Linda Gayle Read Online Free

a lazy route around her. Were they supposed to get this close? A vague memory stirred of a story she’d read where a dolphin—or had it been a whale? Hopefully a whale—had dragged a woman out to sea to “play” with and had almost killed her.
    “You guys wouldn’t do that, right?” she asked, keeping her hands to herself even though the two creatures had tightened their circle and were nearly rubbing on her.
    She remembered that other story about the dolphins who flirted with women. By flirted, if she recalled correctly, it meant “tried to mate with.” Shit. She hadn’t showered after she’d come this morning. Could they…smell her? Was human arousal to a dolphin what blood was to a shark? Oh, God, this was ridiculous. Here were the dolphins she’d been dying to see, and now she was scared spitless of them.
    “Hey…guys?” Okay, this time, one did rub against her hip. The skin was smooth and cool, like…a banana peel. Tentatively, she reached out. The dolphin arched against her hands, his reaction immediate. He did a barrel roll then went on circling. “Nice dolphin. Nice fishy. Oh, shit, I mean, nice mammal…” Oh boy, that shore was looking farther away. Of course, there were also the stories of dolphins rescuing humans. Damn, she really should have spent more time reading up on dolphin facts than reading fantasy stories about them.
    The slightly larger and darker of the two slowed and rolled so she could see his shiny, black eye on the side of his head. His flipper came out of the water, and he opened his mouth to display the rows of sharp, white teeth. Hopefully that was meant to be a smile. He exposed his white belly to her, inches from her hand where she waved it back and forth in the water to keep herself afloat.
    “Hey, you…” Okay. Maybe they were just überfriendly, used to tourists and swimmers. This dude seemed harmless enough. She reached out and touched his tummy. A shudder rippled visibly through the animal, but he didn’t seem to object to her contact. This was kind of neat. Feeling braver, Lyric rubbed the silky, smooth skin between his front flippers. He felt like rubber, but rubber encasing a ton of muscle. Almost slate gray on top, fading to pinkish white on his belly, this dolphin had to be close to fourteen feet long, way bigger than she’d expected. Fine lines covered his topside, probably scars, maybe from shark encounters. She’d heard they often fought off sharks. His dorsal fin had a nick missing from it. He’d seen some action, this one, but his eyes were kind. Funny, she could almost sense he was as curious about her as she was about him. As she ran her hand up his flipper and gave it a little shake, she smiled. “Okay, as long as I know you’re not going to eat me, I guess we can be friends.”
    With a loud, sea-scented exhale, the dolphin rolled and dived, and the other one took his place. Only slightly smaller and a paler gray, this dolphin seemed even more eager for her touch, bowing up beneath her hand like a cat, coming back again and again to be petted. Lyric laughed. “You guys are adorable. What are your names? Are you Moana and Rahiti? I’ve heard so much about you.”
    Whether it was the mention of their names or the sound of her voice, something set them off, and they both raced away from her then leapt out of the water in perfect tandem. Diamonds of water sprayed from them, and the splash when they landed swept Lyric back a few feet and washed a salty mouthful over her face. She sputtered, and when she opened her eyes, both dolphins were back, circling her. They were absolutely gorgeous. Sadly, though, between the water gagging her and the ache in her legs, she knew it was time to head back—just when things were getting good! Hopefully the dolphins would be here tomorrow as well, and she could spend more time with them. Maybe bring a life preserver or something so she wouldn’t wear herself out.
    She held out her hands, and the two graceful