Bared to Him (10 page)

Miranda
smiled. Warmth embraced her heart at Catalina’s concern.

“
Actually, I did a lot of research on the Octo site so I knew
what to expect. Kind of knew, anyways. I thought I was going to be
able to handle anything but when it happened, it was just shocking
to go through something like that. I was stunned at first and then
my instincts took over.”

Cat
giggled. “Oh yeah, instincts are quite nice where males are
concerned.”

Miranda
patted the bench seat beside her, eager now to get the low down on
Cat’s first Octo experience with Calder.

In a
second, the other woman had joined her. Before long Miranda was
blushing at how Calder and Catalina had met thru Cat’s mobile
tattoo service. He’d contacted her and had requested a tentacle
tattoo on his cock and Cat hadn’t even known she was an Octo when
Calder had started to pursue her.

By the time Catalina had finished her story, Miranda was glad
she hadn’t been kept in the dark about her heritage as Catalina had
been. Cat’s confession made a proud confidence weave through her.
For the first time in her life, Miranda realized how lucky she was
to have her overprotective dad and that he
had
told her about the Octoposeidon
and about her mother being one. And that there was a chance that
Miranda would Turn.

Suddenly,
she really liked who she was and how she had turned out. She liked
herself. A lot.

* * * *
*

“
So, you have yourself a female now,” Calder chuckled as he
slapped Gray on his bare back while they walked along the sandy
California beach. Calder had suggested the two of them get off the
yacht and get in some walking because, as he confessed to Gray, he
was a nervous wreck about marrying Cat.

So, Gray
had returned his gun to the safety of a locked cabinet, ditched his
shirt and both of them had jumped overboard into the pristine warm
waters and swam to the sandy shore.

It wasn’t
until now that he realized Calder’s reason to leave the yacht was
just an excuse to get the scoop on Gray’s relationship with
Miranda.

“
If you want to know if we’ve mated, the answer is yes,” Gray
frankly stated.

To his
surprise, Calder’s facial expression remained neutral.

“
And what are your intentions toward her? I don’t want her
hurt, Gray. She’s inexperienced and she never really wanted to
become an Octo…”

Irritation shot through Gray and he abruptly stopped walking.
He clenched his fists and resisted the urge to punch Calder in the
nose. Sure, he understood Calder’s concern. For all the guy knew
from past experiences, Miranda and Gray hated each other. Hell,
everyone knew they fought like cats and dogs.

“
Things are different now. She’s mine,” he growled the last
word to make sure Calder understood. In the way Calder’s eyes
widened, he did.

“
Then I don’t know how this will come across, but now that she
has Turned, she’d going to need protection. I smelled her scent
forty miles down the coastline. That’s how I could easily located
you two. She’s got a very strong trail, Gray.”

“
I’ll protect her.”

“
How? By keeping her hidden in that Alaskan inlet like her
father has been doing?”

“
It’s worked so far.”

“
Only because she wasn’t scenting. Now that she is, every Octo
male can smell her and follow her back. And if you’re not around to
protect her…it’s happened to your consortium. You should know more
than anyone how much females need to be protected.”

Gray
shivered as he remembered smelling the blood drifting along the
currents. The fear that had twisted his gut. Panicking and swimming
right into an ambush.

“
Why are you telling me this, Calder? Do you want us to join a
consortium? They didn’t protect my family then and they can’t
protect us now. Having so many females all in one place just makes
their scents stronger. My sisters have decided to live alone and
they’ve managed fine with their decision. Miranda and I can do the
same.”

“
As I said I could smell her. There are any number of Octo
males out there who won’t respect that she’s taken.”

“
We’ll take precautions from here on out.” Although he had no
idea what those precautions would entail. There really was no one
hundred percent protection for a female Octoposeidon, unless they
lived in the middle of nowhere like Jack had been doing with
Miranda.

Calder
nodded tightly. “Well, Catalina and I formed a
consortium.”

This was
news to him.

“
We just formed it when we discovered there were several
Octoposeidon in the area of my marina. You both are welcome to come
and live nearby. The males take turns patrolling at night in the
oceans so we can keep the females as safe as possible. Everyone
gets a tattoo, a brand if you will, signifying they belong to a
certain consortium.”

Calder
pointed to his left shoulder and bicep. To the large black tattoo
with intricate design there.

“
It’s the brand of our consortium. When we Turn into Octo form
at night, the tattoo glows. It’s how we can tell quickly if an Octo
belongs to our group or not.”

“
I heard that the Octo society was adopting a tattoo
procedure.” Gray said as he inspected the design. It looked
impressive.

“
Yes, the idea came from Cat and myself. She uses special inks
that glow gently beneath the depths. Not bright enough so that an
enemy can see from a distance, but just enough so if one of the
bodyguards gets close they can tell if the Octo is friend or foe.
And there’s an added benefit for when we’re in human form. We’ve
discovered the tattoos get brighter a few minutes before we even
feel the need to Turn. When you’re in the human world, it’s always
good to know ahead of time so you can make your excuses and
disappear. Even a couple of minutes is a big help.”

Gray
nodded. He realized that maybe Calder was right. Miranda needed
major protection and he might not be able to give it to her. He
sure didn’t want to lose her because of his doubts about
consortiums.

“
The consortium and tattoo sounds like a good idea. But I can’t
give you a decision one way or the other unless I discuss this with
Miranda.”

Calder
nodded. He looked somewhat relieved. Then he smiled and nodded
toward the yacht.

“
The women are hailing us.”

