Page 71 of Sheltered in the Storm

“What is wrong?” I asked.

She slid the top of her suit down off her shoulders, baring herself to the waist. At the sight of her lovely, full breasts and her rosy nipples pebbling in the air, I nearly bolted back up the bank.

“Oh, nothing,” Calla said with a flash of a sad smile. “It’s just…that’s the first time you’ve gone into the water without carrying me.”

“I will carry you,” I promised. I would not miss doing that for the world. “I will only be gone a few minutes.”

“Okay.” She bent to remove her boots. “Go ahead.”

I dove under the water and made my way quickly to thedeepest part of the inlet. Sure enough, there they were: dozens of brightly colored shells in clusters. The sea enni had arrived.

I found a half-dozen unoccupied shells abandoned by the creatures that had resided within them. They had likely left their shells to feed or mate and been eaten. Inlets like this one were safe havens during their mating season, or at least far safer than open water, but no place was truly without danger.

When I surfaced, I found my Calla waiting on the bank, undressed, sitting in the grass. “Well?” she asked as I climbed the bank with the shells hidden in my arms. “What did you bring me?”

Proudly, I held out my hands and presented her with the collection.

Her mouth fell open. “Oh, gods, Vos—these are beautiful!” Eyes wide as a child’s, she looked up at me. “Can I hold one?”

I handed her the most lovely one, a deep purple shell with green whorls. “Of course. The enni that lived inside it is no longer there.”

“These are enni shells?” She marveled at its beauty, turning it in her hands and peeking inside the curled, hidden parts. “These arewaybigger than the enni in the garden. Poe would feast on these!”

“Shewillfeast.” I laughed. “I promised to bring some home for her. She looks forward to the arrival of the sea enni each year.”

“Are they the same color as the enni in the garden?”

I shook my head. “They are the same color as their shells.”

“Oh, I’d love to see that. The ones in our garden are so plain and gray. Hey, this one looks like you.” She held up the purple shell so she could look from it to me and back again. “It’s not as beautiful, though.”

“Such flattery, my mate.” I crouched and arranged the collection of shells on the grass in front of her. “Which do you like best?”

“Hmm.” She picked up each one and looked it over. “Purple, blue, green…I think I love the purple one best because it reminds me of you. Such a pretty purple. The enni who lived in it must be pretty too—well, for an enni.”

To be compared to a sea enni or its shell would not be a compliment from anyone but my lovely Calla. “And second best?” I asked.

She bit her lip again. “I don’t suppose you saw any red ones down there?”

I tilted my head and thought. “I did not. They are much more rare. Should I look?”

“Could you?” Her eyes sparkled as she twirled her hair around her finger. “I would love a red one to go with the purple.”

Now I understood. I smiled and cupped my Calla’s face. “I will find a red one for you, my mate. I may be gone longer this time.”

“That’s all right. I’m comfortable. But don’t taketoolong.” She kissed my palm. “I still want you to carry me into the water properly, and then we can visit our grotto.”

Our hidden place under the trees was not truly a grotto, as its walls were curtains of moss rather than a cave of stone, but she had dubbed it as such and I liked the name. The Fortusian wordgar’utomeantsea home, and our grotto was very much that to me.

I returned to the water in search of red shells. I found a few, but rejected them as unworthy of my Calla. I wanted at least one or two in pristine condition, and as lustrously red as her hair.

At long last I found one, hidden behind rocks in a small cluster of shells on the far side of the inlet where it opened to the sea. This one was perfect in every way: the right color, without scratches or broken edges, and freshly abandoned because the inside was gleaming white. My Calla would beam at its beauty. My tentacles danced in anticipation and glee.

With my prize in hand, I made my way back across the inlet along the sandy bottom, seeking other shells that caught my eye with their color or shape. I found another purple and green one that rivaled my earlier offering for beauty and brought that too.

If my Calla wanted a collection of the most perfect sea enni shells, I would gather as many as she desired, or help her find them. I had brought a net bag to transport Poe’s meal and a second in case Calla wanted to gather her own. Perhaps she would want to use them as decorations in our home or garden. I would love that as well.

I reached our shore and broke the surface of the water, holding up the shells in triumph.

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