Oberon Boxed Set (Books 1-3) Welcome to Oberon

by P. G. Forte

  “Well, I found him,” he called cheerfully as he reentered the cottage’s main room. His voice echoed loudly in the eerie quiet. He stopped dead in his tracks his good mood deserting him, as the reason for the unaccustomed silence finally struck home.

  The persistent hum of the motor that ran the filter and refrigeration units for the big aquarium was missing. Siobhan knelt on the floor in front of the tank, fiddling desperately with the silent machinery that resided in the cabinet below it. “What happened?” he asked, staring at the fish floating motionless in the still water.

  If he’d still harbored any lingering doubts that the strange creatures she’d introduced him to in the last couple of weeks were alive, they’d have been resolved now that they no longer were. There was an appalling dullness to the entire seascape. Even the normally bright green sea lettuce looked dark and wilted.

  “I guess maybe we had a power surge?” She sat back on her heels and gestured helplessly. “Or something like that? I can’t understand it. All the equipment checks out okay, and if it had simply gotten shut down, it wouldn’t have done this. Not in the couple of hours we were gone, but – well, feel it. The water is almost warm! That should never have happened. In fact... I don’t even know how it could happen, under normal circumstances. It’s just not possible.”

  “A power surge?” He crouched beside her, still holding the dog. “I don’t think that would have done this. Maybe the heater malfunctioned?”

  She shook her head. “There is no heater. This tank is set up to duplicate conditions in the Bay, remember? And even if the cooling system were to malfunction, I don’t see how it could actually heat the water.”

  “Well, it is pretty warm in here tonight,” he said as he wrapped one arm around her shoulders. “Damn, I’m sorry about this.”

  “I know.” She rested her head against his shoulder for an instant, and then pulled herself erect. “Shit. I can’t believe this has happened. This is not how I planned on spending the evening.”

  “Yeah. Me, neither.” He smiled wryly. “So, what is it we have to do, anyway?”

  She shook her head. “You don’t have to do anything, Ryan. Really, I appreciate the offer, but-”

  “Oh, please. You’re not gonna start with that nonsense again, are you?” He let the dog down and got to his feet. “Look, I’m here. You might as well take advantage of me, right?”

  “Yeah, well this isn’t exactly how I’d planned on doing that, either.” Her smile showed briefly as she took hold of the hand he offered and he pulled her to her feet.

  “There’ll be time enough for that, later,” he said, hoping it would be the case. “Come on, let’s get to work. The sooner we get started, the sooner we’ll be done.” And the sooner we can both start taking advantage of each other, he promised himself.

  * * * *

  But by the time they were finished several hours later, sex was just about the last thing on Ryan’s mind. He was so tired, he almost regretted his offer to help. First they’d had to drain the tank: Two hundred gallons of water, siphoned off into those five gallon buckets he’d come to almost dread the sight of. Then carried across the room and into the kitchen, where they’d had to be hoisted up and poured – slowly, in deference to the ancient plumbing – down the sink.

  As the water was draining out of the tank, the fish along with the crabs and whatever else was floating, had to be scooped out of the water – so that they didn’t block the siphon. When that was done the rocks had to be removed. And all the gravel shoveled out.

  Next he’d carted the gravel out onto the porch, so it could be rinsed. And then he’d carried it back inside. And dumped it into a pot. And placed the pot on the stove to boil.

  While they waited for the gravel to be ready, the inside of the tank had to be scrubbed down and rinsed out. And then the rinse water drained. And then they’d had to rinse off the gravel again and pour it back into the tank.

  Then had come the slow process of refilling the tank, bucket by endless bucket. Mixing the tap water with a powdered mixture of salt and other minerals to duplicate the composition of seawater; and then with another chemical solution designed to remove the chloramines which had been added to the local water system.

  When they were finally finished the aquarium looked lovely. Lovely but lifeless, he thought, watching as the filter pumped the sparkling clear water around and around within the empty tank.

  “Now what?” he asked, once he’d finished mopping the spilled water from the floor.

