Mad Sea (7 page)

“Baby, I don’t know how to make you feel good this way,” I admit with a grunt.

Her arms reach up behind her and she threads her fingers into my hair. “This. What you’re doing, right now. This is better than any orgasm you’ve ever given to me. I feel like I’m going to explode, Madden.”

When she grips my hair, almost angrily, I begin pounding against her more forcefully. The dolphins still circle us but have widened their radius, giving us some privacy. My entire body tightens, causing me to pinch her nipples in response.

“I love you,” I hiss against the side of her throat, a second before my world turns blissfully white. My orgasm is full body. Heat floods from me, pouring into her, and I feel as though I’ve drained my soul into her. Every last bit of it. It feels fucking amazing.

She cries out, a sound more beautiful than any song on this earth, before her body quakes in my arms. I feel a tightening around my cock before her body seems to close, pushing me out in the process. We both chuckle upon realizing our first time as mer people is officially over.

“So beautiful, sea angel.”

She twists in my arms and smiles at me. “Do you feel it? It’s like your hand is wrapped around my heart. Gripping it. Owning it. I’m linked to you, Mad.”

The ache in my chest is from her. It’s indescribable. We’re tethered by an invisible bond. Too perfect to be seen or touched by anyone. Nobody can sever our bond. Fucking nobody.

“Well look what the goddamned cat dragged in.” Jagger’s tone is harsh. I don’t miss the fact he’s sitting in my seat at the head of the table.

“Last I checked, I was above you and that was my chair.” My snarl has him grunting and moving to the bench. “Where are we at on Ramone?”

As Jagger starts in, I massage the muscle on the right side of my neck and sit down. It’s been three weeks since Hali and I made love in mer form in the ocean for the first time. Now, every waking moment, we’re exploring the ocean together. She even conned me into buying her an expensive underwater camera so she could take pictures of the sea life. I can’t get enough of her, my wife, and I fuck her just as much when we’re out of the water.

“What do you think?” Jagger questions, snatching me right from my blissful thoughts.

And this here is the problem. Life is getting in the fucking way of me possessing every molecule in her body. My responsibilities to this club are becoming a nuisance. I’m not cut out to lead them anymore. Hell, I don’t even care if I ever step foot in this clubhouse again. And that’s not fair to any of these guys. This club is their life.

My life is Hali.

“Repeat the last part,” I say gruffly.

“Guttenberg.”

I scowl at him. “Come again?”

“The new guy, the one we’ve checked out is called, Guttenberg. Some German fuck. Anyway, he’s got the goods. Cass and I already inspected his product. All we need is your okay on it, Mad Dog.”

My eyes flit to each of the men surrounding the table. I can see it in their expressions. Frustration. Irritation. Disappointment. It only solidifies what I came here to do today. They deserve more.

“Actually, Jagger,” I say and run my fingers through my hair, tousling it up. “Club rules state in the event of death of the president, VP steps up in his place.”

He stiffens from beside me and frowns. “You plan on dying soon, mate?”

The room is silent. I’m not sure any of them are breathing, simply holding a collective breath.

“I may as well be dead, huh? I’ve failed you all as president. My head’s gotten all twisted up with something else. It’s not fair to keep stringing you all along.” I scratch at the scruff on my jawline, another reminder of Hali. She likes it when I’m not clean shaven. Says I’m rugged and shit. “So, as the rules state, if the president dies or must leave his position, vice president takes over. This is my official resignation.”

Cassius lets out a full-bellied laugh, and several of the guys laugh nervously with him. “You’re shitting me right? What is this, April Fool’s or some crap?”

I give him a brief shake of my head. “I’m out, man.”

Jagger growls from beside me. Of course, he would be the most upset. We’ve been close since we were teenagers.

“Is this about a fuckin’ chick,” Steam demands, his voice dripping with disgust. “Club is full of willing whores and you gotta go out to find some strange. Then what? Fall in fuckin’ love like a goddamned pussy?”

“THAT IS ENOUGH!” Jagger roars and slams his fists into the table.

Steam has the sense to look nervous. He should be. Jagger’s his boss man now.

“Take care,” I say with a grunt as I stand.

“You leave and your money doesn’t follow. It’s club money. When you quit the Sinners, you don’t roll like a saint,” Cassius reminds me with sneer.

Jagger shoots him a glare. “What part of I’ve had a fucking ‘nough did you not get, asshole? Nobody moves. I’ll be back in five,” he barks out, his authority already being felt by the group. “I’ll walk you out.”

I nod and stand. All eyes are on me as I remove my jacket and toss it on the table. I give Moe a squeeze on his shoulder before I start out. “You guys are like family to me.”

“Were,” Steam grumbles under his breath.

Jagger growls at him as we pass. Once we’re outside, I straddle my bike and regard him with an apologetic stare. “I’m sorry, man.”

He smirks, and the kid I met in Chemistry class is suddenly before me. Haven’t seen him in a good decade and a half. “You are in fucking love.”

I shrug my shoulders in an attempt to feign disinterest. “Just have a new path I need to follow is all. You’ve got this shit covered. I’ll sell the condo and them I’m out of Miami.”

