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CHAPTER FOURTEEN

“ARE YOU sure?” Blair crossed his arms over his chest and glared at Marcus.

“Yes.” There was an underwater cave Blair could reach even though he couldn’t breathe underwater. There was a beach and tunnels leading aboveground. “Stay on board until I transform.”

“I’ve seen you transform before.”

“I know, but it isn’t pretty. I’d like to spare you from that.”

“Fine! I don’t know what the big deal is, but I’ll wait here until you tell me to join you. Happy?”

Marcus pressed a brief kiss to Blair’s lips “Yes. And thank you.”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah.” Blair waved his hands toward Marcus. “Get on with it already.”

With a laugh and another stolen kiss, Marcus dove over the side of the boat. He didn’t know what the big deal was about him being in the water when Marcus transformed, but he wasn’t going to argue over it.

Blair waited by the ladder, his fins ready. He thought about bringing his snorkeling mask, but what was the point? He almost wished he’d rented scuba gear so he could stay under longer with Marcus.

From the second he found out exactly what Marcus was, Blair wanted nothing more than to explore that fabulous tail of his. He clutched the railing, his anticipation building. He’d been swimming with Marcus several times, but not like this. Not in his merman form. Well, he did during the attack, but he’d been too shaken up to notice much.

The water churned where Marcus went in. Blair stared. Under the water Marcus twisted and turned. It was hard to see since the sun had set and twilight was upon them. A shadow moved under the water, a shadow which was suddenly much longer than a human body. Blair slipped on his fins and waited for the final signal. Finally, Marcus’ head cleared the water and he waved.

And just that quickly, he was gone, but it was long enough for Blair to notice the pointed ears and something on Marcus’ wrist that humans didn’t have—a fin. Excitement raced through him. This was an opportunity precious few humans ever had.

He slipped into the water. Off to the right and several feet below him something floated, but he wasn’t concerned. He could see the blue hair in the water. Taking several deep breaths, and clearing his mind, he prepared to submerge.

He slipped under the waves, enjoying the water closing over his head. His first glimpse of Marcus in his merman form, and his natural habitat, almost stole his breath away. Lord, with that tail of his he was a really, really long—and sleek. Sinuous.

Blair wanted to get his hands on it. Like his hair, Marcus’ tail was blue, but that didn’t begin to describe the color. Iridescent came to mind. The luminous blue colors seemed to change as Marcus’ tail moved lazily in the water.

Marcus fit his surroundings perfectly, as did his gorgeous blue hair. He’d wondered, but now Marcus’ coloring finally made sense. He was part of the landscape—something that Blair obviously was not, with his tan skin and golden blond hair. Marcus’ long blue hair floated around his head.

Fascinated, Blair watched Marcus’ tail swish back and forth gently in the water. His beauty was otherworldly and a little eerie. Still, he took Blair’s breath away. Marcus called to him in a short, sharp click as he rose through the depths.

He held his hand out, and Marcus clasped it. Surprised, he glanced at their hands. Marcus’ was webbed. He pulled Marcus’ hand closer wanting to examine it but Marcus clicked again and wrapped his arm around Blair’s waist. Oh yeah, he forgot about the whole breathing thing.

Marcus whistled and they took off. The water rushed past Blair as they swam past huge coral reefs that exploded with color. A multitude of fish darted in and out. As they swam past, Blair noticed the rocky outcrop covered with algae not far from them. He wrapped his arms around Marcus.

With a flip of his tail Marcus propelled them toward the opening of the underwater cave. He barely noticed the trash humans scattered about on the rocky ocean floor. As they drew closer to the cave opening he glanced toward the surface.

Beams of light penetrated the water. A click drew his attention, and he glanced at Marcus. The sound was reminiscent of a dolphin and just as loud. It made him smile as they ducked through the opening of the cave and shot toward the surface.

His head cleared the water, and he took a big gulp of air. There were several holes in the ceiling of the cave that let the rising full moon shine inside. Surprisingly it was brighter than he would have thought.

The next several hours they swam in the cave, playing around. Blair laughed helplessly. Not only could Marcus outmaneuver him, he could out-swim him. Of course. He splashed Marcus and found himself pulled underwater.

