Bearliest Catch (2 page)

It had been like something out of a horror
flick. Massive. Multi-tentacled. And so evil it reeked.

Drew was able to sense the creature and its
minions to some degree and was able to avoid areas where he
believed they were lurking. Part of his magic, in addition to
shielding, was sensing danger—and occasionally, he got a little
tingle when he was being observed.

Like right now.

“Hey, mermaid, if you’re the one called
Jetty, I have a message for you,” he called out.

He’d never tried to talk to her before. Of
course, he hadn’t really been sure what—or, in this case, who—was
watching him before. He’d thought maybe it was a dolphin or
something. He hadn’t sensed any malevolence from the presence, just
a sort of curiosity that didn’t really set off his spidey sense for
danger.

He figured now that he had some intel on what
was watching him from the water, he’d try the direct approach. If
that didn’t work, maybe he’d dive in and swim around with the
fishes for a bit. See if that got any response.

Though, of course, it was dangerous to go
swimming with something that could breathe underwater when you
couldn’t. He’d be a little nuts to do it, but Drew liked to live
dangerously. If he didn’t, he’d have stayed safe in the cove, away
from the sea monster and its evil children, and curious mer
creatures who spied on him for no apparent reason.

He kind of hoped the mer would respond to his
direct approach. He’d never seen Grace in her shifted form, and he
was really curious about what mer looked like. In human form, Grace
was just like any other person, though even Drew had to admit, she
was a lovely woman. Jack had lucked out, finding such a beautiful
and genuinely nice gal washed up on his beach. The Goddess had
truly been smiling on the bastard.

“Your name
is
Jetty, right?” Drew
tried again. “Grace told me you like to spy on my boat now and
again. She’s all right, by the way. She sends her regards. The
leviathan cut her up pretty bad, but my friend Jack found her, and
it turns out they’re mates. You missed the ceremony, sorry to
say.”

“Grace is mated?”

The sultry female voice came to Drew from the
port side of his boat. He got up from his chair and approached the
rail, peering over slowly so as not to startle the mer woman.

Only her head and shoulders were visible
above the water, but Drew had to clear his throat to buy himself
some time. She was lovely in an otherworldly sort of way. Fine,
pearlescent scales covered what he could see of her skin, making it
flash in the sunrise, reflecting the peachy dawn light. Her eyes
were the blue of the ocean and her hair slicked back and wet with
ocean water. It was probably a deep black color, though he couldn’t
be sure it wasn’t just a dark shade of brown. Either way, the
combination of blue eyes, dark hair and pearly skin was
breathtaking.

And her voice… He wondered if maybe she was a
sea siren with a sound like that. He wanted her to talk more, but
that meant he’d have to talk first. He cleared his throat again and
tried to think of something sensible to say.

“Yes.” There. That was simple enough, but she
only smiled, waiting for him to say more. “Grace mated one of my
friends. His name is Jack.”

“So you said before,” she replied, smiling in
a way that told him she knew the effect she was having on him.

“Are you a siren?” he blurted out the
pressing question on his mind.

Her tinkling laugh sounded over the water.
“No, lucky for you. If you ever met up with a real siren, your
fishing days would be over.”

He was transfixed by her voice anyway. And
her laugh sent ripples of pleasure right through him.

“I don’t know about that, Jetty. I can call
you Jetty, can’t I?” He tried for charming and was glad when it
seemed to work.

“You may, but what is your name, sailor man?”
Her tone was teasing, her voice challenging in an attractive
way.

“I’m Drew. Short for Andrew. At your
service.” He wanted to touch her, but she was way down there and he
was too far away. “Do you want to join me? I have a cooler full of
beer and some ham sandwiches I’d be willing to share.”

“Ham?” She looked skeptical. “Got any with
cheese too?”

“As a matter of fact, I believe I do have a
ham and cheese on rye along with the ham on wheat. The gals in the
bakery set me up with a selection of sandwiches last night when I
went in for dinner. I order ahead when I plan to spend the day out
on the water.”

“Do you have anything I can wear aboard?”

Sweet Mother of All, it sounded like she was
going to accept his invitation. Drew scrambled, thinking fast about
the articles of clothing he’d thrown onto the boat.

