“Liv!” Roen emerged through the woods, a look of relief on his face. “Where have you been?” He kissed her hard.
“Killing things. Where have you been?”
“I was watching the plane, waiting for those men to finish unloading and leave so I could get in there.”
He must’ve been hidden in another spot, because she hadn’t seen him.
“What the hell happened to your face?” he snarled.
“I’m fine,” she said. “I promise.” Roen’s beautiful, normally olive skin, however, was red. His brow was covered in sweat and he looked like he might fall over.
“You sweet, sweet man.” She looked up at him and cupped his beard-covered cheek. “But you’re in no shape to fight anyone.”
Utter adoration shimmered in his exotic-colored eyes as he beamed back at her. “You think that matters?” He gave her a quick kiss, and if it weren’t for two things, she would be jumping him. One, she was covered in sweat and blood—so not sexy. And she needed to find her sister.
“Roen, where’s my sis…” She turned her head and spotted Dana and Dr. Fuller coming up the path.
“Liv!” Dana yelled.
“You’re okay. Thank God, you’re okay.” She covered her mouth, trying not to cry.
Liv rushed to her sister and hugged her, her heart swelling and weeping with joy. Dana wasn’t just her younger sister, she felt like her child in some ways. Liv had helped raise her.
Liv gripped her sister’s shoulders. “How the fuck did you get on that plane, and where the hell have you been all this time?”
Dana, who had long brown hair and big brown eyes, looked like a younger version of herself. “After Roen and Lyle got me on the plane home, Edward, the pilot, started getting sick. He had these spots all over his face, so we couldn’t land at any major airports—they’d haul him away to some lab or Ebola facility.”
“Where’d you go?” Liv asked.
“We landed on some private strip in Oregon. I left Edward on the plane and got a car rental. We drove back to Seattle.”
“Why didn’t you call me or Mom and Dad? Everyone’s worried sick about you,” Liv asked.
“And risk my call being traced and Edward being seen? Uh-uh. Promised I’d help him get back to Seattle and get a hold of one of the other pilots so we could get him back here where there’s water.”
“Are you and he?” Liv knew Dana was really into mermen. Big time. She was not immune to their charms.
“No. I promised to help him. He’s a nice person.”
Howls and screams echoed through the air, interrupting their conversation.
“Liv, what is happening out there?” Roen had been standing beside them as they had their frantic but joyous reunion.
“I got the maids to take care of our intruders,” Liv replied.
“Excuse us for a moment,” Roen said to Dana and then pulled Liv aside. “You did what?”
“It’s fine, Roen. They’re not into Liv-meat, for whatever reason. They actually saved me from one of those assholes who was about to shoot me. Then I promised them what they wanted: water, so they could be turned back.”
Roen was clearly struggling to understand her very, very outlandish story. “Do you know where the water is?”
She sighed. “I do, but the island will punish me if I tell, and I’m pretty sure that means what she’ll really do is kill you.” She looked at her sister. “Or Dana.”
“Okay.” He rubbed his forehead exasperatedly. “We’ll have to figure something out, but you’ve already saved us all—my brave, brave woman.” He kissed her softly and then someone cleared their throat.
They both turned their heads. A large group of men and women had gathered around, including Lyle, Amelia, and a few others she recognized.
“We truly do owe you,” said Jason, the blond merman who’d once been loyal to Shane. “My heart will be forever in your debt.” He bent down on one knee.
The other men and women all knelt, too. Liv was speechless.
“I’m…uh…thank you?” she whispered. She didn’t know what else to say. She simply did what had to be done.
Liv looked at the doctor, who stood in awe of these men. These huge, huge mermen, who’d looked like they’d been through a meat grinder.
“Dr. Fuller, can you start helping these men? Whatever you can do?”
Holden, the island’s doctor, wandered up, bleeding from a giant hole in his arm. “I got shot, but the maids saved me.”
