Page 3 of Rock of Stages (Moonlight Siren #4)
CALEB
W hat the hell was going on?
First, I was falling into the ocean with that slimy selkie.
Next, I woke in the arms of a beautiful woman. No, not a woman—a mermaid. Who was the most radiant creature I’d ever seen.
Her hair floated around her, darkened by water and gleaming beneath the moon.
Her eyes were a fascinating shade of green—wide and curious—with droplets of water dripping down her dark lashes or rolling down her smooth cheeks.
Her lips were plump and pink, with a heart-shaped pout.
And her tail. It stretched behind her, long and sleek, with shimmering silver and teal scales. Absolutely mesmerizing.
I didn’t know what happened when I hit the water—whether it was from the shock or impact, but I’d lost consciousness. If she hadn’t helped me…
I gulped. Since I was still in the sea, I wasn’t home free yet. This damn liquid enclosed me like a pliant prison while the ship loomed in the distance. I should be onboard getting ready for tonight’s show. Not treading water, trying to keep from drowning in an awful death. Damn ocean.
Damn selkie.
I should have known he’d come back one day to stir trouble. That was what he’d been since we’d started the band—trouble.
The shouts from the ship sounded far away as my bandmates called after me. They’d thrown a floatation device and told me to grab it. That help was coming.
I’d shifted to my human form as it was easier to swim, but a bonus might be that I didn’t look as intimidating to this gorgeous mermaid.
Who I’d just asked to come onboard with me.
Where the hell was I going with this? Surely I hadn’t thought it through. But she fascinated me.
“Please,” I insisted. “Come with me.”
She stared at me, searching my eyes, and then bit her lower lip as if contemplating my request. My pulse kicked harder. Why did it matter to me that she said yes?
Her eyes brightened and then those worried lips broke out into a smile. “Okay.”
When she smiled at me like that, it felt like when sunlight warmed my cool stone. Luminous.
I exhaled with great relief and turned to the flotation device.
It had already moved several dozen feet away.
Even if someone had alerted the crew that I’d fallen overboard, it would take time to stop a multi-ton ship.
I couldn’t wait to get out of the damn water.
Dangerous creatures lived under there. Like sharks.
I snapped my head around, searching for any sign of approaching fins or the telltale sign of the theme from Jaws.
Foolish. I lived on a ship so I should be used to water by now. But a cruise gig didn’t mean I had to ever step a toe into the sea. The sea lapped hungrily at my skin, reminding me how close I’d come to sinking for good.
She looked over at the ship. “Can you swim that far?”
It would take several exhausting minutes to swim to the float and then deal with the laborious process of climbing up.
“I have a better idea,” I said. How it would work since I’d never done so from the ocean while carrying someone would be a challenge—if not disastrous.
She tipped her head and studied me as if waiting for my reply.
“We fly,” I declared with more confidence than I had.
Her eyes widened. “Fly?” She blinked. “As in…the sky ?” She pointed to the clouds.
“Yes.” I exhaled a slow breath, attempting to relax my tense limbs. “Come closer. I need to hold you.”
She swam over, stopped a few inches in front of me, and gulped. I wrapped my arms around her.
But then—an unfamiliar scent. Feminine, like midnight orchids. Alluring. Entwined with the distinct salty scent of the ocean.
The beast inside me rose with a low rumble, stirring as if awoken from a century-long slumber. A possessive instinct roared.
He whispered mate.
The word rumbled through me like distant thunder.
No. Impossible.
She was a mermaid from the sea. A different species. A different habitat.
And yet…every instinct screamed mine .