SeaChange (13 page)

“I’ll be fine.” He doubted he’d sleep, but that was nothing
new either. “Don’t worry.”

“Okay.” She cast him one final soft look that he couldn’t
decipher, then disappeared behind the bedroom door. Jake just stood there for a
moment, his chest unaccountably tight, staring at the space where she’d stood.

* * * * *

There was no way in hell Heidi was going to be able to
sleep.

The sight of Jake slicing through the water using his
strong, tanned arms and thick gray flukes kept flashing in front of her eyes.

Jake was a merman.

How could she believe it?

How could she not?

Good lord, she’d
slept
with him!

And he wasn’t even human.

Well, he was sort of human. At least part of the time.

And his father had been a fisherman. So Jake was at least
half-human. And that meant they were definitely biologically compatible, not
that that was an issue.

She was confused and scared and yeah, a little bit pissed.

So why did she miss his warm bulk beside her in the bed?

She couldn’t possibly still want him. Could she?

Oh hell, of course she could.

Fully human or not, he’d not only saved her life, he’d given
her a place to stay and a shoulder to cry on. He’d convinced the cops she hadn’t
killed Brad, and he’d used all his considerable contacts to help her find him,
and the men who’d shot at them. To top it all off, he’d given her the best sex
of her entire life. Of course she missed him. And if she wasn’t careful, she
was going to go and fall in love with him. And then where would she be? Old and
gray while he was still floating around the ocean killing time. This was
definitely a bad idea.

Yet she’d meant it when she’d told him she wasn’t looking
for happily ever after. Oh, she wouldn’t mind it someday, but she wasn’t going
to count on it. She’d seen enough tragedy to know that life was unpredictable.
If you had a chance for happiness, no matter how brief, you were a fool to turn
it away. And Heidi prided herself on not being stupid.

Throwing back the tangled flannel sheet, she stood and
crossed the small cabin in long, purposeful strides. She didn’t let herself
pause to think as she slipped through the galley and climbed the steps to the
deck.

“Jake?”

“What’s wrong?”

She turned to the sound of his voice, her eyes adjusting
quickly to the moonlit night. He hadn’t strung the hammock, she saw. He was
sitting on the rail at the bow, staring out at the sea.

“Are you done swimming for tonight?”

“Yeah. It only lasts an hour.”

“Then come to bed, Jake.”

“I don’t think that’s a good idea, goddess.”

“Why not?” She loved it when he called her that. Just the
caress of his voice raised goose bumps along her skin.

“Because regardless of species distinctions, I’m still just
a guy. And you’re one hell of an appealing woman. If I’m anywhere near you and
a bed, there’s only going to be one thing on my mind.”

“Is that a problem?” She tried to keep her voice light,
hoping he was being noble and not trying to reject her gently.

“I thought you needed time to think.”

“I’m a quick study.” She took several steps toward him, but
stopped a few feet away. “You know that tomorrow I’m going to have a thousand
questions.”

He chuckled, a soft, low rumble from his chest. “At least.”

“And we still have to find Brad.”

“Of course.”

“And the drug dealers.”

“Lose the ‘we’ on that one, Valkyrie. You don’t go anywhere
near those guys.”

She ignored his macho posturing, though it was really kind
of sweet. Nobody ever, ever called her little. “You shocked the hell out of me
tonight, you know.”

“I kind of figured.” His dry raspy chuckle turned her on
even more. She loved his wicked, self-deprecating sense of humor.

“But nothing’s really changed, Jake.”

That seemed to surprise him. He just raised one eyebrow and
kept staring ‘til she continued.

“We’d agreed that whatever this is between us, it was only
temporary. We’d already decided to keep things in the here and now. Now I know
some of your reasons, that’s all.”

“So?”

“So for tonight, we’re still here, together. And even if we’re
not exactly the same species, my body sure seems to think we’re compatible.”

“No freaking kidding.” His voice sounded sort of strangled,
like he was struggling for control. Good.

“So do you see any reason to waste a perfectly good bed by
sitting out here?”

“No, I guess I can’t say that I do.”

She held out one hand. “Then come to bed, Che.”

He nodded and hopped down off the rail, still moving slowly,
as if he was afraid to startle her, afraid she’d cut and run.

