Page 3 of Trapped By Claws
Oh. Wow.
How could he possibly claim I was attractive when he looked like that?
He maintained the same bold yellow and green striping, and—he was stunning. Somehow, even with such vivid colors, he was ethereally beautiful. Sharp cheekbones, defined lips, slanted but strong jaw, smooth brow, loose black curls, and bright-green eyes. So striking he made me ache. And yet there was something unsettling in his beauty.
Maybe it was his coloration. It certainly made his features and muscles appear all the more angular. And there was a sharp hunger in his eyes that had intensified now that he was no longer in the eel form. He sank into the water up to his waist, bobbing up and down into the waves as he studied me with that flirtatious smirk. He wore nothing but a claw bracelet that hugged his wrist so tight the claws pressed into his skin. "You really are remarkable," he said, as if entirely unaware of my reaction to him.
I snapped my mouth shut. What was I thinking? He was a fae. A shifter fae at that. And that meant he was dangerous. Of course he was gorgeous. Fae usually were. And shifter fae could adapt their appearances. If he hadn't had that bold striping and the strange color pattern, he'd have been impossible to resist. Even now, every inch of him radiated sensual beauty and grace.
"Enough with the flattery." I turned my face away.
He chuckled. His voice was smoother in this form. He folded his arms behind his head as he leaned back in the water. "There's never enough flattery when it comes to someone like you."
"I'm not fond of lies."
"I don't lie." He rolled forward and rested his folded arms on the stone. He cut his eyes up at me, smiling. The smile had an edge to it—like a predator sizing up its prey. "It certainly isn't a lie to say that you are very pleasant to look upon."
I stepped back, heart racing a little faster, my feet silent on the warm rock. A strange sensation buzzed through me, settling in my lower belly. "Youareflattering me."
The waves lapped against him as he continued to smile and rake his gaze up and down my body. The sharpness in his eyes intensified.
A shiver tensed through me, almost too much for me to hide.
Damn him.
Those loose black curls of his begged me to run my fingers through them.
No, stop!
He murmured with amusement. "Flattery can be true. And in this case, it is. You're the prettiest creature I've seen in these parts."
A blushing heat crept up my throat and over my face. It wasn't hard to think of something to shut down this conversation. But I liked that he saw me. I liked the compliments too. Even if I shouldn't.
I shook my head. "Enough of that," I said, a little sharper than I intended.
It didn't affect him. "Ah, you're the practical sort. I embarrass you if I make too much of a fuss over you." He winked. As he looked me up and down again, he tapped his fingers on the stone. No—his claws. His fingernails were actually long, dark claws. "It would be so very hard for me to not make a fuss overyou. Especially if you came back with me. Why don't you come to my home?"
Something flashed in his eyes as he asked this—a look almost of surprise as if he could not believe he had asked that. But then his smile and the sharpness in his eyes returned. He tilted his head. "It's cool and safe, and I promise not to scare you too terribly much. It would be great fun for both of us. You can call me Corvin."
"Corvin…like—" Oh. Wait. I'd wanted to ask him if Corvin meant "raven." But something in his eyes warned me to stop.
"Like just Corvin, or do you have a last name?"
"I am Corvin of the North Sea. That is all. It's all that's ever needed." A bitter note edged his voice. "And what of you? May I have your name?"
"You may call me Mena." I folded my arms, then shrugged. "To be clear, I'm not giving you my name. You can just call me that. I know you're a fae."
"Aren't you clever? Just as clever as you are pretty." He tilted his head, his voice softening. He swam along the edge of the white stone. Those eyes sliced through me, taking me in, examining me, and evaluating me.
My heart beat faster.
Oof.
I didn't need this. "Well…I need to be leaving. Oh. Salt's bane!" The ship had kept sailing—of course it had—and the rope I'd swung out on had almost slipped back into the water.
He straightened in the water, glancing from me and then back over his shoulder. "What's wrong?"
I scooped up the knotted rope before it could slide all the way off the rock. There were only a few hand lengths left and then a little more as I unknotted the lower portion to give myself more slack. This didn't have to be hard unless I got delayed. The one thing I didn't want was to swim and drag along in the water.There were sea monsters other than Corvin out there, and I'd be easy prey.
