Water Witch Read Online Free PDF Page A

What a relief to be back in this kitchen with her, and to have made her so happy.
    She pulled away and slapped my chest lightly with the back of her hand. “Come on, Noni’s out in the yard.”
    We found my grandmother in a lawn chair pulled up close to the herb bed, leaning over pulling weeds. “Mom, Vinny’s home. And he’s ‘perfectly fine’ with the breakup, so don’t bother asking.” She elbowed me as she said it, and I laughed.
    “Hey, Noni.” I leaned down and hugged her delicate shoulders.
    “Vincenzo, ah, my sweet boy.” She stood, using my elbow to support her. “Finally home.” She kissed my cheek and then pinched it, just like when I was a kid. “You must be hungry after your trip. Let’s eat.”
     
    After a late lunch of leftover gnocchi and an hour of conversation, I stood and stretched my arms to the ceiling. “I think I’m going for a swim.”
    My mom laughed. “Surprised you waited so long.”
    I dug a bathing suit out from a bag of clothes in the trunk of my car, changed quickly, and jogged to the water’s edge. I noted the water level and smiled. High tide . Fifty yards into the bay, only the tip of the dark gray boulder was visible. I’d swum to that rock almost every summer day of my childhood. I’d missed it.
    I waded in thigh deep, absorbing the energy of the water, the nourishing minerals of it, the pulsing throb of tidal push and pull. I reached out my awareness to the fish and crustaceans around me, their lives like little sparks of fire in the water, filling me with happiness. Then I dove forward, swimming toward the boulder.
    Half way there I flipped over and floated on my back in the water, moving just enough to stay afloat, and stared at the clouds drifting in the blue August sky. Damn, being home felt great. I did miss Scott a little, even though I knew he’d been an ass. Maybe I’d go out tonight? Find someone to screw around with and take my mind off him. Good plan . I got a little excited just thinking about it, and arched my hips back in the water so the seam of my bathing suit stretched over my cock. Nice.
    A sound behind me, like a soft sigh, sent my pulse racing. I turned quickly to the boulder, and splashed back, startled. “You!”
    The Fae. Sitting on the rock, on my fucking rock , with his knees drawn up to his chin, watching me.
    “You.” I said again, with less surprise and more anger, and narrowed my eyes at him. It was difficult to pull off an aggressive stance while floating in the water, so I tried for the angriest face I could. He cocked his head and his brows pinched together, his mouth turning down in a small frown. If my anger made him sad I didn’t care.
    I wasn’t sure what to do at that point. Should I approach him? Even as pissed as I was, that seemed a terrifying prospect. I opted to stay swimming. “Who are you?”
    His frown evened out, not quite a smile, but he kept his mouth shut.
    “Answer me!” I demanded with more authority than I felt.
    Still he said nothing, just shook his head in a tiny movement. Then he stood, smooth and graceful. He wore a pair of dark, skin-tight swim leggings and no shirt, his skin just as pale and perfect as it had been in my visions. He glanced at me with a tiny sad smile, and dove off the other side of the boulder. I watched for more than five minutes, but he never surfaced.
    I had intended to sit on the boulder myself, stare out into the bay, maybe try to have another vision or to decipher the ones I’d already had. Instead, I turned back to the shore, and swam as fast as I could to reach it.
     

 
     
     
     
     
    CHAPTER FOUR
     
    I paced along the shore, still watching the surface of the water for the Fae. I could hold my breath underwater for over twenty minutes, easily, though I didn’t usually time myself. Most likely the Fae could stay under for longer. And who knew what kind of swimming skills he had? Fuck, he might be anywhere.
    The sound of dishes clanging in the kitchen drifted over the