Marriage & the Mermaid (Hapless Heroes)

by Cusack, Louise

  But Possum was relying on him, so he gently removed his fingers from her pubes and pulled back, feeling cool air sweep up his body.

  She stayed where she was.

  “Can you move, or are you stuck there?” he asked, smiling.

  She turned on wobbling legs and smiled back a shaky smile. “You do that very well,” she told him, her huge eyes looking dazed, her skin flushed.

  “Back at you,” he said. “For a virgin, you certainly know how to work those pelvic floor muscles.”

  She frowned at that, as though she wasn’t sure what he meant, so he decided to just keep things moving and led her to the seat where he’d put the towels and sat her down on one of them. Then he handed her the bikini and decided to have a quick shower. He didn’t want Ted to smell sex on him.

  She watched his every move as he soaped and rinsed his lower body, the bikini still in her hands. When he turned off the taps she said, “Can we do that again?”

  Rand had been thinking the same thing, but he said, “Pass me a towel.”

  “Please?” she persisted, handing over one off the seat beside her.

  He dried himself then straightened and smile at her.

  She grinned back. “That was so much more satisfying than touching myself.”

  He laughed. “Yeah, well, me too.” Rand had fucked a handful of virgins, breaking them in for Georgie before they started turning tricks, showing them what to do. But none of them had turned him on. In fact, he struggled to remember any fuck that had turned him on the way this girl did. “What’s your name again?” he asked.

  “Venus,” she said absently, then she reached out to touch his dick as he came forward to throw his wet towel over the cubicle door. “When can we do that again?” she repeated.

  Rand stood still, letting her explore, weighing his balls with one purple hand, then stroking the softness of the tip of his dick with the other. It began to grow and she grinned up at him. “See, it wants to.”

  “It is a little sensitive right now,” he said, removing her hands. But she was cute, and he liked the way she continued to stare at his dick while he reached above her head for some clothes. “It needs time to recuperate.”

  “How long?”

  “Five hours,” he said, and pulled the crisp white business shirt on.

  “Then I shall meet you again in five hours,” she told him.

  He stopped what he was doing to smile at her. She was really cute. “I was joking,” he said. “You are a babe in the woods, aren’t you?”

  She frowned again, clearly confused. “I want fucking, “ she said in what was almost a wail.

  “All right.” He held up a hand to quieten her, wondering if she was going to go psycho on him. “If the son stays away from the house all day, I will fuck you again tonight.” His dick definitely wanted to do that, but his brain might decide she was trouble, and if that was the case he’d bail on her. Neither of which he needed to consider now. He just had to get dressed, and get her out of here.

  But she was so excited she bounded to her feet and threw her arms around his neck. He let her. Then she pulled back and said, “Where will we do it? Here?” She looked around the small cubicle. “Or you could come to my room. There’s a shower in there as well, and a great big bed!”

  She was so over–excited it was starting to get freaky. “I’m not sure if I’ll have access to rooms inside the house by then,” he said as he moved her to stand in the shower cubicle so she wasn’t in the way while he got dressed. “It’s unlikely I’ll be invited to stay over. So here is probably the best place.” He glanced at her over his shoulder. “Do you want to have a shower? Or get dressed?” he asked pointedly.

  “What time shall I come?” she asked, as though she hadn’t heard the shower comment.

  “After dark,” he replied, tucking his dick into his black briefs. Then he reached for his pants. “If Baz stays away from the house until it’s dark, I’ll met you here some time after that.”

  “I’ll be here at sunset,” she promised, squeezing her breasts in excitement. Then her hand strayed between her legs and she jerked. “I think I am too sensitive as well,” she told him. “Must I wait five hours before I touch myself again?”

  “Absolutely,” he said, buckling his belt, trying not to smile. “No sexual stimulation until tonight.”

  “Tonight! But, sunset is … nine hours away!”

  “And I may be later than that,” Randolph replied.

