SeaChange (27 page)

Heidi laughed. “I’ll let him know. Now which shoe store in the
mall has the most wickedly sinful black heels for under a hundred dollars?”

A few stores and a little too much money later, Heidi was
ready to go. She had a dress, shoes, purse, underwear, and even a new silver
clasp to hold her hair off to the side in an asymmetrical ponytail. Since the
coolest feature of the dress was the low back, she didn’t want to hide it with
her hair. Back in the hotel room, she showered, shaved her legs and dressed,
then added a big pair of silver hoops earrings and a chunky bracelet, along
with the black and silver high-heeled sandals she’d bought. Mascara and a
sparkly pink lipstick were the finishing touches, and then she left the
bathroom to spin in front of Jake where he lounged in front of the TV.

“Well?”

“Wow.” His dark gaze traveled from her head to her toes. “I
mean—you’re always beautiful, in shorts, in a swimsuit, in nothing at all. But
tonight…wow.”

“Thank you.” She took in his perfectly fitting black suit,
blue shirt and striped tie. His hair was clubbed back with a leather thong. He’d
used Niko’s room next door to get ready, so she hadn’t seen him until just now.
“You look pretty incredible yourself. Is that new, or did you keep it on the
boat?”

He laughed. “Yes. I own one suit, two dress shirts, and four
ties, which I keep in a garment bag in the closet in the forward cabin. I’ve
occasionally had business meetings in the course of my ‘finding things’ career.
I’ve also gone to a handful of weddings and funerals in the last decade.”

“In that, you really look like a prince,” she teased.

“And you look every inch a goddess.” Jake stood and took her
hands in his. Even with four-inch heels, Heidi had to look up at him, just a
little, and that made her smile.

He picked up a small florist’s box from the table beside the
couch. “I picked this up in the lobby. I thought maybe you could wear it in
your hair.”

Eagerly, she opened the box and found a single pink and
white stargazer lily, with a stem about three inches long. She dashed into the
bathroom and tucked it into her ponytail clasp, which nestled the flower
between her ear and throat.

Coming up behind her, Jake laid his hands on her shoulders. “Perfect,”
he said, kissing the bare right side of her neck. “And it’s even on the correct
side.”

“Oh?” She thought she remembered a Hawaiian classmate
mentioning something about that once, but she didn’t know what it meant.

“Flowers go on the right if you’re single,” Jake said. He
traced her left ear with his finger, just above the flower petal. “Left side
means you’re taken.”

Heidi caught her breath. “So I’m taken, am I?”

His smile was slow and sensual. “You are if I have anything
to say about it.”

It would be really juvenile to pull out her hairclip and
rearrange everything just to prove a point. Besides, she wasn’t sure she wanted
to. For tonight, for now, at least, she
was
taken, and happy to be so. “Thank
you,” she said breathlessly. “It’s gorgeous.”

Jake chuckled. “Not as gorgeous as you, but it will do. Now
let’s get out of here while I still have the willpower to leave your clothes
on.”

“Good—good idea,” she agreed. Taking his arm, she let him
lead her out of the room and down the hall.

* * * * *

The restaurant Jake had chosen was just in the next hotel
down the street, so they walked, arm in arm, enjoying the evening breeze. They
were seated at a quiet corner table, with real linen and soft candlelight. Soft
strains of classical piano drifted in from discreetly placed speakers.

Heidi was entranced by the setting, by the careful attention
Jake had paid to every detail. She even did something she’d never done—she sat
back and let him order for them both, which he did in fluent French. The crisp
white wine he’d chosen was perfect, and she sipped slowly while the lobster
bisque was being served. Then there was a red with the steaks and baby red
potatoes, followed by chilled champagne with the strawberry cheesecake. She’d
only allowed herself one glass of each. By the end of the meal, Heidi was
stuffed but she’d been careful not to be tipsy.

“You’re spoiling me for my tacos and burgers lifestyle,” she
teased. “Though given your weakness for Oreos and Pop-Tarts, I guess you can’t
be called a food snob.”

