Page 16 of Magic Potions and the Merman's Lure

“It will be fine,” I argue, silencing his objection. Impatiently wiping the water out of my eyes again, I smile faintly at him. “We don’t have a lot of options here, Ro. Adiele is right in that we aren’t going to be able to carry you all that way by ourselves. We need help. Don’t worry, we will be with you every moment.”

“That is not exactly what I’m worried about,” he mutters, but he doesn’t protest further as I bend down and loop my arms around him.

Although the pouring rain makes him slick as hell, we manage to lift him between us and haul him up into the truck. The moment we get him into the flatbed, I’m immediately grateful that Paul offered the use of his truck. Ro is heavier than I expected. It was enough of a struggle getting him up into the truck. I can’t even imagine how hard it would have been carrying him down the road to the docks. With Paul’s help, it doesn’t take us long to get there, though my legs are nearly numb kneeling in the water pooling within the back of the truck.

By the time Adiele and I climb down from the truck onto the dock we are both shivering from the cold. I don’t get how Ro isn’t freezing, but with the way his lips are thinned, I imagine that he isn’t very comfortable regardless. His eyes are fastened on me as I reach for him. I’m not sure if I’m misreading the hint of worry in his eyes but he loops an arm around me to help support his weight as I draw him from the back of the truck. Adiele reaches for his tail just as Paul comes rushing around the side of the truck.

“Here, let me help,” he calls out.

Startled, Ro’s entire body jerks in my arms, his tail lifting in an unmistakable defensive gesture. I stumble backward at the abrupt shift in his weight, my foot sliding against the dock, and then suddenly, I’m tipping off balance, falling. Ro and I plunge into the icy hold of the water, my breath bursting from me in shock and escaping in a rush of bubbles. His tail lashes the water frantically, sliding against and between my legs for a moment in an attempt to slow our descent. Despite the cold of the water, I can feel his arms tighten around me, dragging me firmly against his chest for a moment before his mouth descends, slickly covering mine.

A burst of air floods my oxygen-starved lungs and I drink eagerly from Ro’s lips. He holds me there, breathing for both of us, and I slowly become aware of the erotic way his tail continues to slip along my legs and undulating against my pelvis as we rotate in the water until I become aware of the surface directly above us. With another flick of his tail slapping against me, we shoot upwards and break the surface directly into the hard drive of the rain. It is coming down even harder now it seems, the raindrops stinging.

I blink rapidly to clear my eyes as a pair of hands reach down from above and loop under my armpits to pull me back onto the dock while Ro pushes me upward from below. I lay there and drag in large gulps of air as I’m hauled back against Adiele’s chest. A quick glance reveals that Paul and his truck have beat a hasty retreat, but I don’t give two fucks.

“Oh my gods, Keri,” Adiele sobs. “I thought you had drowned for sure, that there was no way for Ro to get you back to the surface on time. Not with the way you guys plunged into the water. That asshole! This was all fault, and he just took his truck and ran without even checking or trying to get you out of the water.”

I grab her hand in mine and give it a reassuring squeeze. “It’s okay. I’m okay.” My eyes shift back to the water and meet Ro’s steady gaze as his head bobs above the surface of the water. He doesn’t even seem to be the least bit aware of the water pelting him or the fact that the waves breaking against the dock are getting choppier though it’s clear that he is working harder to swim against the drag of the sea.

“Ro,” I croak, my throat scratchy from the salt water. “You should really dive down and escape this mess.”

“Don’t worry about Keri. I will get her safely home and warmed up,” Adiele adds.

I frown at her because really... who asked? It’s hard to stay annoyed at her, however, when she flashes me a mischievous smile and tugs me to my feet. We are both a shivering mess but she adjusts her grip so that her arms are wrapped around me to share what little body heat she has.

“Come to think of it, some hot chocolate sipped under a pile of warm blankets is exactly what we both need,” she mutters.

“You just want access to my cocoa stash,” I reply with a laugh around my chattering teeth. I look back over at Ro to find that he is watching us, his mouth downturned, but he nods, his eyes lifting to me once more.

“Just so long as you are well,” he says.

I don’t know how to respond to that, so I just nod in reply and turn away from the water. My cellphone is toast after being submerged but Keri whips hers out to arrange our ride. I wait silently at her side and take a moment to glance back toward the water.

Although Ro is a little further out, he remains above water bobbing with the rise and fall of the waves, watching and waiting. I return his watchful regard as we wait, and it is the last thing I see before I finally duck into the cab. It is only when the door is finally shut between us, and I am looking out the window that I see him duck beneath the water and the pale flick of his tail before he disappears entirely below the surface.

The sky is nothing but miles of dark clouds as we pull away. I worry about Ro being out there in all of this, but I don’t give voice to my troubling thoughts. Instead, I turn toward Adiele with a tired smile.

“Can I borrow your phone? I need to call Mr. Clarence.”

While I need to inform him that I won’t be able to open the library today, he also needs to know what happened and that Ro won’t be able to resurface until the weather clears up in a couple of days. He isn’t going to be happy about it but until Ro can get his supplement, it can’t be helped. I need to keep digging into the grimoires and see if I can find more information that may give me clues on how the Underidge coven may have crafted their supplement.

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