  “But, I’ve only just discovered –”

  “I want all that sexual tension banked up and ready to explode,” he told her. “No dabbling.”

  She caught herself in mid wail, and her completely transparent expression shifted from upset to speculation and then excitement. “You will come?”

  “Yes I will come, “ he said. “And so will you.” Then he stepped forward and kissed her hard, tasting her, and before he knew what was happening, he’d backed her up against the wet tiles where he’d fucked her and was plastered against the length of her body, exploring the inside of her mouth. By the time he realised his dick was hard again and he had her nipple inside his mouth it was almost too difficult to stop.

  But he did stop, and straightened up, his breathing harsh.

  Venus simply stood against the tiles, panting, staring up at him.

  He forced himself to turn away and grab the tie. “You’re really hot for it, aren’t you?” he said casually, pretending he wasn’t rock hard again himself.

  “I have such a short time left and I want more of the pleasure.”

  He looked up. “What do you mean, a short time?”

  “I —” She caught herself, then shook her head. “I talk too much,” but rather than shutting up she asked, “Aren’t you interested in sex?”

  “Not as much as you.”

  “But you said I got you excited.”

  He nodded and went back to twisting the tie . “It’s been a long time since I’ve been with someone who simply wanted a good fuck and had no other agenda. It turned me on. But that isn’t my main goal in life.”

  “What are you interested in?”

  He looked at her silently, seeing nothing but innocent interest in her eyes. Again, his intuition prompted him to tell her the truth. She felt like an ally. “Money,” he admitted.

  “Balthazar has money,” she offered.

  “Actually, it’s his father who has the money,” Rand replied.

  “Is that what you’re seeing him about?”

  Randolph felt a chill come over him then, and he wondered why he’d gotten into this conversation. If the innocent virgin thing was all an act, he might just have talked his way into a trap. “Why do you ask?” he said.

  “If your business is transacted quickly, you might be back to fuck me before sunset,” she said, gazing at him with those wide expectant eyes.

  “And that’s all you’re interested in?”

  “Sex. Yes.”

  The lurch of fear faded and he leant down to pick up a shoe. “You’re certainly uncomplicated,” he told her.

  “Balthazar has said that as well,” she replied.

  “And he hasn’t fucked you yet?”

  She frowned, as though disappointed. “He won’t now. He has Wynne Malone.”

  Rand paused in mid–lace, cursing himself that he hadn’t asked Carlos about other visitors. “Is that his girlfriend? Is she here? Now?”

  Venus looked up into Rand’s eyes and her expression morphed into something he didn’t recognize. “Wynne belongs to Baz,” she said forcefully. “He’s the only one who can have her. I can’t, so you certainly won’t be able to.”

  Rand suddenly understood her anxiety. He straightened and put his hands on her shoulders. “I don’t want to fuck her,” he said slowly and clearly. “I thought you were the ‘lady friend’ of Baz’s that Theodore told me about. If this other woman is in the house, I’d like her gone for the day too.”

  Venus’s tensed shoulders relaxed and she smiled again. “If he
’s going on a picnic, they’ll be going together.”

  “Good.” Rand let her go and took his suit coat off the shelf. “The sooner Balthazar is gone, the sooner I can meet with his father.”

  “And the sooner we can fuck!”

  Rand shook his head at her enthusiasm but he said, “Yes,” and she clapped her hands.

  “You might want to get dressed before you leave,” he told her, and pointed to the bikini she’d dropped onto the cubicle floor when he’d kissed her.

  She jumped forward to retrieve it and put it on, getting delightfully confused when the top wouldn’t do up because she’d ripped it in her hurry to get it off.

  He stepped in to help her, reorganizing the strings and pulling them hard to secure the new knot. “Okay, you’d better go,” he said and opened the cubicle door.

  “I don’t want to,” she said, and he could imagine the pout as she walked out behind him.

  “You do if you want me to fuck you again,” he said, back on familiar ground, bartering sex for what he needed.

