Sea Haven 01 - Water Bound

discovery was both terrifying and elating.
    She threw out her arms and closed her eyes, deliberately absorbing the feel of the water. Immediately she could feel the normal centering in her brain that she always felt when she was near water, but beyond that, she could tell there was a difference. The sea was powerful and moody. The pond was serene and lazy, a gentle, steady presence, more peaceful than one that battered and pounded as the ocean did. This body of water didn’t tap into her emotions as the sea did. There was no release of anger, of fear, of the golden happiness this farm and her sisters represented, or of the wild sexual energy she was desperate to repress ever since pulling Lev from the sea.
    She absorbed the calm, took it in and then tried her dance, singing softly and using her palms to “feel” the water. When she opened her eyes, small columns leapt and played under her direction, just as on the open sea.
    The small spouts whirled and leapt, racing one another across the surface.
    Delighted, she stood up, raising the energy, and saw the instant response—
    the columns grew taller, whirled faster, and more broke off into multiple geysers.
    Joy burst through her. This—this gift—was hers. She couldn’t walk down a crowded street or go into a store with fluorescent lights, but she could join with water, make it whisper or roar, be a part of it. She reached out over the small strip of land she was standing on toward the columns of dancing water, her fingertips tingling as she manipulated the many waterspouts across the pond.
    She stepped forward and felt the narrow edge crumbling. Desperately she tried to throw her weight backward. Her heart hammered, her palm burned, the pain rushed up her arm. The columns collapsed, sending water spraying into the air as the earth continued to erode beneath her. She flung 102

    out her hand to catch an exposed root. Without warning she felt a jolt, like a hand lifting her and flinging her back onto solid ground. The force was so strong she landed hard enough to knock the wind out of her. She lay there, trying to find air, her lungs burning and her mind racing. She should have fallen into the pond.
    Rikki rolled over and stared up at the sky, all the while cradling her left arm and pressing her palm against her wildly beating heart. What had saved her from a cold dunk? It would have been difficult to climb out, but she had no doubt she could have. It would have been messy and cold and very embarrassing, but still . . . She looked at the narrow ledge where she’d been.
    It had collapsed completely in a mini avalanche.
    Rikki? Rikki, answer me. I need to know you’re all right.
    Lev’s voice filled her mind. She realized immediately he had done something to help her from a distance. Swallowing hard, she rubbed her hand over her face, trying to think. He had to have tremendous power to do something like that. She lived in Sea Haven and everyone there knew the Drake family. It was rumored that seven daughters were always born to the seventh child and each carried tremendous gifts, but she’d never heard of anyone else having such powers, and the Drakes were—well—the Drakes.
    Everyone accepted them as fact.
    Answer me now.
    The voice was a soft growl of command. She couldn’t stop the instant response. I’m fine . Don’t worry.
    Rikki clapped her hands over her ears. She had no intention of engaging in telepathic communication with him. If he could get inside her head, he might be able to read her thoughts . . .
    You could read mine too.
    There was relief in his voice. It flooded her mind and the intimacy of his velvet tone shocked her. Her body reacted, coming alive, every nerve ending alert. Electricity sparked over her skin, and deep in her most feminine core she felt empty and needy.
    Get out of my head. Trembling, she managed to get her feet under her.
    You scared the hell out of me. And my head hurts like a son of a bitch.
    You might consider that before you go getting yourself into trouble.
    She sensed his anger was shocking to him, that he was horrified at his own fear for her safety. Somehow that was unusual—his concern for another human being. He didn’t understand their connection any more than she did, and knowing that made it easier for her.
    Well, thanks for saving me from a dunking.
    103

    He was silent a moment but she could still feel him there in her mind. It was a bit like being underwater, everything in her stilled and steadied as