Joshua grinned and bought Anthony a beer. It was going to be a great show tonight, watching Alexia in action. He expected nothing less of the new Keeper, the soon-to-be-leader of their merfolk pod.
His lover.
His life partner. Even if she didn’t know it yet.
Alexia danced with yet another of the harem of men who had surrounded her the entire evening. It was gratifying to be the center of their attention, but there was a part of the shy little girl who still wondered why. Why they were being so attentive? Why every time another one of the Marley brother’s grasped her hand, her heart raced with anticipation only to calm within the first few minutes of their time on the dance floor?
It wasn’t that she didn’t find them attractive. Her whole body pulsed with need and her panties were soaking wet. Yet each thrill that shot through her faded from the peak so rapidly she wondered what was wrong. Her gaze swung around the room, seeking someone who hadn’t arrived yet.
Michael rose and took her into his arms. “You look like you’ve almost had enough dancing for tonight.”
“I never realized so many of Jaffrey’s Cove would be here. It’s like another Marley family reunion, isn’t it?” Alexia smiled briefly at the thought of the first reunion she’d participated in, no matter how unknowingly.
His grasp tightened around her waist as he pulled her closer. Alexia hesitated. She’d rebuked others for trying the same thing earlier, but she was too damn horny to stop herself anymore. His arms felt wonderful around her, though a little niggle of doubt remained. He wasn’t the one she really wanted.
But at this point she didn’t give a damn. Every nerve in her body screamed to be touched. He was gorgeous, attentive and available, that had to count for something. Michael slipped his hand lower on her back, caressing through the fabric. His touch eased her and she relaxed in his arms. It felt so good to be held and petted. Alexia dropped her head onto his shoulder and closed her eyes as they danced.
“Would you like to go for a walk on the shore before I take you home? Or would you like to walk back to your house?”
Alexia’s heartbeat sped up. Gram wasn’t at the house, and this beautiful man was going to escort her home. All the pent-up sexual frustrations of the day screamed at her to seize the offer. The blood flow to her breasts increased, and her nipples tightened as their bodies rubbed intimately together.
But she needed not to get ahead of herself. Perhaps he was only planning on taking her home as a favor to her grandmother. It was obvious the town folk bent over backwards to make her Gram happy.
She tried to be nonchalant. “That would be nice. If you have time. I don’t want to keep you from anything. You’ve been very giving already this evening.”
Michael erased all worries he’d offered a mercy date as he pulled their bodies even closer, his erection a firm statement of need against her belly. He lowered his mouth toward hers, lips inches away, and she was ready to lift her mouth and accept the homage when a husky voice broke in.
“I think it’s my turn for a dance.”
Alexia shivered, her skin lit on fire as Michael’s hands tightened further on her body. She twisted in his arms and stared into the brilliant green eyes she’d dreamed about for years. A shot of adrenaline flew though her.
This was what she’d been waiting for. Who she’d been waiting for. Automatically she reached a hand toward him.
A sudden jerk stopped her fingers inches away from Joshua’s, and her head whipped around to see Michael glare daggers at the new arrival.
Joshua grinned back, a cocky expression meant to offend.
Both men had their backs up and Alexia couldn’t believe her response. The thought they both wanted her took her beyond excited. Her womb clenched, moisture flooded, preparing her to join intimately with the one she chose. A laugh rose from her throat, sultry, demanding. Impulsively she clasped Joshua by the hand and pulled him close.
Michael huddled at her back, Joshua at her front, and she let out a purr of contentment. Surrounded by hard male, her senses went on overload as Joshua lowered his mouth to cover hers. His taste sparked her arousal even higher, her hands pulling him closer. Behind her Michael nuzzled her neck, and she let her head fall to the side as his lips and teeth traveled over the tendons and muscles.
Alexia’s body throbbed with the need to be filled, to be satisfied, and she reached back with one hand to hold Michael close, his cock pressed to the crack of her ass. Joshua’s erection dug into her thigh, heat branding her body.
The voice of reason interrupted. What the hell was she doing? She opened her eyes and glanced around the room. She stood on the dance floor, groping two men while their brothers and cousins watched. Her face flushed, her mind incredulous that she’d lost all control and behaved in such a risqué manner. There was not a censorious eye in the room, but her temperature elevated and her embarrassment rose three hundred percent.
“Holy crap. I’m sorry, I need some air.” She pushed hard on Joshua, thrusting him away from her, twirled out of Michael’s arms and fled the room.
Chapter Four
Joshua ducked as Michael swung at him.
“Whoa, tiger. You want to save the he-man routine for later? We’d better go after Alexia and try to explain to her what’s happening. I think you freaked her out.” Joshua motioned toward the open door Alexia had raced out.
Michael tugged his shirt to straighten it, his eyes dark as he glowered at Joshua. “She wouldn’t have gotten upset if you hadn’t come on so strong. What the hell were you thinking? She has no idea about merfolk traditions yet you acted like she was ready to take us both on.”
Joshua stood his ground. “Oh, the two on one wasn’t my idea. It was hers, and it was a natural reaction to the testosterone dump she got from having every single one of the unmated males in the pod here tonight. You don’t think that was a bad idea? Alexia was just given the Keeper’s necklace, and you go and stoke her fires to an inferno without even taking the time to explain anything.”
“Back off. You know you’re not allowed near her,” Michael spat out.
Joshua laughed. “Victoria didn’t warn me off and unless she does, or Alexia, I have as much right as any of you to court her. I’m going after her. I suggest you and I go alone because she really will freak if she sees a gang coming after her.”
An uneasy truce between them, the brothers headed out the door toward the shoreline. Alexia sat huddled on a recliner in the distance, her arms wrapped around her torso. Anthony’s jacket lay over her shoulders and the wiry blond squatted in front of her, his hand resting on her knee as he spoke to her. Joshua nodded to himself. Anthony was the perfect one to help explain the mess.
“Oh hell, Anthony too?” Michael complained through clenched teeth.
“Relax, you know it will take at least two of us to help her make the change. She seems to have already picked you and me, judging from her reaction on the dance floor. As much as I dislike it, having Anthony available as a third will only ensure she completes the transformation safer and quicker.”
Michael glared at him, his nostrils flaring. He appeared far rougher and on edge then the smooth and relaxed lawyer about town he liked to portray. “Don’t be so sure you’re going to be a part of anything. I have no intention on sharing with you unless I have to. And then it would only be for the one time to help change her and never again.”
Joshua grabbed his brother by the arm and whipped him around to stand face to face. He forced himself to relax his clenched fists. The thought of anyone, especially Michael, touching Alexia made him crazy, but he had to trust she’d make the right decision. “I remind you again, it’s not your choice.”