Chapter Six

If someone was keeping track of the hours I'd consecutively stayed at my house since dad's accident, tonight would have set a new record. I settled in with a blanket and a book in a fools' attempt to distract my head and heart from starting an all-out civil war. I knew the deflection tactic wouldn't last and that choosing a romance book hadn't been the smartest idea either. Each kiss the main character shared with her lover, I imagined myself in her place, kissing Kai on the beach, on my bed, tangled in the sheets, my hands gripping his…

I slammed the book closed, chucking it across the room. Grabbing at the roots of my hair, I tugged hard, trying to dislodge some damned common sense.

Cee had called me a few hours ago to chew me out in a way only a best friend could. "You can't avoid your abandonment issues forever." she said over the sound of kernels popping in the microwave.

"I don't—" I started.

"Save it, M. You like him and judging by the heat of that kiss and the way he's been pouting since you left, the feeling is definitely mutual."

"He's pouting?"

"Like a child that had his favorite toy taken away. He's been locked in his room ever since we got back. Now I don't know what actually happened because you're stubborn as fuck and he refuses to vent, but you better talk to him before I lock you both in a room to kiss and make up." She'd hung up before I could reply.

I didn't move, not just because I was as stubborn as she'd claimed. But even entertaining the idea that Kai might be feeling what I was, threatened to send me into next-level panic. There were over a million reasons why this wouldn't work, the biggest hanging over my head like a freshly sharpened guillotine. He was leaving. Whether in a couple of weeks or a few months, as soon as it was safe, as soon as that tug he described became too strong to resist, he'd return to the ocean, and I wouldn't expect him to come back. Why would he, with the welcome humanity had given him?

There was also the deflating thought knocking around in my head that I was nothing more than a fleeting fascination, that his interest only went as far as to satisfy his own scientific curiosity about humans. It would be so much easier to keep him at arm"s length until he left, but ‘easy' wasn't hitting the right spots on my sexual radar. Not after that kiss.

Another choice, one that Cee would probably applaud and throw all of her money at, was to do as she suggested, kiss and makeup. Though her definition probably translated to screwing him until I couldn't see straight to get the urge out of my system. If he were anyone else, I may have agreed it was the best option. I wasn't a stranger to casual flings, but whatever this was, it was anything but casual. I could only imagine the emotional ringer I'd be put through if things went further. Hell, we'd kissed twice, and my mind was a labyrinth of complete and utter turmoil.

I rubbed at my neck, frowning as I felt the irritated skin there. When I got out of the shower this afternoon, the sides of my neck were peppered with red blotches and itchy. It had cooled down a bit with some ice and aloe, but I made sure to put sunscreen in my bag. My priorities were in serious need of realignment, I didn't need to add skin cancer to my growing list of concerns.

Movement out of the corner of my eye drew my gaze down to the dark strip of beach. I knew it was Kai, like an internal GPS that had him programmed to my radar. The urge to run to him and throw out all of my previous doubts out the window was instantaneous. I looked beyond him, to the dark water lapping against the shoreline, then sat up, rolling my rigid shoulders and aching muscles that hadn"t been swimming for weeks now.

In that small moment, another reckless thought slipped through. Taking small steps wouldn't work when I was constantly worried about where that step would lead me. What if I just let myself go and embrace where the waves wanted to take me?

Hope followed the feeling, and I tossed the blanket aside, forgoing shoes as I slipped silently down the stairs and out the back door.

Kai was watching the moonglade ripple over the water as the celestial body rose, joining the glittering stars dusting the canvas of the sky as I approached, and didn't turn to look at me. We stood beside each other, content to listen to the sounds of the waves, pulsing in a rhythmic, lulling motion.

"There is something quite profound looking at the place you come from on the stranger's side of the tide." Kai eventually said, his voice rumbling out so low I had to lean closer to hear him.

"I'm sure you've gained a new perspective fairly quickly," I agreed. "Do you want to go back?" Shit, why did I say that? The words carved open something raw and wounded in me.

He shrugged. "Eventually."

