Page 8

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T he following morning, Echo awoke groaning against the light. He’d neglected to pull the blackout curtains closed before he fell asleep again. Morning light filled his bedroom, which made it harder to open his eyes. When he realized he was lying against something warm, firm, and hairy, he froze. It took him a couple of seconds to remember the night before and the man who’d shared his body and his bed.

He smiled to himself. How he could’ve forgotten, he didn’t know. His body was sore. The good kind of sore after a night of total satisfaction and being well used.

Mael’s heart beat slow and steady under his ear. Echo’s head rose and fell with Mael’s steady breaths. Echo was practically lying on top of the guy. His head was on Mael’s chest, and one leg thrown over a muscled thigh—though the latter might not have been him. Mael’s hand just barely gripped Echo’s calf, appearing as if he’d pulled it over at some point in the night.

The other hand rested on his lower back, holding him close. Tilting his head back, he glanced up and found Mael still fast asleep. Taking advantage, he traced Mael’s features with his gaze without fear of being caught. Mael was handsome, obviously, but he also had a nice face. The kind you wanted to wake up to—wholly masculine with a strong brow, nose, and jawline. A jawline already covered with a light beard when there had only been stubble the night before.

The hair on the top of his head was mussed from their activities the night before and somehow made him even sexier.

Bedhead.

Maelstrom Marino wore it well.

Maelstrom Marino… the deadly killer.

A whisper of uncertainty slipped through Echo’s mind. The man who’d shown him such tenderness and acceptance didn’t seem the same as the stories he’d heard growing up. The evil killer. Yet he’d witnessed Maelstrom’s deadly abilities firsthand, so his ability to cause harm was in no doubt. He struggled to mesh the rumors he’d heard with the man in his bed.

The two just didn’t fit.

Echo’s bladder screamed for attention, dragging his thoughts away from the striking differences rolled into one man. He wasn’t sure how he was supposed to extract himself from Mael’s grip nor did he want to wake the man up. Very carefully, he slid his leg off Mael’s and then slithered lower down the bed until he was free. The first thing his foot hit on the floor was something incredibly soft. He looked down and saw Mael’s black t-shirt. Grinning, he snatched it and pulled it over his head as he walked to the bathroom. It fell almost to his knees.

Lifting the collar to his nose, he inhaled Mael’s woodsy, clean scent. He noticed, too, that it wasn’t a t-shirt but an incredibly thin sweater softer than anything he’d ever owned in his life. Echo had only planned to steal it long enough to take care of his business and start a pot of coffee before sneaking back into bed, but Mael might not be so lucky. After emptying his bladder, washing his hands and face, and brushing his teeth—in case he’d get more of Mael’s kisses—he hit the stairs.

And took them as slowly as possible not to wake his houseguest. The creaking was terrible. He’d needed to get them fixed since he’d bought the house, but given that he lived alone, it hadn’t seemed much of a priority. The only one he usually bothered was Tilly, who’d been strangely silent all night. When he finally made it down, he breathed a sigh of relief and padded barefoot to the kitchen to start a pot.

Tilly raced up to her food bowl the second he appeared. He refilled her bowls and gave her some love before moving on to the coffee maker. Echo had just finished filling the beans and water when two arms wrapped around his waist, crisscrossing his stomach. He startled, nearly screaming. He wasn’t sure how Mael had made it downstairs without him hearing the stairs creaking.

Must be some kind of ninja.

Mael pressed his front against Echo’s back and squeezed him tight. Echo leaned into the embrace, closing his eyes.

“I don’t like waking up alone,” Mael murmured against Echo’s ear, his sexy baritone deepened by lingering sleep.

Echo fought a smile when he noticed the aroma of his cinnamon toothpaste. It could only mean Mael had snuck some before coming to find him. The thoughtfulness was appreciated. So was the confirmation he’d likely get more kisses.

“I didn’t intend for you to wake up alone,” Echo replied. “I was coming back in a minute.”

Mael rubbed his nose against Echo’s earlobe. “Already stealing my clothing, hmm?”

Echo grinned to himself. “Sorry… I just grabbed the closest thing before I came downstairs. I’ll take it off if you need it back.”

