Page 6

CHAPTER SIX

THE FIRST thing Blair did that morning was buy a new cell phone and then stop by Sandals for a late breakfast. The restaurant wasn’t too crowded considering how late in the morning it was. Last night, when he finally arrived at the resort, he walked into the chaos he knew waited for him. It took hours to get everything settled.

No one seemed able to understand how the dinner cruise staff could’ve missed him floating out there in the water. The other thing stumping the police was why it took him so long to return to the resort.

Blair didn’t have a reasonable excuse for his absence. Deciding it was easiest to stick with the truth—as much as he could—he simply said he’d been stunned when he hit the water, but things were vague. He went on to say that by the time he managed to swim to shore, he was lost and confused.

It certainly sounded better than saying a merman rescued him, took him to a cave, and flirted with him. And, oh yes, they had a date tonight. They’d probably whisk him off to the nearest hospital to have his head x-rayed.

No charges were filed against the guy who ran into him while he was still on the boat, although the police asked him several times if he was sure he didn’t wish to do anything. He reassured them he didn’t.

The guy had rushed him, but he’d also been drunk. And furious. Never a good combination. Blair really didn’t think he meant to knock him overboard. Beat the crap out of him? Possibly. But try and kill him? Probably not.

Then things got very interesting after the police left. The owner of the resort, Brett Navarro, introduced himself. Blair wasn’t surprised to know the owner researched him and knew he had money.

After Blair repeatedly reassured Brett he was fine, and no, he didn’t need anything, he finally managed to return to his room. There was something about Brett that sent his nerves dancing and left the hair on the back of his neck standing up. He had no idea why. Brett didn’t feel threatening. He felt… different.

There was also the possibility he was overreacting considering he met a creature who he had thought didn’t exist last night. Good enough reason for his nerves to be on high alert today. But then again, after spending entirely too much time in the rainforests of Africa, he learned to trust his gut.

And his gut said something was off with Brett.

“Good morning. Do you mind if I join you?”

Speak of the devil. “Of course not.” Blair waved at the seat across from him. “And good morning to you too.”

Brett sat down. “Thank you for letting me join you. I hate to interrupt your breakfast, but I saw you sitting here and wanted to check on you again.”

“I appreciate that, but I really am okay. Last night was— exhilarating, fascinating, thrilling — unsettling, but I bear no ill effects from it.”

“I’m glad to hear that.”

Good. So why are you here? For the life of him, Blair couldn’t figure out why the owner of the resort sat across from him. Blair might have money, but he certainly didn’t move in the same circles as this guy did. “So…?”

“So what am I doing here, you must be wondering.” Brett suddenly smiled, his white teeth flashing in his darkly tanned face.

“I have to admit, the thought crossed my mind, yes.”

“Well then, let me share with you this interesting thing that happened this morning. You see, my best friend lives on this island. He called me with a very… unusual request. One I can promise you I never saw coming in a million years.”

“Oh yeah?”

“Yes. My friend, Kannon, asked me to reserve an out-of-the-way spot for Marcus and you for tonight.”

Blair shifted in his seat. Surely not. “I see.”

“I wonder, do you?” Brett asked quietly.

“Probably not, but this isn’t the first time I’ve been thrown into the deep end of the pool. I know how to swim.” Blair calmly put his coffee down. Things kept getting weirder. “What are you?” Blair asked just as quietly.

“Interesting choice of words. Are you finished eating?”

“It appears so. Why?”

Brett’s smile was all teeth. “Can I interest you in joining me for a walk?”

Blair shrugged mentally. Why the hell not? There was something going on, but he didn’t sense a threat from Brett. At least, not a threat toward him. “Sure. Just let me pay—”

Brett waved his hand and caught someone’s attention. A server hurried over to him. “My treat.”

Blair hiked an eyebrow but didn’t say anything until after the bill was taken care of. He took one last sip of his coffee. “You must know I am more than capable of paying for my meals.”

“Oh yes, I thoroughly checked you out. But as I said, my treat. Shall we?” Brett stood.

