The mer paused, thinking. Then he nodded. “Yes. That will be my penance, to work at earning your trust.”
“Okay. And in the meantime, I guess we’ll get to know each other better.” He studied the handsome male kneeling in front of him. If they’d met in a bar—or even better, a BDSM club—he would have immediately gravitated to Liam. As well as being undeniably stunning, the mer had that calm sense of command that appealed to Nick’s submissive side. If he hadn’t thrown me around last night, I’d be happy to switch places with him right now
His thought must have been playing out on his face because Liam’s body language changed, becoming more focused. “You don’t like seeing me on my knees, do you?” he said softly.
“No,” Nick said, just as softly. “It doesn’t seem right for you.”
“I have to admit, it does feel strange. But if you don’t mind me being honest,” Liam’s gaze dropped to his groin, “I rather enjoy the view.”
Nick’s mouth went dry at both the words and the low, sexy tone they were delivered in. Dom voice. Holy shit, he’s good. “Thank you.”
Jeweled eyes flicked back up, then down again meaningfully. “I’ll also admit I’m jealous of Aidan. He said that you were delicious. I wonder … would you give me the same boon?”
“I—” The air in the room seemed to disappear, and Nick struggled to breathe. “Y-you,” he stammered, “you want to—”
“Open your pants, take out your cock, and suck it,” Liam said, lips curving up in a dark little smile. “I want to feel you getting hard in my mouth, savor the softness of the skin on your cock, smell the musk of your body, taste your pleasure. I want to make you come in my mouth, Nick. Will you let me do that?”
Well, that’s definitely one way to get to know each other. Blood started pooling in his dick, plumping it against the fly of his shorts. “You don’t have to do this,” he said raggedly. “I mean—”
“I know. I want to.” Liam edged forward, slowly sliding his hands onto Nick’s knees. They felt like brands on his skin, they were so hot. He made a soft, needy noise in the back of his throat as Liam gently pushed his knees apart. “And you want me to, as well.”
This time Nick did groan, fighting off images of those chiseled lips wrapped around his shaft, the wet velvet of a warm tongue licking along the underside. He hadn’t had a chance to come the night before, and his now-aching balls reminded him of that fact. “Yes. God, please.”
“I’ll make this good for you, chuisle, I promise.”
His hands slid up Nick’s thighs, thumbs teasing his balls with a light brush before going to the fly on his shorts. The rasp of the zipper was audible, and Nick sighed in relief as his briefs-covered shaft expanded through the gap.
Liam made an appreciative noise, stroking the firm ridge. “I can see why Aidan was singing your praises,” he said. With care, he peeled down the elastic waistband, exposing Nick’s aching dick to the warm air. Licking his lips, he leaned down and ran the point of his tongue under the corona, along the sensitive underside.
The brush of hot, wet friction exactly where Nick wanted it was perfect. He watched, spellbound, as Liam licked him from balls to tip, slowly tracing the branching veins with the tip of his tongue. Then the mer took the head in his mouth, playfully sucking and letting it pop in and out of his mouth.
Liam pulled back a bit, smacking his lips. “Gods, Aidan didn’t praise your taste nearly enough.”
“Thank-oh-GOD.”
The mer had leaned forward, abruptly taking him in to the root. Wet heat engulfed him, and his head dropped to the back of the seat as Liam worshipped his cock with single-minded abandon. Unexpectedly, tears welled up, and he let them trickle down the sides of his face. The last time a Dom had sucked him off was Aaron. And not even his lost master had been as good as this.
Too soon, the buzz at the base of his spine built, encouraged by the hot, wet suction of Liam’s mouth. He dug his fingers into the arm rests. “Liam, please, I’m close!”
He whimpered when Liam pulled off, giving his cock head a brief lick. “Such a good boy,” he purred. “For letting me know you were going to come, I’m going to give you a special treat.”
Nick quickly found out that the mer’s definition of “a special treat” was to bring him right to the brink of orgasm with that astounding mouth before backing off and letting him cool down. By the third time his climax began to build, he gave in. “Please, sir, please,” he begged, “let me come. I’ll do whatever you want, just please!”
