Siren's Call (25 page)

Jake picked his way back through the mess. He paused at the entrance. “Oh, there is one thing I’ve got to let you know.”

There was enough bait in his statement to make it interesting.

Kenneth’s inner antennae rose up and honed in. His muscles knotted reflexively. “What’s that?”

“Tessa. You do know I’m going to try to steal her back. We have some, ah, some business I’d like to finish.”

The statement was made with such blithe confidence that Kenneth couldn’t be offended. It reminded him of two dogs sniffing around, sizing each other up. “If you think you’re man enough to get her back, then be my guest.”

Jake’s eyes glittered. “Well, I’m man enough to try. Question is, are you man enough to hold on to a woman like that?” Cocky, self-centered, and self-assured, he obviously thought a lot about himself and his abilities. Didn’t matter if he won or lost. He wanted to play the game. In short, it was a show of macho virility.

Who had the bigger set of balls?

Kenneth’s first instinct was to laugh the challenge off. His second was to punch the sucker out right then and there. A third part of him had to wonder. Did he have what it took to hold on to a woman like Tessa Lonike?

Jake seemed to read his thoughts. “What’s the matter? Can’t you handle a little friendly competition?”

The gauntlet had been thrown down.

Kenneth had to pick it up. “Toying with the woman you walked out on doesn’t make it sound like you have friendly intentions.”

Jake looked at him a long moment. “Oh, man. You definitely don’t have the whole story there. There’s another side to everything.”

Kenneth scowled at him suspiciously. Like he would believe anything Jake had to say on the matter. “Oh?”

“You won’t hear it from me. Best to let you figure things out on your own. The thing you’ll find out about Mers is they’re slippery. Hard to hold on to.” Jake snapped his fingers in the air. “Blink, and they’re gone. Like that.”

“Sounds to me like you didn’t hold on hard enough.” Kenneth cocked his head. “Or haven’t got enough staying power to keep up with a woman like Tessa.
Staying
is the key word there, you know. Anytime you walk away, you give up the right to what you left behind.”

Jake swore under his breath. “This time I’m not walking.”

Refusing to be intimidated, Kenneth folded his arms across his chest. Jake had a lot of nerve fucking him around like that. But he’d already figured out Jake’s number. His shtick was ten percent sincerity mixed with ninety percent bullshit. Jake liked to push buttons, see how far he could get before someone sent him packing.

No doubt a partnership with the archaeologist would make for some interesting times. Throwing Tessa into the mix only made it that much more interesting.

“I’m not walking, either.”

Jake’s gaze danced, merriment laced with a hint of malice. The race was on. “Looks like we’re on our way, doesn’t it?” He slapped the side of the doorframe with his hand before prancing out of the room. “Let’s get this show on the road.”

Indeed.

Staring in his wake, Kenneth had to wonder.
What the hell have I gotten myself into?

 

T
essa stood on the port bow of the
DreamFever
, staring out toward the far horizon. The tranquil waters around the ship glimmered, lit by the vanishing light of the sun. Fiery red-orange and deep blue mingled to form a deeper, richer shade. The sea stretched on, open and endlessly wide. The view was glorious, absolutely breathtaking.

Pulling in a deep breath, Tessa tasted the tang of salt on the cool breeze. She could hardly believe she was standing on a ship in the center of the very sea that was the uniting element and center of world history. These waters were rich with history, having claimed lives, fortunes, and, in some instances, entire cities. It was through this very sea that diverse civilizations had met and mingled, seeking to move beyond the boundaries of their homelands.

Her gaze scanned the darkening waters. Though they wouldn’t reach their destination for another twelve hours, Tessa was sure the strange quickening in her veins was the tug of her people calling her home. Having made several experimental dives, she believed she felt the vibrations from the Mer who’d once inhabited the fathomless depths. When she swam, the crystal around her neck seemed to hum with energy it picked up from an outside source.

A sense of peace, of contentment, washed through her.
It was once here
.
Home
.