Gray
looked over at the yacht bobbing in the sparkling aqua-blue waters
and saw Miranda and Catalina waving to them.

“
It looks like breakfast is ready. Want to race to the yacht?
Last one there does the dishes?”

Calder
didn’t answer, as he was already diving into the water. A moment
later, his head popped out of the water and he waved to
Gray.

“
Last one there does the dishes!”

Son of a
bitch! He had heard him!

Gray dove
into the ocean, but Calder already had such a head start that Gray
knew he was the one who would be doing the dishes. But that was
okay. It would give him some time to think about what Calder had
said. He’d made some good points about the dangers of being
Octoposeidon and of having a female to protect now. He wondered how
Miranda would react when he suggested they move down here to
California.

* * * *
*

“
You aren’t saying anything,” Gray said as he studied
Miranda.

They had
followed Cat and Calder in the yacht along the coastline to a
secluded beach several miles from Calder’s marina. The two of them
had enjoyed a dinner of buttered lobster. Over a shrimp salad, he’d
mentioned what Calder had said about joining the consortium
here.

“
That’s because there’s nothing to say,” she replied with a
grimace.

“
What do you think?” he prodded.

She shook
her head and shrugged her shoulders.

“
About?”

Man, why
was she making this so difficult for him?

“
We’ve been careless out here all alone. Now that you’ve
Turned, your scent is very active. Bad things can happen. Octo
males are desperate.”

She
frowned and an uneasiness zipped through him.

“
Exactly how desperate are they, Gray?”

His gut
twisted at the snarl in her voice. What had he said wrong now? He
picked up her irritation and it snapped through him as
well.

“
Do I need to spell it out for you? Do I need to tell you what
happened to the women in my consortium? The females were kidnapped,
Miranda. Taken against their will. Some were killed because they
fought. We can’t go to the human law. They don’t know we exist. And
Octo laws are like the human’s Wild West days at best. My sisters
live alone in isolation. They want nothing to do with the
Octoposeidon race. They barely interact with the human race. They
rarely see each other or me because they live in fear. I don’t want
that for you or for us, Miranda.”

“
You didn’t answer my question, Gray,” she said
softly.

Gray
blinked in surprise. She acted as if he hadn’t even said
anything.

“
Question? What the hell are you talking about?”

“
How desperate are you, Gray?”

What the fuck
?

“
Are you screwing me because there’s no other female around? Or
are you doing me for another reason?”

A dark
pink blushed her cheeks and she seemed fidgety. Her hands were
knotted on the table in front of her and she was nibbling on her
bottom lip as if she was worried about something. Realization hit
him like a ton of bricks. Damn, but the woman had balls. Damn sexy
as hell cute balls.

“
What do you want me to say, Miranda? That I am so desperate
and that’s why I picked you because I couldn’t find a pretty enough
Octo?”

She
visibly tensed at his teasing words. Was she serious? Did she not
know how attracted he was to her?

Gray
shook his head. It appeared she had no clue. Then, perhaps he
needed to show her.

He stood.
Her eyes widened in surprise as he slipped his fingers beneath the
waistband of his shorts, and slid them down past his hips. His
swollen cock sprang free and it was a relief to have it out of
captivity.

“
Do you think it is fun for me to go around with a hard-on
whenever I smell you?”

He
stepped out of his shorts in front of her. She blinked at him, her
cheeks flushing a deeper pink.

“
I’ve wanted you since I can remember, Miranda. First, when you
were younger, it was a protective instinct. Then when you got
older, it turned into something else. I admit I tried to deny it.
Your dad gave me shelter and a job and I didn’t want to admit to
him or to myself that what I felt for you had turned serious. So, I
teased you to keep you mad at me. To keep you away from
me.”

She shook
her head slowly, a look of wonder on her face.

“
And to answer your question. I’m screwing you because I want
you to be my mate. You are the only female for me. I wouldn’t be
having unprotected sex with you, as we had earlier, unless I wanted
babies with you. Lots of babies.”

She made
a cute little O with her lips and understanding sparkled in her
eyes. He came around the table and held his hand out to her. She
slipped her trembling fingers against his palm and he held her hand
gently yet firmly at the same time as he pulled her to a standing
position in front of him.

“
You belong to me, Randi.” He hoped his voice was firm enough
so she would believe him. He also knew he could talk until he was
blue in the face, because talk was cheap. She needed action, and he
would give her plenty.

* * * *
*

Stunned
disbelief sunk slowly past Miranda’s insecurities. She couldn’t
believe what Gray had just confessed. He wanted babies with her.
She’d thought about the unprotected sex they’d had earlier. It was
one of the reasons she needed to make sure that he wasn’t just
fucking her because she was convenient. She wanted to make sure he
was serious. It appeared he truly did want her. He’d wanted her and
he’d kept it hidden behind his teasing? Mentally she thought back.
It must be at least several years that they’d been at each other’s
throats.

Son-of-a-bitch
.

Now, he
stood in front of her in his naked glory baring himself to her. The
vulnerability in his eyes was unmistakeable. She had no choice but
to bare herself to him. In every sense of the word.

“
I have to admit, you did a pretty good job at keeping me off
balance. I was mad at you more times than I was glad to know you.
But, secretly I did fantasize about you. Masturbated to visions of
you…like the other night.”

His sharp
inhalation of breath made her hesitate. But she’d gone this far,
she may as well continue.

“
It seemed the angrier I was at you, the wilder my
orgasms…”

He cut
off her words by fusing his mouth over hers.