“What does Mama Constance think about this?” His voice is low, careful not to let others in on our conversation. We don’t talk about his family, and I don’t talk about mine. But we both know about the other since we go way back.

“She won’t be happy,” I tell him with a grunt. A grin tugs one side of my lips up. “But one look at my girl and she’ll give me her blessing. I wish I could elaborate, man. Just trust she’s worth leaving my brothers for.”

His face darkens, and I swear I sense understanding from him. He nods. “Take care, buddy. Club still has your back. You may be retiring like an old man, but this club has a fucking amazing retirement plan. It’s one that involves bullets should the need arise, but a plan that protects you, nonetheless. Always a Sinner, Mad Dog.”

He leaves without another word.

I leave a home that has welcomed me over the past decade to move on to my new home—a home that has nothing to do with a roof over my head, but everything to do with a door to my heart.

When I roll up to the condo, I want to climb off my bike and skip like a girl back to Hali. Unfortunately, she’s nowhere to be found inside. With a grin, I start chucking clothes as I make my way to the water. Most days, I find her scouring the shallow ends searching for shells. She never strays far, so she can hear me when I call for her.

Once I hit the water, I dive in. Not wasting a second, I transform quickly. As soon as my legs bind together and the ache in my chest subsides, I thrash my tail and dive deep into the water. I call out for her, searching the blue waters for her reddish halo. A smile plays on my lips, as I half expect her to sneak up on me from behind.

But she doesn’t.

And I call and call for her.

My pulse spikes as I consider something could be wrong. She never strays from the shore. Where the fuck is she? I’m working myself into a panic when something shiny catches my eye. Her camera. The lens on the front is cracked and the thing just sits on the ocean floor as if it belongs there. I swipe it into my hands. Opening the picture history, I take a look at the last picture she took.

My entire world implodes.

Blackish eyes stare back at me, partially hidden behind her mad sea of reddish blonde hair as I look at the screen. A man, or should I say a fucking
mer
man, has a hand clasped over her mouth in the picture. Someone else took the pictures, which means there could be two of them.

What. The. Fuck.

Rage consumes me. I will find those fuckers who took her and I will gut them, flay them, and make fucking fish tacos out of them.

Someone took my heart.

And I won’t stop until I have her back.

“W
ake up, princess,” a cold, familiar voice whispers.

My eyelids feel like they’ve been weighted down, but I attempt to blink them open. “What have you done?” I demand in a shaky voice.

When my eyes focus, I find the nearly black ones of Zee. A shudder ripples through me. My father just couldn’t stand it. He had to send in troops.

“I came to fetch what was rightfully mine. Steff said you were getting too close with some guy. Your father told me you needed a vacation. Time to sort things out. We never dreamed you’d run off and try to fuck the first guy you see,” he snarls.

I sit up and realize I’m on a hotel bed. The sliding glass door that overlooks the ocean is open. I momentarily contemplate making a run for it when I see the glow of a cigarette in the darkness. Then, in steps Steffan.

“You were in on this?” I question, betrayal making my voice quiver. “You weren’t random were you?”

Steffan shrugs his shoulders and laughs. It’s dark and fucked up. “No, princess, I was not some random. Such a silly girl. Not street smart at all. Which is why you belong with your goddamned family back at Cape Town where they can keep you from doing stupid shit.”

Tears prickle at my eyes, but I refuse to cry. Madden will find me. He has resources. He’d never let these assholes get away with taking me.

“You can’t force me to go back there,” I tell them both, my tone indignant. “I’ll just run away again.”

Zee shakes his head and sits beside me. His jaw clenches in a furious way. “You’re supposed to wed me, dear girl. This shit was supposed to happen when you turned eighteen. I have been lenient, but I’m tired of waiting. It’s been written in the books. Our families have an agreement bound in blood.”

I roll my eyes. “We’re part human too, moron. You act like we live these magical lives under the ocean, and that I’m supposed to follow bullshit rules that have been around for centuries. Well, newsflash, I don’t fucking care. Your father is nothing more than a real estate developer and my dad a damn politician. If the world knew you moonlighted as mermen, you’d be laughed at. Scorned. Times have changed, Zee. The time for arranged marriages and fixed bloodlines is archaic. This royal crap doesn’t exist on dry land. I refuse to be a part of it!”

Zee’s strong hand is at my throat in an instant. He grips it tightly, but doesn’t fully cut off my air supply. In the water, he has monstrous strength. Above water, he’s just an asshole.

“Hayden says we’re not to hurt her,” Steffan says with a growl behind Zee.

A flicker of disappointment flashes in Zee’s eyes, but he removes his hand. “Once we’re married, you’ll learn your place as my wife.”

At his words, I hide my hands between my thighs under the blanket that’s covering me. I’m wrapped in a robe. It irritates me that they both saw me naked. At the mention of the word wife, my ring finger tingles. I don’t need to see my finger to know the pale band, branded in my flesh, is shimmering. It freaked Madden out, once he realized our marriage was permanently etched on his finger. But the first time it glowed while we made love in his dark bedroom after our wedding, he told me it was incredible and beautiful. Like me. A smile plays at my lips.