"What about now?" He turned to face me, eyes narrowed. But I had to make sure, "If we rented a charter boat we could probably get it far enough to—"

"Maren," he said, placing his hands on my shoulders. My jaw snapped shut. "I have no intention of leaving right now, and I will continue to tell you so until you finally believe me. I wish to stay here, if you want me to." He dropped his hands abruptly, "I apologize if I was too forward this morning."

I wanted to slap myself. I'd been so consumed with my own thoughts, and then I'd just left him. I'd broken out of his arms and ran off the beach. If I kept this up, we were both going to have abandonment issues.

"No, I'm sorry." I sighed, sinking down to sit on the sand. "I overreacted. I just didn't expect to feel so…"

He sat down beside me, and it was clear I had his full attention. "So what?"

Let the waves take you. "Amazing," I breathed. And intense, magical, maybe even soul-shattering. I looked away, my cheeks flaring even though I'd kept my thoughts to myself.

"You don't have much experience being cared for."

That was not what I thought he would say. I spluttered, tucking a wayward strand behind my ear. "Have you been talking to Cee?"

"It's unexpected." he went on, "You have been with others."

He didn't phrase it as a question, but I still answered him. "I've built a hard shell. Comes with years of family issues, I suppose. My mom was never in the picture, and my dad was always kind of distant even before the accident. Sometimes I think that's just the nature of scientists."

"What happened to him?" he asked. His voice was gentle, but I still winced. I'd told him the basics, but baring the whole story veered very much into ‘soft-shell' territory. I hugged my knees to my chest, prepared to give an excuse, but then his hand rested on my forearm, warm and reassuring.

The sincerity in his eyes, I didn't deserve such raw emotion, not when I was still trying to put up walls. But there it was, glowing with the incandescent light shining off the water. I kept the contact as I spoke, finding it easier to speak with him anchoring me.

"He was a marine biologist, like me. It was his life's mission to save as many species as he could, to get humans and nature working together again, and he was really good at it."

"A trait he's passed on to you." Kai interjected with a small smirk.

I returned it. "He met Marianna on one of his research trips. He was living in Florida at the time. They fell in love, and I popped into the world a year later."

"And then you were taken?"

I frowned. "No, it wasn't like that, not exactly. I only really know the basics because dad refused to talk about it. There was a break-in. I think they were trying to rob the house, and didn't expect my mom to be home. She was supposed to be at an event with dad, but she was nine months pregnant and couldn't move around much." I shrugged. "Whoever they were though, they got away, and after I was born, he didn't feel we were safe there anymore. So we moved in with Becca, and I've been here ever since. And then my mother…"

I stiffened, and his other arm wrapped around my shoulders, tucking me against his warm side that settled the shivers racing up my arms. "I was six, maybe seven. We woke up one day and she"d just…vanished. Dad disappeared that day too. Not physically, but he'd lock himself in his office so often that it was easy to forget he was around. He stopped publishing his research, which for a scientist is basically career suicide. There were times I thought he'd leave too, and I didn't know if it would be better." Becca had been around, attending school plays and science fairs as long as her schedule at the hospice allowed. But most days it was just me, staring at his closed office door and silently begging for it to open. Hoping he'd emerge with a smile on his face and take me to the aquarium or even just outside to check on our coral garden. To simply remember I was there.

"What about Cee?"

I brightened a bit. "We met at a party her parents were throwing, the last time dad promoted his work. She's driven me crazy more times than I can count, but she's also kept me sane. I was heading back from her place the night when…" I took a deep breath, bracing myself. Kai tucked me in closer to his side, squeezing gently, and I gave him a small smile.

"About a month before the accident he seemed...happier? More than I could remember. He came downstairs one night to eat dinner with us, and I thought Becca was going to drop the salad bowl, especially when he said he was taking the boat out. We didn't think twice about it, and I was just happy to have him back…" I pulled my eyes from his, gazing out over the black waves. I was reminded that night that while the sea was endlessly fascinating, she was also a cruel mistress.

"The police suspected the motor had rusted through. It had been sitting idle for years without maintenance. The whole way to the hospital, I thought he was dead." The familiar sting of tears made me squeeze my eyes tight, and I buried my head into my bent knees, my next words muffled and hoarse. "I should've gone with him."

