"I still don't understand," Gabe said, glancing over at his mate. "How can you two be connected?"
"Are you sure, Leando?" Paxton asked, glancing worriedly between his cousin and the unconscious human.
Leando smiled grimly. "I heard a bit of what you had said, young Gabriel, before I came in. I always was good at sneaking around and going unnoticed until I wanted to be. If what you are saying is true, then my chosen mate is dead."
Gabe's eyes widened. "W-who was your chosen mate?"
Leando sighed, stealing one last glance at Aaron before turning to face the others in the room. His eyes were cold and filled with rage as he spoke.
"My chosen mate's name was Douglas… and the reason he didn't come to the sea right after we bonded was we were working on a way to make his other human lover from the island our third mate. It was something we both wanted but had decided to wait until we had a definite plan in place before approaching Douglas's lover with the proposition. That man's name was Aaron." Leando waved his hand toward the bubble. "This Aaron. That is why Douglas was still on the island, instead of being safe in the sea with me. I don't know how he was killed—or even why, but I know his death was partially my fault."
Leando hung his head as if in shame. It was a humbling and sad sight to see such a powerful mer so heartbroken. Gabe wanted to tell the mer it wasn't his fault, that there was no one to blame but Father Willis and his lackeys, but he figured the strong Captain wouldn't believe him.
"Aaron is mine; he was going to belong with me and Douglas, but now there is only me. If I can't have both of my mates, I will settle for only getting to bond with one of them."
Chapter 12
Gabe stumbled into the bedroom, barely able to keep his eyes open.
God, what a long day
… Twenty-four hours in the wild world of the Merfolk and all Gabe wanted to do was take a nap.
"Come, my own. Let us bathe then I promise you can sleep," Paxton coaxed gently, placing an arm around Gabe's slumped shoulders and leading him toward a door on the far side of the room. Gabe allowed himself to be moved and tried not to grumble.
"Do you think Mary and Aaron will be okay?" he asked.
Gabe hadn't been happy about being forced to leave the medical wing before he was sure both of his friends were okay, but Paxton had insisted. He wasn't sure he completely trusted that Leando fellow, Pax's cousin or not. He'd made Paxton promise the two would be able to check in on his friends first thing in the morning. Paxton tried to refuse, claiming the two mated pairs needed privacy to bond, but Gabe had been insistent. Finally, Pax agreed and Gabe had been forced to follow his mate to a meeting with the King's advisors.
And boy, what a bunch of windbags those guys were!
The group had argued for hours about what to do with the Father Willis problem. Some wanted to declare war on the inhabitants of Bimini Island, while others wanted to send an ambassador to try and reason with the madman. The only thing the advisors had agreed on was it was Gabe's fault things were suddenly going to hell. Why was it his fault? Just because he was bringing the problem to their attention and making them deal with the issue? One old mer had even wanted Gabe to be interrogated by the palace guard before they would take any action; thankfully, Paxton had put a stop to that idea very quickly.
What happened next was a dressing down by his mate to the advisors Gabe would never forget.
"You dare believe I would choose a mate who would threaten our way of life and bring about the downfall of our people?" Paxton had thundered, voice ringing throughout the council room as his gray eyes flashed. "You think me nothing more than a guppy? I have seen the damage done to the humans by this monster on the island of Bimini! I have seen the fear in my mate's eyes as he described the kidnapping and attempted murder; I held him as he shook and cried! He wasn't even here when any of these atrocities took place… I was there the night his plane crashed. I rescued him from the sea myself! Are you daring to call your King and King-Consort liars?"
No one spoke, and all eyes were focused on Paxton. The council members who had doubted seemed to shrink in their very seats under the King's wrath.
Paxton slammed the box of stolen mate-pearls down on the large bleached, beach-wood table in front of him. "This is all the proof we need! This box of stolen hopes and dreams is the only thing we need to focus on now. Not my mate. Turn your anger and hatred toward the true threat, gentlemen and ladies, because I plan to do something about it—with or without your backing."
