“Um, me too,” she said. Suddenly she felt self-conscious, out cavorting on the beach when she was supposed to be working on solving the Selkie and Merpeople’s problem. “I hope you don’t think I’m goofing off; really, I’ve been out diving every day, trying to find out what is wrong with the water in the Selkie home, and I’m going out again later today. I just had a couple of hours first and thought I’d come catch a wave or two. It helps me think, you know what I mean?”
Kesh didn’t seem at all disturbed by what might have been interpreted by some as a frivolous distraction. Of course, he was obviously a surfer, too, so maybe he understood how addictive it could be. A little farther down the beach, the froth danced up on the wet sand in beckoning invitation.
“So, are you making any progress?” Kesh asked casually as they picked up their boards and strolled closer to the water. Seagulls practiced aeronautical displays overhead, alert for the tasty tidbits dropped by early morning donut eaters.
Beka bit her lip. “Well, it’s too soon to say for sure. Like I said, I’ve been diving every day, and taking samples from a few different spots. I can’t get down as deep as your home crevasse, of course, but I’ve collected kelp and other sea life from nearby and sent it off to a lab to be tested. I’m just waiting for the results.”
“Oh?” Kesh put one warm hand on her arm to steer her around a curly-haired toddler who was chasing a small dog, both sets of stubby legs churning up sand as they went. “Which lab?”
“The one at the university,” Beka said. “I have a friend there.”
She gazed at him, impressed all over again by how attractive he was. He didn’t make her skin hum and buzz the way Marcus did, but he was having an actual conversation with her, instead of yelling, which made for a nice change.
“You can tell your father I’m doing everything I can,” she said, not quite beseeching. “I haven’t seen anything obvious to tell me what is going on, and my magical senses just tell me there is something, but I’m sure I’ll get to the bottom of this soon. Then your people will be able to return to their homes.”
White teeth gleamed in a tanned face as he gave her a charming smile. “Not to worry, darlin’,” he said. “I’ve got complete faith in you. Now how about we see which one of us can catch the largest wave? The loser can treat the winner to dinner tonight, after you get in from your diving.” Brown eyes twinkled at her. “That way, even if I lose, I win.”
* * *
KESH WATCHED BEKA walk away carrying her board tucked under her arm. She turned around at the edge of the road and waved, and he gave her a big grin, not letting it slide into the sneer that lurked behind it until she was gone from view.
A lovely girl, she was. Pretty to look at and all heart and earnest Human emotion. Not at all like the Baba Yaga who preceded her, thank the gods. Now that one, she would have been tough to fool. But this silly girl? He already had her wrapped around his finger.
That Brenna, she was a piece of work, she was. She and Beka had used this as a home base the last few years before the Queen of the Otherworld had dragged Brenna kicking and screaming into retirement, and he’d seen her do a thing or two that the High Queen might not approve of, had she but known.
Not that Brenna wasn’t still poking her nose in, behind the scenes. She and Kesh had found a few small mutual goals, and she’d even given him advice on how to deal with the current Baba.
According to Brenna, her replacement was insecure and uncertain of her abilities. Which was a damned good thing, as far as Kesh was concerned. There was no way he was going to let one inexperienced Baba Yaga ruin his carefully laid plans.
The discovery that she’d been poking around had initially alarmed him, and he’d engineered this meeting on the beach to find out how far she’d gotten. And while he wasn’t happy about the samples she’d taken, it was clear that she had no clue as to what he’d been dumping in the ocean for the last few months. He’d just have to make sure she never found out.
One way or the other.
For the moment, his plan was simple: he’d take advantage of her vulnerability, woo her and stay close so he could keep track of her progress, and sabotage it as necessary. Kesh thought that, lacking confidence as she was, it would be easy to distract and mislead her, while charming her into trusting him completely.
In fact, he’d had a rather brilliant flash after meeting her in person. She was, after all, stunningly pretty, and sooner or later he would need to take a mate to give him heirs for this new kingdom he was building on land. There were a few women among the Selkies he’d persuaded to follow him when he left, but none of them particularly appealed to him for the long term. If he played the game just right, he could not only exact his revenge, but also end up with the massive powers of a Baba Yaga to add to his own.