Page 7

CHAPTER SEVEN

WONDER WHAT Blair’s doing?

Marcus bet it was more pleasant than the activity he was currently involved in. After he tried on the borrowed clothes, he returned to the kitchen and stood silently while both Kannon and Nisha checked him over.

“Not exactly a perfect fit, but close. These will work.” Kannon checked the waist of the pants Marcus wore.

“Stop that.” Marcus swatted Kannon’s hand.

“Just checking to see how much give there is.”

“I’m good. Seriously. I don’t particularly like clothes, but if I have to wear them, these are fine.” Marcus took a breath and threw himself off the cliff. “All right, how do I look?”

“Wasn’t there a show called that?” Kannon mused.

“I have no idea what that means, and I don’t want to know. Just tell me if I pass.”

“One day we simply must introduce you to the joys of television.” Kannon studied Marcus, tapping one finger against his lips. “Hmm, I have to say you do clean up rather well. You’re going to knock his socks off. Now, why don’t you come over this afternoon before your date so you can shower here?”

Marcus grimaced. Yet another thing he didn’t consider.

“Oh, and what are you going to do with your hair?” Kannon continued.

“Excuse me?” He didn’t understand the question. What was Kannon talking about now? It was hair. It was on his head. What more was there? What exactly did Kannon mean do with it?

Kannon waved his hand at Marcus’ head. “How are you going to fix it for tonight?”

Marcus opened his mouth then closed it. “Wash it and dry it?” Hopefully that was the correct answer.

“Good lord.” Kannon rubbed the bridge of his nose. “Have you ever had your hair professionally cut?”

“I don’t know what that means .” Aggravated, Marcus turned to Nisha. Maybe his friend could help him out… like out the back door. “Nisha?”

“What my mate is asking is if you’ve ever gone to somebody on land and paid money to have them cut your hair,” Nisha replied.

Marcus stood in the kitchen staring blankly at Nisha. “You must be kidding me. Why pay somebody to cut my hair when I can use a knife?”

Kannon’s eyes widened, and he blinked. “A knife. And you’re asking if I’m kidding?”

Suddenly it was all too much. The walls closed in on him. He couldn’t do this. Shaking his head frantically, he backed up. What in the world was he thinking? His home was in the ocean, not the land, and all of this was… was…

“I can’t. I…” He bumped into one of the cabinets and came to a halt, still shaking his head.

Nisha crossed over to where Marcus managed to corner himself. “Easy now.” Nisha laid a hand own Marcus’ arm. “Breathe.”

“I can’t do this.” Marcus dropped his head and stared at the floor, even though Nisha’s gaze drilled into him.

“You most certainly can. And you know why?”

Marcus shook his head, the movement sharp and abrupt.

“You will do this because Blair’s your mate, a mate who happens to be human. You will do this because no matter how uncomfortable you are now, in the end it’ll be worth it. You will do this because for as long as I’ve known you, I’ve never known you to back down from a challenge. That’s all this is. A challenge.”

Marcus lifted his head and swallowed. He stared back at Nisha, the assurance Marcus needed so badly in that gaze. Nisha thought he could do this. Nisha believed in him.

“Remember this feeling, Marcus, because I promise you if things go as you wish, your mate will soon be experiencing the same thing,” Nisha said.

“You might feel like a fish out of water now—”

Marcus rolled his eyes but chuckled nevertheless. Leave it to Kannon.

“But keep in mind you, as a person, aren’t going to be changed.” Kannon’s light, easy tone dropped away and suddenly he was serious. “You may be uncomfortable on land, but Blair is going to be subjected to something far more stressful once you bite and mate with him. His basic makeup is going to change so he can also become a creature of the water.”

“He’s right,” Nisha added. “Something we, as merfolk, never think of.”

“ You will still be yourself, but Blair’s going to be transformed into something completely new,” Kannon continued. “Don’t you think a little bit of the uncomfortableness you’re feeling now is worth that, considering what he’ll do for you?”

Marcus stood tall and squared his shoulders. They were both right, and his moment of self-doubt vanished. Kannon, in particular, knew of which he spoke. What was Marcus sacrificing? A couple of uncomfortable hours on land, in a restaurant, surrounded by other humans? Wearing clothes that were borrowed? That even to get ready for the date he needed Nisha and Kannon?

In the long run, that was nothing. If Blair accepted him and his way of life, Blair would give up far more. Marcus had stated, quite venomously, he couldn’t live on land. But was he going to ask Blair to live in the ocean with him and give up all he knew? Did he really have that right?

Suddenly he saw how selfish his expectations were. What right did he have asking Blair to make all the adjustments in this relationship? None.

“You’re right. You’re absolutely right.”

Nisha patted him on the arm, then stepped back giving him a little room. “We ask a lot of our humans. They’re strong, our half-human mates, and I firmly believe they’re our mates because of that strength.”

Kannon hip-checked Nisha on his way to the sink. “Got that right. We have to be in order to put up with some of the things you guys do.”

Nisha followed Kannon to the sink, scowling. “What exactly does that mean?”

Kannon stepped back so he could look around Nisha at Marcus. “I’ve been meaning to ask you, you know the powder you guys use that’s made from fish—oh, you know the one? That powder which makes you aware but unable to move? I’ve been wondering if maybe I could get my hands on some of—”

Nisha growled playfully, picked Kannon up, and tossed him over his shoulder. He swatted Kannon’s ass as he headed outside toward the pool. “I don’t think so.”

Kannon laughed hysterically as he kicked, playfully pounding Nisha’s lower back. “Oh my God, what is it with you throwing me in the—”

Marcus stayed by the counter, watching out of the kitchen window as Nisha carried Kannon outside and promptly tossed him in their pool. Personally, he agreed with Kannon. What was Nisha’s deal with throwing his mate in all that nasty chlorine water? Although he did enjoy the spitting and stuttering Kannon did when he surfaced.

