Surrender to the Sea (Lords of the Abyss Book 4)

by Michelle M. Pillow

  Brutus nodded. “After I take my ward to the healer. We have waited long enough. She still takes breath. I think it’s safe to bring her inside.” He lifted the woman into his arms and carried her toward the opening of the cave.

  “I would like to put my bid in to be a suitor,” Demon yelled after him.

  Brutus walked faster. A boulder obstructed the way, and he had to kick his foot against the rock to let the guards know he was there. On the other side, two guards moved the round stone blockade to let the hunters out of the surfacing area. They kept the cave to the ocean blocked, so unauthorized swimmers did not venture into the ocean.

  “Whoa, stop,” Brennus the guard said, the words eager. He reached to touch Brutus’s arm. The man was tall, but not nearly as tall as Brutus. “You found a woman, my lord?”

  Such a thing was obvious. Brutus paused and arched a brow as he looked at the hand on his arm. Brennus released him. The second guard, Vitus, merely stared slack-jawed.

  “She’s, uh,” Brennus gave a nervous laugh. “Amazing. I’d like to come calling on her when she wakes up if you will agree to it, Lord Brutus.”

  “And I,” Vitus added belatedly, finding his voice.

  “Let the woman survive first,” Brutus grumbled in dismissal.

  “So that is a yes?” Brennus yelled after him.

  “And a yes for me as well, my lord?” Vitus quickly added.

  Brutus wasn’t sure how to answer. He carried his ward swiftly through the halls, hoping to avoid any other single males as he brought her to the healer. City architects had glazed the brick walls with a blue gemstone mixture. Light reflected from outside during the day, but at night torches lit the halls. The soft blue hue of day caused the woman’s skin to appear sickly. He paused to listen to make sure no one was around the corner before carrying her under a large archway.

  Traditionally, this woman was now his responsibility because he’d saved her from the water. Brutus never had a ward before. As her guardian, he would have to approve her suitors to ensure she was well taken care of. He’d have to feed her and clothe her and make sure she had medical care and…

  His mind raced with all the things that must be done. He knew very little of women’s needs. His home was a man’s home, as he was a man. Why hadn’t he paid attention when the other hunters’ wives spoke of female things? Lady Bridget required her husband to bring back live sea creatures for her to look at. He should probably remember to find his ward a sea creature. Perhaps the king would allow him to put a squid in the palace’s salt water pool...at least until he could build a pool for his ward.

  There was so much to be done for her already.

  The beaded doorway of the healer’s home crashed around him as he barged in. Althea the Healer glanced up in surprise from where she sat on her low couch. The home was like others in the palace, a large square living area, with an office, and adjoining sleeping and bathing rooms.

  “I have one,” Brutus said. “She is alive. I have one alive.”

  Althea gestured that he should bring the survivor into the back area where she tended her patients. Brutus obeyed, setting the woman down on a bed.

  “I saved her,” Brutus said.

  Althea gave a small smile. “I gathered as much, Lord Brutus.”

  “She is my ward.” Brutus continued, nervously, “because I saved her.”

  “Yes, my lord.”

  “From the ocean. I saved her from the ocean.” He hovered as Althea touched the woman to sense her injuries. “I saved her, so that makes me responsible. So tell me what I need to do for her. Besides making her a pool for her creatures. I’m getting her a squid. That I know.”

  “Do you know what would be the most helpful, warrior?” Althea dropped her hands and gave him a stern look.

  “Anything. I will do anything. Do you need me to give her energy to save her like Rigel did for Cassandra?” He made a move as if to lay his naked body on top of the unconscious woman.

  Althea put her hands on his chest. “Easy big guy. I was going to say the best thing you could do for her is to go home and attend your affliction. I will send someone for you when I am finished with my examination.”

  “Aidan?”

  “You wish me to send Aidan?” Althea asked in surprise.

  “Well, he is hiding in your bedroom,” Brutus answered.