“I don’t do this often,” he admitted. “I like fresh seafood,
fresh produce and good wine, but what you’ve seen so far on the boat is pretty
much how I live.”

“So tonight is just a special occasion, is it?” She rubbed
the toe of her sandal along his calf under the table.

“More than you know,” he murmured. He moved aside their
dessert plates and took her hands in one of his on the tabletop. “I’ve never
told another woman I love her, Heidi. Well—except for my mother and Leta. But
what I feel for you—this is a once-in-a-lifetime experience for me. I want you
to know that.”

His sincerity and the depth of his emotion pulsed along the
bond between them, and all Heidi could do was nod. She couldn’t speak around
the lump in her throat.

“I know you don’t feel ready for a commitment, but I also
know that in the next few days, we could be going into something
dangerous—something not all of us will necessarily survive. So I wanted to
speak now, on this last night of privacy we have, and let you know how strongly
I’ve come to feel about you.”

Oh wow
. He was not only dead serious, he was right.
This could really be their last night alone together. Ever. She batted her
lashes to blink back the sudden welling of tears.

“This is something I found in a wreck a long time ago. I
think it’s of Greek origin, but it may be Italian or French—it was from the
Mediterranean at any rate, and the ship looked to be seventeenth century, based
on the cannons. It was so lovely, I just couldn’t part with it, and now I know
why. It was meant for you.”

He pulled a small velvet pouch from the pocket of his suit.

“This doesn’t come with strings attached. It doesn’t mean we’re
engaged, or anything like that. It’s just a gift. A token of my love for you.
Something for you to look at years from now and remember this night—this
moment.”

He opened the pouch and withdrew the most beautiful ring
Heidi had ever seen. It was platinum, with a large, pale aquamarine in a
setting of carved waves and dolphins.

Now the tears resurged, leaking out over her lashes. “It’s…amazing.
The most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.”

“Will you wear it for me?” His voice was thick, and Heidi
saw that his hand was shaking just a little.

“Y-y-yeah,” she muttered, trying to suppress a sniffle. “I’d
love to.”

Jake slid the antique ring onto the third finger of her left
hand, and Heidi couldn’t bring herself to argue. It was right. That was where
it belonged. It wasn’t an engagement ring but it did mean—something. Even if
she wasn’t sure exactly what.

“I love you, Jake.”

He smiled, then lifted her hand and kissed it. “I love you,
my own warrior goddess. Thank you.”

“I will bring more champagne,” the waiter cried excitedly.

Neither of them had noticed him coming to check on them one
last time.

“Congratulations, monsieur, mademoiselle!”

“Oh, but…” Heidi winced, then stopped. All the other diners
were looking at them and smiling. A few even applauded. Of course it looked as
if they’d just gotten engaged. And she couldn’t bring herself to embarrass Jake
by explaining, so she just smiled at the waiter. “Thank you.”

They accepted the toast from the restaurant staff and
patrons, then finished their champagne. At least, Heidi thought, she didn’t see
anyone from the marine biology department of the Westin Institute. That would
have been the icing on the cake. As it was, she whispered, “I feel like such a
fraud,” to Jake as they walked back to the hotel.

“I’m sorry,” he replied. “I didn’t mean to put you on the
spot like that.”

“I know.” She squeezed his hand. “It’s okay. We got a free
bottle of champagne out of it, at any rate.” They hadn’t been charged for that
second bottle the waiter brought.

“For the record, if I’d thought you’d have said yes, it
would
have been a proposal.” He paused in the garden right beside their hotel and
turned to face her. The moonlight cast his face in sharp, striking angles. He
was so freaking beautiful, she thought. It still surprised her that he’d fallen
in love with her.

“I know that too.” She couldn’t lie to him. She did know he
was ready to commit to her for good and if made her feel like a selfish bitch
that she wasn’t ready to say yes. There was just so much that still stood
between them, and she wasn’t sure she was ready to spend the next three hundred
years sequestered in a merfolk colony to preserve her lifespan or to spend the
next fifty or sixty growing old while Jake didn’t. On the other hand, the
thought of leaving him was bleaker still. “I just…don’t know, Jake. I really
wish I did.”

