Affair on the Beach

Chapter 12

Xavier busied himself with applying sunscreen on my back while I stretched out on an enormous and unbelievably soft beach towel. Did they have thousand thread count towels? I wasn’t sure, but it felt like it beneath me. I sighed, resting my cheek on my arms, as Xavier’s hands took their time roaming my back. He took his job of sunscreen applicator rather seriously. If he kept it up, I would be asleep or completely aroused in minutes. It depends on where else on my body his hands decided to visit.

My eyes snapped open when he unclipped my bikini top and placed a kiss at the base of my neck. Oh! The contact sent electric shocks of desire all the way to my groin. Yup, he was going for aroused rather than relaxed. The naughty boy.

If we were alone in the cove—a private beach about a mile north of Maverick Bay—I’d let him continue what he had in mind. I didn’t think Rony and Hudson would appreciate Xavier and me getting it on right in front of them. No amount of therapy could erase that image from their skulls. Plus, I didn’t appreciate an audience for the things I wanted to do with Xavier. I wasn’t an exhibitionist.

“Get a room!” Rony hooted from beside me. She’d laid out her towel while Hudson planted a second large umbrella into the sand. The first already hiding me in its blessed shade.

“She’s right, Xavier,” Hudson commented. “Let’s keep it PG, shall we?”

Xavier re-clasped my top. He leaned down and whispered, “Know that if they weren’t here, I would have my way with you.”

I shivered, hearing the promise in his words. He had plans. Wicked plans that I was very much willing to explore with him later. I really liked this new, more sexually aware me. My bookworm self approved too. She wasn’t missing her books as much as I thought she would.

I smiled up slyly at Xavier over my shoulder. “Go and let me watch that hot body of yours get wet. And when you’re done playing, it’ll be my turn to play.”

Instant desire sparked in his molten eyes. He returned my smile with his heart-stopping half-smile. “I look forward to it.”

The blood my fast pumping heart was distributing all over my body migrated to between my legs. My muscles clenched. I wanted him.

“Ewww!” Rony said like a fourteen-year-old would. “I think I’m going blind.” I shifted to look up at her, and surely enough, she had her eyes covered.

“Nothing you haven’t done before, Rony,” I teased. “Stop being a prude.”

She rested her hands on her slender hips and pouted at me. A blush rose on her cheeks. It was good to see her all flustered. Usually, I was the one knocked off kilter, blubbering like an i***t. Now that I knew Xavier desired me just as much as I did him, I found myself relaxing more around him. Even revelling in being naughty.

“Are we surfing or not?” Hudson demanded.

Xavier slapped my ass playfully, making me yelp, before he stood up and moved toward his board like a graceful jungle cat. He tugged the hem of his T-shirt up slowly—to tease me. The muscles of his back rippled at the movement caused by removing his shirt. He threw the discarded piece of clothing at me and I had to twist around to catch it. I rolled onto my back and brought his shirt to my nose, inhaling his scent. My gaze locked with his, and from the intensity of the heat within those blue depths, I could tell he was seriously contemplating taking me on that beach regardless if we had company or not. My breath caught in my throat. That look alone was enough to unravel me.

“I think I’m going to be sick,” Hudson said, rolling his eyes to the sky. He jogged to Xavier and slapped him on the shoulder hard. “Come on, horn dog, let’s see if you can still beat me with those subpar board skills of yours.”

The challenged snapped Xavier out of his s*x-on-the-beach thoughts, which I was thankful for because I was just about to cross the line of indecency.

“Keep thinking that old man,” Xavier said. He picked up his board and headed for the water. Hudson followed suit. A couple of paddles in, they were already trash talking each other.

“Boys,” Rony said in exasperation. She flopped onto her own towel on her back and leaned up on her elbows, keeping her eyes on the water.

“Are you sure you call that a bikini?” I asked, putting Xavier’s shirt away. “Looks more like scraps of cloth tied together with string.”

