Page 34 of Riding the Tide

THE SUN beat down as he glared out across the water. “I’m an idiot.”

It finally hit him this morning the only reason he rented the boat was the hunt for Marcus. He’d lost his mind; there was no other rational explanation. But that was the problem. He wasn’t being rational. Somewhere along the way he decided to spend the two weeks Nisha and Kannon were going to be gone hunting for Marcus.

How he thought he’d accomplish that he had no idea, though. It was like hunting for a needle in a haystack… or in this case a merman in the deep blue sea. But doing nothing wasn’t an option he could handle, which was why he was on a rented boat not far from the Seychelle Islands aimlessly floating around.

“Seriously, biggest idiot ever.”

Heartsick and more than a little disgusted with himself, he grabbed his fins and his snorkeling mask. Okay, so he was an idiot, but he certainly was not a quitter. He didn’t know where Marcus was, so labeling his adventure as futile was an apt description, but spending time in the water did relax him. As much as he could relax in such a situation.

So back into the water he would go in the vain hope that somehow, someway, Marcus would know he was looking for him. Yep. An idiot. He strapped the dive knife to his thigh, put on his mask, and slipped on his fins. He slipped into the water enjoying the weightlessness. The feeling of helpless excitement as he floated got his heart to thumping.

Sunlight filtered through the water, and fish swam around him. He loved this, loved the world underneath the waves, but could he live here? Considering Marcus was the creature of the water, it stood to reason their majority of the time would be spent there. Could he do that? Give up the land?

Maybe.

Trying to live without Marcus left him unhappy. So much so that he not only returned to the islands, but he rented a damn boat and took to the waves in a futile search for his merman. The fish darted playfully around him, then fled.

Their retreat was sharp and abrupt and left him wondering what exactly he did to scare them. From the murky depths something swam toward him, coming fast. Blair’s blood ran cold when he saw what it was.Oh shit! Shit! Tiger shark.He tried not to flail around in the water.

Movement caught their attention, he knew that. As calmly as he could, he tried to surface, even as he kept an eye on the fast-moving object heading his way. Had it seen him? Or had he just happened to be in the way it was swimming? He needed out of the damn water before the shark focused on him.

Just as he thought he had a chance, the shark suddenly jerked his head toward him.Oh, fuck me.It was big, very fucking big. Twelve feet maybe? Who gave a shit? It had teeth, and that’s all he was concerned with. It came straight at him, swimming fiercely.

Blair pulled a knife from his holder and prepared to fight the shark.Drown or be eaten alive? What a fucking choice. Okay, you bastard, I’m not going to go easily.A sharp trill blasted through the water, and the shark did the unbelievable—it passed him. It swam close enough Blair saw one eye looking at him.

With all his strength Blair swam toward the surface.Get to the yacht, get out of the fucking water… now!He didn’t know what distracted it, and frankly he didn’t care. A scream cut through the water, and Blair’s heart missed the next couple of beats.

That… that didn’t sound human.Suddenly getting to the surface wasn’t the most important thing. He stopped swimming and glanced back down through the depths. He blinked once, then twice, unable to believe what he was seeing. There, quite a distance below him, two figures fought.

Both had long tails and a fin, but only one had a human torso.

CHAPTER ELEVEN

BEINGINtheopenocean was dangerous, but Marcus found an abandoned underwater cave for his use. Even though he debated leaving the area, he couldn’t. Something tethered him there. Instead of leaving, he explored the area around the cave he temporarily claimed as his.

Far above him, nearer to the surface, dolphins played. A school of fish darted back and forth, a wave of wiggling bodies that drifted aimlessly. The engine drone of a small craft caught his attention, and he glanced up. A solitary shark wandered aimlessly overhead sending the fish scattering.Tiger shark. Dammit.

He curled his lip at the ridiculous name humans assigned the animal. Nisha told him once the name came from the stripes found on its body that resemble those on a tiger. Then, of course, that led to the explanation of what a tiger was.

How like humans. But they were right about one thing. The shark was lethal. Mers considered them one of the most dangerous. They were curious—and contrary to humans’ research—aggressive. This was a large one, too, at least twelve feet.

He stayed still, crouched by a rock formation. The boat on the surface stopped not far from where he and the shark were. It circled the surrounding area investigating and occasionally going after whatever fish caught its attention. Patiently Marcus waited. Eventually the predator would get bored and move on, and since Marcus was in no hurry, he was content to wait it out.

He glanced past the shark back up to the boat bobbing on the surface. It was fairly large. Maybe it was a charter service and soon fishermen would drop their lines in the water. With any luck maybe one of the humans up there would catch the damn thing.

Then there was a splash as a body hit the water.

Oh, fuck me. Seriously?This was the last thing he needed. Marcus glanced at the body in the water then over at the brute. Lovely. Hisandthe shark’s attention were centered on the human. Even from his spot by the rocks he heard the hungry growl of the thing. Slowly Marcus faded into the shadows of the rock formation. What was about to happen was none of his business, and he didn’t intend to get involved.

Shark attacks on human were rare, but they did happen. He certainly wasn’t going to expose himself for some human. He bit his lip, though. Even as annoyed as he was with them in general, he didn’t relish the thought of watching the one above him get ripped to shreds.

Then the human’s smell drifted down through the water, and the fragrance—heady and tropical—slammed into him, and his heart stuttered as the aroma teased his senses.No! Oh fuck, oh fuck, no!Defensive spikes exploded from his clenched fists. With a hard thrust of his tail, he propelled himself up, angling straight for the shark. Even in his merman form it had several feet on him.

He screamed, an angry trill that sliced through the water echoing outward. He rammed it, the two of them twisting and turning in a macabre dance as Marcus repeatedly drove the spikes into whatever part of it he could reach.

He matched the shark move by move in an effort to avoid those viciously sharp teeth. Blood filled the water, turning it a murky pink. He screamed again, the noise inhuman. In the distance a click answered him.

Never had he been so relieved to hear the sweet sound of the dolphins’ call. Three males left the pod and made a beeline straight toward Blair. The other two danced around the shark, distracting him. Although they couldn’t stab as Marcus could, they irritated the beast and kept its attention away from Blair.

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