by Bianca D’Arc
Dirk the Jerk was ancient history. Her instincts told her, in no uncertain terms, that Andrew was nothing like Jerkface. Andrew didn’t seem to realize how goshdarn sexy he was. She’d never seen him look in a mirror, or any reflective surface they happened to pass, and check himself out the way Jerkoff had done constantly. When Andrew talked to her, he was fully present in the conversation, really listening to what she had to say. He wasn’t thinking ahead, a vacant look in his eyes as he planned what he was going to say or do next like his Jerkness.
Being with Andrew had somehow healed the scars on her heart from trusting the wrong man. She hadn’t realized it could be that simple. Time away from land and one spectacular man had done what all the sympathy from her friends and family couldn’t. She was over the Jerkinator, once and for all. He was ancient history. A speed bump on the superhighway of her life.
Andrew. He was the future. When she looked down that road of her life, she saw him on it with her—a companion to her future. But was she presuming too much?
“I’m glad your people came to the cove.” Andrew’s voice came to her out of the darkness. They were in his bed, having just made love, lazing together in the moonlight.
“Me too,” she replied, content to just be with him. While it was true that she had a lot of questions about the future, this moment with him was too perfect to taint with worry.
“I want you to meet my folks,” he said suddenly, catching her by surprise with the enormity of what his words implied. Was he…?
Sweet Mother of Oceans! Maybe he was as serious as she was. No man had ever wanted her to meet his parents before. Even the one she’d moved in with.
“I’d…” She had to swallow to ease the sudden dryness of her mouth. “I’d like that.”
“You’ll like my mom. She’s fierce, like you,” he went on. She turned her head to look at him and could see the strong outline of his profile. He was staring up at the ceiling, tension in the line of his jaw. She wondered what that was about. “She saved me, you know. After I got blown up.”
“You what?” Now that had taken her completely by surprise. It seemed this night was one for surprises—not all of them pleasant.
“I stepped on an IED. It exploded and sent me thirty feet into the air. My legs were shredded, the bones so broken the human doctors said it was like putting Humpty Dumpty back together. But they called Mom, and she insisted they not amputate. She fought tooth and claw with them, but she’s a force to be reckoned with and they succumbed to her will. Then she discharged me from Walter Reed and flew me home to Wyoming. The military didn’t know what hit them when she breezed into town and right back out again with me in a hospital bed, barely conscious.”
Her heart went out to him. “I didn’t know you’d been hurt that seriously,” she said softly, putting one hand on his shoulder.
She was encouraged when he placed his hand over hers and held it there. She didn’t want to say too much, lest he stop sharing. She sensed this was hard for him, and she wanted to ease his burden, not ask a bunch of questions and make it more difficult.
“It was my last mission with the unit. I didn’t exactly go out of the military on my own terms.” He shrugged and she felt the motion under her palm.
He was so warm and vital. So alive. She couldn’t imagine how badly he’d been hurt—and what it must’ve taken to regain his health, his mobility…his life. He was a survivor. A man to be admired.
“I told you Mom was a priestess. She put everything into healing me. She called in favors from friends and former students. She had all sorts of people coming to see me. To help me. And I was an ungrateful little SOB most of the time. I don’t know why she put up with me and my attitude.”
He paused in his story, and she squeezed his shoulder in support.
“I can tell you why,” she said softly. “It’s because she loves you.”
How could anyone not love this man? He’d been through so much and still found it in his heart to help others. He hadn’t had to risk himself the way he had in safeguarding her hunting party and her people. He’d done it out of the goodness of his heart, his soul. He was something special.
“Yeah.” He chuckled low in the darkness. “I guess so. And I love her. And Dad. You’ll like him. He’s the strong, silent type. Or so Mom claims. Of course, she talks enough for both of them, but he doesn’t seem to mind. Dad’s a man of few words.”
“My parents are a little bit the opposite,” she ventured. “I’d like you to meet them too.” She bit her lip, unsure how much to say. “I mean, as soon as I call them, they’ll probably be up here like a shot to visit with the pod and check on me. They made me promise to call home on a regular basis.”
Andrew moved, putting his arm around her shoulders and tugging her closer. She was enveloped in his hug, which made her feel special…and loved.
“You know, if we’re talking about meeting each other’s families, then I guess we’re both pretty serious.” His tone gave nothing away, as if he was feeling her out on the topic.
She turned in his arms, propping herself up on her forearms to look at him in the light of the moon coming in through the window. He was so handsome he stole her breath for a moment. But it was the fire in his eyes that made her warm all over. It was time. Time to be open about her feelings and see if… Oh, hell, it was time to take a leap of faith.
“I’m very serious about you, Andrew. My instincts tell me you’re someone important. Someone I could easily spend the rest of my life with…if you feel the same.”
His arms tightened, and a smile spread across his face.
“Oh, honey, I definitely feel the same. My bear has been beating me over the head with it practically since I first saw you.” His voice dipped low. “You’re my mate.”
The sexy growl from his inner bear that accompanied his uncompromising statement set her senses on fire. Joy sizzled through her veins, and happiness flowed from her heart throughout her body.
