The Luna's Bodyguard [a mature werewolf romance]

Ch 6: Dripping Wet

OPHELIA'S POV

That dunk was the cold shower I needed — even if it wasn't what I wanted. No, what I wanted was to insist that I was sharing a room with Fallon tonight and drag him up the stairs by the leather holsters criss-crossing his back. I wanted to finish what we started, even though he'd literally just warned that consummating the mate bond could trigger the merging of souls.

Instead the salt water scrubbed the taste of him from my mouth and banished whatever warmth our passion generated. I gasped for air the second I breached the surface, and he reached out to buoy me up — a stupid tactic, because it meant pushing himself under. Snorting at his foolish chivalry, I shoved him away, kicking my legs and swirling my hands in and out, treading water like I was a siren instead of a lycan. I'd always loved swimming.

Fallon's head broke the surface again, dark hair plastered to his skull. His expression was stormy as ever, and I started to giggle, suddenly struck by the fact that he kissed me overboard.

"What's so funny?" he growled.

I couldn't help it — I laughed even harder, salt water burning as it sprayed through my nose. "You just — do you always look this grumpy?"

His brow furrowed even more. "Let's get back to shore. It's not safe out here."

"What could go wrong?" I asked, swimming towards him.

He turned his head out to sea, nostrils flaring. "We could get eaten by an orca, for starters."

"Dolphins kill more people than orcas," I said flippantly, stopping when our noses were inches away from touching.

"Fine. We could catch a cold."

"You do know that's a myth, right?"

He started trying to coral me towards the ladder on the end of the pier. I ducked out of the way with ease. In this domain, his bulk was a disadvantage, but I was a slippery eel.

"Are you scared?" I asked, incredulous.

Fallon huffed. "I'm not scared of anything."

It was only now, up close, that I realised he was unusually pale. "You are," I exclaimed, grinning like a fool. Even though I was basically poking at a drowning bear with a stick. "The Big Bad Wolf is afraid of getting a little wet!"

"Shut up," he snarled, surging past me. "You can stay if you want, but I'm going back inside."

"So your chivalry has its limits," I mused, pausing to appreciate the way his shirt clung to his back like a second skin as he hauled himself out of the water. As Denise would say, the man had muscles for days.

"Chivalry is for honest women," he grumbled. "You're some kind of devil spawn."

I flinched, even though it was flung out as a joke. His words echoed something I'd been told too often in my youth. Bastard. Demon. Witch.

Now that I was alone in the ocean, I had to admit he had a point, though. The water truly was frigid, even though winter was nearing its end. My teeth were chattering hard by the time I reached the ladder, muscles locking up from the cold as I tried to put one hand in front of the other. Fallon huffed again, this time with exasperation, and grabbed my wrist before I could protest. I let out an ungainly squawk as he yanked me up onto the platform, the warm, iron grip on my arm reminding me of why we fell off in the first place.