  But the moment she stepped around in front of him and looked up at him with those big beautiful eyes he knew this wasn’t business as usual, and something uncomfortably warm shifted inside his chest. He tried to ignore it and concentrate on the details. “If Ted introduces us, pretend you’ve never met me, okay.”

  “Okay.” But she hesitated, just as reluctant to leave as he was to see her go. “You’ll definitely come here after dark?”

  “I promise,” he said, and nodded towards the front of the cabana. “Just peek out before you leave to make sure no one sees you were in here.”

  “I will… peek,” she said, and stayed where she was.

  “Go, Venus,” he said, pointing at the door. “And remember, if I’m still in the house when Baz gets back from the picnic you have to keep him busy so he doesn’t know I’m there.”

  She nodded, but it was still another thirty seconds before she stepped to the door and cracked it open to scan outside. Then she pulled the door wide, accidentally knocking Rand’s briefcase over.

  She stopped and picked it up but Rand was onto her in a second snatching it out of her hands. “I’ve got that,” he said, far too loudly, then he quietened himself down and said, “Sundown,” before steering her out the door and closing it behind her.

  When she was gone he opened the briefcase to check that the ‘insurance’ was still inside. Stupid, when she’d only held it for a moment, but Rand was inexperienced with guns and this one was freaking him out. For a moment he considered hiding it among the towels, or taking out the bullets so he could use it for its threat value alone. But the stakes were too high. Saltwood was worth killing for and Rand had to protect himself.

  He could only hope it wasn’t worth dying for.

  Chapter Thirty–Two

  Baz stood the study doorway trying to rein in his temper. Wynne was beside him and he was holding her hand, because he’d been doing that all morning and he didn’t want her to think he was hiding their relationship. Unfortunately his father was smirking at their joined hands as if Baz was holding a porn magazine. Baz wanted to slap him.

  “Dad, are you listening to me?” Baz snapped.

  “What did you say?” Ted asked, his smirk drifting across to Wynne.

  “You’ve never met Glenda’s niece,” Baz repeated stiffly, wishing this wasn’t important, wishing he could just go. “How do you know she’s trustworthy?”

  Ted looked down at the papers on his desk and shifted them around. Thankfully the smirk faded. “If Glenda has food poisoning …” he said absent. Then he shrugged and looked around aimlessly for a couple of seconds before adding, “She can nominate someone else to fulfill her duties. So long as the house is cleaned —”

  “On the designated day. I know.” Baz felt Wynne squeeze his hand in encouragement, and his anger slid down into frustration. “But this… Betty is wearing pink leather, and she looks about sixteen.”

  Wynne’s hand squeezing abruptly stopped and he glanced at her to see her frowning.

  His father distracted him by saying, “Does she know how to clean?”

  Baz swallowed down How would I know? and instead he said, “I assume —”

  “Did you ask her?”

  Baz felt the pulse at his temple start to throb, but thankfully Wynne cleared her throat and smiled at his father. “Betty says she’s keen to do a good job, Theodore. And Baz rang her aunt to confirm her story.”

  Ted transferred his gaze to his son. “Then why are you bothering me?”

  “I’m not sure,” Wynne said and glanced down at the carpet in front of her.

  Baz felt bad then. He hadn’t meant to sound as if he disliked Betty, but he’d clearly got Wynne off–side. He squeezed her hand but she didn’t squeeze back, and was keeping her attention on the floor.

  He forced himself to take a long slow breath and try to sound gracious when he turned back to his father. “Thanks for suggesting the picnic lunch, dad. I know you mean well.”

  Ted nodded, “Go then,” he said and waved him away, then he glanced behind Baz and nodded.

  Baz turned to find Carlos standing behind him, nodding back at his father. “What’s going on?” he asked, feeling the same way as he had when the police and his father had been laughing together. Wynne let his hand go.

