A Mermaid s Kiss (Daughters of Arianne 1)

"What the hell did you let her do to me?"

"She was trying to save your life. The Dark Ones--"

"She is a Dark Spawn. Damn it, I never should have trusted her. Or you, a child stupid enough to think a Dark One can be your friend. I--"

"She may be dead because of you, my lord." Anna thrust hard against him, but of course he didn't budge. "Because of me. Because I brought her into this. She led the Dark Ones away from us."

"Perhaps that's what she wants you to think." He had no patience for her feelings right now. With disgust, he released her and managed to make it to his feet this time, though he had to fight the desire to lie back down. Because his voice was hoarse, he cleared it twice before he got the words out. "What did she do to me?"

"You're human." She flinched at his expression. "It's only temporary. At dusk, your true form will return. Until . . ." She bit it off and looked away. "It will return at dusk."

His eyes narrowed. Gods, his head felt like someone was pounding a mallet against it.

"Until what?"

When she didn't answer, he lunged out and grabbed her arm, this time managing not to topple over. If the little idiot had any sense, she would run. He wanted to break the seawitch's neck, but at the moment anyone's might do. Instead, his little mermaid watched him like a captive in truth, unshed tears in her eyes, those hands still clenched.

Seizing both her wrists, he swayed alarmingly. She braced her feet, her fingers flexing as if she'd like to help steady him. To Hades with that. "Answer me, Anna."

"Until sunrise, my lord," she said at last, looking past his shoulder. "You are human during daylight, angel at night. Mina says the potion will last about a week, to give us time to get inland and confuse the Dark Ones as to your whereabouts. By the time it wears off, we'll be where they don't expect you to be."

"So we are to be wanderers, you and I?" As he gave her a shake, he tried not to care when she flinched again, this time at the brutal grip of his hands. Her forearms were like slender branches. She was so fragile. Even in this form, he could easily overpower her. And yet, she'd still tricked him into this . . . abomination.

"Did you hatch this plan with her?"

"No, my lord." Her jaw took on a stubborn set. "I didn't know of Mina's plan, but yes, I did help her when she told me the Dark Ones would be there any moment."

Jonah snorted. "I don't suppose it would have occurred to either of you to advise me of her plan before she executed it?"

Anna shook her head. "She didn't think you would agree. They were coming," she repeated. Was he mistaken or was she . . . gritting her teeth? Her words were coming out clipped, measured.

Jonah dropped his touch. "It would have been wiser for the two of you to leave. So I could deal with them and you would have been safe. You were utterly foolish."

"You would have been dead." Her gaze shot up to his face and he saw a surprising flash of fire. "I won't allow that. Not while I live. Not while I'm supposed to be taking care of you."

"Anna--"

"I won't allow it."

Her shout reverberated up and down the beach, stunning him into silence. She stood there, quivering with fury, her hands balled into fists, despite the fact he loomed over her like a mountain.

"You won't allow it, little one? Who do you think you're talking to?"

By Hades, she took another step forward, tilting her head to come almost nose to nose with him. "You wanted to die. You want them to kill you. You think I don't see it? That Mina and I don't recognize it? Well, I'm sorry, my lord, but it's your misfortune to have landed in the clutches of the two people in the whole ocean who know what it is to feel that way."

His rage struggled with his astonishment. She was standing fully in the blast zone of his fury, and not backing down a bit. He had captains smart enough to stay out of range when he was in a temper only half this fierce. No one of his own Legion had dared anything but respectful dissension with him for as long as he could remember.

From the shifting of her eyes, he could tell she knew the ground beneath her was quicksand. And yet the little idiot wasn't done yet.

ANNA couldn't stand it. She'd sat there, watching him vomit and struggle, his horror and disorientation when he realized his wings were gone, an intrinsic part of who he was. Knowing she'd done this to him. Even wounded, as an angel, he'd been so fully in command. So perfect. He was an angel, the Prime Legion Commander, and she'd reduced him to this.

