Chapter 1

CHAPTER 1

T he month of April

“Harper, wake up! Damn it, woman, answer the door, I’ve got a present for you.”

Harper opened a bleary eye. “Fucking Wyatt,” she groaned, rolling the pillow round her ears.

But still, she could hear him, pounding on the door downstairs.

“Harper, babe. Pleassseee. Lemme make it up to you.”

Harper squeezed the pillow tighter around her head, but the banging continued. Wyatt would be drunk. Which would make the stupid selkie even less able to comprehend the three little words she’d told him months ago.

We. Are. Over.

What was there not to understand about that?

Since then, he’d pursued her relentlessly. With far more gusto come to think of it than when they were dating. Turning up at Sweet Clams café day and night. It didn’t help that she lived above her work, so when the boats were moored and he’d had his fill at The Merry Troll tavern on the quay, he’d roll his way across the square and start hollering. Singing. Shouting. Crying.

A great big blubbering selkie on her freakin’ doorstep.

With a low curse, Harper gave up, threw back the bedclothes, stomped over to the window and yanked up the sash.

“Go away, Wyatt,” she hissed.

It had the opposite effect.

“Babe, babe, I love you,” Wyatt shouted, leering up at her. “Look what I got you.” He was holding something—no wait, two things up in his big fist. They glittered and sparkled even in the semi-darkness.

Harper’s sleepy eyes tried to focus. “What are they?”

“Pretty shoes for my one true love.”

He waved them in the air. Harper squinted down into the street. Sure enough, they were a pair of exquisite strappy silver sandals, sparkling in the lights from the quay. Shoes a girl like her could only dream about. Shoes you’d go dancing the night away with the guy of your dreams.

Not Wyatt.

They must be worth an absolute fortune.

“Wyatt, where the hell did you get them?”

“Bought them at the poshest shoe shop in Motham.”

“Stole them, more like.”

“I didn’t, sweet-heart, promise.” He was lurching now across the sidewalk, dangling the shoes above his head. “The gods dropped them into my hands.”

“Which means you stole them,” Harper huffed crossly. She couldn’t possibly take stolen goods. But holy goddess, those sandals were divine.

“Go home.” She shooed with her hand. “And in the morning give them back to the person you stole them from. And let me go back to sleep.” She made to close the window.

Now Wyatt was singing, “I only have eyes for you,” reeling up and down on the sidewalk and stumbling over the curb. “What does a guy have to do to win you back? You’re harder than an oyster shell to fucking crack open.”

“Yeah well, ain’t no way you’re getting near my pearl. Go home. Or do you want me to call Noah and get him to remove you? Again.”

“Noah, Schmoah!” Wyatt sneered. “Yeah, that’s right call the golden boy. He’ll rescue you. Damsel in distress service Noah Shortwater at your service.” He made a mock bow, dropped one of the sandals in the dirty gutter. Harper winced. He was going to ruin the beautiful things. “Any excuse and you’ll call Noah. You always liked him better than me anyway.”

Harper huffed a sigh. True. she’d had a crush on Noah ever since he walked into Sweet Clams. In fact, it’s possible she’d even dated Wyatt because of Noah. Shocking though that was to admit, even to herself.

Noah. Quiet, handsome, self-contained Noah was Wyatt’s older brother, and the guy who manned the selkie fishing boat that hauled in the best catch from the bay, every single day. He delivered fish to Harper’s boss at very reasonable rates, never trying to rip anyone off. Some would say Noah Shortwater was the only decent, upstanding selkie in Motham City. Noah had dated her so-called friend Dina, who’d then gone and done the dirty on him. She’d traded him in for a wealthy werewolf and Noah was no doubt still pining for her.

It kind of broke a girl’s heart, the waste of a good guy on gold-digger Dina.

But at least Harper was free to gaze at him now without any sense of guilt. At least she’d ended it with Wyatt nice and clean and honest.

Except Wyatt wasn’t getting the message…

As if to prove that very point, Harper realized Wyatt had started to climb the trellis.

Oh, no-no-no-no! He probably wouldn’t hurt her—not intentionally. But if he landed his big drunk body on her, he’d flatten her. Being a mix of human and elf, Harper wasn’t built for being crushed by a drunken selkie. Sex was better when she was on top. No, scrub that, sex with Wyatt wasn’t much good in any position. He came too fast. All promises and no finesse. Foreplay was not a word in his vocabulary.

Anyway, he didn’t scare her, but she didn’t need him crushing her and slobbering all over her. And as for sex with Wyatt, that was never going to be on the agenda again, drunk or sober.

