MERMADMEN (The Mermen Trilogy #2) (17 page)

Roen seemed skeptical. “What about freeing the men and the maids?”

Shane shrugged. “I don’t know. But seems to me having the door opened for a discussion is better than drowning in a pissing match.”

“Why would she give in so easily?” Roen asked, clearly taking everything Shane said with a brick of salt.

“Who said she’s giving in?” Shane replied. “The Big Girl wants something. But hey—feel free to continue on your path. In which case, she says that the humans—”he glanced at Liv “—all of them, will start going mad, just like you saw happen to the men today. First, it will hit the coastal areas nearest us and then spread with the rain.”

Liv gasped. “Why would she do that?”

Shane shrugged. “Because she can.”

“I can’t believe this. You’re a disgusting bitch!” Liv yelled. “Do you hear me?”

Roen grabbed her arm and squeezed. “Liv, don’t provoke her. It won’t do any good.”

“I’m not going to cower to a bully. Because that’s what she is.”

Roen actually smiled for a second. She wondered why.

“I like her,” Shane said. “She’s got balls. Maybe as part of the package, the island will spare her. What do you think, Roen? All you gotta do is fight me.”

“Fine. Summon the elders so we may begin the discussion of terms.” Roen gestured for Liv and Dana to leave, following closely behind them like a protective watchdog.

“Ten minutes, Roen!” Shane called out. “See you in ten minutes.”

Under his breath, Roen cursed something about never getting a break and sex and aching balls and living in a
foking
hell. “Very well. See you in ten.”

Dana glanced over her shoulder at Shane and then asked Liv, “Why do I still want him? He’s so awful.”

“I don’t know,” Liv said, while they made their way out of the prison.

Once outside, Roen headed in the direction of his house. The late afternoon sun had replaced the drizzling gray clouds.

“Wait,” Liv called to Roen, whose panicked expression had turned to full-blown warpath. “Are you serious about fighting Shane?”

“Yes.” He stopped briefly so she and Dana could catch up. “First, I’m going to get you both back safely to my home.”

“What if he wins?” Liv asked.

Roen’s normally supple lips flattened into a thin, hard line.

Liv held up her hands. “Sorry. Of course you can kick his ass.” While both men fell into the “fierce warrior” category, Roen had a vibe that…well, he just had a vibe. Indestructible, larger than life, fearless. Shane was more of the shady type one expected to see in a dark alley, jumping out of the shadows, which made Shane more dangerous in some ways because he didn’t play by the same rules.

That wave of dread hit Liv once more, telling her a devastating event was charging in their direction, like some hideous runaway freight train filled with doom.

“I’m coming with you,” she argued.

He sighed with agitation. “I have to go and settle this. And you would only be a…” His eyes wandered down to the stretchy black fabric hugging her breasts.

Liv dipped her head to intercept his gaze. “I’m guessing you were about to say ‘distraction.’”

Roen vigorously shook his head from side to side. “Yes. Exactly. Dana will also be safer in my house, and she cannot be left alone right now.”

“Okay,” Liv conceded reluctantly. “But promise you won’t do any fighting tonight.” That dark cloud kept nudging the back of her mind.

Oh God. Please let me be wrong. I just want more time with him. Please.
Additionally, if she could figure out Crazy Dirt’s vulnerabilities, it might change the entire game. Roen wouldn’t have to fight anyone.

Roen replied, “It will likely happen tomorrow. Time is of the essence.”

Liv’s heart instantly felt like a bag of wet sand. If Roen lost, Shane wasn’t about to show him mercy. He would be dead. Dead. She couldn’t bear the thought and neither could her heart. No, she could survive almost anything, but not that. Then there was the little issue pertaining to Dana because, frankly, Liv didn’t think she’d care so much about herself in that scenario; she’d be too heartbroken. But Dana?

This goddamned nightmare just won’t end.
To the contrary, it kept getting uglier.

When Roen deposited them at his front door, he grabbed Liv by the waist and pulled her tightly against his hard frame. He kissed her, and her entire body melted into him. The taste of this man was like chocolate and red wine and those little lavender flowers that only bloomed in her mother’s garden in late spring and the smell of crisp fresh air and the sound of her family laughing around the dinner table, topped with a case study of an ancient civilization—all of her favorite things in this world rolled into one.

