“Of course I do,” Heather said. “In fact, I’ve known most of the elders from the Bright Water and Rushing Current pods since they were fry. What do you want to know?”
He’d never asked Aidan or Liam which pod they came from. Yeah, well, like I knew to ask in the first place? “I met a couple of mers a few days ago,” he said slowly, trying to sidestep the whole fated mate issue, “and I was wondering if you knew anything about them. I don’t know what pod they’re from, but their names are Liam and Aidan?”
The Nereid’s eyes widened. “Gaia above. Are you their agapetos?”
Nick winced. “You know about that?”
“What part of ‘I know everyone’ did you not hear?” Heather wriggled a bit in her seat, excited. “The Oracle said that they’d be mated to a man from the land, one who possessed a staff of power. I didn’t even think about it when you found the Rod.” She thumped her forehead with the heel of one hand. “Doh!”
Nick couldn’t help grinning. “Could you tell me anything about them? They’re off working with Bythos, and I’m kinda flying blind here.”
She nibbled her lip. “Well, Liam’s mother is the head of the Bright Water Elders, and Aidan comes from a family of rangers from the same grotto. I probably should warn you, there’s a bit of drama there.”
“I’m listening.”
She leaned over the counter. “Okay, as I understand it Liam’s mother pretty much had him engaged from fryhood to the son of another Elder. Doing a little pod power consolidation by keeping it in the family, you know? Liam went along with it until he hit adolescence, at which point he announced that he wasn’t going to mate with Colm because Aidan was his agapetos.” Heather shook her head. “His mother was livid. She tried to forbid him from courting Aidan because their mating marks never appeared. When that didn’t work, she tried to get Aidan’s entire family expelled from the grotto on some trumped up charge. Aidan pretty much broke Liam out of house arrest after that, and they both went on the run to the Oracle to get confirmation that they were agapetos. From what I heard, the Oracle told them that they still had to find their third, a male from the land who would bear a powerful staff and be the right hand of a god.”
“Huh. That does sound like you,” Ian said. “Not only are you the Bearer of the Rod, but you’re pretty much my best friend, too.”
“Yeah? Thanks, Lord.” Nick mulled over the new information. Aidan and Liam sounded like a genuine pair of star-crossed lovers who’d gone through their own share of daytime drama. But was he really meant to spend the rest of his life with them? “Do you know what they’re like? Personally, I mean?”
Heather grabbed another cookie. “I’ve met Liam a number of times,” she said after a bite. “Good guy, very intelligent. He’s set to join the Bright Water Elders when he comes of age, and he’ll probably take over his mom’s slot in time. I only met Aidan once, but he’s a decorated ranger. He struck me as someone you want on your side when the zombie apocalypse comes.” She shot him a grin. “Plus they’re both insanely hot. If you’re their agapetos, I think you’ll be happy with them.”
Norma picked that moment to whine softly, dancing a bit in place. Nick patted his pocket to make sure he’d brought poop bags. “I think Norma needs a bio break. Is there anywhere around here where I can let her pee?”
“Dogs aren’t allowed on the public beach, but there’s a park about a block down,” Heather said. “Just head towards the beach, and you’ll see it on your left.”
“Great. I’ll be right back.” As Ian and Heather started chatting about Ian’s book, Nick guided the terrier to the shop door and back onto the sidewalk. The mid-morning shoppers were starting to get thick, and he stuck as close to the parked cars as possible in order to give Norma a semi-protected place to squat if she needed it before she could get to the park.
He smiled a little as her tail started whipping back and forth, thrilled with all the new smells coming from the people and behaving like a princess as little kids came up to pet her and women cooed over her. Some of the latter eyed him appreciatively after they stood up, fluttering eyelashes and taking deep, chest-raising breaths. One brunette even asked for his phone number. He just smiled and gave the old excuse that Norma was the number one gal in his life. I mean, come on—I’m a guy in nice clothes walking a Jack Russell terrier. You do the math.
As they got closer to the beach, he spotted more and more people walking around in bathing suits. A large percentage of them were hot guys, including a trio of ripped college hunks that would have had him doing his best not to drool a week ago. Now, they just weren’t tripping his trigger.
