by Judi Fennell
“It started that day back when you were eight. You have to understand Erica, Rod and I, we were just kids. Stupid, curious kids. We’d been warned to stay away from Humans, but you, your kind, were fascinating to us. The forbidden. And it was so easy to hide offshore and watch you underwater. Then Rod dared me to get closer.
“You have to understand, I’ve grown up with Mers. I’d never seen anyone else like me. With legs. I’d always thought I was a freak, yet there you were, my age and female…”
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the temptation to skim his hands along that smooth, soft skin. But, oh, how he’d wanted to.
“Anyway, I saw you the minute you entered the water that day. You were all by yourself, away from everyone else. I thought I could get closer. Maybe, if I was lucky, you’d swim right by me and I could touch you.” He shook his head. “Unfortunately, Rod thought it’d be fun to scare me and picked the worst time to do so. He jumped, I yelled, and you saw. Heard us, apparently. But I got a look at your eyes and I was hooked.
“Ever since, I’ve watched your shoreline, hoping for a glimpse of you to see if what I saw was as beautiful as I remember.”
His eyes skimmed her face and flickered over her hair. “And then there you were. In my water. And you were… are… as beautiful as I remember.”
He couldn’t tell what she thought. Was he acting like the dumbest clownfish in the sea? Of course, it’d be what he deserved. He’d ruined her life with that one stupid stunt.
By rights she should hate him. He wouldn’t blame her. He’d certainly been hearing about that, and his other misadventures, ever since. He’d carry the remorse with him for the rest of his life.
“I don’t know what to say.” Erica sat back. The palm leaves rustled as she crossed her legs in front of her. “So you saw the whole thing? Vincent? Everything?”
He nodded. “When I saw Vincent was going to get to you first, I was terrified. I never swam so hard in my life. Thank Zeus, he wasn’t out for a quick bite.”
“No, Reel.” Those incredibly blue eyes sparkled in the starlit sky, and hope fluttered in his chest. “Thank you.”
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“Me?”
She reached for his hand. “If you hadn’t been watching me, Vincent would have killed me.”
“But if Rod and I hadn’t pulled that stunt, you’d never have been in that position—”
“Reel, like you said, it was a childish prank, not malicious. I guess my mind just couldn’t process what I saw, and, really, that was probably a good thing. Can you imagine if I’d gone around spouting off about Mer men?
People would have really thought I was nuts.”
“Or been out in full force looking for us.” Which had been Fisher’s rant. And The Council’s. Even his mother had tried to impress the severity of what they’d done. Erica shook her head. “No. I would have been the nutcase. That’s why I learned to pretend I hadn’t heard voices. I learned to lie and say I’d been playing it up for attention. That’s what I told myself.” And then she smiled. “I’m glad to know I wasn’t crazy.”
He squeezed her fingers. “I’m really sorry for it, Erica. All of it.”
She squeezed back. “It’s okay. Now that I know what happened, maybe I can finally forget my irrational fear and get on with my life.” She rolled her shoulders.
“Wow. I feel like a huge burden has been lifted from my shoulders. I’ve carried that nightmare around for so long that I hadn’t even realized how heavy it was.” She yawned. “And after a day like today, I’m done in. Can we call it a night?”
A night. With her.
“Sure. Whatever you want.”
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Chapter 28
Heat struck her eyelids. Her left shoulder was getting toasted. Pungent hibiscus made her nose crinkle. Something scratched her elbow and a hand flexed on her stomach.
A hand?
Erica’s eyes shot open.
A blazing morning sun blinded her, and the light tropical breeze carried grains of sand onto her lashes. She winced when a palm frond raked her rib.
“You okay?” Reel’s husky voice radiated by her ear. Oh, yeah. That’s right. Last night. She’d slept with him. Well, not slept with him. Not in the biblical sense, but darn near close enough if that… poke… against her backside was anything to go by.
She looked over her shoulder. “Slept well. You?”
The dimples were out in all their glory. “Could have been better. It was a long, hard night.”
Typical Reel. “You know, most guys wouldn’t find a long, hard night something to complain about.” She chuckled and scooted to the side of the bed. “Nature calls. I’ll be back in a few.”
White sand gave way to the tumbling foliage of the island’s interior. Spiky orange and purple bird-of-paradise dotted the periphery with multicolored birds flitting between the windswept trees. Seagulls and pelicans dove offshore for their breakfast. The only evidence of the InOverHerHead.indd 238
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storm was the mangled branches tossed about the ground like New Year’s Eve confetti.
She could relate. After Reel’s confession last night, she’d felt like that. Like she didn’t know where she should be. Adrift. Unanchored to a past she’d thought she’d had, only to find it hadn’t really existed. But he’d given her back herself last night, too. Confidence in herself. She wasn’t a flake like her brothers had teased ever since The Incident. She was capable. Able. She didn’t need anyone to do things for her. She’d done a damn good job rescuing herself. And him, as Reel had pointed out. Now she just had to somehow get herself free of The Council’s decree. She blew out a breath. That would mean leaving Reel. Why did that thought bother her? She didn’t want to get involved with anyone again. Not after Joey. But Reel wasn’t Joey.
