. Some of them are quite weak, as well. They’d be easy targets.” She frowned. “We’ve had problems with them in the past, though. I have operatives there keeping an eye on them.”
“I remember hearing about some infighting.”
“That’s putting it mildly.” Normally Estelle wouldn’t share such confidential information with an outsider but she decided Stephan had earned the right to know more about their scandals. It’s not like the masquerada didn’t have any of their own. “There was an assassination attempt on Wavena.”
“Recently?”
“Last year. A fairly amateur poisoning attempt.” Cressida had known about it well in advance and waited until she could discover if there were any traitors. One of Lady Nadia’s henchmen had been implicated but the woman herself had eluded them.
“Do you think they might have been working with the Dawning?”
She shook her head. “The timing wasn’t right although they’d be open to secretly allying with our enemies. They wouldn’t want to come out directly against us, not after the poisoning.”
“No?”
“Definitely not.” She grinned. “I might have spread some rumors about the power of the Ancients. Our agents have been doing their best to get the eastern queens to believe we’re sitting on the equivalent of a nuclear bomb.”
He scooped up some salsa. “Dangerous. It might force their hands.”
“Doubt it. They’re quite weak.” She pushed her plate away. “Speaking of weak, the Dawning might not be as strong as we think either.”
“I hope so. I’m going to need to be careful around the masquerada there and it will be easier if they’re weak.”
Before today, Estelle hadn’t known that masquerada could sense each other. Apparently they were constantly testing each other, trying to determine status. Stephan, Miaoling and the others had managed to come up with a way to dampen down Stephan’s own aura, for lack of a better word, but he was going to have to be fastidious about not responding, not even noticing, any nudges from masquerada around him. Estelle had thought she might be able to help with her compulsion power, but he’d nixed that before she could even suggest it.
They ate slowly, the sound of sea behind them. Estelle swirled her margarita in the salt-rimmed glass, thinking about tomorrow. She was under no illusions how dangerous this could be. They could both be dead by noon if the Dawning saw through them.
“Do you think Yangzei will be there?” she asked abruptly. The masquerada Ancient had powers beyond any mere arcana. Would he be able to recognize them?
“We’d better hope not.”
“Do you think Tom will be there?” she asked softly.
“Tom’s dead.”
She didn’t know what to say to this stark declaration. Stephan had been the one who had refused to believe Tom could be lost to them. To hear him say he knew Tom was gone was heartbreaking. She put her hand on his and gave it a slight squeeze. “I’m sorry.”
He flipped her hand over and traced a wavy line down her palm. “I think I always knew it,” he said. “Selene’s eternal complaint was that I had trouble accepting reality. She said I lived in my own head too much.”
“Selene?” Estelle hadn’t heard of her. The deep love in Stephan’s voice might have made her jealous was it not edged with the solemn respect one gave to a mentor rather than a lover.
“She was the healer at the plantation. A masquerada as well. She converged in a field. Eric was the one who brought her body back to us.” Stephan relayed the information factually.
“Convergence,” Estelle repeated.
“Even the strongest of us can be taken down by it. Her masques overwhelmed her natural self until she couldn’t stand against them anymore.”
“I’m sorry,” she repeated. Loss was a common theme for all arcana. It was why many of the older ones began to lose their minds. Too much had been taken from them over the centuries. “She knew you well?”
“Until she died she was my best friend.”
Estelle opened her mouth again and Stephan laughed. “I know. You’re sorry.”
“I am,” she said simply. What he had been through was unimaginable.
“Let’s get the bill,” he said suddenly. “We’ve got a busy day coming up.”
They paid and wandered back along the dark beach back to the hotel. Estelle stared out at the black water, moonlight playing on its surface and shivered. So many secrets hidden beneath its depths. Stephan stood a few steps away, hands stuffed in his pockets.
“Let’s go for a swim,” she said.
He turned around. “Are you crazy?”
“Maybe.” She looked around. “There’s no one here.”
Stephan stared out to the water. “There might be sharks.”
“Might be.” Estelle smiled at him. “You can watch if you’re scared.”
* * * *
Scared? As if. Before he could answer Estelle pulled off her skirt and shimmied out of her huge lace panties. The top was next.
Then she stretched, fully nude, and walked into the water.
Jesus God. Stephan checked the beach frantically, expecting to see a bunch of tourists jumping out with their phones ready to capture the beautiful naked woman kicking through the surf.
“Estelle!” he hissed, not even wanting to call attention to her by using a louder voice. “Get back here!”
“No.” Her voice floated over her shoulder. “The water’s lovely.”
Stephan shifted his weight from one foot to the other. The water did feel refreshing around his ankles. Estelle was only feet in front of him.