  She looked up from the tide schedule she was studying. “Now we wait for the low tide at... a little after two o’clock tomorrow afternoon, and try to find some decent rocks to replace those.” She gestured at the buckets in which the old rocks had been piled. “And then we go down to the pier and hope like hell there’s anybody fishing, so we can maybe buy some fish off them. Otherwise, we’ll have to wait until the weekend, so we can take a boat out and trawl for some ourselves.”

  “Fantastic.” He put the mop away and walked across the room to her desk.

  “You better go home and get some sleep, Ryan,” she said as she peeled the tape off the plastic she’d wrapped around her arm to keep her cut dry. “You look exhausted.”

  He pulled on his jacket. “I am. And I have to get back to my dog now, anyway.”

  She laughed softly. “Oh. Wow. I guess the bloom is really off the rose now, huh? So, tell me, is it the fact that I’m covered in aquarium slime that’s turning you off tonight? Or do you just love your dog more than me.”

  A jolt of surprise rocked through him. He knew she was only joking, but... he was just too tired to even contemplate any kind of clever response right now.

  “It’s got nothing to do with that,” he said instead, planting a brief kiss on her cheek. “I’m just really tired. Good night, Siobhan. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

  * * * *

  She really ought to have her head examined, Siobhan thought disgustedly the next day, still brooding over her incredible stupidity as she waited for Ryan to arrive. Or perhaps she should just look into having her mouth sutured shut, so she couldn’t make any more dumb remarks.

  He was late. She glanced once again at the clock on the wall above her desk. Maybe he wasn’t coming back? Maybe she’d actually managed to chase him away?

  Love. Oh, shit. What the devil was wrong with her? She should have known better than to use so loaded a word, even in jest. But... well, he’d used it often enough the other night, hadn’t he? And it hadn’t chased her away.

  She felt a wave of heat sweep over her face. No, it sure as hell had not chased her away. Quite the reverse, in fact. It had made her damn near melt in his arms like... honey. That thought sparked yet another: Honey. He’d called her that, too, hadn’t he? More than once now. And, oh, the way his voice caressed the small endearment.

  It was just so unfair! Angrily, she swept her hair back from her face and into a ponytail. She hadn’t ever wanted to feel this way again. She’d left his apartment early Sunday morning purposely to avoid it. But he couldn’t leave it at that, could he? Oh, no, he had to follow her here and demand more of her. He’d breached nearly every wall she’d built around her heart. Found his way through almost every gate she thought was locked. And now—

  Maybe that was the problem? Maybe now that she’d quit throwing up obstacles he’d simply lost interest? Perhaps he was one of those guys who just loved the chase. As long as she’d kept running he couldn’t resist coming after her.

  Or maybe he was the kind of person who always had to have the last word. Who always had to be the one to walk away. Maybe that’s what this was all about.

  She couldn’t believe she could’ve missed seeing something like that about him. But on the other hand, she supposed there had been signs.

  Still, it was probably all for the best. This thing with the tank... sure it could have been just a random accident. But there had been a few too many of those this last week or so. Maybe she’d been more distracted t
han usual. Maybe she’d just been a little too careless, like with the pelican the other day. Or maybe it was the first sign of something else. Something far more sinister.

  A familiar feeling of dread rose within her. Maybe if he was really gone now, everything would settle back to normal and her mind would quit playing tricks on her. Maybe he was doing her a favor by being such a jerk. Maybe it had all worked out for the best. She’d put the demons back in their bottle, and now... perhaps she’d be safe for a while.

  Maybe, maybe, maybe, maybe...

  “Hey, a penny for your thoughts.” Ryan’s voice came out of nowhere and she started, looking up to see him standing right in front of her. “Where do you go to, anyway, when you get like that?” he asked.

  “You came back?” Siobhan wasn’t even sure she’d said the words aloud. Caught between wanting to throw herself into his arms and wanting to run screaming from the room, she settled for staring blankly.

