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CHAPTER ELEVEN

BEING IN the open ocean was dangerous, but Marcus found an abandoned underwater cave for his use. Even though he debated leaving the area, he couldn’t. Something tethered him there. Instead of leaving, he explored the area around the cave he temporarily claimed as his.

Far above him, nearer to the surface, dolphins played. A school of fish darted back and forth, a wave of wiggling bodies that drifted aimlessly. The engine drone of a small craft caught his attention, and he glanced up. A solitary shark wandered aimlessly overhead sending the fish scattering. Tiger shark. Dammit.

He curled his lip at the ridiculous name humans assigned the animal. Nisha told him once the name came from the stripes found on its body that resemble those on a tiger. Then, of course, that led to the explanation of what a tiger was.

How like humans. But they were right about one thing. The shark was lethal. Mers considered them one of the most dangerous. They were curious—and contrary to humans’ research—aggressive. This was a large one, too, at least twelve feet.

He stayed still, crouched by a rock formation. The boat on the surface stopped not far from where he and the shark were. It circled the surrounding area investigating and occasionally going after whatever fish caught its attention. Patiently Marcus waited. Eventually the predator would get bored and move on, and since Marcus was in no hurry, he was content to wait it out.

He glanced past the shark back up to the boat bobbing on the surface. It was fairly large. Maybe it was a charter service and soon fishermen would drop their lines in the water. With any luck maybe one of the humans up there would catch the damn thing.

Then there was a splash as a body hit the water.

Oh, fuck me. Seriously? This was the last thing he needed. Marcus glanced at the body in the water then over at the brute. Lovely. His and the shark’s attention were centered on the human. Even from his spot by the rocks he heard the hungry growl of the thing. Slowly Marcus faded into the shadows of the rock formation. What was about to happen was none of his business, and he didn’t intend to get involved.

Shark attacks on human were rare, but they did happen. He certainly wasn’t going to expose himself for some human. He bit his lip, though. Even as annoyed as he was with them in general, he didn’t relish the thought of watching the one above him get ripped to shreds.

Then the human’s smell drifted down through the water, and the fragrance—heady and tropical—slammed into him, and his heart stuttered as the aroma teased his senses. No! Oh fuck, oh fuck, no! Defensive spikes exploded from his clenched fists. With a hard thrust of his tail, he propelled himself up, angling straight for the shark. Even in his merman form it had several feet on him.

He screamed, an angry trill that sliced through the water echoing outward. He rammed it, the two of them twisting and turning in a macabre dance as Marcus repeatedly drove the spikes into whatever part of it he could reach.

He matched the shark move by move in an effort to avoid those viciously sharp teeth. Blood filled the water, turning it a murky pink. He screamed again, the noise inhuman. In the distance a click answered him.

Never had he been so relieved to hear the sweet sound of the dolphins’ call. Three males left the pod and made a beeline straight toward Blair. The other two danced around the shark, distracting him. Although they couldn’t stab as Marcus could, they irritated the beast and kept its attention away from Blair.

A low, rolling grunt heralded the appearance of a monstrous stingray. Marcus could’ve wept with joy. He knew the dolphins would answer his distress call, but he wasn’t sure the stingray would—they tended to be ornery creatures.

The stingray joined the fray. The shark and the stingray clashed, the water churning around them from powerful sweeps of the shark’s tail. Every fish in the surrounding area fled in a desperate bid to get away from the two predators.

After a near miss from the stingray’s tail, the shark gave up the battle and darted off into the gloomy darkness. Marcus softly trilled his thanks, and the stingray answered with a short grunt. It turned and drifted back off into the deep.

The dolphins raced to him, fluttering about as he willed the defensive spikes back into his skin again. He glanced up and shoved his hair out of his face so he could see better. Above him Blair treaded water, the dolphins still staying close by.

Now that fear released its icy grip, anger stormed through him. What the hell was the human thinking? More than a little annoyed, he powered through the water heading straight for Blair. As soon as Blair surfaced he should’ve gotten out of the water.

He popped up next to Blair and grabbed him by his shoulders. “Are you okay?”

“I… I… holy shit, there was a… a… sh-shark and…”

Why was Blair stuttering? The shark hadn’t come close to him, so what was his problem? Only then did he notice how Blair shook under his hands. Was something else wrong with him?