She grinned. “Scraps of very expensive cloth. And let me appreciate the fact that you’re rocking the bikini I bought you, thank you very much.”

The indigo suit I had on wasn’t as revealing as what Rony wore—I silently sent up a prayer of thanks for that—but I felt really good in it. I was confident about my body image before, and now, my confidence seemed to finally ooze out of me, and I had Xavier to thank for making me comfortable in showing people I was comfortable in my own skin. My gaze found him on the water. He and Hudson were sitting astride on their boards, facing the shore, waiting for the next swell. They were talking about something, but they were too far for me and Rony to hear.

“To be honest,” Rony’s voice pulled me back into the conversation, “I thought you would freak out about discovering what we really are.”

I laughed. “Xavier wondered the same thing. Apparently, he wanted me to go running for the hills or something.”

Rony eyed me sceptically, like I was the mythical creature and not her. “I’m actually expecting you to bolt at any second. Are you sure you’re okay? Maybe you’re in shock.”

I shook my head, a wide smile on my lips. “Like I told Xavier, as long as you’re not going to kill, eat, or sacrifice me to some god, I’m fine with what you are. You’ve seen my paranormal romance novel collection, haven’t you?”

She huffed. “There won’t be any eating, killing, or sacrificing here.”

“Good to know.” I settled back on my fluffy towel and enjoyed the summer breeze.

A bottle hissing open caught my attention. I glanced at Rony, who was in the process of taking a sip of beer she’d fished out of the cooler Carmela sent along with a picnic basket filled with delectable snacks.

Rony tilted the bottle my way. “Want one?”

I remembered the morning after drinking beer and shook my head. “Did Carmela pack anything else?”

She rummaged through the cooler’s contents again and fished out a bottle of iced tea and tossed it at me. “Not homemade, but it’ll do.”

I caught the flying bottle before it gave me a concussion. Thank god for good reflexes. I twisted the cap off and took a sip. The ice cold, sweet tea was refreshing. For a second, I imagined myself in a commercial for it. I was ready to smile and say my lines, but the word homemade brought my thoughts back to Carmela.

My eyebrows came together. “Is Carmela …?” I let my sentence trail off.

“She knows,” Rony said matter-of-factly.

“But she’s not a mermaid?”

“No.” Rony titled her half empty bottle toward the water. “It’s not like we’re anal about keeping what we are a secret, TW. We just pick who we tell. Being a mermaid is what I am, but it isn’t who I am.”

I processed Rony’s words. She made a good point. I guess that was another reason why I wasn’t freaking. Rony was my best friend. I’d known her for years. Nothing changed that just because she also happened to be a mermaid. Then guilt cramped my stomach muscles. I had amends to make.

“I’m sorry that I wasn’t there for you more,” I said.

Rony reached out with her free hand and squeezed my arm. “You were there for me more than you think you were. Yes, you preferred the company of your books most times, but you never stopped giving your time to me. I couldn’t have asked for more, TW.”

My insides warmed. “But you have to promise to tell me more. If you’re in trouble or are in love or something exciting is happening or just anything, you have to talk to me. Promise?”

Her caramel eyes softened. “As long as you do the same with me.”

We shared a smile. I wouldn’t trade my friendship with Rony for anything. I turned to see Xavier and Hudson riding a large wave. They could have been twins, executing the same moves at exactly the same time. I wouldn’t have met Xavier if it hadn’t been for Rony insisting I come with her to Maverick Bay. I pushed away the mushy feelings that came with the thought. I wasn’t ready to face them. I was here to have fun.

“So, in the interest to telling each other everything …”

I returned my gaze to Rony, catching the glint in her eye. Uh-oh, where was this conversation going?

Rony wiggled her eyebrows. “Tell me, how was last night?”

Forget confidence, I blushed like a schoolgirl whose crush just asked her out on a date. I dropped my gaze to my exposed midriff. “What happened to keeping things PG?”

“Come on,” she urged. “Just been us girls.”

