Page 43 of Riding the Tide

What little human rationale Marcus managed to acquire over the years fled. Braced on his hands, he pounded into Blair, his hair shielding the both of them. He slammed into Blair, hitting his hot spot repeatedly. The merman side of his nature rose up, and he trilled softly as Blair locked his heels behind Marcus’ back. Need built.

“Going to come. Going to bite you as I do.” Marcus’ voice was much rougher than normal.

Blair slid his hand behind Marcus’ neck and jerked him down. He threw his head back exposing his throat.

“Come!” Marcus growled, then lunged forward and bit Blair.

“Oh…fuck!” Blair yelled.

Marcus pumped his hips, filling Blair up. Warmth sprayed his stomach as Blair came also. He sealed his lips over the bite mark, his body operating on instinct only. Pleasure hummed through him, and he closed his eyes, overcome. Blair raked his fingers down his back, and Marcus jerked, pleasure spiking.

Blair groaned as Marcus gently licked the bite mark. “Holy fucking Christ.”

Marcus grunted in amusement as he found an appealing spot near Blair’s collarbone and sucked up yet another mark.

Blair squirmed underneath him then snorted in amusement. “Toothy.”

Marcus lifted his head and grinned at Blair. “You have no idea.” He pulled out and slowly rolled onto his back. “Damn, my heart is still pounding.”

“Why, thank you.” Blair snorted, moving carefully so his head rested on Marcus’ chest.

Marcus played with Blair’s long, blond hair as they waited for their breathing to even out. “Feeling okay?”

“Yes. I… I still feel like me.”

“Of course you do. The first bite’s like a marker to other mers that you’re in the process of being claimed.”

Blair trailed his fingers down Marcus’ arm then quickly skidded off the bed. “I’ll be back in a minute. I need to… ah, clean up.”

Marcus reclined on his elbow. “Why not jump in the ocean? Plenty of water out there.”

Blair paused. “Seriously?”

“Sure, why not?”

“You coming?”

“Already did.” Marcus grinned as Blair rolled his eyes. “I’m certainly not going to miss a chance to swim the ocean.”

“Well, come on, then.” Blair hunted for his swim trunks.

“Nude. We swim nude.” Marcus added as he crawled off the bed.

Blair dropped trunks he picked up. “Of course we do.” A funny look crossed Blair’s face. “In fact, the sooner, the better. Come on.”

Marcus grinned as he followed Blair up top. How primitive was it of him that he enjoyed watching his come drip down Blair’s legs? Blair dove off the boat, and Marcus followed him.

He didn’t intend to transform into his preferred form, especially since he just gave Blair the first bite in their mating. He didn’t expect there to be any problems—there usually wasn’t—but he wanted to be able to help in case. They swam in the ocean, laughing and playing, for several hours. The grumbling of Blair’s stomach finally drove them back aboard ship.

MARCUS SPENT the rest of the two weeks on the boat Blair rented. Outside of a few stops inland to restock and get gas, they stayed on the open water but close to the Seychelle Islands. There wasn’t much to do outside of make love and talk, something they both needed.

Marcus shared funny stories of the things he and Nisha got into through the years. Through them Blair began to get to know Marcus’ friends. Marcus also shared as much as he knew about matings.

Blair told Marcus he inherited three million from his grandmother upon her death when he was twenty-two. He used the money and created an online business which he sold around age twenty-four then he traveled for the next couple years… years he spent all alone in the world. His parents had died in a car wreck when he was a child, and his grandmother had raised him.

It was another lazy afternoon, and they were on the deck sunbathing. No matter how much sun Marcus got, he never tanned. No one knew exactly why, but several mers theorized it was so they would blend while underwater.

“Oh.” Marcus raised his head. “Remember we were talking earlier about mating?”

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