  Althea’s mouth opened in shock that he knew, but no sound came out.

  “Oh, I forgot to tell you that my ward hit her head,” Brutus said, not moving to leave. He again leaned over the healer’s shoulder to watch what she was doing.

  “I gathered as much from the gash on her forehead,” Althea answered.

  “She is very beautiful, is she not?” he said more than asked.

  “Very lovely.” Althea sounded distracted.

  “She looks a little blue. Is that normal for them to appear so blue? And she was cold to the touch. I think we should do something about that.”

  “I will see to it, my lord.”

  “And I had to pull the water from her lungs twice. We were in the middle of battle.”

  “Did you catch your prey, Lord Brutus?” Althea asked.

  “Of course.” He straightened. “You question a warrior’s honor? We always bag our prey. We are hunters.”

  “Then your work is done. Go. Attend yourself and I will attend my patient.” Althea shoved him from the room.

  “But you will send Aidan for me if you need my energy to heal her? Should I remain undressed just in case?”

  “Lord Brutus—go!” Althea ordered, exasperated.

  * * *

  Laurel opened her eyes. The entire length of her body tingled. She remembered this sensation, the numbness of anesthesia, and the false security before awareness came. Attempting to move, she ended up thrashing on her hospital bed. Her voice came out as a small whine. “No. Not again, please no.”

  She couldn’t live through this again. Not again.

  “Easy, my lady,” a soft voice answered. “It is all right. You are safe.”

  Laurel looked into the kind eyes. Hot tears slid down her face. “No, it’s not all right.”

  “Shh,” the woman said, stroking her hair.

  “I lost my baby. Please, no, I want my baby.” Laurel closed her eyes to let oblivion take her.

  Chapter 4

  The shower rained down on Brutus’s body. He stood as a man, not transforming in the fresh water. Only in salt water did they change into Merr form.

  He couldn’t get the woman out of his head, the soft texture of her skin, the press of her to his mouth, the feel of her air entering his lungs as he breathed for her. The breathing kiss was said to be the most intimate of kisses. He could understand why. The memory of it made him tingle all over. He let the water hit him, not moving, afraid that the fragile emotions inside him would go away. Traces of her stayed inside him.

  The heavy need of his cock was nothing new. It seemed the thing always wanted attention. Such was part of their curse—immortality, shifting, potent sexual energy with no women as suitable depositories for such things. Well, unless they happened to be one of the few lucky ones who had a wife when Poseidon struck them down into the ocean.

  Taking himself in hand, he stroked the affliction from his body. Brutus closed his eyes, feeling the beat of water against his flesh. For the briefest of moments, he let himself imagine what it would be like to have a woman to hold, to be married. The dream caused him more pain than pleasure. The odds of finding love or even mere companionship were so slim. And that a woman as lovely as the one he saved would want him out of all the other worthy Merr men made his odds even worse. Already she had three suitors—three out of the three single men she’d been walked past. That number would increase as more men laid eyes on her.

  Was this just another cruelty of Poseidon, the god that cast them down and then never showed himself again? More punishment for their warriors’ vanity centuries ago? One woman pursued by so many men, the hope of what could be, the ulti
mate torture when that hope went unfulfilled as he watched someone else find love. He would be happy for the couple, of course, yet it would be a bittersweet happiness for he would still be alone.

  Brutus came, spilling his seed onto the shower floor. It was an empty release, like so many empty releases before it. Only, this time, it was hard to ignore the emotional longing, the desperate need to be touched by a woman, to be loved.

  After centuries of living, he knew that just because he desired something did not mean it would be his. There was no ordering Fate around. She did not listen to the pleas of mermen. She obeyed the gods, and it was a very powerful god who willed this destiny on them.

  “What else can I do but my duty?” he whispered, unsure if he spoke to himself or a god who he was confident had long ago forgotten them.