With that in mind, Harper ran to her bedside table, grabbed her phone, and called Noah.

Noah woke to the sound of his cell buzzing.

He groped for it and alarm hit his gut when he saw “Harper” flash up on the screen.

Alarm, and a little frisson of something else. After all, Harper was a free woman now—she’d given his brother his marching orders. That didn’t mean she’d look at him, though. When he went to the café soon after she split with Wyatt, she’d told Noah she was sick to death of selkies.

He guessed that had to include him.

He’d bought a serve of chowder, smiled tightly, and said he didn’t blame her. He’d buried his feelings since then. Why torture himself with wanting what he couldn’t have?

But that didn’t stop his heart from leaping when Harper phoned him. Even if it was probably because Wyatt was harassing her, yet again.

Sure enough, when he picked up, Harper’s sweet voice blurted, “Wyatt’s drunk and he’s about to climb in my bedroom window.”

“Fuck!” Noah had the bedclothes off and was pulling on his pants in a flash. ”Lock the window, okay?”

“I have, but I think he may have got stuck halfway up the trellis.”

“Stupid bastard. Okay, I’ll be there in a tick.”

It didn’t take Noah long to get from his boat, which was moored in the harbor, to Sweet Clams. There was no sign of Wyatt climbing up the old stone building, but as he got closer, he saw his brother lying on the ground, rolling around and groaning. And there, bending over him, was Harper, her silky curtain of blonde hair falling around her slender shoulders.

She looked up as Noah strode over. “I think he’s okay. Nothing broken. He didn’t fall far.”

“I’m dying, babe, I’m dying. I need the kiss of life,” Wyatt groaned.

“Shut up, Wyatt.” She straightened and gave Noah a rueful smirk. “Can you help him up? He’s too heavy for me.”

Noah’s gaze briefly skimmed over her body. He immediately wished it hadn’t. Seeing her in her nightdress, he felt the blood rush to his groin. The garment was teeny tiny, made of something that clung to her curves, and her breasts were spilling over the top.

Noah gulped hard. He was at risk of turning into another bloody Wyatt, ruled by his dick. Instead, he turned a stern frown on his younger brother. “Let’s get you out of here, you big doofus.”

As Noah pulled him up, Wyatt groaned and staggered. “I twisted my ankle as I came down.”

“Serves you fucking right. Shouldn’t have been climbing up there in the first place.” Noah slung one of Wyatt’s arms around his neck and looked back at Harper, standing with her arms crossed and her pretty mouth pursed. He kept his eyes resolutely on her face this time.

“Sorry Harper, I’d disown him if I could.” He grimaced.

“It’s okay, you’re nothing like him, Noah.”

“Yeah, we had different moms.”

“Really, I never knew…”

“I’m kidding, sadly. Both spawned from the same selkie womb.”

“I got the beauty, he got the brawn,” Wyatt scoffed loudly.

Noah rolled his eyes.

When he dared to glance at Harper again, she was chuckling softly. Their eyes met and she said, almost too quietly for him to catch, “I think it was the other way round.”

Noah felt his neck heating. Gruffly, he said, “Okay, you good for nothing seal, we’re out of here. See you Harper,” he flung over his shoulder casually, as he dragged Wyatt with him.

“Wait,” Harper came running after them. “What about these?”

She held up a pair of very pretty, sparkly sandals. “Wyatt said he bought them for me, but I know he must have stolen them.”

“Babe, that’s not fair,” Wyatt whined. “I found them.”

“Okay, maybe you ‘ found them,’ as in, took them when no one was around. That’s still theft.”

Noah looked harder at the shoes; even to his untrained eye they looked expensive. “Best thing would be to take them to the harbor lost property office tomorrow. When Wyatt’s not drunk as a skunk, I’ll try and get the truth out of him.”

“They’re so beautiful.” She was gazing at the shoes in her hand wistfully.

Noah’s lips twitched. “Yes, they are.”

“I guess their owner will be missing them—won’t they?”

“Yes, they will.” Noah’s grin widened.

Harper sighed and huffed a little laugh. “Well, if I’d expected Noah Shortwater to give me an excuse to keep them, I should have known better.”

“Sorry.” He grimaced. “Boring old moral Noah.”

“I like you that way.”

Noah’s mouth nearly fell open. That was the second compliment in less than five minutes. Were his ears deceiving him? Clearly, Harper being marauded by his drunk brother late at night was going in his favor, because he hadn’t felt this vibe from her for a long while. They’d been friends before he’d got embroiled with Dina… and before Harper dated Wyatt. He’d always thought she was way out of his league, though—which was why he’d probably dated Dina instead.