Christ. “Start with that one,” Liv said. “He’s a doctor, too. Dana, can you help her?”
Dana nodded. “Where are you going?” Liv noticed Dana still wore the same black dress she’d had on four or five days ago. She, too, had been running from one fire to the next for days now.
“I’m going to get Roen to his bed,” Liv replied. “I’ll come check on you soon. And don’t wander off anywhere alone. Some of those men are still out there.”
“I will keep an eye on her,” said a deep voice. It was Lyle. The man looked like he’d seen better days but was in better shape than Roen. Probably because he wasn’t recovering from massive blood loss.
Dana looked horrified as she craned her neck, looking up at the shirtless behemoth bulging with muscles and battle-scarred skin. Of course, he was a merman, so he was still insanely beautiful—nice lips, strong jaw, high cheekbones, and hypnotic green eyes—but Lyle had one hell of a scowl and feared nothing. Dana would definitely be safer with him.
“Thank you, Lyle, I appreciate it. Come, you,” she said to Roen, intending to do one thing and one thing only: She was finally going to be with the man she loved. Because her gut told her at any moment, the island was going to beckon her to that cave and demand she make good on their agreement. And she would have no choice but to go.
Fucking island. She played a mean game of chess. Including making sure that Dana was back. Between her little sister and Roen, the island knew Liv wouldn’t dare double-cross her.
CHAPTER TWELVE
While Roen showered to remove the caked-on blood from his shoulder and hair, Liv lit a log in the stone fireplace in his room to take the chill from the air. The dark wood floors and stoic ceiling mural of a lonely mermaid perched on a rock, gazing out across the ocean, gave the space a peaceful, quiet feel. She could easily imagine Roen sitting in his armchair, staring into the fire, his heart heavy with concern over how to overcome the impossible hurdles inherent to this island.
She then dragged Roen’s mattress back up onto the bedframe, changed the sheets, and pulled off her dirty T-shirt. Although she’d already washed her hands and face, she fully intended to shower with Roen. Until she got one look from the doorway of his marble-everything bathroom and couldn’t stop watching.
“Wow.” Roen was nothing short of godlike in his masculine beauty. Lean sinewy muscles, olive skin, strong arms, and broad shoulders. Don’t forget that ass. The man has a perfect round hard ass.
He shut off the water and turned around.
“And wow again.” She didn’t know which part she enjoyed looking at more, his long thick cock hanging between his strong thighs or the deep rippling grooves of his amazing six-pack.
“Are you going to stand there gawking at my mermanliness or come help me towel off?” He glanced down at his cock, his stunning eyes twinkling with seductive mischief.
She grinned. Even though she knew he was far from healed and this situation was far from over, they needed this moment together. They’d been through so, so much and had fought so hard to keep each other alive and safe that they’d never had the chance to really be together.
Suddenly, a rush of nerves flooded Liv’s entire body. Pre-sex jitters.
“I could stand here forever looking at you,” she said, “but you really should get back to bed.” She grabbed a towel from a hook on the wall and carefully blotted the healing wound. She then reached for the top of his six-six frame to dry his hair, which was now jaw length and a bit darker than before but still had those g
olden highlights from the sun.
Standing so close to his large, naked body, the smell of his freshly washed skin instantly made her body ache.
She toweled off the rest of his chest, and he gently placed his hand over hers. “You’re amazing, Liv.”
She gazed into his eyes for a moment but had to break away. She didn’t want him to see that this moment was leading up to goodbye. “Thank you.”
“No, really. You humble me with your braveness.”
She shrugged. “It was nothing. I just got the maids to fight for us.”
“I heard you killed their leader, Liv. That couldn’t have been easy.”
“He wasn’t my first this week.”
A certain look of knowing flashed across his face. “So you did kill Shane.”
She nodded. “He told me that you were all dead and that he and I would repopulate.”
Roen frowned. “He’s lucky he can only die once because I’d like to kill him all over again.”
