Dolphin's Playground

by Jaci Burton

  And everyone at the aquarium seemed to trust him, which helped his explanation. Throughout the day, he and the staff monitored the dolphins’ vital signs. Finally, the sun began its descent into the waiting horizon and the staff had gone home for the night. He had a minute in the tanks without anyone else around and a chance to talk to Dane.

  “They were holding steady for a few days, but just yesterday it started to get bad. I was about to alert you.”

  Trey nodded. “We worked as quickly as we could. I just hope we’re in time.”

  Dane morphed into human form and sat on the edge of the tank with Trey. “How are things going down there?”

  “I just told you. We worked like demons getting the antidote ready.”

  Dane shook his head, his hair falling over his brow. He quickly brushed it away. “Not what I’m talking about. I mean with you and the sexy doctor.”

  “Nothing’s happening there. We’re just working.”

  “Uh huh. And I’m really a dolphin. Now give, brother. Tell me what’s going on. I can feel the power between the two of you. It’s strong. Ronan’s worried.”

  “Ronan worries like an old woman.”

  “With good reason.”

  His life would be a lot simpler if the other guardians quit riding his ass. First they wanted him to find a woman so he’d quit thinking about Leelia. Then when he did find a woman, they told him he couldn’t have her. “Ronan has nothing to be concerned about. Jasmine will be brought back up here as soon as we’re confident the antidote works.”

  “Which doesn’t tell me a damn thing about how you feel about her.”

  “It doesn’t matter how I feel.” He turned away and looked out over the ocean. The sun won the battle against the fog today, giving him a clear view of the dark sea. The orange fireball lowered faster and faster toward the water.

  Jasmine was down there, waiting for him. Was she as anxious as he was about being together again?

  Damn, he hated feeling this way. He’d been happier when he didn’t give a shit about anyone.

  “You’re in love!”

  Trey spun back to Dane and immediately wanted to knock the smirk off his face. “I am not in love.”

  “How quickly you forget that we’re bonded psychically, moron. I know what you feel. Well goddamn if the little professor didn’t bite you in the ass with the love bug.”

  “Fuck off, Dane.” He’d sell his soul to keep his thoughts to himself for just one freakin’ day. Why did everyone always have to know what he was thinking? Damn brothers of his anyway.

  The grin on Dane’s face widened. “Okay, so you love her. It’s no crime, is it?”

  “Crime? No. Inconvenient? Hell yeah.”

  “So make it work.”

  “Easier said than done You know damn well she belongs up here and I belong in Oceana. We are the proverbial couple from two different worlds.”

  “Like I said, so what? Just make it work. Does she seem like she wants to live in Oceana?”

  As if she’d been born there. He’d never known a land human to take so readily to their civilization. Without batting an eye, she’d assimilated to their way of life, and seemed to love it. But that didn’t matter. “Won’t make any difference. She isn’t staying down there with me and that’s that.”

  “I see. You’re afraid.”

  Trey stood and walked away, gazing out toward the ocean. Irritation bubbled up inside him, slowly heating to eruption level. “You know damn well I’m not afraid of anything.”

  “Except love. Leelia wins again, doesn’t she?”

  He whirled around, intent on giving his brother a piece of his mind, and quite possibly a piece of his fist. “This has nothing to do with Leelia. It has to do with two people who are wrong for each other.”

  Dane didn’t seem the least bit concerned about Trey’s advancement toward him. He merely shrugged and said, “You’re a coward, Trey. You’re so afraid of loving a woman again and losing her to the land that you won’t even allow yourself to feel it.”

  He stopped inches from Dane, so angry he could feel the tremors coursing through his body. He grasped Dane’s arms, ready to fling him into the water. “Stay out of my personal business, Dane.”

  Dane didn’t flinch. “Why? Somebody’s got to knock some sense into you. And I love you just enough to be the one to do it.” He pushed back so hard that Trey had to fight for balance.

