CHAPTER TWELVE
Trevor’s kiss was so full of emotion. She wondered if he realized what he was doing to her. He was making her fall in love with him even more—if such a thing was possible. She’d thought she’d known enough about him yesterday to say that they were mates, but she had learned today that there were facets to this man that made him ever more appealing.
The Goddess certainly knew what She was doing when She put certain people together. Beth sent a little prayer of thanks heavenward as she rolled with Trevor, landing on top of him on the big bed. Just where she wanted to be.
There wasn’t time, or need, for much preliminary. She’d been wet for him since the moment she saw him walk, unscathed, past the bodies of the men who had threatened her. The predator in her soul had grown to respect him in that moment, recognizing its equal. In fact, her beast half figured there was quite a bit Trevor could teach her about hunting and killing…which was just part of the animal that shared her soul.
It didn’t really understand the softer emotions, but it respected strength, and their mate was among the strongest men she’d ever seen. Even better, he had used his strength and skill to protect her, not to cage her. For that alone, he had earned her inner beast’s loyalty.
She took him in her hand, reaching between their bodies to do so. He was hard and long, thick and warm. And she wanted him. She wanted him now.
Rubbing against him, she positioned herself over him and pressed down, taking him more easily this time, as if her body had made itself into the perfect place for his. She moaned when he filled her, already close to the edge. It didn’t take much when they were together.
She began to move, but it wasn’t controlled by any stretch of the imagination. She growled in frustration as her desire overrode her coordination. Finally, Trevor took control, rolling them until they were on their sides, facing each other. He lifted her top leg over his hip, tugging under her knee so that she was wrapped around him, the pressure oh-so-delicious where their bodies were still joined.
The friction made shivers of delight race up and down her spine. She wasn’t going to last long. The day had been too emotional. Too fraught with dangerous highs and lows. The only thing that was clear in the muddle of her life was this. This joining of skin to skin, body to body, Beth to Trevor and back again. This was something she could understand and enjoy without thinking too hard.
The odd angle made for delicious sensations within her, and when she opened her eyes, Trevor was there, looking at her. His languid gaze met hers, the moment intimate and unique in her experience. Never before had she felt so close to a man—not just physically but emotionally, as well.
He was her mate, but she didn’t know how to tell him. Still, by the look in his eyes, she wondered if he didn’t already realize the truth. Did he not know how to broach the subject either? Wouldn’t that be funny if they were both hesitant to bring up the topic that could unite them forever?
Trevor shifted slightly, making her gasp. The change brought him in contact with her clit, and then, all thought ceased as her body took over. The sensations he invoked rode through her bloodstream, up her spine and out to every sensitive nerve ending. Waves of pleasure hit her in time with his increasing thrusts until she was swept under the final tidal wave of pleasure.
She cried out his name, grasping at his shoulders as she came, feeling him come with her, going rigid in her arms and in her body. Warmth filled her. Physical warmth and the emotional warmth of being closer to the man she loved at this moment than she had ever been to anyone else.
She cherished the minutes that followed where Trevor held her, petting her, stroking her skin and whispering gentle endearments as they both came down from the highest high yet. They were both still new to each other. She wondered what sex would be like with him after they’d been together for a while and speculated that she might not survive such pleasure. Then again, it would be an amazing experience, even if it did ruin her for any other man.
Who was she kidding? She was ruined for anyone else already. Her heart, her mer half, her human half and her soul were set on Trevor. Anyone else could never compete. He was her match in every way, and she would never tire of his lovemaking or simply being with him, no matter what they were doing.
She dozed in his arms, a smile on her lips.
A few hours later, in the deepest part of the night, Trevor’s cell phone pinged. He woke instantly, having trained himself to sleep light over many years on combat duty. He grabbed for the phone that was set to a special low-level red illumination he’d programmed so as not to ruin his night vision. He took one look at the screen and sat upright in the bed, waking Beth. She didn’t sleep nearly as lightly as he, but he could see her struggling to come to full alert.
“Ezra messaged. There’s activity behind the hotel,” he told her, summing up the message that had been in code, but relayed a lot more details that would only worry her at the moment.
“Fighting?” she asked, frowning as she reached for her clothing. She left the underwear and went right for shirt and pants, saving time. Trevor did the same, only he added a few weapons to his ensemble. In fact, that reminded him…
He opened the only closet in the room and…yes, there it was. He’d asked John to get one of the mer to drop this off, and he was glad they’d been able to do it.
“Your trident,” he said, taking the long, lethally sharp weapon out of the closet and handing it to her. “I figured it might make you feel safer if you had a weapon you were familiar with.”
She took the trident in one hand and threw the other arm around his neck, drawing him down for a quick kiss. There were tears in her eyes when she pulled back.
