by Renee Field
Strength and sexuality poured out of every cell of his body, and it was all she could do to stop ogling him and licking her lips like he was a delicious dessert she’d like to eat.
“I don’t think so,” he said, moving to within arm’s reach of her.
Biting the inside of her cheek, the pain brought instant clarity as did the man’s haughty words. Like I thought earlier, specialist with a serious attitude problem.
Smoothing out her ponytail she moved toward her desk. Her hands itched to hold on to something for comfort, or to smash him with.
“I’m Jamie Winters, and you are?”
“Seth Cutter, your one and only marine specialist in the area. Now tell me again, where’s Caskett?”
“Really he’s not here. He got called away to a board meeting but he left me in charge of…the dolphin.” Inwardly, she hated the nervous pitch in her voice.
She couldn’t help but notice he was staring at her. And once again she cursed her lack of clothing, as she watched his eyes travel around and through her.
“Um…the dolphin, she’s right in here,” she said, quickly moving away from her messy desk in an attempt to put space between herself and the man. “She’s in…”
“I know very well where she is but how do you know it’s a she?” he asked curtly.
“Biology major,” snapped Jamie, unlocking the door. So much for drop-dead gorgeous when you have a personality like a dead fish. “Um…she’s not doing too well. I can’t seem to analyze her blood…”
“You took a blood sample? Where is it?” he asked gruffly, leaning in close to look her in the eye.
She didn’t miss the commanding tone in his voice, but it was hard to pay attention when his body was so close to hers. For a second she could have sworn she smelled the salty air of the beach but she dismissed that as she fought for control over her raging hormones.
“Over at my work station. I was trying to get a reading just as you came in, but it’s a bad batch. Something must have contaminated it, or someone,” she muttered.
She pushed open the aquarium door and walked inside, not bothering to see if he followed. Turning, she noticed the sexy grin on his face which caused her to feel uncomfortable and vulnerable. The silence in the room was a reminder that she was very much alone with a man who oozed sexuality like perfume.
“Yeah, like I said they’re messed up.” Jamie knew she was making useless prattle as she moved to the tank holding the dolphin. Inching forward, she gulped, “Oh my god, she’s gotten much worse.”
Help me, please. Please help me.
She almost fainted as she stepped into the room. “Um, I think I’ll just wait for you back at my desk. I’ve got some last-minute things to do. So once you take a look at the…at the…” she couldn’t finish her sentence. She backed out of the room, breathing heavily.
Grabbing a nearby paper bag that had once housed a sandwich for one of the researchers, she forced herself to inhale and exhale slowly. She vowed to get more sleep before she started to hallucinate.
I won’t be able to finish my thesis if I lose my mind. That thought almost made her throw up. The click of the aquarium door caused her to lift her head up from her desk.
“I’m done. Tell your boss it’s a simple birthmark. I’ve seen lots of dolphins with that. It’s no big thing. Do you need some help?” he asked, catching sight of her breathing into a paper bag.
“Nope… It’s been a long day. Seriously, are you sure? I’ve never heard of a dolphin with a birthmark,” said Jamie, still clutching the paper bag like it was her life line.
“Yeah, well I’ve had a lot more experience than you. I’ll give your boss a call to let him know what I found. Are you sure you’re going to be okay?” asked Seth, even as he moved toward the outer office door.
“Yeah, I’ll be fine. Caskett won’t be in until tomorrow…and he…”
Seth turned toward her. “He what?”
His voice was low and it rumbled across her senses like a warm, sensual wave.
“He’s planning on dissecting it in the morning,” she said, gulping on the last part of her sentence.
The man moved so fast she didn’t even register it. A breath away from her, she thought she heard him growl. “He’s planning to do what?”
Thankful she was still seated, she bravely tilted her face up to look Seth in the eye. “That’s his plan, not mine. I’m just the messenger.”
“We will see about that,” he said, marching out the door.