“Nope. I like you in my clothes, wrapped in my scent,” Mael growled. “Don’t you dare take it off.”

Echo fought a shiver. “I made us some coffee. Would you like a cup?”

Mael nibbled at his neck, just behind his ear. “Us. I like the sound of that.”

A sense of panic hit Echo squarely in the chest. They were looking at an uphill battle. One he wasn’t sure they’d win. They were the orca and dolphin version of Romeo and Juliet—and everyone knew how that tragedy ended.

While his heart screamed the battle would be worth it, his logical brain kept getting in the way. If he and/or Mael were exiled from their pods, what would they do? They could lose their homes, their livelihoods, their friends, their families… their everything … and only have a practical stranger to cling to for support.

A man who’d, by his own admission, killed his very own brother. How the fuck could he trust Maelstrom Marino to be his protector—no matter what his heart screamed.

“You and me…” Mael murmured, biting his earlobe. “My mate.”

Echo’s hands shook as he reached for the kitchen counter to steady himself. He trembled against Mael at the word mate. He was still trying to wrap his head around the fact they were fated mates.

Mael was his alpha.

His forever.

There was no way his pod would accept them, especially with Mael’s past. He’d be exiled, for sure. He’d been born in Dolphin Bay, and other than his cloistered years in college and grad school, he’d spent his entire life there. His parents lived there, when they weren’t vacationing half a planet away.

Oh god, his parents … what in the hell were they going to say about Mael when they finally got home? His mother flipped out every single time he barely stepped out of line as it was. An orca mate? Particularly that orca?

She was going to lose it.

“We’ll find a way through,” Mael said, voice low against his ear. “We can be together. Our pods can’t fight nature. We can demand they accept this and allow us to marry.”

“Marry?” Echo’s eyes widened. “I think it’s too soon to consider that.”

“We’re mates,” Mael spat, his brow furrowing.

“Who’ve just met! You can’t ask me to consider major life decisions after one night,” Echo replied, struggling to breathe.

Even knowing he already belonged to the orca.

And Mael to him.

Mael chuckled, but there was little mirth to it. He lowered his hands and took a couple of steps back. “I forget I’m the one who’s been consumed by you all this time… while you didn’t even know I existed.”

Echo blinked rapidly, processing that. “How long have you been watching me?”

“Those sharks that attacked you? They also attacked a mother and her calf about six weeks ago near the same spot. I’ve been patrolling ever since, hoping to find them and ensure they never came back to hurt anyone else. And there you were… too close for comfort.”

Echo was speechless a few seconds, but he quickly realized that wasn’t a full answer to his question, either. “When was that—the first time you saw me?”

“I don’t know,” Mael said, shrugging. He avoided Echo’s gaze, his on the floor. “Three weeks, I think. Maybe more.”

The entire time Echo had been out there, watching for orca activity, one had been near the whole time watching him . “I suppose that means I’m a terrible investigator. I had no idea you were there.”

“If you’d gone into the water instead of sitting in your boat night after night, you might’ve noticed me. Dolphin hearing is superior to ours from what I understand.”

“It was too risky to go into the water sooner. If there had been orca near, I feared they’d hear me or my echolocation. So I sat and I watched. I waited until I thought the coast was clear—which, it wasn’t I now learn,” Echo said, still shocked Mael had watched him that long without confronting him sooner. “Are they okay? The mother and child?”

“You don’t mess with an orca mother protecting her calf.” Mael smiled. “She fought both of them off, allowing her son time to swim for help. The sharks seemed to sense we were coming to her aid and took off just before we got there.” He glanced away. “She was hurt— badly —but she’s mostly healed now. Physically, at least.”

“They were lucky,” Echo said.

“Luck had nothing to do with it. It was all her. Had she not fought so heroically, I fear they’d both be gone.”

Echo smiled softly at Mael’s obvious respect for the mother, but then orcas and orca shifters existed in purely matriarchal societies. They held their females in esteem, the oldest of the pod their leader. Dolphins in the wild often did, too, but not all. Dolphin shifter pods, on the other hand, did not. While Echo’s pod was better than others he’d heard of and most definitely better than human social structure, their human half had overpowered dolphin nature. Alpha males tended to dominate decision making and leadership roles.

