“You have to get your head wet.” She placed her hands on top of his head and pushed.
He didn’t move. Why would he? Her breasts were in his face.
“You’re supposed to go under,” she complained.
He laughed, then obliged, although he rather enjoyed the proximity of her body next to his.
“There, now I’ll teach you to swim. One arm, then the other.” She demonstrated.
Kristor made sure his movements were awkward. In truth, he was a strong swimmer.
She shook her head. “Not like that.”
She took his arm and made the motion again, then stood behind him, her chest pressed against his back. He closed his eyes, enjoying the moment.
“Are you paying attention?” she asked.
“Of course.”
“I don’t think you are.”
“It’s hard to move my arms correctly with you standing behind me. Try moving to the front.”
She was so intent on teaching him to swim that she complied with his request, snuggling in front of him.
“Try putting your arms on top of mine and you can follow my movements.”
He enjoyed the way she wiggled her bottom. He could follow her movements until the sun slipped beneath the horizon, or until he mated with her again. But then, she abruptly moved away.
“Okay, now watch me.” She swam a short distance, then turned and came back. “Do you think you can do that?”
“I’ll try.” He swam out a ways, then dove beneath the water, coming up in front of her. He took her in his arms, pulling her close to him.
“You know how to swim,” she accused.
“I’m a fast learner.”
“Very funny.”
“Are you mad?”
She tried not to smile, but it broke through anyway. “Furious.” She leaned forward, planting her mouth on his.
When the kiss ended, they were both gasping for air. “I want to mate.”
“In the water?”
“Good idea.” He reached for her top.
“No, I wasn’t agreeing.”
“Then you don’t want to mate?”
“I do, but not here, not now. I want to get to know you better. I think we rushed things a little last night.”
He sighed, but gave in to her wishes. He would never understand women. They were almost the same on New Symtaria. “So what will we do?”
“Talk.”
Yes, Earth women and Symtarian women were alike in many ways. A woman was a woman, no matter where she was from. Which made them even more interesting.
Chapter 13
Ria spread her towel on the ground and lay down. The sun was hot, but the leafy branches of an old and gnarled oak tree spread out, giving them plenty of shade. She closed her eyes and sighed. Kristor spread his towel next to hers, dripping water across her back.
She gave him her evil-eye glare. “You did that on purpose.”
“Me?”
“Yes, you.”
He lay down beside her. “I’m sorry.”
“I don’t think you are.” His eyes twinkled with mischief. No, he’d definitely meant to drip water on her. Damn, he was just too sexy. Bare, tanned chest, rock-hard muscles, and all of it exposed for her pleasure. This had to be what heaven was like, or at least pretty darn close.
“So you do want to mate,” he said.
It took a moment for his words to sink in. When they did, she quickly looked away, turning on her back and draping her arm across her eyes to block the glare of the sun, and the temptation to look a little longer at Kristor’s delicious body. She’d meant it when she told him she wanted to slow down their relationship. She barely knew him.
And it was time to face the facts. As much as she’d like to think she had dreamed everything, she hadn’t. She had really shifted into a frog. She really did have an animal guide. She really was part alien.
“Tell me about New Symtaria,” she said. “Tell me about who I am, where I come from.”
He was silent for a moment as though carefully choosing his words. “Symtarians are a proud people, but our ancestors were brought to their knees when Symtaria was dying. They had worn out the planet, polluted its resources. When they went in search of a new one, they vowed to learn from the mistakes of the past. We live a more simple life now.”
“How so?” she asked.
“We’re very careful with waste. We’ve learned to enjoy the simple things.”
She rolled onto her side and looked at him. He’d turned onto his back, staring up at the sky. She loved watching him, and she loved hearing him talk about New Symtaria.
“And how did you become shapeshifters?” she asked.
“Long ago, gods and goddesses walked the land. They were one with the people. Part human, part animal. Their powers were great, and helped the people. Then they mated with some of the chosen. The offspring were not human, nor were they animal. Two living as one, they were both. One cannot truly survive without the other. Eventually, everyone had their own animal guide to help them when they were needed.”
“It sounds like a fairy tale—a fantasy.”
“Not quite. We angered the gods when we destroyed our planet through our carelessness. That is why we had to search for many years until we found this one.”
“And now you’re trying to make everything right by bringing the impures home.”
“Yes.”
“And what if they don’t want to return?”
Silence.
“Kristor?”
“It is in your best interest to return with me.”
She sat up. “And if I don’t?”
He sat up as well, watching her. “I hope you will want to return on your own. The Queen Mother bade me exercise diplomacy.”
The Queen Mother. Wait, hadn’t he told her he was a prince? “This wouldn’t happen to be your mother?”
“Yes, my mother.”
She was going to throw up. He was a prince. A real true prince. She almost laughed out loud at the irony—and she’d been a frog.
“Now we will mate.” He pulled her against him, his lips finding hers.
For a moment, she lost herself in the sensation of his body heat as it wrapped around her, enclosing her in a cocoon of sensual desire. His tongue stroked hers. His hands caressed her back, untying her top.
She jerked away, holding the little slip of yellow material against her chest. “No, we can’t do this.” She jumped up and turned her back, re-tying her top.
“Why not?” He came up behind her, pulling her close, lightly running his fingers over her bare stomach.
For a moment, she forgot why they couldn’t make love. She lost herself in the sensations he stirred inside her. His fingers tickled over her flesh, dipping lower and lower.
A small animal rustled in the underbrush, drawing her out of the web of pleasure he was weaving around her. She remembered exactly why they couldn’t make love, and stepped out of his arms.
“You’re a prince.” She turned around and faced him.
His forehead wrinkled. “What does that matter?”
“You’re of royal blood.”
“As are you. A princess.”
She opened her mouth to refute his words, then shut it without saying a word. That was right. She remembered his telling her.
“You were serious?”
“Your lineage can be traced as far back as mine. Your ancestors have also been rulers.”
Something fluttered inside her. She was a princess. Like Cinderella. Well, except she used a Swiffer to mop her floor so she was pretty certain it wasn’t quite like scrubbing. And she’d never cleaned out a fireplace in her life.
Fred had talked to her, though. Her parakeet from childhood had communicated its thoughts.
Wow, her life was almost parallel to the fairy tale. How weird was that? Except she’d had loving parents. And no prince had…Okay, scratch that. Her prince had arrived to carry her off to his castle, even if it was on another planet.
No, it didn’t matter. She was not going to fly off to another planet and play dress-up. “But you know how to be…to be royal and everything,” she told him. “You’re a prince.”