I always love walking along the beach at night, the moon's rays dancing on the dark water that stretches endlessly before me. I can hear the gentle movement of the midnight waves and the soft whisper of the wind, the strong familiar smell of fish and salt water fills my nostrils. It brings with it the strange, tangy taste of the sea. I press my bare feet further into the wet sand and squish it between my toes as the water laps playfully at my ankles. My hair tangles in the teasing wind as it wraps itself around me.

I'd never feel more alive than when I was alone on my beach. My father just can't seem to grasp my fascination with the sea, but then again, he's never seen Him.

x x x

I first saw him two years ago, I was thirteen and on my beach alone for the first time. Standing staring out to sea, much like I am now, I was oblivious to his presence. He placed himself almost inside the entrance of the small cave that cut into the rock face, where light was never able to penetrate. He caught me looking at him and slowly removed himself from the shadows, walking towards where I stood.

He was about my age with mid length shaggy blond hair, which was a stark contrast against his strange mauve eyes; eyes that looked as if they'd seem a thousand years, and hated every moment of it. If the first thing you saw were his eyes, then the next was his mouth. It was a sculptors dream; both lips were perfectly balanced and could accomplish an alluring pout without looking overly feminine. His nose was the odd shape that only a guy could pull off, slightly rounded and prominently masculine. His eyebrows were arched ever so slightly and his expression was apprehensive; as if he was waiting for something bad to happen. I could feel my features fall into the same questioning gaze I wore that night as he approached.

He stopped a few feet behind me, waiting for me to turn to look at him. When I did he stared at me intensely, it seemed he was setting every inch of me to memory. I could see his gaze linger on my lips as it moved over my face. Freaked out, I backed up, getting my jeans wet as I moved deeper into the sea, trying to get away from his slightly perverted interest. His expression became remorseful as he watched me walk back my school things; though he did not try to stop me as most guys would.

Halfway towards my bag I heard a noise behind me, like sand moving under someone's weight. Fearing the strange boy had been hurt in some way, I spun around to make my way back to him. I grew even more worried when I saw him on his knees in where I had left him, head in his hands. My worry grew to confusion when I saw him shoot up at the sound of my return.

Now it was his turn to look confused. I felt a small smile creep to my face as I saw the hope in his eyes, I was rewarded with a huge grin that took my breath away and stopped me in my tracks. He got to his feet and started to walk towards me again.

Slowly he moved so that his body was flush with mine, we were separated by only a thin strip of air and my self-control. Being so close meant I could now smell him; a strange dark intoxicating scent that, for some reason, reminded me of the sea. I was seconds from falling into his arms when I heard the intro to Aerosmith's Dude Looks like a Lady;my father, I reached into my jean's pocket and fished out my phone. The screen lit up with 'New Message from Dad' written on it. I clicked 'view' and skimmed through the text; I was being ordered home. Shoving my phone in my pocket I turned to go, only to be stopped by a hand on my shoulder.

I faced him once more and met his gaze, it was hesitant again. My body knew what was happening before my head did, unconsciously I leaned in so our mouths were almost touching. Shock was clear on his face, but it was a pleasant shock. He was happy with my move; my decision. Ever so gently he closed the gap and pressed his lips to mine.

A sizzling jolt shot through me, warming my insides and speeding my heart. I pressed my body against him and felt his arms move to encircle me. My phone was ringing again but I didn't care, that could wait, I wanted to remember this moment forever. The way our bodies fitted together, the feel of his arms around me gentle, protective and, most of all, his soft lips against mine. I pushed harder against him, trying to get as close as possible.

My phone was going off again, I heard him sigh, I felt him pull away. He laughed at my annoyed expression, a dark chuckle, as I pulled out the offending object. Three missed calls. Could my father never leave me alone? I turned my phone off and directed my attention back to the strange boy that made my heartbeat race.

"You should go home. Your father will be worried." His voice startled me. It was deeper than I expected and sounded like waves crashing against the sea shore.

"I don't want to go." So simple yet true, it earned a slow, amused smile from him. He'd met my simple statement with one of his own:

"You have to go."

"Will you be here tomorrow?" I had to ask it, I couldn't bear to leave now and never see him again.

"Yes. I swear" I believed him. I was about to go when something popped into my head; I did not know his name. I didn't need to ask the question though, because the moment the thought came to me, he chuckled again and said "Kad, my name is Kad Crest" as I opened my mouth to say mine, he beat me to it. "I know who you are Deziree. Now go home, we'll talk tomorrow night."