In one fluid motion I went from sitting in the sand to being hoisted into Kai's lap, and by that point, the tears had come and there was no stopping them.

"Had you done so, you could have very well ended up hurt alongside him. Do not blame yourself for his actions."

I clutched the soft material of his shirt, shudders wracking my body. Through it all Kai held me, becoming my hard shell as I let myself be raw and vulnerable in a way that I hadn't allowed myself in a long time. He rubbed his hands down my arms, my back, acting as a protective barrier from the world.

The shift from body-wracking sobs to sniffling shudders came gradually, the transition to comfortable stillness slower still. But when it did, I felt better than I had in a long time, despite the fact that my nose was stuffy, and I'd probably gotten snot on Kai's shirt. Cee was going to be pissed. But I didn't care, especially not when Kai tilted my chin up to face him, "Little star, you continue to amaze me. How can you shine so brightly in a world filled with such darkness?"

Everywhere his heavy gaze landed tingled in response like a physical caress. But it wasn't enough, not nearly enough. I wanted to consume and be consumed by him, to sink into the depths together and never come up for air.

I flung my arms around his neck, fusing my mouth to his as our momentum toppled us backwards onto the sand. Kai only grunted, steadying me with two hands on my waist as his lips worked against mine in a decadent cadence.

I reveled in the wildness of our mouths, colliding and parting like a dance. His fingers trailed down my spine, tickling the raised ridges. He skimmed lower, resting both hands on my rear and pulling me up higher. I gasped against his mouth as he squeezed, my hips rolling against his arousal, and he took the opportunity to explore. His tongue moving against mine was enchanting, riveting, and so dream-like I had to pull back to make sure I was still awake.

Just in time to hear the faint laughter, over the waves and the blood roaring through my ears.

Kai pulled me back down, stealing another kiss.

I said against his mouth. "There are people coming."

"Screw them," he groaned, taking my lips in another heated embrace. I let him, shocked he'd actually learned the meaning of that phrase, much less used it accurately in a sentence. Something else I probably had Cee to thank for. He'd been here less than a week and she was already corrupting him. Though based on our current position, I wasn't helping matters.

Bracing my hands on his shoulders, I pushed up, hovering over him. His hands continued to trail low on my body, sneaking fingers parting my thighs. I squirmed. "As much as I'd love to oblige you, if they call the cops on us for public indecency it won't end pretty."

His head fell back, arms sliding off me with defeat. "Fine," he grumbled.

I laughed, wriggling off of him, which earned me a look that dared me to try it again.

I could see the thin chain on his control and couldn't help but tug. I gave my hips a little shake, biting my lip which only inflamed the look in his eyes. "Catch me if you can, fish boy." I took off, sprinting as fast as I could across the dunes. I knew he would. Even if his abilities were weaker out of the water, he could catch up to a small human tripping in sand pits, yet I still squealed when I felt his arms wrap around my waist. I was over his shoulder in one fluid movement, earning me a marvelous view of his backside as he strode effortlessly up the sand. Feeling particularly brazen, I reached down and pinched a cheek with one hand. Kai stopped short, his arm tightening around my thighs.

"You don't wish to make it to your dwelling after all." he mused as we approached the gate that led to the house and our section of the beach.

I grinned, reaching over to pinch the other side.

"Damned temptress," Kai muttered. A moment later my own cheeks received a stinging pinch.

"Touché," I twisted my head in time to catch the smirk he threw at me.

"Hold on tight."

"This makes no sense." Kai complained, tossing a piece of popcorn into his mouth and chewing slowly. I was less graceful, shoving a handful of the popped kernels past my lips. Popcorn was not the snack you ate one at a time.

"It's not supposed to make sense." I replied.

"If this sea witch is so powerful, why not overthrow the kingdom herself?"

"Triton has the trident. But by tricking his daughter into signing a contract, she has the perfect bargaining chip to get him to do whatever she wants."

"Does the king of the sea need a trident?" he asked with strange amusement. "Especially if he is so hesitant to use it?"