“Thank you,” she whispered. “It does help, even if I’m not that graceful on land.”
“Yet,” he added, holding her gaze. He’d teach her how to defend herself on land as soon as they had a moment to breathe. He didn’t like seeing her so vulnerable and scared. He cupped the side of her head and kissed her. “It’ll be okay. I promise,” he whispered, meaning every word. “And you look like a total badass with that trident.” He gave her a smile, glad to see an answering upturn of her lips as he drew away. “When we get back, I want you to pose for me with it…and nothing else.”
“We’re going out there?” she asked, neatly bypassing his request, but he guessed he shouldn’t have been surprised, what with the tense situation and all.
“They’re going to need my help,” Trevor replied. “And I think this is probably something you need to see. Much as I’d like to hide you away from the action and keep you safe from all harm, wrapping you in a cocoon and not letting you take an active part in your own defense isn’t what I want. You need to witness the take down of your stepfather’s men. You need to be present so you can fully understand that they’ll never get to you. No way. No how. Not while I draw breath. And not while the bears of Grizzly Cove have claimed you as one of their own. They protect their people, and it’s important to you, and all the mer in the cove, that you see that in action.”
He could have gone on about how the mer and the bears might be on the verge of forming a unique society here, in the test waters of the cove, but judging by the noises coming from outside the hotel, he didn’t have time. Even through the mostly sound-proofed walls, he could hear the clash of battle. Ezra had imparted numbers in his text, and the bears were definitely fewer than the attackers, but they could handle whatever came—with Trevor’s help. They might be outnumbered, but they’d never be outclassed.
For one thing, they were defending their own territory. Nothing spiked a shifter’s ire like a threat to his home. That the thugs Beth’s stepfather employed either didn’t realize this or didn’t seem to care would work against them. Big time.
But Trevor still needed to be out there, to make up numbers and end this faster. The shorter the battle, the better for all concerned. Already, he could hear Ezra outside, fighting alongside the Grizzly Cove bears, his roar distinctive and familiar. Trevor needed to help, but he also needed to be sure Beth could not only see what was going on, but be as safe as possible while she observed just what the bears could do.
He’d thought about this long and hard before realizing she had to be part of her own rescue. Her stepfather had nearly broken her spirit, and this was an important step in restoring it. If he hid her from the reality of the fight, she might never recover from the fear her stepfather had instilled in her for so very long. Trevor didn’t want that for her. Beth should be fearless—like the other mer he’d met.
She was a huntress in the ocean. She’d already overcome her past to that extent. Now, he needed to help her find her footing on land.
It might be dangerous, but he was confident in his ability to keep her safe. He’d also done a little preemptive work, suspecting this sort of thing might happen. If all went as planned, Beth wouldn’t be left all alone while he engaged the enemy. In fact, she’d be part of a group that would protect her with their very lives, should it become necessary, while still allowing her to feel as if she was part of her own defense.
“Come on, honey,” he told her now. “We have work to do.”
Hefting her trident in one hand, Beth was beside him as they approached the door. Trevor motioned her to the side, and he opened the door, going out first to face possible danger head on. Once he was sure the hallway was secure, he called to her to join him. First hurdle crossed. Now for the door that led to the outside. It was a thick glass affair, through which he could already see the battle.
As he stepped closer, he saw three smaller figures emerge from the room closest to the door. Beth gasped, but this was according to Trevor’s plan. The three women came closer, each holding a wicked-looking trident in one hand and sporting several other sheathed blades Trevor could see.
“My old hunting party,” Beth whispered. “Sirena, Jetty, and Grace,” she named them as they came forward. Trevor was humbled to see that Beth was moved near to tears.
“Your man Trevor there let us know what might happen,” Sirena, the leader of their old hunting party said as she stood next to Beth. “We agreed to be ready to stand with you.”
“Beth, you don’t have to face this alone. We’re your sisters,” Grace said, touching Beth’s arm.
Trevor suspected the others would have said more, but time was of the essence. He began moving toward the door once again, and they followed. They weren’t exactly a military unit, but they had trained together to hunt in the ocean, protecting and providing for the pod. They were warriors, though their skills in the water were probably much sharper than on land. Still, they had those long, pointy tridents, and they gave every appearance of knowing how to use them.
And they loved Beth like a sister. That counted for a lot. They would stand by her while the bears dealt with the thugs, and should anything even come close to threatening her, they would stand with her against all comers.
These ladies were mated to bears now, and those bears would be watching over the hunting party too, Trevor knew. It was the only way he could get agreement for the women to participate, but the other men knew their mates, and they’d admitted the women would not be happy with them if they didn’t let them help defend their friend. Those bears had known what they were in for when they mated with warrior mermaids. Trevor wanted Beth to have the same fierce spirit, and this was a significant part of cultivating it, dangerous as it might be.
