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CHAPTER TWELVE

BLAIR RETURNED to the boat and paced. Blair said he’d transform and then come aboard. He understood his reasoning—it was daylight. Marcus didn’t have the cover of darkness to help hide what he was.

Blair hated the idea of Marcus out there going through the pain all alone. He didn’t have the isolated caves to use since they were the middle of the ocean. Could a merman drown in human form? He had no idea.

He was seconds away from working himself up into a fine snit when he finally heard Marcus climb the ladder and step aboard the boat. He gulped, willing his body not to react as he grabbed a towel off a lounge chair and hurried to Marcus.

His fingers itched to touch all that lovely, wet skin, but now was not the time. They needed to talk, and if he had any hope of focusing, Marcus was going to have to cover up certain interesting bits. Hopefully later he could uncover said bits.

“Here. I got this for you. Wasn’t sure if you wouldn’t want to—”

Marcus took the towel but dropped it at his feet. Instead he reached for Blair. Blair went willingly into Marcus’ arms and trembled slightly as Marcus brushed his lips across his. Closing his eyes, he gave himself over.

The kiss, so sweet and so gentle, nearly undid him. The stress from the past few days finally bubbled over. Tears tracked down his face, tickling as they fell. He thought he’d never feel Marcus’ arms around him or breathe his subtle oceany scent.

Marcus kissed a path to Blair’s ear. “Why do you cry?”

The words were nothing more than a soft breeze. Still, Blair felt them down to his toes. “I was afraid you had disappeared from my life forever, that… that I screwed up so badly and drove you away.”

“But you came back.”

“I knew I fucked up, and I had to try to make it right. When they told me no one had seen you since I left… I felt sick. Brett told me I needed to talk to Kannon and Nisha. Hopefully I’d get them on my side so they’d help me find you. I was scared, terrified actually—”

“Why?”

“ Why ? They are your friends. They’re important to you. What if they refused to help? They’re both like you. They belong to the water, and I don’t! But I was determined to do whatever it took. Then Brett told me they were gone for two weeks,” Blair sobbed. “Two weeks . I walked the beach endlessly hoping you would somehow know I was here.”

“Blair—”

“I know, right? Stupid. You weren’t even around. But I didn’t know what else to do , but staying on land didn’t seem to be the answer. In a moment of insanity I rented the boat. You belong to the water. I thought maybe, maybe if I was out there in the water, too… I don’t know what I thought.”

Marcus cupped Blair’s chin. “You came looking for me.”

The wonderment in Marcus’ face brought fresh tears to Blair’s eyes. “I ran from you. So yes, it only seemed fair I be the one to come looking for you.”

“Sheer luck.” Marcus shook his head slowly, amazed. “It was sheer luck you stopped here. That I happen to be right here .”

Blair nodded slowly. “It’s almost like something brought us together. Do… do merfolk worship a god?”

“No. The Islanders once considered us gods.”

“Well, there’s not a doubt in my mind something brought us together.”

Marcus kissed Blair’s lips one last time. “This time we’re going to make it count.”

“Yes.” Blair sighed against Marcus’ lips. He ran his hands down Marcus’ back and clutched his ass. “As much as I love having you naked, pressed against me, I really need you to put some clothes on. All this naked flesh is distracting me, and we really need to talk. There are things I need to know.”

Marcus ground his hardening cock against Blair’s groin. “I have no clothes with me.”

“Fortunately, I do. Please?”

Marcus kissed Blair’s forehead. “For you, I will.”

Marcus step back and picked up the towel he dropped on the deck. He wrapped the sun-warmed cloth around him and held his hand out to Blair. “You still look a little pale. Let’s get one of those sugary drinks in you, shall we? Then we’ll talk.”

“Come with me?”

“I’d love to.”

Blair led them down to the cabin. There was a small U-shaped galley with a decent sized U-shaped settee to port with a high-low coffee/dining table. To starboard was a built-in cabinet with a high-low TV and two chairs that fit snugly on either side of the credenza. Blair ducked into the small galley. He got a soda for himself and a bottle of water for Marcus.

“Here you go.” Blair handed Marcus the water. “Give me a second and I’ll get you something to wear.”

Marcus took the water and opened it. “Sure. And thank you for the water.”