And with that he left, only stopping to give me a final smile and wave of farewell. Dazed, I stumbled along the beach in the rough direction of home. I wondered why my phone hadn't gone off again, and then I remembered I had turned it off. Quickly I switched it on and was ambushed with at least six Missed Call alerts. With an apprehensive sigh I called my father and prepared myself for a lengthily conversation.

x x x

I came out of the memory with a smile on my face. Every night for the past two years me and Kad have met in secret on this beach, I usually get here around about nine and Kad comes as the sun sets. Though we're here every night, we never actually decided on the meetings, it's sort of an unspoken agreement. We both want to see each other; so we both come.

The sun was setting and I expected to hear his approach any minute. To pass the time I picked up a flat rock, inspecting its smooth surface for any faults then, with a flick of my wrist; I sent it skipping across the grey frothy sea. I watched it plop under the waves after one skip, close to shore, and sloshed through the water to retrieve it. I did this about six times, never getting passed the first skip. Frustrated by my failure; I lobed the rock as hard as I could and waited for the soft thunk of it hitting the sea bed.

Bored again, I removed my jeans and t-shirt, revealing a skimpy black and pink spotted bikini Kad has yet to see, and ran among the cold waves before I changed my mind. I stopped when the water lapped around my stomach shivering before I dived under.

Beneath the surface everything was black ice. Black ice softly swaying with the under current. My hair had come lose from the two long plaits I favoured and floated freely around me. Being under water at night is strangely thrilling. The blackness made vision impossible and the freezing temperature could drop even further at any moment. I resurfaced when my lungs started to burn from lack of oxygen. Confusion swept through me as my eyes were drawn to the empty beach. He should be here by now.

Quickly, I swum to the shore and put my clothes back on, it was too cold to walk around practically naked and soaking wet. Once fully clothed I sat on the dry sand, brushing my wet hair, I stared blankly out to sea. Why wasn't he here yet? It was passed sun down; normally he got here just as the sun was setting.

"I'm sure he's just running late" I said aloud, ignoring the most likely reason. No, that isn't like him. He's been on time every day for two years.

He could have decided this was a mistake. Me. Us . . . . "No," I voiced, trying to stop the crushing weight of rejection from getting to me. "He's late, that's all. Road problems, car difficulties, the weather."

Hey, a masked guy could have jumped out of a dark ally and shot him in the balls, my mind mocked me. Face it; it said scornfully, he left you, left you without even saying goodbye. Filled with pain I crumpled to the floor and started rocking slowly.

Time meant nothing to me; I could have sat there for a few minutes or a few days, completely ignorant to my surroundings. I did not hear the crunching of sand under shoes. I did not feel the warmth as arms wrapped themselves around me. Nor did I hear the soft, questing voice in my ear. Someone turned my head so I was facing his and I realised, with a start, that it was Kad. Ignoring his probing eyes I snuggled closer, inhaling his dark, yet comforting, scent. Sighing with pleasure I hid my face deeper into his chest expecting him to disappear at any moment, just a figment of my imagination.

I started to slowly relax as Kad gently moved his finger over my wet hair. We talked about a few things before he asked the one question I wished he hadn't.

"Why were you so upset when I arrived?" his eyes grew worried as the question stayed unanswered and my silence stretched out. I didn't want to say, it was so embarrassing. Had I actually thought he'd left me? I asked myself in disbelief. We weren't even together! "Why won't you tell me?" he prodded sounding upset.

"It's stupid, forget about it." he looked down at me with a silly smile.

"Humour me,"

I met his gaze and felt heat creeping up my neck toward my face. Looking away and speaking quickly, I told him what had happened previously that night but my voice faltered as I got to the hard part.

"You weren't there, I got worried and, and I, I thought …" I could not finish. Tears were trailing down my cheeks and my throat was tight, I didn't understand why though. He was here. I was with him. We were together. I had nothing to be upset about.

"Honey, its ok, shhh. . . I'm here," we sat on the sand for a while in silence. His hand moving through my, now dry, hair and I was trying to get a hold of the tears that had started to soak into Kad's t-shirt.

"You thought I had left you." It wasn't a question but I nodded numbly anyway. "I'm sorry I was late, I really am. I just had a few things to decide before I came."

His words sparked my curiosity. I asked him what it was about; he just laughed and said "You'll see soon, don't worry." I was even more curious now but I held my tongue; I didn't want to push him. If you pushed him, he clamed up, I'd learned that from bitter experience.

