Nick clenched his teeth. “I already told you, it wouldn’t be appropriate,” he said.
“Nobody’s watching,” Aidan said reasonably. “And we’re not even touching each other. We’re just touching ourselves. That’s not wrong, is it?”
Nick gritted his teeth. “Aidan—”
“Nick.” The mer rolled towards him, green eyes wide and impossible to resist. “Come on. Show me. Please?”
It didn’t help that he had a bit of a kink about sex outdoors, thank you so much for that, Aaron. And he really, really wanted to reach over and touch Aidan, curl his fingers around that warm heaviness, bend closer and lick off the salt at the tip.
Growling softly, Nick turned and peered at the blue and white cottage. The porch was empty, and he couldn’t see anyone in the windows. “Son of a bitch.” He let himself flop back onto the sand. “Okay, fine. Just … let me get ready.”
Lifting his ass, he pushed down his suit, pulling out a leg and leaving the fabric wrapped around his right thigh. His left hand snaked down, cupping his balls and rolling them roughly with that slight ache he liked. The water kept flowing back and forth, foaming over his lower legs, but it wasn’t enough for lube. He licked his right palm, coating it with saliva, and wrapped it around his cock. It was easy enough to set up a familiar rhythm where he could tease the sensitive flesh just under the ridge on each upstroke.
He turned his head and saw Aidan watching him, pupils blown wide even in the sunlight. The mer’s hand moved quickly over his own shaft, using the foreskin to massage the now-bright red head.
“Gods,” Aidan said hoarsely. “That’s—yeah. Do you always play with your balls like that?”
“Yeah. It feels good.” Nick could feel drops of wetness pearling in his slit and scooped them up, using them as additional lubricant. “I like it a little rough.”
An odd smile crossed the merman’s face. “I know what you mean.” His hand sped up. “Nick, I’m close. You?”
“Getting there, yeah.”
They both stroked themselves faster, the soft slapping noise of fist over cock lost under the sound of the waves. “Come with me,” Aidan said, choked. “Please, just come!” He grunted loudly as his back arched, muscles flinching. Ropes of pearlescent semen jetted into the air, splatting down onto his abs and the upper edge of his tail.
Watching Aidan come was more than enough to kick-start Nick’s own orgasm. He gritted his teeth, riding the electric surge of pleasure through his balls and dick. Thick wetness spurted over his fist, splashing against his skin. “Fuck! Jesus, yeah!”
Aidan said something in that other language, then blew out a breath. He laughed softly. “Gods. I don’t know about you, but I needed that.”
Nick sagged back onto the sand, smirking stupidly at the perfect blue sky above. “Yeah. I think I did, too.” Idly he scooped a hand of seawater over his groin, washing away the semen. “Okay, so mermen and human men come the same way. Is that what you wanted to know?”
“Yeah.” Aidan came up on his elbows, idly flipping his tail in the shallow water. “Thanks for showing me.”
A few faint prickles of guilt poked at him. He’s still your patient, doctor. He stared at his toes, wiggling them in the warm water. “You’re welcome. Just don’t tell anyone we did that, okay?”
Silence. He glanced over at Aidan, who was frowning at his tail. It did the magical splitting thing again. Once he had feet again, the mer got to them and walked naked onto shore.
“Aidan?” Nick stood up, kicking off his trunks and scooping them up. “Hey, what’s wrong?”
“Nothing.” The mer trudged back towards the cottage.
“Oh, come on.” He struggled to jog across the sand, catching up. “Don’t walk away from me. What’s wrong?”
Aidan stopped at the rudimentary outside shower, a concrete square set in the sand that held an upright pipe with pull chain and shower head. “I shouldn’t have made you do that,” he said quietly. “I’m sorry.”
Nick boggled at that. “You didn’t make me do anything. I’m an adult, I could have said no. It just—happened, I guess.” He tried to get a reading on the merman’s mood. “Look, it’s not like I’m ashamed or anything. You’re right, we both needed that.”
“But you said not to tell anyone about it. And Lord Aphros said I should wait, and I didn’t. I’m sorry, Nick. You weren’t ready.”