  Chapter 5

  “She awoke briefly and spoke of losing a baby. Did you see a baby in the water?” a woman asked. “Is there any hope the child survived?”

  Laurel opened her eyes, listening to the voices in the other room.

  “No. I saw no children,” a man answered, sounding distraught. “I would not have taken a mother from her child, no matter the odds.”

  “It might be the remnants of a bad dream, then,” the woman said.

  Laurel was in a rustic hospital, something she imagined seeing on late night television as people asked for donations for third world countries. Scrolls lined the walls along one side, piled in diamond cubbies near a small stone desk. The other bed in the room was empty.

  Laurel slowly sat up. The change in position made her dizzy, and she had to take several steadying breaths before she could stand. Using the ends of the beds for support, she made her way to the door.

  “Did she show signs of having a child? Did I miss something in the water? The boat went down so fast. I didn’t hear…but…”

  Laurel leaned against the doorframe. Two people turned to her. The woman wore a Romanesque gown, a square piece of material that draped over her body. Laurel vaguely recognized her as the person who had taken care of her.

  The man next to the woman gave Laurel pause. He was dressed in a similar style with a short, white shirt that fell to his knees. His calves were bare. A belt cinched the material at his waist. For some reason, Laurel studied his chest for a long moment.

  He was huge. There was no other way to put it. He was tall, broad, strong, and as handsome as an action star on the big screen. The dark length of his hair hung damp around his shoulders causing dots of moisture on his toga. Who even wore togas anymore besides college frat boys? When she found herself staring at his muscular legs, she made herself turn away.

  “There was no baby,” Laurel said. “I was remembering something from a long time ago.”

  The large man appeared to relax at the admission.

  “You must have been the one to pull me from the water. I’m sorry I don’t remember much after the wreck. I’m not even sure how we wrecked.” She gave a humorless laugh. “Damn captain was drunk. I do remember that much.” Then frowning, she asked in concern, “He survived, right? The other man as well?”

  “They were alive the last I saw them.” The man had a deep, strong voice, and clipped matter-of-fact tone.

  “I’m glad. I’m irritated that he nearly drowned me, but I’m glad everyone survived. This will teach me to randomly pick activities off of motel travel brochures.”

  The couple looked confused.

  “It’s just something I do when I travel. I pick something from the local area that I’ve never tried before. Actually, it doesn’t matter. The point is I want to say thank you for saving me.”

  “Of course,” the man answered. He looked like he’d say more but held back.

  “And thank you for taking care of me,” she said to the woman. “You two have a lovely place here.”

  The woman looked around and then at the man. “Thank you, but this place is not his, and this brute is not mine.”

  “What is your name?” the man asked.

  “Laurel Paulson.”

  “I am Brutus the Warrior. This is Althea the Healer. Welcome to Ataran, my lady.”

  Ataran? The place didn’t sound familiar.

  “I’m sorry, but I’m a little confused as to what happened and where we were when the boat went down. What country are we in?”

  “Ataran.” The man frowned. She didn’t like the expression on him. With his giant size, any kind of disapproval just looked scary.

  She tried to remember what was off the coast of Florida. Cuba? They didn’t look Cuban, didn’t sound Cuban, but they did have accents and non-American clothing.

  “Is this a small island country?”

  The man nodded. Brutus. It was a very fitting name for him.

  Ok, so that narrowed it down a little bit. She was in a small island chain in the Caribbean. “Do you have an embassy? I’m a US citizen, but I’m afraid all my identification went down with the ship.”

  “We do not have an embassy. We have a palace.”

  “I have to go to the palace to contact my embassy?”

  “You are in the palace,” Althea said.

  A small thread of fear filled her, one of the first real sensations she’d felt since waking up numb. Strange clothing? Large bodyguards? No embassy? Was this a harem situation? Some tiny country no one has ever heard of with a self-proclaimed dictator who collected woman and gave them no way off the island. Was Althea like the king’s first wife or something? Was this line of thinking even plausible or some random regurgitation of some old movie she’d seen as a kid?