“It’s okay, sweetheart. We’ll work it out. For now, I love
you and we’re here, together. That may not be a perfect ending, but it’s a
pretty damn good place to start.”

His kiss started out tender, a mere touch of his lips
against hers. But Heidi gripped his shoulders and returned it with all the
emotion she couldn’t quite sort out into words.

Soon Jake had pulled her body flush against his and she
could feel his arousal hard against her stomach, feel the urgency of her own
pulse. His tongue stroked into her mouth and she sucked on it, rubbing her
lower body against his while one of his hands slid up her bare thigh under the
hem of her dress.

“Time to go inside,” he rasped when he finally broke free.
He tugged her hand and started walking rapidly toward the hotel entrance.

Heidi tugged her skirt back into place and followed,
practically running on the stiletto heels to keep up. As soon as they were in
the elevator, he kissed her again, pressing her back against the wall while his
mouth plundered hers. She speared one hand into his hair, dislodging the thong
while he pushed one hand between their bodies to cup her breast. By the time
they reached the fifteenth floor, Heidi’s knees were weak with longing.

Jake pulled his key card out of his pocket as they raced
down the hall. Thankfully, they didn’t encounter any other guests, who wouldn’t
have been able to miss their frantic arousal—not that Heidi cared all that
much. The only thing that mattered was getting into that room and getting Jake
inside her as quickly as possible.

It seemed to take forever for him to unlock the door, haul
Heidi inside and shut the door behind them, but finally it happened and Heidi
found herself pressed against the back of the door with Jake kissing her for
all he was worth. She was glad they’d left a light on, because neither one of
them bothered to look for the switch.

She dropped her purse and kissed him back, one hand sliding
under his suit coat to grasp his shoulder while the other reached between them
to fumble with his belt. Their tongues dueled and tangled frantically, while
Jake braced himself on the door with one hand. His other slid up under Heidi’s
hemline. When he reached the string of her soaked black thong, he tugged it
downward.

Heidi kicked it off her ankles at the same time as she
pushed Jake’s slacks down off his hips, followed quickly by his black cotton
boxers. She lifted one leg to wrap around his hip, drawing him closer to her
wet, aching core.

With a groan, Jake lifted Heidi up off the floor a couple
inches and pinned her back against the heavy wooden door as his thick cock slid
into her waiting channel.

“Yes!” She writhed against him, her tender breasts crushed
against his solid chest. He filled her completely, then began a slow glide in
and out. With every stroke, his rigid flesh caressed her sensitive tissues.

Then his lips found hers again and his tongue pushed into
her mouth, matching the rhythm of his cock in her core. Heidi was so tightly
wound that it didn’t take long. He shifted just a bit so his shaft rubbed her
clit with every thrust in and out of her pussy, and it only took a couple
before Heidi’s whole body tightened and shook. Jake kept up the steady
onslaught and after just a few more strokes, Heidi screamed out his name as she
exploded, her muscles clamping down hard on him as she rode out wave after wave
of delight.

Jake groaned into her mouth and held himself deep while she
continued to pulse around his cock. Heidi felt the burst of pleasure over their
bond as he gave in to his own release and flooded her with heat.

She dragged her mouth from his to catch her breath and
leaned her head on his shoulder. Slowly, Jake eased out of her and held her
steady as he lowered her feet back to the floor.

“I’d meant,” he said, dragging in a breath, “to at least get
you out of that dress before I did that.”

Heidi looked down to see his pants still pooled around his
ankles, and tried to laugh, though it came out as more of a wheeze. “There’s
always later.”

They stumbled toward the bed, each trying to help the other
out of their clothes. Finally Jake pulled back the covers, and Heidi dropped
down onto the bed and bent over to unbuckle the straps on her shoes. Jake’s
suit lay in a crumpled pile on the floor, along with her dress. Her shoes and
bra soon followed, and they flopped together back against the sheets.

Heidi’s hand rested against Jake’s chest and the aquamarine
in the ring he’d given her caught the light. She wiggled her hand, making the
glint dance. It was far prettier than any diamond, and the dolphin and waves
design was as pretty as it was symbolic for them. She hoped, really hoped, that
she’d never have to take it off.