“No problem.” Blair watched as Marcus lifted the bottle to his lips and drank. Blair licked his lips. Marcus’ throat moved as he gulped the water, and wasn’t that the sexiest thing ever?

“Um, yeah. Be right back.” Blair darted into the stateroom and rummaged around for a pair of shorts—and finally finding what he wanted—hurried back to Marcus.

“Here you go.” Blair held them out to Marcus.

Marcus dropped the towel and slipped on the khaki shorts. Only then did Blair notice he forgot underwear. Great. Now that would be preying on his mind. Marcus sat and scooted to the middle of the settee and patted the place next to him. Blair sat and slid over next to him.

“I guess it’s time for a crash course about merfolk history. You already know, thanks to Brett, who you are to me and that we can scent our mate. When two mers mate, it’s no big deal, but when a mer takes a human everything changes. There’s something in our bite—maybe bacteria?—which is toxic to humans.”

Blair blinked. “Bite?” Had he somehow missed that?

“Yes. We bite our mates. It’s one of the many uses of those sharp teeth you saw when I’m in my mer form.”

Blair shivered. Holy mother of God, Marcus wanted to bite him. That was insane. That was terrifying. That was… making his cock hard. “Does it hurt?”

“Having never been bit, I don’t know for sure.” Marcus cleared his throat. “But from what Kannon has said, that small instant of pain is quickly forgotten thanks to the pleasure.”

“If you bite me, I’ll feel pleasure?” Blair clarified.

“That’s my understanding, yes.”

Good to know. “Some sort of bacterial thingy in your saliva gets mixed with my blood, right?”

“Yes. When a merman or maid bites a human, the saliva enters the human’s bloodstream. But one bite isn’t enough. It takes two. After the second bite, the process takes a few hours to integrate fully into human cells. Then you’re able to adapt to our world.”

Sounded like a bunch of mumbo-jumbo to him. “What exactly does that mean? I need you to spell it out for me.”

“It means you’ll develop gills.”

O-okay. “Gills.”

“Yes, gills.”

Blair ran his hand along his neck. “Here?”

“Yes, there. Once the gills are developed, you’ll be able to breathe underwater.”

“Wow, gills. Talk about a mind fuck. These gills… Obviously they can’t be seen all the time or people like Brett wouldn’t be able to carry on a reasonable normal life on land.”

“Right. The gills are always there but there are these things called skinfolds which hide them when not in use. You can still swim around humans and keep them hidden if you wished.”

That actually made a lot of sense. “Water doesn’t make them automatically—I don’t know what the right word is here—activate, or something like that?”

“No, water has nothing to do with it. It takes a conscious decision to use them. When you need to breathe underwater you’ll have to make a concentrated effort to open them until it becomes second nature to you.”

“Okay, good. Last thing I need is for them to be popping out in an inopportune moment.”

Marcus snorted. “None of us want that.”

Blair could only imagine. He stared at the table trying to make sense of everything Marcus told him. It all sounded so outrageously unbelievable, but then when he actually thought about it, it did sort of make sense.

He knew before he met Marcus there were other creatures who walked the earth. They had to have a way to hide, otherwise mass panic would ensue. Humans didn’t do well with things they didn’t understand.

“Are you okay?” Marcus finally asked after several minutes of quiet.

“I… yes. Just thinking. It’s, ah… a lot to take in.” Blair gulped his soda. “Tell me more about the transformation process.”

“Well, like I said, it takes two bites. After the second bite the transformation begins and your body changes. Kannon said while that happens, you’ll most likely pass out. I guess it makes it easier on you. Then, once you awaken, it’s a possibility you’ll have a headache and might even be nauseated.”

“Okay, that doesn’t sound too bad, considering you’re basically changing my DNA.” It sounded unpleasant, yes, but at least he wouldn’t be flopping around like a fish out of water. Then he cringed mentally. Probably was a good thing he hadn’t said that out loud.

“I can’t tell you how relieved I am to hear you say that,” Marcus continued. “After you have completed the transition I’ll take you to a private place—most likely my cave. Once we’re alone I’ll change into my merman form and teach you how to open and close your gills.”

“You’ll teach me how to breathe underwater.”

“Yes.” Marcus covered Blair’s hand with his own. “How are you doing so far?”

Wasn’t that the five-million-dollar question? “I won’t lie. It’s kind of scary. You’re talking about changing who and what I am. That’s hard to wrap your head around, you know? I’m guessing once this is done it can’t be undone.”

