by daisy harris
* * * * Nereus circled his body. This deep underwater, the ocean cast a green light on the merman’s handsome features. That strong tail pumped hard, his face fierce as he gripped David’s hand and tugged him forward through the gentle currents.
In the distance, David saw the whirlwind, water swirling like a tornado. He pulled back, trying to break Nereus’s grip.
The merman looked at him, kindness and lust all in one. A strong pale hand wrapped at the back of his neck and dragged him into a drugging kiss.
Shots of desire bucked down David’s body and he gripped at the merman’s tail, squeezing where his backside would be, feeling an echo of human hips below the rubbery exterior.
The merman pulled back, angry now, though David didn’t know why. He dragged him forward again, closer to the bubbles and whipping water. A moment later the swirl flipped David, like a wave crashing over his body. He struggled to right himself, figure out which way was up, but Nereus had released his hand and the water swallowed him whole.
* * * * David sat at his desk, looking through his emails. Friedson had forwarded some of his preliminary theories to his superiors. They were requesting a project proposal, saying that if David’s suspicions about shifting-shark cytokine cascades were correct, they might plug several million into the project. Even more important, human amputees might someday be able to re-grow limbs. David sat back in his chair, his mind leafing through both the science and the implications. He could win a Nobel Prize.
He couldn’t help but imagine his acceptance speech, his parent’s proud faces. In that moment, he entertained the fantasy of other people, kids who’d teased him, boyfriends who’d hurt him, all impressed and astounded by his success.
A knock on the door jolted him from his reverie. “Dr. Weber?” David clicked shut the email, not wanting his boss to know how many times he’d read it through. “Come in.”
Friedson sprung through the door, his hands rubbing together in excitement. “I have some excellent news.”
The younger scientist lifted his eyebrow in what he hoped was an interested expression. Friedson’s idea of excellent sometimes chilled David to the bones.
“I’ve found a hybrid!” Despite his age, he bounced on the balls of his feet.
“A hybrid shark?”
“Yes! Half shark, half mere. We’ve been trying to create one in the lab for years. Now to find one in the wild, it’s incredibly lucky. The company is sending out an extraction crew as we speak.”
David plastered a smile on his face and nodded. “That is good news.” Friedson’s work centered more on military applications. He believed that if shark-shifters could be bioengineered to walk on land, they might eventually be recruited as unkillable soldiers. From what he knew of the sharks, they weren’t likely to be cooperative in such a role.
“Yes, very good!” Friedson seemed practically unable to contain his joy. It would have been almost cute had it not been so creepy. “And we won’t need Hank anymore either. So that lets us clear out one tank.”
David’s heart skipped a beat. A selfish corner of his mind rebelled at the thought of Nereus being set free. “That will be nice.” David reassessed his promise to set the sharks free. Truth was, he’d need them if his proposal went through. David would try to improve their treatment, though, as much as he could.
“Yes, he’s scheduled for euthanasia tomorrow. As you can imagine, we need to dispose of the animals’ bodies very carefully.”
David’s head snapped up from his papers. “Eu…” He tried to lower his voice, sound calmer than he felt. “Why is it necessary to sacrifice…him. Why not just release him into the wild?”
Friedson was already walking to the door, pushing it open. “The amnesiac agent we use prior to release only erases a few months of memory. All subjects kept three months or longer get sacrificed.” He said it in such an offhand way, like nothing more than a tidbit of company policy.
David turned back to his computer, his fingers shaking as they stabbed at the keys. They’d increased security fivefold since his and Nereus’s little adventure. He drew up the lab schedule, realizing that the procedure was set for 7:00 a.m.
* * * * Raider watched Sophia ready for dinner. He’d borrowed a turquoise sundress from one of the guys’ girlfriends, and the color set off the topaz of Sophia’s wide eyes. She bent over to reach the sandals he’d gotten her, and a groan ripped from his chest.
