Exhale (37 page)

He stared at her.

She crossed her arms. Anger beat the other emotions down with a metal-spiked club. “You’re willing to risk everything to keep me under your thumb?”

“Come on, Zoe. It’s not like that.”

“What
is
it like, then?”

His head whipped right, and he cut the engine. “Show time.”

He stood, grabbed the Pelican case, and popped it open. The camera came out, and he strapped it around his neck.

How could she have been so stupid?

She shook her head. There would be plenty of time to beat herself up over this later. Right now she had a whale to save.

Zoe shucked her windbreaker and fixed her attention on the little black back two hundred meters off the starboard side. It moved toward them slowly. There were other boats in the vicinity, but they remained far enough away that they wouldn’t cause any trouble.

She pulled on a pair of fins from the back of the Zodiac, donned a snorkel mask with tube, and dropped into the water without another word to Randy.

Voices overtook her brain. Hundreds of them, filled with concern. She shrugged all but one off and swam toward the baby whale. As she approached, he faced her and blew twice.

My name is Zoe,
she called out with her mind.
I’m here to help you. May I come closer?

The calf lifted his head so the bumpy tubercles on his rostrum broke the ocean’s surface. He blew again.
Please don’t hurt me.

I promise I won’t. My friend Lily sent me. Did she come and feed you last night?

No one fed me. I lost my mum. I’m so hungry…

So, Lily hadn’t made it to Sydney as she promised. That meant something stopped her. Dear God. Lily…

She bit her lip and refocused on the calf.

What happened to your mother?
Hands out in front of her, she kicked her legs slowly so as not to appear aggressive.

The whale’s long, sad whine shook Zoe’s heart out of rhythm. She squeezed her eyes shut and clutched her chest.
Pull it together, Morgan
, she scolded herself.
No need to scare the poor baby any more.

Okay. She could do this. Inhale…exhale.

Did someone hurt your mother? Who was it?
She tried to keep her thoughts calm, but it was difficult with the grieving, frightened baby so close. The emotions poured off him and tugged so hard on her heart, she could hardly move.

The humpback swam a little closer, and she got a solid look at him. No luster in his coloring. Bones protruded through the thin skin on his back. Emaciated.

He blew, but without much force.
A lady pointed a metal stick at us. Loud noises hurt my ears. I swam away from that awful sound, but Mum didn’t.

Zoe closed her eyes. “What did the lady look like?” she said aloud, dreading the answer.

She had hair the color of my mama’s blood.

She opened her eyes.

Scarlet.

Fire rushed through Zoe’s frozen veins, burning the dread and worry to cinders. She pressed her lips into a hard line.
I’m going to make that bad lady pay for what she did to your mother.

I’m afraid.
Hanging at the surface, the baby trembled, his dorsal fin drooping to the left. He blew again. His breathing intervals were too close together.

Zoe swam to him and laid a hand on his black, rubbery skin. ‘Afraid’ didn’t begin to describe the animal. ‘Terrified’ fit much better. He threw fear off like radiation. The waves barreled into her one after another with no end in sight.

I wish I could bear this pain for you.
Unsure of how else to comfort the baby, Zoe hugged him.

So much bigger than her, but so frail. It wasn’t fair.

Tears poured down the slope of her nose and mingled with salt water. She sniffled and swiped fingers under her eyes.

“It’s okay,” she lied. “I’m going to try to find another mother for you.”

She scanned the horizon for blows, but not surprisingly, there were none this close to the harbor. Surely a mother out there could help. Maybe one whose calf was ready to wean?

I don’t want another mother. I want
my
mother.
A pitiful moan rattled the water.

Zoe’s heart hurt.
Do you think you can make it out to open ocean?

The whale didn’t answer. Instead, he turned and slowly drifted away from her. He favored his right side and swam at an odd angle. Evenly spaced white scrapes lined the top side of his dark flukes. Sharks bites. Or maybe killer whales.

If she didn’t find a surrogate soon, he’d be dead in another day or two.

Chapter Thirty-eight

Gavin pulled up to the curb in front of the pub Zoe had called from. “How was your day, Pancake?”

Zoe popped the handle and slid into the seat beside him. “Okay, Flapjack. How about yours?”