For the first time in a long time she felt like she belonged. The water was where she needed to be. Not just any water, but that which had spawned her race. The Mer might branch out, traveling far and wide, but the need to return to their birthplace was a primal one that couldn’t be ignored.

The sound of a voice from behind pulled her out of her contemplations. “You’ve been spending a lot of time up here.”

Tessa turned her head in time to see Jake sauntering her way. “I’m just excited about the idea of seeing Ishaldi.”

Jake smiled and looked out over the water. “Feels like old times, doesn’t it? You and me on our way to another adventure.”

Caught in a mellow mood, Tessa nodded. “Yeah, it does kind of seem that way.” As the expedition had come together, she’d found Jake’s company more than tolerable. The bad feelings she’d nursed had faded. When his mind was on the hunt, Jake was a keen and intelligent researcher. He gathered every iota of data, then distilled it into terms a layman could easily understand. The discovery of Ishaldi and its artifacts would probably catapult his career into the stratosphere.

And I’ll be a part of that
.

“My people will finally have a place in this world.”

Jake glanced at her. A slow smile unspooled across his handsome face. “Definitely.”

Though they’d been traveling aboard the ninety-five-foot R/V cruiser for weeks, he was nattily turned out in one of his blazers and impeccably pressed slacks. Sunglasses perched on his head, his shoulder-length hair streamed around his face. The wind pulled a few sexy strands across his high cheekbones, even as the fading light added a glow to the deep blond shade.

Heart skipping a beat, Tessa’s breath caught in her throat. He looked good. Really good. Pure eye candy. He hadn’t lost his haughty vibe, either. His
I’m hot, you’re not
strut was still very much in evidence.

The moment reminded her of the time when they’d first become acquainted, more than five years ago. With more than seven hundred ships resting off Maine’s rocky coast, Jake had been one of the archaeologists working in the state program to identify and catalog the wrecks for preservation and recovery. She’d been one of the divers assisting with the surveys.

It hadn’t been love at first sight. Tessa had immediately disliked Jake, thinking him a rude, arrogant know-it-all. He’d treated the divers like flunkies, insisting they go into the water again and again to get the information he wanted—even if it meant taking some big risks.

She’d been the only one who could satisfy his insatiable quest for knowledge, easily penetrating wreckage other divers refused to venture into. Of course, she had an unfair advantage. A mermaid never had to worry about a tank running out of air or getting snagged in a small space.

Tessa suppressed her frown.
We were two people who never should have been attracted to each other, but were
.

As compatible as gasoline and a lit match, they’d despised each other. Until they bickered.

At such times, the sparks flew. Somehow the chemistry simmering between them boiled over. Before they knew it, angry words had turned into deep, fierce kisses. Eager hands had ripped away confining clothing. Sex between them was fierce, bordering on brutal.

Remembering the aftermath, Tessa shivered.
Oh man
. The climax was addicting, pure heaven on earth. Jake liked women. And more than anything else, he liked fucking them.

Feeling heat rise to her cheeks, Tessa pulled in a quick breath to cool herself off. Just thinking about the nasty, frenetic sex they’d had was enough to set her off. She couldn’t erase the past, nor could she entirely forget it. She did the next best thing by simply tolerating it, something not as hard to achieve as she’d first believed. Through the six weeks it had taken to get the expedition into gear, she and Jake had become something she’d believed impossible: friends.

Her hand traveled to the crystal hanging around her neck. “I never thought Ishaldi would be found. Ever.”

Jake laughed. “I will admit you were my inspiration to go looking for it. All I needed was a little time and luck.”

Tessa suppressed a frown. “We all thought you were taking advantage.”

He shook his head. “That is one point you badly misjudged me on. I’ll cop to being a bastard, but I’m absolutely serious about my work. Learning about the Mer was something I couldn’t toss aside and ignore just because we broke up.”

Tessa nibbled her lower lip. “It’s hard to keep a secret like that. Though a lot of Port Rock’s local lore is built around mermaids living in the bay, people believe that’s just to bring in the tourists.”