"Are you going to question every aspect of this movie before it"s over?" I asked with an exaggerated huff.

"If this mermaid can sign a contract, in salt water, mind you, why can't she write this clueless prince a note?" He shook his head.

Convincing Kai to watch "The Little Mermaid" was the best idea I ever had, and the fact that it was his first movie ever was a delightful bonus. He may have only agreed to it to humor me, but he was more invested than I was. He'd even shushed me during the musical numbers.

Suddenly the idea of a full-blown maritime movie marathon with him was highly tempting. I wonder what he'd think of "Finding Nemo".

"He's not clueless," I argued. I would not tolerate Eric slander in my house, he was my first crush, after all.

"The simpleton can't even recognize the girl who saved his life."

"She can't speak!"

"She can write!"

"It's supposed to represent making a deal with the devil," I explained, "They fixed it in the live action."

"Great oceans, there's another one?!"

I snickered at his disbelief as Becca tapped on the entrance to the living room. I paused the movie, chagrined. "Sorry, were we being too loud?"

She shook her head, a smirk touching the corner of her lips, "I'm just heading to bed. Are you two okay down here?"

I nodded, hoping it was dark enough to hide my blush. Our movie night hadn't been planned. In fact, we had other, far more tantalizing plans, up until Kai stepped through the back door, me still dangling over his shoulder, only to find Becca in the kitchen making a pot of tea. The knowing look she'd given me as I scrambled down told me she'd seen much more through the kitchen window than she let on. I almost wished we'd gone to Cee's, although her reaction may have been worse.

To her credit, Becca greeted him with the utmost hospitality, pointedly asking me if he was staying the night, and I had to fight the urge to roll my eyes and tell her I was no longer sixteen. I quickly shoved Kai towards the living room and told her we were going to watch a movie, something that implied little to no talking, and no opportunities for questions of, ‘where are you from?' and ‘how did you meet?'.

"We're fine, thanks." I told her.

"Alright, good night. It was nice to finally meet you Kai."

He nodded, giving her a charming smile. "Likewise."

It wasn't a far stretch for Becca to assume Kai was the mystery man I'd hooked up with over the weekend, and I wasn't going to correct her. I'd deal with her grilling later.

Going with the flow was feeling better and better.

I reached for the remote, scooting further under the comforter I'd grabbed from my room. Our thighs pressed together, and I rested my head on his chest. He swung an arm around my shoulders and settled us deeper into the couch. I studied his profile as the colorful lights danced along the plane of his jaw. He looked so content, his time in the tank fading like a distant memory. He even had a little dimple that peeked out of the corner of his mouth when he laughed at something on screen. Combined with his wicked intelligence, and surprisingly sweet disposition, it was no wonder I was falling in love with him.

And cue interruption to the flow.

The thought struck like lightning, and I fumbled the bowl. Kai caught it without looking, enhanced peripheral vision or some other preternatural sense.

"Sorry." I breathed, "Uh, looks like we could use a refill. I'll make it with caramel this time. You'll like it, it"s sweet but also a little salty. Of course it will be salty from the popcorn already, but it shouldn't be too salty, though you're probably used to the salt, but maybe not the sweet so much, unless you are..." Great, I was babbling. My mouth snapped shut, and I snagged the bowl, switching it out for the remote. "I'll be back, just hit that button if you want to keep watching. I've seen this part like a thousand times."

I scrambled out from beneath the comforter, hurrying into the kitchen. An itchy, hot patch creeped up my forearms, and I put the bowl aside to run them under cool water until the feeling subsided, no doubt still peeling from my sunburn. Or my nerves were causing a physical reaction, anxiety coursing through my veins rather than blood.

Don't panic Maren. It wasn't like I'd said it out loud, or mentally, I think. I opened the bag, pulling out the caramel to drizzle on top once it popped. I placed the kernels inside, covering them with a lid. Pressing the preset button on the microwave I braced my hands on the counter as I waited for the timer.

I jolted when strong hands slid around my waist, and I felt Kai's warm breath against my ear. My heart stuttered, manifesting into my shaky breathing as goosebumps erupted along my limbs. But despite my body's reaction, I felt myself relaxing, and his very presence leeched the panic from my veins. I sank into him, my shoulders slumping.