This is meant to be. It can’t end. It can’t…
Liv sucked up the urge to cry.

He slowly pulled away and bent his head toward her ear. “Don’t think I’ve forgotten what you’ve promised me, Liv. I’m going to settle the details of the challenge, and then I’m coming straight back here to foke you like an animal—per your request.”

Liv gulped. “Don’t for-for-get-get the making love and—oh, never mind. It’s a date.” She pushed the air back into her lungs.

Roen strutted away and Liv watched in utter fascination. While she appreciated those tanned broad shoulders and muscles rippling under the tight skin of his back, it was his determination and strength, his hard outer shell he used to shield and protect anyone and everything he cared about, that made her swoon. He was such a contrast to the man once deemed “soulless and money grubbing” by the media. Somehow, he’d found himself in this hellhole and become the most beautiful, sexy man she’d ever known.

I have to do something to save him. I have to.

“How come you got to fall in love with the nice one, and I got to fall in love with the bad one?” Dana asked, who’d been standing there the entire time.

Liv winced. “You are not in love, you idiot. You’re in…” What was the right word? “Mer-lust.”

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

After an hour-long heated debate in the great hall, where the healed men still buzzed after the “attack,” Roen, Shane, and the elders reached an agreement with the island via Naylor, who spoke for Her Majesty.

No, Roen didn’t feel at all satisfied with the outcome; however, the compromise would spare lives.

Except mine.

Roen should’ve known Shane would find some obscure law to circumvent a direct physical fight. Shane, after all, was a coward. And this was the one challenge Roen could not think or fight his way out of.
Foking Shane.

The only silver lining out of all this was that in exchange for “fighting” Shane, the island would halt her attack. Upon Shane’s victory, she would also agree to honor the original deal struck by their ancestors and allow any man who had sons on the island to leave with their mates. In other words, a merman could leave if he produced a replacement—that had been the deal. How many mermen qualified? They’d have to do a little work to figure that out. In most cases, they had no clue who’d fathered who. Their mothers swore—at risk of death—never to speak of the island or the men. That included mentioning Dear Old Dad. “What assurances do we have that our men won’t die before having the opportunity to leave?” Roen had asked. They lost men all the time in challenges or executions due to their extremely rigid, antiquated laws. The island’s response sounded too good to be true: killing, including fighting to the death, would be banned.

Did Roen trust the island wouldn’t double-cross him? No. However, he had two choices: continue on his path or this. Hell, if she backed out, their people always had the option to return to outright defiance. The potential gain was worth the risk.

All that said, Roen couldn’t deny he remained on the fence, still wanting in his heart to finish what he started; however, the island made one final offer he couldn’t pass up. It was the one thing he wanted more than anything…

Roen entered his home, detesting what would come next.

He found Liv and Dana in the library, heatedly debating the island’s powers. Both had their hair pulled into ponytails and wore those snug black dresses, but something about seeing that outfit on Liv’s feminine figure nearly undid him every time.
God, those curves.

His memories of every woman he’d ever been with during his shallow, human days had been completely erased from his mind, replaced by images of the most stunning woman in the world. Liv. He would regret never showing her how much he truly loved her.
You’ll be showing her in a moment. And someday, she will come to understand that.

“Hello, Liv,” Roen said in his most confident, non-alarming voice.

“Roen! What happened?” Liv jumped from the couch and ran to him.

He glanced over at Dana. “If you don’t mind, I’d like to speak with Liv for a moment.”

“Oh. I can leave,” offered Dana.

Roen held up his hand. “And have you run off again, looking for Shane? No.”

Dana smiled guiltily. “I’ll take anyone. You, for example, are really, really ho—”

“Let’s go.” Liv took Roen’s hand and pulled him outside, shutting the library doors behind them. He found it adorable when she behaved possessively.

“So?” She crossed her arms over her chest. Perhaps to keep him focused. He truly loved staring at her beautiful round…

“Roen?” Liv huffed impatiently, pulling him away from his lusty thoughts.

