Page 33 of Where the Current Takes Him (Mermate #1)

Beau

T here were naked Mer absolutely everywhere. “You told me you wanted a local experience.” Loriun seemed entirely at ease, lounging in his submerged seat, clothes discarded to a convenient basket at the pool’s edge. Their table rose from the water’s surface between them.

“You could have at least warned me that everyone would be nude,” Beau hissed, feeling simultaneously too exposed in his swimming trunks, and also overdressed by wearing any clothes at all.

Loriun tilted his head with a frown. “Why would Mer wear clothes if they are not around humans?”

“Because—” Beau spluttered. “People don’t just get naked and go out to eat!”

The Alpha snorted. “Yes. People do not.”

“So you’re saying that Mer only wear clothes for human comfort?” Beau demanded.

“Exactly.” Loriun’s claws clinked on his wine glass. Beau knew it was filled with Turriculae, an ancient Roman wine made with seawater. He’d convinced Loriun to give him a tiny sip, and it had been just enough for him to learn that the stuff was vile.

“But,” Beau protested again, “what about when you were growing up? Were you and your parents just always buck ass naked?”

“Of course.”

Beau gaped at his mate.

“We do not have your concepts of modesty.” Loriun shrugged. “And our genitals are not on display. It would be impractical for an amphibious species to try and keep track of their clothing between land and sea.”

Beau dropped his chin into his hands with a huff.

“Fine, I guess that makes sense.” He was trying very hard not to stare at the other patrons.

Female Mer didn’t have breasts, and seemed tricky to tell apart from males.

He was burning with curiosity to take a closer look at all the different alien anatomies around him, but he felt that it may be inappropriate to ogle someone just trying to enjoy their meal.

“What are you thinking about?”

Beau jolted, his face flushing red. “Uhh. Well. Just that it’s hard not to stare.”

“At?”

“Everyone?” Beau rolled his eyes. “How would you feel if you were sitting in a pool full of naked humans?”

Loriun considered the question. “Concerned. Humans are hairy and not always clean.”

“Hey!” Beau said, outraged.

“What? I did not say you are hairy and unclean.”

Beau rubbed his temples. So this was what an interspecies relationship was like. “I just mean that it’s interesting. You’re the only Mer I’ve seen naked, and there are three other sex and gender combinations.”

“Ah.” Loriun glanced around. “I suppose it would be intriguing for a human to see such diversity.”

“How do you tell everyone apart? It’s a lot more obvious with humans. Usually.”

“Well, Alphas are always bigger than Omegas,” Loriun began.

“And Alphas are usually more vibrant. Omegas tend to be duller in color for camouflage. Then female Mer typically have slimmer faces and higher voices. Males also have a small pair of triangular fins at the base of the tail, while females have one, long fin that runs from the base to the tail fin.”

“So if you want to know someone’s gender, you have to look at their ass?”

Loriun choked on his wine. “Most Mer simply wait for the other to speak, or ask .”

“Ask? It’s cool to just walk up and say, ‘Hey what gender are you?’ ”

“No, we ask how we may refer to them. Yai ruserwe avni?”

“Yai ruserwe avni?” Beau repeated.

Loriun nodded, looking pleased. “Not bad.”

“But what exactly does it mean?” Beau persisted. Humans were forbidden from learning Loasish, but surely a few words and phrases wouldn’t hurt.

“ Yai, I. Ruser, call. We, you. Avni, how,” Loriun replied. “If you directly translate the sentence into English, it becomes ‘I call you how?’ ”

Beau hummed. “Interesting. I wonder how difficult it would be for a human to learn.”

“You already speak two languages,” Loriun pointed out. “I am certain you would be able to pick it up.”

“I wish I could,” Beau mumbled. “I feel like a stereotypical American tourist here.”

“You may learn Loaish,” Loriun said, looking confused.

“I thought it wasn’t allowed? For Mer security or something.”

“Human mates of Mer are an exception. You signed a document preventing you from spreading information regarding Paeil and the Mer, did you not?”

Beau blinked. The stack of paperwork he’d signed before arriving… One of the documents swam to the forefront of his mind.

Beaumont Montgomery, henceforth known as “Omega,” shall hold and maintain all information regarding the Mer in strictest confidence.

Omega shall carefully restrict access to information when in communication with any members of the human government, referring in part to Gainesville Chief of Interspecies Relations, Ashford Montgomery.

“I forgot,” he said truthfully. “So that means I can take classes or something?”

“I will arrange it when we return home.”

“Loriun!” a voice from behind Beau called.

This is it. It’s finally happened. I’m going to come face to face with an ex.

Loriun’s gaze darted up. “Keld, good afternoon.”

Beau steeled himself and glanced over his shoulder.

An instantaneous wave of relief struck him—an Alpha.

But this Mer couldn’t look more different from Loriun.

His scales glittered as if he’d been plated in gold, smoothly transitioning to a shimmering cream hue along his belly and face.

The edges of his fins darkened to a shade of bronze and the long tailfin behind him came to a strange point.

“How’s remote treating you?” Keld asked, coming to a halt beside their table.

“I don’t think I’ve had to log on once.” Loriun smiled. “I appreciate you and the team keeping things running while I’m on leave.”

An employee. Thank god.

“Hey, you’ll be doing the same for me in the future.” Keld winked.