The new boat had come with the name
Fisherman’s Folly
stenciled on the hull, and there wasn’t time to rename or repaint, so the
Folly
it would have to be, at least for this mission. Jake didn’t know what his
mother was planning to do with it afterward, but if she decided to keep it, she
could worry about renaming it then.

Today’s maiden voyage was a run out to the Catalinas and
back, to pick up Myrrine’s warriors and to give Heidi, Jake and Steve a chance
to make sure they knew the ins and outs of the vessel. Tomorrow they would load
the equipment Wen and Steve had arranged, then Friday they would hopefully set
sail for Cabo San Lucas, on the very southern tip of the Baja peninsula.

So far it all looked good. The boat was older, but the
engines weren’t giving them any trouble at all. Wen had joined them when they
were about an hour out of port, and had caught Jake up on the plans for
equipment delivery. When they were just a few miles off the coast of the
Catalinas, Leta dove overboard, changed into a dolphin and went to get their
mother. A few minutes later, Jake helped anchor the
Folly
in a cove near
the merfolk colony beneath one of the smaller, uninhabited islands, and they
all waited for the rest of their crew to come aboard.

Once again, most of the merfolk arrived in human form,
several of them in small boats. Myrrine came first, with Marcos and Chiron and
Leta, and another young man he recognized as Aella’s grandson. He didn’t have
the bearing of a warrior. Another healer, perhaps? Jake was glad they’d thought
of that.

He was also relieved to discover that Leta would not be
traveling with them.

Leta, however, was not. “I don’t see why I shouldn’t go,”
she grumbled. “I’ve been involved in this all the way through.”

“Because one member of our family has to stay,” Myrrine
pointed out. “If your brother and I are both in harm’s way, then our people
need you to be safe.”

“I don’t think anyone on the boat will necessarily be in
harm’s way,” Heidi remarked. “But it does sort of make sense for one member of
the royal family to stay with your people.”

Leta fought, but in the end she conceded, just as Jake had
hoped. Actually, he tried to persuade his mother to stay behind too, but that
didn’t get anywhere at all. Myrrine was going and that’s all there was to it.
Luggage was loaded, along with a supply of spearguns and WWII-era munitions,
which Marcos guarded with an eagle eye, while Jake reacquainted himself with
the six warriors who would travel with them. Along with Niko, Marcos and
Chiron, that made nine mermen, plus Jake, Steve and Wen, for an even dozen.
Jake still desperately hoped Heidi would be willing to stay behind during the
raid. That would leave her, Jake’s mother, Darius the healer and maybe Brad on
the
Folly
. If everything went south, Heidi and Brad could get the boat
back to the States.

“I wondered,” Myrrine said to Jake and Heidi while Marcos
and Chiron were debating over where to stow a crate of underwater mines. “If
perhaps Heidi—and maybe your friends—would like to see the settlement while you
are here.”

Heidi’s eyes bugged out and Jake felt her curiosity surge
over the link.

“Of course she would, Mother.” He smiled at Heidi to let her
know he didn’t mind.

Steve and Wen both declined, so Heidi found herself swimming
with Leta on one side of her and Myrrine on the other. She knew Jake longed to
see his home, but she also knew he’d rather she see it without him than not at
all.

The underwater portion of the dive was minimal, so she didn’t
bother with equipment except for her small flippers and a mask. Out of
deference to her, Jake’s mother and sister both retained their human forms,
though most of the people they encountered as they got close to the island’s
shoreline were typical merfolk. Heidi marveled at the fact that it no longer
surprised her to see someone with the torso of a human and the lower half of a
dolphin.

They sucked in deep breaths, then dove down at the edge of a
rocky cliff. The cave entrance was just about ten feet below sea level, and
they’d assured her that it opened up above the water line as soon as they were
inside the cave. She followed Myrrine closely, ducking into the black hole in
the rock, then quickly following Jake’s mother back up to the surface.