Then there was another splash. Marcus bet Nisha joined Kannon in the pool. Deciding to leave his two friends to it, he wandered back into the bedroom and changed out of the borrowed clothes. As he laid them out on the bed, he heard a quiet moan and slap of a tail against water through one of the bedroom windows.

He redressed and slipped out of the bungalow so he wouldn’t disturb Kannon and Nisha. As he walked toward the ocean, he wondered if he could make love to Blair in his merman form. It was something he had never done.

Taking his time, he strolled down the beach looking for shells and other things to use for the jewelry he made. The things he collected he took back to a certain underwater cave he claimed as his. The cave was part of a cliff projecting into the sea.

The part above the water boasted a soaring ceiling of mossy rock. It opened to the jungle. The sandy beach knew only his footsteps. Speleothems drooped eerily from the ceilings like icicles or emerged from the floor. The water was the clearest of blues.

The cliff’s pathway wound through the densest part of the jungle, and it hadn’t been cleared of brush. It was literally nothing more than a beaten path. The natives were the only ones brave enough to walk into the unexplored part of the jungle and skirt the narrow path along the cliff. And they certainly had no reason to.

Marcus didn’t worry about humans finding his place because what pathway there was—was next to none. The jungle had all but reclaimed it, and unless you knew where it was, it was hard to find. There he had the barest of essentials for his time in human form.

He had some clothes, a lantern for light at night if needed, and a long table he used to assemble his crafts. The tools he needed he’d bought with the money he made from the sale of his art. As he walked his thoughts returned to Kannon and Nisha.

While they still spent the majority of their time in the ocean, they had an aboveground dwelling with all the comforts that any human could want. Electricity. Coffee. A bed. That irritating thing called TV.

Another disturbing thought intruded. If Kannon was right about Blair having money, why would he want to give his creature comforts up to basically live in a cave? The question was could he—which was interesting, since he found himself asking a lot of “could he” questions, too. He stopped on the beach and stared out at the waves. He couldn’t ask Blair do that, any more than Blair could ask him to give up the ocean.

So where did that leave them?

He didn’t know, except for he was sure of one thing. He wanted Blair as much as he wanted to swim the currents. Maybe it was the mating pull, but Blair was the one for him. No one else interested him.

He wasn’t stupid enough to think it would be easy—Kannon and Nisha were a perfect example of how rough it could be. But Blair was his, and he’d do whatever was needed to make this work.

A crab scurried by his foot toward the water. It lived on land and in the sea, as did many other creatures. He sighed. The answer was obvious even though sometimes it was hard to see the kelp forest for all the seaweed. He picked up a couple of interesting shells and then turned and started making his way toward Brett’s resort.

It appeared an aboveground dwelling was in his future.

“YOU’RE KIDDING, right?”

Marcus struggled not to roll his eyes. “Does it sound like I’m joking?”

“No, and that’s what bothers me. Are you sure you want to do this?” Brett asked.

Marcus glanced around the fancy penthouse suite. It was beautiful, stylish, and decked out with the latest amenities, he was sure. The view was spectacular, and the air was pleasantly cool. It made his balls want to climb up inside him.

He sincerely hoped this wasn’t something Blair was attached to because, while he was willing to compromise, this was too… too sterile, too remote feeling, too cold. How Brooke stood it was beyond him, but that wasn’t his problem.

“I thought about it, and yes, I’m sure. This needs to be done.” Even if it did make him dreadfully uncomfortable.

“Never thought I’d see the day you’d voluntarily stay on land in an aboveground dwelling.”

“It’s not like the end of the world is about to happen.”

“Are you sure?” Brett joked.

“Ha-ha. Look, how long would it take to build a home? I assume you have the work crews and… whatever you need to make stuff like this happen.” Marcus’ jaw clenched. He didn’t even know the right terminology for what he was asking.

“Are you sure you wouldn’t want to look around and see if you can find something already built?”

“Absolutely not. While I understand Blair needs an aboveground dwelling, I still need to be close to the ocean.”

Brett nodded. “I can see that. There is property attached to the resort—”

“Is Nisha’s bungalow built on that?”

“No, he’s on the other side of the island, remember?”

“Oh. I didn’t know maybe if you owned property over there.” Marcus sighed. This was turning out to be a lot harder than he thought. “Did Nisha buy that land?”

“Quite a bit of it actually, and it was a long time ago. If you’re serious about this, why don’t you ask him if he’ll sell you part of that land?”

“You think he’d do that?”

“I have no idea, which is why I said you need to ask him. It’s isolated and close to the water, but you’d still be close to the two of them. I don’t think taking Blair out to the middle of nowhere with no humans around is going to go well. Humans are, for the most part, social animals.”

“I see.”

Brett paused then cleared his throat. “Can I ask you something?”

“Please do.”

“What are you going to use for money?”

“Don’t worry about that.” Marcus shrugged nonchalantly. “There’s been more than one ship sunk off the coast of Africa I’ve scavenged. I can afford the house and land.”

Brett’s mouth fell open. “Lord, are you talking about—”

“Gold coins. I assume you can help me sell those, or whatever, to get money for them?”

Brett whistled. “Aren’t you full of surprises today? Yes, I can help with that.”

“Good.”

Brett glanced at his watch. “In a couple hours it’s going be time for your date. Do you have everything you need?”

“Yes. Nisha and Kannon helped me. I’m going to go over there to get ready.”

“Okay then, it’s getting late.” Brett stood. “You might want to head on over there.”

“Thank you. Seriously, thank you for everything.”

Brett patted Marcus on the back as he escorted him to his private elevator. “Glad to help. Have fun tonight.”