Talisman 01 - The Emerald Talisman

abilities?”
    “Me?” He grinned widely, flashing his pearly teeth. “Just the ability to walk in the sunlight, something no other vampire can do but I think that’s because I’m half-human. I’d be a force to be reckoned with, if I was bent towards evil,” he said with a chuckle. “But I don’t think I have anything extra special.”
    Yeah, right.
    I hid my smile. It was nice to be with someone so humble.
    We headed towards a huge sea cave, worn away by the waves over time.
    “Want to check it out?”
    I nodded.
    We stood at the edge of the cliff in awe as the water ebbed in and out of the immense mouth of the cave down below us.
    “Wanna closer look?” he said, with a gleam in his eye.
    I started to recognize the twinkle and knew he was going to do some kind of phenomenal act that would blow my mind again.
    “Okay?”
    “I need you to trust me and climb on my back.”
    I blinked. “What?”
    “Just do it.”
    “Okay,” I said and crawled on.
    He held my legs tightly and jumped. I instinctively wrapped my arms around his muscular neck and held on for dear life. For a second we hovered over the water just inside the mouth of the cave. The spray of the waves lightly rained over us and I squealed in delight.
    Then like a bird, he gingerly landed on a protruding rock inside the monstrous cavern. I looked up at the wet walls teaming with sea life, and reeled back, feeling like I was going to lose my balance, when I felt him reach around and carefully lift me off. He placed me so I could stand on the rock in front of him. His strong arms wrapped tightly around me so I wouldn’t fall. We stood in astonishment, deafened by the noise of the waves hitting the reef all around us. The warmth of his chest radiated against me. I molded my body up against his, my heart erupting in a flutter that caused my legs to weaken.
    “What do you think?” he whispered into my ear. I felt his hot breath against the side of my neck, which caused me to be light-headed as my heart raced even harder.
    “Awesome,” I whispered, which was all I could get out as I slinked into his chest a little bit more. A seal popped his head out of the water next to us and I nudged Nicholas to alert him.
    Its little black eyes gawked at us curiously, then he swam around the rock as if to wonder how we entered his domain. I giggled uncontrollably at the sight.
    After a few minutes my teeth started to chatter from the continuous cold, salty sprays. Even though I didn’t want to leave, I didn’t know how much longer I could stand the wind blowing against my damp skin.
    “I think it’s time to go. Put your arms around my neck,” he instructed as he gently helped me turn around.
    I reached up, but feeling shy, kept my head down for fear he’d meet my gaze with a kiss. Within a second, I felt him hug me tight, crouch his legs down and spring off the rock into the air. We were flying again, headed for the sandy beach.
    When we landed, I laughed at our dripping attire. He removed his sweater to reveal a white tee-shirt that outlined every muscle of his powerful chest. Again, I saw the emerald medallion around his neck, under his shirt and stared at it. He followed my gaze and fanned the shirt off his skin to release the extra moisture. I looked away still shivering, not willing to take off my sweatshirt, knowing my wet tee-shirt underneath would be too revealing.
    “Maybe that wasn’t a good idea,” he said while looking around. “Come on.”
    He led me over to a place out of view of the cliff and started a bonfire in the sand. Within minutes, a roaring fire burned and I finally felt warm again. When he broke the driftwood into smaller pieces against his leg, I noticed a tattoo of a cross on the outer side of his bicep. The intricate ornate design was different than anything I’d ever seen. I couldn’t stop staring at it.
    “Are you feeling warmer now?” he asked as he sat next to me.
    His damp, dark hair and his olive skin shimmered in the light from the small droplets of water that clung to him. The sight made it hard for me to concentrate.
    “Yes, actually,” I said while holding my hands out, feeling the heat on my fingertips. “Thank you.”
    I wondered how long he’d planned on being here today. From the looks of it, it didn’t seem like he was in a hurry to leave, and I didn’t mind.
    “Um . . . I have a question,” I finally asked.
    “Okay.”
    I took a deep breath and held it. I wanted to ask without offending him.