It was one of the first times Gabe had ever seen his mate in full-on 'King' mode and boy was it a sight to be seen. Gabe would never admit it, but his mate was hot as hell when he was filled with righteous fury.
"Yes, Gabriel. Your friends will be fine. I trust both Dalia and Leando with my life; more importantly, I would trust them with
your
life as well. Now you must trust in me when I say both Mary and Aaron will be very well taken care of by their mates." Paxton smiled gently as he led Gabe into the most spacious and glorious bathroom he'd ever seen.
"I'm more worried about Aaron than I am Mary," Gabe confessed, right before he got distracted by the splendor surrounding them.
Gleaming white tiles, gold fixtures, and absolutely the biggest bathtub Gabe had ever seen made him want to camp out in the bathroom and never leave. The tub resembled a large Roman style bath, complete with fountains. The only thing missing was a person playing the harp and Gabe would be in heaven.
Paxton didn't seem to notice Gabe's distraction as he continued their conversation.
"I know what you mean. It's not the ideal situation, considering the drama that will no doubt occur once your friend learns everything. But I have faith in Leando to make everything right… I wish he had come to me earlier with the situation he and his mate found themselves in. Perhaps this whole situation could have been avoided." Paxton sighed and rubbed the back of his neck.
He looks as tired as I feel.
While he'd been in the meeting with his advisors, Paxton had managed to keep up the semblance of a proud, powerful King of the Merfolk; but now it was just the two of them alone together, Paxton was letting his guard down.
Gabe's conscience twinged with guilt. The last thing he wanted was to be the cause of even more stress for his mate.
"Hey, let's not think about it anymore. We'll take a bath and not worry about anything until tomorrow when you have to address your people." Gabe took his mate's hand and led him over to the bath, enjoying the way the steam rose from the water and caused Paxton's long, green hair to begin to curl.
Gabe started to untie the sash of his robe when he became distracted again; except this time it wasn't by the incredible room, but by the incredible view of his mate's naked body as Paxton quickly and unselfconsciously stripped off his clothes.
Gabe felt his cheeks heat and his cock twitched at the alluring sight before him. He looked down at his feet, heart sinking as he toyed with the sash of his robe. Paxton was beautiful, far more so than Gabe thought himself to be.
I can't even compare. I'm a skinny little nobody, who couldn't keep a man back in my old life
…
how am I supposed to keep the attention of such a wonderful and stunning man like Paxton
?
Not only is he King, but he's so handsome. I'm just a scrawny human
—
too tall, too gangly, too pale, too ugly for Paxton to waste his time on
…
"Hey," Paxton said softly in concern, causing Gabe to jump as he was jolted out of his self-destructive thoughts. A finger underneath Gabe's chin forced him to look up and meet those lovely storm-gray eyes.
"What's wrong, my own? Are you nervous about bathing with me?" Paxton asked. "I promise you I won't do anything if you don't want me to. I'd like to hold you and relax for a while, if that's okay with you." He looked so damn earnest and sweet Gabe couldn't let the mer think he'd done anything wrong. Gabe's hang-ups were his to deal with, not Paxton's to suffer through.
"It's not that… I swear." Gabe took a deep breath and ducked his head again before continuing. "I'm not… well, you're so handsome, and I'm just… me. I can't even compare to you and I'm worried once you see me, you're not going to want me anymore and—"
Gabe gasped in alarm when he suddenly found himself stripped out of the robe he wore and bared to his mate's sight. He tried to cover himself with his hands but found them captured in Paxton's iron grip. Embarrassment made his cheeks heat and he squirmed, trying to get away from Paxton's burning gaze.
