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Chapter One

The balmy breeze lifted her hair and blew it across Isabelle's cheek She smiled and looked out over the turquoise water, happy to be in the Caribbean again

How long had it been since she'd stood with her toes buried in the war far into the horizon? Years, it seemed The waters off Texas weren't the same as the sandy beaches of the Caribbean The ocean not nearly as co or jewel-like

She inhaled the salty air and squinted, her eyes focusing on an object in the distance So bobbed in the water, but Isabelle couldn't tell what it was Scenes from her childhood on the beach in Puerto Rico flashed before her She must have been thirteen or fourteen years old at the ti too Only it hadn't been so, it had been someone

A very special someone A man She'd smiled at him, and he'd smiled back He'd been the most beautiful man she'd ever seen, and she could have sworn she'd just seen hiain

Of course, that was impossible

She lifted her hand to shield the setting sun frolint of so on the ocean surface

As athat lurked in the aters of the Caribbean Whatever it was, it wasn't a man

It also wasn't a fish, that was for certain Although she could swear it looked like a man's head But that couldn't be since there were no boats nearby and it was too far out to be a swimmer

She rubbed her hand against her lower stoain For the past day she'd felt little stabs of pain in the lower right of her stoestion fro at Paradise Resort

It was nice of Morgan Marino, the owner, to let her occupy one of the bungalows on the far side of the island, considering she wasn't the least bit interested in the hedonistic activities that took place at the resort She was here to do research, but certainly not the sexual kind

Shaking her head at the various activities outlined in the brochure she'd seen earlier in the day, she dis raht now, and concentrated instead on the object in the distance

It see her, but that was ridiculous More likely it was a discarded piece of trash, , and in her weird mind she'd conjured up a man's head

She hadn't thought about that episode in Puerto Rico for years, although she'd never forgotten the way the man had smiled at her Every now and then the hts, especially when she stood at the water's edge and looked out over the white-capped sea

Too bad she hadn't been close enough to really make out his face and features She'd just known it was a man from the shape of the upper half of his body

"Ouch!" She reached for her abdorown sharper by the hour She should know better than to eat rich food

She pushed the discoain The sun was now a bright orange glow,her vision of the mysterious object in the water

Too sht size for a sea turtle

If she stepped into the bungalow to grab her dive gear she'd lose sight of it She had to go into the water now and check it out At least get closer so she could identify it

It had to be a turtle It couldn't be his

Shedding her wrap skirt, she walked into the water, thankful she practically lived in her swiaround suitcases filled with dive gear and instru she didn't have much of a wardrobe

She sliced through the ocean in quick strokes, keeping her eyes on the object that hadn't seee locations It almost seemed like it wanted to stay put so she could find it

Ridiculous Sea life wasn't that welco to humans Even if it was a dolphin or a sea turtle, they'd swi, or at least change course

Another fifty yards and she'd be there It still hadn'twith the roll of the waves She could ale If she didn't know better she could swear it was a--

"Ow! Dah her side Nausea bubbled up into her throat and she fought back the piercing stab that threatened to double her over

Not now Not in the water She stopped and treaded, circling around to search for the shore Damn, what an idiot she was The pain pierced her and she could barely stay afloat Despite the body-cooling water, she broke out into a full body sweat and began to pant

Don't panic Stay focused She had to reach shore, had to get help The pain seared hot and knife-like She cried out, but no one heard her No one could hear her She was completely alone

Making her way back to shore wasn't going to be nearly as quick as her swier stretch her arms over her head to make the strokes Her feet wouldn't work

Oh, God, all she wanted to do was curl up in a little ball and hold onto her side

Someone please help She wasn't ready to die Not like this Even though the ocean was her love, she didn't want to be buried here

But she was already losing the fight, the agony too much for her consciousin a quick breath and fighting her way back to the surface It wouldn't do any good Between the pain and the lightheadedness she was doomed

Too dizzy to even think clearly, she prayed for forgiveness for the sins she'd co was as pleasant an experience as she'd read about She inhaled deeply and held her breath as she lost control and spiraled doard into the abyss

She wouldn't be able to hold her breath long Her lungs expanded as she desperately tried to hang on, but failure was i her eyes, she took one last look at the rainbow of coral rising up to greet her She sank into the depths and opened her mouth to inhale the water

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Her eyes fluttered closed and it was al asleep, that brief moment between consciousness and unconsciousness Between life and death

Then, a sudden rush of water swirled around her Instead of sucking in the salty ocean, a war hands slipped under her arainst a rock solid body A man's body

Was that a kiss searing her lips? It was A kiss that sent life-giving oxygen sliding down her throat She gulped in as much of it as she could take

Maybe drowning really wasn't unpleasant Maybe it was just like breathing At least herair The sensation of lips covering hers certainly wasn't unpleasant It wasn't sexual,of mouth over mouth She'd never felt so protected, so cared for in her life A strange, al was as it should be

Everything but the pain that still cut through her side Funny how that hadn't left her body yet Wasn't death pain free? It still hurt, bad Why wouldn't the hurt go away? She'd give anything for that

A voice whispered in her mind "Relax I'll take the pain away"

Who spoke to her? The body holding her? She couldn't open her eyes no er on the fringes of consciousness

A hand palh her She jerked upright, then relaxed ian to dissipate

She was dying, the pain was going away and she was finally, blissfully dying Her world slipped away and faded to nothing

"You can't have her"

"I know," Dax replied to the voice of Ronan, the guardian of all the sea people Dax didn't turn around--Ronan wasn't there But his consciousness found Dax, as always

"Then, why the interference?" Ronan asked "You could have interfered in her destiny"

Dax glanced down at the dark-haired beauty resting in his ar to pull her closer, to protect her "It wasn't her destiny She swa her, she'd have sought help for her pain instead of swi toward me"

Ronan laughed, a deep ruhout the oceans "You see only what you want to see You are like so uardians Why is it you're all so stubborn?"

"Maybe because we take after you?"

No response to that one But Ronan was right Dax shouldn't have watched her, shouldn't have lingered long enough for her to see hi to the island, had felt her presence the moment she stepped foot on the sand For someone who rarely approached land humans, this was a first for hiet close, knew he shouldn't make his presence known, he couldn't stop himself

Because of him, she'd nearly died out here

What was he hoping would happen when she swah to see her face to face?

He was such an idiot