Blair stood also. “Lead on.”

He followed Brett outside and away from the resort. Slowly they made their way toward the jungle. Blair noticed how isolated they were, which was probably good, considering Brett obviously wanted to speak to him. It was also a little unnerving. It was really isolated.

“I guess the first thing I should say is they rarely let humans know of their existence. It’s against their rules. From what I’ve read on you, you seem like an intelligent man, so I’m sure you can figure out why they’re so careful.”

“Yes.” Blair didn’t say anything else.

“The Islanders know what they are, of course. The natives were here long before the white man stepped foot on their shores. They jealously guard the merfolk’s secret, too. I should also point out they don’t think like humans. Their morals, value system…” Brett waved his hand aimlessly. “Their concepts are completely different from what you’re used to. You need to be aware of that.”

Blair slipped a hair tie off his wrist and pulled his hair back. Here in the jungle it was much more humid. “Okay, that’s at least the third time you’ve use the word ‘human.’ You speak as if you aren’t. Human, that is.”

“I’m not.”

Blair nodded. A chill raced across his skin. It certainly explained why Brett made his nerves jangle. “Then what are you?”

“I’m… I guess hybrid would be a good description. I’m not a full-blooded merman. I can’t transform like they do.”

Blair wrinkled his nose. “Yeah, about that. I saw Marcus changing.”

Brett cringed. “Not the best introduction to them.”

“Yes, it was something out of a horror movie. He was in pain.” That was putting it rather simply. There was no blood involved, and he still wasn’t sure how that could be. When something tore in half… Well. There was usually blood.

“Yes. It’s painful, but the pain doesn’t last long. At least that’s what I understand.”

“Okay, again… how do you know all this?”

Brett sighed. “I’m mated to a mer, and when I say mated I’m not talking about being buddies. She’s my everything, and I love her. I’d do anything for her, including becoming what I am now. Mating is a soul deep commitment and… I don’t have words to explain how important she is to me. We’ve been together for several years now, and her name is Brooke. She is also legally my wife.”

“I see.” He did. He was beginning to see a lot of things. They continued slowly walking until finally Blair spoke again. “And your best friend?”

“Kannon is mated to Brooke’s brother. His name is Nisha. They’ve been mated for a year.”

“And how does Marcus fit into this?” Blair asked.

“The easiest way to explain it is to say Marcus is like a security guard. And yes, males stake out territory. The more powerful the merman, the bigger region he has. Nisha’s is the entire island.”

“Females don’t have territories?”

“None that I know of. Now, what goes on elsewhere in the world, I have no idea.”

“Wow. In the world. That’s…”

“Scary?”

“I was going to say unbelievably fantastic.”

“It is. It really is.”

“It sounds as if they might follow the same principles as wolves.” Now wasn’t that interesting? “Is Nisha the Alpha? Do they have betas and so on and so forth? Omegas?”

“No. There are no titles. Nisha isn’t called Alpha. He’s just… Nisha. He’s the dominant male. Nisha allows certain males in his area, that’s true, but those males are not as powerful as him. Or else those males haven’t struck out on their own yet. Some are mated too and don’t want the responsibility of maintaining a region.”

“Fascinating.”

“I’m not really sure why Marcus is still in Nisha’s territory, outside the fact they’re very good friends. A course, now that he’s found you, his mate, that may change.”

Brett’s heart stuttered then launched into a hard, pounding beat. Mate. Brett called him mate. Holy shit. After listening to the explanation of what a mate was, his heart tried to crawl out of his throat. Shit. Shit . Wasn’t it funny Marcus neglected to tell him that last night?

“Anyway, back to tonight. Marcus doesn’t spend a lot of time on land, so he went to Kannon and Nisha for help on your date. He really wants to do something special for you. Kannon called me, so I reserved you two a special spot at the restaurant.”

“I see. That’s very sweet, thank you.”

“Sweet?” Brett came to a stop. “I want to make something perfectly clear. I’m not sweet. I’m very protective about these guys. I consider them my family.”

