“Elizabeth.” Would he ever become accustomed to seeing her without some sort of reaction? His chest tight, he approached her and reveled in the crash of the waves against the shore as much as he did the picture she made.
She turned her head. Pleasure lit her eyes. “Brand!”
How did she do it? How did she manage to convey such delight each time they met? He was nothing special. Hell, he was a cad for what he intended to do, how he still planned on manipulating her.
With his stomach in knots, Brand joined her, dropping to the sand of the shallow cove beside her. “You’re as beautiful as always in that dress.”
“Thank you.” She ducked her head. A faint blush infused her cheeks. “I like the cheerful color.”
“So do I.” And, damn him, he enjoyed her company far too much. It gave him pleasure to know she appreciated a gift from him which was different than what he felt upon bedding a woman. Not knowing what to do, he reclined back on his elbows as the sun began its trek toward the horizon. “Would you like me to tell you a tale of the sea?”
“Oh, that sounds lovely.” When she smiled at him, twin threads of wonder and dread twisted down his spine.
“Do you have any requests?”
“Since my knowledge of anything having to do with the sea is minimal, I’ll let you choose.”
“Very well.” He racked his brain for some of the more tame stories he’d heard over the course of his stint in the navy. “This one comes from Scotland. In folklore, selkies are gentle, shapeshifting creatures who live their lives as seals while in the water and shed their skin to become human on land. As the stories go, once on land, men often steal a selkie’s seal-skin. They refuse to give it back unless the woman marries him. The selkies are frequently equated with mermaids because in Gaelic stories they are associated with maighdeann-mhara, or ‘maid of the sea.’”
“How intriguing. Are the women happy in their forced marriages?” Elizabeth’s eyes were wide and full of curiosity, the irises a deep sapphire in the rapidly fading light.
“Perhaps some were, if they managed to find love along the way.” Brand remained silent for a time as he watched the water. “Unfortunately, selkie legends usually end in tragedy; the folktales all agree about that. No matter how many years have passed within the marriage, the man’s selkie wife continues to long for the sea. He might have made her gloriously happy in the time they’d spent together, but the yearning never goes away.”
“Oh, no.” Elizabeth pressed the fingers of one hand to her lips. “She leaves, doesn’t she?”
“I’m afraid she does. Either the man is worried sick over her and gives the seal-skin back to her, or she finds it on her own, but once she has it, she transforms and joyfully goes to the water, leaving her children with their human father.”
To his surprise, tears sparkled in Elizabeth’s eyes. “Does she ever return? Surely she can’t turn her back on love—both for her husband and her children—no matter how strongly the sea calls to her.”
“I don’t know, for I’ve never met a selkie.” It was adorable how much she let herself get caught up in what was naught but a fairy story. “But perhaps there is always an exception to everything in life.”
She nodded. “I’d like to think there is and that some of them return and learn to balance both sides of themselves because nothing is more powerful in this world than love.”
“Ah, Lizzy.” The woman was both hopelessly naïve and wonderfully wise. Without his consent of even his knowledge, a tiny piece of his heart flew into her more than capable hands. When had the wall around that organ been breached? He had no idea, neither did he know when she’d found her way beneath it. “Would that you someday find all that you believe in,” he said in a barely audible voice even as knots of disgust for himself pulled in his belly.
“I think I am,” she responded in an equally low tone as she looked at him with a certain soft expression that gave away more of her feelings than she probably knew.
Oh, God.Brand glanced away before she could spy the truth in his eye. “Would you like to hear another tale?”
“Does it have a happy ending?”
“Only you can make that assessment, but generally tales and legends are designed as a warning, not an encouragement to follow in their footsteps.”
“Well, if I had the creation of them, they would.” But she nodded. “Tell me something about mermaids. I’ve always been curious of them.”
“Such a classic tale.” Despite his feelings and the subject matter not spoken, Brand grinned. “Let’s see. Oh, here’s one that hails from Ireland.” He took a moment to recall the story. When he’d been a young man in the Navy, many a night spent on watch on deck he’d kept vigil with his mates while they’d spun the tales for him. “In Irish lore, a merrow is what they call a mermaid, but they need a bit of magic in order for them to live beneath the water. So, they don a hat called a cohuleen druith. Female merrows have long green hair. They’re like a traditional siren in that they’re extremely beautiful, even if they’re the half-human fish of mythology.”
“Isn’t it funny how women in fairy stories are always beautiful?” Elizabeth’s laugh went straight to his groin. “I suppose the tales would make less of an impact if the women were hags, but it certainly leaves out a huge segment of the female population, doesn’t it?”
“I’ve never thought about it that way, for beauty is subjective and personal to the beholder.”
Her eyebrows rose. “How intelligent of you to say.”
As much as he wished to preen under her praise, he tamped the urge. If he spent too much time peering into her eyes, he’d want to dive into the cool pools and lose himself… Quickly, he gave his head a slight shake. “Male merrows, however, are considered hideous and frightening, more fish than man. They are never said to be handsome. They are also cruel. Which is the reason that many merrow women sought out relationships with human men.”
“Because love is the driving force of all life.” The dreamy, sing-song sound of her tones sent awareness sailing over him. “Love doesn’t see differences.”
Oh, how he wanted to believe her! “Yes, well…” He swallowed around the ball of emotion lodged in his throat. “Their offspring ran the risk of having scales and webbing between their fingers, which would make them pariahs in both human and mer society. As with the selkies, the love of the sea is always in a merrow’s blood. They often tire of their life on land and wish to return to the sea—with or without their human family.”