Aphros told him he should wait? Now Nick really wished he knew what they’d been talking about before he came in the kitchen. “Look, I don’t know what Aphros told you, but I liked what we just did. I just...” He cut off the words “need to slow down”. Maybe the damned sea god was right, after all. “You’re still my patient, and I feel responsible for you. And I don’t want anyone thinking I’m taking advantage of you.”
Aidan’s jaw dropped a little. “You’re taking advantage of me? I’m the one who had to talk you out of your swim trunks.”
“I never said it made sense. It’s just how I feel.”
The mer sighed, scrubbing a hand through his hair. “No, I think I understand. You’re a good person, Nick. You’d never want to hurt someone in your care.” He scuffed at the sandy concrete with the ball of his foot. “But once my leg is healed, you won’t be my doctor anymore, right?”
Nick had to smile at that. “No, I won’t.”
Aidan nodded. “So we’ll wait. And after I’m healed, we can—I mean, if you want to—”
It was a struggle not to take the gorgeous mer in his arms and kiss him stupid. “I want to, believe me,” Nick said, voice low.
“Good.” Aidan took a deep breath. “So, what do you want to do now?”
That was a damned good question. “Why don’t we get rinsed off,” Nick suggested, “then go inside and, I don’t know, bug Ian or something. Trade cultural references. Whatever you want.”
“Okay.” A wicked twinkle appeared in Aidan’s eye. “Can I wash your back?”
“Please don’t,” someone else said.
Chapter Five
Nick spun. A tall, older woman in a tropical-weight jacket and skirt combo stood next to the shower. She gave them a look worthy of a nun staring down a room full of first graders. “Gentlemen, while this is a private beach, it isn’t zoned for nudity,” she said crisply. “So how about you put your swimsuits back on?”
“Oh, shit. Yes, sorry, I’m so—" He turned away, then realized he was showing the woman his bare ass. Shit shit shit. Hopping on one foot, he struggled to get into the wet, clinging trunks.
“I don’t have a swimsuit,” he heard Aidan say cheerfully.
“Really?” the woman drawled. “I suggest you look into this wonderful thing called a mall. I’m pretty sure you can find swimsuits there. And as the manager of these cottages I would appreciate it if you wore one the next time you went swimming.”
“Why?”
“He’ll get a suit, I promise,” Nick said quickly, yanking up his trunks and turning back to her. “Aidan, go back to the cottage.”
“But—”
“Just go. Please.”
Aidan shut his mouth with a click. With a confused nod for the woman, he headed back to the cottage.
Nick launched into damage control, pulling up his best bedside manner. “I am so sorry about that, ma’am. We didn’t think anyone was going to be here—”
She held up a stilling hand. “I take it you two are guests of Mr. West?”
He didn’t want to throw Ian under the bus, but getting hauled into the local police station for public nudity wasn’t a good option either. “Uh. Yes?”
Her lips pursed thoughtfully. “Hm. Well, since there are no other residents here we’ll forget about it. This time.”
“Thank you, thank you so much.” He grabbed the towel he’d left at the shower stall, then paused. “Wait. You said you manage the cottages here?”
“My rental agency does, yes.”
An idea bloomed. “So if I wanted to rent one of them, that would be possible?” he said,
trying to look like a responsible, upstanding citizen. “Say, for two weeks?”
Dark eyes widened slightly. “Right now, you could have your pick of them for the rest of the summer,” she admitted. Her expression turned dubious. “Assuming you pass the credit check, of course, Mr.—”
Nick grinned, sticking out a hand. “Dr. Nick Gardiner. Nice to meet you.”
“Marcia Kuttner,” the woman said, taking his hand in a firm but not painful grip. “Doctor, huh? Family practice?”
“Emergency medicine.”
One expressive eyebrow shot up. “Well, that explains the skinny-dipping.”
Nick’s grin widened. ER doctors were known for being adrenaline junkies. “You were saying something about a credit check?”
****
Five minutes later he strolled into the cottage, rubbing the towel over his newly rinsed hair and whistling. Aidan was in the kitchen talking to Ian. To his relief, Nick saw that his friend had found a pair of cargo shorts and a t-shirt for the mer.
They looked up as he walked in. “So, do I need to get bail money for you two?” Ian asked.
