Beneath
The Surface by M.A. Church
Published By: OmniLit / All Romance eBooks, LLC
Published: Apr 01, 2016
Word Count: 37,000
Published: Apr 01, 2016
Word Count: 37,000
Release date: 4/1/16
Blurb:
A
whole different world exists beneath the surface.
The
last thing Nisha expects while patrolling his territory is to find his mate,
but his instincts tell him the handsome human diving into the surf is the one
meant for him. Two bites and Kannon will be joined to him forever. But when
Kannon’s father disrupts the mating process, Nisha releases his claim, hoping
beyond hope his mate will one day return.
While
free diving with his father, Kannon is bitten by a seductive merman. Although
he swore to never go near the ocean again, the pull to return to the water and
his mystery man remains strong. Finally, after fifteen years away, an impromptu
wedding brings Kannon back to the Seychelles, and his destiny.
Kannon
only plans to stay on the island for a week, but this time Nisha won’t let his
mate go without a fight. Merfolk and human culture collide as the embers of
Nisha and Kannon’s mate bond ignite, and Nisha must complete the mating before
it’s too late.
Excerpt:
The
guide had warned them to stay together, but Kannon had other ideas. Besides, he
wasn’t going that far off. After investigating the colorful reef fish and
interesting coral formations—and seeing his dad was distracted—Kannon slowly
but steadily wandered off on his own. An outcrop of rocks covered in algae
caught his eye, and he went to investigate.
Many
of the multihued native fish swam past him, curious as to what he was. It was
funny how they circled him. Kannon held his hand out. A few braver fish darted
in, nibbled at his fingers, and then swam off. God, what a rush it was. Nothing
was better than this.
He
drew closer to the outcrop, surprised it was much deeper than he’d first
thought. Huh, not an outcrop, but the mouth of an underwater cave. Cool. From a
distance it appeared to be nothing more than oddly shaped rocks. Peering
inside, he was unable to see past the murky blackness within.
Curious,
he reached his hand out, stretching toward the mouth of the cave. His scalp
prickled. A tingle washed through him. The water around him caressed his body
as he hung weightlessly, staring at the cave entrance as his dick swelled in
his trunks. What the…?
It
wasn’t as if he made a habit of getting horny while diving, so what the hell?
Torn between desire and unease, he hovered in the tropical water. Chills chased
up his spine, and goose bumps broke out over his body.
His
heart rate sped up—not a good thing underwater—and the feeling of being watched
crept across his nerves. Something was in there, and his mind screamed at him
to get away even as the urge to reach inside nearly overwhelmed him.
Kannon’s
body swayed dangerously closer. His nipples ached as the water flowed past, and
he had to force himself not to whimper as need struck him. He jerked back.
There’s something waiting for me, just waiting for me to reach in so it can...
what? So it can do what?
Jesus,
he needed to get a serious grip on his imagination, and crap, he had to surface
too. Lack of oxygen made the decision for him. All this panicking on his part
had used up his air—stupid of him.
He
surfaced and shook the hair out of his eyes. Wow, is that our boat way over
there? Oh man, Dad’s going to kill me. Worried about the fit his dad was going
to have, he was totally unprepared for the strange guy who popped up next to
him, although “guy” might have been overly nice.
Kannon
yelped, but the dude across from him just smiled. The androgynous, fey face
wasn’t quite human. The long pointed ears were a good indication, as was the
glimpse of sharp little teeth.
Oh,
and the gills at its neck.
Azure
blue hair floated in the water around shapely shoulders and cobalt blue eyes
stared back at him. It was a visage that was hauntingly beautiful,
otherworldly, and a tad disconcerting. The creature smiled slightly as if he
agreed. It—whatever it was—scared the bejesus out of him.
Then
it reached out and dragged Kannon under the water. Oh. My. God. Terror struck,
and Kannon fought, kicking furiously as he tried to twist away, but it did no
good. The creature was too strong, and its hands were everywhere.
Kannon
fought to hold his breath. He needed to get to the surface and… he froze—just
stopped fighting as something thrashed behind the other guy, churning up the
water. No way. He stared in shock at the, the... its upper part looked like a
regular human torso, but the bottom—a tail? That’s a... a... no way!
The
unbelievable sight of a tail—a long, shimmery tail with iridescent scales—was
attached to the guy in front of him. It glistened in the sunlight that filtered
through the water. There was only one human-like sea creature he knew of with a
tail—and that was mermaids. Or mermen. Merfolk? Whatever. Those were
make-believe.
And
this make-believe creature was trying to kill him.
Then
it kissed him full on the lips, and thoughts of his murder flew out of his head
along with every other rational thought. Before he could react, it stopped the
kiss and twirled him around so they were chest to back. Well now, if he had any
doubt it was male, he had his answer now.
There
was no mistaking the hard cock poking him. The merman held him securely as they
floated in the water. That marvelous fluked tail slowly flipping back and forth
caused their lower bodies to rock together. It was kind of nice and… then the
merman sank his teeth into the fleshy area between Kannon’s neck and shoulder.
Oh fuck! What the what?
Pain
exploded through him, and he arched helplessly as he fought not to cry out
underwater. But as rapidly as it appeared, the sharp pain faded. The creature’s
hand gently trailed up and down his chest. Is that a fin below its wrist?
Lassitude
invaded him. He knew, just knew, this was where he was supposed to be. He
belonged here with the merman. Tingles raced through his body. I’m home. Even
the teeth still buried in his neck didn’t bother him, but in the distance he
heard something. A voice… and it sounded upset. Scared.
It
dragged at his mind. He needed to do… to do something. That voice he heard was…
was… someone special. He needed to listen to it and… something. The creature
looked up and sighed. It trilled softly in his ear then propelled him upward.
Water rushed past Kannon, and his head broke the surface.