  “Carlos is going on a dump run,” his father said, still looking at Carlos with what appeared to be a perfectly calm expression. “He always checks in with me before he leaves in case I have anything to add to the load.” Ted transferred his gaze to Baz. “I don’t.”

  “Okay.”

  Wynne was back looking at the carpet and Baz realised that if he didn’t concentrate on her and forget all this inconsequential stuff, he’d lose the good thing they’d developed. He still felt as if he was missing something, but he said, “We’ll get going then. I’m really looking forward to spending time with Wynne.”

  She glanced up at him and smiled with relief, which suddenly made him wonder if her anxiety had been about Betty being mistreated, or whether she’d been worried about another blow up between father and son.

  Ted waved them away again. “I’ll get Betty to make me a sandwich for lunch, and to put away something for dinner if you’re back late. If I need anything else, Carlos will be here.”

  “Fine,” Baz said. “I’ll give Venus the day off then.” His father’s eyes narrowed but Wynne tugged his arm and he let himself be led away.

  When they were down the hallway and out of earshot Wynne said, “If you’d rather not go —”

  “Nothing…” he said, turning to take both her hands, “… is going to stop me going on a picnic with you Miss Malone,” and he allowed himself a long slow perusal of the pretty halter neck sundress she was wearing. It had a frill around the neckline and was made of some sort of pink floral material that hugged her skin. He was pretty sure she wasn’t wearing a bra underneath it, and that excited him far more than was seemly when they hadn’t even kissed, but Baz was okay with that. Venus had taught him that he had heroic self control, and the last thing he wanted to do was rush Wynne and spoil things.

  That said, today he was kissing her, and nothing was getting in the way of that!

  Chapter Thirty–Three

  Liam Moore was rarely lost for words, but Traci Knowles seemed to push buttons he didn’t know he had.

  “Come in,” she said, toweling her hair dry. “I’m just about to get changed.”

  On the outside of the sliding door, Moore was having trouble rolling his tongue back into his mouth. “The shark,” he said, and ran out of conversation.

  Nothing if not articulate.

  “I’ve been on the QUT boat this morning,” she said, and gestured for him to follow her into her lab. “They dropped me off on their way north.”

  “Shute Harbor,” Moore said, still only managing another two words as he followed her bikini clad body down the hallway. For a small woman she had long legs.

  “I’ve got
something to show you,” she said over her shoulder.

  Liam nodded, not sure what he’d gotten himself into. She was so direct. But that didn’t stop him following her, his face growing redder by the minute. If she was about to seduce him… well a man could hope.

  “In here,” she said, leading him into the room they’d been in last time with the stainless steel surfaces. He looked around, confused for a moment, then followed her to the desk.

  “New information. Just in,” she said and pointed a finger at a manila folder. “Have a look.”

  “Right,” Moore said, and sat at the desk to open the file. Disappointment warred with frustration to get the upper hand. Stupid overactive imagination. “It’s about fish.”

  “What did you expect?” she said.

  With any other woman, Moore would have imagined that was teasing, but Traci Knowles wasn’t like any other woman he’d ever met. She seemed to have no idea of her effect on him. Still, he was damned if he was going to look when he was blushing like a schoolboy. “What do these diagrams mean?”

  “The DNA of that scale you sent me is mammalian, not cetacean.”

  Was she trying to make him look dumb? “Meaning?”

  “It’s a new species of… creature,” she said, “Not human. Not fish. Something… different.”

  He did glance at her then, and it was clear that the tension he’d been sensing in her was excitement. “So it’s… ?” He shook his head, having difficulty comprehending.

  “Natural mutation? A throwback?” She sounded like a little girl on Christmas morning. “And not only that,” she added, “your sharkis big. The QUT team have a satellite picture of it breaching. It’s at least thirty foot. Looks exactly like a Megalodon.”

  Moore felt horror and despair in equal portions, but for some reason Traci’s eyes were alight with fanatical zeal. “And you’re happy about this because… ?”