Shadowlander Read Online Free PDF Page A

appeared five feet away. It grew, stretching and becoming longer, until it was the size of a doorway, before it split apart.
    Cate gasped, having known it would happen but surprised all the same when she glimpsed the iridescent waves of turquoise and the sugar-fine pale sand on the other side. It looked like a massive travel poster in the middle of the forest, surrounded by a glittering gilt frame. Calls from tropical birds accompanied the gentle lapping of the waves and sharp scent of the sea. “Your home looks like St. Croix?”
    Rook raised a dark brow. “This is only the southern shore. Our realm is far vaster than what you see here. This is just the part I thought you might enjoy most.”
    Cate eyed the portal to the other realm, an uncomfortable mix of wariness and curiosity sloshing about in her gut like spicy Thai food and margaritas. She wanted to go. Needed to. But down deep, all her childhood training balked at the idea.
    He gave her hand a reassuring squeeze. “Ready to go to the beach?”
    Cate glanced down at her heels and skirt. Hardly, but she couldn’t waste the chance. “Don’t suppose I can change when I get there.”
    “Who says you need a bathing suit?” His mouth lifted at the corner in a sexy half smile. Cate squeezed her thighs together as the pulse at their apex thumped harder. Maybe she was out of her depth with him.
    He stepped over the gleaming golden edge of the rift, one foot literally in his world and one in hers. He held out his hand. Cate took a deep breath, held it, and slid her fingers into his.
    The sensation of passing through the veil was like moving through an enormous square of set Jell-O, thick and firm, yet pliable as it moved around her body. The sunlight on the other side was more intense, sizzling against her skin. Cate let out her breath slowly and immediately glanced back over her shoulder to see the golden seam between their worlds zipping itself together, the view of the green trees and shadowed wood disappearing completely.
    Only the enormous expanse of an azure sea spangled with sunlight glittered across the horizon. In the white bits of foam riding the edges of the waves rolling toward the shore, Cate thought she glimpsed small faces.
    Rook chuckled and she glanced at him. Jerking her thumb at the waves, she asked, “Am I seeing fae?”
    He gave her hand a squeeze. “Remember you’re in their world now. The fae are far more plentiful here than in the Upper Realm. Those are wave riders. Their bodies blend in with the water. I suggest you don’t go swimming without me,” he warned. “They might try to pull under someone as beautiful as you.”
    Cate shuddered despite the warmth of the tropical flower-scented air on her skin. Facing the ocean stood a thick tropical jungle. Trees, laden with strange pods that looked like giant purple grapes crossbred with porcupines, peeped out between the enormous fernlike palm trees. High atop the rise perched an enormous pale stone structure with a dark blue slated roof and wide balconies. At least a dozen vaulted arches, their doors swung open, had white curtains billowing in the breeze.
    “What’s that place?” Cate continued to stare while they started walking through the thick vegetation up a white and pink graveled path made from crushed shells.
    “My humble cottage by the sea.”
    Hardly. It definitely looked more like a palace to her. “That our first stop?”
    “It can be our only stop, if you want.” Rook used his hold on her hand to pull her closer.
    His low, seductive tone rippled over her already hyper-sensitized skin, torquing up her response to him another notch. Cate resisted the very strong urge to lean into him and covered her tingling lips with her fingers.
    She had to keep her wits about her. Judging by the position of the sun, they were south by southeast. Well, that was if the sun rose in the east here. Maybe it didn’t. Maybe she was totally screwed. Either way, she wasn’t in Washington