Page 54 of Where the Current Takes Him
A spark of jealousy surprised Beau. “So you could have found another mate out there?”
Loriun shrugged. “It is likely. But that doesn’t matter. I have found you.”
Turquoise eyes met Beau’s. The flare of red around the pupil was a tractor beam, pulling him closer to his mate. Beau kissed the handsome Mer, savoring the feeling of his soft, cool lips against his. A hint of sea salt caramel coffee clung to his mouth.
Chapter 23
Loriun
The sun was needlessly bright at this time of day. Loriun’s heavy tail dragged behind him in the silvery sand as he and Beau made their way to the dock. Beau was shouldering a tote bag containing clothes for Loriun to don upon arrival in Gainesville. He’d determined that showing up to meet his mate’s mother soaking wet was a poor decision, though the idea of dripping all over Ashford Montgomery’s perfect floors had been appealing.
Waiting in the shallows was an older Mer with deep emerald scales that gave way to satin black. Loriun had seen him before, but had never been properly introduced. His Omega, a grinning, sun-darkened man in a captain’s hat, intercepted Beau with a hug.
“It’s so good to see you, Beau,” the older man said. His dark eyes scanned Loriun from head to toe. “Mighty fine-looking Mer you’ve got there.”
“Why yes, I suppose he is,” Beau replied, casting a mischievous look his way. “Loriun, this is Jaime, Jaime, Loriun.”
Loriun shook Jaime’s hand, who then shooed him off to the water.
“Loriun Kolhn?” the dark Mer said, flaring his ear fins politely. “I’m Vuos Seyser, Jaime’s mate.”
“Pleasure to meet you.” The business-like response was automatic. Loriun hastily opened his own ear fins in return. He’d been spending too much time around humans.
“Jaime and I have been a little worried about Beau,” Vuos commented. His black tail fins swayed in the water behind him. “He was having some trouble adjusting, I hear. He was quite nervous on his first day.”
“Well, that makes two of us.” Loriun glanced back at Beau. “Truthfully, I showed up to the restaurant two hours in advance.”
Vuos rumbled a laugh. “Seems like it all worked out in the end.” His bottle green eyes settled on Loriun’s left shoulder, where broken scales marked him as Beau’s mate. Loriun slapped a hand over it reflexively.
“Shark attack,” he blurted out. “One of the little ones.”
Vuos’s mouth widened into a grin. “If you say so.”
From the wooden dock, Jaime called out, “You boys ready? Sure you don’t want to ride with the eye candy in the boat?” He winked at his mate.
Vuos snorted. “Over my beached carcass.”
Loriun leaned over to the other Alpha. “What’s eye candy?”
Vuos just laughed and gestured toward the waves. Together, they launched into the open sea, skirting Jaime’s cobalt blue speedboat as it maneuvered from the dock.
“Did you do your stretches, Loriun?” Jaime asked, grinning over the side of the boat.
Loriun blinked back, perplexed.
“He means, ‘Can you keep up,’ ” Vuos translated.
His confusion transmuted into indignation. “Of course I can keep—”
The engine roared to life, drowning out his voice.
“Good!” Jaime yelled. Without another word, the Omega launched the boat into a full tilt.
Beside him, the other Mer plunged beneath the resulting waves. Loriun hastened to follow, whipping his tail through the cooling water and propelling himself through the sea.
He and Vuos swam in silence, all their energy focused on keeping pace with the boat above, leaving no time to fret over what Ashford may or may not say at this meeting. The last time he’d been face to face with the man, it had ended in a threat. Though Beau was mated to him now, and couldn’t simply run away, he could still certainly be upset with his Mer mate.
After an hour, as much as Loriun didn’t want to admit it, he was tiring. He was built to slice through water, but he was not a machine. Vuos, on the other hand, didn’t even appear winded.