There was no fucking way he was going to let her go with some asshole dragon. The wage Rhoaver was offering would be more than enough for him to keep her in pretty dresses. Heck, he could probably even buy a boat and make payments, depending on how legit Rhoaver’s cover was. Though of course, buying a boat rather than stealing it would take him down a notch in the shark hierarchy.
Maybe he’d steal a boat and then donate money to some charity or some shit.
“Ready, Raider?” She turned to him, a big wide grin on her face. He needed to convince her, show her that he could take care of her just as well as her own people. Heck probably better, hell how many of those stuck up jerks had turned her down? His lip curled into a rueful smile. They didn’t know what they were missing.
“Sure, sweetheart.” He pulled her close, planting a firm kiss on her lips before tucking her under his arm. He opened the door to the cabin for her but then realized what he’d forgotten. “Oops, we forgot the ropes.”
Her heart-shaped face fell. “Do we have to?”
Raider thought about it. Surely he could tell the guys that he had her under such tight control he didn’t need to keep her tied up. But no doubt that would lead to questions, possibly to demands for proof. It would humiliate Sophia worse that just having her hands bound. “Yeah we do, sorry.” He nipped her jaw and reached for the length of rope from before.
She rolled her eyes, but still held out her wrists.
He winced when he saw that the skin still looked red and raw. “Why haven’t you healed?”
She lifted her shoulders and pulled her hands from his, tucking them under her armpits. “I don’t have magical healing abilities in my human form like you do. If I want a healing burst I have to change forms.”
He looked around the cabin, trying to calculate how much room she’d need. She read his mind. “It’s not enough space. I’d either crush my dragon body or damage the boat.” Her shoulders slumped forward, resigned as she offered her hands.
He said something without even thinking. “I’m going to get you out of here as soon as I can, sweetheart.”
Sophia’s expression held such gratitude he felt like a shit for putting her through this. It was all for her, but he couldn’t tell her that yet. If she said no, even with the new job…
“I’ll wrap some cloth under them, okay?”
He pulled a new T-shirt out of their bag and ripped a thick strip of it off. Then he wrapped the fabric in wide passes around her crossed hands. Her eyes blazed into his, her lips parted on a gasp, and only a foot away.
His voice came out ragged. “After this, we’re going to find a nice little island somewhere. The next time I tie you up it’ll be a lot more fun, I promise.”
He tied the cotton with a square knot and then wrapped the rope over that, keeping it loose as possible.
“How would you bind me? The same as now?” Her breathy voice sent his every nerve ending on fire. His dick jerked to attention.
As he secured the last hitch Raider leaned into her ear. “Hmm…No. I think I’d tie your wrists at your back.”
She shook at his word, probably like him imagining her breasts thrust forward, undefended from his mouth.
He leaned in to whisper in her ear. “Do you think you could ride me like that? Sit on my lap with my cock deep inside you?”
“Raider!” Her voice broke, and something in his chest melted. He wished with every bone in his body that they were alone, elsewhere. But if their little flirtation distracted her from their current situation, then he’d work it.
“You just think about tha
t until I bring you back here. Later.”
Her lip trembled, but when he opened the door to lead her back out to the yachts, she lifted her chin.
* * * * Nereus watched with tentative eyes as David strutted around the lab. He wasn’t wearing his glasses, and Nereus only saw him stab at the bridge of his nose once. He’d overheard the other PhDs talk about the buzz about the scientists’ new theories, and he saw his mildmannered lover in a new light.
He was successful in this world. And from what Nereus knew of the human world, David’s preference for men might make him less than successful in other areas of life.
David leafed through some files on the far end of the room, and Nereus furtively tried to catch his eye. He felt like a wuss seeking reassurance, but there it was. The sharks’ words sat like lead in his gut.
He watched the scientist’s back as he marched to the door and pulled the screen aside. As the lock clicked behind him, Nereus heard Khrour’s raspy chuckle.
* * * * Guilt nipped at Raider’s heels as he led Sophia up the fly bridge on Rhoaver’s yacht, but the feeling faded when he saw the faces of Rhoaver’s men. Three thugs from earlier closed in to give him pats on the back. Ignoring their greetings as if he got praised every day, Raider set his sights on Rhoaver’s table.