“M-M-Marcus…”

Now Blair was chattering, and his skin was cool, clammy. His breathing was also rapid and shallow. Shit. Was he injured? Had he somehow gotten hurt? Maybe he fell off the boat instead of jumping in. Wouldn’t be the first time.

Marcus pulled Blair closer and wrapped his arms around him. “Are you hurt? Did you fall off the boat again? Are you okay? Blair!” Marcus’ heart rate spiked. “Answer me!”

“You… You… You…”

“Okay, that’s it. We’ve got to get you in the boat. Is there a phone on there? A radio? I have no idea how to drive one and you’re not in any condition to… Where did you get a boat?”

“Rented it.”

“Okay. Okay, here’s what we’re going… oomph!”

Marcus flailed inelegantly as he tried to keep Blair and himself from submerging. Suddenly his mate was doing a fine imitation of an octopus—Blair’s arms and legs banding around him as Blair plastered his mouth against Marcus’.

Marcus immediately dropped his hands to Blair’s ass and cupped it, pulling Blair as close as possible as the kiss they shared turned frantic. Using his tail to keep their heads above water, Marcus allowed Blair to plunder his mouth. And plunder Blair did.

Desperation tainted the kiss. The moans coming from Blair were closer to sobs than pleasure. The furious battle of tongues eased as Marcus gentled the kiss. As much as he hated letting go of Blair’s fine ass, he did and gently rubbed his hands up and down Blair’s back. He ended the kiss and licked his lips as Blair buried his face in Marcus’ neck.

“I need to know you’re okay,” Marcus whispered. “Can you at least tell me that?”

Blair, still refusing to look up, nodded miserably against Marcus’ shoulder.

“Nothing hurts?”

Blair shook his head.

“That means you’re probably either scared or in shock. You need to get back on your boat—”

“No!” Blair yelled, rearing back. “Don’t leave me, don’t leave me. Please!”

“Hey, hey.” Marcus patted Blair’s back. Well, he certainly hadn’t been expecting that reaction. “No one said anything about leaving. I thought that maybe we needed to get you on the boat and warm you up.”

“The w-water’s warm.”

“Exactly. The water is warm, and you’re still shaking. You might be going into shock. Don’t you usually need a sugary drink during times like this, too?”

“I’m fine. Really. I… I didn’t see the shark, and… and then the shark was there and suddenly you were there, and, and, and I had no idea you were around, and the dolphins came out of nowhere and, oh my God, I thought I was going to die.”

“You’re going to if you don’t take a breath.”

Blair giggled and dropped his head on Marcus’ shoulder. “Okay, yeah. Yeah. Breathe.”

Marcus still thought that giggle sounded a little on the hysterical side, but Blair seemed to be calming down. His breathing evened out, and his heart didn’t pound quite as fiercely anymore. Not sure what else to do, Marcus trilled softly, the sound low and soothing.

Almost immediately Blair relaxed in his arms. The pod of dolphins moved back, giving them privacy. He held Blair, neither of them speaking as they floated in the water. He closed his eyes, content for the first time since Blair disappeared.

“I’m sorry,” Blair whispered against Marcus’ shoulder. “I am so, so sorry.”

Marcus sighed deeply. The anguish in Blair’s voice batted at him. That soft, trembling voice shredded him. He let his anger go as the waves carried it away. “I need to know why, Blair. When you didn’t show that night… That really hurt.”

“Oh God, I’m so sorry.” Finally, Blair leaned back and looked at Marcus. “I’m an idiot. Truly. When I replayed the events in my head and look at them now, I can see clearly how I worked myself into a panic. And I can also see how stupid I was.”

“Just tell me why you ran.”

“I don’t know where to begin. I… all these thoughts suddenly hit me… like what if you forced me to change? What if this was some sort of scheme to get my money? I wasn’t sure if I wanted to spend my life underwater. I mean, it’s underwater. What do I know about being underwater ? I know nothing about how the change happens either or how to be a mate to you, and—”

“Wait.” Marcus couldn’t believe his ears. “Mate? Why did you say mate? Where did you get that idea from? I never once said…” Suddenly a lot of things he hadn’t understood made sense. “Shit.”