“I’ve got a terrycloth robe that would be
large on you, but should serve the purpose. I’ve also got a change
of clothes—a T-shirt and a pair of shorts—but they’d probably be
too big for you. You’re welcome to them, though.” He was tempted to
say she was welcome to anything he had, but that would be coming on
a bit too strong for a first meeting. Wouldn’t it?

“All right,” she agreed, making her decision.
“Get the robe and open the hatch on the stern. I’ll jump up.”

There was a utility door on the rear of the
vessel that came in handy when pulling in overly large fish. He’d
used it himself the very way she was proposing, so he knew it would
work. All she had to do was launch herself out of the water and
onto the boat. He used his grizzly strength to do it, but she was
in her native element. Her tail would probably propel her upward,
though she might land hard.

Drew frowned as he grabbed the robe from the
inside the wheelhouse. He used it when he occasionally went for a
dip, so he kept it handy. Moving to the stern, he tossed the robe
onto a deck chair and opened the utility hatch, swinging the little
door all the way open and out of the way. Then he stepped back and
waited.

No way was he going to let her flop hard onto
the unforgiving deck. He’d catch her in his arms and minimize the
potential damage to her lovely, pearly skin.

The plan was half-formed in his mind when she
burst through the surface of the water and jumped higher than even
he could, aiming right for him. Her eyes widened as he held his
arms out, reaching for her. Apparently, she hadn’t been expecting
him to be waiting.

But it was all happening too fast for her to
change course. He plucked her out of the air, wrapping his hands
around her waist and letting her fall against him. He slowed her
momentum and took the brunt of her fall against his own body.

She seemed stunned for a moment after she’d
come to an abrupt stop, held against his chest. He’d managed to
keep them both upright, and his hands were still on her waist. He
could feel for himself the slickness of her scales against his
fingers and the rapid beat of her heart against his chest.

She was completely nude, but her scales
covered her—just like his fur covered him when he was in his beast
form. He was supporting her so her tail was kept from harm.

“You can put me down now, Andrew.” Her voice
washed over him, and he had to really reach to get his brain
restarted. It had shorted out at the feel of her against him.

“Oh. Sorry.” He lifted her in his arms and
placed her gently on the deck chair. She had grabbed the robe
before he deposited her and spent time wrapping it around her
shoulders. He sensed her fussing with the robe was a way of hiding
her embarrassment, and he tried to make it better. “I didn’t want
you to get hurt landing on the hard deck. You’re okay, right?”

That shocked her eyes up to his. “I’m fine.”
She seemed to be looking for something in his gaze, but he didn’t
know what. “It was very thoughtful of you to catch me, but I jump
up onto rocks much rougher than your smooth fiberglass deck all the
time, so I would’ve been okay.” She looked down again, busying
herself with the robe, wrestling with it until she was covered
completely.

Drew shrugged. “I didn’t think of that,” he
allowed. Still, he knew he’d done the right thing. He couldn’t have
stood by while she flopped on the deck like a tuna. That wouldn’t
have been right. “Uh… Do you want privacy to shift? I can go into
the wheelhouse, if you want.”

Even as he asked the question he saw the
scales recede from her face, replaced by pale human skin. He looked
downward and realized her tail was gone. Two petite feet peeped out
from under the hem of the robe now. She had already shifted to her
human form.

“No need. As you can see, it’s already done.”
She smiled at him, and even as he watched, her teeth went from
pointy fish teeth to flat, human.

“That was fast,” he commented. “Neat trick.
My own shift is a lot more involved.”

“You’re a bear, right?”

He nodded. “Grizzly. Though my mother always
claimed there was some mixed blood back a ways. Either polar bear
or tiger, she figured, since I love the water so much.” And why was
he telling her so much? Not even his teammates knew that bit about
his ancestry.

“Sure it wasn’t mer?” Her tone was teasing,
but there was genuine interest in her eyes.

“Could’ve been,” he allowed. “I haven’t seen
my mother in a while. Things have been…difficult…recently between
her and me.”

Jetty was quiet for a moment, then she
reached out to touch the back of his hand. “I’m sorry.”

