#4 Moonlight on the Water

Chapter 15: Knox

“Who was she anyway?” Navy asked as we sat hand in hand on the sofa.

“Who? Lolly?” I asked, distracted by the feeling of her hand in mine.

“Mhm.” Navy hummed.

“She’s the daughter of my father’s Beta. He didn’t have any other children and Lolly wasn’t a candidate, so I chose my brother as my Beta.” I explained.

“Why wasn’t she a candidate?” Navy asked. I looked at her sideways,

“Well, you met her. She’s not exactly a people person or a hard worker, for that matter.” I sighed.

“She’s not a very nice person, either.” Navy said under her breath. I chuckled,

“No, she’s not. Her father has always treated her like a spoiled brat, she thinks she’s entitled because she’s the ex-Beta’s daughter. No one has ever shown her her place. At least, not until today.” I said to my mate.

“You mean me?” Navy blushed. Oh how I adored her cute little blush every time she was embarrassed, which was so often.

“It honestly was the best thing I’ve ever seen.” I teased her, giving her hand a squeeze,

“Luna behavior if I do say so myself.”

“I’m not sure about that. I was just being nice.” She shrugged.

“That’s why you’ll make a good Luna, because you’re so nice.” I said. Navy said nothing, she just stared out the window in front of her.

“Do you want to go for a walk on the beach?” I asked her.

“What do you usually do? I don’t want you to change your routine because of me.” She said.

“It’s Saturday, I don’t really have a routine for the weekend.”

“The weekend?” She looked at me with a puzzled expression.

“Yeah, Saturday and Sunday are called the weekend. It’s when nobody works or goes to school.” I tried to explain. I never knew how hard explaining everyday stuff was until Navy. She was so oblivious to the way of life up here, or on the surface as she calls it. I found it adorable.

“Oh.” She paused, thinking,

“So, what are the other days?”

“Monday through Friday are the weekdays. That’s when work and school happens. Usually there’s a routine during the week.”

“Do you work?” She asked.

“I own my own company.” She perked up, seeming interested in what I had to say,

“What is it?”

“My company designs and manufactures surfboards.” I said and it was my turn to be embarrassed. Thanks to my father’s disapproval, I was very self-conscious about admitting my business to anyone while also being very over-protective of it.

“That’s so cool!” She smiled, her eyes lighting up.

“You think so?” I asked, laughing.

“Yeah!”

“Maybe you can come to work with me sometime and see what I do.” I suggested, eager to share a part of my life with her.

“I would like that.” She nodded excitedly.

“Well, when I’m not doing work for my company, I’m taking care of pack business. I spend a lot of time in my office during the week or going into the corporate office near the beach. That’s how I saw you for the first time, coming out of a corporate meeting.” I said.

“That’s lucky.” She smiled widely at me,

“The luckiest day of my entire life.” I agreed. She blushed again and changed the subject,

“Well, I don’t want you to miss work for me during the week.” She tried out the word, scrunching her nose up a little as she focused on saying it correctly. I chuckled at her expression,

“It’ll be hard to focus on anything with you here.” I admitted.

“I’ll hide, then.” She teased.

“I’ll always find you.” I purred, ducking my gaze to meet hers.

A little while later, Navy accepted my invitation to walk on the beach. We were barefoot on the sand with the sun behind us as we walked. Occasionally, Navy would take my hand and we would so closely our shoulders were brushing against each other. Other times, she wanted her space. She was careful to avoid the water as it lapped the sand.

“I was wondering about something.” Navy said after a while of comfortable silence.

“Yes, baby?”

“I was wondering why there was no pack here when your grandfather came.” Her topic of conversation surprised me, but I thought about her question anyway.

“I’m not sure. Like I said, the Council never explained what happened to the last pack.”

“My grandma said that the Council threatened to exile the pack if she didn’t leave, so she left. To me, it seems like they acted against the pack anyway.” Navy said, kicking a rock across the sand.

“That’s a good question. I really don’t know, Navy.” I sighed at not being able to give her the answers she needed.

“Would you mind if I did some research in the archives?” Navy asked hesitantly. I smirked at her and fished the keys out of my pocket. I pulled off the key to the archive room and handed it to her.

“It’s all yours.” I said. She wrapped her tiny hand around the key and blinked up at me in surprise,

“I keep telling you that this is your home, Navy, you can go wherever you’d like.”

“Thank you.” She smiled, blushing once again.

Some more time passed and I noticed Navy looking longingly at the water.

“Do you want to go for a swim?” I asked her. Her head snapped over towards me,

“Do you?” She asked, raising her eyebrow.

“I’d like to go for a swim with you.” I grinned. She looked at the ocean again and then back to me, biting her lip.

“Okay.” She nodded. Without waiting for anymore confirmation, I tugged my shirt over my head and worked on undoing my pants.

“Woah, really?” Navy shrieked, jumping away from me and turning around. I laughed loudly at her,

“So shy, little mate.”

“Just tell me when you’re in the water.” She grumbled with her hands over her eyes. I dropped my pants and shook my head at Navy, walking into the water.

