Page 23 of Where the Current Takes Him (Mermate #1)

Loriun

L oriun examined Beau’s face. His lips were pressed in a tight line, and a muscle in his jaw jumped beneath the smooth skin.

“I have heard quite a lot of things about Ashford Montgomery,” Riue said carefully. “Despite his position, he seems to have some difficulty accepting the existence of the Mer on your planet.”

Beau dropped his gaze to his half-empty plate. “He has difficulty with a lot of things.”

“What Zicoi means,” Jaei said, placing his elbows on the table, “is that we are surprised you were permitted to enter the Omega program. Ashford Montgomery does not seem the type to allow his son to become mated to a Mer.”

The memory of Beau’s father in his office flashed through Loriun’s head. The man always had an ulterior motive, but he couldn’t tell Beau that.

“Beau is an adult,” Loriun said, saving Beau from responding. “He can make his own decisions. His father accepts the life Beau has chosen.”

A warm hand crept toward his and gave his fingers a squeeze.

“Of course,” Riue said quickly. “We are glad you do not seem to hold your father’s views. We truly hope you may find happiness here. Although…” Riue looked at Loriun with a smile. “As you have already become mates, it seems that you already have.”

Oiwen choked on a fish tail. “Mates?”

“Did you miss that conversation?” Loriun teased.

His sister stared across the table at him, eyes wide. “You just met him and you already locked him down?” She jerked her head to lock eyes with Beau. “Blink twice if you need help.”

The tension cloying in the air instantly dissipated.

Beau’s jaw dropped before laughter overcame him.

Loriun had never thought much of his sister’s human education.

Admittedly, he thought it seemed somewhat foolish, considering the state of the species as a whole, but he’d supported her decision.

Now, listening to her speech and watching her gestures, Loriun was forced to confront just how inhuman he was.

A twinge of jealousy prickled his gills.

The rest of the meal passed without further mention of Ashford Montgomery. Instead, Beau peppered the family with questions about Mer culture and Loaish, pausing only to laugh at Oiwen’s witty remarks.

By the time Loriun and his Omega made it out the front door, the moon had risen high in the cloudless sky.

“Your family is amazing,” Beau said as he dropped into the passenger seat. “And Oiwen is hilarious. She’s just so… human.”

Loriun grunted and put his car in gear.

“I learned so much about Mer culture,” Beau continued, oblivious to the Alpha’s sour mood.

“I can’t believe how little humans know about your history and way of life.

Loaish sounds kinda tough to learn, but I hear bilingual people have an easier time learning a third language. I wish I could give it a shot.”

He looked over at Loriun expectantly. When Loriun didn’t respond, Beau’s brows pulled together.

“Loriun? Is something wrong?”

Loriun’s lips thinned. Now that Beau had noticed, he felt like a child throwing a tantrum. Such a ridiculous thing to get upset over.

“No. No, I’m fine.” A strained smile crossed his face, but Beau’s expression remained unchanged.

“You’re not fine,” his mate insisted. “Something’s bothering you.”

Loriun kept his eyes on the road. “It’s nothing. Not worth bringing up.”

A soft, warm hand settled on his.

“Loriun,” Beau said quietly. “You can tell me. I’m intimately familiar with being irrationally annoyed.”

The Mer gave a short laugh. “It really is nothing. I should not feel irritated. But…” He sighed.

“Watching you with my sister tonight… It made me realize how easily she falls into human social circles. She speaks like you, gestures like you. She even has a human sense of humor. I have none of that.”

Stars twinkled over the island. One of them, the star which held Usoi in its grasp.

“I am envious,” Loriun admitted. “Envious that she can connect with you in a way I cannot.”

Beau tightened his grip on Loriun’s hand. “L…Luae.”

The word fell, clumsy, from his human lips, yet Loriun felt his very soul alight at the sound.

“If I wanted someone like me, I would have stayed on human soil,” Beau told him. “I left humanity for a reason. I like that we’re so different. I like that we don’t always understand each other.”

Loriun chanced a glance at the man beside him. Beau’s sandy hair was washed out in the moonlight, and his skin paler. His eyes, however, were endlessly deep. They stared, steadfast, into Loriun’s.