The bridge had been decorated with tiki-style tables and raised barstools, and the mob boss sat at a larger one. Long-legged mere sat to either side of him, laughing and batting their eyelashes. A bikiniclad mermaid sauntered up, placing a lei around Raider’s neck. Her breath tickled at Raider’s ear and she stage-whispered, “Let me know later if you want some company.”
He heard the soft thumping behind him of Sophia’s heart speeding up. He wondered if it was because she was jealous or because she thought Raider would take the female up on her offer and expect her to join in. The first possibility made him flush and the second made his dick jump nearly out of his pants.
Warmth at his back told him she’d moved closer. He fought the urge to turn his head and kiss her, but if he was going to keep her, he needed this.
Throwing his shoulders back, he led Sophia up the table. He grabbed a lei from a nearby waitress and placed it around Sophia’s neck, not wanting her to feel left out of the festive atmosphere. When she scowled, he said, “It’s a tiki theme.” She narrowed her eyes, clearly unwilling to be cheered.
“Raider!” Rhoaver called out his greeting, slapping the ass of one of the females at his side to get her to leave. Without skipping a beat, Raider slid into her unoccupied seat. No seat had been cleared for Sophia, so he pulled her onto his lap and slipping his thigh between hers for good measure.
Always helpful, she squeaked.
“Hey.” He didn’t make eye contact, not letting on to Rhoaver how urgently he wanted to get this settled and get back to his boat. “Nice party.”
Rhoaver laughed, pulling a small mirror from his pocket, and tapping some white powder out from a tiny vial. A razor blade appeared in his hand, and he began cutting lines.
“Where’s the grub at? I’m hungry as hell.” Raider looked around, hoping for a buffet table. Shit, after all he’d seen in his father’s hold it wasn’t like a little recreation drug use could shock him, but he didn’t trust Rhoaver any farther than he could throw him and couldn’t risk letting his guard down with Sophia so vulnerable.
“The mere will bring it out in a second. Here, do a line.” Rhoaver held out a straw. His face was calm, but Raider knew it for the dare it was.
“I’m gonna pass.” It was a risk. If pressed, he’d say that he didn’t get blotto with business associates, but he tried to appear impassive at Rhoaver’s probing glance.
“Fuck. It’s just K, man.” Rhoaver lowered his head and snorted the animal tranquilizer, three lines in a row. Raider heard Sophia’s sharp exhalation of breath.
“And we keep the new lap candy over there.” Rhoaver pointed to the far end of the flybridge to the columns supporting the awning where a couple of bored-looking shark-shifter females stood handcuffed. “Those two are pretty much ready to be released into the wild.” He gestured around the pool area to where his crew and his females did shots and ground up against each other. “Don’t tell me you don’t like to share.”
Raider’s pulse pounded in his ears. He’d passed on the previous challenge and simply couldn’t step down from this one. The small straw still rested on the tabletop and Raider wished he could go back and shove whatever Rhoaver wanted up his nose.
“C’mon, sweetheart.” He hooked his hand at Sophia’s elbow and led her over to where Rhoaver’s thugs were releasing the other females. He moved to wrap the rope at her wrists around the pole. The other sharks closed in, grabbing her out of Raider’s grasp.
“We can take her.” The one wrapped his arms around Sophia from the back while the other started to unclip a set of shackles. “With a rack like hers, we should tie them behind.”
His partner laughed, and the look of shock and fear on Sophia’s face told him that he was rubbing an erection at her back.
It took every ounce of his will to turn away from her. “I’ll be right back, babe.” He heard her gasp in fear as he walked away and made a fucking oath not to leave her there longer than necessary.
Chapter 12
Rough fingers slipped under Sophia’s sundress reaching for her still-tender core. A hard length poked at her back. She smelled sweat and unwashed feet. “Raider! I’m scared!”
The thugs beside her stilled and several tables of nearby sharks went silent, watching to see what the newest member of their team would do.