“Ah. Yes. I have news.”

“Spit it out.” Her brown eyes sparkled with so much life, so much hope and determination.

She truly is a work of art.

“It’s complicated,” he said.

“Oh no.” She covered her mouth. “It’s going to be some squirrelly island deal, isn’t it?”

“Squirrelly is not the word I would choose. Complicated with many pros versus cons might be more appropriate.”

Liv placed her hand over her heart. “Oh God. I’m so relieved. I thought you were going to give me bad news.”

He was. He absolutely was. And his heart felt like it might crack right down the middle because of it.

He continued. “There are several parts to the agreement; however, she has agreed to halt the attack on the men and landlovers. Also, the water will flow again.”

“That’s great! She knows she can’t kill you all off.”

Roen gave her a hushing glare.

“Sorry. I’ll let you finish.” Liv twisted an invisible key over her tantalizing puckered lips and threw it onto the ground, followed by a stomp, stomp.

Roen continued, “She has also agreed to honor an old agreement with our elders that allows for some of the men to leave with their mates. In exchange for these things, she wishes me to accept Shane’s challenge so he’ll have the opportunity to lead without the men questioning his strength. Of course, you know I’ve already consented to this, and if the island no longer wishes the Dorans to lead, then who am I to argue?”

“Are you done? ’Cause I have a question.”

He already knew what she wanted to ask. “The answer is no. I will not be permitted to live if Shane is victorious.”

Liv’s eyes filled with tears.

He added, “She feels extremely threatened by her inability to control me.”

“Wh-what if you win?” Liv asked.

Roen looked away. “I cannot win. This is the unspoken part of the agreement. My people’s freedom will only be honored after Shane is in power.”

~ ~ ~

The news instantly shredded Liv’s heart to ribbons. “This is what I was afraid of.” This was the something bad that would separate them. Permanently.

Oh God. What am I going to do? I can’t lose him. I can’t.

“An-and Dana?” Liv stuttered.

Roen looked down at the tiled floor, rubbing the tip of his thick strong fingers over the rich brown whiskers on his chin. “You and Dana are to be exiled from the island. No one may ever bring you back.”

Coming to grips with the full meaning of what Roen had said, tears filled Liv’s eyes. Lives would be saved, some of his men and their mates would be set free, and Liv and Dana would go home.
Roen’s life is the price.

“You can’t accept, Roen. Tell her no.”

“It’s far better than watching my men suffer and slit their own throats. It’s best for your people, too.”

Yes, but she suspected—she knew—his instincts to keep her safe had been a factor. Had she not been part of the equation, Roen might have chosen to stick to his guns and free everyone once and for all.

“You know you can’t trust her, Roen. The minute you’re gone, she’ll change her mind.”

He nodded solemnly, his green eyes washing over with a haze of deep pain. “Either way, I’ll be gone, which means you’ll be safe. You will serve no purpose to her, and my death will sever the bond between us.”

No. Dammit. No.
She couldn’t accept this. And she couldn’t allow him to accept this bullshit deal because of her. Her being there had made him weak, exactly like he’d said.

She wasn’t to blame, though. No. Fact: Liv hadn’t come to the island of her own free will. Fact: the island had manipulated Shane, the greedy bastard, to steal Liv away and bring her back, likely promising to make his dream of leading come true. Fact: the island then pushed and pulled and maneuvered the outcome, every step of the way, ensuring that Liv would serve her desired purpose: to control Roen. Dana had been brought along as leverage against herself. And what did the island really want? She guessed for Roen to stop trying to change things.

Fail. It didn’t work
. Roen couldn’t be so easily swayed, which likely shifted her plans to destroying him.
That’s what I’d do if I were a power-hungry demon from hell.

Yes, the island played a mean and evil game of Battleship, and it was a consistent one.
She uses love as her weapon
. Not physical strength (because she had none) or intelligence (that was a giant question mark). Only love. The men’s love of their maids. Roen’s love of his people. Roen’s error had been trying to play according to a noble set of rules. Only, it seemed the island’s view into their hearts was more of a one-way deal. They couldn’t see into hers, giving the evil bitch the advantage.
And she takes and she takes and she takes…