His anger at what she had said was so powerful, it was only after he left that she realized she’d been holding her breath.
Giving her nose a good blow with a semi-used tissue from her pocket, she fought against the urge to bang her head on the desk. Grabbing her keys, she threw down the bag and for once left the office without her usual late-night reading material.
Myths and legends will have to wait for another day. Determination propelled her forward, as she vowed to finish two more pages in her thesis. All in all, she practically ran up the driveway to her car, trying to escape her own demons.
* * *
Seth had been startled to find out it wasn’t Caskett he had to face, but the beautiful woman from the article his brother had thrown at him. He laughed, wondering if the Fates were playing with him.
Seth liked how she had eyed him with interest but he knew from personal experience if she saw the real him she wouldn’t have given him a second glance…well okay, maybe a pitiful one.
Ladies don’t flock to men with jagged scars running down their faces. He knew the scar was a small sacrifice to pay, but sometimes he wished it wasn’t a constant reminder.
He had been alarmed to find the woman, called Jamie, breathing deeply into a paper bag and had wondered what had caused her to panic. Her meadow-green eyes had an untamed look that had intrigued him.
Walking into Caskett’s aquarium, Seth had felt his raw rage simmering. He barely managed to keep it under control. He was furious.
After giving his sister a sedative to calm down, Seth called Darius to tell him it was their baby sister, Mercka who had completed her first transformation and who was currently caged in Caskett’s aquarium. Seth also confirmed that the ancient shells weren’t on the premises.
Darius was already at the boat club. Seth would secure a stretcher and together they would fill the dozen empty buckets he picked up at a hardware store with fresh sea water. That would give their sister a chance. The thought of having to use the polluted water from the harbor sickened him and he knew it wouldn’t help Mercka one bit.
Parking his Jeep, he practically jumped onto Darius’ boat. He untied the moorings to the large, sleek forty-foot vessel. Darius never did anything small. He was brash, bold and ambitious, a complete opposite to Seth, who sought seclusion and isolation and who held little value for things money could buy.
“We’ll tie up at the inner dock and bring the stretcher. It’s gonna be hard to get her out of that tank. He must have used a crane of some sort and then let her fall into that shithole of an excuse for an aquarium,” said Seth, taking control of the helm. “Do you know if there is night security?” he asked, maneuvering the yacht from the dock and into the harbor with the ease of a natural born sailor.
“Nope. It’s just the Institute of Oceanography,” said Darius, going below to search for a large sheet that could be soaked and used to keep Mercka wet while in dolphin form.
Thirty minutes later, going on instinct with no lights to guide them, they docked. As Seth jumped onto the wharf, Darius pushed up the stretcher. Walking as quietly as they could, they rounded the corner of the brown brick building, proceeding to the cargo entrance. Once there, Seth hauled out one of his handy-dandy decoder gadgets. It had cost a small fortune on the black market, but the gadget had proved its worth to him on numerous occasions. Plugging it into the small hole by the electronic keypad, it did its magic within seconds and the door was opened. Repeating the task a minute later, they ran down the long corridor
as the outer door clicked shut behind them.
“She’s in there. We don’t have much time left,” whispered Seth, confiscating all the blood samples at Jamie’s desk.
When he stepped back into the room, he felt sick. His sister was much worse.
Quick, help me. I’m feeling weak.
“Stay still, Mercka. We’ve got to get you on the stretcher. Darius will give you another sedative. That will buy you more time. Our boat’s outside,” Seth said, pushing his hands against the clear aquarium walls, willing calm to transcend the hard plastic barrier so his sister could feel his strength.
After ten frustrating minutes, he was finally able to re-wire the movable crane and get it over to the aquarium. With his brother’s help, they managed to slide the stretcher into the water and get their sister on top of it. Gingerly, they lowered the dolphin to the cold concrete floor. Inwardly, Seth cursed. He hated to see one of them, especially one of his siblings, like this. Helpless. Caged. Trapped.