"You were taking too long," he mumbled. "I was cold."

"Is that so?" I asked, knowing I was only in here for five minutes and his body was at least ten degrees hotter than mine at any given moment. Even underwater he'd been unusually warm, but this heat buzzed through my veins like a shot of whiskey, and I wasn't complaining.

He trailed kisses from the base of my throat to the shell of my ear, and back down. On his next pass, he caught my earlobe, his tongue rolling the earring there with his teeth, and I let out a soft moan. He spun me around, capturing my lips with his. That one sound ignited a storm, his eyes swirling like whirlpools. Hands slid down the back of my thighs, lifting me up onto the counter, where they switched to my inner thighs, pushing them apart so slowly I thought I would die, and he stepped between them. My breath hitched, and I whispered his name, threading my fingers through the soft strands of his hair, tugging. He groaned, fingers trailing over the exposed skin of my hips.

"Can I touch you, little star?"

"Isn't that what you're doing?" I breathed.

He growled, nipping my ear that sent a jolt straight to my core so fast I nearly bucked against the counter. "Maren."

"If you don't know the answer already I'm concerned for the intelligence of mermen."

"Indulge me," he murmured his fingers brushing back the hair from my face.

"Yes, Kai. With you, always yes."

He stepped back long enough to tug the dress up and over my head, tossing it behind him.

I removed his shirt, then pulled back to admire him. He lifted his hands, but I caught them in mine, holding them out, and I played with his fingers. "I want to touch you too," I whispered. He was a living fantasy brought to life, and the tail had nothing to do with it, it was simply who he was. Every enigmatic, intelligent, frustrating cell in his body called to my own, electrifying them. If he even knew a fraction of the thoughts running through my head right now… but I made sure they stayed firmly in my own mind, lest I die of embarrassment.

His eyes were glassy, and he dropped his hands, leaning back to give me full view of his exposed chest. I bit my lip, a thrill racing through me at his answering growl, sharpening on the gesture. "You don't know what that does to me."

I relished being in control and took full advantage, tracing my fingers along the sharp outline of his collarbones, then dipping between his sternum, lightly scraping my nails across the hard ridges of his abdomen. I reversed, grazing my thumbs over his nipple, and he hissed. I flashed him a sultry smile.

"Don't torture me, little star."

"Or what?" I challenged him.

That was definitely the right thing to say.

I'm not sure if he unhooked my bra or just ripped the thing off, and I didn't care. He palmed my breasts, the hardened peaks of my nipples rolling between his fingers. I whimpered, flooded by sensation as he bent his head, capturing one of the hardened buds with his mouth.

"Fuck, yes." The heat of his mouth on me, the rough pads of his fingers caressing the curve of my breast, tracing my collar bone. It was all too much as I struggled to get air in past the dizzying sensations. He slid his hand around the back of my neck, yanking me until I was barely sitting on the counter, forcing my back to arch deeper into his touch. I braced one hand on the counter behind me as my head fell back and I writhed. I heard a vague beeping sound somewhere behind me but I ignored it, winding my other hand deeper into his hair, holding him as his mouth tended to one peak, then the other. His hands slid down my sides and into the band of my pants, and I lifted my hips so he could slide them off, along with my underwear. They also ended up somewhere my brain didn't have the capacity to track.

Panting, I pushed myself into his touch once more as his lips skimmed between the valley of my breasts, his tongue dipping into my belly button. I was so fucking turned on it took everything within me not to launch myself at Kai. But the torture of this slowness was too exquisite to stop, to do anything but feel in anxious anticipation of where he would go next. He kissed the divots of each of my thighs, holding his breath when his eyes drifted lower. Then he licked his lips, and damn if that didn't flood heat straight to my core. "By the tides, Maren." His hands cradled my lower back, edging me further to the edge of the counter, his lips trailing lower, lower…

Oh, heaven.

