Once upon a time, on a rocky island with enchantment under the ocean ... Cadence Bell left the windswept Northern Isles and his parents’ inn for the theaters and royal masques and glitter of Londre, swearing he’d make his fortune as a playwright and poet, trading fish stew and rain for fame and adoration and a place at the Queen’s Court. Now his parents are gone and Cade’s inheritance brings him back home, where he’d never wanted to return. But magic lurks beneath the waves, a stray pearl might be a key to another world, and even the quiet local schoolteacher has secrets of his own. Jeremiah Carver never meant to hide secrets. But he promised to tell no one about the other world he’s seen, and he keeps his word. Even if that means concealing magic from Cadence Bell. Which is difficult, since Cade’s not only a dazzling literary success, but also the person Jeremiah’s loved from afar since their years-ago childhood. And he’s afraid he’s falling for Cade all over again now. When Cadence falls under the siren spell of the ocean’s magic, Jeremiah has to make a choice and return to a world he’s left behind once before to rescue his heart from the sea.

Cadence and the Pearl

“Yes,” Jeremiah said again. “Cade…”


“Are you sure? Tell me if I do anything you don’t like. If I hurt you. If I ever have. If I’m not doing something you want. I want you to tell me. Please.”


Cade froze, fingers encircling Jeremiah’s shaft, afraid to move.


“Um.” Jeremiah was blushing: pink across broad chest and bare skin. “Can you—are you trying to be nice to me? I like it, but—”


“But?” He managed to talk because he had to. He’d gone numb with horror. But he had to make this right. “What did I—”


“No, no, sorry, I didn’t mean that!” Jeremiah sat up, hand landing on his. “No, it’s just—the things we, um, we’ve been doing—when you make it hurt a bit, or when you tell me what to do, or that I can’t, ah, finish unless you let me and I earn it, or—”


Chapter 29