I should have been with her to help her complete her first transformation. Once again I let my mardom, my family down.
Racing down the hall with Darius, holding the two wooden poles of the stretcher, he practically ran into the woman who had just opened the outer door to the cargo bay.
“Hey! What’s going on here? Oh my god, it’s you. What are you doing here?” asked Jamie, trying to pick herself up off the floor. Standing in front of her was the man who had been haunting her thoughts for hours—Seth Cutter. Just as she tried to put the scene into perspective, she heard the words flash inside her head, again.
Bring her. She’s important to us.
Jamie didn’t know what to say or do, because she damn well knew that the two Greek gods holding the stretcher with the dolphin definitely did not say what she thought someone said. Realizing her legs felt like rubber she leaned against the door, causing it to open once again.
“I will not!” said Seth, coming to a complete halt.
Don’t argue with me. Please, Seth. I sense she’s special.
“Bring me where?” asked Jamie, struggling to get her breath. The intensity of all of the emotions in the enclosed corridor made her feel like she was suffocating and her head felt dizzy. Damn, damn and double damn I am not going to get any work done on my thesis tonight after all. That was her last coherent thought as she gave in to the blackout.
* * *
Chapter Three
Why can’t things go according to plan just once? He picked up the woman who had fainted at the entrance. No easy task, considering he had to hold the stretcher with one hand and swing the woman over his shoulder with the other.
Her long black curly hair blew into his face and the smell of lavender enthralled all of his senses. She had long, creamy legs that looked like they had never been kissed by the sun and a solid firm ass, plus an enchanting face. And in the few minutes before she had fainted, he had caught a glimpse of those sea-green eyes that had captivated him so much in the afternoon. Eyes that had sparkled with intelligence, fear and awe.
Seth took a moment to look at his brother. He was panting from carrying the weight of the dolphin, which surprised him. His twin was his equal in strength and power. Seth attempted to take more of the strain off Darius’ end and onto his own shoulders.
Will the two of you stop talking. I need to get into the sea, whined Mercka. And Darius, you are a true delight to my very tired eyes.
Seth knew Darius couldn’t hear Mercka, so he didn’t say anything. It wasn’t a conversation he wanted to have at the moment.
While Darius’ boat was fairly large, it didn’t have enough space for a small holding tank. Instead, they had filled as many buckets as they could haul with sea water.
“I’ll put her in the cabin, out of the way. You start sponging down Mercka,” commanded Seth.
He remembered to duck his head going down the mahogany steps to the inside cabin, which meant shifting the woman from over his shoulder into his arms. Again, her fresh womanly scent combined with lavender washed through his senses. He forced himself to turn his thoughts to his sister, who was currently fighting the sedation, saying it made her stomach feel sick even while in dolphin form. She was obviously in distress as the pull of the sea tried to claim all of her.
It seems this is my week for family reunions. After a decade of silence on both their parts, Seth had finally braved his brother’s wrath and asked to meet with him. And now his youngest sibling had reappeared into his life. When he had left Mercka had been a freshling, a mere babe. Now however, he wondered what she would look like in her true form.
As the engine came to life, he realized he was still holding the bewitching woman. Cradling her in his arms he was about to drop her into the large double bed when her eyelids fluttered as if she might awaken.
Knowing she would only get in the way, he gently placed his hand on her forehead and whispered the word “sleep” in the tongue of the ancients. Laying her on the bed, he pushed her hair out of her face and stood back.
He couldn’t take his eyes off her shapely form. Seth could clearly see every curve she possessed. Wearing short, tight, black acrylic running shorts, she had an equally tight shirt revealing large round breasts that moved deliciously up and down as she slept. Her breasts would fit perfectly in his hands.
Her face was petite and looked peaceful. Then he noticed those lush, sensuous red lips of hers again, and his blood started to boil, hot and hard in that one place that was the same even in human form. Long black eyelashes framed her face and one tiny mole decorated her cheek.