The sensual slide of his tongue through my wetness drew a whimper from my lips. I fell back to my elbows against the counter, desire clouding my brain until all I could think of was the decadent movement of his lips, the steady stroke of his tongue. My legs started to close on instinct, the pressure too delicious to bear, but his broad shoulders nudged them further apart, and my hips bucked when he traced his fingers through my core before sliding them inside, pumping slowly.

He chuckled against me, and the pleasant vibrations added to the pressure of his fingers. He pulled back to admire me, "So sweet, and so mine."

"Kai," I gasped, liking the possessive tone in his voice far more than I should have. If he kept this up, I wasn't going to last. Hell, I was already teetering on the literal and figurative edge. But if he stopped now, I was going to die.

"More?" His breath brushed the damp curls and I nodded, losing all ability of speech as he curled his fingers inside me, hitting the spot that liquified my bones. His eyes never left mine, searching for the right movement that would send me into the stratosphere. I cried out, a strangled sound that cut off on a gasp as his rhythm intensified and he added a second finger. His tongue moved over my bundle of nerves in short, insistent strokes.

I was lost, falling and soaring through a sea of sensation, with Kai as my only anchor, and the wellspring of my wicked pleasure.

Then the anchor dropped, and I had just enough sense to cover my mouth with my hand as I cried out his name and stars exploded with my release, waves crested and crashing. He brought me down slowly, pulling his fingers out of me and peppering kisses back up my body. I reeled him the rest of the way up, sealing my lips against his, the heady rush rising once more with each thrust of his tongue.

"How do you feel?" he murmured against my lips, pure male satisfaction lacing his words. He had every right to be proud of himself after the ease in which he'd brought me to release. After several failed attempts in the past, I just thought I didn't enjoy having someone go down on me. But seeing Kai kneel between my legs, taking every inch of my pleasure and then some like he was a marooned man starved, had me quickly changing my tune.

"Like I want another round." I panted, and he hummed, considering.

"Just one more?" The cheeky grin that exposed the curving lines around his lips, still wet with my release, had my toes curling.

A choir of incessant beeps doused me with ice-cold clarity, and I realized the noise I heard earlier was the popcorn that was still in the microwave. Becca could decide to come back down for more tea, or dad could stumble in. Neither scenario would be great for our current position, or the possibility of being able to ever show my face around here again. I groaned, moment ruined, and whispered to him, "Clothes,"

Kai mercifully understood, though I was happy to see he was just as hesitant as he started looking for our discarded garments while I plucked the bowl from the microwave.

I went to put it on the counter, but my hand stuck to the side. I frowned, switching hands and peeling the other one back. It was dry, and there was nothing coating the sides of the bowl. Still, I wet a towel under the sink, wiping the edge of the bowl and my hands to make sure I didn't leave a sticky mess for Becca to clean later.

"Maren?" Kai asked, approaching with his shirt in hand. I loved his nickname for me, but hearing him use my real name after the throes of our passion…

"I must have spilt some caramel before I popped it." I explained, trying to get my thoughts back on track. He nodded, holding out his shirt for me, along with my underwear. "Where's my dress?" I asked.

The heat in his cheeks was absurdly adorable as he looked up, and I followed his gaze to where the dress had landed, swinging in lazy circles around the ceiling fan.

I bit my lip, a laugh escaping through my nose. Kai rubbed his neck. "I'll get it down later." I assured him.

I shimmied into my underwear, and Kai held his shirt open. My throat tightened at the gesture, and I swallowed it down, letting him button it up for me. He surprised me again by swinging me into his arms, popcorn and all, and carrying me back to the living room. He set me down with a soft plop on the squishy duvet, and dove in after me.

I giggled when his searching hands tickled my ribs, getting caught in the blankets when I tried to squirm away. We ended up sprawled on the couch, my back to his chest, a tangle of arms and legs. I grappled for the remote that had fallen during our wrestling match, made harder by the twin bands of muscle wrapped around my waist.

I couldn't stop smiling. We resumed the movie and as Eric took Ariel on a tour of his kingdom, I marveled at the difference a few days made. Had I really rescued Kai from certain death just three days ago? It felt like a lifetime. I watched Ariel drag Eric into the square for a waltz, wondering about the similarities between the bold redhead and the merman snuggling me.