  His smile dissolved into an affronted frown. “Well, yeah, I came back. What kind of question is that? You knew I’d be here.”

  “I don’t know.” She pulled her hair back out of its ponytail and twisted it up into a bun at the back of her head. Holding it in place with one hand, she searched her desk drawer for a hair clip. “I don’t know what I was thinking. I just-”

  “Wait. Don’t do that.” He gently grasped her wrist and pulled her hand away from her head. She felt her hair untwist itself and fall loose upon her shoulders. Watched the interest spark in his eyes. The rapid rise and fall of his chest. He tugged on her wrist to bring her to her feet. “Come here. There’s something I have to tell you.”

  “What?” she murmured, unable to resist drifting closer, and closer still.

  “Your hair. It’s just so... pretty.” He still held her wrist in one hand, while he ran the fingers of his other hand through her hair. “I love the way it feels. Have I mentioned that?”

  “Oh, I think you might have said something to that effect,” she answered, trying to smile – just as if her heart had not, once again, latched onto the word. “But just once or twice.” Only all night long, his hands in her hair, his lips raining fire on her skin...

  “Well, I’ve been thinking about it a lot.” He slid his hand down her arm to capture her other hand, as well. His voice was almost too quiet, as though even he was afraid of the sound of it. “I’ve been thinking about something else, too.”

  She bit her lip, and looked quickly away from him. “Look, Ryan, I don’t think-”

  “Siobhan?” His voice compelled her to look at him again. “Would you listen to me, please? There’s something I really need to say.”

  “No, Ryan,” She swallowed painfully, as her eyes slid away once more. “Really. There’s no need to say anything else. Besides, we, uh, we really should get going, you know? Before the tide turns?”

  “Siobhan... look at me.”

  His eyes were like blue pools. So clear, she felt as though she could see right to the bottom of his soul. She stared at him, captivated by what she thought she saw there. She had become so used to the shadows that haunted the depths of her own soul, she’d almost forgotten about the sunlight that had, once upon a time, danced so enticingly amid the shallows. She’d missed that. Missed the warmth and the brightness it offered. She’d missed it so very dreadfully.

  Maybe it wasn’t too late for her, after all, she thought, feeling suddenly more hopeful than she had in years. Holding onto that hope with both hands, she took a deep breath and jumped. “What is it you want to say?”

  “I just...” His voice trailed away again, and for a moment it was as though a shadow had moved across the sun. But then he pulled himself together and regarded her earnestly. “Look, I meant what I said the other day. About us both being happy? I care about you, Siobhan. You know that. I just... well, I don’t want you to feel pressured, okay? Or... or anything like that. I don’t think that’s what either of us is looking for, or wants out of this.”

  “Oh.” She blinked in surprise trying hard to conceal her disappointment. Whatever she’d been expecting, it hadn’t been that. “Well, good. No pressure is good. I guess.”

  “Okay, good. Great, in fact.” He sounded relieved. “So, we’ll just, you know, take things one day at a time, all right? And see where it leads us.”

  Oh, sure. As long as it leads us right back into bed, is that it? Siobhan felt herself growing angry and she quickly squashed the emotion. That wasn’t fair. She wanted that too, after all. Just as much as he did. She nodded, waiting. Still half convinced he might say something more. That he might feel something more.

  But he just smiled and gave her hands a squeeze. “So,” he said, just before the pause became too awkward. “Now that we’ve got that settled, how about we go and get you some fish?”

  Back to Top

  * * * *

  Chapter Eighteen

  * * * *

  Ryan headed back to the center the following morning in a lighthearted mood. It was a beautiful day, he decided as he gazed around him appreciatively. No, a perfect day. The sky was blue and only partly cloudy. Butterflies floated on the breeze. Bright blooms of yarrow and sourgrass poked their way up through the banks of ice plant that bordered the path. And here and there, a renegade poppy was already in flower. His dog sniffed delightedly at the fragrant air.