“You offend me, baby.” I called out. She peeked through her fingers at the sound of my voice in the distance and removed her hands when she was satisfied I was covered.

“Why?” She asked.

“You don’t like what you see?” I pouted, earning a glare from Navy.

“Just close your eyes.” She snapped. I turned around and gave Navy her privacy, but not before making fun of my mate some more.

After a few more minutes, I heard a splash and then my mate was floating next to me. Her bleach blonde hair was stringy and clinging to her skin, a delicate crown on the top of her head and her beautiful scales shining in the sunlight.

“You’re so beautiful.” I whispered, wrapping my arms around her bare skin.

“You’re just saying that because you’ve never seen any other sirens.” Navy rolled her eyes.

“Not true.” I argued, shaking my head,

“I could see a hundred sirens and still be awed by your beauty.” I ducked down to meet her gaze but she splashed me before stubbornly diving under the water.

I laughed and cleared the water from my face. I searched the surface, looking for my mate. After a minute or two, she popped up a couple of yards away.

“I know you can breathe under water but that still scares me, little mate.” I sighed.

“Come here.” She held her hand out for me and I greedily took it. She told me to hold my breath and pulled me under the water.

Once under the surface, Navy smiled and waved her hand through the water. A bubble surrounded us and I felt the weight of the water being lifted. She nodded encouragingly at me,

“You can breathe now.” She said with a smile. I hesitantly released the breath I was holding and opened my mouth. I was relieved to discover she was telling the truth.

“How did you do that?” I asked.

“I can do more than just sing.” She shrugged smugly.

I looked around the bubble and observed the ocean outside of it. There were fish swimming around us and colorful seashells at our feet.

“I can give you your own bubble so you can swim with me.” She said, shrinking the gap in the water so it only surrounded my head.

She motioned for me to follow her before her powerful tail flicked against the water and she was swimming away from me. I struggled to keep up. I was a strong swimmer, but my legs were nothing against her tail. We swam for a few minutes before Navy slowed down and pointed towards a cave. I nodded at her, agreeing to follow.

She led us down to the cave and inside. She swam up and I followed, bursting out of the water. The bubble around my head popped as I hit the fresh air. Navy brushed her hair from her face and smiled excitedly at me.

“This is one of my favorite places.” She said, looking around. I followed her gaze, exploring the cave with my eyes.

Navy pulled herself up on the ledge of the cave, her tail lingering in the water. I heaved myself out of the water and walked around the cave. It was made of dark stone and seemed to go on forever. I couldn’t see its end but I could tell that it was dry and walkable.

“What’s back there?” I asked curiously.

“Not much, just some rock formation. At the end it opens up to a huge underwater lake and waterfall. It’s beautiful.” I noticed that Navy still wasn’t looking at me, even though I had left my underwear on for her comfort.

“Over there is a bag.” She said, pointing towards the corner of the cave and behind a rock.

I brought the backpack over to her. She pulled out a long shirt and tugged it over her head. She shimmied back from the water and I watched as her tail vanished, leaving legs in its place. She stood and the shirt fell to her midthigh. I shamelessly stared at her beauty. She tossed the bag behind the rock, I guess not having any pants to put on. I gulped, wondering how I was going to control myself for the rest of this cave tour.

“Come on.” She said, walking through the cave. I had to walk beside her, lacking the restraint to handle walking behind her.

When we reached the end of the cave, it opened up to a large room that held the lake. Coming from the ceiling of the cave was a roaring waterfall.

“It’s coming down from the ocean.” Navy explained as I gawked at the scenery. I had never seen something so magical.

“This is amazing.” I said, my voice echoing through the cave.

“Check out the water, it’s warm.” Navy said, nodding towards the lake. I dipped my toe in the water and looking over at her in shock. The lake was like bath water.

“Can we swim in it?” I asked.

She nodded and sat on the edge of the lake. She removed her shirt, keeping her back to me. I resisted the urge to gawk. She slipped into the water and returned to her siren form. I followed suit.

We playfully swam in the lake for a while before the mood in the cave shifted. Navy found herself in my arms, her tail brushing against my legs. My hands were skimming her bare back, exploring every inch of skin I could. Navy’s hands were gripping my biceps and her eyes were staring deep into mine. I could tell that she was uncertain but her desires were clear in her eyes.

I pulled her towards me and brushed my lips lightly against hers. She froze, unmoving. She didn’t push me away but she didn’t return the kiss either. I decided to go in for another one. I pressed my lips firmly against her, moving against her soft, wet lips.

Finally, she returned the kiss. Her arms snaked around my neck as she pressed her body closer to mine. I could feel every curve, every bump, every detail of her delicate frame. The smallest moan came from my mate and it was enough to drive Alistair and I wild. Alistair growled in my head and urged me to move faster, but I denied him.

I slowed the kiss and pulled away, leaving my mate breathless. I nuzzled my nose into her neck and breathed in her scent. She smelt like the sweetest salt water, the best smelling sunscreen, and the most delicious champagne.

“We should go back.” Navy whispered, still out of breath.

I nodded at her, knowing she was nearing her limits for the day. I ducked my head and gave her one more quick kiss, unable to help myself.