Blueisland (Watermagic Series, #4) (14 page)

“Hello,” he said staring wide-eyed at my bare breasts. I wiggled out of my jeans and underwear.

His jaw dropped. At once, I was out of the tent and running for the ocean. I watched him from the water throw off his clothes and jump in after me. “Wait up,” he called, but I swam out further.

“Come on.” I waved him out to me. Damn, it felt so frickin’ good in the water, almost orgasmic.

“I’m comin’,” he yelled as he swam a fast, splashy crawl stroke out to me. It was so dark out under the stars and moon, but there were little flashes of light on the water from the cosmic array above.

I felt tingling sensations throughout my body. I could feel an aching burning in my groin. The tips of my nipples throbbed in the saltwater. But Jason finally caught up to me. I took his thick, fleshy, muscular body into my arms. A football player. Big and strong. He smelled delicious. It was an indescribable scent—a bit like blood and wine and flesh. My teeth were pulsing and everything just ached all over. I was breathing so heavy. All I remember him saying was “You’re so unbelievably hot…” And then, I bit off his ear. Blood gushed. He screamed out in pain which only increased my hunger. I started tearing him to shreds, eating and eating in hedonistic frenzy.

***

My mind on overload, I slept the rest of the night naked in a sort of partial sleep nestled in an open-sided cubby hole in a pink coral reef under the water. It felt like different parts of my body slept at varying times which was quite strange. For about an hour my right leg, hip, and foot dosed off into a sort of tingly lullaby. After, my torso slept along with the internal organs. Then my left hip, leg and foot napped, followed by my arms, and finally my head and neck which put me in that dream state of another world.

When morning came, I opened my eyes
with a start to a breathtaking bright blue ocean with colorful tropical fish swimming around, red and orange sea grass and purple sea anemone. But flashes of blood kept spilling into my mind smearing my reality. In the blue distance, I observed a swarm of phosphorescent jelly fish. My body tensed as I watched their iridescent, bulbous bodies sway in the water, lighting up their long stringy outgrowths. So beautiful and dangerous. But I couldn’t fully appreciate the magnificence after the horrific act I had committed only hours ago.

My body felt so much stronger now
that I had eaten human flesh, really crazy good. It was like an added energy that felt amazing, but I was nauseous from my thoughts all the same. At the time of my killing, feasting on Jason and all his plentiful, scrumptious flesh felt surreal and amazing at the same time. It was like a force took me over and I lost all control of my humanity and reason. I had to devour him completely. There was no way to stop myself. The hunger was like nothing I had ever experienced before.

What a
beast I had become. Poor, poor, innocent Jason. If only I could take it back. But I would never have that chance. He was gone now and that was because of me. What would my mother think of me now?

Startled out of my
nightmarish thoughts, I felt a sudden tug from behind at my long dark locks. My head fell back unexpectedly, my hair spilling down my back. What the hell? I turned around, my heart racing, and there was Marcel smiling at me. Embarrassed, I threw my hands over my naked breasts and private spot. He had a wicked grin on his handsome face. The gleam in his brilliant blue eyes caused my body to feel electrical even in my shame.

He dangled
a teal colored bathing suit before me and I grabbed it right out of his hands, quickly wiggling my body into it from inside the open cubby hole. It was much racier with all the straps than anything I had ever worn. “Thanks,” I mumbled, utterly mortified that he had seen me in my birthday suit. I couldn’t help but wonder how he found me and how he knew to bring something to cover up my nakedness. Had he been watching me while I slept and then went to get the bathing suit for me? The idea sent a rush of mixed feelings through my body.

We were all alone. I thought about the red head
’s warnings.

Glancing shyly at him, I noticed h
is long hair fanned out to the sides in the water. I fascinated in the shimmer of his body. His chest was utterly sexy in form with his strong, broad shoulders and a lean waist that I wanted to put my hands on. My eyes cast down to the fine line of dark curls that trailed down to his swim shorts. I couldn’t help but admire his long and lean legs with perfect muscular development.

He chuckled, probably because I was checking him out.
“Your first meal?” His eyes narrowed at me darkly.

Uh, what? I thought for a second. Oh!
Ugly remorse waded over me like a thick grey cloud. I nodded, not sure how to respond. “How did you know?” I felt repulsed with myself.

He cocked his head to the side curiously.
“You’ve slept.” His eyes seemed to search mine.

I supposed i
t was the first time I had dosed since the transformation. “Do mers only sleep after…” my voice trailed off. It was strange talking underwater. But surprisingly, our voices sounded perfectly clear. Without even trying his was as erotic as a rock star’s. I had to wonder why he was approaching me. I still felt embarrassed that I had mauled him with kisses the night prior, but I couldn’t very well hide away in this cubby hole forever.