She stopped him when he would have wrapped his arms around
her, and took his hand. Side by side, they walked down the stairs. Once they
stood next to the bed, Heidi stopped and pulled the T-shirt slowly over her
head. Jake watched her intently, like a starving man eyeing a feast.

“Am I the only one getting naked?” She paused in just her
thong and crossed her arms over her breasts.

“No ma’am,” Jake replied, quickly shedding his own shirt and
shorts. He was hard already, and she licked her lips at the sight of his long,
thick cock bobbing under its own weight. Her pussy clenched and creamed in
anticipation.
Oh yeah!
No matter what her brain decided, her body knew
they were good together.

As soon as he was naked, he paused and stood still while she
stripped off her thong. When she put one knee up on the bed, he moved faster
than her vision could follow, standing behind her with his hands on her hips.
His penis nudged at her ass, and she pulled up the other knee to balance on the
edge of the bed, keeping her legs wide so he could tuck between, rubbing and
teasing the damp curls.

Jake leaned over and nipped at the junction of her neck and
shoulder. Bless the man, he’d already figured out it was one of her favorite
spots. She arched her back, bringing her neck up to his mouth, and rubbing her
slit along his cock. Then she clenched her thighs together, trapping him
between and squeezing tight. Judging by his harsh groan, the pressure felt
good. Maybe almost as good as when he bit down on the tendon at her neck.

One of his hands held her hip in a grip so tight it would
probably leave bruises, and the other came around her, started kneading her
breast. The intensity of it was almost enough to get her off then and there.

“What have you done to me, you little witch? I can barely
look at you without getting hard, and as soon as I’ve had you, I want you all
over again.” His breath, hot on her ear was another caress that only added to
the overall stimulation. He let go of her hips to position himself, then thrust
into her, slow and deep.

“I don’t know,” she gasped as he filled her. “You’re the
magical one. You tell me.”

“Freya, whatever the hell is going on between us is no magic
I’ve ever encountered.”

Then neither of them spoke as he began to move, mastering
her in the most primal of ways. Heidi cried out as her orgasm approached hard
and fast like a fireball going off in her core, sending shockwaves out to her
fingers, toes and even her scalp. Jake followed close behind, bellowing out his
own release as he poured himself into her, hot and fast.

Time hung suspended for a while until Heidi’s arms gave out,
dropping her face down onto the bed. Jake nearly collapsed as well, but he
managed to withdraw and fall to the side, still panting like a racehorse.

“So we’re okay, then?” He reached out to smooth a lock of
the dyed hair away from her face.

“We’re fine. Go to sleep.” She’d thought women were the ones
who supposedly wanted to cuddle and talk after sex. Where did they find the
energy? She was whipped.

“We’re only half on the bed,” he reminded her.

“Picky, picky, picky.” Grumbling, she let him tug her up to
the pillows and pull the covers over them both. But she didn’t grumble a bit
when his arms went around her, holding her close to his big, warm body as she
drifted off to sleep.

* * * * *

Things were just getting interesting again the next morning
when they were interrupted by a loud knock at the cabin door.

“It’s time to get ready for your meeting.” Marinucci’s voice
came through the heavy teak door.

“Shit,” Jake muttered. He rolled off Heidi and out of the
bed. “Ten minutes,” he yelled. “Go eat your doughnuts.”

There was a loud bark of laughter and the sound of
retreating footsteps.

“How did he get here?” Heidi sat up and pushed her hair out
of her eyes. It was still weird to see the dark-brown strands in front of her
face, but she didn’t think it looked too bad with her tanned skin—as long as
she wore sunglasses.

“Don’t ask,” Jake muttered, heading for the shower. He was
back out less than five minutes later, while Heidi was still getting clothes
out of the drawer he’d emptied for her meager wardrobe. “But Wen’s probably
with him.”

He dressed rapidly while she watched. His powerful muscles
flexed and contracted with each movement. His shiny black hair, hanging in
irregular layers to his shoulders in back and his nose in front, was adorably
mussed. She wanted to run her hands through it, straighten it for him, but
instead she just watched as he tugged his own fingers through it once, leaving
it even more tousled than before.

“Great. Someday you’re going to have to explain those two.”
She broke off watching him to head into the bathroom herself.

