Guarding the Mermaid

by Eve Langlais

  But she wanted more than a kiss. She braced her hands on his shoulders, and with only her lips, she traced the edge of his unshaven jaw, nipping it lightly with her teeth. She then followed the strong column of his neck, tracing a path down it to his pecs. His well-defined pectorals with his hard nipples.

  She knew from experience how sensitive they were, so she spent a moment playing with them while he did his best not to tremble.

  But he did finally move when she bit, bringing forth a bubbly laugh. Floating around his midsection, she glanced upward and saw him staring. How fierce he looked, and yet, at the same time, she finally recognized that look in his eyes.

  He loves me.

  He might not have said it, but it was there in his touch, his expression, in the things he did just to be with her.

  The urge to kiss him almost overwhelmed. Instead, she settled for dragging her nails over his flesh, scraping his nipples.

  Then lower. Teasing her way down his body over the flat tautness of his belly. She had to grab hold of his thighs to anchor herself. Odd how, when she was awake, she floated.

  With her lips in the right spot, she brushed the tip of his cock. Felt the rigid steel of him, the pulse of his arousal. She opened wide and took him into her mouth. Took as much as she could and sucked. Which was a different sensation than with air. She could blow while she suctioned, the force of expelled bubbles tickling his dick.

  His hips jerked. She held on tight. Sucked some more, sliding her lips down his thick length. Then up again. Back and forth.

  Her body floated, which made it easy for him to grab hold and turn her. Turn her so she was upside down in the water.

  But she didn’t mind because as she devoured him, he lifted her bottom half free of the water, enough he could latch his mouth onto her sex.

  So this was how mermaids 69ed.

  She loved it.

  Loved him.

  Sucked him. Bobbed up and down on his cock while also kneading his sac, squeezing and releasing.

  He toyed with her sex, doing his best to distract. His tongue probing between her lips. His lips nuzzling at her clit. When she cried out, the sound vibrated the shaft in her mouth. He groaned in return as he tongued her.

  And she almost came. He sensed it, and next thing she knew, he was twisting her in the water again, flipping her so her ass was against his belly and she faced away from him. She floated horizontally, her legs spread around his waist. He still stood on the stool, head above water to breathe, but she remained under. Easy to move. Easy for him to grab hold and press the tip of his shaft against her lower lips.

  He impaled her, seating the full length of his cock inside her channel, stretching her. Hands on her hips, he controlled the pace. Pulled her back and forth, thrusting firmly, claiming her. Finding a way despite their differences.

  He drove deeper. Faster. Faster.

  A sound emerged from her, a high note of pleasure that thrummed through the water. And his pace quickened, the thrusts fast and hard. Each deep ram hitting her G-spot, pushing her closer to the edge. Closer.

  She flipped on him so she floated on her back, legs wrapped around his hips. He kept the rhythm going, filling her. Staring at her, mouthing something she couldn’t hear through the slosh of waves.

  Her orgasm hit her hard. A ripple stronger than any tide. More pleasurable than she could have imagined. Her sex fisted him tight, and she keened, an odd ululating sound that filled the water with a hum. He thrust one last time into her, and she felt the hot spurt as he came.

  Came and didn’t leave. He dragged her close to him, her head tucked against his chest under water, his hand stroking her hair.

  Whispering, “I’ll find a way to save you, Red.”

  She doubted he could. But she would treasure the sentiment. She wasn’t one to cling to false hope.

  When he exited the tank, she watched him. Watched with melancholy as he dressed, realizing this would probably be the last time they were together.

  After all, where could they go? How would they get there? The best she could hope for was to escape into the lake. But Jett couldn’t join her.

  Nor should he. He deserved a normal life. She loved him too much to want anything else.

  He’d no sooner finished dressing than the door opened and Chimera sauntered in. She rushed the glass, palms pressed against it, and hissed, the sound more a harsh stream of bubbles than anything.

  “Are you done playing with the merchandise?”

  “How long have you been out there?” Jett snapped.