There were no lights on in the hall. Trevor had done that deliberately so anyone looking in through that thick glass door wouldn’t be able to see much, even with sharp shifter eyesight. He paused before that final barrier to the melee taking place just a few yards distant.
“You have a defensible location picked out?” Trevor asked Sirena, the leader of the hunting party.
She nodded confidently. “We’ve got the high ground.”
Intimately familiar with the layout of the hotel, Trevor knew there was a service stairway only a few feet from the door that could give them quick access to the roof. It was a good spot.
“Marla and Janice are already up there, keeping the area secure,” Jetty added, giving Trevor a nod.
Maybe they weren’t a military unit, but they were warriors nonetheless. Trevor approved of their precautions.
“All right. I’ll cover your ascent,” he told them.
He was certain the bear mates of these women would all be keeping one eye on the stairway. It was the only way on or off the roof, barring climbing gear. No one would be allowed to infiltrate close to that staircase. Absolutely no one.
“Ready?” He was all business now, about to enter the battle. The women seemed the same, which impressed the hell out of Trevor. He hadn’t fought alongside many females in his time, but if these gals were any indication, that was his loss.
“On three,” Sirena told him, joining him in the countdown before he opened the door, and they all sprang into action.
When they hit one, Trevor opened the door, and they burst into the night. The women turned for the stairway while Trevor kept watch, taking stock of the action at the same time.
He heard a gasp as Beth grabbed his arm. He looked at her, noting her skin had gone pale, and she was staring at one section of the fighting in particular.
A group of three men were standing off to one side, just watching. The two flanking the central man engaged occasionally, as if they were protecting the man in the middle. Trevor’s eyes narrowed.
“That’s Jonathan,” Beth whispered, clearly stunned by seeing her stepfather had come after her in person.
Trevor turned his back to the battle—perhaps foolishly, but it was more important to him at the moment to block any view of Beth. He put himself between her smaller body and the watchers. He’d noticed that Jonathan seemed to be looking for something…or someone. No doubt, he’d just been waiting for Beth to make an appearance, and Trevor wasn’t about to let her stand out in the open and let the bastard get a good look.
“To the staircase. Now,” he barked as quietly as he could. The other three women were close, but had moved more toward the safety of the enclosed staircase. If he could just get Beth behind the siding-covered rail, Jonathan wouldn’t see her. “Crouch as you go up and hide behind the siding. Don’t let him see you,” Trevor said urgently. Thankfully, Beth’s legs began moving as he gave her instructions. She was no longer frozen in place by shock.
He continued to block as she moved quickly toward the stairs, but he didn’t breathe easy until she was on the first steps, surrounded by her friends. Only then, when she was about halfway up the stairs, did he turn back to see what was going on with the battle. Thankfully, Jonathan hadn’t moved. He hadn’t seen her.
Or had he?
Trevor got an itchy feeling between his shoulder blades. Unable to ignore it, he started up the stairs. The women were already near the top, but he moved fast, following them. He had to see for himself that the roof was secure. He wouldn’t be happy until he’d checked every corner.
Something was off. He didn’t know what, but there was something that made his skin crawl.
Trevor flowed onto the roof behind the women. “Watch the stairs,” was his only comment as he passed Sirena, heading for the three-foot high façade that ringed the entire roof. He’d inspect every inch of it.
Trevor was aware of Beth following a few feet behind him, her trusty trident in her hand. He wished she’d stay closer to the others, but he couldn’t really justify telling her to go away. For one thing, that would be mean and he never wanted to hurt her feelings. For another, she might be safer closer to him. His pride made him think that he could defend her better than anyone else—especially a group of women he’d never seen in action. He had no idea if their fighting skills were any good at all. Sure, they looked fierce, but what if he trusted them to take care of Beth and they failed? What then?
He was about two thirds of the way around the roof line when he saw it. Grapples. More than one. Dark, to blend in with the dark roofing materials, which was why he hadn’t seen them from a distance. And there was movement. Someone was climbing.
“Get back!” he ordered in a rasp. “They’re coming over the roof. Go back to the stairs and hold the escape route.”
He didn’t have time to say more because the enemy was upon him. Three men in black fatigues bounded over the knee wall, heading straight for him. He saw the gleam of a pistol aimed toward the women, and he dove for it, knocking the gun out of the man’s hand as they both crashed to the ground.
He kicked upward to break the hand of a second man, who also held a gun, but he couldn’t prevent a shot being fired. It went wild though, knocked off course by Trevor’s destruction of the man’s wrist.
As if that single shot was some kind of signal that they no longer had to be quiet, other guns started firing below. All hell was breaking loose down there, and the bears of Grizzly Cove probably had their hands full. If these three were going to be stopped, it was up to Trevor.