“I’m glad she was strong enough to do it. I faced off with those two and could only swim for my life.”

“You say that as if you’re ashamed.” Mael frowned, stepping closer. “Shifted, she’s three times your size and ten times your weight—and a deadly predator in her own right. You aren’t. You did exactly what you needed to do, Echo. If you ever come face-to-face with another great white, you swim as fast as you can or you hide out of their reach.”

“As if I have plans to do otherwise.”

Mael released a pent-up breath, appearing relieved.

They stared at one another, the silence heavy, filled with longing. It wasn’t only longing of a physical kind, not for Echo.

He longed to call Mael his.

Mael was his… but there were so many obstacles in their path that it felt unwise to get ahead of himself. Just as Mael had just pointed out—he was three times smaller, ten times lighter. They might both be from the same animal family, but they were different species. Species who, as far as he knew, never mated in the wild or amongst shifters. Add in their pods had once been at war and only mildly tolerated one another didn’t help.

After a few seconds, the question that was still circling in the back of his mind had to be asked.

“Why did you wait so long? To make your presence known?”

Echo sensed the answer was the same doubts circling in his head.

Mael didn’t move for a few seconds, as if he hadn’t heard the question. Echo almost asked again, but Mael’s eventual answer saved him from having to.

“I could lie and say it was because I didn’t want to cross the barrier and break the treaty… and you hadn’t crossed, either, so I had no right to enter dolphin territory to make my presence known.”

“That doesn’t sound like a lie. It’s logical enough a reason.”

“As if logic played any role in this,” Mael muttered. He scrubbed a hand over his face.

Echo ached to reach out and console him. To slip into Mael’s arms and hold one another tight, but he needed to hear the answer.

And needed to see Mael’s face when he said it.

“I saw you out there, bathed in moonlight,” Mael murmured, closing the gap between them when Echo hadn’t been strong enough to move closer. “And I couldn’t look away. You were stunning. I sensed a connection, even then—though I refused to admit it to myself. We were enemies. There’s no way I felt anything for a dolphin.” He paused a moment, frowning. “Then I realized you weren’t a woman, and that confused me all the more.”

Echo froze. “Are you telling me you’re straight?”

“I am.” Mael shook his head. “I was —up until I saw you.”

Echo digested that in the pause Mael took.

“I fought the attraction, but every night I returned to see if you were there, telling myself it was the sharks I was really hunting when deep down I knew it was you. I lied to myself for weeks, denying what I felt.” Mael threaded his fingers through Echo’s hair. He wrapped his hand around the back of Echo’s head, tilting it slightly. “I’d return home after you left at midnight, sink into my bed alone, and you’d end up haunting my dreams. When daylight came, I couldn’t stop thinking of you. You completely robbed me of focus. All I could think about was going out on patrol so I could see you again.”

His lips neared Echo’s. Echo pressed up on his toes, ready for it.

“The last few days, I tried to think of a way to approach without scaring you and making you run. I was on the brink of crossing the line, but then you did,” Mael murmured. “I kept my distance because I wanted to find out what it was you were searching for. Then I saw the sharks beside you and my heart nearly stopped. I’d been so consumed by you I hadn’t noticed them. I’m not sure I’ve ever swam that fast. I was terrified I’d arrive too late and lose you before I could even make you mine.”

Echo pressed his palms against Mael’s chest. “I’ve never thanked you for saving me.”

“Hold your thanks,” Mael said, his voice low and strained. “My inattention is what put you in danger.”

Echo lifted a hand to Mael’s cheek, the alpha’s beard scratching his palm. “You saved me, nonetheless. Thank you.”

Mael turned his face and pressed a kiss into Echo’s palm. He turned back and held Echo’s gaze, the heaviness of guilt seeming to linger. “There was another reason I held back, too. Not just because I was a nosy motherfucker and wanted to see what you were up to.”

Echo searched Mael’s gaze, curious what the reason was.

“I feared I’d be lost after one look in your eyes,” Mael whispered, his lips slowly moving closer. “And you know what?”

“What?” Echo asked, his lips a heartbeat from Mael’s.

“I was right,” Mael said before kissing him.