  “Long enough. A good thing I didn’t promise the client a virgin. If you’re done screwing the package, the chopper is waiting.”

  “So soon? I thought you said a few days.”

  “And I thought you said you didn’t care,” Chimera taunted. He stepped past Jett. “You, my dear, are about to make someone very, very happy.”

  She cast a panicked look at Jett.

  Was this the end? She palmed the glass, pleading with her gaze.

  Don’t let him take me.

  Her dark hero raised a gun.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  A man could be sure about one thing when he pulled a weapon on his boss. I’ll need to find a new job. Which was fine because Jett wasn’t about to let Chimera sell or take Becky from him. Not now. Not fucking ever. If he had to shoot this fucker to free her, he’d do it and sleep like a baby after.

  As to how he’d manage to support them? He had some money socked away. Plenty of it, given the clinic didn’t require much spending. Enough to buy a house with an indoor pool or a place by a lake. Anything to keep Becky safe.

  “You aren’t taking her anywhere,” Jett growled.

  The doctor turned around and arched a brow at the sight of the gun. “Giving orders now? Put that thing down. You’re not going to shoot me over a woman.”

  Not just a woman. His Red. The one person that made him feel.

  His aim didn’t waver. “I will shoot and not lose sleep over it.”

  “Shoot me, then what? You won’t get far. Once I wake up…” Chimera let the threat linger rather than state it.

  Pity Chimera knew the difference between a real gun and the tranquilizing kind. What he didn’t grasp was Jett didn’t need a bullet to kill him. “I’m going to make this real simple for you. If you want to live, then you’ll let Becky go.”

  “Go where?” Chimera sneered. “Going to bring her to your room and stick her in the shower?”

  “Sure as hell beats you selling her off to some pervert.”

  “And here I thought I could trust you. That you understood my vision.” Chimera shook his head, hands tucked behind his back.

  “I don’t give a shit about your secrets. Nor do I give a rat’s ass about your so-called vision. But you should have left Becky alone.”

  “You never gave a damn about the other nurses I played with.”

  “You’re right. I didn’t.” But he’d not fallen for those women. Just Red.

  “I’m going to give you one last chance to walk away. Go to your room and report to me in the morning. We’ll pretend this never happened.”

  Walking away wasn’t an option, and Chimera obviously wouldn’t budge.

  Jett fired.

  The dart flew straight and true.

  And missed!

  Chimera moved. Moved faster than should have been possible. And more astonishing, pulled a gun.

  A real gun.

  Ah, shit.

  It was Jett’s turn to move, running toward Chimera, ducking on instinct, hearing the bullet as it whizzed past his ear.

  Too close.

  Jett dove at the doctor before he could fire again. Grabbed the arm with the gun and held it aloft while he grappled.

  Chimera might possess a slim build and give off a nerdy vibe, but it turned out the man was strong. He more than matched Jett in strength, and they grappled, grunting and straining as they sought to best each other.

  Jett thought he had the upper hand
until Chimera snarled, the sound low and raspy. “Enough already.” The man’s eyes glowed golden, and his lip pulled back in a snarl that proved less than human.

  In that moment Chimera got stronger.

  Much stronger.

  Jett found himself on the defensive, getting pushed around. A slick spot on the floor caught his foot, sweeping it out from under him. It threw him off balance, which, in turn, caused Chimera to stumble. They both hit the ground hard. So hard Jett lost his grip on the gun arm.

  The doctor’s hand hit the floor. His finger must have spasmed. The firearm went off.

  Bang.

  The bullet hit the front of the tank, sank right into the thick glass in front of Red’s wide eyes.

  For a moment, Jett thought they’d gotten lucky, and then the point of impact splintered. Spiderwebbed into a handful of cracks then a dozen, the lines zipping across the surface, honeycombing the glass.

  The groan of water against compromised walls was the only warning before it burst. Gallons and gallons of water gushed out in a torrent. Flooding the room. Ruining equipment.

  As if he cared. His only concern was the woman who came tumbling out.