The corners of my lips threatened to pull up into a smile. If I was going to tell someone, it might as well be Rony, right? And it seemed like she was the only one who would believe me about being with Xavier anyway. I inclined my head toward the water.

“Well, look at him,” I said. “Does Xavier strike you as someone who would be bad in bed?”

Rony squealed, causing the boys on their boards to look toward shore. I was redder than a beet now. It sure felt like it. Rony waved at the boys and they waved back. When I dared to peek up, Xavier had that half-smile on his face. He waved at me. I waved back shyly. Inside I wanted to burrow into the sand and never come out. I was mortified.

“Will you quit it, Rony!” I hissed at my best friend. “I don’t want the boys knowing what we’re talking about here.”

She rolled her pretty eyes at me. “Oh, please.” She gestured at the water. “They’re too far out to hear us.”

“No super sensitive hearing for merfolk?”

“Not part of our collection of superpowers.”

To get back at her, I said, “If I tell you about Xavier, you have to tell me about you and Zander.”

She quieted then, her cheeks turning rosy.

I laughed. Hah! I got her!

Then tears welled in her eyes and my mirth vanished, replaced by the thought that I did something stupid. I got up from my towel to join Rony in hers. I gathered her in my arms before the first tear could fall.

“I’m sorry,” I cooed, stroking her hair. “That was really insensitive of me. I shouldn’t have mentioned him.”

Rony sniffed and pulled out of my hug. She shook her head and dried her eyes. “I shouldn’t have gone home with him last night. I knew what would happen if I did, but he has this power over me. Sometimes, I think I’m over him, but all I have to do is smell someone who uses the same aftershave and I defences fall apart.”

“Oh, Rony.” I pursed my lips. I’d read about this scenario before. “You really do love him, don’t you?”

She shook her head even more emphatically. “No, no, I don’t.”

I took her hand in mine and squeezed. “You don’t have to deny it. I see it on your face. What’s wrong with loving Zander?” I c****d my head. “Well, besides the fact that he’s being childish for blaming Xavier for what happened with Hudson and his sister.”

I managed to coax a laugh out of Rony. The last of her tears wiped away by the back of her hand. She sniffed.

“He is childish, isn’t he?” Her smile was watery.

Rubbing her arm now, I returned her smile. “It’ll all work out. It always does.”

“Is this wisdom coming from one of your romance novels?”

“You’d be surprised what you’d learn about relationships reading those things.”

We both laughed then. It felt good. Innocent. Having nothing to do with the feelings for Xavier I’d been suppressing since this morning. It was crazy to feel anything this early. It really was.

“Was Xavier really that good in bed?” Rony asked quietly.

“Whoa!” My eyes widened. “How did we get back to that?”

Rony grabbed both my hands and looked into my eyes. “TW, it was your first time. I’m just worried that it wasn’t what you thought it was going to be. Plus, you have to admit that most of your knowledge comes from romance novels. Those could be highly exaggerated for entertainment purposes.”

I exhaled a long breath, willing myself not to blush when I said, “Trust me, whatever I thought about s*x, I was so wrong. It was even better! Not that I have anything to compare it too, but what being in his arms makes me feel …”

“Tamara Winters!” Rony’s eyes sparkled. “Are you telling me you have feelings for Xavier?”

I gasped, shocked that I actually said those words aloud. I waved my hands in front of Rony, shaking my head. I sneaked a glance at the water. Hudson and Xavier were getting ready to ride another wave.

“Will you keep it down!” I said, out of breath all of a sudden.

“It’s not like they’ll hear me,” she said even louder.

I covered her mouth with my hands and we fell in a heap of arms and legs. Rony laughed while I squeaked. Was she right? Did I really have feelings for Xavier? I didn’t want to believe myself. It was too soon. We barely knew each other. We’d slept together, but that shouldn’t be the basis for feelings, should it? I had no time to answer the questions in my head because someone else’s voice caused Rony and myself to freeze.

