Page 53 of Riding the Tide

“Yes, you can’t hurt them just from touching, but like I said, you need to be very, very gentle.” Marcus pulled Blair’s hair away from his neck.

Blair tentatively ran a finger over the right side of his neck where the gills were. “Oh wow, it tickles… and feels so damn strange.”

“I imagine it does.” Marcus kissed the back of Blair’s shoulder. “I’m very proud of you.”

Blair turned around and went straight into Marcus’ arms. “I did it.”

Marcus hugged him back and pressed a kiss to the side of his head. “You did. I never had any doubt. But we’re not done.”

Blair stepped back, a question on his face. “No?”

“No. Unfortunately the next part isn’t going to be as easy, so listen while I explain the mechanics to you. Fish breathe oxygen, right?”

“Yup.”

“Their gills pull oxygen out of the water. Merfolk do the same, and now, so can you. The most simplistic way to explain it is water is forced across the gills. Dissolved oxygen is taken in by tiny blood vessels and veins in our gills. Seawater carries away the carbon dioxide.”

“Fascinating. Absolutely fascinating, but what I really want to do is hit the water.”

“We’re getting there. As I said, the next part isn’t going to be as easy as you think. You’re no longer human, but I promise your mind hasn’t adjusted to that yet. You’re not used to breathing underwater. Your instinct will be to hold your breath. That’s exactly what youdon’twant to do. You can’t drown, but unfortunately your mind hasn’t had a chance to accept that truth yet.”

“But you’ll help me.”

“Yes, I will. Remember, you cannotdrown.”

“Oh man, this next part is going to be a pain in the ass, I can tell.”

“Until you overcome the fear of drowning, most likely. Let’s get in the water to do this next part. I’ll go overboard first and change. Then join me and I’ll take you through it.”

Blair rubbed his hands together. “Right. Let’s do this.”

They went back on deck. Marcus stripped off his boxers and dove into the ocean. Blair struggled to keep from pacing while he waited for Marcus to signal he was ready. Blair’s excitement built, but there was also nervousness.

Marcus surfaced and waved for Blair to join him. Blair dropped the boxers he wore—to an appreciative whistle from Marcus—and dove into the water. He popped up next to Marcus, and holding hands, they sank beneath the waves.

Blair tried to clear his mind, but a voice in his head insisted on counting off the seconds he was submerged. He tried to focus on Marcus in his merman form and how otherworldly he looked to distract himself… but nothing helped. He seemed stuck and unable to make himself let go and do what he needed to do.

His heart raced, and he glanced toward the surface. He knew he couldn’t drown. Marcus’ words pounded through his head. Heknewthat. He’d seen the gills. He understood how they worked. But he couldn’t make himself let go of his preconceived notions.

As he was ready to struggle toward the surface, Marcus wrapped himself around Blair. His mouth slammed down on Blair’s. Passion flared brightly between them as Marcus rubbed against Blair’s groin.

Shocked, and aroused beyond belief, Blair grabbed a handful of Marcus’ hair and returned the kiss just as fiercely. He jerked back, his eyes crossing, when Marcus grabbed a handful of his cock and ran his thumb over the tip.

And Blair took his first breath underwater.

Blair jerked. He blinked then a grin split his face. He released his hold on Marcus’ hair and grabbed him by the shoulders. Holy cow, he was breathing. Breathing underwater. He couldn’t believe it! Dear God, this was the best rush ever. He was breathing underwater!

He opened his mouth to tell Marcus and nothing came out that remotely resembled speech. Surprised at how strange that felt, he slapped his hand over his mouth. Marcus made a strange clicking sound and winked at him.

Then he remembered Marcus also said since he had human vocal cords and wouldn’t be able to speak underwater. Well, damn. Now he was impatient for their bond to hurry up fully form so he could speak telepathically to Marcus. Marcus trilled, and Blair fell a little bit in love with that sound.

He blinked at Marcus in shock. Well hell, the “L” word came out of nowhere. There were a lot of things about Marcus he truly enjoyed—like his humor and his patience. He’d also found Marcus had a wicked sense of humor, but he kept it pretty much under wraps except around his friends. He was loyal and would literally give the shirt off his back to someone who needed it.

What was there not to love?

Marcus reached out and Blair threaded his fingers through Marcus’. He lifted their joined hands to look at the webbing. Then he looked at his hand. He didn’t have that webbing nor did he have the fin below Marcus’ wrist.

Marcus whistled. Blair glanced back at him. With his other hand, he reached out and traced that pointy ear of Marcus’. Marcus shivered. They never made love while Marcus was in his merman form and suddenly Blair burned to do just that.

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