To my surprise, he held out his hand and helped me out.
Goose bumps raised on my arms. Dangerous. His long cold fingers felt sensual in my hand. How did he do that? He had such an effect on me. But I knew I wasn’t the only one he affected so intensely.

With an extended arm, he leaned against the coral reef, supporting himself casually with one hand as he watched me
apparently amused.

I stoo
d there on the bottom of the ocean dumbfounded, on the white sandy floor, facing his gorgeous self and felt weak in the knees. I didn’t know that crap happened in real life. But hell, I felt like I was going to fall over. What a pathetic idiot I was. I tried to think of something to say, but nothing would come out. I licked my lips.

“Don’t do that,” he said, his jaw clenching.

Confused, I looked up at his eyes. He had released himself from the wall and had taken a step back. “What did I do?”

“Nothing,” he muttered, looking down through his thick dark lashes at my lips. “Is Donny your boyfriend?”

Holy moly. Where did that come from? “No, I hardly know him.”

His perfect nose crinkled in such a way that I nearly lost my balance. Just that tough guy thing mixed with adorable was way too much for me to handle rationally.

“You went to prom with him. Am I right?” His chest rose and fell rhythmically even though we were using our gills and had no need for that.

I was so embarrassed. What could I say? I didn’t have a date because I was a geeky rag doll? “We didn’t really know each other well,” I managed to explain, “…but we decided to go together just for the hell of it.”

He nodded at that though his eyes contracted. “But you fell for him that night?”

“What?” I shrieked. “No! Of course not.”

At that, he chuckled and swam over to a big boulder and sat down. “I guess you just played checkers in that locked bedroom.” He smiled crookedly as he patted the boulder, making a space for me to sit beside him.

How did he know that?
Was he keeping an eye on me? Butterflies fluttered in my stomach. Holy crap—is he jealous? “Yeah, something like that. And you were with Emily, right?” I asked, swimming over to sit beside him.

To my surprise, his cheeks actually reddened
either at my question or because I sat down beside him. My guess was because of the question. I bit down on my lower lip.

“Oh, fuck,” he said shaking his head. “Stop that with your mouth.”

Now heat rose up through my chest to my cheeks. I couldn’t believe I actually had an effect on him. It must be some sort of game, I reasoned. But why would he be playing me? This guy was unsafe. There was way too much electricity between us at this close proximity. I couldn’t even look at him. My body was on fire as I looked down at my hands fidgeting in my lap.

“I want to know about you,” he said. I
glanced at him and saw an emotionless expression on his face.

I swallowed hard. “What do you want to know?”

“Everything.” His lyrical voice sounded determined as he rubbed from his chin to his cheek with his hand. I so wanted to touch his face. There was just the slightest shading of dark stubble rendering him that sexy rugged look.

“I don’t know why you want to know about me,” I mumbled, looking back down at my hands. “My life has been pretty boring until now.”

I peeked at him and noticed that he was looking at me through hooded eyes. I remember my mother used to call men who looked at her like that hazardous. She said I should stay away from boys with bedroom eyes. And now here I was with a criminal.

“You are anything but boring, Jewel Razzen. From the corner of my eye, I observed him run his long fingers across his neck before biting down on the side of his pointer finger.
His hand dropped to his lap. “You’re entirely enigmatic.”

Me? Enigmatic! I had never heard that before. I couldn’t believe he saw me that way. “What do you want to know?” I asked looking up at
the sparkle in his eyes.

His face was expressionless. “How did your mother die?”

Heat rose up to my cheeks again. Damn. I can’t believe he would ask such a personal question. How did he know that? I felt a burning sensation in the center of my chest like he had lit a match to me. My eyes widened with a slightly crazed look as I pursed my lips together. “She drowned. Why did you cheat on Brigitte?” I asked, internally congratulating myself on getting him back.

Delight
played on his sumptuous lips. “Touché. It’s not like that with Brigitte. The Trident Court matched us after our conversion, so if we want to stay on their good side we have to play their game.”

“So you don’t want to be with her?” I looked up at his blue eyes.

He was gazing out straight ahead. “Sometimes I enjoy her company, but I just don’t feel it like I do with…” He paused and looked down at the ocean floor. “Do you understand?”

I took in a jagged breath
, wondering what he was getting at, feeling hopeful, yet surprised at his openness. I wished he would have finished his sentence. “Are you gay?”

“No, I’m not gay,” he shrieked and then chuckled. “Why do you ask that?”

“Who wouldn’t like Brigitte?”

He smirked. “You got a point there. It’s just that I have a very particular taste.”

I gulped. Tingling sensations danced throughout my body. Maybe I shouldn’t believe a word out of his mouth, but I couldn’t help myself. “I believe you. I do.”