“No, you didn’t tell me I was your mate.”

“Dammit!” Marcus wanted to beat his head against the boat bobbing up and down next to them. No wonder Blair ran. In his place Marcus might’ve done the same thing. “Who told you?”

“Brett did, but he didn’t realize I didn’t know.”

“What?” Forget beating his head against the boat. He was going to beat Brett’s. “When the hell did you talk to Brett?”

“The morning after you saved me. The day we were supposed to have the date. I was eating a late breakfast and suddenly Brett was at my table. He asked if I’d take a walk with him. He wanted to talk to me about certain things. While we were walking, he was telling me some… information, I guess you could say, and he let it slip.”

“Son of a bitch.” Actually, now that he thought about it, beating Brett’s head against the boat wasn’t enough.

“I was overwhelmed, and I panicked. It was only after I got to New York I realized what I’d done. Also realized not once—not since I laid eyes on you—had you done anything to threaten me.” Blair laid his head back on Marcus’ shoulder. “And now you’ve, yet again, saved my dumb ass. God, Marcus, I’m so sorry. Can you ever forgive me?”

“I wish, I really wish, you would’ve spoken to me before you ran.” He squeezed Blair lightly when it looked as if Blair was going to speak again. “But I can see why you didn’t. I’m assuming Brett told you what he is.”

“Yes. And that he’s mated to a mermaid named Brooke. She’s Nisha’s sister, and Nisha’s mated to someone named Kannon who happens to be Brett’s best friend. Needless to say, I was feeling a bit outnumbered.”

“I would imagine so.”

“Plus, I’m guessing Brett has a lot of money since he owns the resort. I started imagining all these wild schemes—that looking back on now seems ridiculous—and well, I ran.”

“This is the second time you mention money. Just curious, exactly how much do you have?” Marcus asked.

“The last time I checked it was around five million.”

“Ah. I see.”

“You, um, don’t seem overly impressed.”

“I’m not really sure how much that is, but from the way you’re looking at me I’m going to assume it’s quite a bit.” Marcus shrugged. “I don’t really understand the human’s paper money system, but I don’t need much to sustain me. So, no, money isn’t a driving factor in my life.”

“Wow. Just wow. I think I’ve been looking for someone like you for the better part of my life. And when I found you, what’s the first thing I did? I ran.” Blair shook his head. “I… I needed time to think.”

“I can understand that.”

“Here’s what I find funny, though. Brett tells me you’re my mate, but not once during this conversation have you confirmed it.”

Leave it to Blair to cut straight to the heart of the matter. “You are my mate, yes. We’re able to tell by scent, and yours appealed to me.” Then Marcus frowned. “Actually, that’s not an accurate description. The scent wrapped around me, grabbed me by the balls, and demanded my attention. I couldn’t very well refuse, now could I?”

“Let me understand this. A scent tells you if you’ve found your mate?”

“Yes. It smells like the best thing ever. It also tells us that person is compatible with us, too. And yes, I’ll answer the next question before you ask it. Just because we’re compatible doesn’t mean our relationship will be perfect. Compatibility means exactly what it says—and applies to not only a sexual relationship but also a social relationship.”

“All that based on a smell.”

“Hey, scent is very important in the animal world.”

“And are you saying you’re an animal?”

“Well, I’m certainly not human.”

Blair nodded slowly. “No, no you’re not. I have a million questions and, and I was wondering if maybe you could answer them. I guess what I’m asking is would you come aboard? I’d like for you to hang around and talk to me. Frankly, I feel kind of silly floating around out here in the water. Will you… Will you spend some time with me? Tell me everything I need to know?” Blair trailed off and gulped.

It didn’t escape him this was exactly what he wanted that night Blair stood him up. Blair opened himself up and it would be very easy to repay the pain Blair caused him. But that wasn’t the type of person he was, and Blair didn’t deserve that.

Yes, he’d been mad, and yes, the pain was almost more than he could stand, but at least he understood what motivated Blair to do what he did. Also, the thought of purposely causing his mate pain disturbed him on a primitive level. This was what he wanted, so why purposely sabotage it?

A grin raced across Marcus’ face. “I’d like nothing better.”