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CHAPTER TWO

BLAIR LEANED against the railing of a small two-deck boat staring out at the dark waters. The LGBT dinner cruise was packed. Lord knows, he was propositioned more in the past two hours than any one person had the right to be. Regrettably, not one of the men who approached him did a thing for him.

That seemed to be par for the course lately. For crying out loud, he was in his late twenties and his sex drive was in the toilet. Maybe he was in a funk or something. Actually, there was no maybe about it. He hadn’t had sex—outside of his hand—in months.

He sipped his drink and stared out across the ocean as the boat crawled along. At age twenty-two he inherited three million upon his grandmother’s death. God, he still missed her. He loved her more than anything, and even to this day he still ached when he thought of her.

She raised him from age five on after his parents died in a head-on collision. They were having a “date night,” so he’d been left with his grandmother. Otherwise he’d have died, too. He was thankful for the money he’d inherited even if it came with responsibilities.

Well, maybe responsibilities weren’t the right word. It came with a price tag. More times than he cared to count, the men he dated ended up proving they were more interested in his bank account than him. He’d learned to keep his financials quiet.

He’d spent the next two years establishing an online business, which he sold when he turned twenty-four. Having a case of what his grandmother called itchy feet, he decided to travel. Since he’d sold his business, he spent six months backpacking across Europe.

After that, he’d ended up in Africa. He’d stayed with different tribes, and he learned right quick sex without commitment was a no-no. That was enough to put the kibosh on his sexual appetites. Then there was the other thing that happened.

He shoved those thoughts out of his head—he simply wasn’t going to relive that. Not again. Already he’d spent too much time reliving that nightmare. Shaking the dirt of the Dark Continent off his boots never felt so good.

It was a nice moonlit night. So pretty. So serene. A perfect night for lovers. Shit, there he went again. He seriously needed to get laid.

A loud clicking noise from below him caught his attention, and he looked down at the water. “Well, hello.” A dolphin bobbed in the water. It made an odd clicking sound and then disappeared. “Aw, don’t leave.” He leaned against the railing. Hopefully his new friend would come back.

The dolphin popped up again, and this time there were a couple of friends with him.

“I see you have a couple of buddies with you.”

The dolphin made a half-patch squealing noise, his head nodding in a “yes” motion.

“What are you guys up to on a nice night like this? Looking for a bunch of female dolphins?” Blair swore some of the sounds they made were negative. “No? So, if you’re not looking for females, what are you guys up to? Nothing good, I’d bet.”

More squeals and clicks greeted him. The noise they made was entertaining, and he enjoyed watching them play in the water. Who knew their antics could be so relaxing?

He leaned out farther. “You know, maybe I phrased my question all wrong. Maybe I should ask if you are looking for other male dolphins.”

One dolphin waved his tail in the air. Blair snorted, delighted at the dolphin’s antics. There was no way the dolphin could have understood him, no possible way, but it was still funny.

“Sounds like a yes to me. We seem to be in the same boat.” Blair snickered. “So to speak.” Then he sighed. “I hope you guys are having better luck than me.”

How strange. It looked as if they were smiling at him.

“Well, if you’re smiling, I’ll take that as a yes, too. Any advice on attracting someone of the male persuasion? Because I got to tell you guys, nobody’s rang my bell lately. I’m beginning to think my bell is broken.”

Apparently, they found that highly entertaining, if the whistles and screeches were any indication.

“Now y’all wouldn’t laugh at a fellow male, would you? Even if I have two legs and you guys have tails. We’re still all males, right?”

The one that waved his tail at him earlier bobbed in the water nodding at him. Damn, he almost wished he was in the water with them. They were truly fascinating creatures. While researching vacation destinations, he noticed dolphins seem to be very popular with tourists.

The resort he was staying at offered a chance to swim with the animals. He’d discounted it, but maybe he needed to rethink that. The lights from the ship and the bright moonlight enabled him to see the animals pretty well. Yes, he definitely needed to rethink swimming with them. Maybe do some snorkeling, too. He loved the water and couldn’t think of anything more fun.