The corner of his luscious mouth lifted infinitesimally into a
subtle smile before his eyes cast down. He started tracing the ocean wave design on his shorts with his finger now, slow and careful. His attention was fixated on it. I couldn’t help but imagine his shorts were my body. “Why do you hate Jake Stevenson?” His eyes didn’t lift, but stared intently at the movement of his finger tracing the pattern.

Dang—he really k
new how to hit me where it hurt. How did he know so much about me? “I’ll pass on that one.” I tried to keep my voice steady to not let on how much the question bothered me.

“Is he the reas
on you are promiscuous?” He looked at me, a pokerfaced expression on his fine features.

I folded my arms over my chest. “Is that what you’ve heard?”

His eyes were softer now. “Not exactly. I can tell you’re not into Donny, yet you slept with him, right?”

“We played checkers,” I said flatly.
A single orange fish skimmed past my toes that dangled down the side of the boulder. I wanted to kick it away, but refrained.

Marcel was looking off
. He nodded and messed up his wild long hair that was fanning out in the flow of the water. “What happened to your father?”

This guy was on fire.
I tried to not react. “He walked out on us when I was a kid.” He must be trying to get to me. “If you want to know so much, tell me your secret life.”

Hi
s eyes widened the tiniest bit. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to offend you, Jewel Razzen.” A boyish smile formed on his face. “I was born in a small town of France in 1709…”

I gasped
. “What?”

He chuckled lightly, apparently entertained by my surprise. “Mers are immortal, Jewel.”

My hand lifted to my neck. “Mers live forever?” I didn’t know what to think about that. That sounded like a nightmare to a suicidal person. “How old are you?”

“Nineteen.”

“That doesn’t make sense if you were born in the eighteen hundreds.”

His voice lowered in a teasing tone. “Oh, it doesn’t make sense.” He raised a menacing eyebrow, putting a hand on my bare knee.

Electricity shot through my body. Hot damn! This guy is killing me. I tried to talk, but the words got caught in my throat. I kept thinking how I really should swim away, but I just couldn’t get myself to leave.

Chuckling, h
is hand slid off to the side and rested between us, causing me much internal agitation. “Converts maintain their physical age at the time of their turning.”

“Forever nineteen,” I sang, surprised at the musical sound in my own voice.

“That’s right.” He winked, catching me off guard and making me giggle now.

“What about your parents and siblings?” I asked.

His face fell as he stuffed his hands in his shorts pockets. “My father was a wealthy asshole, in the wine business. My mother was impractical and my siblings were phonies.”

Phonies—he talks like me. I don’t know why, but my heart clenched. I put my head in my hands.

“You okay?” he asked gently. His tone threw me off further.

“Yes, I’m fine,” I murmured,
afraid my cheeks would color again and give me away. Turning to hide my face, I looked out at the coral reef that reached up so very high. Golden light filtered through the sea grass and rocks. A blowfish swam past. To my surprise, we both laughed. The humor was unexpected, yet needed release on my part.

“Wouldn’t you just like to pop it?” His
eyes narrowed as he stared at the blowfish’s puffed out body with all its prickly parts.

“No,” I shrieked playfully. “Don’t you dare.”

“Damn,” he teased. But then he pulled out a chain with a silver locket from his shorts pocket.

I looked over at it and saw that it said, “Anne”
engraved on the front. My heart twisted. Was that an ex-girlfriend or a girl he still loved?

“
Can I confide in you?” he asked somewhat hesitantly.

“I don’t know—can you?” I mock
ed facetiously. Then I shrugged, wondering if I had blown the moment. I wanted to kick myself.

“
Funny,” he knitted his eyebrows and crossed his arms over his chest as he leaned back against another boulder behind us. You got a smart mouth on you, don’t you, tomboy?”

“Sometimes,” I said lowering one eyelid
as I crossed my legs and pulled them into myself atop the rock and turned back to face him. “I’m just getting you back for all the questions.”

Laughter
played on his lips as he stared at me with his hands still folded over his perfect chest leisurely, the locket wrapped around one of his fingers. He looked way too comfortable now. I guessed that he knew how much I regretted my smart comment. “I should punish you for that,” he smirked as he set the locket on his lap and put his hands behind his head, still leaning back comfortably.

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

He chuckled. “You’ll see,” he teased. But then his eyes grew serious. “I could use a friend.” He looked down at the back of his hand and turned it over to examine his palm.

“A friend?”

“Yeah, got a problem with that?” His voice bordered on playful.

“No
,” I responded the word catching in my throat.

His grin was back, but now it was crooked. He watched me for a minute before speaking. The fine
st of hairs raised on my arms and thighs. “I think something went wrong when I was converted into a mer,” he finally said. His eyes looked serious as his expression turned business-like now.

I felt a little dizzy as I looked up at him running his hand over the smooth surface of the boulder.
“You were converted so long ago. What do you mean?” I felt very curious, my hands sliding down the front side of my thighs as I unfolded my legs.