It wasn’t the mers, he told himself firmly. Yes, Aidan was gorgeous and so fucking sexy when he was in Dom mode, and Nick was willing to admit that Liam had an astoundingly hot body and killer eyes. But that whole chuisle thing was so out of left field that it turned into the world’s most effective boner killer. He was painfully aware that he had a shitty track record when it came to men—the scar on his chest proved that. But he didn’t want anyone, even the Fates, deciding whom he was going to spend the rest of his life with.
Although you’d probably enjoy it with Aidan, the sub part of his brain spoke up. And when he wasn’t trying to kill you, Liam certainly gave off a big bad Dom vibe, too. And he gave you the best damn blow job you’d ever had in your life, Aaron included.
Farther down the block, he spotted a wrought iron fence enclosing a greensward. He guided the now-dancing Norma into a small square park lined with hedges inside the fence and liberally dotted with a variety of tropical trees. Norma tugged him over to the base of a palm tree where she squatted and watered the ground thoroughly.
If that job Heather mentioned came through, he reasoned, he would be down here for at least three months. You promised Liam that you’d give him a chance to earn your trust. And you know damned well you miss Aidan. Why not go out with them, get to know them? His heart leapt at the thought. And yeah, if things work out, scene with them. You’ll never know until you try.
Two Doms. The very thing he’d dreamed about, had assumed was impossible. Two loving men to serve, pleasure, and submit to. It was almost too good to be true—
Someone cleared their throat behind him. He turned, ready to apologize for Norma’s peeing on a tree.
And froze.
“Hello, pet,” Barnard Whitfield purred.
Chapter Eight
“You were the very devil to track down, you know,” Barnard said, sounding amused. The financier was elegantly dressed in a designer polo shirt and tailor-made tropical linen slacks. Even in the June warmth, he looked cool and in control. “I had you all the way to this dreadful little town, and then you disappeared. I was afraid I’d have to call in some favors and have your cell phone tracked, but here you are. It’s almost a sign from God, don’t you agree?”
Nick’s grip tightened on the leash. “I thought I told you we were over, Barnard.”
The other man tsked. “You’re still upset about my slip-up. Well, I suppose I can’t blame you. But in all honesty, pet, I didn’t hear your safeword. If I had, I would have stopped immediately, you know that.” Tilted teal eyes shone with innocence. “I’m a Dom, not a monster.”
Yes, you are a monster. I screamed at you to stop, and you smiled and said “just a little more”.
"I don’t care," Nick grated. “Blood and knife play are my hard limits, and you knew that.”
“You know it’s a Dom’s responsibility to push his sub and find his true boundaries.”
“You don’t involve hard limits in a scene, Barnard. You know that. And I told you when we started, no knives and no fucking blood play.”
The other man’s hand shot out, grabbing his wrist and squeezing. “Language, pet,” he warned. “You know better than that.” He frowned suddenly, staring at Nick’s neck. “Are those … bruises?”
Shit. Nick wrenched his wrist loose, stepping back. “I am not your pet. I withdraw my service. You are not my Dom anymore.” His stomach chur
ned, but he spat out the words anyway despite Barnard’s increasingly cold expression. “Now get out of here and go back to Chicago. I’m sure you can find plenty of pain sluts who would love to have your name carved into their chest.”
Barnard sighed. “Of course I could, but I don’t want them. I want you, Nicholas.” One hand raised into the air as if to touch him. “You’re so delightful, with your responsiveness and desire to serve. And such smooth, pale skin. I just want to bite it until it bleeds.”
Nick took another step back, Norma following him. “You’re sounding a lot like Hannibal Lecter right now.”
Barnard’s teal eyes went glacial. “I don’t enjoy being compared to a cannibalistic psychopath, Nicholas.”
“And I don’t enjoy having my safeword ignored. I’m not coming back. Ever. Get that into your head.”
Unexpectedly, Barnard's expression changed, and he snapped his fingers. “Oh. Now I understand. You’re staying with that writer friend of yours, aren’t you? Ian something?”
Nick went cold. Barnard could make Ian’s life hell with a single phone call. “That’s none of your business.”
“Oh, Nicholas.” Barnard blinked ingenuously at him. “Don’t you see? Your friend never liked me, you know. I haven’t the faintest idea why, unless he wanted you for himself.”
