Once they arrived on the other side, things would change with Emma. Her hands gripped him, fingernails digging into his hide, but after her initial gasp, she hadn’t uttered a word.
Shock, he thought. She’d fear him now, and he hated the idea. Too late, he realized he wanted her in his life. He shied from the word love, but it felt uncomfortably close to the emotion he swore he’d never let into his life again.
***
Surreal. She was shooting through the water on the back of a beast. And that beast was Jack.
George Taniwha Investigators and Security.
Emma’s heart thumped erratically, her breath catching as the waves rushed over Jack’s back and splashed her chest. She scrubbed the water from her face and coughed as she swallowed a mouthful. Despite her fear, exhilaration echoed her distress.
The taniwha part of the company name was real. She was riding on the back of a dragon. Jack was a taniwha. He’d shifted and grabbed her before escape entered her head. She wrinkled her nose. Could be worse. She’d glimpsed his teeth. Children’s storybooks hadn’t exaggerated the sharp fangs.
Another wave slapped her in the face. An undignified screech emerged, and she wrapped her hands around Jack’s neck. The water level crept higher. Reality check! She was in the middle of the bloody sea. God, she hated deep water.
Instinctively, she clung tighter, curling her fingers into the slippery flesh of the taniwha—Jack. Bands of panic clamped her chest, stealing her breath. She was gonna drown and no one would ever learn of her fate. They’d go back to the island. Yes. Great idea. She glanced over her shoulder and her shoulders slumped. The three men brandishing guns on the shoreline put a realistic spin on the situation. They didn’t seem worried about the guests, although most were at lunch or at the clay pigeon shooting and wouldn’t notice the danger in their midst.
No, returning wasn’t an option.
She gripped Jack with her knees and kept her gaze off her the endless expanse of water. How fast did a taniwha swim anyway? Faster than a boat?
Emma concentrated on the mainland, all the while praying they’d get there quick. She wondered about George and his sons. George’s wife Meri. Were they all taniwha? Did they look like Jack?
The taniwha changed direction without warning, and Emma dug her fingers into the dragon’s hide for greater purchase. Alarm almost choked her until she realized Jack was heading for a part of the coast covered in bush. The first thing she intended to do was get her feet on solid ground. She might even kiss the solid surface. The waves increased in size without warning.
Emma shrieked as one broke over her head. Panicked, she struggled, one hand loosening its grip on Jack to flail to the surface. Air. She needed air now.
A growl filled the air, vibrating through her ears in sharp warning. Then, her head cleared the water and she sucked in a hoarse breath. Another wave crashed to shore but this one struck at shoulder level.
The taniwha swam then stood at the water’s edge, four powerful limbs taking them to shore. Emma attempted to scramble off the creature’s back but Jack roared. She froze in place, unsure of what to do next.
Jack lumbered up the beach with her on his back. He was a pretty color—reminding her of the inside of a green-lipped mussel shell—pearly gray with hints of pink and green. The color was the one attractive thing about the dragon. Emma found it hard to believe Jack and the taniwha were one. Jack was a man to die for. The taniwha was…had a face only a mother could love, yet they inhabited the same being. Her mind stuttered and the blip in her thought processes cleared.
They were the same, and she really, really liked Jack.
Problem solved.
They crashed through low scrub and bush until Emma couldn’t see or hear the sea. The secondary regrowth gave way to larger trees—punga, karaka and manuka. The dragon continued with its uneven lope, taking a small overgrown path. Ferns brushed against them and the leaf litter cracked under its feet but Emma couldn’t hear a single bird.
The taniwha—Jack—never hesitated. Gradually, the shadows gave way and they emerged into a clearing. Jack stopped, and she cautiously pried her fingers free and slid across his slippery back to the ground. They eyed one another but the taniwha broke contact first. He lumbered over to a punga and stripped several of the branches from the fern tree. After laying them on the ground, the taniwha turned to her and gestured with a clawed arm.
Okaay. It appeared they were staying.
“I’m going to find help.” Emma turned to leave.
A roar echoed through the clearing. Strident like a clap of thunder directly overhead, the bark of sound made her leap in fright. She took another step and the taniwha sidled closer and herded her back to the leafy bed on the ground.