They play fought, rolling and tussling together in the dark waters. The fins didn’t do him much good. They certainly couldn’t compare to Marcus’ tail. He smiled inwardly. Marcus was very careful with him, always making sure not to keep him under longer than he could tolerate.

During one of their mock battles, Blair lost his swim trunks… which ended up on the beach. Finally, when Marcus sensed Blair was getting hard, he swam toward the beach beckoning Blair to join him. He rested on the beach, still mostly in the water. He reclined on his elbows, his tail flipping lazily as he stared at Blair, a dare clear on his face.

Blair snorted as he joined Marcus on the beach. “What was that look supposed to be?”

Marcus’ tail slashed the water. “What look?”

“That look that said I’m might be scared to join you here on the beach.” Blair traced Marcus’ lips. “I’m not afraid of you.”

Marcus raised a blue eyebrow. “No?”

“No.” Blair shook his head. “You would never hurt me.”

“You’re right. Not only would I never hurt you, I will kill anything that tries to.”

Blair shivered. The honesty and possessiveness in his voice went straight to his cock.

“Want to take a look?” Marcus’ long tail twitched, splashing in the water as a seductive grin crossed his face.

“Fuck yes. I’ve been waiting on this since I laid eyes on you.” Blair scooted down then knelt in the water.

His emotions rose up. How many people, ever, had a chance to do this? God, he didn’t know where to start. Some of the pictures on the Internet were actually pretty close to form.

Marcus was part fish from the waist down. And speaking of his waist, his human form ended around his belly button, which, oddly enough, he did have one. But from there on down nothing else was human.

He reached out but paused. “May I touch?”

“Please do.”

Hesitantly he reached out and laid his hand on Marcus’ stomach. The muscles under his hand jumped, and Blair grinned. He’d stumbled across the fact Marcus was ticklish during one of the many times they made love.

Apparently that still applied in this form, too. He ran his hand from Marcus’ stomach over to his hip, or where Marcus’ hip should’ve been. Instead there were scales, which were silky and smooth. He traced them, surprised at the warmth.

Each scale reminded him of ocean water under his fingertips—glass smooth and calm. The scales shimmered and sparkled like polished sea glass in the clear water. Fascinated, he leaned closer for a better view, his nose practically glued to where Marcus’ hip should be. The fragile scales were molded together, as small as his fingernail.

“Jesus, this is… is… damn, Marcus. I think I actually may be jealous, and I’ve never been jealous in my life. I wish I had one.”

“You might change your mind the first time you had to transform.” Marcus flipped his tail in the water.

“Maybe, but I imagine it would be worth it.” On his knees, Blair moved down Marcus’ tail, trailing his hand over it until he reached the caudal fin, which was forked. He stroked the fin and felt it twitch under his hand. “Can you roll over? I’d like to see the other side of you.”

Marcus flipped over onto his stomach, his tail bending where his knees should have been. Blair ran his hand over where Marcus’ ass would have been if he were in human form.

Marcus hissed. “Even though I don’t have a human ass, I’m still very sensitive there.”

Blair calmly patted him on what he hoped would have been Marcus’ ass and said, “Good to know.”

He explored Marcus’ tail then moved back up his body. He sat down next to him. Even though he was still half in, half out of the water, he lay back. Marcus moved to where he was leaning over Blair, looking down at him.

Blair braced himself on his elbow and threaded one hand through Marcus’ hair, pulling him closer. Their kiss was soft and gentle—nothing more than a teasing of lips and tongue. Small waves washed up against them as they explored each other’s mouth.

With the last kiss Marcus lifted his head. “Ready to go back yet?”

“It’s pretty dark outside now. Do you think it would be safe for us to swim in the ocean?”

“Sure. If that’s what you want.”

“You think, maybe, you could call the dolphins?”

Marcus laughingly tapped Blair on the lips. “Ah, truth comes out. You want me because of my dolphin connection.”

Blair snorted. “Right, that’s the only reason I want you.”

“Well, come on then. Hold on to me, and I’ll have us out of here.”