No, he could tell right off the bat that you were dangerous. I was fooled by the nice clothes and the fancy car. “Ian doesn’t have anything to do with this. Now, if you’ll excuse me—”
He tried to step around the other man, but Barnard deftly cut him off. “Nicholas, don’t make this difficult. I have a plane waiting. Come home with me and we’ll forget all about the last three days, yes?”
Short of a lobotomy, there was no way he would ever forget the events of the last three days. “Get out of my way, Barnard.”
His former Dom smiled. “Pet, try to get this through your adorable little head. You are my work in progress. I own you, just like I own every other piece of art in my condo. You don’t get to say when we stop. I do. And I’m nowhere near ready to stop with you.” He gazed at Nick’s chest. “Not when there’s so much canvas to cover.”
Norma started barking loudly, dancing on the edge of her leash and baring her teeth. Already nauseated by Barnard’s crooned perversions, Nick looked over his shoulder and spotted the two men approaching them.
Barnard chuckled. “Don’t look so surprised, pet. You know Pitor and Milan go everywhere with me.”
A tall dishwater blond with slightly bulging hazel eyes and a scar running diagonally across his chin, Pitor Dragicevic worked as Barnard’s chauffeur, while the shorter, darker Milan Kovic served as personal assistant. The men also performed other duties as necessary, including serving as an audience during one of Nick’s scenes with Barnard. After his sweating ex had finished and disappeared into the bathroom, both men had approached the padded bench where Nick had been tied and informed him that his Dom had suggested they take turns with him. “We make you scream louder than Mr. Whitfield, yes?” Pitor had said, reaching out and pinching one of his nipples hard.
The Dom had stormed back into the playroom at Nick’s panicked shouts for help. When he told Barnard what they’d said, however, Barnard had sighed and shaken his head. “I simply thought you might enjoy a little group activity. Obviously I was wrong. Don’t fret—they won’t lay a hand on you.”
They hadn’t, but both men would stare at him with cold promise in their eyes. That promise was back as they approached, falling into place behind him like a sinewy wall.
“Now, you have a choice, pet,” Barnard said in a reasonable tone. “You can come with us voluntarily, or Pitor and Milan will persuade you to come. I would strongly suggest you choose the former, for your own good.”
Frantic, Nick glanced around the empty park. There was only one other exit, and Piotr and Milan blocked it. “We’re in broad daylight. You wouldn’t dare try anything.”
“Wouldn’t I?” Those teal eyes had gone flat, inhuman. “Are you so sure about that, pet? And speaking of pets.” Barnard leaned over, smiling sweetly at Norma. “We’ll have to do something about that animal of yours. I can’t have her pissing on my Axminster and shedding everywhere, after all. We’ll drop her off at the nearest pound.”
Just like that, Nick’s fear evaporated, replaced by fury. “Lay one finger on her and I’ll kill you,” he snarled.
Barnard tsked. “You still don’t understand, do you, pet? I will decide what goes on in your life. I was obviously far too lenient in the past, but I can assure you that will end now.” He glanced at his bodyguards, then jerked his head at Norma.
Desperate, Nick let go of the leash. “Norma, run!”
It was the command he’d give her when they were at a dog park or on a beach, when she could run to her heart’s content. Norma obediently darted off, barely missing Pitor’s foot trying to stomp on the leash. She paused at the front entrance to the park, barked once, and was gone.
Barnard just laughed. “How convenient. And who knows—perhaps the little rodent won’t get hit by a passing car, after all.” He checked his watch. “Now, we really must get underway. Gentlemen, if you please?”
****
Aidan ambled down the street, feeling comfortable as he took in the shop windows and the various humans passing him. The coral transplanting operation had been challenging work, but Lord Bythos was very pleased with their help. As soon as they all got back to the cove Aidan and Liam had gone straight to Nick’s cottage, hoping to surprise him. Finding it empty had been a disappointment until Lord Bythos spotted them and passed along the information that Nick was in Olympic Beach with Lord Ian.
Luckily there was a mer cache close to the town. Armed with clothing and human money, the two of them set out find Nick.
Liam was a walking mass of tension, brows beetling as he scanned the humans around them. Aidan leaned over, nudging his chuisle with an elbow. “Lighten up. You look like you’ve got a barnacle stuck up your ass.”