That did it. Let the tourists come.
He stripped down and waded into the water after her. She turned with that smile that dropped his heart, every time. “I knew you’d come in.”
“I’d follow you anywhere.” Shit. Too serious, Daker. Tone it back.
Estelle laughed and dove into the water, swimming with a smooth stroke. He did the same. It had been a long time since he’d swam in the dark and he’d forgotten how calming it could be, if he forgot about all the slimy things lying in wait to kill him under the waves. For a while, they drifted quietly in the water.
Then, Estelle gasped and her head disappeared. Stephan went right after her. God, he’d been joking about fucking sharks. His eyes were excellent in both the dark and the water and he could see her grabbing her side as she thrashed her way back to the surface. He grasped her upper arm and pulled her up, where she gasped for air. “Side cramp,” she panted.
Stephan didn’t pause. The water here was deep, as the beach angled sharply. Winding his arm around her, he twisted to his side and swam them both in.
Back on the beach, he laid her gently on the sand and ran his hand down her side. There. The tender patch of muscle made her suck in her breath when he touched it. Delicately, he traced the edges of the cramp with his fingers, then began to move them slowly. It took all of his self-control to concentrate on relieving her pain, instead of running his hands over her soft skin.
“Try to breathe deep.”
“That feels better,” Estelle said. “Guess there’s a reason for that thirty minutes after you eat rule.” She lay back on the sandy beach, sucking in her breath as he worked the muscle loose. She sighed in relief. “Thank you.”
He kept his hand moving on her side, his fingers lightly tracing her ribs before slowly moving up. Sand stuck to her flesh.
Her skin would be salty.
“To your feet,” he ordered. “Stand and stretch out that muscle.”
She obeyed, standing and lifting her arms to elongate her side. Stephan rose to his knees even as he pulled her down to him. The tips of her breasts, pebbled from the cool air, pressed into his chest. She tilted her face up and he admired the classic beauty of her features before sliding his hand to the nape of her neck and lowering his face to hers.
The kiss began gently, a simple taste of her flesh. As he suspected, she was salty and he pressed her closer, licking her lips with the tip of his tongue. She moaned and opened her mouth wider, her hands finding his hips before moving up along the outside of his chest and along his shoulders. If Stephan had been hard before, feeling Estelle against him had turned his cock into a length of iron.
Without breaking the kiss, her urged her to her feet, then lifted her so that she instinctively wrapped her long, strong legs around his waist. The burning core of her began to melt into him and his knees almost buckled. She felt incredible. No, more than incredible. Perfect. His hands kneaded the rounded curves of her ass and he moved toward the water.
Estelle leaned back and murmured against his mouth. “Where are we going?”
“The water. To wash off the sand.”
“Mmm. Good idea.” She began to nibble at his ear and the sound of her quickened breath made him clench his teeth. Her hand reached out to stroke his arm. That was it. She smiled as she swung closer, running her hands flat over his chest and shoulders. Stephan’s fingers traced a gentle line from her shoulder around the outer edge of her breast, lost in the sheer erotic sensation of feeling only hands on flesh.
He made sure they were in water shallow enough to stand then he stood and pulled her close, kissing her again as his knee edged her thighs open. She moaned and ran her hands down his thighs and around his ass. He bent down and slid an arm under her knees, lifting her up and kissing her nose.
Then, he moved back until the waves were breaking against his chest. He swung her down and held her close as she threw her head back and laughed. “I’ve never done this,” she said.
“Made out in the water?” He nuzzled her neck, licking the salt from her skin as his hand moved down between her legs.
“It’s quite pleasant.” She reached down and took his cock in her hand. It was rock hard, despite the cool water.
“I think we can make it better than pleasant.” With that, he picked her up by the waist. Her legs opened and he was deep inside without a second thought. It was exquisite. Heaven. She wrapped her arms around his neck and groaned into his neck.
That was it. There was no way he was going to keep his wits about him long enough to make sure he didn’t drop her. Stephan wanted to focus on pleasuring Estelle, not keeping his footing. With her legs wrapped around him and his thighs shaking from restraining himself from pumping into her, he moved until the water was only to his shins. Good enough. He knelt down and Estelle straddled his lap, already moving against him. His hands cupped her ass, feeling her skin slid underneath his palms. Estelle rode him hard, panting into his neck, her fingers digging into his back. He forced himself to stay still so he didn’t interrupt her rhythm. Because if she stopped right now, he would die.
His entire body tightened as she came down on him one more time, then ground herself into him. She screamed into his shoulder as he thrust up hard once, twice; he too then shook with the power of his orgasm.
They both collapsed into the surf, quiet with their hands touching.