Page 14 of Waiting For Psamathe

Chapter 7

PSAMATHE

The waves rushed against the sand, creating a peaceful noise that only made me long to go in and take a swim. It had been a long time since I'd had the chance, and the night seemed perfect for it.

My gaze slipped to Zale. He'd undone his bow tie and it was hanging open around the neck of his shirt, giving him a casually elegant look which suited him almost as much as his normaljust come in from the beachattire.

"Do you want to go for a swim?" I blurted out.

He raised an eyebrow. "A swim?"

I nodded. "There's a nice lagoon not far from here, we could go."

"What about the party?"

I shrugged. "What about it? Aphie has it covered." And it was her party rather than mine anyway, it didn't matter much that I wasn't there.

"I don't have anything to wear to swim in."

"You can shift into a seal," I pointed out. "As can I."

"All right, but if I have to go back up to the party naked, then you're going to have to explain it to everyone."

I chuckled. "That's not going to be an issue, we can leave our clothes in one of the beach huts." I gestured to where one of them was standing not far away. "No one's going to even think to check one at this time of night." Even without waiting for his response, I started heading towards it.

Zale followed me, stepping inside the small hut. "This is fancier than I expected. Why is there a bed in here?"

"It's a sun lounger, it can be taken outside," I said. "But it's also a good way for people to take a rest from the sun."

"Ah."

"There's also a bathroom through there." I pointed to a door.

"Useful," Zale responded. He shrugged off his jacket and folded it, placing it on one of the chairs.

I started considering how I was going to get undressed myself, only to remember that I'd needed help with the zip. I cleared my throat. "Will you unzip me?" I asked, turning my back to Zale.

"Sure." He stepped closer, brushing my hair over my shoulder so it was out of the way. My eyes fluttered closed as I realised how close we were standing and how good it felt to have him there.

His fingers found the zip and he drew it down slowly. My breathing hitched at the intimacy of his touch. I hadn't thought this through. I'd only wanted for the two of us to go for a swim, I hadn't intended it to be more than that.

And yet right now, I was considering saying that we should stay right here and put the sun lounger to use in a way it wasn't intended for.

"There you go," he whispered, his voice surprisingly hoarse.

"Thank you." I shrugged off my dress and let it fall to the floor, knowing it would expose me, but feeling all the more powerful because of it.

Zale cleared his throat. "Maybe I should meet you by the water."

I nodded. "Good idea."

He headed into the bathroom and closed the door, leaving me alone. I stripped off my underwear and folded everything up neatly, placing my clothing next to his on the chair.

"I'm leaving," I called as I slipped out of the door.

The water called to me, stronger than I'd felt it in a while and I made my way down to it. The cool sea tickled my toes as I entered, sending a tingle of magic through my whole body. I didn't stop walking until I was waist-deep and waited until I heard the swish of water that indicated Zale had joined me.

"You said there was a lagoon," he said from behind me, his tone sending a shiver down my spine.

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