“As much as I love watching two women wrestle, I’m afraid I have other business here today,” Zander said, a malicious grin on his lips. He didn’t have his lackeys with him.

“Zander,” Rony whispered as if she couldn’t believe what she was seeing.

“What are you doing here?” I asked just as softly.

He looked toward the water. I followed his gaze. Xavier and Hudson were in the middle of riding a wave. He reached his hand out and the wave lurched like an unseen force pushed at it, causing Xavier to lose his balance. He pitched forward and barely stayed on his board.

“What are you doing?” I asked, my voice climbing an octave.

“Something I’ve always wanted to do.” Zander closed his hand into a fist and I only had a second to turn my head back to the water to see the wave Hudson and Xavier were on swallow them.

I covered my scream of panic with both my hands. “What have you done!”

Rony was shocked speechless beside me.

Before I knew what I was doing, I was on my feet, stomping toward Zander. And even faster than that was the flat of my hand connecting with his face. Zander stumbled to the side, not expecting my slap. He was concentrating too hard on the waves he seemed to be creating. The waters calmed when his hand went up to his cheek.

“How childish can you be,” I said. “What happened between your sister and Hudson is their business. And just because Xavier introduced them doesn’t mean he’s the one at fault for their break up. Grow up and grow a pair!”

I whirled around and ran to the water, praying silently that Xavier was alright. Hudson was the first out of the water, wading to shore. Rony finally snapped out of her stupor and joined me, embracing her brother.

“Are you alright?” she asked with a shaky voice. She took Hudson’s face in her hands and gave him a once over.

I searched the water frantically for any sign of Xavier. Where was he? Panic mounted in my chest, constricting my lungs painfully. Why wasn’t he swimming to the surface? Waves crashed into shore, deafening to my ears. Without thinking, I ran into the water, determined to find Xavier and pull him to shore.

Strong hands grabbed me from behind, stopping me. “Tamara, don’t. The waves are still too choppy. You’ll be sucked into the rocks,” Hudson said. “I’ll go.” He let go of my waist and jumped into the water like a dolphin, his scales glinting in the sun.

“Rocks?” I said, not understanding the meaning of the word.

Rony was by my side, pulling me back to the sand. “The reason why the surfing here is so good is because of the craggy rocks on the sea floor.”

I looked at Rony’s face then. “You mean to tell me there are jagged rocks down there?” My panic redoubled when I finally understood. I wanted to slap Zander again for what he did, but when I looked back to where our umbrellas were, he was gone.

A fear unlike anything I’d experienced before had me in its unforgiving grip. I couldn’t breathe. Couldn’t think clearly. Xavier. Where was Xavier? He was a merman. Surely he was a strong enough swimmer to avoid the rocks. But those choppy waves. Who could avoid being knocked around by them? Then images from the documentary I watched of surfers wiping out flashed before my eyes. Most barely escaped with their lives, all bloodied when they reached shore. I actually felt my heart stop beating then. Xavier couldn’t be dead. No, he couldn’t! I held on to Rony as hard as I could.

“Why aren’t you helping Hudson look for him?” I asked, my panic finally entering my voice.

Rony shook her head. “Because I’m not sure you would stay put. I’m staying here. Hudson will find him. And Xavier is a strong swimming, Tamara. He’ll be fine.”

Rony didn’t sound too convincing. The crack in her voice when she spoke didn’t help at all. I gulped in as much air as my protesting lungs would let me. Waiting on shore doing nothing was killing me. I needed to have Xavier in my arms. To hold him, to feel that he was alive and safe. I wanted him to smile that half smile at me again. I wanted to hear him laugh again. To see the boyish amusement on his handsome face every time he rode a wave to shore. To hear his voice say my name the way he only could.

I shook so badly that I couldn’t feel my feet in the sand anymore. I sagged against Rony, who was surprisingly strong enough to bare our combined weight. She whispered reassurances in my ear, but I stopped listening to her. All my attention was on the water, praying to see Xavier break the surface. I didn’t want my last image of him being swallowed up by Zander’s monster wave.