Liam hummed in approval, sucking hard as one large hand came up and gently tugged Nick’s balls. White heat exploded through his groin, and he came hard, voice cracking as he shouted. The mer swallowed around him, working the shaft with a hand and slurping obscenely.
Nick finally had to beg Liam to stop as sensitivity set in, shivering on the edge where pleasure met pain. The mer insisted on licking him clean, giving each ball and the tip a kiss for good measure. “How was that, chuisle?” he rumbled.
Nick sagged in the chair, boneless with afterglow. “Totally amazing. I don’t think I can walk now.”
“I’m sure it’ll come back to you.” Grinning, Liam wiped a stray droplet of semen from the side of his mouth and sucked his thumb clean. “I’m glad I pleased you.”
Still panting, Nick looked down and saw Liam’s cock standing hard and proud against the mer’s belly. The cowled foreskin was just pulling back from the head, exposing slick maroon flesh. His mouth watered at the sight. “Can I, uh, return the favor?”
Liam glanced down at his shaft, loosely clasping it and pulling his hand up in a gentle stroke. “It’s up to you, but I’d prefer to wait.”
“Why?”
The mer sat back on his heels, still stroking himself. “When the time comes for you to taste me, I want you naked and on your knees in willing submission. And you can’t give that to me yet, not until I’ve earned your trust.”
The post-orgasmic haze dissipated. “Okay, I see your point,” Nick said, straightening up. “But I don’t like leaving you with blue balls.”
“Oh, I don’t intend to suffer. Sit back and keep your hands on the arm rests.”
He obeyed. Liam wriggled a bit, getting comfortable in his kneeling position, then lifted his hand and licked a broad stripe across the palm, soaking it with saliva. Nick imagined what he was tasting, and had to swallow as his salivary glands went into overdrive.
Smiling, the mer started stroking his cock again, but this time it was done with a firm grip meant to stimulate instead of tease. Drops of pre-cum formed in the slit, and he scooped them up with his thumb, smearing them over the bulbous head and onto the shaft.
Nick swallowed again, trying not to drool from the insanely hot sight not two feet from him. “Sir, please—"
“Shh. Just watch.”
Liam’s hand sped up slightly, keeping up the deliberate pace. A red flush crept over the skin of his chest and stomach, staining it a mottled pink. After a few minutes of this he sucked in a harsh breath, his muscles going rigid. Creamy white semen spurted over his fist, landing on his hand, belly and thighs. Nick squirmed, his own cock twitching as he watched the mer milk himself before settling back onto his heels with a contented sigh.
Keeping his eyes on Nick, Liam scooped the sticky whiteness off himself, then lifted his hand and slowly licked it clean. Nick heard a high, reedy noise, and realized the whine was coming from his own throat. “God, that’s not fair,” he moaned softly.
Liam smiled at him. “I never said I was fair, chuisle. But hopefully you can have a taste soon.”
A sudden trill made them both jump. Flushing, Nick dug in his shorts pocket for his phone. To his relief, Ian’s name was on the screen.
He swiped the Talk button. “Yeah?”
“Just calling to check on you,” his friend said. “Everything cool over there?”
Nick sucked in a breath. “Everything’s okay. We’re talking.” He glanced at Liam, who winked. “Among other thin
gs.”
He heard his friend chuckle. “In which case I’m really sorry to do this, but I got brain paged by Bythos—he wants to know where the hell Liam is. They’re supposed to start transporting coral over to the Gulf today, and By wants him in the water pronto.”
“Okay, I’ll send him down.” He thumbed the End button. “Bythos and Aidan are waiting for you.”
“Yes, that doesn’t surprise me.” Liam tucked his toes under and rose to his feet in a single graceful move. “How much trouble am I in?”
“None,” Nick said, getting to his feet. “At least, not after I talk to Bythos. Apparently you and Aidan are supposed to help him haul coral to the Gulf?”
“Yes, and help replant it there and check on the existing transplants. We’ll probably be gone for a few days.”