  “Oh shit, Red!” He shouted for her as he ran across the floor, slipping and sliding. Landing on his knees in a skid and dragging her into his lap.

  Her mouth opened and shut as she gasped for air. The fright in her eyes matched that squeezing his heart.

  “Hold on, Red. I’ll get you to the lake.” If he ran, he could make it.

  He stood with her in his arms and turned to find Chimera, blood pouring down his temple, standing in front of the door, the gun once more aimed at Jett.

  “Are you fucking kidding me?” The black-eyed bole of the gun wasn’t about to stop him. “Move, asshole.”

  “I think not. You’ve disappointed me, Jett. I thought you were a company man.”

  “I told you not to hurt her.”

  “Betraying me because of your feelings for a girl?” Chimera shook his head. “What did I tell you about caring for them?”

  The same thing Jett’s father had told him. Didn’t matter. Maybe this thing with Red would fizzle. Or she’d stomp on his heart. But only a coward would refuse to even try.

  “I’m leaving with her.” He had to because if she didn’t get to water, she’d die. Already, she trembled in his arms, her mouth opening and shutting. Her eyes pleading for help.

  “I think it’s time for a lesson. Time for you to remember who gives the orders.” Chimera didn’t shout; he didn’t have to. His voice carried far enough to be heard. “Aqua lab lockdown.”

  Jett didn’t have to hear the whirring and clicks of locks engaging to realize they were fucked. Those doors wouldn’t open unless Chimera ordered them to. Which meant he couldn’t kill the guy. But he also didn’t have time to waste.

  Red’s breathing grew more ragged.

  “What happened to be being giddy about your first ever mermaid?” Jett argued. “Are you seriously telling me you’d rather see her die?”

  “Me?” Chimera had the temerity to inject a query with shock. “Don’t blame me for this. She is the one who stole my serum. And you’re the one who refused to do your duty. If her death is anyone’s fault, it’s yours.”

  “You sick motherfucker.”

  “Don’t talk to me about my mother. A mother doesn’t abandon her crippled child,” spat Chimera.

  Which explained a lot. Becky convulsed in his arms, bubbles and water wretched from her lips. Her eyes rolled back. The gasps stopped. She went rigid. Then still.

  So very still.

  Jett’s head bowed. He closed his eyes for a moment and allowed himself one deep breath—a shuddering one that threatened to overwhelm—before he knelt to lay her gently on the floor.

  There were no tears in him. Nothing but a cold empty place. Only one thing could warm him now.

  He lifted his head and growled. “You did this.”

  “No, you—”

  The doctor never finished his sentence because Jett charged, ignoring the bullet that ripped through the flesh of his shoulder, ignoring everything but his need to kill the man who’d taken the one good thing in his life. The one person he cared about.

  He hit Chimera and slammed him into the door. He managed to rap his head a few times, enough to daze the other man before wrapping his hands around his neck.

  Squeezing.

  “I’m going to kill you. Fucking bastard. Fucking—” His voice broke as he cursed Chimera. Broke and choked with the tears he couldn’t release.

  Chimera didn’t look so cocky now with his eyes bulging. And Jett would have killed him, killed him because he deserved it, if he’d not heard a faint, “Don’t.”

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Becky wasn’t dead.

  She knew this because she was pretty sure dead people didn’t breathe.

  She sat up and blinked. Took in a deep lungful of air. Air, not water. A glance at her skin showed the scales fading, as if absorbed back into her flesh.

  Becky stood on wobbly legs—feeling much like a sailor stepping ashore after a long stay at sea. The world seemed sharper without a watery haze covering it. Colder, too. Air kissed her damp skin, and she shivered.

  Better shivering than in a tank.

  Noticing Jett hard at work choking the life out of Chimera, she felt a need to step in. Not out of any compassion for the man. However, given her situation, it didn’t seem prudent to kill the one person who might be able to reverse what she’d done to herself. Also, the one person who could release them from this locked room.

  Still, there was a temptation to let Jett kill the doctor. Kill a man who so obviously played with things he shouldn’t.