True. He’d owned up to The Incident and the actinia thing. He gave credit where credit was due. Cared for and respected the people, the women, in his life. And his brother. The issues with his father just proved he was human… er, Mer. That he was real.
He was aptly named.
Sure, there was that “sweetheart” thing, but she heard the smile behind the word. He’d used it to spur her on, not belittle her. A necessary encouragement. If only he didn’t have that tail thing happening. Just then, something else with a tail bellowed from the shallows, injecting a harsh dose of reality into the day’s agenda. Erica brushed the sand off the backs of her legs and adjusted her torn suit. There was still the matter of lost diamonds to contend with, as well.
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She returned to their camp, but Reel was gone. Her first thought was the ocean, but Kraken still waited in the shallows.
Well, he had said his shoulder would be fine by morning. Maybe he was in better shape and could armycrawl somewhere to take care of whatever it was Mers took care of in the morning.
Although she didn’t see how he could be in better shape. Six-four with a chest made for resting her head on and strong arms to warm her during the chilly night. Sculpted face and bad-boy lips made for kissing. She sat near the just-opening hibiscus blossoms and bit into a slice of mango, remembering how Reel had licked his fingers last night and how she hadn’t been able to look away. How she’d struggled with her decision to say no—
“Wa-hoo!” Something grabbed her shoulder as it crashed through the hedge.
Erica screamed, scrambled to her feet, and spun around, throwing the mango at whatever new monster had decided to show up—
It was no mons
ter. It was Reel.
Reel with… legs.
And all the in-between parts. Right there in plain sight. And a grin on his face as wide as the Atlantic.
“Check this out!”
Which “this” was he referring to?
Rays of morning sun stretched across the sand, searing all the nerves in her skin. Yeah, it was the sun. Then he took a step toward her and heat infused every cell in her body. It wasn’t the sun.
“Sweetheart?”
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That word got her. It always did and he knew it.
“They came back?”
He spread his arms wide. “Yeah. Isn’t it great? The thing is, I’ve never walked on them before. Not on land. It’s so much different when you have to balance and use them to move. Shifting your weight…” He tried to stand on one and ended up on his butt, but it didn’t stop the smile.
She would’ve bet it wasn’t possible for his dimples to be even more appealing, but mixed with the genuine happiness in his eyes, the man, yes, man, was damn hard to resist.
How was she supposed to?
Her cheeks turned the color of the flowers behind her, and Reel couldn’t take his eyes off her. Zeus, she was beautiful. Silky mink hair curling over delectable breasts, those lips he hadn’t had enough of, her tanned, long legs…
Thank the gods, his had come back. Funny how her reaction changed his mind about wanting a tail. How she changed his mind about… a lot of things. She threw a palm leaf in his lap. He caught it before it could do any damage. “Hey! Watch the—”
“Use that until I find something for you to wear as pants.”
“Who needs pants?”
She nibbled on her upper lip and refused to look at him. “You do. I’m not staying on a deserted island with a naked man-come-lately. You don’t see me walking around naked.”
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“I wouldn’t mind.”
“Some things never change.”
She did an about-face and busied herself searching the camp. Good luck with that.
He let his smile out. He’d always wanted to try walking on land but had never had quite the incentive to risk the gods’ wrath. Fisher’s wrath was one thing, but all-seeing, all-powerful, capricious, immortal beings?
Not so much.
Kraken blew a spout into the air, and Reel glanced at him. One brain-celled sea monsters weren’t the incentive he was talking about. No, his incentive was bent over nicely at the waist, banging a coconut against a rock.
He looked in his lap. Coconut? She hadn’t gotten a very good look.
“I’m going to have to make you a grass skirt,”
Erica called, still not looking his way, as she pulled one of the palm leaves from their bed. “Think of it as a Caribbean kilt.”
Reel crossed his legs and leaned his elbows on his knees. “Tell me again why I have to wear clothing? I’m all ears.” And other body parts, but one at a time, Reel. One at a time.
She kept tearing at the palm frond like a starving parrotfish at a coral reef. “Because your man-parts are going to get sunburned. That’ll wipe the smile off your face, Casanova.”
“Hmmm. Good point. I do want my man-parts in working order. Never know when I might need ’em.”
Color spread down her neck. Good. He wanted her to be aware of him. He sure was aware of her, knowing InOverHerHead.indd 242
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what those breasts felt like, how they tasted, the way she snuggled against him when the breeze had kicked up during the night…
She cleared her throat, staring at the braid she’d started. “Care to explain how the legs came back? Or are you able to change shape at will these days?”
He laughed. “I told you we needed to have a chat about Mers. You really didn’t know we can have legs if we’re out of the ocean?”
