She slipped off her sandals, and after a moment, her dress and bra, folding them neatly.
See? her otter gloated. Naked is more fun.
Jenny stepped into the sand, feeling the grains between her toes like doubts. Was it true? Was she just afraid of being alone again?
She walked out to the edge of the water and turned to look back. The resort rose above her like a castle. Only the bar deck and a few stray windows were lit, and the underwater lights of the pool gave the underside of the palm trees an unearthly glow. Darkness undoubtedly hid her from anyone who might have been watching.
Jenny turned back to the ocean. She’d spent weeks out in that dark water, always an otter, always just barely aware of who she’d been. She waded out, feeling the pull of the waves at her ankles, then her knees. Sand slipped out from beneath her feet with the power of the water. Then she was swimming, with human arms and legs for the first time since her otter had come to her, and she sucked in a breath and dove under, eyes closed.
Water embraced her, and she felt the rush of the gentle currents around her. She drove forward, memorizing the feeling of her muscles with each stroke, the way her body moved when it was surrounded by water. She had to smile at the soreness that Travis had left her, and she broke the surface with a gasp for breath before breaking into an easy stroke along the surface, swimming out into the ocean.
It felt odd, after so much swimming as her otter. In some ways, she was comparatively awkward, not at all the lithe, graceful creature her furry alter-ego was. But in some ways, she was more beautiful as a human.
It was odd to find her otter in her head, enjoying the swimming as much as she was, reveling in the differences between them.
We’re different, her otter told her, unexpectedly kind. I’m not better.
Jenny sighed. I’m… sorry, she told her. I haven’t been very understanding.
She drew in a deep breath, dove under the water, and shifted.
It was a painless shift, executed between one breath and the time she would have wanted another, and she was the small, agile otter again, diving joyfully through the water.
The shift back was just as painless and smooth, and Jenny was breaking the surface and exhaling her stale air to take another breath. She didn’t have to check to know that her teeth were only human-sharp, and that her fingers had no claws or webbing.
She rolled to her back, an otter motion that was less easily achieved by her human form.
I am better at that, otter scoffed, then added sweetly, but you’ll improve.
I think you have always been in my head, Jenny mused. You are every bad idea I ever ignored.
Maybe you’ve been every bad idea I’ve ever ignored, her otter told her merrily in return.
Jenny chuckled, arms wide as she bobbed at the surface of the water.
I still don’t know what to do about Travis, she said, after a moment of serene floating.
We’ll figure it out, her otter told her carelessly. He is our mate, and he’ll be patient while you work through your issues.
Jenny had to laugh. It’s like having the most unsympathetic psychiatrist in the world in my head with me, she said wryly.
Chapter 15
“It’s insane,” Travis admitted. “I’m on the world’s worst roller coaster. Or the best, I can’t decide.” It was early enough that the sun wasn’t up yet, but most of the staff was already getting ready for the day, gathered informally in the dated kitchen for breakfast.
“Yeah,” Tex agreed with a drawl, leaning past him to get into the refrigerator. “Stick it out, man. She’ll be worth the lows getting there. Her sister sure is.” He shared a sly sideways grin as he came out of the fridge with a piece of pizza.
It wasn’t often that the resort had such a pedestrian offering, and of course, it was a pizza with Chef’s special flare: a mild, herby sauce with chopped basil, olives, and sausage crumbles, all smothered in white cheeses. Breck had brought all of the leftover pieces from the night before when he’d closed the dining hall.
Travis considered a piece for himself, but wasn’t sure he wanted breakfast at all. Jenny had vanished after their evening tryst, and as much as he wanted to hunt her down and repeat the event, he knew he had to give her whatever space she needed. His chest hurt, and he was sure that food wouldn’t fill the emptiness that her absence left in him.
“Guh,” Breck disagreed vehemently. “Mates. Run while you can.”
“You can’t run from your mate,” Tex told him. “And believe me, you won’t want to.”
“Oh, I can,” Breck scoffed. “And believe me, I will.” He elbowed past Travis, who was still camped out next to the fridge, and got his own piece of pizza.
“Breck finding his mate is going to be a train-wreck,” Bastian observed, yawning his way into the kitchen. “Close your robe, Breck. No one wants to see that.”