  Shock rendered him still, and speechless. Dane had never fought him before. Hell, they were closer than any of the brothers. He’d never seen Dane so angry. “Why does this matter to you?” he finally asked.

  “Because I’ve been watching this downward spiral of yours for years, Trey. Ever since Leelia chose land over you, you’ve had this goddamn chip on your shoulder. You shut out everyone and hid behind this wall of hurt you built so high. You shut out women, and you shut us all out, too.”

  “I did not.”

  “Yeah, you did. And the funny thing is, losing Leelia was the best thing that could have happened to you. She wasn’t worth your effort, Trey, only you were too blinded by the fact that you “lost” to even see that what you lost wasn’t worth keeping.”

  Was Dane right? Had he erected a wall around his emotions when Leelia left? He sat again on the edge of the tank and thought about it.

  “Leelia never loved you. She used you, strung you along until it was time for her to leave. Only she was your first love and you were blinded by all her faults. All you could see was this beautiful, exotic and wonderful woman who left you, when in fact she was a spoiled, manipulative, evil bitch and everyone in Oceana breathed a sigh of relief the day she relinquished her rights as a citizen.”

  Trey searched Dane’s eyes, discovering a truth he hadn’t been willing to see for too long.

  “The real beauty, the incredibly wonderful woman who is your true life mate, waits for you in Oceana. You gonna fuck up twice in your lifetime, Trey, and let the one go that you really should fight to keep?”

  “She doesn’t belong down there with us, Dane. I have to bring her back here.”

  Dane shrugged and threw up his hands. “Then I’m finished with this conversation. I’ll go check on the dolphins.”

  He watched Dane change back into dolphin form and swim away, feeling as if he’d lost his best friend. Scrubbing his hand behind his neck, he fought the headache beginning there.

  He wanted to believe things could work out, but letting go of the past wasn’t as easy as realizing how foolish he’d been about that past.

  He wouldn’t ask Jasmine to stay. It wasn’t fair to her. She had a life up here on land. She was a land human, and he wouldn’t take her way of life from her.

  A few days later, Trey was resigned to the inevitable. The good news was that the antidote had worked. The dolphins were making steady progress toward recovery, and if all went well they’d be released within the next couple days.

  A true celebration would take place in Oceana when the dolphins returned to their homes.

  During those days, all Trey could think about was his conversation that night with Dane. Some of what Dane had said made sense. He had closed himself off, and it was probably time to start living again.

  But that didn’t mean making a life with Jasmine. He wouldn’t compete with her life on land. He wanted a woman willing to live in Oceana, and a land human wasn’t that woman.

  First things first. He had to go back down and tell Jasmine the good news. Then he’d erase her memory and return her back to the aquarium, where she belonged.

  How he felt about her was irrelevant. Some things simply weren’t meant to be. But he was determined to get his life in order, and that meant it was well past time he found a mate.

  As soon as the dolphins were returned and life got back to normal, he’d work on that.

  Except every time he closed his eyes and imagined his ideal mate, the only woman who came to mind was Jasmine.

  Chapter Fifteen

  The waiting was killing her.


  Jasmine paced the sanctuary, noticing for the first time that there were no clocks in Oceana. She had no idea how long Trey had been gone, other than it had been several sleeping cycles.

  She still remembered his touch, his kiss, that early morning he had left.

  They’d argued about him going up and administering the antidote. It was her job, her responsibility, and she’d demanded that she be allowed to go up there and take care of the dolphins. Eventually he’d won, saying if the cure didn’t work he didn’t want to drag her back down again. He’d deliver the antidote, and if the dolphins started to get better, then he’d come back for her.

  Come back, wipe out her memories and return her to land.

  Trouble was, she didn’t want to go back. She wanted to stay in Oceana.

  This was her home now. Trey’s sanctuary was warm, comfortable, and in his bed was where she belonged.

  Only she didn’t belong here, at least not according to Trey.

  But who said he was the be-all, end-all decision maker around here? Didn’t her wants and wishes count?

