Page 5

CHAPTER FIVE

MARCUS WATCHED Blair from the cover of the jungle until he was out of sight. That certainly went better than he expected. He well remembered the pitfalls Nisha experienced when he told Kannon. Kannon had been furious, but then, Nisha did things he shouldn’t have. At least Marcus hadn’t started the mating ritual within moments of meeting Blair like Nisha did with Kannon.

And speaking of Nisha, he was in desperate need of his friend’s help. He debated returning to Nisha’s aboveground dwelling, but decided against it. He didn’t like being on land. Besides, tomorrow was soon enough. He gulped as a tremor raced through his body. Shit. It appeared a mate was in the cards after all.

He made his way back to the cove, stripped, and returned to the ocean.

THE NEXT morning, he stood on Nisha’s doorstep banging on the door.

“Hold on!”

Marcus smiled at the grumpiness in Nisha’s voice, but he made sure to wipe the smile off his face when Nisha jerked the door open. “Good morning.”

“Good morning? What’s good about it? You have any idea what time it is?” Nisha leaned against the doorframe dressed in low-slung boxers, glaring at Marcus.

“You haven’t had your morning cup of coffee yet, have you?” Marcus guessed.

“No, but I’m in the process of rectifying that right now,” Kannon called from farther inside the bungalow. “Nisha, let him in, and for God’s sake, quit glaring at him. It’s too early in the damn morning for that.”

“And an impressive glare it is, too.” Marcus smirked.

“I had plans for this morning, just wanted you to know,” Nisha griped, still not moving out of the doorway. “You’re cock blocking me.”

“Look at you picking up human slang!” Marcus wiped an imaginary tear from his eye. “I’m so proud.”

Nisha growled at Marcus.

“Okay, I understand the impressive glare now, but seriously, how often do I show up on your doorstep unannounced?”

“Which is the only reason why I’m not kicking your ass back to the ocean.” Nisha moved out of the doorway. “Come in.”

“Why, thank you. I think I will.”

Nisha scrubbed his hands over his face. “Too early. Entirely too early in the morning to be dealing with you without coffee. Come on.”

Marcus followed Nisha to the kitchen, enjoying the breeze from the open windows. “Good morning, Kannon. Sorry to drop by on you unannounced.”

“No problem. It’s not as if you drop by just to talk.” Kannon waved a hand at the kitchen table. “Have a seat. Have you had breakfast?”

“I’ve already eaten, but thank you. I wouldn’t mind a cup of coffee, though.”

Kannon was dressed in boxers like Nisha.

“Cream? Sugar?” Kannon asked.

“Yes, please.”

“Stuff is over there by the coffee maker. Help yourself.” Kannon handed him a cup of coffee.

A few seconds later Marcus finished doctoring his coffee and sat at the table. Nisha and Kannon joined him.

“Okay, what’s up?” Nisha asked. “Did something happen last night in my territory—”

“Yes and no, but nothing bad,” Marcus answered.

Nisha claimed the entire island as his. Which wasn’t unusual, but it was a vast area. Because it was so big, Nisha allowed other merfolk in his territory on the condition they swear loyalty to him. In return for allowing those mers to stay there, he offered his protection to them. They, in turn, either helped guard it or performed other services. Marcus was one of the ones who was a guard—or a warrior.

“That’s about as clear as cephalopod ink,” Nisha said.

Kannon snorted.

“Yes, well, it’s been that kind of day.” Marcus launched into his story, quickly explaining how he decided to swim with the pod of dolphins, then seeing the dinner cruise, and how a human fell overboard. “I decided to help.”

Nisha squinted at him. “Wait. You… what? You helped that human?”

“Well, yes.”

Nisha blinked at him. “And you were in your human form, correct?”

Marcus toyed with the coffee cup. “Um, no.”

Nisha carefully set his coffee back on the table. “Excuse me?”

Oh, he hated that arrogant, know-it-all tone of Nisha’s. “I was swimming with the dolphins. Of course I wasn’t in my human form.”

“Let me see if I have this straight. The human fell overboard and you decided to—what? Help out of the goodness of your heart? Get involved in a situation that had absolutely nothing to do with you? Reveal yourself to someone who has no business knowing about us? Is that what I’m hearing?” Nisha demanded.

