Tidal Wave by Vivian Arend Page A

and into his arms, their hands continuing to touch and caress, lips brushing skin that was hot and sweaty and satisfied. They cuddled together in the big armchair by the fire, naked and completely at ease.
     
    Joshua stood impatiently beside Victoria as she chatted with a group of young women from the pod, dispersing advice and admiring the babies. The morning had been a particularly painful form of torture for him as his former leader seemed determined to completely ignore the issue of Alexia’s anger. Victoria made him drive her all over town, finally ordering him to stop so she could visit with the young mothers watching their children at the park.
    There were plenty of things to occupy his mind as Joshua jiggled on the spot, cursing old women and young children who kept him from returning to Alexia and begging for forgiveness.
    She was right, he should have at least told her it wasn’t a dream. It didn’t matter he’d had her best interests at heart, he’d behaved no better than Michael. And that was what stuck in his throat. For all his disdain over the way his family had treated him throughout the years, he had turned out to be no better than them when it came to making assumptions.
    He felt the strange sensation that alerted him Alexia had entered the water. She and Anthony must have decided to go for a swim, and he swore at missing the opportunity to be with her the first time she entered the water aware of the merfolk.
    He stilled his body and his mind, using the relaxation methods he’d learned over the years when things had gotten too difficult for him to ignore the need that filled him. His dreams of Alexia had been more than ordinary, more vivid and compulsive, ever since he’d touched her on the beach the very first time. They had been linked together since that moment.
    “Come, Joshua. I want to go—”
    “Enough, Victoria. I need to return to the house. Anything else you have to do can wait until later.”
    She raised an eyebrow at him. “Aren’t you the demanding one all of a sudden? Don’t think I’ve forgotten you have some explaining to do, young man. You seem to know entirely too much about things that were supposed to be private matters.”
    Joshua nodded politely to the ladies who stared curiously at him, wondering what he’d done to earn Victoria’s rebuke. He escorted her back to his truck a little forcefully. She might like discussing private things in public places, but that was not a mistake he was going to make twice. She could be curious but there were things she no longer needed to know. Not if she had relinquished leadership to Alexia.
    He waited until she settled herself into the seat, all buckled and safe. Victoria waved goodbye to their watchers before turning her shrewd gaze on him.
    “The cavern’s location is a secret known only to the matriarch and her consorts.”
    Joshua paid attention to the road and waited.
    “Well, young man?” she asked more imperially than before.
    Joshua cleared his throat. “I’m sorry, Lady Victoria. I didn’t realize you were asking a question. I thought you were making a statement and there’s not much I can add to what you said.”
    Her gasp tickled him for a moment. She wasn’t used to anyone rocking her boat. Still, she was his lover’s grandmother and his former leader. He relented and took it down a notch.
    “I was shown the cavern by one of the matriarch’s consorts. Back when I was eighteen, Unca took me aside and showed me both the water and human accesses. And before you ask, I don’t know why he did it.
    “He knew I’d had dreams of the cave since meeting Alexia when we were teens, but I never sought the information until Unca volunteered it.”
    There was an uneasy tingle in the back of his neck, and Joshua glanced toward the ocean. The sight of a man walking fully dressed into the water made him hesitate before swinging the vehicle around into the nearest parking spot. Something was wrong. The man disappeared from