But then, gods above, Harper had gone and dated Wyatt … he’d been horrified, to be honest. Kicked his own stupid selkie butt more times than he could count for not admitting his feelings months ago.

Before Dina. Before Wyatt.

Since then, Harper had seemed cool, disinterested in him, except of course when she called him to haul his stupid brother’s ass out of her orbit.

But just now… it felt like the spark was there again. Memories flooded back of the Harper of old, the sweet, kind, funny Harper. He’d felt comfortable telling her all about his life, his family, and the laughs they’d have over an ale at the tavern.

Stop dreaming, mate.

Gah. He was as bad as Wyatt. And he didn’t have the excuse of a belly full of beer to account for his dumb romantic notions.

Now Harper looked a little crestfallen as she gazed at the sandals. “Guess I’ll put them into lost property first thing in the morning, then.”

“Good one,” Noah said, wishing he had the money to buy her a pair exactly the same. “And I’ll throw a bucket of cold water over this idiot and leave him on deck to sleep it off.”

“Thanks Noah.”

“For what?”

“Being there for me.”

“Always, Harper, you know that.”

“Hey, stop moving in on my girl.” Wyatt punched him in the ribs.

“I’m not your girl, Wyatt,” Harper responded hotly. “And don’t worry—dating one selkie was enough for me, thanks.” And with a toss of her head, she sashayed back into the building and slammed the door.

Noah’s heart sank.

Clearly his fantasy of dating Harper needed to be buried with the shipwrecks at the bottom of the harbor. Where it belonged.

When she closed the door, Harper leaned her back against it and sighed. If she’d still had a morsel of a chance with Noah, that final comment would have blown it. Why was she so inclined to mask her feelings? Probably because whenever Noah got close, she felt all trembly inside and her pussy went slick and needy.

She’d always been attracted to big species. Dated a minotaur and then an orc for quite a while. But the way she’d felt about them didn’t compare to how she felt about Noah. Big and burly and bearded, with beautiful dark eyes, huge biceps, and large capable hands, he was her perfect guy. Imagining how he’d flip her over and hold her steady while he thrust into her had worn down the batteries on her vibrator more times than she’d like to admit.

Dina had once told her that Noah was a good fuck, which had made Harper squirm with envy.

“He always makes sure I come first,” Dina had almost whined. “Sometimes I wish he’d be rougher.”

Like, what? Making sure his girl came first—that was a fault ? Goddess on a stick, what Harper would give for a considerate lover, one who knew she needed servicing first, who didn’t need to be told constantly you’re being too rough , too hard , too fast .

Oh, and yeah, thanks for leaving me to sleep in the wet patch.

Dating Wyatt as second best had been a disaster. As tonight had yet again proven. And she couldn’t even keep the beautiful sandals as a consolation prize. Not that she would. She had a conscience. She loved that Noah had a conscience too— see , even their values were aligned. Harper’s shoulders slumped. She and Noah would be a perfect fit, really, they would. If only he’d stop seeing her as just a friend.

Talking of perfect fits, she held the shoes up and took a good look at them. Turned them over and eyed the cobalt blue soles, the perfect stitching. Fae made, for sure. And so elite they didn’t even have a label.

They were clearly owned by a human, going by the size and also the slender fit. They would fit her, she was certain. There was no harm in trying them on at least.

Skipping up the narrow staircase from the café to her room, Harper slipped the shoes on and strutted up and down in front of her cracked mirror, loving the tap-tap of the heels on the old floorboards. She had good enough legs, but these sandals made them look amazing, elongating her calves and making her butt thrust out in her little nightdress.

Harper stopped strutting and bit her lip, blushing a little.

For a moment back there, when Noah first arrived, his eyes had flicked to her breasts, and she was sure she’d caught a flare of heat in their dark depths. But it was gone in a second.

Just supposing… Harper’s hand slid down her body, over the peak of her nipples, the full swell of her breasts, remembering that look, imagining what would happen next. She pictured his strong arms, maybe even his tail, holding her against his hard body, his full mouth devouring hers, the roughness of his beard as he kissed her, that big selkie tongue tangling with her own. Moaning softly, her fingers found her cleft and located the bud of her clit. She was already wet—just from one hot glance from Noah Shortwater.

Gods, he did more for her in one look than Wyatt could manage in six months of fucking her.

And with that, Harper lay down on the bed, still wearing the beautiful sandals, and spread her legs. Her back arching, she pleasured herself to glorious images of Noah pleasuring her .