Page 107 of Cursed Waters

“Should we wake her? Let her know we’re leaving?” I eyed where Leander and Barren had settled under the pier at the edge of the water. It was funny how they’d chosen the same spot Kai and I had used earlier.

“She’ll be fine. Here.” Kai dug into his pocket and pulled out a key card. “So you’ll feel better.” Tiptoeing the long trek over to her, he slid it under one of her flippers and threw me a thumbs-up.

That didn’t make me feel much better. But hey, maybe the hotel was so used to their craziness that the lobby attendants wouldn’t even bat an eye if Laverne burst through the doors alone and headed for the elevator, balancing the key card on her nose.

As soon as Kai jogged back over, I leaned in to whisper, “She’s going to kill you when she wakes up. You know that.”

That got a chuckle, but I was actually being serious. If a sea lion were ever to attempt murder, it would be Laverne.

“She’ll be fine. We could use some space after earlier.”

My heart sank, but I kept my mouth shut, knowing I was the reason they’d fought. Maybe a little space was what we all needed.

Yeah, like I wasn’t about to strip down and have their hands all over me.Ugh. I was already so embarrassed; I didn’t even want to think about how things would go once all four of us got into the water.

“You’re sure you want to come?” I asked as we met up with the others, talking to any of them, really. I was feeling desperate.

When all three of them nodded, I resigned myself to stomping under the pier’s shadow. I began pulling my boots off with a sigh.

“No one looks at her,” Leander demanded, knuckles rubbing under his chin, definitely looking straight at me.

I stuffed my socks into my boots and straightened, sliding my utility knife under my shirt. “You’re looking,” I challenged.

A smile barely touched the corners of his lips when Barren’s giant hand clapped over his face, pulling him back by the head.

I stifled a laugh, watching Leander flail and grumble as I secured the knife to my bra. I took off my shirt next.

Pretty boy landed a punch, and Barren barely grunted.Idiot.

I knew enough to tell that this wasn’t an actual fight. No, the way Barren stood there and took it, it was almost like he was purposely letting Leander blow off some steam.

Kai was cheering, yelling for Barren to throw a punch back, when I shed my panties and sprinted for the water.

Pop.

I held my hands out but somehow still managed to catch a face full of sand. Groaning, I yanked myself up and pulled a globby string of seaweed out of my hair.

“All right, who’s first?”

All three men froze, then scrambled, their fight quickly forgotten. Shirts, pants, shoes—a watch?—went flying, and suddenly, all three men were naked and lined up in front of me.

Well, Kai probably still had on his shirt, and Barren might have kept his leather harness on to make sure his harpoon stayed in place, but honestly, how could I be sure? The angle I had on them, me in the sandy water and them towering above me… Well, they could have been wearing assorted party hats, and I never would have noticed.

“I—I don’t know if I can take all three of you at once,” I blurted, feeling like a deer caught in three sets of headlights. With somehigh beamaction going on to my right—apparently Leander was the most excited to get in the water.

Barren was the one to crack at my comment, and I mimicked his snort, my face hot and on the brink of exploding.

But seriously, how were all three of these guys going to hold on to me all at once?

Kai bounced forward first, and I barely caught hold of him before his toes touched the water. His legs and backpopped, and Barren and Leander shared a look.

“Wondering if I can break more than one curse?” I asked aloud, because I wasn’t stupid. I could tell what they were thinking.

“Of course you can,” Leander said gruffly. I held out a hand, but Barren took it before Leander got the chance.

Pop.

The end of a giant red tail slapped across my back as Barren’s massive legs turned. Kai’s long fin whipped up water and sand beside me, his arms moving down my waist to free up one of my arms.

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