The mole was the only blemish on her creamy pale complexion, but it served only to heighten her beauty. Her arms were bare and he noticed she didn’t wear any jewelry. No earrings, necklaces or rings decorated her body. He felt a strong stirring in his groin.
Pleasant dreams. He forced his body to leave the cabin. Walking, he was acutely aware of how much he had enjoyed watching the beautiful woman sleep on the bed.
“Everything okay down there?” asked Darius, as Seth took the wheel.
“Yeah, no problem,” he replied, noticing the grin on his brother’s face.
“Took you awhile.”
Seth ignored his brother’s wink. He almost winced, thankful for once his brother couldn’t read his thoughts. “She almost woke up. I put her to sleep.” He glanced over to where Mercka lay, her long, sleek dolphin body now covered in a soaked white sheet. They had to keep her body wet and they had to quickly get her back into the deep sea.
“She’s okay. I’m amazed she’s lasted this long with this being her first transformation. The sedative’s wearing off, so we’ll have to hurry. I’m assuming you’ll do the honor of escorting her to a safe place,” said Darius.
Seth didn’t miss the emphasis on the word “honor”. He realized his brother still held a grudge. As it was, Seth’s honor had demanded he fulfill the harsh sea law forcing him, as a Titan and Prince of the North Seas, to kill his own brother instead of risking discovery of their race. Instead, Seth threw away his honor and freed his brother. Now Darius was paying the ultimate price and it was only going to get worse.
Again, that day over a decade ago came crashing into his thoughts. Over the years he had tried hard not to think about it but sometimes, like now, the events took on a life on their own. He shook himself back to reality and the work that needed to get done, as he absentmindedly ran his hands through his hair. “Yes. I’ll take her in.”
“You know I’d love to, but ever since Father banished me, seems I’ve lost the knack. Not that it bothers me. Life here has been good.”
Darius made the remark so quickly, Seth knew he was lying. He also realized now why his brother had been making comments about being cold. He really was a human. He had been stripped of all his powers. That knowledge left Seth feeling betrayed. Had he known a decade ago, he would have tried harder to bridge the gulf between them. Now it was too late.
Truth was, there was nothing he could say. He couldn’t imagine no
t being welcomed into the sea and he knew his brother was angry. Angry at how all this came to be and worse, envious of him.
“You’ll do me the honor?” he asked, bringing out two long ropes from his duffel bag.
“What…”
“It’s been over a decade for me. I don’t have the time to fight it. Now if you’ll just tie my arms and my feet and then weigh me down…it will be quicker. I’ll put the knife in my mouth just in case, but you know…”
“I know. By Zeus, I thought you did this regularly. I thought you were in Titan form last night,” said Darius.
“Not quite. We don’t have time. Come on. I’ll help you breech Mercka over the side and then if you help tie me, I’ll jump in.” Seth scanned the deck for a large enough weight to hold him down.
“Here, this will do,” said his brother, moving a side panel to reveal two large beach stones already sewn up tight in fish netting.
Seth didn’t want to look into his brother’s eyes. He knew what he would see—resignation. He wondered just how close his brother had come to going over the edge.
As if he actually did read his thoughts, Darius answered. “I tried a couple times. Thinking each time I could will my body to rapture…but nothing,” he sighed, turning his face away from Seth. “You’ll want to drop the knife from your mouth. Don’t. If it’s been over a decade, you know it’s going to hurt like hell.” His brother dragged the stones to the side of the yacht.
“We’re out far enough. Let’s put her in,” said Seth, choosing to ignore his brother’s remark. Grasping hold of one end of the stretcher, and Darius the other, they moved to the side of the vessel.
“Be safe,” said Darius.
And love life, said Mercka, winking at Darius as her nose hit the water. In a second she was once again in the sea.