“Nope, it’s all cool. But I need to go into town.”
“For what?”
“To sign a rental agreement on a cottage.”
Ian blinked in surprise. “You’re moving out?” he asked. “Look, you don’t have to do that. You’re welcome to stay here as long as you like.”
“I appreciate that, but you and your guys need some privacy,” Nick said, glancing at Aidan. The mer was positively beaming at his announcement. “I still haven’t gotten those earplugs, if you know what I mean.”
Ian blushed. “Shit,” he muttered. “Yeah, move out. Better yet, take one of the cottages on the end of the beach. The far end.”
“Nope, I’m taking the yellow one next door. We’re gonna be neighbors again.” He turned to Aidan. “You want to come into town with me? We can pick up some supplies for the cottage after I get the keys.”
“Yeah—uh.” The mer glanced at Ian. “Can I?”
Still red, Ian held up his hands in dismissal. “Don’t look at me. I’m not your boss.”
“Yeah, but you’re mate to the sea lords. Plus you’re a—”
“Okay, fine,” Ian said quickly. “Behave yourself, don’t tell anyone you’re a mer, and for God’s sake don’t show off your tail.” He glanced at Aidan’s bare feet. “The guys keep flip-flops next to the front door. You can wear those until Nick gets you some shoes.”
“Clothes shopping,” Nick said. “Yeah, good idea.” First and foremost, a set of trunks...
****
The traffic into nearly Olympic Beach was relatively light. Nick guided the Audi down the two-lane blacktop, noting a variety of state license plates on the other cars. “I think we’re doing this at just the right time,” he commented. “Looks like tourist season is about to start.”
Aidan watched the passing scenery in fascination. “I’ve never been in a car before,” he said. “Liam said he got carsick, but this is great.”
“Liam?”
Something flickered across the mer’s face. “He’s a friend. He had to get a ride in one of those yellow cars once. He said he’d rather dry up and die than ride in one again.”
Nick mentally translated “yellow car” to “taxi”. “How often do mers go ashore, anyway?”
“Depends on the mer. Li’s going to be an Elder, plus he has special permission because—” He broke off, staring out the window.
“Because?”
“He’s looking for something that only exists on shore,” Aidan said slowly. His voice lowered. “When he can pull his head out of his damned texts, that is.”
Aidan’s annoyed tone piqued Nick’s curiosity. “Sounds like he’s some sort of student.”
“Kind of. The Elders, they’re—I guess you’d call them judges? They keep track of mer history and lore, advise on new laws, and settle disputes. Liam’s apprenticed to the Elder Council of our pod—our community—so he has to study all the time.”
The glimpse into what was effectively an alien culture was fascinating. “I never asked you what you did,” Nick said apologetically.
Aidan shrugged. “I’m a ranger. We police the pod’s territory, keep mers safe, stop fights, that sort of thing.” He frowned. “And now we guard the pod from the ilkothella.”
“Ilkothella?”
Aidan’s expression darkened further. “Sea wolves. They’re mermaids who’ve been turned into these hideous monsters with huge shark teeth and venom. We always thought they were legends, but in the last few years they’ve been swarming out of the Gulf of Mexico. I guess they’re kind of the mer equivalent of human werewolves.”
“Werewolves? But those aren’t real.” Nick hesitated. “Are they?”
“I don’t know. Ilkothella are real, though. I’ve killed enough of them to know.”
“Jesus.” He felt a shiver go down his spine. The way Aidan had said it so simply was chilling. “That can’t be easy.”
“No, it’s not. But it’s my job to protect the pod, and I’ll do it until—” He broke off again, shifting uncomfortably in his seat. “Look, can we not talk about this right now?”
“Yeah, sure.”
The rest of the drive was quiet. Atlantic Rentals turned out to be located right on the beach town’s main drag, and a rather harried blonde showed them through to Marcia Kuttner’s office. To Nick’s relief, his credit check went smoothly, and after paying a surprisingly reasonable deposit he received a set of keys in return and a folder of paperwork about the cottage, including Wi-Fi passwords.
Juggling the keys and folder, he remembered what else he wanted to ask. “We’re going to need some food,” he said. “I don’t suppose there’s a supermarket around here?”