He disarmed the third man, sending the handgun sailing over the edge of the roof, but all three were still standing, now sporting sharp hunting knives. Great. And as long as those grapples were still there, other climbers could join them at any minute.
He spared a glance to the wall and noticed Jetty standing near the grapples, a sharp blade in her hand as she cut the lines that led down to the ground. Unless the guys down there had more grapples, no more would be coming up that way.
Trevor almost smiled as he set to work on the three men. He hadn’t expected a knife fight when he’d gotten up this morning, but he was game. He’d already broken the dominant wrist of one opponent, so that guy wasn’t doing much except harassing Trevor, trying to make openings for his friends to advance. It wasn’t working, but Trevor gave them an A for effort. At least they were working as a team, which was more than he’d expected.
It made them a little harder to defeat, but Trevor was confident. It took about ten minutes longer than it should have, but eventually, all three of the attackers were down and out of the action. One was dead, or close to it. The other two unconscious. Good enough, Trevor thought, turning to check on the women.
He’d kept an eye on them as much as he could, and they were all still okay, holding their tridents like they meant business as they guarded the staircase. Trevor jogged over to check the descent, then turned back to the women. They had a right to input on this, since it was their safety at stake.
“Do you want to stay up here or go below? You could hole up in a room in the hotel, or make for water. It’s your call since you know your strengths better than I do.” It would kill him to let Beth go if they chose water, but if it was the only way to keep her safe, then he’d do what he had to do.
Trevor had turned his back on the staircase for the quick moment it took to talk to the ladies. They were facing him, but it was Beth who alerted him to what was probably the stupidest move he’d ever made. She shouted his name, at the same time, raising her trident like a javelin.
He realized in the nick of time that he should probably duck, and he hit the deck as that ultra-sharp three-pronged spear sailed through the air where he’d just been standing. He turned his head, and, as if in slow motion, he saw the trident hit Jonathan squarely in the chest.
The crime boss’s face held a look of abject surprise for the moment it took him to realize he was already dead. Red bloomed as other tridents hit him in other parts of his body. The mermaids were backing up their sister, making sure the threat was dead, once and for all.
Jonathan stumbled back, falling down the stairway, taking out his goons as he fell. They all ended up in a pile at the foot of the stairs, Jonathan’s dying body topmost…but not for long.
One by one, the hired killers worked their way out from under their dead boss. Most immediately put their hands up in the universal sign of surrender. A few kept fighting out in the open space behind the hotel until a piercing whistle cut through the night.
“Your boss is dead,” Ezra said bluntly, once he had everyone’s attention. “If you keep fighting, you will be too. Get it?”
Beth shouted from the rooftop as Trevor held her back from exposing herself to possible gunfire.
“And there’s nobody left who will pay your fees. Jonathan used my money, but no more. Consider yourselves fired.”
“She can’t do that,” one bleeding miscreant yelled. “We have contracts!”
“Come on, Fred,” Ezra said to a man on the edge of the crowd. “I know you and the Beaslys, and Ripcord and Whit are all bounty hunters, same as me. The man who put up the bounty for the girl is lying dead at the bottom of the stairs. Ain’t nobody gonna pay for her now.”
A few curses sounded from the periphery of the crowd of fighters as weapons were thrown down and men knelt in the sand, their fingers interlaced as they put their hands on top of their heads. At least those guys knew how to surrender.
“As for any of you with contracts,” Beth made the word sound like a curse, “I’m in charge now. I’ll review your supposed contracts with my lawyer, and we’ll come to some agreement, but if you really feel you still are under contract to SeaLife Enterprises,” she named the shell company under which Jonathan had done all his business—dirty and otherwise, “then as the new CEO, I’m ordering you to stand down and surrender to these bears, whose territory you just invaded without provocation.”
Hot damn. Trevor was proud of his mate. This had worked out better than he’d hoped. Not only had she taken down her nemesis, but she’d found her nerve and stepped up to put an end to the bloodshed. Like a boss.
“All right,” one of the thugs who’d been guarding Jonathan said with a sigh. “You heard the lady. If we ever want to get paid, we’d better listen to her. I know for a fact that the reason J wanted her so bad is that she’s the one who inherited all that money and property. If he didn’t control her, he didn’t control the wealth, and now that he’s gone, it’s all hers to do with as she pleases.” The thug with more-than-average brains for his line of work looked directly at Beth. “I assume you’re pulling the plug?”
“You’ve got that right,” she affirmed in a strong voice that made Trevor proud.
More groans from the rest of the men, but they began to follow the bounty hunters’ example and knelt on the ground, linking their hands together on top of their heads. Trevor could hardly believe it. The Grizzly Cove jail was going to be overflowing tonight, but it looked like the hostilities were over. Thank the Goddess.