“He said the island chose me, Roen.”
“Shane was crazy. The island is crazy. The only thing that makes sense in this place is you and me.” He reached for her hand and slid it over his heart.
“What’s going to happen to all of you now? That water wasn’t enough to keep anyone going for long.”
He nodded. “It seems that we all have a connection to this place we cannot break. But I know my men, and while some may be bastards, unmated or mated, loyal or lost in this world, we all have one thing in common: We’d all rather die than continue living like this. If nothing else, for our children’s sakes, many of whom are already out there in the world and will be summoned to relive the pain of every man who’s ever come to this place.” His grip on her hand tightened. “This way of life has to end, Liv.”
Her eyes filled with tears. “So you’re saying you don’t care if there’s no more water.”
“I care about leaving you behind. Just like the men who’ve had their women returned to them care. Very deeply. But I am prepared to die if it means the island will die too and end this torment.”
She understood how he felt. It was just kind of fucked up how everyone was running around falling on swords, when really only one “person” needed to go away.
“And what do you think about this folklore that says she’s the spark of all life?”
“It has to be a hoax. I cannot see how something so evil is responsible for bringing life into this world, can you?”
No. She couldn’t. “Then what is she?”
“I don’t know,” he said quietly, mulling it over. “But something so cruel, who seems to thrive off of the suffering of others, can only bring pain into this world.” Roen began to wobble a bit.
“Let’s get you off your feet.” She helped him back into the bedroom over to the bed. “She’s powerful, Roen. Whatever she is, she won’t go without a fight.”
He slid under the covers and Liv couldn’t help noticing that Roen was slightly aroused. Then there was this buzzing sensation she felt when she touched him—a merman thing.
A horny merman thing.
It was difficult for either of them to be in the same room and not want each other, even if they were having a serious conversation or in the middle of a disaster, which, she realized, was every minute they’d ever been together. They’d never known a moment of peace or the joy of simply being a couple who desperately loved each other.
“She may fight all she likes,” he said. “It won’t change a thing: We’re done being her slaves. We’re done taking orders from her. If that means we die, then we die.” He adjusted himself on the bed and winced. “I’m just foking glad I didn’t turn into a mermaid.”
Liv made a little laugh. “That would’ve been scary; although, I think you’d look kind of hot with a tail.”
He grinned. “Well, I think you would be lovely with giant fangs and big yellow eyes. Perhaps I will bite you.”
“I don’t know, Roen. Those ladies have some pretty weird anatomy going on down there.” She leaned in to whisper, “I don’t think they actually have vaginas. But I do kind of like their knockers—very Goth.”
He chuckled. “Only you could make me laugh at a moment like this. You truly are an amazing woman, Liv. I couldn’t be a luckier man, even if our days were always numbered.”
She wanted to lash out at his defeatist attitude, but he spoke the truth.
She sighed and then gazed into those warm green eyes with golden rings around the pupils. She could stare at him all day, drinking in his masculine beauty. The curves and hardness of his chest. The ropes of hard muscles that ran down his arms. The deep ripples of his abs.
Okay. Enough looking. She needed him and had since the moment they’d met. She wouldn’t let yet another opportunity to be with him pass her by.
She leaned forward and touched her lips to his. The warmth of his mouth and the scent of his skin infused her mind with so much emotion, so many decadent sensations. They were luckier than most, she realized, despite the insanity and brevity of their time together. The powerful connection between them was soul-shatteringly good.
She ran her hands down the sides of his face, enjoying the coarseness of his short beard. Not breaking the kiss, she moved her body and straddled his lap. She slid her tongue between his teeth and tasted him slowly. She always found something about Roen so addictive. From the first moment she heard that voice and saw that strong frame of his, she knew she wanted him. The way he looked at her, fought for her, and protected her over and over again made her heart open right up to him. To know that sort of love from a man was nothing shy of magical. And now, as he kissed her, their mouths moving together in a hedonistic dance of licks and sucks, every move was evidence of how perfectly attuned they were to each other.