Then, like a great exhale, Hudson broke through the surface of the water. He had his arms around an unconscious Xavier. His ash blond hair was covered in blood from a cut I couldn’t see. Welcome relief flooded inside me briefly. I wouldn’t feel right until Xavier was in my arms.

“He’s bleeding,” I said, my knees still shaking.

“There are no sharks in these waters, TW,” Rony said, obvious relief in her voice too.

“Good.” I pulled away from her hold to help Hudson pull the unconscious Xavier to shore. He was covered in his golden-blue scales.

I reached out and Hudson let me take Xavier’s other arm. We pulled until we had Xavier lying on the sand. That was the time I noticed the extent of his injuries. His right arm and left leg were twisted in angles arms and legs shouldn’t be found twisted in. He had a deep cut running up his torso and several smaller cuts all over his body. Once again, I covered my gaping mouth with my hands, but this time, no sound came out.

“What took you so long?” I heard Rony ask.

“He was stuck in the rocks. Held there by seaweed …”

I stopped listening to Hudson’s explanation and sank to my knees beside Xavier. His face looked so young in his unconscious state. I was afraid to touch him. His chest moved up and down, but his breathing was faint.

“We have to get him to the hospital,” I said. A sense of numbness enveloped me like a second skin.

“I know it looks bad, Tamara,” Hudson said. “But he’ll be fine. We just have to get him to his healing pool.”

“Then what are we waiting for?”

At Rony’s and Hudson’s wide-eyed expressions, I knew my question came out harsher than it should have. Hudson was the first to snap out of his shock. He came to Xavier’s side and picked him up. Rony tucked Xavier’s arms on his stomach so they didn’t dangle while Hudson strode to where our things were.

I walked alongside him, lost in my worry for Xavier’s wellbeing. I kept moving my gaze from Zander and Hudson. Guilt managed to penetrate my numbness.

“I’m sorry for barking at you, Hudson,” I said.

“You’re worried.” He smiled warmly. “And I happy that it’s for this knuckle head.”

What an inappropriate time to blush, but I felt my cheeks warm anyway. I dropped my gaze to my hands. I’d been wringing my fingers helplessly.

“Go take Xavier home,” Rony called after us. I turned to look at her. “I’ll pack up our things.”

I nodded. I envied how calm the twins were being. I wished I felt the same way, but my stomach was no better than mush. And my brain couldn’t wrap itself around the idea that Xavier would be fine until he actually was fine.

“I’ll pick you up in half an hour,” Hudson said to his sister over his shoulder.

All throughout the ride to Xavier’s house in Hudson’s jeep, I held on to Xavier’s hand, afraid that if I let go, he would stop breathing. His wounds wouldn’t stop bleeding. I pressed a towel Hudson had given me over the biggest one. Xavier’s pallor went from tan to ashen when Hudson finally parked his jeep in front of Xavier’s house.

“Hurry, Hudson,” I said. “He’s looking worse and worse.”

Hudson opened the door nearest Xavier and cradled his friend in his arms. I jumped out of the jeep and ran after them. I didn’t grill Hudson anymore about how he knew where the healing pool was. I assumed all merfolk had one in their homes and they all put it in the same place. Hudson climbed into the pool until he was waist deep in the clear water then settled Xavier on one of the sitting ledges.

I sat on the edge and dipped my legs into the water, resting Xavier’s head on my thighs. I heard him sigh. It was weak, but it was certainly a good exhalation. I looked up at Hudson, tears brimming my eyes, and he nodded at me.

“He’s going to be just fine, Tamara,” he said. “Just don’t let his head submerge because he can’t use his water lungs right now. In a couple of hours, his wounds should be healed.”

Since my panic was gone, anger replaced the hole it left behind. “You find Zander and you beat the crap out of him,” I said between my teeth.

Hudson smiled. “That’s the plan.” Then he walked out of the room where the healing pool was located.