She hardly spared him a glance from the corner of her eyes. Instead, she kept her head down and approached the woman she’d called Loriella, shuffling her bare feet on the rocks.
“I really don’t think I’m the best candidate to guard him.” She shot him a quick, frustrated look. “Surely, my skills would be better used in the colony meeting?”
“You brought him here,” Loriella said with a dismissive cutting motion of her hand. “You must guard him. We’re all counting on you. Do not let me down.”
Leo’s jaw dropped. Of course, Eina had been the one to bring him here. He remembered it all now. She was the mermaid who’d found him in the water. Broke apart the cement around his feet.
Eina had been his rescuer and his kidnapper. It all made sense now.
The grateful feelings he’d held for her mutated into frustrated admiration. She’d taken advantage of him in a vulnerable situation. Used it for her own good. Forced him from one bad situation into the next.
So much for lovely mermaids. They were just as awful as the sketching in Viktor’s books. Except, they used their beauty to ensnare innocent men like him into thinking they’d entered some realm of heaven, when they’d really entered a sub level of Hades. It was a lie of the worst kind.
And one that Leo totally would’ve used to his own advantage, if he could.
“Keep him here,” Loriella said, striding toward the sea edge. The rest of the mermaids had already slipped beneath the waves. She paused to throw him one more disinterested glance over her shoulder. “And if he should cause any trouble, eliminate him.”
She dove into the waters, her dress quickly morphing into the tail of a fish before her body could disappear beneath the surface.
Dread filled Leo’s chest. It seemed his life was now in the hands of the five-foot-four deadly beauty standing in front of him. Never in his life had he wished so desperately to be back at the castle in one of Viktor’s boring meetings.
At least there, no one was holding a dagger over his chest.
Chapter Six
Eina stomped onto shore, her nearly formed human legs splashing through the shallow water. In her hands she held a large flat shell with food enough to feed three of her mermaid sisters. She couldn’t believe Loriella had left her in charge of the vampire prince. Surely, she’d earned her place at the colony meetings by bringing him back here.
She couldn’t help but feel like she was being punished for thinking outside the box. The leaders hadn’t exactly been thrilled when she’d shown up with the prince in tow. But they’d done nothing but drag their mer-tails in an effort to further their kingdom of Aestus in the world. She’d done something. Something that would really make a difference. They just needed to grasp the opportunity.
“Breakfast,” she called, dropping the shell on the nearest boulder.
Leo sat on the shoreline in his tattered clothing, looking altogether the part of the pouting prince. He gave her a despondent look and then trudged toward her, glancing down at the plate.
“What is this?” He poked at the sea cucumber and lifted up a strand of seaweed. Disgust rolled across his face. “Do you really expect me to eat this?”
“What are you talking about?” She shook her head. He really was a pampered prince. “This is what we eat every day.”
He leaned his hip on the boulder and gave her a simmering look that sent shivers down her spine. Despite the fact that he’d been essentially shipwrecked on a deserted island, he somehow still managed to look like a million dollars. The salt water had tousled his hair and the missing bottom half of his pants showed off well-defined calves. He’d rolled up the sleeves on his shirt, revealing muscular forearms that flexed as he crossed them.
“If I’m going to survive on this barren island, I’m going to need something a little fresher,” he said, dark humor flashing in his eyes. Striding toward her, he reached out to brush the hair off her shoulder and ran his fingers lightly along her neck. “Something a little more...alive.”
Eina felt as if her limbs had been replaced with cement. His touch left a trail of goosebumps that spread across her neck and down her back.
He leaned in slightly, never breaking eye contact, and revealed his sharp white fangs. “Wonder what mermaid tastes like.”
She tore from his grasp and stumbled backwards, hitting the boulder. Leo turned his head away, barely concealing the teasing grin on his face. She rounded the stone until it was between them－a safety zone－and pointed a shaking finger in his direction.