They surfaced again right as his air began to run out. Marcus called, and a short time later, dolphins did indeed show up. They frolicked in the water together after Marcus introduced Blair to the dolphins.

It was the only way Blair could think to describe the conversation between Marcus and the dolphins that consisted of clicks and whistles. Once the noise stopped the dolphins came to him, and Blair ran his hand over their backs.

Much later, Blair tapped Marcus on the arm. “Hey, my stomach’s growling. Are you ready to eat?”

“More than.” Marcus whistled, and the dolphins answered with a short squeal then disappeared under the water.

“Almost hate to see them go.”

“There’s always tomorrow,” Marcus reminded Blair.

Blair watched the dolphins dart off. Together he and Marcus swam to the boat. “Yup. And I can’t wait.”

Blair climbed the ladder and grabbed a towel as he waited for Marcus to transform. He grabbed a few more towels and then stood by the ladder, waiting. A couple minutes later Marcus climbed up, and Blair held out a towel. “You okay?”

“Yes. It takes a minute to adjust.”

“Come on, then. Let’s get you settled, and I’ll whip us up something to eat. Oh, by the way, I’ve been thinking…”

Marcus snorted. “Yeah?”

“How would you feel about owning a boat?”

Marcus stumbled as he and Blair went below deck.

THE REST of the time left on the boat rental passed entirely too fast. Soon it was time to drive the boat back.

He dreaded what was to come. In the next day or two he would meet Nisha and Kannon, and he wasn’t sure how he felt about that. Well, actually, yes he did. He was terrified. What if they held a grudge for what he did? Brett made it very clear Nisha was considered an Alpha, and Marcus lived in his territory.

What if Nisha kicked Marcus out because he started the mating process with Blair? He clutched the wheel, his knuckles white. Then there was Kannon, Nisha’s mate. Kannon, who used to be human. What if he took a dislike to Blair?

Eventually he got the boat back to where he rented it, filled it up, and signed off on the paperwork to get his deposit back. He’d checked out of Brett’s resort since he’d spent the last two weeks on the water.

He flagged down a taxi, and checked back into the resort, Marcus with him. During one of their conversations Marcus told Blair what he intended to do about converting his money and the paperwork that would make him legal.

They settled in their new room, and Blair went to take a shower. After he was done, he walked out, the towel wrapped around his waist to find Marcus and Brett in the seating area of their small suite. Well Jesus, why hadn’t Marcus told him they had company?

“Well, hello.” Blair glanced at Marcus, unsure exactly what was going on. “Um, is everything okay?”

“Oh yes,” Brett said. “I got word the two of you checked back in. I wanted to stop by and say welcome back.”

“Oh. Okay.” Yeah, this wasn’t uncomfortable at all. “Ah, give me a second to get dressed and I’ll join you.”

“That would be great.”

Blair ducked into the bedroom, pretty sure now this was not a courtesy call. He dressed and quickly rejoined them.

“I was telling Marcus that Nisha and Kannon got back yesterday,” Brett said.

“I see.” Blair sat next to Marcus on the couch. He clasped Marcus’ hand, suddenly needing the reassurance.

“We’re having a gathering at Kannon and Nisha’s tonight at eight o’clock. Nothing fancy, mind you,” Brett said.

“Do we need to bring anything?” Marcus asked.

“No. As I said, this is very informal. Might want to bring your swim trunks, Blair. They have a pool.”

Marcus wrinkled his nose.

“Yes, yes, we all know how you feel about pools, but Blair may want to swim. The rest of us probably will, too,” Brett said.

“I’ll never understand how you can stand the stink of chlorine.” Marcus shrugged. “But nevertheless, we’ll be there. Just not exactly sure how we’ll get there.”

“I can pick you up,” Brett volunteered.

“Okay, thanks,” Marcus said.

Brett stood, gave his goodbyes, and left.

Blair turned to Marcus. “Um, I know you’re not very familiar with human activities, but next time let’s talk about something like this before you accept and commit both of us.”

Marcus patted Blair’s knee. “I would have, but that ‘request’ to join them tonight was more of a demand. Nisha wants to meet you.”