One of the dolphins launched itself out of the water.

“Whoa now!” He jerked back from the railing.

The dolphin dropped back down into the water, and his cohorts whistled and splashed. Blair, heart thumping madly, pursed his lips. Were they congratulating him on scaring the human? Having a dolphin jump that far out of the water startled him.

Good Lord, what kind of chaos would’ve ensued if it had managed to end up on the deck? He peered back over the railing to see the dolphin laughing up at him. It was as if the damn thing was trying to dare him into the water, but that couldn’t be right. It was just an animal.

He ignored that for a moment, a very brief moment, they’d made eye contact. He could’ve sworn it… He shook his head at the crazy turn his thoughts took. Instead he looked at the drink he held in his hand.

Hmm. Maybe it was a little stronger than he was normally used to? He shrugged. That made just as much sense as him thinking the dolphin threw down a dare. The dolphins swam away from the boat but didn’t go far. Instead they frolicked in the water.

Odd. It was almost as if they were pacing the boat. They would swim away, play around, then dart back to where he stood. Was this normal dolphin behavior? He didn’t know. He didn’t really know that much about them except for they were smart.

They swam back at him, whistling. He swore they were trying to get his attention. They would shake their head, almost as if they were gesturing for him to come on in. Yeah, definitely strange.

But he’d seen things far stranger. He’d traveled, and some of the places he ended up were most definitely off the beaten path. Many things he’d seen couldn’t be explained. Many scared the crap out of him, too. He came back to the States knowing there were beings who were more than human.

He kept those beliefs to himself; otherwise people looked at him as if he was nuts. Of course, being eccentric kind of went with having money—it was almost a requirement. His gaze traveled over the water looking for the dolphins.

He was so glad he came outside. It would’ve been a shame to miss this and… he frowned at the water, then squinted, trying to see better. Beyond the dolphins there was… what was that? His hand tightened on the glass he held. Shit, did someone spike his drink?

But no, that couldn’t be. He didn’t feel odd or sick. He felt totally fine—normal, which wasn’t saying much, but still. So why was he certain there was somebody out there, bobbing in the water?

He hurried up to the very top level of the boat. Up here he could see better. He stared at the spot where he swore he saw… yup. His rational mind told him he was an idiot, but it was kind of hard to ignore what he saw with his eyes. There was somebody out there. In fact, he was so sure of it, he’d bet half his rather fat stock portfolio.

Yes, he was that sure.

What was somebody doing this far out? Could it be a surfer sitting on his board? No, they didn’t seem to be sitting that high out of the water, but it was kind of hard to tell. But a surfer didn’t make sense either. There were no waves right now. So were they in trouble?

He strained his eyes trying to get a better look at whoever was floating around out there. He didn’t think they were in trouble—there was no thrashing or flailing. Most people didn’t drown quietly, right? Plus, whoever it was wasn’t yelling for help. No, they just bobbed in the damn water, not doing anything.

Suddenly the hair on his neck stood up.

He shivered in the tropical night breeze as the eerie feeling of being watched nailed him straight between the shoulder blades. Why hadn’t he noticed how desolated and dark it was here? Go in. Get inside. Now! In! In! In! The primitive side of his brain urged him to get his ass back inside—to get away from the railing. There were people inside. He’d be safe.

And he was hard as a brick, too.

His heart stuttered then commenced pounding. Now, why did he think that? He tried to swallow, but suddenly his mouth was drier than the desert—which was hysterical, considering he was surrounded by nothing but water.

“What the fuck?” Blair whispered.

Then just like that, the figure was gone. Vanished.

Blair actually gasped out loud. A sudden cold sensation overcame him, and he shivered in the warm air. He clutched the railing, his knuckles turning white. Okay, okay, shit. Maybe he was wrong and the person had been in trouble.