She'd known she wasn't in any way prepared to deal with this situation. But that never seemed to stop her from doing what she shouldn't do. Now she found herself well over her head, with only one compass to guide her. Mina's dark vision of what could happen if he fell into the hands of the Dark Ones. She had to do what she could to protect him. And since she had ridiculously little power of her own for such a task, she could only follow Mina's instructions. Trust the one being Jonah thought she was a fool to trust.

"You don't know anything." His jaw was held rigid. "You've lived for barely a blink of my life. You know nothing."

He could destroy her. At sunset, he would return to being an angel who could extinguish a life without a thought. Hades, even as a human he could snap her neck. And he was, as the humans liked to say, tremendously pissed off. But even beyond her self-doubt, she knew she was right about this one thing, and she told herself she wouldn't back away from it, no matter how much her stomach was quaking with nerves.

"Let me die. That was one of the first things you said." Anna took a breath, and reminded herself of how he'd been inside her, overwhelmed her with his mouth alone. She was part of him in her own mind, whether he cared to nurture that illusion himself or not. "I don't know the shape or reason for the darkness you carry in you, my lord, but I do know it's there, and that it's likely a greater danger to you than a Dark One. I won't let you throw your life away. Not if I can do anything to prevent it."

What could she do?

Touch him, make him desire you . . .

She'd never been . . . Well, obviously she had no experience in seducing a male. But she needed to try something different than arguing with an ancient being who would consider her measly twenty years of wisdom inconsequential. Knowing she was risking a humiliating rebuff or worse, with an awkward jerk she rose on her toes, aware the motion dragged the full softness of her breasts against his chest, as well as his knuckles, for his hands came up in reaction, locked on her wrists again.

It was a stretch, but she managed to reach his lips. Not a shy kiss this time. Leaning into him, she opened her mouth and sought the inside of his, tasting his tongue, wishing her hands could be free so she could bring his head down, grip his hair, delve deeper.

He wasn't holding her feet, though. She stepped in between his, her hip bone pressing the front of the snug jeans, her thigh rubbing the inside of his.

His hands slid from her wrists, seized her upper arms and pulled her off him, holding her with a rigid grip. He studied her, unsmiling, his firm mouth moist from hers. At first her stomach plummeted and she thought she'd failed miserably. But then she saw something in his gaze that made her shiver in her lower belly. While he was indeed in a dangerous mood, he was not unaffected by that kiss. The uncertain combination was more exciting than she expected it to be, though she couldn't explain why that was.

"Do you think to distract me, little one?"

"No." She shook her head, though the sea horses in her chest pranced with cautious joy as he used the nickname. "I just . . . I wanted to remind you that there might be a good reason to stay around a few more days, until you go down in a blaze of glory under a hundred Dark Ones."

The comment was unexpected, ridiculous. She was trembling, but her chin was up. Jonah found his wrath simply couldn't hold before the combination of innocent sensuality and determination. Whatever the seawitch's motives, he wasn't so angry he couldn't see that Anna had sincerely meant to help. Faith, she was brave. Beautiful. She had a courage that would impress his toughest legion commander. But she

was so foolish to bait him. He would have to take her to task about that. Eventually.

This abysmal transition was temporary, if the seawitch had told Anna the truth. And if she had, he'd just been granted a week of total invisibility. That was not entirely without appeal--more than he wanted to admit or explain to himself. In fact, the passion Anna had summoned from him, on several different levels, was as alive as he'd felt in a while.

"Where did you get these clothes?"

Anna blinked at the change of topic, then looked over her shoulder, toward a small cottage nestled in the dunes. He noted the next nearest one was about a mile down the beach. "That belongs to me, my lord. It's the place that Neptune set up for the daughters of Ariel."

"That's not what I meant." He indicated himself. "Why do you have a man's clothes, little one?"