Her lavender scent followed as she slammed the door. Her bright eyes flipped up to meet his. She crossed her legs and leaned against him for a kiss. Their lips met, and his cock bucked inside his jeans. He could get used to hard-on-provoking kisses like this, though the timing was a little awkward.

“Much better now. What’s going on with the whale?” Engine thoroughly rattled by the promise of alone time with her, he adjusted his arse in the seat and merged into traffic.

She sighed. “It’s hanging in there. We’re gonna see if we can find it a surrogate tomorrow. If they need me, they’ll call. Until I hear otherwise, I’m all yours.” She scooted closer, planted an elbow on top of the seat back, and gently messed with his hair. Hot breath tickled his ear.

“‘All mine’ sounds pretty fucking good right now.” Glancing at her, he imagined getting her home and unwrapping her like a birthday present in bed. His cock punched his pants again.

A peripheral flash of red, black, and white stripes on the seat beside her stole his attention. “Where did you get that bag? Didn’t you have a CRN one earlier?”

She held the tote up. “This? Someone was giving them away in exchange for donations to the Wildlife Services marine mammal fund. I thought it was cute. And the money goes to a good cause.” She shrugged.

He nodded. “So, to my place, then?”

“Why? Are you getting hungry?” she said next to his ear. Goddamn, the warmth tickling that sensitive spot drove him crazy. He couldn’t concentrate on the road with her so close.

“Starving.”

“Good.” She resumed her side of the seat and pulled a long strand of blond hair between her thumb and index finger. Her breasts swelled with a deep inhale.

His balls ached. If they weren’t in crowded downtown Sydney, he’d pull over and fuck her right here.

Patience.

He found a distraction. “That bloke you introduced me to…Randy? What’s his story?”

She barked a laugh. “Him? We used to be an item, but that was a long time ago.”

An arrow of jealousy shot him square in the forehead. So Sinnder had told the truth outside Zoe’s house that night. “How long ago?”

She dismissed him with a wave of her hand. “Forget it. We’re through. Randy doesn’t hold a candle to you.”

Another flash of those eyes underscored by the curled corners of her mouth, and he did exactly what she said. He forgot about it.

The small talk on the ride home gave him time to fantasize about what would follow. His dick was so hard, it hurt. He wouldn’t last long. That just meant they’d have plenty of time to do it again.

He had waited all these years to find the right woman to share true intimacy with. Yes, he’d promised his brother always to use condoms, but Zoe was the exception to his self-imposed rule. He had no plans of sleeping with anyone else, so if she was okay with it…

A block before they reached his house, her hand slid up his leg. Beyond ready to get inside her, he whipped into the drive, switched off the ignition, and hopped out. She met him in front of the hood of the car and threw her arms around his shoulders.

“I’ve been dreaming of this moment since the day we met,” she whispered against his lips, her aura flaring red when they made contact.

Yeah-huh. His cock nodded.

He pulled his head out of his arse long enough to be reasonable before the storm hit and drenched them for a few hours. “The offer still stands, but I have condoms if you want to go the safe route until the HIV results come back.”

Her eyes shone brilliant blue, then her lashes fanned downward. “What do you think?”

“I trust you.” He pressed his head against hers and searched her face for signs of uncertainty. There were none.

“Ditto.” She grasped his hand and started toward the house.

The moment the door closed behind them, she spun to face him. She grabbed him by the waistband, tore open the button on his jeans and unzipped them. His cock pushed hard against his boxers, anticipation fueling its growing length. She stroked him roughly with one hand and undid her shorts with the other. They slid to the floor in a puddle of fabric at her feet.

He leaned in for a kiss, but she avoided his lips by dropping to her knees. She sucked his dick stupid. His hands wove through her lush blond hair, twisting, pulling her mouth harder against his shaft. Her tongue swirled around it. When he opened his eyes, she was going to town on herself with her free hand. Fucking hot as hell.

Her mouth full, she looked up at him while she sucked, and he nearly melted from the heat.

“I want you to come in my mouth. I want to taste you. Swallow you.” She stroked him up and down, squeezing to the brink of pain, then opened wide again for another round of tonsil fucking. Christ.

