Lurine poured herself away from the edge of the pool in one fluid movement, diving below the surface. The water roiled, slopping over the sides as she undulated from one end and back in serpentine glory. Resurfacing, she gave me her slow, lazy smile, this time with more than a hint of wickedness in it. Her gleaming coils stirred suggestively around her. “You want to come to mama, baby girl? I’ll make you feel all better.”

A shiver ran from the nape of my neck to the base of my tail, making it spasm involuntarily.

Okay, here’s the thing. When it comes to ordinary, mortal humans, I’m pretty much straight, but the eldritch have a whole different Kinsey scale.

Yes, it’s twisted.

And yes, I find Lurine in her lamia form kind of hot. I can’t help it. Something about those deadly coils . . . gah! I can’t explain it.

I looked away, feeling my face get warm. “Oh, for God’s sake! Cut it out! You know, you used to babysit me.”

“Age is relative, cupcake.” There was a prodigious splash as Lurine heaved herself out of the pool. “Isn’t that what I was just saying?”

I sneaked a glance at her and relaxed. Lurine had assumed her human guise and stood two-legged, barefoot and dripping on the sun-warmed concrete, looking amused and pleased with herself as she wrapped a towel around her Playboy-centerfold figure.

That, I could handle. “Okay, so, dawn tomorrow?”

“Tomorrow?” She twined a second towel around her wet hair in a turban. “Why wait?”

Chapter Twelve

Twelve

I’d known that Lurine carried a lot of clout among the water elementals. I hadn’t known exactly how much.

At her suggestion, we drove over to Sedgewick Estate.

“It’s all the same river,” Lurine said in a pragmatic tone. “And it’s secluded enough out here in the sticks. We’ll get Gus to stand guard.”

Of course, we had to visit with my mom first. She and Lurine exchanged greetings like long-lost friends, even though I knew they talked on the phone every week. But I guess that’s not the same as meeting face-to-face. They had a bit of a falling-out when Lurine tried to give Mom a check big enough to pay off the mortgage on her lot and then some, but that was years ago.

“How’s the investigation going? Have you found the spider yet?” Mom asked me, a little furrow between her brows.

“Spider . . . ?” I remembered her reading again. “No, not yet. We’re here to question the naiads.”

She nodded in understanding. “I’m sure Gus will be happy to make sure everyone keeps their distance.”

Sedgewick Estate is a pretty tight-knit community in its own little way. It’s always drawn a fair number of eldritch folk, maybe because it’s a bit isolated and close to nature. Still, for Lurine’s sake, it would be better not to have an audience.