  He isn’t God. However, Chimera was brilliant. Brilliant enough that perhaps she might not have to die after all.

  “Don’t.” Her voice emerged rusty. Soft. Barely a whisper in a room that hummed with machinery.

  For a moment, she thought Jett wouldn’t listen. Then he turned a haunted expression on her.

  “Red? Are you okay?”

  Loaded question. But in this case, there was only one reply for Jett. She nodded. “I think so. I can breathe.” And breathe deeply without pain. Did this mean the cancer was gone?

  Releasing Chimera, Jett launched himself at her and scooped her in his arms, hugging her tight. “Jeezus fucking Christ, I thought I’d lost you.”

  “Still might if you don’t ease up, big guy.” A laughing rebuke that she didn’t actually mean. Let him squeeze her. She was happy to be alive.

  The hug eased, but he kept her close. “How do you feel?”

  “Pretty damned good actually.”

  “Are your lungs hurting?”

  She shook her head. “Not at the moment.”

  “That is fucking great,” Jett exclaimed.

  “It doesn’t mean she’s healed. We should x-ray her.”

  Jett turned a dark glare on Chimera. “Don’t you fucking come near her.”

  “Someone needs to examine her.” The doctor had regained his composure.

  “It won’t be you.” The snarled words sounded so sexy.

  “Are you really going to let our little spat stand in the way of her best interests?”

  “Spat?“ Jett laughed, the sound full of incredulity. “You tried to kill us.”

  “No, I threatened you. You didn’t back down.”

  “Because you were going to sell her, asshole!”

  Chimera shrugged. “It was business, not personal.”

  “It was fucking personal to me.”

  “Obviously I miscalculated your affection for the woman. Would you feel better if I cancelled the sale?”

  “I’d feel better if I’d finished choking you.” Jett bristled. Only her soft hand on his bicep stemmed him from doing anything rash.

  “Don’t. He’s screwing with you. He is obviously not going to sell me because now I’m too valuable. Aren’t I?” She smirked at Chimera. “You want to know
how come I can breathe air again.” She’d seen the surprise on his face, the curiosity. And truth be told, she wanted to know what it meant, too.

  “What do you say we come to an arrangement?” Chimera offered.

  “I am not making a deal with you.” Jett’s firm reply held no room for negotiation.

  However, truth was, Chimera, slimy as he might be, remained her best chance of beating whatever ailed her. Already she’d gone from dying to…who knew what the future held? “What are you thinking?” she asked.

  “You can’t be serious,” Jett barked. “The guy just tried to kill us.”

  “And none of this would have happened if I’d not stolen the serum from his lab. So I’d say we’re even.” She turned her gaze on Chimera. “What are you proposing?”

  “A truce first of all. No killing by any of us.” The doctor cast Jett a look that was returned with a grim scowl. “I want to examine you, Becky. Let us see what happened to those tumors. Run some tests. Conduct some MRIs and ultrasounds. Blood samples. Urine.”

  “And how long will that take?” Jett asked.

  “Awhile,” Becky replied for Chimera. “Given the unusual circumstances, I imagine he’ll want to monitor me closely for some time.”

  “Correct.”

  “You expect us to stay here so you can study her?” Jett’s lips curled. “Do I look fucking stupid? You want to make her a prisoner.”

  “Not a prisoner, but we do need to monitor her situation because, let’s be honest here, we don’t know exactly how the treatment has affected her. Is the cancer truly gone? Will it return? Does she only require air to breath, or will she revert once more into an aquatic state? What of other side effects?”

  “What side effects?” Jett barked.

  Chimera shrugged. “That’s just it. I don’t know. She’s something new. Wonderful and unique.”

  “She is also not for sale.”

  Chimera spread his hands. “Would it help if I said that was a bad idea?”

  “Do you think?” Jett’s sarcasm ran deep.

  “How do we know you’re not just saying this? That you’re not just looking for another chance to ship me off?” Becky played devil’s advocate for Jett’s benefit.