  “You do not look well,” Althea said. “Perhaps you stood too soon.”

  “I feel drugged,” Laurel answered, trying to keep the accusation out of her voice though it was hard to do. “I’m having a hard time concentrating.”

  “Euphoria is normal,” Brutus stated.

  “I don’t feel normal.” The room started to spin and no matter how hard she tried to hold on to reality, she couldn’t.

  “I’ve done all I can for her. You should take her. Put her in bed and let her rest,” Althea ordered.

  “Thank you,” Brutus said.

  Laurel felt the man coming for her. She tried to stumble back into the room, but he lifted her easily into her arms and started carrying her. The warmth of his muscled body and the gentleness of his hold took her by surprise, and she didn’t fight as hard as she should have.

  “Where are you taking me?” Laurel asked weakly.

  “To my home to rest. I am sorry that it is a man’s home. I will find things to pleasure you as a woman, but for now you may sleep in my bed.”

  Laurel made a weak noise of protest, but no more sound came out as the man pressed his lips to hers in a kiss. Warmth exploded all over her, tingling its way from his mouth to hers, before moving down her body to settle in her sex. She found her fingers lifting to his face as she kissed him back. The numbed sensation returned. A low moan sounded in the back of her throat. When he pulled away, he looked shocked.

  “What was that for?” she whispered, dropping her hand from his face.

  “I was healing you with my energy,” he said.

  “Ok,” Laurel took deep breaths wishing he’d try to heal her some more. “I don’t understand what is happening, but ok.”

  “You do not need to worry about the details. For now you need rest. You have been through much today.” Brutus carried her to his home. Beautiful designs of oceanic creatures had been painted on the smooth walls. He walked past a low couch and coffee table, and brought her into a back bedroom. As he placed her on the bed, it looked like he might join her. “Do you require me to continue healing you?”

  “I think I’ll be ok,” Laurel answered. Her lips tingled where he’d kissed her. She’d very much like him to continue doing that, but she was too tired to actively participate in anything beyond a quick fantasy.

  With a stiff nod, he instructed, “Then rest. I will bring you food later.”

  Brutus closed the
door, leaving her alone. Laurel didn’t fight sleep as it came to claim her.

  Chapter 6

  “I should make arrangements to go home.” Laurel came out of the bedroom to find Brutus sitting on floor pillows by a low dining table.

  “Did you sleep long enough?” he asked.

  “Yes, thank you. I don’t know how I will ever repay you for what you did for me, but I think I should contact my country to get that paperwork going. I’m not sure exactly how this will work, but anything related to the government seems to take a long time. I don’t want to be a burden on you after you’ve already done so much for me.”

  “You are not a burden,” he said. “Don’t worry about such things right now. Sit. Eat. I brought you food. I was concerned when you did not come out last night, but it looks as if the rest has done you good. Your skin appears to be less blue.”

  She’d slept all night? All she remembered was lying down and slipping into what felt like a coma. After all the man had done, she didn’t want to be rude. Taking a seat on the cushion that he’d gestured to, she waited to see what his dining custom was.

  “Eat,” he ordered, pushing the tray toward her. Apparently, there was little dining custom.

  The fruits did not look familiar, but she guessed the meat strips were cooked fish by its texture. She was so hungry that she didn’t even mind the odd combination of flavors. After several bites, she noticed Brutus was watching her mouth.

  Laurel dropped her hand and licked her lips. She self-consciously brushed a strand of hair behind her ear. On the one hand, she was grateful to this man for saving her. On the other his focused attention as she ate was unnerving, and she wanted to sink into the cushions to hide. Being a woman of natural curves, ravenously eating in front of an incredibly hot-sexy-gorgeous male model superhero type was, well, disconcerting—which in itself was a weird feeling because she happened to love her body. “So, what do you do when you’re not saving damsels from the ocean?”