Sea Haven 01 - Water Bound

and, like in a Bach fugue, counterpoints to the building thematic melody. While the music seemed soft, it was also strong and commanding, a force to be reckoned with, nature building on itself. Each individual voice was different, as if a variety of instruments played various tunes, yet somehow they all melded together to create a masterpiece.
    Just like the movements in a symphony, the rain sent vibrations through his body, painting the world in a physical map of mountains, valleys and high peaks dropping into deep ravines. The physical structures were all created by sound itself, and the colors were intense and vivid—substance created by sound, by feeling. He realized the emotions in her, so closed off to the rest of the world, were right beneath the surface, a swirling cauldron of heat and fire and cool rain. The vivid colors and sounds expressed what she felt—the amazing intensity of her emotions.
    For the first time in his life, Lev shut out the world around him. He was lost in the wonder and beauty of the rain coming down. He was utterly fascinated, experiencing a joyful euphoria, a sharing with Rikki that was intimate beyond imagination. This world, this creation, was as real as the two of them—he’d just never had an opening into another dimension before.
    The rain swelled and ebbed, pouring over the slopes and valleys, each section answering with a loud or soft rush of music, as if there were melodic voices in the rain calling and answering one another with greater and greater force. The drops whirled and danced as they came down over the house, creating small twisters of crystal prisms.
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    He was lost, caught up in the beauty and sound. Everything sparkled against the night, a million stars rained down on them. The drops began to touch and then sink into his skin, absorbed by him until he felt like part of the deluge, floating in space between sky and earth. This was her world, just as the sea was. The cool water surrounding her, carrying her, holding her close to comfort her in a world she could never understand.
    She wanted to live in this world or in the deep sea. He felt her reach for it, let it take her spinning further away from reality, and he went with her, free-falling into vivid color and beautiful sound. The music flowed around him with the rain. Streaks of glittering color were weeping violins, and then a calypso beat separated the drops once more.
    Abruptly it was gone and he stood there blinking, as if waking up from a dream, looking around, trying to orient himself back to a world that was not quite so bright and vivid. Where was the music? The vivid color? The world seemed dull in comparison. He put his arms around her and held her while she came back from her journey into another dimension. He had no other way to describe what he’d experienced, but he knew that rapt expression of focused attention that often came over Rikki meant she was there, in that world that was in her head.
    She turned her head, letting it fall on his shoulder, accepting the security of his arms. “You’re cold, lyubimaya, let’s get you inside and ready for bed.”
    He didn’t want her to stay out on the porch alone. He was afraid of losing her to that other world. It would always be there, just as the sea would be, calling to her in a soft, tempting whisper. He kissed the top of her head.
    It was entirely possible he didn’t know one thing about love, but he knew himself inside and out, every strength, every weakness, and he knew absolutely his life was entangled with hers for all time.
    He didn’t like being away from her. He found himself listening for the sound of her voice, watching for her little frown, waiting for her direct stare so he could fall into the dark depths of her eyes. Free-falling. That’s what he’d been doing since the moment he met her. And he wanted this life. He intended to grab it with both hands. Right or wrong, he was falling in love with her, and every moment spent in her company intensified the feeling. He couldn’t imagine going back to being without her.
    He scooped her up into his arms, not waiting for her breathless protest, and carried her back into the house, kicking the door closed behind them.
    “I have to lock it,” she said.
    “You get ready for bed and I’ll shut down the house.” He wanted to take a quick look around and set a few extra guards in place.
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    Rikki stood just outside the bathroom door, shocked at the way she felt when he left her,