The Mammoth Book of Paranormal Romance 2 (24 page)

Alec practically leaped all the way across the kitchen. His teeth sprang out, and he felt his eyes start to shift.

Marvin watched this action with interest. “I don’t know whether to be insulted or turned on.”

Alec growled at him. Instinctive response.

“Ooo, definitely turned on.”

“Oh, shut up, Marvin,” said his sister. “You got no idea what kind of pack dynamics you’re messing with.”

“Yeah? Well I know which ones I’d like to be messing with.”

The kitchen door swung open and Fifi marched in.

“Still here? Thought you guys were off to catch a meal.”

“We got a little distracted by the architecture,” Giselle jumped into the breach. “House designs always intrigue me. As a sea person, you know?”

Nothing could be calculated to turn Fifi off the scent quicker. The alpha’s eyes glazed over. “Yeah, well, whatever floats your boat.” He gave Alec’s ruffled appearance a curious look. “You’re always so tense youngling. Think perhaps your brother’s right. You need to get laid.”

Alec sputtered.

Marvin muffled a snort of laughter.

“Uh, yes sir.” Alec started inching towards the hallway. “’K, we’ll be off now, sir.”

“Carry on.”

Alec shepherded the two merfolk out of the house.

Jack’s voice whispered in his ear just before the door slammed shut behind them, “Now you’re under orders from your alpha.”

“Fuck off, Jack.”

“Not before you.”

Alec’s favourite sushi place was pretty crowded for so early in the evening. But Giselle’s looks and charisma got them a table pretty darn fast, and Alec was a regular – popular with the staff.

“Where’s your girlfriend?” asked the waitress, twinkling down at them all. She was a pretty dark-haired girl with big brown eyes who’d always had more than just a nice smile for Alec. Alec, had, of course, never noticed.

“Oh, Janet? Uh, not with me this evening.”

Marvin gave him an accusing look as soon as the woman had taken their orders.

“Girlfriend?”

“Naw. Janet is just my boss down at the lab. It’s easier to just—”

Giselle interrupted, “Of course, avoidance is the hallmark of all gamma werewolves.”

“Who said I was a gamma?” But Alec muttered it so softly the other two didn’t seem to hear.
Merpeople,
Alec figured,
probably aren’t all over the supernatural hearing. Not something particularly called for under water.

Marvin cocked his golden head to one side, thoughtfully. “So, how deep in the closet are you?”

Alec gave him an expressive look. “Honey, I shit mothballs.”

They paused while the waitress put down their tea.

“Your pack is really that bad?” Giselle asked politely.

“It’s big and restless. Not the type of environment for a sudden revelation as to my sexual orientation.”

“You sure? They don’t seem all that bad. Well, except your father. He’s a piece of work.”

Alec didn’t take that bait. “Hmm. Pack should have splintered before we got to such numbers. But no one from my generation has claimed alpha. Biff’s got promise, and I know he’s courting a few of the youngsters, but I’m not sure he’s got it.”

“Got what?” Marvin leaned forward, interested.

“You know,
it.
That thing that alphas have.”

“I have no idea what you are talking about.”

Alec shrugged. “That’s because I’m trying to teach a fish to ride a motorcycle here.”

“Hey, I’m pretty good on two wheels.” Marvin smiled at him.

“And still – not fish,” added Giselle.

Alec decided to try a new line of conversation. “So the West Coast, huh? Is that where you went after high school?”

Marvin nodded. “Oh, yeah, you know, pod migration. Being a merman is almost as bad as being an army brat, we move around.”

“And this investigation of yours?”

Giselle jumped in. “We’ve been tracking this racket for a while. Ocean’s our jurisdiction, as I’m sure you know. But there seems to be some kind of land connection with this one. Selkies can be a problem. Slough off their skins and suddenly the trail dries right up.”

“What’s this one done? Murder? Kidnapping?”

“Nothing violent like that. Pure white-collar action. Some funding collected by one of our nonprofits disappeared. We have this ocean reclamation and coral rescue operation, suddenly half the bank account vanished along with this fellow and his family.”

“Mmm,” Alec nodded. “How much are we talking here?”

“Three point two million dollars.”

Alec coughed into his green tea. “All that for coral?”

Giselle shrugged. “The non-profit fronts a dummy account for our pod to run day-to-day integration operations. You know how it gets for us supernatural types. Trying to keep everything hidden from the monkeys. We contracted out a few delicate bits of business to a reputable selkie agent and the next thing we know . . .”

“Tough break. What makes you think it ended up here?”

The waitress reappeared with their sushi and a very wide-eyed look. Alec wondered if she had overheard any of their conversation.

“Those informants we told you about.”

“Oh, yeah, I remember.” Alec bit into a piece of tuna happily. It wasn’t quite as good as fresh red meat, but there was something appealing about fish. He was a little sorry the rest of the pack were so down on it all the time. They were really missing out. “So, where should we start?”

“How about when? Tomorrow morning, your place?”

Alec agreed and gave them his address. They enjoyed the rest of the meal accompanied by pleasant inanities and mild flirting. Alec returned home feeling, for the first time in a long while, as though it was okay to be unexpectedly alive.

They met the next morning at Alec’s tiny apartment.

Marvin brought Alec a tin of sardines as a courting gift.

“How do you know I’m not the kind of guy who likes whole salmon?”

The merman gave him a look, and then, despite the amused presence of his sister, leaned in and kissed Alec full on the lips.

Alec was startled but not unwilling. It was early for such shenanigans but the way his love life had been lately he’d take what he could get. Marvin tasted amazing, far better than the sushi of the night before. And that had been really good sushi.
Salt and sea and something else. Something chemically addictive and sexual.
It rather derailed Alec’s thoughts. Especially as Alec wasn’t much of a morning person anyway.