She gasped when she took in the sight of the big open
chamber she’d emerged into. It was apparently just an entryway, there wasn’t
much in the way of activity, though there was a low ledge along one wall, where
perhaps twenty people could stand or sit out of the water. A hallway led off
that, deeper into the island, while another tunnel went off to the right,
partially underwater. The whole room was an oval, maybe fifty feet across and
one hundred feet wide. Small holes in the side of the rock allowed for light to
filter in from the side of the island.

Strangely, there were no stalactites hanging from the
ceiling. When she asked Myrrine, the queen nodded. “We remove them whenever
possible. They have a tendency to fall, and that can be dangerous.”

Heidi nodded and followed as Myrrine swam toward the tunnel
with the open water. As they drew deeper in toward the center of the island,
the filtered sunlight gave out, and torches lined the rocky corridor above the
waterline.

They passed several hallways, and a few doorways that had
actual wooden doors on them. “Private quarters,” Leta told her when she asked. “Basically
apartments. The caves are partly natural and partly carved out by magic, but
they have to follow the natural contours of the island. So the private caves
are scattered all over the place—wherever there’s room.”

They reached an enormous cavern that seemed to soar up for
hundreds of feet. At the top, there were again several small chimney holes
letting in daylight. Stairways in the sides of the cliff walls went up to
ledges and balconies, some with doors opening off them, others that were just
part of this space. A few even featured furniture—tables and chairs that were
either carved stone, rustically crafted wooden pieces, or brightly colored
plastic lawn furniture. Some of those were occupied by groups talking, eating,
and even one trio playing cards. Another group of four men clustered in a
shallow pool around a swim-up table. A few merfolk children played something
that resembled water volleyball off to one side of the big central pool, under
the watchful eyes of three young women.

“This is our central chamber,” Myrrine told Heidi. “Sort of
the town square. If you follow that hallway,” she said, pointing across from
where they’d entered, “you’ll find the school and a few other common spaces,
like the healer’s guild and the trading rooms. We have sort of a barter system,
with credits that can be used for goods or services.”

“And how many of your people live here?” Heidi asked as she
followed the two mermaids over to a set of carved stairs.

Myrrine replied. “About three hundred make this their
primary residence. We also have plenty of available rooms for up to another two
hundred, as the warriors and traders tend to travel between our settlements.”

They exited the pool and climbed up to one of the widest
ledges, then up a flight of stairs to another. Heidi was very glad someone had
added sturdy wooden railings to the outside of the stairs. When they reached
the second floor ledge, they walked past several doors with mer names carved or
painted on them. Finally they came to a wide area of the ledge, which was
arranged as a sort of balcony with cushioned seating for maybe a dozen people.
Past that was another narrow ledge, guarded by an armed merman, who immediately
bowed to Myrrine before standing aside.

“I never kept this guarded until after my brother’s most
recent attacks,” the queen told Heidi as they passed onto the narrow ledge. A
curved balcony, with what could only be called a throne, looked out over the
chamber, with a few less ostentatious chairs arranged beside and slightly
behind it. The ledge ended here—there was nothing more beyond this point except
a carved wooden door leading into the rock of the island’s core.

“Come in,” Leta said, holding the door open for Heidi. “This
is where Mother and I live when we’re here.”

The door opened into a comfortable sitting room—at least
comfortable for a cave, Heidi assumed. Leta had brought a torch in off the
balcony and lit two on either side of the door, illuminating the room. There
were heavy rugs on the floor and some tapestry hangings on the wall. One back
wall was lined with bookshelves.

“My mate loved books,” Myrrine said sadly. “He collected as
many as could be found, or purchased by our traders and scavengers. Most of
them have been wet and dried out, but he took excellent care to preserve them
as much as possible.” There was no smell of mildew, which was a bit of a
surprise. Maybe they used magic to prevent that as well.

Heidi couldn’t imagine life without easy access to books.
Still, if their mission did succeed, and Dionysus adapted the merfolk to live
on land, then maybe they could figure out a way for their human companions to
live on land as well.

Behind the sitting room was a bedroom, maybe twelve by
fifteen feet, with a beautiful wooden bedstead, a desk and several sea chests.
An antique Spanish guitar hung on one wall. “My father’s room,” Leta told her. “Though
mother still uses it sometimes. She has an office up on this level as well.”