Kannon cleared his throat. “Hold on, Nisha. We’re missing something here. Isn’t that right, Marcus? I mean, granted, I don’t know you that well, but I know the only time you have anything to do with humans is when you’re looking for sex.”

“I’m more worried about the fact he got involved with the human while in his mer form . Dammit, Marcus.” Nisha massaged his temples. “What were you thinking? You know you’re not supposed to—”

Kannon shook his head. “I’m telling you, there’s something fishy here.”

Marcus glanced at Kannon. “Ironic wording, wouldn’t you say?”

“Marcus!” Nisha growled. “Stop ignoring me. We need to address the situation with this human. Did he see you? Where is he? Did he threaten you? Do we need to make him disappear?”

“Over my dead body,” Marcus snapped.

“Good God, it’s as obvious as the blue hair on your head something’s going on here,” Kannon said.

“What’s going on is he exposed us,” Nisha said to Kannon. He turned back to Marcus. “What did you do with him? I can’t believe you did this. You’re usually one of my most levelheaded—”

“Sardonic,” Kannon added.

“You’re not helping,” Nisha snapped at Kannon.

Kannon poked Nisha in the shoulder. “Unless you want to sleep on the couch, I suggest you tread carefully. You’re not listening to him,” Kannon stressed. “I’m telling you, there’s more to this than—”

“The human is my mate.” Marcus sat back.

“ What ?” Kannon gasped.

“ What !” Nisha exclaimed.

Both Nisha and Kannon sat stunned, staring at him. Now that they were both finally quiet, maybe he could get a word in edgewise. “I said, the human is my mate. I noticed his scent before he fell into the water. That’s the main reason I didn’t swim away from the boat. I was still deciding what to do when he went overboard, and I couldn’t leave him out there in the water.”

Kannon patted Marcus’ hand with his own. “That had to have been truly terrifying.”

“The boat wasn’t that tall. It was a two decker, though, and he fell from the top deck.”

“What happened after he hit the water?” Kannon asked.

“Like I said, I couldn’t leave, so I went to help.” Marcus shrugged. “I took him back to one of the closer caves we use. I thought he was unconscious, but apparently he wasn’t. He told me later he was more stunned due to the impact with the water. Anyway, I started to transform—”

“Oh man,” Kannon said.

Marcus frowned at his coffee. “Yeah. I was already questioning what I’d done. At the time it seemed like a good idea but… The next thing I know as soon as the transformation is complete he’s asking me what the hell I am.”

Nisha growled. “He saw you?”

“Unfortunately, yes.”

Kannon sipped his coffee while they all digested that piece of information. “Well, that’s… definitely unfortunate.”

“I’ll say.” Nisha sighed. “What happened then?”

“Right the opposite of what you’d expected, I bet. It appears my human—whose name is Blair, by the way—has done some extensive traveling in Africa and backpacked across Europe.”

“Wait. Africa?” Kannon asked. “Europe, too?”

“Yes,” Marcus said. “Two years’ worth of time in Africa, I believe he said.”

Kannon scowled. “How old is this guy?”

“Um, I didn’t ask, but by his appearance I’d say middle to late twenties,” Marcus said.

“That means he must’ve been pretty young when he did all of this.” Kannon rubbed absently at one of his temples. “That tells me he’s either lying or has money.”

“I don’t think he’s lying.” Marcus repeated the story Blair told him.

“Interesting,” Kannon said once Marcus was through speaking. “That certainly doesn’t sound like he’s lying about his time over there, although it does beg the question of where the money came from. Is this guy rich?”

Marcus shrugged. “I have no idea. Also don’t really have any idea of what you’d consider rich either. I make a little money selling my artwork and jewelry to the local shops. It’s not much, but then, I don’t need much.”

“Does it matter if he has money or not?” Nisha asked.

Kannon sipped his coffee. “It might in the sense that if he’s a multimillionaire—which I can’t imagine how he could be at his age—his name would be well-known. If he is indeed Marcus’ mate—”

“I think I would know if he’s my mate or not—”

“If he is, ” Kannon continued, “it’s going to be really hard for him to just up and disappear.”

“You didn’t disappear,” Marcus pointed out.

“No, I didn’t. But Nisha’s okay with spending part of his time on land. You rarely come ashore. That could seriously be a problem.” Kannon then looked at Nisha. “Anyway, on another note… I guess that answers the question of whether you guys are the only non-humans around. A jaguar shifter. I’d loved to have seen that.”