Dear God, had he watched someone drown? But no, everything inside him said that wasn’t correct. He didn’t know what the hell he saw, but it wasn’t a drowning. He stood staring out at the water from the railing, searching the waves desperately.

“There’s nothing out there. Maybe it was a trick of the moonlight.” Blair nodded, as if that settled the whole matter. “Moonlight. Nothing but the moonlight. Certainly no person.”

The band picked then to start playing. Blair flinched then glanced back over his shoulder. The boat lurched, he stumbled, and then dropped his drink into the water.

“Oh, come on.” Didn’t that just figure? He wished he never stepped foot on this boat. Now that his breathing calmed somewhat, he began to question his foolish reaction.

Of course there was nothing out there. He’d freaked himself out for nothing. Jeez. Maybe the first thing he needed to do when he got home was visit the eye doctor, because obviously he was seeing things.

As he turned away from the railing, he saw something out of the corner of his eye. His heart rate spiked as he spun back. One of the dolphins whistled. Out there in the distance something answered, a sharp trilling sound. Only the answering trill didn’t sound like the dolphin.

And then even the dolphins disappeared.

As he glared out over the moonlit ocean, he swore he saw a huge tail slap the surface of the water… right where he thought he saw somebody. Exactly where he thought he saw that person. Unnerved, he turned away from the railing. Enough was enough. Time to take his ass back inside… just as soon as he got around the couple standing near him. What now?

“Where the hell did you disappear to, Gerry?”

Blair faltered. A guy and his date were squared off. Oh man, he so did not need to witness something like this. Maybe he could slip past them.

“I went to the bathroom. That’s all I did!”

“For forty-five minutes? Come on, do you think I’m a fucking fool?”

Nope. This he did not need. Seriously. From the way their speech was slurred and they both staggered, they were drunk. On top of that, it appeared their argument was about to go nuclear.

“Fuck you, Nat. I wasn’t gone that long.”

“According to my cell phone, you were.”

Gerry backed away from the big hulking dude he was speaking with. Blair desperately tried to get out of his way, but Gerry’s ankle must have turned or he tripped over air, because the next thing Blair knew the other guy managed to stumble right into him.

Shit. The guy reeked. The alcohol coursing through his system was probably messing with his balance, too. Blair grabbed ahold of him—it was either that or let the guy knock him over, although he seriously considered stepping out of the way.

“Is that him? Is that the dude you were fucking? Is it, Gerry?”

“Whaaat? Who, me? No. No way.” Blair frantically tried to stabilize the other man so he could get his hands off him as quickly as possible. “Look, man, I never laid eyes on him in my life. I’ve been out here the whole time.”

“Bullshit!”

The guy draped himself over Blair. “Hey there, hot stuff,” Gerry slurred, his hands wandering everywhere. “You see that big goof over there? We think he been doing naughty things. I mean, he thinks we been doing naughty things. Wanna? With me?”

“Look, I really don’t want to get in the middle of—hey!” Blair jumped. Shit on a stick, Gerry grabbed a handful of his ass. Was he trying to get him killed? Or was Gerry trying to get his billfold? Was this a setup?

He got his answer when the boyfriend bellowed. Blair cringed. He almost hoped Gerry was trying to pick his pocket since Nat, Gerry’s boyfriend, was five inches taller and probably had a good thirty pounds on Blair. This was not going to end well.

“Fucking whore!” Nat yelled taking a step toward them.

“Whore? Whore ? Maybe if you didn’t take so many steroids all the time I wouldn’t be left hanging.” Gerry snuggled closer. “I bet he knows how to treat his guy.” He batted his eyes. “Don’t you, sexy?”

“Oh shit.” Blair flinched.

The crazy asshole insulted his monstrosity of a boyfriend’s sexual prowess. Yup, things just went nuclear. Nat bellowed again and raced toward them as Gerry squeaked and unstuck himself from Blair.

He was so dead.