The look he received was incredulous. “Excuse me, but aren’t you the one who usually tells me to be on my guard and not talk to anyone?” Liam said. “Why are you so relaxed?”
“Because I’ve already been here with Nick. For a human town, it’s pretty nice.” Aidan spotted a green and white sign up ahead. “And that place is the home of the best iced drink in the world. You’ve got to try one—”
A small brindle dog trailing a blue leash broke out of the crowd and dashed to him, jumping up and pawing his thighs. He recognized her as Nick’s pet.
“Norma?” he said, dropping to a squat and rubbing the excited dog’s ears. “Hey, what are you doing out here, girl?”
Liam hunkered down beside him. “You know this animal?”
“Yeah, she’s Nick’s dog.” Aidan scanned the people on the street, but didn’t see their mate. “She must have gotten away from him.”
Norma bumped his hand with her head, still barking, then ran off a few feet before pausing and coming back to them. “If she belongs to him, we probably should get her back to him,” Liam suggested. “Does she always make that noise?”
Her rapid barking didn’t sound like what Aidan had heard from her before. “No, she doesn’t.” Suddenly he had a bad feeling about Nick. Leaning down, he grabbed her leash. “Take us to Nick, girl.”
This time she woofed, tugging him along. They followed her further down the street to a fenced-in square lined with thick green bushes. As she dashed through the gate, he spotted a furious Nick trapped between three humans, two of them bulky males whose body language screamed “mercenary”. A third human watched with an amused smile.
Automatically he switched the leash to his left hand, dropping his right to the knife handle under his shirt. “Nick,” he called, keeping his attention on the dangerous humans. “Are you all right?”
All three humans turned, the bulky ones glaring at them. The third gave them both a long, disdainful look. “My, my, pet. You’ve been a busy boy, I
see,” he said.
Pet. This had to be Barnard Whitfield. Rage surged through Aidan. “You sick fuck,” he snarled. “You stay away from him.”
“Oh, I see,” Whitfield said with a sneer. “I was wondering who Nicholas had been entertaining. I hate to disappoint you, my dear boy, but I’m afraid he isn’t in the market for a new Dom. Now, if you two will excuse us, we have a plane to catch.”
He nodded, and both guards slipped their hands into their jackets. Ready to defend his mates to the death, Aidan went to draw his knife.
“Is there a problem here?”
Cursing, Aidan turned to see two new humans entering the park. Both wore beige caps, khaki shirts, and trousers with gold badges, as well as heavy black belts that supported a variety of items. Including, Aidan realized, a gun holster.
Human police officers. Mers were never, ever supposed to show themselves to human police officers, or human authorities of any kind.
He winced. Lord Ian is going to be so pissed.
****
Nick sagged in relief when the cops walked into the park. The taller one, with dark hair and dark aviator shades, had a nameplate opposite his badge that read CONNORS. “I believe I asked y’all a question, gentlemen,” he called.
“There’s no problem, officer,” Barnard said smoothly.
“Sheriff.”
Nick’s memory pinged, something about Ian telling him to call a sheriff named Connors. “Do you know Ian West?” he called.
Connors frowned at him. “Maybe. Who’s asking?”
“My name’s Nick Gardiner,” he said quickly. “I’m a friend of his, and he mentioned you.”
“Uh-huh.” The sheriff studied him, then Pitor and Milan. Nick noticed his hands stayed open and near his holster. “You boys seem a little overdressed for the weather. Why don’t you relax a bit?”
The bodyguards remained silent, but their empty hands came out of their jackets.
“That’s better.” The sheriff sucked air through his teeth. “Now, I know I’ve never seen any of you around here before, so let me explain a few things. We’re pretty easygoing around here, as long as everyone understands and obeys the law. Which happens,” he pointed a thumb at himself, “to be me, with an assist from my deputies.” The thumb now pointed at the other khaki-clad officer, who looked particularly humorless. “And when I see a bunch of guys in an empty park look like they’re about to open a can of whoop-ass on each other, that bothers me. So I think you all need to find something more relaxing to do. Sound like a plan?”
Olympic Cove 2-Breaker Zone Page 15