Roen ran his hands up the sides of her waist and over her breasts, massaging her through her bra. Liv rocked her hips, grinding herself into his now hard shaft waiting for her underneath the sheet.
She was already so wet for him. “God, Roen. I will never get enough of you,” she whispered between blazing hot kisses.
He cupped her cheeks and stared into her eyes. “Nor I you.”
She felt like tearing up again, but she wouldn’t dare let anything get in the way of this. She slid off him and stood to the side of the large bed. She then stripped off her bra, and then, staring into the eyes of the man she loved more than her own life, she slid down her shorts and panties.
The hard lust in his gaze ignited a fire deep in her core. The way he wanted her, the way he fucked her with his eyes was pure sin. And she loved every bit of it.
She peeled back the sheet covering his cock. He was hard and long and thick and so…
Perfect.
She crawled onto the bed, straddled his lower legs, and leaned forward to lick the tip of him. Roen threw back his head and groaned as she tasted him and savored every velvety inch. Seeing him losing his mind from pleasure was the world’s greatest aphrodisiac.
She rose up and moved to straddle him, positioning him at her wet and needy entrance. “Roen, I love you.” She slowly sank down onto him, watching as every pulsing inch of his hard flesh slid deliciously inside her. “Oh God, you feel so good.” The way he filled her completely was unlike anything.
She raised herself, leaving only the tip of him inside, and sank down again, gripping the firm muscles of his pectorals to steady herself.
He groaned again, in a deep, throaty voice. “Fuck, Liv. You’re going to make me come too fast.”
He had no idea how sexy he was and what he did to her heart. I can’t stand to leave him. Not again. Dear God, not again.
Don’t think about that, Liv. Be here. Right now. Just him and you and nothing else.
“That’s the point, merman. To make you come.” She wanted him to lose his mind for her. There was no bigger turn-on.
Roen suddenly shifted and threw her down onto her back, pinning her arms over her head. “God, Liv. I love you.” He thrust hard, stealing her
breath. “You deserve a thorough fucking.”
“O-o-okay…” she stuttered and then whooshed out a breath. The weight of his body and powerful muscles bracing her was sinful. He lowered his mouth to hers, kissing her and breathing into her as he pumped and she tried not to orgasm. All she could think of was how well they fit and felt and moved. Like one soul and two halves. More. I want more.
But he was too perfect. The way he throbbed inside her, the friction just right against her c-spot. It was like he read her mind and body and everything, knowing just what she needed.
Quickening his pace, pumping vigorously, Roen slid one hand down to cup her breast and his lips journeyed down her neck.
She wanted to make this moment last until dawn, but the truth was he had an instant effect on her. “I’m close. I can’t…” She exhaled. “Wait.”
Roen slid one hand underneath her head and the other under her hip. “We will spend every moment together, until my last breath, doing nothing but this.” He kissed her. “Just come for me.”
She stared into his eyes, hoping he wouldn’t see the truth: This was it for them. Meanwhile she tried to absorb and cherish every fleeting second. Them. Together. Joined. Nothing else.
She exploded, throwing her head into the pillow and digging her nails into his back, screaming his name.
He unleashed his passion, holding nothing back, pounding his cock into her. The rawness of his movements only elevated the intensity of her orgasm. Suddenly, he froze, leaning deep with his hips, his long thick cock hitting that magical spot, sparking another orgasm.
“Oh God, Roen,” she moaned. Then she felt his teeth grabbing her shoulder—something mermen instinctually did with their mates—but this time she didn’t care. Liv didn’t flinch. She knew he’d never really hurt her. He’d walk through the fires of hell before he’d harm a hair on her head. His love for her stronger than his urges.
His mouth clamped down as he came hard, shuddering with every ejaculation inside her.
Several moments passed as her body floated down from the high of connecting with this man so passionately, so wholly.