Behind her back, she thought she heard, “As if I could.”

A few minutes later, freshly dressed in jeans and a tank top
and cradling a mug of coffee in both hands, she joined the three men on the sun
deck. “So what’s the plan?”

“Like the new look,” Steve said, raising his cup in a toast.
“Muffins are over there.” He pointed to a crisp white bakery bag perched on one
of the benches.

“
Gracias
.” She helped herself to a banana nut muffin
and sat cross-legged on a bench, glaring down each of the three men in turn. In
the sunlight, she could finally see Wen clearly. Wearing black slacks and a
green dress shirt, he was just about Heidi’s height and whipcord slender, with
smooth olive skin, short black hair and almond-shaped eyes that looked…ancient.
Heidi looked away first, then turned back to Jake, who sat next to her, while
the other two men were on the opposite bench. “So. The plan?”

Jake shrugged. “Pretty simple. I go in and set up a deal,
hopefully scoping things out as I do. Wen’s going to wire me for sound—he’s got
some toys that are too tiny for them to find, we hope. Then when the deal goes
down, Steve and his team will go in and take them out. With luck, one of them
will be willing to cut a deal and roll over on the bosses.”

“Okay. So what are we supposed to do when you go in to
broker the deal?” She nibbled on her breakfast, trying to stay calm, as if she
did this sort of thing everyday. “I’m guessing we don’t have a repair van to
park across the street.”

“You’re staying right here on the boat,” Jake argued. “Wen
and Steve will be nearby, listening in to make sure nothing goes south.”

“Try again, big guy.” Heidi crossed her arms over her chest
and stared him down. Neither Wen nor Marinucci said a word. “At the very least,
we collect my car and I’ll be the getaway driver.”

“I can switch the plate for a local one,” Wen offered. “One
no one will check into too closely if they run it. She can park at the market a
block away from the cantina where you’re meeting
el jefé
.”

Jake glared at the other man, who simply shook his head.

“She’s right and you know it, my friend. With her as a
driver, then Steve and I can get in closer. Besides, something tells me the
lady can take care of herself.”

Heidi smiled her thanks at Wen. “I’ll need a gun, so that
Jake can take his.”

“I’ve got an ankle holster Jake can use,” Steve interjected.
“You can carry his nine mil in your purse.”

Jake snorted and Heidi grinned ruefully. “Purse, huh? I’ll
have to stop in the market and pick one up first. It can stay in the glove box
until then.” She was more of a backpack or briefcase kind of girl.

“Fine.” Wen stood. “So let’s go below and get our
electronics in place, shall we?”

* * * * *

A few hours later, Heidi parked her car, which was covered
in dust and sporting a Mexican license plate, on a side street near a busy
market. She’d stopped at a store right near the marina and bought a big straw
purse. In it were a few small bills, a disposable cell phone, a paperback book
and Jake’s Beretta. As per the plan, she put the keys in her pocket and got out
of the car, then slowly began to peruse the nearby market stalls.

She’d dressed like many local women, in a colorful cotton
skirt and rope sandals—an outfit she’d picked up on a whim shortly after she
and Brad had set up camp down here. Her hair was down, covering the small
communicator in her left ear, while a bright pink silk rose pinned to her white
peasant blouse held a microphone. Wen had brought a supply of the tiny devices,
though Jake, for safety reasons, only wore a transmitter. The others could hear
Jake, but he wouldn’t have any input from them.

The market was across the street and two doors down from the
cantina where Jake’s meeting was set up. Steve had been in the cantina drinking
for the last hour, getting him into place well before the meet, while Wen was
skulking somewhere right outside. Heidi hated feeling so far away from the
action, but at least it put her and the car close by in case Jake needed them.
She hugged her purse close between her elbow and her rib cage as she pretended
to examine a selection of turquoise and silver jewelry.

No one had yet explained to her how Wen and Steve had gotten
to the boat that morning. As soon as they’d docked, Wen had disappeared,
returning a short while later with Heidi’s little compact car. At that point,
both he and Steve had vanished—she never did see how. She and Jake had been too
tense to talk much after the other men left. There’d been one fierce kiss
goodbye, then he’d sent her on her way while he called a cab to take him to the
cantina.