“Where’s the fun in life staying the same?” Beau tilted his head and smiled. “Besides, I’m pretty sure I can’t ever go back to human dick ever again.”

Loriun let out a startled bark of laughter.

Beau allowed himself to chuckle at his own joke, too. “What I mean is, don’t worry about that. I’m with you . And I don’t want to be anywhere else.”

Loriun jerked the steering wheel off to the right and brought the car to a stop on the side of the road.

“What—” Beau started to say.

He never got the chance to finish. Loriun leaned across the center console, winding his fingers through the silken hair at the back of Beau’s head, and dragged him in for a hard, deep kiss. Their lips moved together, and tongues brushed gently against one another.

After a few moments, they broke apart, panting.

“So.” Beau cleared his throat. “Do you think you’d fit in the back seat?”

∞∞∞

It was nearly midnight when Loriun finally parked his car in the driveway of their beach home. As it turned out, he did not fit in the back seat, but he did fit just behind a wide-trunked tree nearby.

Beau made no move to exit the car. He was slumped in his seat, looking relatively boneless.

“Do you need me to carry you?” Loriun asked, fighting back a smile.

“I know you’re joking, but that feels like a real possibility.”

Loriun moved around the front of the car and scooped his mate into his arms. “Your wish is my command.”

Beau rested his head on Loriun’s shoulder. “Thank god for birth control,” he muttered. “I’d be pregnant five times over without it.”

Loriun chuckled and dropped a kiss on Beau’s head.

“I’ve never been this horny in my life,” Beau complained. “I don’t know what’s going on. I think you rearranged my guts or something, because this is ridiculous.”

“I do not believe my anatomy is quite that big.”

“Not literally .” Beau rolled his eyes. “I had plenty of human boyfriends and hookups, but I’ve never been feral .”

Loriun hummed as he laid Beau gently on the bed. “Perhaps your past lovers were less generous. Or less skilled.”

Beau narrowed his eyes at him. “Awfully confident, aren’t you?”

“Well.” Loriun shrugged. “It is difficult not to be when you make your mate come three times on the side of a road.”

Beau gasped. “Loriun.”

The Mer looked down at him quizzically. “What?”

The Omega just laughed. Once he managed to control himself, he asked, “What about you? Have you always been this… eager?”

Loriun scoffed, shucking his clothes into the floor and relaxing his tail. His cramped spine felt instantaneously better as his tail fin hit the floor. “Beau, I am thirty-three. I’ve had my share of Omegas. Not one of them comes close to you.”

Beau’s face went pink, a symptom of embarrassment, Loriun had learned.

“Why did you wait so long to find a mate?” Beau asked. “If you’ve been with other Omegas and Mer couples usually settle down quickly?”

Loriun sat on the edge of the bed. The truth was that he’d wanted a human Omega. He wanted children, not a lifetime of grieving unhatched eggs. But telling his young, nervous Omega his true motives felt like a poor choice.

“None of them were right for me,” Loriun said at last. It was also the truth, albeit an incomplete version.

“That’s surprising,” Beau grumbled. “With your job and your…” He gestured to Loriun’s entire body. “I’m shocked those Omegas didn’t turn themselves into someone right for you.”

“Is that a compliment?”

“It’s not an insult.”

They were quiet for a while, lost in their own thoughts.

“Had you ever been with a human?” Beau asked suddenly. “Before me?”

Loriun turned to look at him. “Yes. Once.”

The Omega didn’t seem to like that answer. “Why didn’t you stay with him, then?” His tone was almost petulant. Sometimes, Beau truly did act his age. Loriun scooted closer and took Beau in his arms. Human body temperature never ceased to amaze him. They were always so warm… Especially inside.

Loriun slammed a mental door shut on that thought. “The human I met was not interested in a long term partnership,” he said. “He was the kind of person who collected experiences. He said he’d never had a Mer. I was young, craving intimacy, and insatiably attracted to your species.”

Beau craned his neck to gaze up at Loriun. “Insatiably, huh?”

“Utterly.” Loriun thought for a moment. “And his head was shaved. None of this wonderful, silky hair.” He ran his claws through the sandy strands and relished the resulting shudder. Insatiable.