“Please!” Raider stalked toward her, anger etched on every plane of his face. The pale mark shone stark white against the darkening brown. His veined and knuckled hand reached up to grip her face. For a horrible, unmeasureable moment, she truly believed he’d strike her—just to keep up the act.
He moved his mouth to her ear. His voice was calm, but deadly determined. “I need this.” He pulled away as fast as he’d neared, smacking the cheek of her bottom hard enough for the entire party to hear. Chuckles erupted all around, and tears welled up in her eyes. It wasn’t painful, not really. But the burn from his hand felt like a brand, a statement to these males of her lowly status.
“You’re not really like this!” she shouted at his retreating back. He stopped again, and when he turned, his expression was murderous.
“You saved me from your father, and you’d be in a dragon prison now if I hadn’t asked you to kidnap me!” She couldn’t stop the word vomit from escaping her lips, and his face slowly morphed from furious to hurt. Her lips pressed tightly together.
She heard the murmurs of the various thugs as they pulled back from the scene, embarrassed and perhaps even disgusted by the male who they’d welcomed into the fold only moments earlier. Raider rushed to her, yanking her arms forward as he led her off the flybridge and down the stairs.
She kept pace with him all the way to their boat and when he shoved her through the doorway into the cabin she didn’t even try to resist. The words, “I’m sorry” hung at her tongue, but he rounded on her, sending a jolt of terror down her spine.
He stalked closer, his big body funneling her to the aft, to the cave where they’d cried out and gripped each other earlier. She refused to retreat any further, to let him take out his anger on her body in that way. If she let him do that, it would truly break her.
She squared her shoulders, raised her chin. “I’m sorry.”
His growl started low in his chest, billowing upward until it ended in a roar of frustration. “You’re sorry?”
Raider hovered over her, his bulk an intimidation, his anger a threat. But certainty assaulted her. He wouldn’t hurt her. Maybe in passion, maybe as tease, but not really. The thought made her strong. “Yes, I’m sorry. I’m not sure what else I can tell you. I panicked…I was…” Her lip trembled again, but she bit down hard to stop it.
“You were scared.” Raider seemed to deflate a fraction, his body turnin
g away from her. He placed both his hands on the table and hung his head low between his arms.
Her fingers flexed. She wanted to stroke his hair, rub his back, to reassure him somehow. Fear held her still.
He pounded his fist down hard enough to crack the table, and she thought he’d shout again. Instead he only whispered, “Fuck.”
She walked up behind him, the way she would approaching an angry cat hidden under a bed, and placed a hand on his back. He relaxed a fraction at the contact. “I can ask my father…”
He flinched away from her touch and spoke through gritted teeth. “I’m not going to be a dragon’s servant.”
She opened her mouth to argue, but a motor sounded in the distance. Shouts and orders echoed across the raft-up.
“Hell. It’s probably the coast guard or some shit.” Raider lunged through the door. “No point in staying here anyway.”
Sophia started the motor in neutral, idling until he released their ropes. Raider took the wheel and sped away as the roaring of the engines got louder. A few of Rhoaver’s thugs ran toward their Dory, but none of the other boats broke out of formation.
Fear festered in the back of her mind. Maybe it was a dragon suitor coming to save her. As Raider pushed the throttle forward adding gas, Sophia watched his shoulders bunch and his hands grip tight on the wheel. It seemed insane to even consider wanting to stay with the shark, but she didn’t feel quite ready to go back to her life among the dragons.
She decided to let Raider carry her away for now, and the boat bumped over waves and started to plane.
* * * * Juan and Carlos grabbed Nereus’s arms and hauled him out of his tank. His bare feet hit the polished concrete floor and he stumbled on his newly-grown legs toward one of the smaller rooms. David entered the tank room, walking in the same direction. Nereus swallowed hard on the anger that bubbled up. He had little desire to talk to his former lover and even less for a quickie.
The lab hands pulled him into the room and gestured to him to lie on the exam table. When the merman complied immediately, Juan’s forehead crinkled and looked at his colleague in confusion.