“I… okay.” Blair held up his hands palms out in the universal sign for “hold up” or “calm down.” “Sorry. I didn’t mean to sound insulting.”

“You didn’t,” Brett huffed. “I didn’t mean to come off as overbearing, but you’re handling this remarkably well. Too well. I freaked out, and so did Kannon.”

“I’m neither you nor your friend,” Blair pointed out.

“I understand, but I still say you’re handling this too calmly.”

“Would it make you feel better if I ran around, waving my hands in the air, and screaming bloody murder? Sorry. I got all that out of my system in Africa. While I find Marcus fascinating and attractive, he’s done nothing to scare me.”

“He wouldn’t. Of course he wouldn’t. You are his mate.”

Blair’s heart thudded hard once more. “Yes, well, that jaguar shifter… he, he… I hate to call him animalistic, but it describes him, and not because he changed into and out of an animal. He was primitive, but I don’t mean in the sense of being uncivilized. He was a predator and wasn’t nearly as considerate as Marcus has been to me.”

“Don’t fool yourself; Marcus is a predator, too. They all are. But he’d never hurt you.”

“No, I don’t think he would. I’m trying to explain to you why I’m not in the middle of a complete meltdown.”

Brett stared. “Hmm. The information I found on you said you’ve been on your own for quite a while.”

Blair shrugged. It didn’t take much digging to find that. “That’s true.”

“That’ll certainly make somebody grow up in a hurry, wouldn’t it?”

“Yes. Look, I don’t want to be offensive, but what are we doing here?” Blair waved at the two of them standing out there in the middle the jungle. “You trying to warn me away or warning me of what I’m getting into?”

“I’m giving you a heads up. Both Kannon and I were plunked down in the middle of this new life we found ourselves in with little to no warning. Neither one of us reacted well.” Brett ran a hand through his hair. “I guess I’m trying to spare you the same anguish we went through.”

“Anguish?” Blair nibbled his lip. That sounded rather extreme. “It was really that bad?”

“Any time you have emotions involved, it can get messy. That’s all I’m going to say. Oh, and I’m also going to add I consider Marcus a friend. Don’t hurt him.”

Blair shivered slightly in the warm tropical air. “What about me? Shouldn’t somebody be warning him not to hurt me?”

“He’d rather die than hurt you.” Suddenly Brett sighed. “But that doesn’t mean you won’t end up getting hurt regardless. No matter how good the intentions, things can still go wrong. Just… trust in him. And yourself. He wasn’t expecting this anymore than you were.”

“That’s oddly… deep.” Blair patted Brett on the shoulder. “He’s stumbling around, too? Excellent. If I’m going to be fumbling around here in the dark, the least he can do is join me.”

Brett snorted. “I think I’m going to like you. Ready to head back?”

“Absolutely. I’ve spent a little bit more time in this jungle than I wanted to.”

Blair was relieved to see the conversation heading back was not quite as heavy. Once they left the jungle, he followed Brett back to the resort.

“Okay, I’m going to leave you here. Oh, listen. Tonight, when you get here, give the receptionist your name. She’ll escort you back.”

“Thank you.”

“Oh, my pleasure.” Brett snickered. “Absolutely my pleasure. Hope you enjoy yourself. See you later.”

Blair was pretty sure that “absolutely my pleasure” meant something, but he wasn’t sure what. He checked his cell and was surprised to see close to two hours had passed. The whole day stretched in front of him, but he hadn’t planned anything. He pursed his lips. The pool did look rather inviting.

Mind made up, he returned to his room. He’d kill little time at the pool, maybe eat lunch out there, and then grab a nap before tonight… all while trying to figure out what the hell he going to do with the little bomb Brett dropped about him and Marcus being mates.

Satisfied with that, he changed clothes. Slipping on his sandals, he grabbed a towel and his room key before heading back down to the pool. He found a nice spot where he could sunbathe and lay down.

Wonder what Marcus is doing?