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“Absolutely.”
“I used to drop my things about here.” I pointed farther up the shore. Kraken’s Keep, an exclusive seafood restaurant, was open, and people sat on the deck enjoying their meals and the view of the sea. “I would bring an umbrella and a folding chair, tying everything onto a red wagon Grannie kept in the garage.”
“That must’ve been hard to pull across the sand,” he said.
“I was a determined kid. I wanted to be at the beach, and I wanted to enjoy it in comfort. I bet if I ever go camping, I’d bring a big mixer and an extension cord I could plug in to run it.”
Pausing, he frowned down at me. I liked how the moonlight played on his features, lighting his blue skin to an iciness I found incredibly sexy. “Why?”
“So I could make pizza dough.”
“With the mixer.”
“I mean, I can make it without one, I suppose, but it’s nice to have a dough hook to do the hard work for you.”
“How would you cook your pizza?” He still didn’t look convinced. Truly, he needed to go camping with me, something I’d only done a few times when Grannie sent me to summer programs as a teenager.
“On the grill, of course. You stretch it out and carefully lay it on the oiled grate. When it’s partly done and browning nicely on the bottom, you flip it over and top it with cheese and everything else. You cover the grill and let it smoke and bake. Complete yum.”
“I’ve got to try that sometime.”
“Have you ever been camping?”
“A few times, if you count sleeping in an ice cabin.”
“Brr.” I hugged my waist. “You lay on ice?”
“My family owns an exclusive business. People and monsters come from all over the world to sleep inside our ice cabins and watch the northern lights ripple across the sky. Because they want to retire, my brother plans to take over the business from my parents soon. We don’t lay on the ice. Each cabin has a full array of fake fur bedding, plus squishy furniture you can snuggle up on. Imagine sipping cocoa as you sit outside covered with blankets, staring up at the stars while the northern lights sway across the sky in blues, pinks, and greens.”
“It sounds amazing.” And fun.
“I’ll go camping with you sometime—and we can make pizza—if you’ll travel with me a different time to stay in an ice cabin.”
“It’s a deal.”
We continued walking, sharing our favorite pizzatoppings and the food we might eat when we stayed in one of his family’s ice cabins. I liked that he could picture me there with him, that he wanted to share something special like that with me.
“You must’ve gotten sunburned during those summers spent here on the beach,” he said.
“Not too much. I—well, Grannie—was careful. Even though I promised to stay out of the sun and put on sunscreen, she always insisted I wear a long-sleeved shirt that blocked UV rays, plus a big hat. I’m glad she made me do it, though I grumbled a lot back then. I still love the feel of the sun on my skin. It’s part of the ocean. They kiss a lot and are very happy together.”
“Theykiss, huh?” Stopping, he turned to face me. “Who exactly are you talking about?”
“The sun and the ocean. The sunlight swoops down and kisses the crests of the sea, making it sparkle with pleasure. Haven’t you seen that?”
“Right now, the ocean is cheating on the sun with the moon. I see lots of sparkling going on offshore.”
“It’s a reverse harem,” I quipped. “The ocean hastwolovers, not just one.”
“Two, huh? What about you, Melly? Would you want two lovers?”
“I guess it depends on what the first lover has to offer and what he doesn’t.” My face ached from my grin. I started walking again. “Maybe a second could deliver what the first can’t handle all on his own.”
Elrik huffed and swooped after me, splashing through the water to pick me up into his arms. Turning, he strode deeper into the water as it surged around his thighs. Heheld me in his outstretched arms, growling as he threatened to dip me into the waves.
I squealed and clung to his shoulders, wrapping my legs around his chest. My sundress dipped into the water, but so far, my body hadn’t. “Stop, stop!”
“Maybe you need to sample what your first lover can offer before you start dreaming about a second,” he said with a smirk. “You don’t know what you’re missing.”