“I don’t know that you would. From what Blair said, it was a frightening experience.” Marcus remembered how Blair’s voice trembled. That shifter wanted to claim Blair, and that sent a jealous rage burning through him. The idea of someone, or something, claiming what was his infuriated him.

“So he handled knowing what you are without freaking out.” Nisha pursed his lips. “That’s good. That’s really good and one less worry. I’m assuming you haven’t tackled the subject of who he is to you yet, have you?”

“No. I figured I’d already dumped one life-altering event in his lap, it might be better to wait on the other one.” Marcus sipped his coffee again. “Which brings me to exactly why I showed up on your doorstep this morning. It wasn’t because I needed to tell you I found my mate.”

Kannon elbowed Nisha. “Right. The mate you said you never wanted. Wasn’t that you? Weren’t you the one who said he was never getting mated? Never.”

Marcus glared at Kannon. “Shut up.”

Kannon flashed Marcus an evil smile and hummed the wedding march under his breath.

“Can you do something with him?” Marcus pleaded to Nisha.

“I’ve already been threatened with the couch once in this conversation.” Nisha shrugged. “You’re on your own.”

“Will you please stop that infernal sound?” Marcus ordered.

Kannon hooted. “Oh, that’s funny considering some of the sounds I’ve heard coming out of you guys.”

“I’m ignoring you.” Marcus informed Kannon before turning his attention to Nisha. “Anyway, Blair’s my mate. And… I might’ve asked him out on a date for tonight.”

Both Nisha and Kannon blinked. Finally, Nisha spoke. “O-okay. Not sure why you seem so hesitant. Where are you taking him?”

“Sandals. It just so happens Blair is staying at Brett’s resort.”

“That’s good,” Kannon said. “I’ll get in contact with Brett and get you guys a nice table in an out-of-the-way spot for tonight. Well, I would if I wasn’t being ignored.”

Marcus relented and finally looked at Kannon. “You’re enjoying this, aren’t you?”

“Oh yeah.” Kannon smiled. “You better believe it.”

Marcus released the most put upon sigh he could muster. “Fine! I’m not ignoring you. There. Happy?”

“Hmm, could’ve used a little bit more of abject misery in that, but fine. I’ll call Brett,” Kannon said.

“Thank you. I appreciate that. But that still isn’t why I’m here,” Marcus said.

“Stop dragging it out and tell us already,” Nisha said.

“I don’t… I need something to wear tonight.” Marcus wrinkled his nose. “Something appropriate.”

Kannon snickered. “Hmm, is now a good time to point out if you had an aboveground dwelling—”

“I’m never having an aboveground dwelling.”

“Un-huh, keep telling yourself that. For right now let’s focus on your clothing, or the lack thereof.” Kannon scratched his head. “What do you do when you go trolling?”

“Huh?”

“Oh, good grief.”

“What?”

“When you’re out looking to dip your wick. Wanting to bump uglies. You know… do the horizontal hula? Playing on all fours. Sinking the sausage. Bedroom rodeo.”

“Are you even speaking English?” asked Marcus asked, bewildered.

“Jesus. When you’re looking for someone to fuck. Is that plain enough for you?” Kannon demanded.

“You’re a very strange individual, do you know that?” Marcus asked.

“Me? Oh that’s funny.”

“I’m never going to spend much time on land, but if I’m looking for a hookup I normally wear shorts, a T-shirt, and sandals. It’s not as if I’m going to be in my clothes for long. But this is different. I’d like to look a bit nicer than usual.”

Kannon clamped his hand over his mouth and snickered.

Marcus glared at him again. Oh yes, Kannon was having entirely too much fun at his expense. This was probably payback for him poking fun at Kannon shortly after Kannon found out about Nisha and Brett.

“Come on, then. Let’s go see what I have,” Nisha said.

Marcus gulped his coffee then stood. Nisha joined him, and of course, Kannon did too. Marcus’ sigh could’ve felled trees. “You’re not really needed, you know that, right?”

Kannon, grinning, rubbed his hands together gleefully. “I wouldn’t miss this for all the coffee in the world.”

“Lovely.” Yup, Kannon was having too much fun with this.