“I honestly don’t know.” Marcus threaded his fingers through Blair’s. “No one has ever wanted to go back to being human. If I had to guess, I’d say the process is permanent. You’ll be my mate, and you’ll live two lives: one on land and one in the ocean.”

He’d never admit it out loud to Marcus, but hearing he’d be spending time on land helped. “Fascinating. Scary, too, but utterly fascinating.”

“You also need to understand that while merfolk aren’t immortal, we do live longer than humans. Once we mate, your life expectancy will extend. You will live as long as me.”

“And how long is that?” Blair took several sips of his soda.

“It’s pretty much like how human’s age—some live to an old age and some die young. I’m sixty years old.”

“Holy shit!” Good thing he swallowed before Marcus told him that or he’d have spit Coke all over the table. “You look half of that.”

“Thank you.” Marcus winked at him. “Your aging will slow tremendously, too.”

“Good to know.” Then Blair sighed. “I’m all for hanging onto my youth, but this… this is really major. We hardly know each other and we’re talking about a commitment that’ll transcend anything I’m familiar with. I don’t see how I can do that.”

The air chilled between them as Marcus slowly spoke. “Are… are you rejecting me?”

“No! Oh God, no.” Blair squeezed Marcus’ hand. “I did not mean that. I’m saying I think we need to spend some time together. I mean, come on Marcus, we just met each other. I know absolutely nothing about you as a person, and you know nothing about me. I’m not saying no.”

Marcus pried his hand away from Blair’s and scooted around the other side of the settee. He stood and walked over to one of the port windows. “What are you saying?”

“I’m asking for time. I want to eat meals with you, watch TV, spend time goofing off, go to bed together, and get up together. I want to sit across the breakfast table from you in the mornings and brush my teeth next to you at night. I want to explore your world as best I can since I am still human, and I want to spend time with you in my world, too.”

“So, what?” Marcus turned to face Blair. “Are you suggesting we… live together?”

“Yes!” Blair nodded frantically. He stood and quickly made his way over to Marcus. He grabbed both his hands. “That’s exactly what I’m saying.”

“We live together, and we get to know each other.”

“Yes. Exactly.”

Sighing, Marcus kissed Blair’s knuckles and pulled his hands free. “The problem is I’m going to want to make love to you.”

That was a problem? It was no problem as far as he could see. “Hey, I’m totally on board with that.”

“Yes, well, the problem is I’m going to want to bite you and start the mating process. I’m not sure I can… You really have no idea what you’re asking of me… I’m not even sure where I stand with you.” Marcus stuck his hands in his pockets.

Blair blew out a deep breath and ran his hand through his hair. Didn’t know where he stood? Blair told him he wanted them to live together. Then a thought struck him. Marcus was insecure. “Okay, how about this? Didn’t you tell me there needed to be two bites?”

“Yes.”

“Good.” Actually, it was perfect. “Then here’s what I propose we do. You bite me now. That way you know I’m serious about this. Would that help?”

Marcus cocked his head and stared intently at Blair. “I… huh. Yes, some.”

“Basically, that bite would be my commitment to you. But it also gives me time to adjust. You get what you want, and I get what I want. Can you do that, Marcus? Can you meet me halfway?” Blair held his breath. This, this right here, would tell him everything he needed to know about a future relationship between the two of them.

Suddenly Marcus smiled, and Blair’s heart fluttered. The delight in Marcus’ face was more than he could have hoped for. That smile told him everything he needed to know. Everything was going to work out with them.

Marcus reached for Blair and pulled him close. “You’re brilliant.”

Blair snuggled in closer. “Yes well, I have my moments.” He looked at Marcus. “Does that work for you?”

“More than. This is going to sound really primitive, but I need to stake my claim on you. That first bite will essentially give me what I need, which is for other mers to know you’re mine.”

“And then you can give me time?”

“Absolutely. I said I never intended to get mated, but here I am. I said I never intended to have an aboveground dwelling, but while we get to know each other, I want us to look for something. I said I would never spend time on land, but I can’t wait to spend it with you.”

“Thank you.” Blair kissed the tip of Marcus’ nose. “Now, about that bite?”

“How soon do you want to do it?” Marcus asked.

“Does now sound good?”