He gave in to the drug-numbing sensations. That hot tongue. Her teeth grazing his length. His dick slamming against the back of her throat…

When he got to the brink of climax, he pulled away. “No. I need to be inside you, Zed.”

Lids heavy, she stood slowly, wiped the corners of her mouth with long fingers, and smiled. “Where do you want me?”

He grunted. “Everywhere.”

With a half-grin, he swept her into his arms and kicked open the bedroom door, leaving it swung wide. He dropped her on the bed, pulled his shirt over his head, and licked his lips as she slid her CRN tee up and spread her legs wide. Jesus, Mary, and Joseph. He was about to engage in some hellaciously naughty fornication.

Dripping wet folds opened for him. His aura blared red, his cock screamed at him. He lost control. He dove on top of her, his dick skidding up her thigh until it hit that hot little jackpot.

Her legs encircled his arse and yanked him all the way through the door. The cry of a she-cat in heat flew from her mouth. She scored his back with her short nails. He moaned as her thighs stretched wide and devoured his cock into her depths.

They fucked like bloody animals.

Sweat poured down his face, back, arms, and legs. The heat stifled, humidity filled the air, and he kept pumping into her. She flashed him a half-grin and pushed him over, keeping a steady grip on his length and she claimed the top position. Through long tangles, she stared down at him, her expression one of pure satisfaction. Her hips rose and fell; her arse bounced against his thighs.

And then, her song kicked up.

Wait…

That wasn’t…right…

Time slowed to a creep. His skin went clammy. Thoughts collided and ricocheted off the bones in his skull.

“Gavin?” a tear-filled female voice choked out from the vicinity of the door.

What the fuck? Seized by confusion, his galloping neurons froze.

He looked up at Zoe, still perched on his cock. Her eyes rounded and fear spilled across her face and aura as she turned to the door…

…where goddamn Scarlet stood, camouflaged in Zoe’s skin. She had on different clothes from the ones Zoe had worn this morning. Thank God he’d used the code word earlier.

Protective instinct took control. He tossed Zoe off him and sat up, calling Water to his hands. He balled his fists.

This ended. Here and now.

The carbon copy of Zoe gasped and covered her mouth. Her shoulders hunched. Crocodile tears flowed down her cheeks. Scarlet had always been a masterful manipulator, so he wasn’t surprised by the convincing acting job. Too bad for her, he saw through it.

“You. Fucking. Bitch.” He got to his knees.

She shrank back and grasped behind her for the doorframe. “No…Gavin, it’s me…”

Corralling every drop of Water in his heart, he aimed both fists at her face, and fire-hosed the bitch so hard, the burst fractured the wall, leaving behind a huge spider web pattern. The blast launched Scarlet straight down the hall, where she smashed against the brick fireplace in the lounge room like a discarded Barbie doll. A sickening crack split the air as the wooden mantel hanging above crashed on to her head.

Heart racing from the adrenaline rush, Gavin jumped up and ran to her. Droplets of water dripped from light fixtures, the walls, and furniture.

Finally that bitch got what she deserved. Now he and Zoe could—

Wait…

No hissing sizzles like he expected. No steam. No death scream…

He stepped closer.

She should have turned to ashy slime after a hit from Elemental Water that strong.

The body lay silent and unmoving, trapped inside a pile of broken wood. His nuts shriveled.

But…she’d said the code word, and there was no way Scarlet could have known—

Iri.

Blood pooled under the ruins of the fireplace.

Gavin’s stomach liquefied and slid like raw sewage into his feet.

Time crawled to a halt once again. Cruel realization set in. The irony of his fatal mistake kicked his gut with inescapable, steel-toed finality.

Zoe’s song faded and died.

Throaty laughter filled the space behind him, so chilling that he fell forward with a gasp.

Oh, God.

No…

He turned around slowly. Scarlet leaned against the wall, her curly hair disheveled, bare breasts heaving, and face flushed with satisfaction. She clapped her hands. “You were better than I ever dreamed of, Gavin.”

Red-hot Fire engulfed her aura and rippled in visible heat waves through the room, nipping at his skin. She circled a finger around her nipple, down her stomach, and dipped it between her legs. “I want more.” Her irises flipped to glowing crimson and maniacal shrieks of pure, evil delight scorched his ears.