“Where there’s lore, there’s usually a little bit of fact involved,” Jake said. “Somehow I don’t think people would have a problem with the Mer coming out of the closet, so to speak. Your family has lived on the island for quite a long time. Those who do know you are Mer have accepted it just fine.” He looked out over the water. “And I think once we begin bringing up the relics from Ishaldi, the rest of the world will, too. Once word is out, more Mer may come out of hiding.”

Thinking about her aunt Gail and the cousins she didn’t even know anymore, Tessa sighed. “One would hope.”

Jake cocked an eyebrow. “That’s why it’s important to let the world know about the Mer. The race is bordering on extinct, as far as we know. Why not do everything you can to save your people? If our positions were reversed, and Mer were the majority and humans the minority, I know I’d be shouting from the rooftops.”

His words made sense. Did she really want to be one of the last of her kind? Belong to a species with no hope of future survival?

The thought sent a chill through her veins. Since revealing the cache of crystals to her sisters, she’d begun to work harder on her craft, attempting to master the various elements behind her innate abilities. The pieces she’d always felt were missing from her life were beginning to fall into place. It wasn’t just that she was an outsider always doomed to look in, but in closing herself off from the mystical side of her nature, she also closed the door on her senses.

For years she’d walked around half blind and half deaf, only partially aware of her potential. In learning to work with the crystals and the symbiote that was a part of her very soul, she’d begun to blossom. She was alive and ready to embrace the potential of what a Mer could really be: a strong, powerful woman in control of her own destiny.

Tessa turned around, leaning back against the rail. “Though I never thought it would be possible, I think I agree with you. The Mer obviously had a place in this world at one time. Why shouldn’t we have it again?”

Jake grinned. “That’s exactly what I’ve been trying to tell you for years.”

She shook her head. “I hate to say it, but I think you were right.”

“Told you so.” Acting like a know-it-all prick had always given Jake a perverse charm women found irresistible.

She laughed. “Ass.”

Leaning a hip against the railing, he eyed her. “Adventure suits you, Tess. You look alive for the first time since you quit working search and recovery.”

Smiling, Tessa pulled her fingers through her long hair, enjoying the feel of the cool breeze on her skin. The last bit of daylight faded away, changing the sea from bruised blue to deep purple. Stars were beginning to appear in the velvety fabric of the night sky, glinting like the crystals she coaxed secrets from.

Before she knew what was happening, Jake swung around in front of her. His hands gripped the railing on either side of her hips, penning her in. “I was a fool to walk away.”

Tessa lifted her hands, intending to push him away. Her palms settled on his chest, strong and broad under her touch. She felt his heart beating hard beneath his rib cage, belying the calm of his manner. It took only a second for her to read his intent.

He wants me back
, came her wild thought.

She pressed forward, trying to push him away. “Come on, Jake—quit kidding around.”

Instead of letting her go, Jake maneuvered closer. “I’m not kidding around.” His mouth came down on hers with a deliberate, calculated slowness, his searching lips mastering hers.

His hand lifted, curling around her neck even as he worked his knee between her legs to press his thigh between hers. The pressure against her sex was instant and electrifying. She gasped, but had no time to protest.

Tessa broke away, breathless, tingling to her toes. Goddess above. If there was one thing Jake knew, it was how to make all the right moves on a woman’s body. Her insides quivered with arousal, an all-consuming ache suddenly pulsing through her veins.

“Don’t.” She swiped a hand across her mouth. “I’m with someone else.”

Jake snorted a laugh. “Yeah, I know. Kenneth.” His hand crept to the top of her blouse, fingers expertly undoing her buttons. “Here’s what I think about that.” He undid a second button, then a third. “I don’t think you’re really into him.”

Tessa slapped his hand away. “You don’t know what you’re talking about. Kenneth and I are—”

Jake persisted, undoing a fourth button. “Not sleeping together—I know.” He increased the pressure of his thigh against her most sensitive place, increasing the friction.

Tessa’s breath locked in her throat. “How do you know?” The sensations of his thigh rubbing between her legs sent shivers up her spine.