  Closer to the cottage, the brackish marine scents of the shoreline gave way to the softer smell of pine. A few hardy daffodils clustered around the building’s foundation, braving the perpetual shadows cast by the surrounding trees to raise their yellow heads to the sky.

  Ryan couldn’t remember the last time he’d felt this good. Things were working out so much better than he’d hoped they would. Yesterday he’d managed to defuse the potentially dangerous relationship between him and Siobhan, and for once without things blowing up in his face. Even his leg seemed to be less troublesome than usual, despite all his recent hard work.

  They’d had wonderful luck with the tank. They’d gone to the Marina’s more protected side, by the docks where the boats were berthed, to find suitable rocks. Many of them were encrusted with creatures he hadn’t ever seen before. Like green and orange striped anemones, velvety red sponges, and tunicates shaped like delicate vases of translucent yellow glass. They’d even found another sea slug – this one called a Spanish Shawl. An enchanting little creature; magenta and sky blue with feathery, fringe-like projections of tangerine all down its back.

  They’d gotten fish, too. Silvery shiner perch and smelt and a small starry flounder.

  He thought of how Siobhan had held the flounder, suspended in water, in her hand. She’d explained how its left eye had migrated from that side of its body, over the top of its head to the other. Though he’d tried hard to listen, it was her hands and her long, tapered fingers that had captivated most of his attention.

  Afterwards, he’d taken her to bed. Almost losing himself, as he had the first night, in the wonder of her. She seemed as magical and unlikely a creature as any she’d shown him. An impossible combination of contradictions. So bright and dark, cool and warm, gentle and strong. Her arms and legs had held him captive even as she’d opened herself to his invasion. Her soft cries and the rippling contractions of her climax were a siren song he had neither wish nor will to resist.

  And then he’d left her.

  Her soft, naked body had lain curled beneath a comforter of shell colored cotton – just like a hermit crab, he told her, surprising a sleepy, little laugh.

  “A hermit crab?” Moonlight glimmered in her eyes as she gazed up at him. “Gee, Ryan, I don’t believe I’ve ever been compared to a crustacean before. At least not to my face. You’re a real charmer, you know that?”

  “Uh-huh. Never mind that now,” he replied, leaning down to kiss her smiling lips one last time. “Listen, do you have a key I can borrow? I’ll bring it back in the morning, if you want. It’s just that you look so comfortable lying there I don’t want to make you get up, but I don’t w
ant you leaving your door unlocked all night, either.”

  “Sure,” she said, the word almost lost in a yawn as she slipped one arm free of the covers. Reaching up, she gently touched his hair. “There’s a bunch of ‘em in my desk drawer. You can hold on to one, if you want to.”

  Oh, he wanted to, all right. Now, as he loped back up the steps of the porch, he wondered if she could have any idea how very badly he’d wanted to be granted that privilege? He fished his key ring out of his pocket and let himself inside. It was early, so he wasn’t surprised to find her not yet at work. But he hadn’t expected to see her slumped on the floor in front of the fish tank, either.

  “Hey, what’s up?” he asked. “Why’re you— Oh, fuck, no!” He stopped, mid-sentence, mid stride and simply stared in disbelief. Unlike last time, the tank’s filters were still running, gently circulating the water around within the tank’s glittering glass walls. Dead fish bobbed along on the current. “No way. That’s not possible.”

  “I’m sorry.” Siobhan’s voice was barely audible, and she didn’t turn her head.

  “What happened?” he asked, crouching beside her. He wouldn’t have been surprised to find her cheeks stained with tears. He could’ve almost cried himself at the thought of all their work, and all that beauty, laid to waste. As it was, he felt sick to his stomach at the sight of it. But her eyes were dry and her expression fell and grim, as though she felt a grief too deep for tears.

  “I don’t know.” She shook her head slowly, never taking her eyes from the tank in front of her, as though she were entranced. “It’s my fault, I know that. But I never know how, or why, or when these things are going to happen, and... oh, Ryan, I am so sorry. You worked so hard, and it all looked so beautiful last night.”