“All right, let’s establish some ground rules,” she said, wishing she didn’t sound so nervous. Loriella would’ve stood her ground. Set the law. “There will be no drinking the blood of any mermaids. Especially mine.”
Unconsciously, she shifted her wet hair to either side of her face, covering her bare neck the best she could.
“How am I supposed to survive out here without sustenance?” he asked with a surprisingly manly pout, taking a step closer.
She retreated another step around the boulder and shook her head. “Are you sure you need it just this moment? Can’t vampires go days between feedings? Like snakes?”
Guarding the vampire was one thing. Feeding him, was another. The thought of bringing him blood made her want to vomit.
“Well then, are you sure you need your hostage?” He glanced up at the warm sun and pulled his lips into a miserable frown. “It’s getting awfully hot out here. Won’t take me long to wither away to ashes, I’m afraid. And then you’ll really have zero chances to further your little kingdom.”
Eina bared her teeth in a grimace. This was becoming more work than she’d ever imagined. How was she supposed to feed a vampire in the middle of the Bering Sea?
“Fine.” She threw her hands up. “I’ll find a way to bring you some. But in the meantime, no feeding on the locals, no trying to escape, and no causing trouble. If we work together here, maybe we can both be of use to each other.”
He grinned as if she’d made a joke and bit his bottom lip. Despite the fact that she had no idea what was so funny, her face flushed.
“And stop doing that,” she snapped.
“Doing what?” He took a few steps closer, until he was within arm’s reach.
“Looking at me like that.” Her heart felt like it was trying to escape from her ribcage. She splayed a hand on his solid chest and attempted to push him back, without success. “Stop laughing. Stop doing anything charming. This is a hostage situation, not a royal wedding. You can’t flirt your way out of here.”
Leo threw his head back in laughter and shook his head. He took her palm from his chest and held it tight between both of his hands. “Yes, let’s talk about the royal wedding. How you acted all alluring and innocent, but really, deep inside, you harbored nefarious designs of kidnapping a royal prince. Tell me, how do you live with yourself?”
Eina pressed her lips together and scowled at him. Inside, a tiny part of her thrilled at being called alluring. She’d never had anyone say that to her before, least of all, a man who resembled a marble Greek god. It was altogether very confusing. She needed to get a grip.
“I wasn’t planning on kidnapping you,” she said, tearing her hand away and crossing her arms over her dress. “May I remind you, you’re the one who approached me and kept your identity a secret?”
“It’s not that hard to tell I’m a vampire, sweetheart.” He flashed the ring on his right hand. “We all have these. They keep us safe from sunlight.”
Eina huffed and pursed her lips. Reasoning with him was like walking in circles. “Well, you’re also the one who got thrown into the sea by a trio of ugly ogres. If it weren’t for me, you’d be rotting a thousand feet below the surface. Think about that.”
That seemed to get to him. He took a sudden, ragged breath and a flicker of fear shone in his eyes, erasing the cocky smile. It was as if he were reliving the memory of falling to the ocean floor. Eina’s heart softened and she found herself standing beside him, placing her han
d on his arm.
“It’s okay.” She traced her thumb in a small circle over his wet shirt. “You’re not there anymore. And no one is going to do that to you again.”
“Are you sure about that?” He worked his jaw and stared down at the ground. “What about your mermaid sisters? If my brother doesn’t comply, how do you know they won’t tie an anchor to my feet and throw me back in?”
“We’re mermaids.” She hissed in a frustration. His utter lack of understanding was insulting. “We’re not like your kind.”
He raised his eyes to her face and arched a single eyebrow. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“We’re not...”
She hesitated, wondering if she should zip her lips. Living under the water most of her life hadn’t given her much time to explore the world or meet other cultures. Most of what she knew came from their ancient scrolls and stories passed down from mermaid to mermaid. She’d always taken it as the ultimate authority and truth, but already, her few hours out of the water had seemed to challenge some of those notions. Leo certainly wasn’t what she’d imagined. Still, those old prejudices remained.