His eyes—a shocking hue of sunset orange, shot through with threads of gold—landed on Beau. A slow, mischievous grin curled across his face.

“You must be Beaumont,” he said, offering a webbed hand.

“Just Beau.” His mouth corrected the Alpha automatically as he accepted the handshake. Beau wasn’t sure how he felt about the appraising expression on Keld’s face.

“Ah, of course.” Loriun gestured to the golden Alpha. “Beau, this is Keld Vihinu. He’s my head of accounting. Keld, this is Beau, my mate.”

Keld whistled, a very human response. “You lucked out, Kolhn.”

Heat flared in Beau’s cheeks.

Keld leaned in a little closer and stage-whispered, “You got any brothers?”

The overwhelming scent of cedar filled the air. Loriun was glaring at the other Alpha, facial fins on full display.

Keld just laughed. “I’m teasing, Loriun, come on. You need to spend more time with the humans around the plant. But really though,” he added, “If you know any single Omegas, let me know. It’s rough out there.”

Beau couldn’t quite decide if he liked the accountant or not, but Keld’s mannerisms reminded him strongly of Oiwen. The Mer’s tail flicked back and forth behind him. It looked like a nervous tic, but Beau had yet to master Mer body language.

“Sorry if I made you uncomfortable, Beau,” Keld said. “I don’t meet many new humans all that often. I was at the dinner when your dad’s cousin showed us your picture—”

Loriun made a sharp hissing sound, and Keld raised both hands in surrender. “Okay, okay, I get it. New mate pheromones and all that. No harm intended.”

“Of course,” Loriun said tightly. “Perhaps we will run into each other again. If not, I will see you when I return to work.”

Apparently unbothered by his boss’s snappy attitude, Keld raised two fingers to his forehead in a casual salute and moved to the exit. As soon as he was out of earshot, Beau smacked his mate’s forearm.

“Why were you being such an ass? He wasn’t doing anything that bad.”

“He was interested in you,” Loriun retorted. “I’m an Alpha. We don’t react well to other Alphas sniffing around our Omegas.”

“You’re not an animal.” Beau rolled his eyes. “Show some self control. He seems nice.”

Loriun narrowed his eyes. “That was me showing self control.”

Ignoring that, Beau continued. “He’s just acting human, like your sister. He wasn’t going to try anything.”

Loriun exhaled through his nose. “I know that. Rationally.”

His fingers brushed along the back of Beau’s hand. “I just feel very protective of you.”

The touch left a blazing trail across Beau’s skin. He was suddenly grateful for the chilly water.

“So, what dinner was Keld talking about? When you saw my picture?”

Loriun’s face dropped. “It was…” He trailed off, spearing another hunk of fish and jamming it into his mouth.

One of Beau’s eyebrows reached for his hairline. “Why are you acting weird?” It could be his imagination, but his mate looked nervous. It took a few more minutes for Loriun to finally respond.

“I was made aware of you through one of my employees. He claims to be your father’s cousin, Jonathan Montgomery.”

That caught Beau off guard. He had no idea that someone in his family had moved to Paeil. Was he an Omega? Before he could ask, Loriun spoke again.

“He is here for work. He is a standard human male. But he thought I might be… interested.”

“Well, he was right, wasn’t he?” Beau gave a quiet laugh.

Hearing the story of how he was purchased from his Alpha’s mouth was unpleasant, even though Beau already knew what had happened.

He’d spent the last few weeks feeling so happy .

He didn’t want to be reminded that he had started his new life through a financial transaction.

But he was surprised by Loriun’s next words.

“I agreed to send my profile to you, and Jonathon acted as the intermediary.” Loriun did not meet his eyes. “Keld was there when it all started. He said he would try to take you if I was not interested, and for some reason, I couldn’t let him do that.”

“Keld wanted me?” Beau snorted. “Guess my uterus and I are a hot commodity.”

Why would he lie about sending his profile? Does he not know that I know he bought me?

“I was astonished when you chose me,” Loriun went on, still keeping his eyes on his plate. “I am quite a bit older than you, with less experience around humans than other Alphas. Jonathan mentioned that you had quite a few suitors.”

A derisive laugh escaped Beau’s lips before he could stop it. Loriun looked up, his expression unreadable.

“Don’t take this the wrong way,” Beau said, struggling to maintain a straight face. “But I definitely did not have a bunch of suitors. You were the only one.” It suddenly occurred to him that both he and his mate had been played by Ashford Montgomery.

Maybe… he didn’t buy me.

“Loriun… What did my father tell you about me? When you first sent your profile?”

The Mer shifted, tail lashing little whirlpools behind him. “I… He told me that you were seeking an Alpha. That you wanted to settle down.”

The memory of the conversation he’d had all those weeks ago in his father’s office swam to the forefront of his mind.

“There’s a Mer who has been sympathetic to my cause. He’s donated quite a sum of money for my reelection campaign. He’s an Alpha. Unattached. Needs a… companion.”

“He told me that you were a supporter of his,” Beau said slowly. “That you were single and looking for an Omega.”

Loriun’s head jerked back. “What? You were not seeking a mate?”

Beau shook his head. “He said you were. He told me I was moving to Miami in the morning, and I was gone in the afternoon.”

Loriun was frozen, an expression of horror spreading across his face.