“You’re my mate, too, Andrew,” she admitted, feeling oddly shy. “I…I love you.”
He kissed her then, pulling her head down gently and claiming her lips with his. When he let her up for air, he whispered against her lips, the most intimate of declarations.
“I love you too, my pearl.”
They kissed for a long time, the languid declarations of love turning into something hot and exciting. Her body was slick with wanting as he joined them together, rocking her slowly, increasing his rhythm with devastating leisure. She came around him three times at least, before she lost count.
The slow, steady presence of him within her made her feel—for the first time in her life—as if she didn’t know where she ended and he began. Her lover was part of her in every sense. His body possessed hers, but their souls seemed to be communicating on some deeper level.
He just kept stroking, his confident, steady movements driving her wilder than she’d ever been before. She thought maybe she’d clawed at his back at some point, eliciting that sexy growl that sent her senses into orbit. There was nothing more attractive than knowing she had power over her lover…just like he had power over her.
They were a union of equals. Both submitting. Both dominating. Sharing the burden, and the pleasure. She thought maybe—when she could think at all—that it was a good metaphor for the way their lives would be together.
It was clear that Andrew didn’t see her as an appendage. She wasn’t arm candy, easily replaceable with a newer, better model. She was to him what he was to her…everything.
And he showed her that, again and again, all through the night.
Occasionally, they slept, wrapped in each other’s arms. Comfortable, for the first time in her life, with someone she fully expected to grow old with. She had no doubts. Her beast half and her belief in Andrew washed away all the doubts Dirk had planted. This was her fresh start. The beginning of the rest of her life.
And what a great life it was going to be.
At some point in the long, mirac
ulous night, Andrew turned to her, stroking her skin in the soft moonlight. His eyes sparkled with the love they’d finally expressed in words as well as in deeds.
“I’m going to call my folks soon. Maybe later today. Do you think you’re ready to meet them? I don’t want to pressure you, but I want us to be official. I want everyone to know we belong to each other.”
She could have wept at that moment, with utter happiness, but held it together. “I’d like that. And I’ll call mine too. I’m sure they’ll want to celebrate with us. My dad might give you the once-over though. He’s very protective,” she warned him.
Andrew laughed, and she could feel the joy spreading from his soul to hers. He hugged her close and rubbed circles on her back.
“You know…” His tone had turned contemplative. “My mother might’ve saved my life and fought for my soul, but you’re the one who brought me all the way back.” His whispered words touched her heart. “I went out on the water day after day, searching for peace. Looking for something I couldn’t find on shore, or within myself. I think…” He paused, seeming to struggle for words. “I think I was looking for you.”
Chapter Ten
Jetty woke just as dawn kissed the sky. She felt glorious. Her mate was with her, and she wanted to greet the day with all the joy that was inside her. She wanted to do something special for Andrew. He’d been so good to her, doing all the cooking and taking care of her so wonderfully.
Tiptoeing out of the bedroom, she went downstairs and started making coffee. She was about to check the fridge to see what she could throw together for breakfast when she glanced out the back window at the waters of the cove, and stilled.
Was that…?
She opened the back door, walking barefoot down the path toward the water. Squinting in the pale light of dawn she looked closely at the dock and realized there were at least ten mer in various stages of shift, standing and seated on the dock all around Andrew’s boat.
Jetty started to jog toward the dock as she realized her people had come to Grizzly Cove.
Drew picked up the phone and speed dialed the mayor. John was going to have to intervene to make sure no passing humans saw what was going on in the waters of the cove this fine morning.
John patched Brody into the call, and they decided to close off the road into and out of town for the time being. Brody dispatched Zak and Peter to man the roadblocks while he took the task of gathering whatever loose clothing could be found on short notice and brought down to the beach for the emerging mer to wear.
Drew hung up, letting John and Brody work through the logistics of clothing all the water shifters who had no possessions of their own here in town. Finding places for them to stay was something John had asked Drew to check on, since the main contingent seemed to be gathering on his dock at the moment. Drew would act as spokesman, while the rest of the team got things ready.
Drew walked down to the dock, his hands full of spare clothing. He had emptied his closet and drawers of robes, shirts, and athletic pants and shorts that might possibly fit some of the mer. As a shifter, he knew what it was like to come out of a shift and find oneself with nothing to wear. While nudity wasn’t that big a deal among shifters, it also wasn’t something they engaged in where humans might possibly see.
And it was too late, he thought, to change the town mission from artist colony to nudist colony. Although, upon reflection, the latter would’ve been easier all the way around.
He tried not to chuckle as he approached the dock. Jetty was deep in conversation with an older woman who had not yet shifted, but sat on the edge of the platform, her golden tail swishing lazily in the water.
“I brought some clothes,” Drew offered, depositing the pile of fabric, except for one robe, on the end of the dock.
He left it there for anyone who wanted it and strode farther down the wood walkway to Jetty. He could feel all eyes on him as he made his way forward.