He swallowed hard as he
picked back up the silver locket from his lap and played with the piece, turning it over and caressing the engraving with his long index finger. “I have cravings for human flesh, but…” his voice trailed off.

“Yes,” I encouraged him to go on
wondering if I was entering a danger zone.

He cleared his throat and looked into my eyes.
He seemed surprisingly uncomfortable now. “You can never tell anyone this.” His voice was stern.

“Oh, yes.” I bit my lip. “I won’t.”

He shook his head, exasperated as he looked at me.

“Oh!” My throat tightened. “Go on.”

He nodded, suppressing some sort of private joke or something. I noticed the vein in his neck lifting bluish beneath the skin. It was hot. “I hunger for the blood of mers.”

My eyes flew open. “What?” I tried to keep my voice steady, but he threw me entirely off guard.

He brought his hands together tightly and brought the locket up to his lips for a second before lowering them, his body surprisingly tense. “To convert a human to a mer you have to kiss the victim long enough to turn. I was so terrified in the ocean after I had been thrown off the ship that while I was being kissed, I tore Abalone, the female mer that turned me, apart with my teeth…”

My hands flew to the sides of my face.

He shook his head as if he somehow knew what I was thinking though he couldn’t possibly know. “I tore her lip off just as I was converting into a mer and proceeded to tear her apart.”

“You killed her?” I asked, my hand flying to my throat.

His eyes glazed and then he nodded. “The Ancients have kept a closer eye on me than the others since. They excused me for the crime though such a thing was unheard of, but I sense their fear of me.” He looked down at his hands and continued. “You are the only one that knows why I killed her. I am different than the others. I think it is because I swallowed Abalone’s blood when I bit off her lip. Maybe that tweaked the process.”

“You think that made you desire
mer blood?” I tried to keep a blank expression.

“I do.” He nodded as he brushed his hair back behind his ears. “I’m not like the others. I see that.”

“Have you ever killed any other mers?” I felt my heartbeat racing.

His eyes looked sad.
He tilted his head to the side and shrugged ever so slightly not answering my imploration. “Thank you, Jewel,” he whispered as he seemed to examine my expression. “I’ve never really had a friend I could confide in.”

I felt the blood heat up in the center of my chest. He must only think of me as a friend.
His seeming flirtations must be how he is with everyone. He probably can’t even help his hotness. It was probably that boyish side to me that made him so comfortable to open up. I knew it wasn’t possible for a guy like Marcel to desire me romantically. Even though he basically just told me that he could very well drink my blood and kill me for that matter, I felt this terrible aching feeling in my chest now like I had just lost someone so very dear even though I never had him to begin with. “Your secret is safe with me,” I managed to say as I noticed him watching my mouth. I licked my lips out of habit and discomfort.

His head jerked back just slightly
, his body tense. “Don’t do that.” His nostrils flared. He slid off the rock and dropped the silver locket in his shorts. “Jewel Razzen…” He shook his head side to side. “It’s a shame I had to turn you.”

“Why did you?” I asked
, feeling self-conscious and embarrassingly aroused at the same time.

He grinned wryly
. “If I hadn’t, you’d be dead.”

My eyes widened infinitesimally
, not sure if I should be grateful or not.

“You have a whole new world ahead of you now.
” His thoughts seemed to drift off, causing me to wonder what he was thinking about.

I slid off the rock beside him and stood on the white sand, taking note of the ease I felt firmly planted on the bottom of such a vast ocean. My arms waded out to the sides a little, but I held my balance surprisingly well. “What happens now?” I thought to ask, getting the feeling by the way his weight shifted to one foot that he was deciding to leave. “
Do I meet the Ancients? Can we swim from the island and go back to our homes and to school?”

He looked down and picked up a small crab, popping it into his mouth and chewing it up
, the shell and all. “There will be revelries with the Ancients we will all attend where you will form with your school, learn the ropes, but the humans have to be killed off before we leave the island.

I stepped back, trying to hide my emotions as much as possible. “But, why?”

His face was expressionless. “The Trident Court won’t allow us to leave witnesses. My school was assigned to this conversion mission and we had explicit instructions to convert the six most attractive people on the yacht and kill the rest.”

I tried to steady my breathing that started back up even though my gills were in play. “Why was I converted then?
I wasn’t pretty.”

He grinned, but then
suddenly cocked his head to the side like he was listening to something. I followed him over to the opening in the coral reef. Apparently, he was interrupted by his school, Brigitte, that sado-red head who I don’t know her name, Marine, Laurent, and Pascal swimming through a field of sea grass beyond the coral reef. “I have something to take care of,” he said suddenly. Looking toward his friends in the distance, he brushed my shoulder with his hand, sending sensations up my spine and started to swim toward them through one of the openings in the reef. I looked through to watch him leave, feeling utterly lost.