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She held out an orange leafy plant in her hand. “I found something for you.”

His gaze had turned back to the shark which drifted closer. “Mer,” he said softly. “There’s a shark.”

“And?” she muttered, quickly grinding the delicate plant beneath her palms.

“It’s coming closer,” he hissed, noticing how the size seemed to grow.

She held out the pulpy mixture. “Take it.”

“But the shark.”

His heart lurched into his throat as the shark darted forward. Mer spun, holding the pulpy mixture aloft. Raz gaped as she grabbed the snout of the shark and redirected it away from them with a firm, but gentle push. He barely twitched when she ran a hand down its side, crooning softly.

The shark didn’t spin around but continued toward the open ocean as the Sirenidae turned back to him once again.

“You pushed it away,” he said woodenly. “Like a misbehaving pup.”

“She was only hunting and curious about your blood. Nothing else.”

“Would the shark have attacked?” he asked, still searching the waves for any other sharp-toothed beasties.

“Their teeth are one of their senses.”

“That doesn’t answer my question.”

Mer huffed, holding out the pulpy mixture. “She wasn’t protecting her pups or showing territorial displays. She was just saying hello.”

Raz didn’t like it. Not one bit. “Do all sharks like to say hello to their queen?”

A small smile lifted her pink lips. “Only the friendly ones.”

He exhaled heavily and chuckled, eyeing the mixture in her hands. “What is that? It looks disgusting.”

“It helps purge infection and seals the wound until it’s fully healed, then it falls off,” she said.

He reached out slowly and took the gummy mixture from her fingers, a tingle running down his arm at their connection.

It’s just the Lure.

He attempted to breathe through his mouth and not his nose, but it wasn’t helping any. Her heady scent was urging him to move forward to wrap his arms around her body to pull her intohis embrace. It would be so easy to gorge himself on her silky skin, wrap her legs around his waist and…

Shame crashed down upon him.

Fight it.

Raziel focused on the blood dripping down his stomach and slowly dabbed the mixture into the cut and across it. A pleasantly cool tingling sensation spread over his skin and numbed the pain almost immediately.

He smiled in awe. It was like magic. “Why have we never used this before?”

The pretty woman in front of him shrugged her shoulder. “It’s an ocean herb. If you’re not looking for it, you wouldn’t be able to find it.”

“Thank you.”

She glanced away from him and slapped her hand against the water. “It’s nothing.”

An awkward silence settled between them.

Finally, he said, “What are you doing out here?”