The Siren and the Deep Blue Sea - Kerrelyn Sparks Page 0,85

felt his tongue stroke her swollen and slick skin. Oh, this was truly the most pleasurable thing yet. With a groan, she lifted her legs, resting her feet on his shoulders.

He lapped. Thrust. Suckled.

She panted, writhing beneath him, soaring higher and higher until she teetered, breathless, on an edge. The sound of him growling pushed her over, and with a jolt, she shattered.

For a moment, she could hardly see. But as the throbbing sensations faded away, she realized he’d moved away from her to the edge of the bed. “Brody?”

“I’m sorry. I—” His body began to shimmer. “I’m out of time.” He collapsed onto the floor.

“Brody!” She sat up and peered over the edge.

His human form blurred, and then suddenly, he snapped into the familiar form of a black-and-white dog. He looked at her with his beautiful blue eyes.

“Oh, Brody.” She slipped out of bed.

With a whining sound, he hung his head.

“It’s all right.” She fondled the ruff of fur around his neck. “After midnight tonight, we’ll have two more hours.”

A sudden knock on her door startled her.

“Are you awake, Your Highness?” Ruth’s voice called as she cracked open the door.

Maeve glanced at the window, where early morning sunlight was pouring into her room. “Oh, no.”

Brody had immediately crouched down to remain hidden. He jabbed at her nightgown with a front paw and slid it across the floor within her reach.

She pulled the nightgown over her head, then peered over the bed. “I’m awake.”

“Oh, good.” Ruth swung the door wide open, and another servant marched inside, carrying a breakfast tray. “What are you doing on the floor?”

“Oh, I—I dropped something.” Maeve sat on the edge of the bed. Oh, dear goddesses, how would she explain the presence of a dog in her room? She slanted a frantic look at Brody. The door to the Seer’s bedchamber was wide open, but he couldn’t make a mad dash for it with two servants nearby.

“What is the meaning of this?” Cahira’s voice shouted from the hallway. “Burien’s door is locked!”

“It’s all right, Your Majesty,” Ruth told her. “You can enter from this room.”

Oh, no! Maeve gritted her teeth. If her mother went into the Seer’s bedchamber, she’d find an empty bed.

“How am I supposed to check on Burien?” Cahira stopped at Maeve’s doorway and glared at her. “How dare you lock me out?”

Maeve jumped to her feet. “Please forgive me. Father had a difficult night, and he just now fell asleep. I wanted him to be able to rest undisturbed.”

“Silly child, I can check on him without waking him.” Cahira stepped into the room, glancing at the open door. “You took care of him during the night?”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“Hmm.” Cahira shrugged, looking a little less annoyed. “I suppose you can be useful. Hurry up and eat. My seamstress will be here soon to take your measure—what?” She jumped back when an orange blur shot past her. “How did that damned cat get in the castle?”

The orange tabby zoomed around the bed and stopped short when it spotted Brody.

The Seer’s cat? What was it doing here? Maeve wondered as the cat jabbed a paw at canine Brody.

“My apologies, Your Majesty.” Ruth curtsied. “I figured Gavin was looking for his sister, so I brought him inside the castle last night to see Gabby.”

Cahira glowered at her. “You overstepped yourself.”

Ruth bowed her head. “Gabby was so happy to see him, she promised to work twice as hard for you.”

“Really?” Cahira tilted her head, considering that. “I suppose it’s all right, then.”

“Excuse me?” Maeve lifted a hand. “Are you saying Gabby’s brother is this cat?”

Cahira waved a dismissive hand. “It’s a long story.”

Maeve glanced down at the floor and blinked. Now there were two orange tabbies! Brody must have shifted into one.

One cat dashed through the door into the Seer’s bedchamber, while the other one slipped underneath Maeve’s bed.

“That damn cat,” Cahira grumbled as she walked toward the open door. “He must have missed the Seer.”

“The cat knows my father?” Maeve asked, playing for more time so Brody would have a chance to shift.

Cahira stopped and glanced back. “I sent the cat to Burien two years ago, so he wouldn’t be so lonely.”

“Oh, that was nice of you.” Not really, Maeve thought, if the cat was actually Gabby’s brother. She followed Cahira into the Seer’s bedchamber.

“Burien?” Cahira asked softly as she drew back the curtains surrounding the Seer’s bed.

Maeve heaved a sigh of relief when she spotted the fake Seer lying in bed, pretending to be fast