“Sorry, must have missed that class.” This time she did look at him, but only to nod at the palm frond. “You might want to help. This is going to take a while.”
He thought about arguing, but there was that sunburn worry.
“So, with your legs and the air-breathing thing, why are you still in the ocean? I’d think, with your grievance against your dad and The Council, this would be the perfect opportunity to get back at them and leave.”
“Because it’s home.” He tore one of the fronds in half. The jagged edge sliced into his thumb, drawing blood. Kind of like her question.
Home. Living like a nomad all over the North Atlantic, he missed his sisters. His mom and brother. The way life used to be until the aftermath of scaring eight- selinos-old Erica. Before then, his father hadn’t been very demanding of him. Not any more than he had been of Rod.
But that one incident changed everything. All of a sudden, there’d been the division. Rod would inherit; Reel had to make something of himself. Fisher always pushing him, ordering him, challenging him. No matter what he’d done, nothing had been good enough for dear ol’ Dad. InOverHerHead.indd 243
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He sucked on the injury, the coppery blood mixing with the bitter taste of regret.
“I thought about giving it a shot, but even though I’m just throne insurance here, at least that’s second in line. If I showed up in your world, I’d be at the bottom of the food chain. The proverbial little fish in a big pond. Not my style.”
“I thought not being the one to inherit bothered you.”
Her eyes flickered to him, but then she immersed herself in the monotonous left-over, right-over of braiding.
“Hades yes, but not enough to abandon my people, my way of life, my family. I’m not that selfish. Or maybe I am. They’re important to me. I’m not giving them up without a damn good reason.” Right now, he wasn’t sure petulance was such a good reason. Because maybe, just maybe, he could have tried a little harder with his father and not deliberately have chosen every path guaranteed to piss Fisher off.
“So why do you have them now?” She glanced back and her eyes dipped to his chest. Maybe lower. When her eyes zipped back to her braiding again, he pulled the palm onto his lap. Teasing her wasn’t worth missing out on those beautiful eyes.
“Reel? What happened to the tail?” Erica’s tongue swept over her lips.
Hades, he remembered how that tongue had tasted—
“What? Oh. These.” He wiggled his toes. “Tails lose salinity when out of the ocean. It can happen to anyone, they just get theirs back if they return to the ocean soon enough.”
“So are you going to get yours back when you go back in?”
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Would he? That was something he hadn’t considered. What if he did? What if, for whatever reason, he’d been found worthy of having a tail?
What if Erica never kissed him again because of it?
“I don’t know, Erica. I have no idea what’s going to happen.”
“What about me? Am I still going to be able to breathe when we go after the diamonds?”
“I don’t see why not. But just to make sure, I’ll take care of it like I did last time.” And he’d make it last longer this go-round.
“And how was that? Being that I was, you know, shot and all.”
This time she looked at him and didn’t turn away. Zeus, when she’d been shot and he’d seen Vincent aiming for her…
He never wanted to relive those moments, thinking he was going to lose her—“I’ll kiss you again. Just like I did before, but I think you’ll enjoy it this time.”
“You kissed me?”
Oh yeah, he had. But not nearly so thoroughly or enjoyably as last night—
<
br /> “So you’ll essentially be turning me again?”
Oh yeah. That. “It doesn’t hurt.”
She shifted her legs, crossing them beneath her. The tear on the side of her suit widened, exposing skin above her hip. He wondered what that would taste like—
“I’m not worried about it hurting. I’m wondering why I should let you. I could just stay here—”
“Erica, how long do you think you’d last? Honestly?
The seabirds are all on Poseidon’s payroll. Rest assured, they know exactly where we are. If my tail can dry out to InOverHerHead.indd 245
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legs, you better believe every member of The Council’s can as well.”
She resumed braiding the stiff strips. “So… what? Do we have Mers walking around the streets of Manhattan and no one knows?”
“Are you kidding? Why would we want to inhabit your world when we’ve got the beauty of the oceans?
Land is hard and dirty and crowded. The air over some of your cities is frightening.” The frond slipped, cutting another finger. Wonder if he could convince her he didn’t need the kilt?
“Yeah, but the ocean is full of tidal waves and Ceto and sharks… we’ve discussed this. The ocean is incredibly dangerous.”
“Like your world isn’t? Ha. Trust me. There have been Mers who’ve tried it—and failed miserably.”
Which would be the main reason he hadn’t attempted it. It’d be one thing to leave and do it brilliantly, but quite another not to make it. Then he’d be not only The Spare, but also The Failure. And prove his father right. To lose at life’s biggest race through no fault of his own, well, that, at least, was palatable, but to do so on purpose… that just didn’t bear thinking about. He wasn’t sure his ego could take it.
“Failed? What do you mean?”
“Apparently, it’s difficult to assimilate into your society without Human help. Those who’ve tried have either ended up beaching themselves or drowning when they tried to return to the sea.”
“Beaching themselves? We’ve never had a Mer turn up on our beaches. Trust me. That would have made the news.”
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