“Monsters?” he offered, the muscles in his jaw twitching.
She shrugged. “Well, yes.”
“Seems like you’ve made your mind up about me.” He moved away, breaking their contact, and perched himself on the boulder. She thought she saw disappointment and hurt in his eyes. It was a surprising thing to see in a vampire. “Guess we’re at a standstill here.”
“Guess so.” She crossed her arms again, but deep inside, confusion reigned. What had just happened? Why did she suddenly feel like the bad guy? “Nothing to do but wait.”
“Or, better yet,” he grabbed a loose stone from the ground and chucked it into the sea, “you could let me go. Tell everyone else I escaped?”
She pursed her lips and raised an eyebrow at him. She hadn’t been hatched yesterday.
“Not a chance.”
A dramatic sigh tore from his lips and he leaned back on the rock, his wet shirt clinging to his muscular abdomen. Eina had to force herself not to stare. Instead, she turned to the side and peered at him from the corner of her eyes.
“I’ll go see about getting you that meal,” she said, barely concealing a shudder at the thought. “Sit tight. And remember, there are always mermaids watching the island. Don’t even think about trying to escape.”
“Yes, my lady.” He gave her a mocking little bow and a flourish of his right hand. “Anything you say, my lady. This monster shall stay put.”
She rolled her eyes. It seemed that their conversation was going to come back to bite her in the tail fins. She could live with that. What she couldn’t live with was losing their prisoner. Come hurricane or tidal wave, Prince Leo was hers to guard. There was no way he was going to pull one over on her. She had to prove to her sisters that she was ready to take her place at the forefront of their crusade.
Prince Charming would just have to save his smiles for someone else.
Chapter Seven
Leo stared at the morning sun with a resentful frown, his dislike for sunlight reaching a whole new level of intensity. It was already his third day on the island. A terribly boring, tiny little hole of island likely to drive him out of his mind.
He imagined Viktor finding him there, years later. He’d have named all the trees by then. Painted faces on their scraggly bark. Maybe even started a pet rock collection and shaped a few to resemble Rodrigo.
They’d cart him back to Monstrana in a straight jacket. He’d spend the rest of his nights babbling on about his tree friends. Eventually, they’d do him a favor and put him out of his misery with a dagger. Yes, that was the outlook for the rest of his immortal life. Not a very pleasant one.
And it was all because of one mermaid. One frustratingly gorgeous mermaid who seemed to know how to push his buttons in all the right and wrong ways. She’d spent most of the past few days following him around the island like a watchful guard dog. It was obvious she was passionate about politics. She couldn’t stop spewing about world problems or what she would change about the world. Eventually, he had to join in the conversations just to get her to talk about something else. It was all very confusing. He couldn’t stand to be around her and for some unknown reason, he couldn’t stand to be without her irritating presence.
If anything, he blamed the lack of nutrition. Service on this island wasn’t exactly four star. Eina had scraped together a single blood bag yesterday. It wasn’t even warm.
He kicked a rock as he traversed the beach for his daily exercise. Anything to pass the time. It skipped along the shore and into the waves, coming to a sudden halt against a massive gray form that hadn’t been there a few hours ago. Leo dug his heels into the ground and stared at the newest addition to his beach, wondering if he’d imagined it.
It was sleek and long, half submerged in the swells pounding against the shore. At first impression, he thought it was a dolphin. But on closer observation, he realized it was an eight-foot long shark too close to shore to swim back out.
“Looks like I’m not the only predator stuck in this place,” Leo mused as he did a quick circle of the beast.
Its tail flicked weakly and beady black eyes seemed to follow his movements. He leaned in closer to get a look at its jagged teeth and shuddered.
“I’m guessing this is how humans feel when they see me in all my vampire glory.”