  What if she wanted to stay in Oceana? Would he let her? More importantly, would he want her to? Would Ronan even let her stay?

  She wrung her hands and looked outside at the blue world surrounding her. Approaching the door, she lifted her hand and slipped it through the doorway, loving the feel of rushing ocean water tickling her palm.

  What if she walked through there without Trey? Would she be able to breathe, or could she only do that with Trey’s magic touch?

  Worry peppered her thoughts. Worry about the dolphins and whether the antidote worked, about the aquarium and how they were dealing in her absence, and mostly about what was going to happen when Trey returned.

  She walked over to the monitors, reaching up and touching them as if they could give her some clue as to Trey’s whereabouts. Or even his state of mind.

  “You agonize too much, Dr. Quinlan.”

  She turned to see Ronan stepping through the door. Her heart raced, pounding against her chest. Was he here to erase her memories?

  Not yet, please not yet. I need to see Trey one more time before my memories of him are wiped away. “I’m not worried.”

  He smiled, revealing white, even teeth. “You forget I can read your emotions.”

  She wrinkled her nose at him. “And that’s damned irritating, too.”

  His eyes widened and he laughed. “So Triton tells me.”

  He approached her, and waved his hands over the monitors. They came to life, pictures of ocean scenes in vibrant blues and greens spread out over the screens. “Would you like to see him?”

  She gazed at his face, wondering if this was some kind of joke. “You can do that?”

  Another wave over a monitor screen and Trey appeared. He was at the aquarium, in one of the tanks with some man she didn’t know. She frowned, wondering who else would have access to the dolphins, when suddenly the unknown man changed before her eyes, becoming a Bottlenose dolphin. She sucked in a gasp and looked to Ronan.

  “That’s Dane, another one of the guardians and our brother,” he explained. “And in answer to your unasked questions, the dolphins are recovering.”

  Relief washed over her. She closed her eyes and sent up a silent prayer of thanks. “I’m glad. Once they are healthy again, we can return them to the ocean.”

  “Good. We are anxious to have them back with us.”

  Jaz shook her head. “There’s so much I don’t know. Your world is so magical.”

  “Yes, it is. You seem to have taken to Oceana quite well.”

  “I love it here. It’s like nothing I could have imagined, and yet it’s everything I have wished for.”

  “Your love for the ocean is unusual. Most land humans would be frightened to find themselves in your position.”

  She shrugged and clenched her fingers into her palm, desperately wanting to reach out and trace Trey’s outline on the monitor, but unable to do so with Ronan there. “I’ve always loved the sea. I was practically born in it. This is home to me.” Then she turned to him and said, “Why can’t I stay here, Ronan?”

  His eyes widened. “It’s simply not done. You are human and belong on land.”

  “That’s pretty narrow minded. Obviously my physical makeup can be altered so I can breathe down here. Are you telling me that no land human has ever made the transition to life in Oceana?”

  He opened his mouth to speak, then closed it again. “It is not for me to explain these things. You will have to ask Triton.”

  But Triton didn’t want her there. She already knew that. Asking Ronan about it was pointless.

  “Some things we need to leave to destiny, Dr. Quinlan.”

  She nodded, misery surrounding her like an early morning fog. She wrapped herself up in a blanket of despair and resigned herself to waiting for the inevitable.

  “Trey is returning,” Ronan said.

  She glanced at the doorway, then looked up at Ronan. “When?”

  “Very soon. I will leave you now.” He walked away, then stopped as he reached the doorway and turned to look at her. “Dr. Quinlan?”

  “Call me Jasmine.”

  “Jasmine, then. On behalf of all of us in Oceana, we thank you for the work you did to heal our dolphins. You are a very talented doctor.”

  Somehow she sensed that a compliment from Ronan wasn’t an everyday thing. “Truly, it was my pleasure. I love them all very much. When one dies, a part of me dies along with them.”

  “Yes, in that we agree.”