The genuine concern in her voice floored him.
They’d only just met, but he felt a connection with this mermaid
like he’d never felt before.

He turned his hand over and clasped hers for
a moment, squeezing lightly. “Thanks.”

He hoped she understood the wealth of meaning
in his words. He couldn’t—shouldn’t—speak of sensitive matters on
first meeting a woman. He lived in hope that this first meeting
with the mysterious mermaid wouldn’t be the last.

She let go of his hand. She smiled, and the
mood lightened. “What about that sandwich you promised me?”

“Coming right up.” He moved to the built-in
cooler that was stowed under one of the side benches and lifted the
lid.

Drew dug around in the ice chest for a few
seconds, coming up with the big plastic bag that held the
sandwiches in one hand, and two beers in the other. He lifted the
beer toward her, an inquiring look on his face. She reached forward
and took one of the bottles out of his hand, twisting off the cap
and taking a sip while he sat down nearby and sorted through the
bag.

“Ham and cheese on rye,” he said, offering
the wrapped sandwich with a flourish. She smiled, taking it from
him. She opened it as he watched, working on his own sandwich more
slowly.

It was clear she was eager to taste it. and
she didn’t waste any time taking a huge bite. The sensual groan
that followed nearly made him hard. He watched her chew, her
concentration fully on the sandwich, his own meal forgotten.

“Oh.” She semi-groaned again, making him feel
even warmer. “I’d almost forgotten how good land food tastes. This
bread is fantastic. You said there was a bakery in town?”

He had to mentally slap himself to get his
mind back on the conversation. She’d asked him about town. The
bakery. That was it.

“Yeah, three human sisters run the bakery,
and they’re really talented with breads and pastries. They serve
meals now, too. Just about everyone in town goes there a couple
times a week. Even the recluses, like me.” He had to smile at the
stark truth in his casual words.

“Mmm. I can see why. This is delicious.” She
seemed to sober up a bit and looked over at him. “Thanks for
sharing. I get a little tired of sushi after a few months.”

He chuckled. “I bet.” He busied himself
unwrapping his own sandwich so he wouldn’t blurt out something
stupid, like a dinner invitation.
Too soon, Drew.
Way
too
soon.

“So tell me about Grace. I’ve been worried
about her, and we’ve all been on the lookout, but it’s rough times
in the sea these days.”

“Yeah.” He frowned. “The leviathan gave us
hell a while back, but a new member of our community managed to
push it back, away from the actual cove. Before I forget, the Alpha
wanted me to tell you that your people are welcome to take shelter
in the cove, if you wish. Any creature who serves the Light is
welcome during this crisis.”

Jetty sat up straighter, her head tilting as
if considering his words, surprise on her face.

“That’s… More than I expected, actually. And
mighty neighborly of him. I’ll pass on the news to the others. I’m
not sure if any of them will want to interact with you land
dwellers though. Most of us are out here for a reason. And most of
those reasons originated on land.”

Drew held up one hand, palm outward. “That’s
okay. John was very clear that there were no strings attached to
his invitation. The town council talked about this at length. We
can’t, in all good conscience, leave you out here to be slaughtered
by the leviathan that was drawn here because of us.”

“What do you mean?” She was intrigued,
clearly, and the little furrow in her brow made him want to lean
over and kiss it.
Down, boy.

“The going theory is that by concentrating so
many of our people in one spot, we unknowingly gathered a very
tantalizing amount of magical energy here. Which is probably why
the leviathan and its friends came to call. It wants to feed on us.
And on any other magical creature it finds in its path. You are in
grave danger, and we’re somewhat responsible, so we decided to
grant safe harbor to those who wish it, now that the cove is
protected.”

“You’re that sure of your protections? If we
swam into the cove and it turned out not to be safe, we’d be
trapped.” Her tone was almost accusatory, but he understood.

“A lot has been going on in town. We allowed
a few humans to settle among us. One of those turned out to be a
powerful witch. Luckily, her special talent is to cast permanent
wards. That’s what she did around the cove. It’s as safe as we can
make it. And if, somehow, the protections did fail, you would have
refuge on land, with us. We’re not your enemy.” Drew tried to sound
both confident and friendly. “At times like this, all those who
serve the Light need to stick together.”