He rubbed his chin and his thoughts drifted toward his petite jailer. It was no secret she held similar disregard for his kind. She thought he was a monster. Of that much, she’d been crystal clear. His very touch had made her shiver with disgust. That had stung even more than her insults.
“Seems that neither of us are getting out of here, buddy,” Leo said, patting the shark on its back, keeping a safe distance from its mouth.
He looked out at the sea at that moment and spotted Eina emerging from the sea on shapely human legs. The water around her legs shimmered as the aqua scales from her tail slowly receded. She hid something in her hands and Leo’s mouth began to salivate. He could only hope it was more sustenance.
“Please tell me that’s some fresh-from-the-vein type O negative,” he said, walking through the waves toward her.
She grimaced and held up a wriggling sea cucumber. “I’m afraid this is the best I could do. Not a lot of places to steal a bag of blood. Especially if you don’t want to draw attention to yourself.”
He glowered at her through his eyelashes. So much for eating today. He’d rather starve than choke on that poor excuse for a slug.
“What’s that?” Eina shoved the meal into his hand and leaned over to look behind him. “Is that a shark?”
“Oh, yeah.” He tossed the sea cucumber when she wasn’t looking and strode toward the gray mass. “Must’ve washed ashore. Poor thing’s still alive.”
Eina rushed to the shark’s side and ran her hand over its back. She circled around it, whispering words of comfort, and stroking its side. As she approached the head, Leo opened his mouth to object. Mermaid or not, that thing looked like it could take a chomp out of her with a turn of its giant head. But Eina didn’t seem frightened. She ran her fingertips down to the tip of its snub nose and kneeled in front of it.
“We have to save it,” she said, looking up at him.
Leo glanced behind him, convinced he would see another mermaid or two present. Surely, she didn’t mean to recruit him in this rescue operation. He liked his arms and legs exactly where they were.
“Well, what are you waiting for?” She stood and brushed her hands together. “I can’t lift him by myself. I’m going to need your help.”
“You’re serious?” He took a step back up the beach. “That thing wouldn’t think twice about eating you for breakfast. And you’re going to save it?”
She pulled back her chin, confusion wrinkling her forehead. “Of course. Why wouldn’t I?”
Leo had to shake his head in amazement. She was face-to-fa
ce with a real monster. A four hundred pound eating machine that wasn’t ruled by empathy or emotion. And yet he was the one who deserved to be slowly starved on a barren island? Some things just didn’t make sense.
Still, the resolution in her eyes told him she was going to do this, with or without him. She was one stubborn mermaid. And he couldn’t help admiring her for it.
“Fine.” He shoved his sleeves a little further up his arms. “Let’s get this over with. If it eats one of us, at least it won’t go hungry.”
An approving smile tugged at Eina’s lips. She positioned herself on one side of the shark and Leo did the same on the other. They counted down and then heaved the shark toward the sea. The effort moved the creature a few feet, but not far enough for it to swim free. It thrashed at the intrusion, twisting its lithe form to bite at their feet. Leo barely missed a nip on his ankles. He swore and fell into the water, shuffling back as far as he could.
“What are you doing?” Eina peered at him over the shark’s back as if she hadn’t just witnessed the near assault. “Come on, if we don’t move him soon, he’ll die.”
Leo grumbled senseless words under his breath and slapped the water. This mermaid would be the end of him.
“Why should it fall to you to save him anyway?” he asked, holding out a hand in the shark’s direction, frustration thick in his voice. “Maybe, fate had different plans for this shark. Ever think about that?”
Eina gave him a sorrowful look and closed her eyes. She ran her palm lovingly over the shark. When she opened her eyes again, he could see determination written all over her face.
“It’s my job because I know what it’s like to be helpless and without a voice.” She clenched her jaw and sighed. “This might come as a shock, but not everyone was born oozing charm and charisma like you.”
Something Fishy About Love: Vampire & Mermaid Romance (A Monstrana Paranormal Romance Book 3) Page 4