  “Ronan?”

  “Yes.”

  “Thank you for allowing me this glimpse into your world.”

  He was silent for a second, then nodded. “You’re welcome.”

  She looked away, not wanting Ronan to see the tears welling in her eyes. She swiped them away with her fingers, then looked back to the doorway.

  Ronan was gone. Instead, Trey stood there, smiling up at her.

  “Trey!” Without hesitation, she ran to him, catapulting herself into his arms.

  He wound his arms around her and lifted her off the ground, nearly crushing her in a tight hug. She threaded her fingers through his hair and pulled him close, then kissed him with all the longing she’d held inside the past few days.

  He groaned his response into her mouth, his tongue delving inside to slide against hers. Jaz wrapped her legs around his waist, refusing to let go of the delicious contact of her body around his.

  She hadn’t realized until the moment he returned how much a part of her life he’d become in such a short period of time.

  She loved him. God help her, she loved him, and no matter if they had one hour, one day or one minute left together, she’d show him how much she cared about him.

  “Make love to me, Trey. Right now,” she urged, needing him inside her, desperate for that ultimate joining with him.

  Without words, he turned and walked through the doorway. By now she was familiar with the rushing sensation of water entering her lungs, and she breathed it in, happy to be back in the ocean.

  They swam together, Trey leading her by the hand toward the darkened cove she’d grown to love. A school of brightly colored fish no bigger than her hand surrounded them and followed along, swimming beside her. She laughed, reaching out to pet the small creatures as they wriggled by.

  In the water she wasn’t a strange human, she was one of them. She sensed no fear or skittishness from any of the fish and wished for a lifetime to get to know and study all the wonderful ocean creatures.

  But a lifetime down here wasn’t her destiny, so instead she’d concentrate on right now. With Trey.

  He led her into the cave and set her down. Soft seagrass tickled her back and buttocks, but she welcomed his weight as he settled against her. Her body warmed and readied itself for him, opening like a flower spreads out for the heat of the summer sun.

  It had been too many long days without him. She refused to think about what the rest of her l
ife would be without Trey to hold onto, to make love to, to share her life with.

  When had he become so important to her? He infuriated her, challenged her, and opened up a world to her that she’d never dreamed was possible.

  And she loved him. That she wouldn’t try to analyze, because there was no way to decipher the workings of one’s heart. She just accepted it, determined to love him for as long as he’d allow her to remember him.

  “There’s a depth in those gorgeous green eyes of yours that tells me you’re thinking about something. Something important.”

  She smiled up at him. “I’m thinking how much I’ve missed you, how much I’ve missed this.” Arching her hips, she brushed his swollen cock, rewarded with his swift intake of breath.

  “And what is my sweet little siren’s pleasure, today?” he asked. “Would you like to make love to a merman?”

  Before her eyes his body shifted, from the waist down spouting a gorgeous tail of cerulean blue. He swished it back and forth, stirring the water around them.

  “Or perhaps you’d like to have a water dragon lick you all over with his sizeable tongue.” In an instant, he stood before her like a great medieval dragon, a long tail swiping at the grassy floor. He tilted his dragon’s head to the sky and roared, licking his tongue out.

  Her eyes widened. And what a tongue that was! Imagining a tongue like that pleasuring her had pulsing shots of pleasure melting her pussy. “Mmm, perhaps I’d like to have a dragon for a pet. I can imagine you’d keep me entertained for a very long time with that talented tongue of yours.”

  Surprisingly, she didn’t fear his ability to shift shapes. She accepted that this was a wonderland of magic. Oceana held secrets that she knew it would take her a lifetime to discover.

  She wished with all her heart she could have that lifetime with Trey.

  In an instant, he shifted back to his human form. “I think I’d like to make love to you this way, unless you have some other preference.”

  Wrapping her legs around him, she pulled him inside her, letting out a gasp of pure delight as he buried his cock deep. “Oh yes, this is the Trey I want to make love to me.”