Earlier that morning, the news that the tall mer would be out of the cove for two days would have made him breathe a sigh of relief. Now he just felt disappointed. “Are the two of you going to be okay doing that? I mean, the Gulf is Thetis’s hangout, isn’t it?”
“Yes, but we’ll be with Lord Bythos, plus Aidan is a ranger and Lord Poseidon has dispatched a squad of tritons to act as guards. We should be safe.”
There was a big gap between “should be” and “will be,” but Nick suspected the mer already knew that. “Just … be careful, all right? We need to talk some more.”
“That we do.” Liam reached down and took Nick’s hand. To the physician’s surprise, he brought it to his mouth, turned it over and laid a kiss in the center of his palm. The gesture made Nick shiver pleasantly, and he could feel Liam’s lips curve against his skin. “Plus, I still owe you a taste.”
Before Nick could over-think it, he slipped his hand around the nape of Liam’s neck and leaned up, brushing their mouths together. The mer went still for a moment, then responded with a ridiculously sweet and annoyingly chaste kiss. It still sent an electric charge zinging across Nick’s nerves.
He pulled back slightly, licking his lips. He could taste the barest hint of Liam, a salty, earthy flavor that he wanted more of. “That was, um. For luck.”
Liam raised an eyebrow at his audacity, then grinned indulgently. “I’d better get going.”
“Yeah.” With reluctance, Nick took him to the back door, staying there and watching as Liam strolled down to the beach. The mer dove into the water, a dark blue fin flipping up and waving at him, then was gone.
“Oh, thank Grandma. I thought he was never going to leave.”
Nick turned to see Chiron leaning against the kitchen entrance, arms folded across his chest. “I’d say good morning, but it’s pretty obvious how yours went,” the centaur said.
“Could you please let me know when you’re going to show up?” Nick said. “Knocking, the doorbell, something?”
“Feh. Knocking is for plebs,” Chiron said dismissively. “We’ve got triton physiology to cover. Let’s get moving, kiddo.”
Like he had a choice. The taste of Liam still on his lips, Nick reluctantly shut the door and followed his mentor into the kitchen for the day’s lesson.
****
Two days later, Nick knew more about mer, triton, and siren anatomy and specific illnesses than he ever expected to know (or, to be honest, thought existed). Chiron’s teaching style was sarcastic but surprisingly entertaining, and his in-depth lectures about fin rot, freshwater strain, and gill blight kept Nick’s mind occupied during the day and off what was happening in the Gulf.
At night, however, his thoughts turned to Liam and Aidan and how they were faring with Bythos’s transplanting project. Ian had explained that the tritons were the paramilitary force of the seafolk and would be guarding the mers and Bythos while they worked. Nick had to wonder how effective they could be against a pissed-off goddess.
By the third day, he was grateful for the distraction of a robocall from his bank that wanted to verify the payment he’d made for the cottage rental. It reminded him that he hadn’t checked his bank account since before he left Chicago.
Digging out the Wi-Fi password that Marcia had given him along with the cottage paperwork, he opened his laptop and accessed his bank’s website. As he hoped, Memorial had been prompt about depositing his last paycheck, even tacking on the accrued vacation pay. The amount in his savings account, however, was lower than he liked.
If he was serious about staying in Florida, he was going to have to find a job, either at one of the local hospitals or with a doc-in-the-box outfit that provided emergency care. Assuming that any of them were hiring.
Shoving his feet in some flip-flops, he headed over to Ian’s cottage. As he’d hoped, the other man was sitting on the screened-in back porch typing on his laptop. Nick felt a little bad about interrupting what was obviously a productive writing session, but he tapped on the porch door anyway.
Ian blinked, pulling himself out of the writing zone. “Hey,” he said, coming to the screen door, “what’s up?”
“Got a couple of questions about local hospitals.”
Ian’s eyebrows went up. “Okay. Come on in.”
Nick followed his friend and the heavenly smell of coffee into the bright kitchen. “Where’s Aphros?”
Ian busied himself with pouring two cups. “Off patrolling with his tritons. There have been some weird reports coming from the pods around the Keys and they’re checking them out.”