Blair dropped his head into his hands. “Shit.”

“Hey now.” Marcus pulled on Blair’s arm until Blair looked at him. “Whatever’s going on in that head of yours, just stop it. Nisha isn’t a bad guy.”

“Maybe not, but he’s well aware of what I did—how I stood you up and ran. What if he refuses to accept our mating? We’re not fully mated even. What if he kicks you out of your home!”

“Okay, that’s not going to happen. First off, he has no control over whom I mate, so I don’t really give a damn if he accepts you or not. But he is going to accept you, so there’s nothing to worry about there. If he does lose his mind and kicks me out of his territory, it’s not the end of the world. I’ll either claim my own territory or petition to join somebody else’s as I did with Nisha.”

“But that’s your home .”

“You don’t get it, do you? Before I met you, I would’ve agreed that my little underwater cave was home, but now? That simply isn’t true. Home is wherever you are.”

Blair’s lower lip trembled, and his eyes stung. A lone tear snaked down his cheek. “Jesus.”

Marcus leaned closer and calmly licked the tear off of Blair’s cheek. He smacked his lips. “Yum. Salty.”

He scrubbed his hands over his face, his laugh on the soggy side. “You don’t say.”

Marcus winked at Blair. “You know how I like salty things.”

Blair shoved his damp hair out of his face. “You are so bad.”

“Maybe so, but I got you to laugh.” Marcus threw his arm around Blair’s shoulders, suddenly serious. “Look, you’re mine and nobody, and I mean nobody , gets to hurt you. Not while I’m around. Nisha may be my friend, but you are my mate. The fact we’re not fully mated doesn’t affect how I feel for you.”

“I don’t want to be the reason the two of you have a falling out.”

“You won’t be.”

“I hope so.” Blair stood. “We’ve got the better part of the day before we’re due over there, so you want to go eat? Then maybe we could go into town and play tourist?”

Marcus stood. “Sounds good. Do you mind if I borrow more clothes?”

“Of course not.” Blair wrapped his arms around Marcus’ waist and hugged him. “I, um, kind of enjoy seeing you in my clothes.”

“But you enjoy seeing me out of them more, right?” Marcus waggled his eyebrows.

“Absolutely.” Blair stepped back.

“That’s the right answer. Why don’t I go shower, and you throw some clothes on the bed for me to wear.”

“Sounds like a deal.”

After Marcus showered and dressed, they went to Sandals and ate lunch. From there Blair flagged down a taxi, and they went into town.

HOURS LATER they returned to the resort, showered again, and dressed. Brett called and asked them to meet him in the lobby.

“You ready?”

“No, but let’s get going any way.”

Marcus caught Blair by the elbow and pulled him closer. “It’s going to be okay. I promise.”

Blair bit his bottom lip. “You can’t know that.”

“Okay then, how’s this?” Marcus ran his hand up and down Blair’s back. “If you’re uncomfortable at any point while we’re over there, just say so, and we’ll leave.”

Blair stared into Marcus’ eyes. “You would do that for me?”

“Absolutely.”

Brett blew out a deep breath. “Okay, that helps some. Thank you.”

“Don’t thank me for caring about you. You’re my mate, so of course I want you to be happy. Or in this case, relaxed. Like I said—say the word and we’ll be out of there.”

“Okay, okay.” Blair straightened his shirt. “Well, let’s go meet Brett.”

He followed Marcus to the elevators. He’d picked much fancier clothes which Marcus immediately vetoed. He claimed all they needed were shorts and T-shirts, and they’d be good. After a short, heated discussion over what informal meant, Blair finally gave in. These were Marcus’ friends and he knew better than Blair what was appropriate for tonight. All Blair knew for sure was he wanted to make a good impression.

When they got down to the lobby, Brett was waiting for them.

“Hey, where’s Brooke?” Marcus asked, looking around. There were people everywhere, but no, sexy, blue-headed female.

“Something came up with her friend Cora. She’s not going to make it tonight,” Brett said, playing with his truck keys.

Marcus frowned. “Is everything okay?”

“Yeah.” Brett shrugged. “It’s a mermaid thing.”