Mere Temptation (3 page)

“Dr. Pierson Grathers.”

“Karon. Calling to check in. You heard what happened?”

“Yes, the basics. I expect a full report by tomorrow.”

Karon laid his head back against the cot. “Of course.”

“Are you sure it was the same mere you tracked?”

“Positive. Early twenties in human years, no noticeable song or markings. Any chance there are more like her in the area?” That would certainly make Karon’s job easier.

“I doubt it. We’ve been waiting a long time to find a sample this far along, and if our predictions are correct we have a narrow window.” Grathers’s voice increased in pitch as he spoke. Karon knew that tone. It meant the scientist feared losing his funding.

“I’ll take the team out again as soon as possible.”

“You do that. And let me know when you’ve collected the other mere as well.”

Pain shot hard down his mangled leg, causing Karon to suck air in through his nose before answering. “Twenty-five is a lot to take from a single area. We only took five from the Arctic Ocean habitat.”

“That’s just the beginning. I probably shouldn’t be telling you this, but the board is considering maintaining a presence in this area for the duration of both the Pisces and the ParaGenesis projects.”

“I’m not following.”

“We may acquire the entire community as a sample pool. We’re even considering breeding different subject lines. It’s all very exciting. Don’t share it with the crew yet, though.”

“Yes, sir.”

Karon hung up and groaned. The last thing he wanted to do was send out more of his crew to get killed. Until they figured out what this monster was, hunting mere would be far more dangerous than anyone thought.

He grunted at a fresh spike of pain and took a fist-full of medicine. His muscles cramped and stung. Healing on ParaMend was fast, but it hurt like hell. He shifted on the hard surface, trying, and failing, to get comfortable.

“Hi there, Sailor.” Gracie appeared at the door, and Karon felt the edges of his usually-drawn mouth rise. The succubus was like a vision from his hottest dreams. She wore her chestnut hair loose over her back today. Her big hazel eyes were down, like she had a secret. Her shapely mouth plumped into her signature pout.

“You want me to kiss it and make it better, Captain Karon?”

“Sure, baby.” Being with her drained him like a bitch, but he didn’t mind. His short lifespan was something he’d made peace with long ago.

Her tongue snaked out to wet cherry-painted lips. She always liked to give a good show. “Show me where it hurts.”

With a smirk, Karon pointed to his cheek first. Gracie bent over and pecked him chastely, playing along. Then his fingertip led her kisses down his body. When her face rose from a sultry smooch low on his hospital gown-covered belly, he paused, wishing she’d take charge, climb on and ride him. The thought disappeared as fast as it came, though, because her nose nudged the hem of his gown. Her hot breath scalded his bandaged thighs. He lifted the thin cloth. When her mouth was just an inch away from his cock, she tilted her heart-shaped face to him, a parody of a one accepting communion.

Karon fought not to buck as Gracie delicately licked his cap and then pulled away, slid over the head and pulled away again. All the while she bent over at the hips, her clothed breasts brushing against his sore wrapped limb.

Lowering his hand to her head, he gripped her silky hair. “Baby, that feels so good.” At his urging, her lips descended, plunging to his base. “Oh, fuck.” Her self-satisfied smile stretched around him. She was damn near perfect—slick tongue, lightly scraping teeth, bathing his cock again and again in her soft, willing mouth. The tight sleeve of her throat worked his tip, making him crazy. She cupped his sack, but it was the sight of her other hand pressed at the
V
of her jeans that sent Karon reeling to climax.

Gracie moaned against his shaft. The vibration struck like lightening. His orgasm shot hot and hard. She sucked him mercilessly till the end. Pain shot down his thigh, mingling with jolts of pleasure. Exhaustion struck and Karon embraced the momentary loss of consciousness. By the time his vision cleared she sat next to the bed sipping his glass of water and popping one of his more enjoyable pills.

“So I heard your mermaid capture failed.” The succubus cleared her throat. “You must be upset.”

“Oh, we’ll catch her. Another day, another lab-rat, right?”

She bristled at the reference, and to his surprise, Karon felt a twinge of guilt. “So how was your day?”

She softened at his attempt to make nice. “Lovely. I finally seduced that visiting microbiologist.” A small laugh left her lips, but her eyes were sad. “The silly man cried afterwards. I mean really, who still has moral compunctions in this day and age?”

Karon usually got a kick out of her bawdy stories about his co-workers, but today he wasn’t in the mood. “That’s nice.”

“So, do they know yet how many mere they want to take from the area?”

Karon’s hackles rose. Strictly speaking, Gracie knew more than she should about Dendric’s work. It was unlikely she would leak information to a competing company, but she was an ex-lab rat. He really should have dropped her off in Greece last week like he was supposed to.

“Grathers doesn’t know yet. We’re starting with twenty-five.”

“That’s a lot.” Gracie eyed him suspiciously. “Are they all going to be kept on the ship?”

“Fuck, no. They’ll go straight for processing at headquarters.” He didn’t know why her questions bothered him. Of course, her opinion of Grathers’s work was probably different from his.

“So how long will you hold them?”