Jetty turned and looked up at him from where she was crouching next to the seated woman. Her smile almost made him stumble, but he held it together. Still, that easy, intimate grin warmed his heart. Having a mate was a truly wonderful thing, he realized. It was so much more than he had ever expected. So much deeper and fulfilling.
“Andrew, this is Nansee, the leader of our pod,” Jetty introduced him as he approached.
“Ma’am.” Drew nodded to the woman, doing his best to be both cautious and polite.
This first contact with the leader of the mer should’ve been John’s job. Drew didn’t want to say something wrong and mess up the political side of things.
Jetty stood and took the robe. She turned and held it out for the older woman. Drew tried not to stare as the blonde woman’s tail disappeared, along with the luminescent scales that covered her from her face down, disguising her more human…female…attributes. As soon as she had two legs again, she stood and slipped into the robe Jetty held for her, then turned to face Drew.
“Nice to meet you,” Nansee said, holding out a hand for him to shake. “I’ve heard a lot about you from Marla and Janice. Thank you for assisting their hunting party.”
“It was my honor, ma’am,” he replied quietly.
“Jetty tells me you two have formed an…attachment.” Nansee seemed to be testing him, if that sidelong look was anything to go by.
This was it then. Time to fish or cut bait. Drew had never stepped back from a challenge in his life and he wasn’t about to start now.
“Yes, ma’am. We’re mates.” He heard the strength in his voice, and he was well aware that all activity on the dock had come to a sudden standstill. Everybody was listening in. Great.
“You sound so sure,” was Nansee’s rather vague comment.
“That’s because I’ve never been surer of anything in my life, ma’am. Jetty is my mate, and my bear side knew it almost from the first moment I laid eyes on her. Or don’t you mer folk know your mates as quickly as we bears?”
He wasn’t afraid to challenge the leader of the mer, just to let her know that he wouldn’t be easily intimidated or pushed around. If Nansee thought she’d be able to come in and lord it over the bears of Grizzly Cove, best she learn right here and now that she had another think coming.
She eyed him for a moment longer, then smiled and seemed to relax. Some kind of silent assessment had just happened, and he suspected he’d passed some sort of test, but it was very different than the more blatant dominance challenges among bears. It was going to take some doing to understand the ways of these sea dwellers, but Drew looked forward to a lifetime spent with Jetty figuring it out.
“We often know within days,” Nansee answered. “Even I had heard about Jetty’s fascination with a certain fishing boat, and her captain. I’m glad to see her instincts led her to you, and that, in turn, has led to a safe harbor for our people. The Mother of Oceans works in mysterious ways.”
“Indeed,” Drew agreed. Reminded of the greater issue, he remembered what he’d come down here to say. “I spoke to the Alpha and our police chief on the way down here. They’re organizing efforts downtown. Clothing, food, shelter and the like. They’ve even closed down the road leading in and out of town so no humans will see your people rising from the water except those who live here with their mates. There are three human women in town right now.”
“Ah, yes. The famous bakery owners,” Nansee said, smiling.
“That would be them,” Drew agreed. “I believe they’re making up sandwiches for everyone as we speak.”
“That would be most welcome. I’m afraid we’ll have to rely on your charity until we establish our land connections here. Banking, supplies and so forth. But we’re not without resources, and we’re willing to pay our way, once we get a little better organized.”
“Not to worry,” Drew said politely. “We know what’s out in the sea, and we won’t send any being who serves the Light out there. Not now. Not ‘til it’s safe again. But you should talk to the Alpha. Big John is organizing the logistic
s, and he has a team of folks working on this.”
“All right.” Nansee sighed lightly.
She really was a very attractive woman, if a bit older. There was something very calm about her, and Drew could see why she led the group. She was solid. He found himself liking her.
“I can see you want me to head for the town,” Nansee went on. “I just wanted to stop here first and see Jetty. And meet you, of course. I wanted to see for myself if the reports were true.” Her eyes twinkled when she looked from him to Jetty and back again. “Congratulations to you both. I expect there will be a party at some point.”
“That’s a solid bet.” Drew laughed as he spoke, relaxing finally. “But I suspect we should get your folks settled a bit more first before we raise a ruckus.”
“Don’t worry. We’ve done this sort of thing before,” Nansee said with confidence. “Every time we come ashore, we need a little time to gather our resources, but you’ll see. We can live on land too. Or beneath the waters of the cove. Whichever.” She shrugged and smiled.
Drew wasn’t sure what was going to happen, but this woman seemed both capable and reassuring. He got the feeling she wasn’t boasting.
Grizzly Cove was about to change again. What had started as a community of bears was becoming something much bigger than they’d imagined. Whether or not this was a temporary situation, or the town continued to grow was still up in the air. Drew wasn’t sure what he wanted…except for one thing.
He put his arm around Jetty’s waist and tugged her close. His heart lightened when she came to him willingly in front of her leader and the other mer still gathered on the dock.
As long as he had his mate by his side, he could take whatever came their way and make the best of it. With Jetty in his life, things looked brighter than they had in a very long time.
He turned to her, nuzzling her nose with his, not caring who was watching. She giggled, and her hands went around his shoulders.
