“Here you go... ” Two minutes later, Donner was back in front of them, putting a beer in front of Duke before placing an electric blue cocktail in front of Zee.
Her cheeks flamed even hotter, a groan rising in her throat.
“And for you, honey, a Mermaid’s Orgasm.”
“That’s not my usual,” she said in a choked voice.
Donner gave her another look of pure innocence.
She fought the urge to pound her head—or his—against the surface of the bar. “It’s not? You and Meridia binged on them the last time you two were in here. Here. I’ll take it—”
“It’s fine,” she said, taking it before giving him a dark look that promised revenge. Turning to Duke and effectively dismissing Donner, she said, “So, why P-town?”
He hadn’t noticed Donner’s antics, or he’d chosen to ignore them, keeping his attention on her.
The clawing, tugging hunger inside her stretched even more. Stop, we don’t even know if we like him yet.
We don’t need to! The twin urges inside her were one on this. We need skin. We need touch. We need—
She slammed the door shut on the voices so she could focus on Duke.
After a few seconds, he looked up from her drink—the Mermaid’s Orgasm. “It’s very... blue.”
“The owner of the bar likes to play around with the recipes.” She took a sip of the fruity cocktail, acutely aware that almost everybody in the bar was sending glances her way, and more than a few were grinning, just like Donner. “So, the Midwest, huh? How long have you been stationed out here near the Cape?”
“Only a few weeks.” He gave her a boyishly charming grin. “My people lived in St. Louis. I got sick a lot when I was a kid. It was so bad one year, they thought I might not survive to see Christmas and since I'd always wanted to see the ocean, they took me to Virginia and we stayed at a hotel right on the coast. I got better eventually.” A bemused look entered his eyes and he shrugged. “Like a lot better. My folks were well off so my mom rented a house right on the beach while my father traveled back and forth for the next two years. I kept getting better. Then my dad died when I was nineteen. Mom slipped away less than a month later. Since I didn't have anybody else, I decided to join AC. I've been at almost every base along the Atlantic Coast.” He paused to give a teasing smile. “Once I hit Fort Lauderdale, I get a special souvenir, I hear.”
Charmed by the playful joke, she smiled at him. “And after that special souvenir, are you done or are you staying in for another six years?”
“As long as they keep stationing me in coastal bases? I'm in.” He shrugged. “I love the sea. It's not because of whatever crazy stuff made me sick as a kid. I grew out of that—doctors theorized it was some allergen local to that part of the country that caused a severe reaction in me, although others disagreed. I just...” He sighed, a far-off look in his eyes and a faint smile on his lips. “I love the sea.”
“Let me guess. You saw one of the mermaids on that first trip.” She couldn't help but return his engaging, charming smile.
“No.” He grinned. It was infectious, that smile, bright and humorous against his dark-as-coffee skin. “At least, if I did, they weren't in their water form. I'm sure I saw a few while I was there but I was too young to know human from Atargarian at that age. Plus, again, the Midwest. Not a lot of mermaids roaming there. There are plenty of Therians, although the largest populations in Missouri are the fox.”
That's why he doesn't know. Glee and hope now mixed with the hunger inside and she breathed a little easier, relaxed. She let him pull her into a conversation unlike any she'd had in recent memory.
“I've only met a couple of Therian foxes,” she said, smiling a little. She'd liked the mated pair she'd met just a few months after settling down here. They'd come on vacation to see the Cape and Zee had connected with the woman immediately, although it had hurt her heart to hear them talk about their den. None had asked about her own pack. It was considered rude to ask about what wasn't freely offered. “Do you miss home?”
“Not so much.” His smile faded. “To me, home was my mom and dad and with them gone, there's nothing left to go back to.”
Reaching out, she touched his hand. “I’m sorry.”
“Thanks. Let’s talk about something else, like that sexy-as-sin voice of yours. I think I’ll hear it in my dreams.”
Years of practice let her keep a straight face, even as she flinched inside. She had a handy lie, one she told to keep people from dwelling on it, because it did hurt to think about the soft, mellifluous voice she’d once had. Years ago, it had once been as bright and clear as a bell, she’d once been told.
“Actually... ” She gave him a pained smile that wasn’t entirely feigned. “I was injured when I was younger—my throat never healed well. I don’t like to talk about it.”
“Fuck, I’m sorry.” Duke winced.
“It’s okay. You didn’t know.” She touched his hand again, and this time, he turned his over and laced their fingers.
The contact made her breathless. Looking up into those dark, velvety eyes, she thought, Maybe... Please...
She was so tired of being alone, so tired of the aches inside that came from a complete lack of touch.
ZEE ACTUALLY FLIRTED.
And giggled.
And smiled so hard her face hurt.
Through it all, the hungry things within her demanded freedom.
She smashed them down time and again with the ease that came from years and years of containing those aspects of her nature.
Because she was part wolf, she understood in some ways. Therian wolves, like their animal counterparts, were pack creatures and they thrived best when with their pack.
Zee had no pack. She had nobody to offer the casual touches Therians grew accustomed to, and needed, almost from the beginning.
That other part of her, she understood little of it, but she felt the hunger, and the pain.
This hurt went deep, and it wasn’t an emotional pain, but a physical one. Lately, it was worse than normal too.
Tonight, that pain was edged with something sweeter.
Finally, she might be able to have sex and do something about the physical needs she’d had to stifle for so long.
A wolf wasn’t meant to be alone.
And the other aspect of her nature... she didn’t understand it, but the little she’d been able to learn had told her that touch wasn’t just wanted, but necessary. Those who were full-blooded would wither and die without touch. If she didn’t have Therian blood within, she would have wasted away a long time ago. She had nobody around to teach her more about that other eerie part of herself; her mother had died when she was a baby and Zee hadn’t even learned about this aspect of her nature until she was already a young woman, growing into a person who needed physical contact like it was her sustenance.
That need raged within her now.
More than an hour after he’d first arrived, Duke moved in so close, she felt the warmth of his breath brush over her lips and she had to choke back the whimper that almost escaped, thrash the other part into submission—and it didn’t want to listen.