Ms. Kuttner leaned back in her office chair, thinking. “There’s a Publix just off Route 17. Crestwood Mall is a little further down if you need anything else,” she said. “Such as, oh, bathing suits?”
He caught Aidan’s smirk out of the corner of his eye. “Sorry, yes, we’ll do that.”
“That being said, the other cottages are going to be empty for at least the next two weeks. If you have to swim au naturel, I suppose you could do it now and get it out of your system.” She glanced at Aidan, allowing herself a wry smile. “Some folks just aren’t meant for clothing.”
Yeah, if I looked like him, I wouldn’t ever wear clothes, either. “We’ll try not to offend anyone,” he said.
Her smile turned a shade warmer. “That’s probably for the best. Thank you, gentlemen, and enjoy your stay.”
With that, they headed back out onto the sun-drenched boulevard. “We’ll stop off at the Publix on the way back and do a stock-up,” Nick said, squinting at the buildings around them. He recognized the silvery saltbox of The Lady’s Touch across the street. “Is there anything else you want to do while we’re here?”
“Seriously?” Aidan spotted something over Nick’s shoulder and his entire face lit up. “There. Can we go there?”
Nick turned and saw the familiar green and white sign with its smiling mermaid. There was something insanely meta about the idea of taking a real-life merman into that particular establishment. “Yeah, I could use a latte. Let’s go.”
****
Note to self—mers and coffee do not mix.
Nick had bought Aidan a Frappucino on the theory that a sea-dweller wouldn’t be used to hot drinks. In retrospect, it wasn’t the smartest of moves. Between the caffeine and sugar, the mer was now wired tighter than a hyperactive six-year-old, as reflected by the sheer amount of weird food Nick had had to remove from his cart at Publix.
“Are you sure I can’t have that cereal, because it looked really pretty, all those little colored pebbles like fish, but I bet they don’t taste like fish,” Aidan babbled, bouncing lightly in his seat as Nick turned onto the small road leading to the cove. “I’m glad you didn’t get any fish because I can catch you really, really good fish. I can�
�t cook it, though, and I don’t understand why humans cook fish, because it tastes so good when you catch it fresh, but I guess humans can’t always catch it fresh, right, especially if you live far in on the land.”
With a certain amount of relief Nick pulled into the driveway of their new cottage, eyeing Aidan once the car was in park. “I don’t think you should have any more caffeine,” he announced. “Or sugar. Or pretty much any kind of processed food ever again.”
Aidan grinned manically. “I really like you, you know that? You’re always worrying about other people. That’s so nice. Can I have some of that pie when we get in? I always wanted to try pie.”
Nick managed to get the buzzing mer to help him carry the groceries into the cottage, Aidan asking rapid-fire questions about everything from freezing techniques to packaging decoration as he put the food away. Afterwards, they headed over to Ian’s to retrieve his luggage and Norma. The place was empty except for the terrier, which jumped up around their legs as they walked in, barking cheerfully and licking at their knees.
“Oh, you’re such a good little furball, aren’t you? Yes, you are!” Aidan chattered, dropping to his knees and stroking Norma’s head. “I used to have a moray eel who liked to have her snout rubbed just like you.”
The blissed-out terrier rolled onto her back to give him access to her belly. While Aidan was occupied with tummy rubs, Nick went into the guest room and quickly repacked his clothes, grabbing the Rod from the closet. “Uh, hi,” he said.
The snake shivered, then twisted to focus on him. Hello, Nicholas. Have you started your lessons with Chiron yet?
“No, and I was going to ask you about that. What kind of lessons are we talking about, exactly?”
Pythia flicked her tongue thoughtfully. You’ll learn how to use the Rod for diagnosis and determination of treatment, of course. And they really should start immediately. I’ll summon Chiron—
“Whoa, wait. I’m just moving in to the cottage next door. Plus I have a merman on a caffeine and sugar high from hell and I’ve got to calm him down first. Can you give me a couple of hours to get settled?”
Hm. Well, what’s a few more hours after millennia of waiting, I suppose. Wake me when you’re ready to begin. The snake froze, turning back into a wooden carving.
Olympic Cove 2-Breaker Zone Page 9