Nick accepted a mug of coffee. “You mean, like more ilkowhatsits?”
“Ilkothelloi, and no. They seem to be lying low. But the mers are reporting seeing strange creatures hovering on the edges of mer settlements. They tend to run as soon as the mers try and get close enough to investigate, so Aphros wants to hunt one down and see if Thetis has been tinkering with other species.”
“Crap.”
“Yeah.” Ian took a sip of his own coffee. “Anyway, what do you want to know about the local hospitals?”
“I was wondering if you had any contacts in any of them. If I’m going to stay down here permanently, I need to find a job.”
Ian winced. “Oh. I kinda forgot about that.”
Nick stopped the joke about not everyone being independently wealthy before it left his mouth. The reason why Ian didn’t need a day job anymore was due to the extremely generous life insurance policy payout he’d gotten after Diana’s death. “So is that a no?”
“Yeah, sorry.”
“That’s okay. I guess I’ll start putting out feelers, see if I know anyone in the area who knows about an open ER position.”
Ian blinked, then snapped his fingers. “Wait a minute. I’ve got a better idea.”
****
A half hour later they were pulling into a parking spot in front of The Lady’s Touch. “You sure about this?” Nick said, holding the car door open so that Norma, already on her leash and happy about going for a ride, could get out.
“Definitely,” Ian said, thumbing his fob. The Toyota beeped obediently as its doors locked. “Heather has fingers in all kinds of local pies. If anyone can find an open emergency medicine position around here—and more importantly, who to talk to about it—it’s her.”
Nick followed him into the antique store, pausing at the door with Norma. The building was just as crammed as he remembered, although this time its proprietor was sitting behind the counter nibbling on a chocolate chip cookie and studying a small pile of paperwork.
She looked up at their entrance and smiled at Ian. “Hello, stranger. Didn’t expect to see you for a while.” Her smile stayed on, but her manner turned a bit more formal as she nodded at Nick. “Hello, Bearer. Don’t worry, your dog is totally welcome. Just ask her not to pee on anything. How are the lessons with Chiron going?”
Nick gaped at her. “You know about that?”
“Well, of course I do. I was hanging onto the darn thing for you, after all.” She pushed a plate of cookies across to them. “How is that cranky old horse’s ass, anyway?”
“Still cranky, but I’m learning a lot.” Nick picked up a co
okie and took a bite. “Okay, I’m sorry but I have to ask—are you a mermaid?”
Heather laughed. “Oh, my, no. I’m a Nereid. We’re sea nymphs, the daughters of Nereus and Doris. Poseidon’s consort Amphitrite is one of my sisters, as is Thetis.”
“Thetis? You mean…” He trailed off, not knowing how to phrase “your whackjob sister” politely.
Heather nodded sadly. “Yes, that one. She’s changed so much, I can’t even say I know who she is anymore.”
Ian reached across the counter, taking her hand and squeezing it. “I’m so sorry, H.”
She gripped his fingers gently. “Not your fault, tadpole. It is what it is. I just wish things had been different.”
Nick knew he was missing something, but the sadness coming off the Nereid dissuaded him from asking more questions. “Maybe we should go,” he offered.
“No, that’s all right. You came here for something?”
He explained about his need for a job. “Hm. I do know the head of Emergency Medicine over at Olympic Regional Medical Center,” Heather said. “I believe she said something about one of her attendings getting ready to take maternity leave. I don’t know if she’s hired anyone yet, but that might be a good fit for you. It won’t be a permanent position, but it should get you through a couple of months. I can give her a call for you, if you want.”
Nick nodded in relief. “That would be great, thank you.”
“Told you,” Ian said smugly.
Heather glanced at him. “Told him what?”
“That you knew absolutely everyone around here.”
She made an expansive gesture. “What can I say? People like to talk to me, and I like helping them.”
Ian’s comment about absolutely everyone niggled at the back of Nick’s mind. “I don’t suppose you know anything about the merfolk in this area, do you?” he asked.
Olympic Cove 2-Breaker Zone Page 14