If this was the royal family’s apartment, how sparse the
rest of the merfolk’s quarters must be. Heidi shook her head as she followed
the other women down a set of stairs carved out of the rock, and into a larger,
more open room, the center of which was filled with a large pool. Around the
pool were a few plastic chairs and some shelves full of dishes, oil lamps, and
various other household goods.

“The kitchen is back through there,” Leta said, pointing
down one corridor at the base of the stairs. “Over here are more bedrooms.” She
pointed to another half-submerged tunnel, though this one had a ledge along the
side. Handy to be able to swim or walk to the bedrooms.

Leta showed off her room—a strange mix of girly and early
cave-dweller, and then the room that had been Jake’s. There wasn’t much in that
one but a sandy floor, a single sea chest, and some shells on a bookshelf.
Three hand-carved spears hanging on one wall and a carved stone chair were the
only other things in the small stone chamber. It wasn’t hard for Heidi to
understand why Jake had wanted so badly to live among humans. Not just for the
comforts of civilization, but for the intellectual stimulation. There was very
little color down here, and almost no art, except for things scavenged from
shipwrecks. It was a very Spartan existence.

By the time she and Myrrine returned to the boat, leaving a
grumpy but resigned Leta behind, Heidi had a much greater understanding of why
Jake had bartered his magic for the chance to live as a human. She knew he’d
regretted it since, but she understood. Her resolve to help the merfolk win
their chance to adapt was only strengthened.

* * * * *

The next day Brad was transferred from the hospital under
the care of Heidi, Steve, who’d claimed the move was for security reasons, and
his “home nurse”, the merman healer Darius. Once in the limo, with Jake
driving, Darius performed a limited healing, enabling Brad to walk onto the new
boat. During the course of the day, as supplies and fuel were loaded on, they
spent several sessions finishing the healing task. By evening, Brad was fully
restored to health and following Steve and Niko around to learn the ins and
outs of the
Folly
’s operation.

“Nice scenery around here,” Brad murmured to Heidi later
that night as they sat on the deck of the
Folly
eating pizza. “I mean,
you may have nabbed one of the best ones while I was out of the action, but
there appear to be plenty more where he came from. Think any of them swing my way?”

Heidi shrugged and giggled. “Well, their culture is
primarily Greek, and I don’t think they were known for being particularly
homophobic. No luck with the healer, huh?”

“Nope, that boy is straight as can be. Besides, he’s only
what? Nineteen, maybe? Way too young.”

Heidi shook her head and explained a little about merfolk
life spans. It felt so good to be able to sit and laugh with him again, when
only a few days earlier she’d thought she’d lost him forever.

“So all the years we’ve spent studying marine biology, and
come to find out, there were whole species we never even knew about,” Brad
mused. Darkness had fallen and now Jake and Steve were overseeing the loading
of the “special” cargo—the guns, ammunition and explosives. Communications
equipment and a couple extra computers had already arrived. Fortunately, the
Folly
was already equipped with a satellite internet uplink.

Reluctantly, Heidi and Brad had agreed to be the on-board
coordinators during the actual raid on the island. Jake was right—they weren’t
trained commandos or warriors. And if worse came to worst, between the two of
them, they could get the boat and any wounded back to San Diego. Myrrine and
Darius would stay behind as well, of course, since neither of them were
fighters at all.

One thing Heidi did do was make sure the hand-drawn map of
the island and the diagram of the temple grounds that Dionysus had sent them
were uploaded into the mapping software she used for charting dolphin
movements. The program was set up so Brad and Heidi could keep track of the
merfolk during the raid, using the communicators Wen had provided, similar to
the one Heidi had used in Mexico. The group was gathered, the boat was fueled,
stocked and loaded. They were as ready as they were going to be. Now all they
had to do was get there.

* * * * *

The trip from San Diego to Cabo San Lucas seemed to take
forever, though it was really just a three-day run. They didn’t stop overnight,
just for fuel, which meant they didn’t have to push the engines to a high rate
of speed.