Eager to steer the conversation to different waters, he swung his arm out and wrapped it around her shoulders. “Get over here, baby.”

She turned that gorgeous face to his, studying. What she learned, though, he didn’t know.

“Karon.” Doc shuffled in, determinedly not looking at Gracie. “The results came back for the creature that attacked you. It was a dragon.”

A fresh wave of pain shot through him as his muscles clenched. Gracie looked back and forth between the two men, her eyes finally settling on him. “So what does that mean?”

“It means I’m more screwed than I thought.”

* * * *

Isa woke up to the soft shushing of low waves. She lay in an expanse of white. Raising her head, she saw the ocean.

A large and beautiful man rolled toward her. “Good morning, sunshine.”

Sidon’s bed was enormous, not to mention ridiculously comfortable. Water lapped on the other side of a wall-sized window. The effect reminded her of an inverted fishbowl.

“How did I get here?”

“I carried you, of course. You couldn’t really swim with a spear poking through your tail, sweetheart.” His voice was gentle, intimate, and he pressed a little kiss into her T-shirt covered shoulder.

Too confused to process the term of endearment, Isa continued, “But then why am I not in a hospital?”

“I took care of you here. No organs or bones were injured. And when you shifted, the worst of the damage healed.”

Isa frowned and looked down at the bandages covering her still-tender calves. Other than being sore and weak, her body sizzled with life.

“After a few days’ rest you should be as good as new.” Sidon kept talking, but Isa barely heard him. Her attention focused on wondering why, despite blood loss and punctured tail, she felt almost giddy.

“Oh, holy heck, the injury didn’t turn me, did it?”

Sidon’s eyes narrowed, his lips thinned, and his body hardened like stone. “No, princess, your precious humanity is intact, just like your cherry. If you want to be human so badly why haven’t you sealed the deal already?”

Isa flushed in hurt and embarrassment. Looking away, she said primly, “Why I haven’t chosen to become human permanently is none of your concern.”

“If you stayed in Landworld it would have been none of my concern. But as you found out last night, still being unchanged makes you a liability.”

Her temper spiked. “Oh please, you don’t care that I haven’t gone through the change. You’re just pissed I never let
you
change me. It’s been a long time, Si. It’s really sad you’re still angry we never fucked.”

His expression hardened and he pushed off the mattress. “Screw you.” Sidon stalked across the room and placed his hands on the window, staring out over the water. His muscles flexed above his boxer shorts, but the crease in his brow told her he was more frustrated than angry.

Isa inched across the bed in his direction. “Listen, Si, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean…Just, thank you. Thanks for getting me away from those guys.”

His shoulders relaxed a fraction. “You’re welcome, Isa.” When he turned to look at her again, Isa knew more words hung on his lips. But he didn’t say them. Instead he sat on her side of the bed and took a deep breath. His nostrils flared and Isa knew he was smelling her. She grinned. She’d forgotten that dragon habit.

Refusing to sidle closer to him, Isa surveyed her body for injuries. Her gaze landed on the thick metal band circling tightly above her elbow. “Sidon, what is this?”

“It’s a tracking device.” He snuggled closer, but she drew back.

“And why am I wearing a tracking device?”

A crocodile grin crept along his face. “So I can keep track of you, sweetheart, why else?”

“I’m not a fricking sea turtle, Sidon! Take it off!”

“No.” The teasing smirk on his face told Isa he thought this was funny as hell.

“You. Are. A. Jerk.”

Sidon snorted a laugh before pinching his lips to appear serious. “You need to stay in the Key until I figure out who those guys were.”

“So you’re putting me on a leash?” She blushed a moment after the words left her mouth.

Sidon’s face split into a wide grin. “Hell, yeah.” He bounded out of bed. “I hope you’re hungry. I made eggs.”

She screamed at him in frustration and threw a pillow his direction as Sidon bolted for the door, laughing. Isa grabbed the ring and tugged, gritting her teeth. The darn thing refused to slide past her elbow. Her eyes pressed tight as she considered her options. Unfortunately, none came to mind.

She limped around the room on sore ankles and found a pair of boxers in a pile of clean laundry. Isa pulled the shorts on under the dress-sized T-shirt. Sliding doors led to a large bathroom. There she found a comb to pull through her matted locks, as well as a conspicuously-placed new toothbrush. She marveled at Sidon’s consideration before realizing he probably bought them by the box for his stream of nighttime guests.

The wall-sized window ran the length of the house, and fluffy white sofas and chairs littered the main living area. The home was sleek and modern, and the whole place perched out over a rocky outcropping. She stepped up to a raised counter with stools. The smell of Hollandaise sauce tantalized her long-empty stomach.

“Dang, Si! You made Eggs Benedict?”

“Still your favorite, huh?” He looked extremely pleased with himself. He placed her plate on the counter, and she practically drooled.

“OJ?” Pride radiated off him.

“Yes, please.”

He poured her a glass and sat down next to her on an adjacent seat, their shoulders almost touching. The food was amazing, and Isa ate with gusto. When she came up for air, Sidon’s eyes sparkled in amusement.

“Hungry?”