"Have you ever spent time around other humans before now?"

"Not here, but yes."

I twisted around so I could face him, the movie forgotten in lieu of much more exciting information that he was offering willingly and straightforward, "Where were you? How long ago was it? And while we"re on the subject, how old are you?" He looked around my age, but for all I knew he could be much older. What if he had regenerative powers like starfish or that rare species of jellyfish? "Are you immortal?"

He chuckled, bending down to steal a kiss. "So many questions, but seeing as I'm in the mood of pleasing you tonight…" I swatted his chest. "Last time I was on land was not more than a few years past, and in much warmer waters. No, I am not immortal. My kind have long lives, but nothing can persist on this earth forever."

"So, how old are you?" I repeated.

He lifted a brow, "If I say ‘old', will you leave it at that?"

"You know I won't."

He sighed, humorously exasperated, "A thousand moons, give or take."

My breath caught, then stopped altogether. That would make him well into his eighties!. He didn't try to hide his smugness as he said, "And I'll look this way for at least a thousand more."

I sat straight up. "And how long will you live for?!"

He propped himself up on an elbow. "Considering I almost died a few days ago, I'd say the odds vary."

"Shut up," I tugged him to me, lowering my head to his chest. His heart was indeed beating slower. "That shouldn't be possible." I reached for his neck, feeling his pulse. "Your BPM was almost 300 in the lab, it's less than half that now."

"I'm not sure what that means." He grabbed said hand, playing with the delicate bones in my fingers. He seemed perfectly content despite the bomb he'd just laid before me.

Humans knew so little about the deep sea, but there were species, even microscopic ones, that had been around for millennia. Kai had alluded to sharing traits with other marine life. Their constant presence and their seemingly nomadic lifestyle explained why mermaid myths were prevalent in every culture around the globe.

It explained other things too, particularly his…kitchen skills. There was no way someone as gorgeous as him wouldn't have women of any species throwing themselves at him.

I tamped down the jealousy that bubbled to the surface. Suddenly, his own ire about me shagging Dennis made sense, even if the circumstances were completely different.

"So, what did you do last time you were on land?" I asked hesitantly, not wanting to voice my other thoughts.

"I stayed out of the way for the most part, observed how you lived, listened to your music," he explained.

"I'm sure that was a shock after being underwater for so long."

"It was fascinating, like nothing I'd ever heard before. Though Cee attempted to show me her music recently. It was…different."

I snickered. Knowing Cee, it was a mix of Taylor Swift, EDM and her surprising obsession with Country. "How long were you there?"

"Very briefly, I had to return when the others did."

"Others?"

"We only leave the water in groups, or for the purposes of," He trailed a hand over my hip, "mating." I shivered at this touch, and the bastard just smiled. "It's safer that way. It's prohibited to visit the surface alone until you have enough supervised experience."

"What else do you already know about the human world?"

"I know some of your languages, though I find English the most confusing."

"So do most English speakers."

"And I still don't understand how those little boxes you carry around work, though I've deduced they're used for communication. The ones that make it to my world typically don't work anymore."

"Do the merfolk truly hate us?" I asked.

Kai didn"t answer at first, his eyes drifting over the art on the walls, the blue light of the TV, "Many do, many have resented humans and sought vengeance. But I believe there is another solution, one that can bring peace."

"I want to find a solution, too. I won't stop until I do." I paused. "Would your people be willing to help?"

He raised an eyebrow. "It would defeat the purpose of staying hidden."

I deflated. "Right. Of course."

He nudged me gently in the ribs with his elbow, "You've told me much about your world, what do you know about mine?"

Thatwas a question I hadn"t been expecting. "Well, I'm a marine biologist, so I know a lot about your world, but I don't know a lot about you."

He nodded in understanding, then looked down. I could see he was wrestling with something internally, but when he met my gaze again, he smiled. "Would you like to?"

I grinned. "Are you asking a scientist if she wants to know something? I do believe I've been asking for weeks now."

He rose off the couch, extending his hand to me. "Well then, let me satiate your curiosity further, little star."

I was in so much trouble.