We had been sitting in the same spot as usual, talking about trivial things, when he asked me about my father. I told him that my dad liked things a certain way; punctual, privet and pleasant. I on the other hand was tardy, outspoken and had a 'Love or Hate' thing going: just like my mother. I'd asked him about his family but he only said that he didn't see them often. I tried to coax more information out of him, but instead I'd made it worse, he hadn't talk for the rest of the evening.

All of a sudden Kad disentangled himself from me. I got to my feet clumsily as I saw him stand and start to walk away. Whilst following him I noted that we were heading toward the beach's only cave, which was always partially submerged by an inch or two of water. I tried to match his brick pace, but my legs had fallen asleep during our time sitting on the sand, thus would not move as I wished them to. When I was about a yard away Kad signalled for me to stop. Confused I did as he told and stayed put.

As he made his way into the cave I became worried, for under the water rocks were plastered with slimy plant life and teeming with small sea creatures that got trapped at high tide. I wondered what had brought him to this place tonight. He probably stashed something in there, my mind whispered to me, something important. I shushed the voice as I watched Kad emerge with a skin of some kind slung over his shoulder.

I started to move toward him but he shook his head. I could tell the bewilderment I felt was showing on my face, but I managed to keep my ever growing fear hidden. Kad walked forwards a few steps so we were talking at a comfortable volume, but not close enough to touch. Holding up the pelt he looked me square in the eye and said:

"Do you know what this is?" I replied a skin or fur coat of some kind, that made him chuckle darkly. At that noise my fear grew considerably more. "Of course you won't know what it is, how stupid of me." These words sent my fear off the record. He took a step towards me and held the pelt at arms length, willing me to take it.

Hesitantly I reached out and my fingers about to touch the soft fur, but Kad had already whipped it out of my reach. "You don't know the significance of a single touch to my people, Deziree. One touch could change your life" He walked past slowly, keeping himself between me and the pelt, and stopped in the same spot as before, only on the opposite side with his back to me.

"What if I want the change?" I said defiantly. Up until this point Kad had been completely composed, but now I could see his fear seeping through the cracks of his serenity and he spun around to face me.

"You don't mean it; even you wouldn't want that." He spoke softly, almost speaking to himself. He stood there silently for a while, then he snapped out of it saying, "Anyway I'm not giving you the choice. You will never see this again." He indicated to the skin giving me a serious look. Now I was really confused! And annoyed. Trust a guy to try to control me like that, well I wasn't taking any of it.

I walked straight at his retreating back and pushed his shoulders with all my might. He could have steadied himself, but I had taken him by surprise. Sprawled on the sand, clutching the pelt to his chest with a bemused expression on his face; vulnerable for just a moment. Then he collected himself with a shake of his head, carefully placing the strange skin under him and tried to get up. I was having none of that and quickly placed my right foot on his chest: hard. His torso went flying back with a pufft as the air left his lungs.

"And where do your think your going?" I asked menacingly, glaring at him as I pushed down harder on the 'your'. He looked furious, his eyes were burning as if he would rip me to pieces if he could, but I didn't care. With as much pride as he could muster, he looked at me directly in the eye and said.

"Get. Off. Me." It was more of a growl than words but I wasn't affected.

"Nobody tells me what to do." I said in a deadly whisper. "I have never let anyone tell me how to live my life, and I'm not starting now!" my voice was just above reasonable volume and growing.

"Never will I let an ignorant boy, like you, control me!" I was full on screaming now and pressing my foot harder into his chest on every stressed word. Kad just stared at me, waiting for my sudden eruption to fade away.

I gave his chest one last shove and started to walk towards my bag, only to be stopped by Kad a few feet away; who had hold of my shoulder in a vice like grip. I could feel his hot breath running down my neck in quick bursts. I tried to pull away but he just held on tighter.

"I'm not controlling you Deziree." His voice was breathy and he was desperately trying to hide his growing anger. "I'm saving you from yourself." These words destroyed the last of my anger and annoyance and turned it to dread. I tried to jerk my arm out of his clasp, only to have Kad flip me so I was facing him. Looking into his eyes I saw the pure terror he was feeling at what I was considering. Is what he's talking about that bad? I thought shakily. What could be so bad that it makes him act like this . . ?

"I don't understand what could be this horrible Kad. Talk to me. Help me understand." Kad thought this through for a few moments then let out a defeated sigh.

"Before I do or say anything, please try to see it from my point of view." His tortured expression shook me to my core and, a little short of breath, I promised.