“Both of you behave.” Nisha picked up his coffee but paused. “This is why I said you need an aboveground dwelling, Marcus. Fortunately, we’re pretty close to the same height and weight so you’re welcome to whatever you find.”

Kannon winked. “And since I’ve been buying his clothes lately, the quality is much better.”

Nisha kissed Kannon on the cheek. “Just exactly what are you trying to say?”

“Nothing much, except I have a better eye than you do.”

“Uh-huh. And it has nothing to do with the fact that Brooke is usually with you when you guys go on one of your shopping sprees, now does it?”

“Oh, absolutely it does. That’s one mermaid who has a fine eye toward clothing,” Kannon agreed as they walked into their bedroom. Nisha opened his side of the closet.

“Shoot me now.” He couldn’t escape the feeling he needed something more substantial than caffeine to get through this.

“Sorry, no. Wouldn’t want to damage the new threads I bought Nisha,” Kannon said. “Okay, we want something nice, but not too dressy. Hmmm.”

“How about this?” Nisha held up a blue silk shirt.

“Huh, wonder how that got in there. That’s actually mine. It’s too much blue with the blue hair and the blue eyes you guys have, but…” Kannon fingered the shirt. “How about…” Kannon flipped through several shirts. “Yeah, here we go.”

Nisha took the silky black short-sleeved shirt. “Ah yes. I like this one.”

“Me, too.” Kannon winked at his mate.

“Spare me,” Marcus begged.

“I’m going to need this back, just so you know.” Nisha laid the shirt on the bed.

“Okay, now for the pants. Hmm, where are those… yes! Here we go.” Kannon pulled out a pair of nice light gray pants. “Perfect. Do you guys wear the same sized shoes?”

Nisha took the pants and laid them on the bed along with the shirt.

“I don’t know.” Marcus looked down at his feet then at Nisha’s. “I’m not terribly fond of shoes.”

“Me neither,” Nisha said.

“I’m aware.” Kannon shook his head as he hunted for dress shoes in the bottom of Nisha’s closet. “Okay, good.” Kannon held up nice black dress shoes.

“Oh, I remember those. They don’t feel too bad,” Nisha said.

Kannon handed the shoes to Marcus. “Let me get you a pair of dress socks to go with those, then you need to try them to see if they fit.”

“What if they don’t?” Nisha asked.

“We’ll worry about that bridge when we get to it,” Kannon said. “Hopefully they’ll fit.”

Marcus sat on the edge of the bed, slipped on the dress socks, and tried on the shoes.

“Well?” Kannon asked.

Marcus stood and took a couple steps. “They’re weird.”

“Okay, what do you mean by that?”

“I mean they’re weird. They feel weird.”

Kannon dropped to his knees and pushed at the top of the shoe. “Hmm, your toe is right at the end, but that’s good. That’s what should be. They don’t look to be too small. I think they’re fine.”

Nisha’s low sexy growl drifted across the bedroom.

Kannon and Marcus looked at Nisha.

“I do love seeing you on your knees, mate,” Nisha spoke softly. “Just not sure I like seeing you at someone else’s feet.”

Marcus coughed and stepped back.

Kannon shook his head. “All I’m checking out is the shoe size, mate. Put a cork in it.”

“How about a butt plug?” Nisha mumbled under his breath.

Marcus’ cough suddenly became very strained as Kannon turned an interesting shade of red. It was one of the things he noticed about Kannon. Since his hair was auburn and he was fair complexioned, he blushed easily. Nisha made it his mission in life to keep his mate an appealing shade of red.

“TMI,” Marcus muttered, because seriously? He did not need to know that. “Back to these infernal shoes. I guess they feel funny because I’m not used to wearing them.”

“Most likely.” Kannon stood after shooting Nisha a very interesting look. “But they’re good quality and extremely soft. I think you’ll get used to them.” Kannon waved his hands at the clothes on the bed. “Why don’t you try those on? Nisha and I will wait for you in the kitchen.”

Marcus nodded. “Yes, I guess I should make sure they fit. Do you want me to come in there after I’m dressed?”

“Yes. I need to make sure they fit correctly. If they don’t, we may have to go on a quick shopping trip,” Kannon tossed over his shoulder as he walked out of the room. “Shoot. Also need to call Brett, too. Get a move on, Marcus!”

Marcus cringed. Shopping? He prayed such a horror didn’t await him.