"How can you say you are not beautiful?" Paxton asked, voice so gruff it caused Gabe's head to snap up. He gulped as Paxton ran his eyes all over Gabe's naked body, practically scorching the smaller man with the need and desire burning on his face. "Your hair is the color of spun gold, curling around my fingers as I run my hands through it. You're eyes are warm and filled with light. And your skin, pale and lovely, smooth as silk stretched over your slim, toned body."
"I… uh, oh!" Gabe started, but didn't get much further.
Paxton pulled Gabe into his arms and caught his mouth in the most intense kiss Gabe had ever experienced. His senses were on overload, and Gabe whined low in his throat when his hot skin meshed with Paxton's much cooler body.
"Let me show you how beautiful I think—no, how beautiful I
know
you are," Paxton said breathlessly as he pulled his mouth away from Gabe's. He tugged and Gabe was helpless as he followed, still dazed by Paxton's masterful kiss.
"Tell me who hurt you, my own?" Paxton said suddenly, stopping beside a lounge chair by the bathtub and pulling Gabe down to sit in his lap.
Gabe frowned and fought through the haze of desire. He scowled at his mate. "You really want to discuss this now? I thought we were gonna… you know…"
Paxton reached up and caressed the side of Gabe's face, placing a small kiss on his furrowed brow. "I cannot go any further without trying to understand why you feel the way you do, my own. It would be irresponsible, as your mate, to not know exactly what had happened to you before. Tell me, love. Why are you here and what has made you into the man you are?"
Gabe sighed and looked away from Paxton's penetrating gaze. "Are you sure you want to hear this stuff, Pax? It's not a very happy story and I try not to whine about it a lot."
In response, Paxton pulled him close, cradling Gabe in his arms. "Tell me," he whispered.
So Gabe did.
"I was nine years old when my parents divorced. I don't know if you Merfolk have something like that down here… the closest way to describe it would be that they broke their mating. I hardly ever saw my father after that; instead I chose to live with my mother and her new husband. Times weren't easy; money was tight, and tension was always high. My stepdad resented having to raise another man's child, I think. When I came out to my mom during my senior year of high school, meaning I told her I liked men, I only told her. She supported me—silently, of course, so as not to rock the boat with her homophobic husband. Going to college was a relief, and I threw myself into my studies, working two jobs and taking more credits than were strictly allowed. I wanted to get my degree faster than the other students. I guess all I really wanted was for someone to notice and take pride in what I was doing with my life." Gabe shrugged, feeling somewhat foolish over his issues now. Somehow they just seemed insignificant compared to everything going on in his life over the past couple of days. Shaking away the thoughts, he turned back to his story.
"Amazingly, once I graduated college with a Master's Degree in Marketing and Business, it happened. Suddenly, I'd become worthy of my father's attention. Peter Overton wasted no time in pulling me into the folds of his company. There I flourished. For once, I felt good about myself and what I was doing. Before I knew it, I was quickly rising through the ranks until I found myself working under William Andrews. Little did I know not even six weeks later, I would literally be spending most of my free time
under
my new boss." Gabe rolled his eyes and sighed, losing himself in the memories for a moment.
"William had been sexy and charming, but also manipulative and controlling. He used to say I was beautiful then in the very next sentence point out one of my many faults. Believe me, at five-eleven and only one-hundred-fifty pounds, I've always been tall and gangly—and very self-conscious of that fact ever since I was a kid. I didn't need him to point it out to me! My stupid, curly, blond hair seems to have a mind of its own and refuses to be tamed no matter what I do, my eyes are big and such a weird sherry-brown color, and more than once someone has commented that my delicate facial features made me look too feminine. I guess I was used to people making fun of me—not asking me out on a date—so I ignored warning signs and went along with William's games."
Gabe shrugged, still amazed at his own naiveté. "It's just, the idea this other man was actually paying attention to
me
made me stupid, caused me to throw all the caution I felt out the window and dive headfirst into what would be one of the worst decisions of my life." Paxton squeezed him close and Gabe glanced up at him with a grateful smile.