Read Online Healing His Soul's Mate by Dominique Eastwick - Free Book Online Page A

climbed into the warm bath. The scented water made her skin tingle and yet it took on the sensation of liquid satin.
    Relaxing, she lay back as Serena began to hum. “Do you sing as well?”
    “I do but I am not permitted to.”
    “Not allowed?”
    She nodded and shrugged as if it were not surprising. “Rekkus would have my fin if I sang a single note.”
    “Do you mean hide?”
    “Pardon?”
    “He will have your hide? But what right does he have to say you can’t sing. What kind of control freak is he?”
    “He controls almost every aspect of the island, but then, to maintain safety….” She shrugged.
    The gnawing feeling rose again. Perhaps her sister didn’t have much choice when it came to staying here or not. Ashlynn had tried to push the kernel of concern to the back of her mind, but it kept creeping forward. “Do you know where my sister might be?”
    “‘This early in the morning? Still in her cabin, most likely. I can ask Rekkus.”
    “Does he know her every move on the damned island?” Maybe her words came out nastier than she meant it to, but the other woman seemed oblivious to the venom.
    “Pretty much, and more so as Dana gets closer to her time.”
    Sitting up, Ashlynn wrapped her arms around her bare legs, bringing her knees to her chest. “Can I ask you something?”
    “Of course.”
    “Has Dana ever left the island? I mean, since she arrived here.”
    “I don’t think so. I haven’t always been here, but every time I came back after meeting her the first time, she was here. When Sage goes to the mainland, Rekkus gives her a shopping list for Dana.
    “Is she happy?” After all, she could be putting on a brave face for her family. It wasn’t as if Dana would trust any of them to step in and help. They had already proved lacking in taking care of their own.
    “She loves him, if that is what you mean. She does tend to throw things at him when she is angry. My husband and I are their neighbors. Kaleb, my husband, gets a great deal of enjoyment in watching Rekkus deflect her temper.”
    Ashlynn lay back down and wondered how bad things had to get for her mellow and level-headed sister to throw things at anyone. How controlling was this brother-in-law of hers?
     
    ***
     
    Shade knocked on the door of Rekkus’ cabin at eight-thirty sharp. He had been assured Rekkus would be available and Dana ready for his arrival. The two cabins had been placed off the beaten path enough for most guests, para and human alike, to stay away. In case those deterrents weren’t enough, the guards who stood watch up the hill would fend off any others. The smells of fresh-cut wood and paint assailed his nostrils, and he saw why. An addition had been made to accommodate the growing family within.
    His cleanse hadn’t been as pure as he’d hoped for the evening before. His mind kept drifting back to Ashlynn Stone whose scarred beauty haunted him as much as her masked pain. When her soul cried in distress, he heeded the call and ran to her as if his life depended on it. She affected him in a way no other woman had. Her touch electrified him, and he longed to learn what else she could affect.
    Rekkus threw open the door, naked as the day he came into the world. Shifters, mermaids, and even some witches seemed oblivious to the fact the majority of people did not walk around naked.
    “Let me get dressed. My morning rounds took longer than expected.”
    “Security in the nude? A new concept even for you.”
    “I do it as my tiger.”
    “I was joking.”
    “So you say,” he called from the bedroom.
    Dana mumbled something before Rekkus said in a voice far gentler than he had ever heard from the man, “Stay in bed, luv. You were up all night, and no one will think anything of your being lazy for a day. Go back to sleep.”
    Shade moved closer to the open bedroom door. “May I come in? I can read the cubs as easily with her lying down. She can even sleep through it.”
    “One second.” The gruff protective