Marvin pulled away first, licking his lips. “You know I’ve been waiting about ten years to do that?”

Alec rediscovered his attitude. “Self-control not one of your strong points?”

“Oh, someone is snarky today. You always like this in the morning?”

“Wouldn’t you like to find out?”

“Absolutely.”

Giselle brushed past the two men in the doorway and took in Alec’s small apartment at one glance. It was neat and tidy and masculine without any further pretensions towards style or fashion.

“Well, this is certainly no indication of your sexual orientation.”

Alec arched his eyebrows. “What were you expecting, pink leopard print couch covers and a gilded floor lamp?”

Marvin grinned. “She has weird ideas about you land people. You’ll have to excuse her assumptions on the grounds of ignorance. It’s only us mermen who get sent in to attend dry schools. Our females cause too many problems. Especially with teenagers.”

Alec watched Giselle sway about his living room, long thick blond hair just touching her undulating hips. “I can’t imagine why.”

“Hey!” A pair of cool fingers pulled Alec’s chin around to look into Marvin’s face.

Alec smiled, swooped in and gave Marvin a full-on kiss.
There it was again, that addictive taste, delicious.
It would have been all too easy to continue, so Alec pulled back. The merman was left looking agreeably speechless. “Purely an aesthetic observation I assure you. So, where are you two staying?”

Giselle returned from her perusal. “Little place down by the docks, of course.”

Ask a silly question,
reflected Alec. He went to pour himself some coffee. Caffeine didn’t do much for the werewolf constitution but he enjoyed the ritual of it and the lab insisted on a near constant supply. He waggled the pot at his guests but both shook their heads.

“Got any clam juice?” Marvin asked.

“Should I open these sardines?”

Marvin looked hurt. “Those are a gift, special just for you, don’t be crass.”

Alec smiled, and put the sardines carefully on to the counter near his toaster. “Very thoughtful.”

Giselle seemed to think it was time to stop the flirting and get on to business. “So we’re thinking the best way to hide the money would be to feed it into some kind of local business.” Giselle pulled out a sheet of paper. “Here’s a list of businesses started over the last few months. I’ll try all the clothing stores. You two try the restaurants.”

“You sure you’ll be okay on your own?”

The merwoman gave Alec a look that should have turned him to stone on the spot.

In fact it did.

Alec felt his body involuntarily seize-up. His feet felt like they’d been super-glued to the floor. The merwoman continued to stare at him, something deadly in her big turquoise eyes, and Alec couldn’t for the life of him move a single muscle.

Finally she turned that aquamarine gaze away and Alec felt his body come once more under his control.

“Wow, impressive.”

Marvin looked mildly amused. “Natural defensive mechanism,” he explained. “Ever heard the myth of Medusa, turning people to stone? That’s where it comes from.”

“Can you do it too?”
That’d make for an interesting relationship.

“Nope.”

“What about the whole siren song thing?”

Giselle grinned. “Oh, we can both do that.”

Marvin added, “But not around werewolves. What’s alluring to monkeys causes you guys to bleed out of the ears.”

“Sensitive supernatural hearing?”

“Exactly.”

“Okay then.”

They left Alec’s apartment and set off on a strange kind of tour of new businesses about the city. Alec found Marvin an amiable companion. The merman was a horrible flirt, but mostly harmless about it. They made an effective pairing, what with Marvin’s open and engaging ways and Alec’s natural reticence. But they had no success, and met with a sulky Giselle later that night to find that she too had had no luck. She waved them off to the sushi restaurant without her, insisting that all she needed was a long bath and a can of clam chowder.

Back at Alec’s favourite sushi place, the dark-eyed waitress took their orders and then vanished, wearing a skeptical look.

“She doesn’t like me,” commented Marvin, idly watching the girl’s retreating back.

“And why should she have an opinion?” Alec hadn’t really noticed.

“’Cause she likes you.”

Alec was genuinely surprised. “She does? That was unintentional.”

“It’s one of your more endearing qualities.”

“Unintentionality?”

“Mmm. I remember you in high school, cutting a swathe through all those cheerleaders – no idea how much arguing there was over the presence or absence of your interest.”

“Oh yes, of course. Scrawny old me. The ladykiller.”

Marvin brushed aside Alec’s sarcasm. “You had this incredible attractiveness and you never even realized it.”

“I did?”

“You do.”

“Flatterer.” Alec could feel himself blushing. He sipped tea to hide his self-consciousness.

“Not at all. So, why are we dodging around this thing between us?” Marvin slid his hand under the table and rested it casually on Alec’s knee.

“You’re a merman who’s out and lives on the other side of the country?” Alec didn’t react to the hand on his knee, but he didn’t remove it either.

“Pah, insignificant details.” The hand squeezed and then began a gentle exploration.

“Because I have this feeling you’re just trying to satisfy some left-over adolescent curiosity?” The hand stilled its wandering and was removed.

Marvin pouted. “Why must you be so serious? Okay, fine. And what? You’re looking for a lifelong commitment, when you can’t even tell your family you’re gay?”

“Touché.”

The hand returned. “So our relationship has a few minor difficulties. What true love experiences smooth swimming from the start?”

Alec couldn’t help but smile at that.

The waitress and her frown returned with their order.

“I hardly see that she should feel so strongly,” said Alec, this time noticing the girl’s gloomy expression. “It’s not like I’m a regular or anything. This place hasn’t really been open long enough to have regulars.”

Marvin blinked at that. “New business? How new?”