Into the Triangle (4 page)

"Are you copying me?" he asked. The merman smiled slightly and continued to watch him with those deep, gray eyes, as if expecting something.

Deciding to test his theory, Gabe pulled his mouth down into a deep, clown-like frown. The mer copied it exactly, pale lips turning down into a mockery of a frown. Gabe burst out in laughter with how silly the man looked. The merman smiled back at him, entire face lighting up as Gabe's laughter filled the lagoon. Next Gabe raised one eyebrow then the other, wiggling them back and forth. The mer began to wiggle his own brows, and Gabe lost it again, giggling madly.

It was such an odd situation, and part of Gabe didn't even believe it was actually happening. Another part of him just relished the ease and laughter, especially after all the stress he'd been experiencing since the plane crash.

"So, you're just not going to talk to me, are you?" Gabe questioned. The merman cocked his head in response.

A sudden idea stuck him, a memory from his childhood. "Wait, is this a kind of
Little Mermaid
thing, and how the mermaid can't speak when out of the water?" The merman smiled widely in response. Gabe suspected he was onto something. "As long as it's not because some evil octopus woman stole your voice, I guess we're good. Okay, so if you can't talk to me, I can talk to you, right?" The mer watched him closely, as if not quite understanding what he was saying, but liking Gabe's tone of voice anyway.

"This is so weird," Gabe murmured to himself. "I must be crazy, having a one-sided conversation with a mysterious merman that has claimed me as a chosen mate." Still, Gabe couldn't stop himself from lying down on the rock, so that his upper torso hung closer to the mer, who was just inches below him in the water.

His fingers itched to touch the dark green hair that floated about the merman's pale shoulders. Gabe found himself unable to look away from the water; enchanted by the way it teased and tangled the long locks. Before he could even question as to why, Gabe reached out and snagged the closest piece as it floated near, running it through his fingers. It surprised him, how smooth and slick the dark green hair felt as it curled around his fingers. For some reason, he half expected the hair to feel slimy, like seaweed or algae; but instead it was nice and fine, almost silky.

So lost in thought, Gabe jumped when something cool and wet brushed against the side of his face.

It took him a moment to realize that while he'd been distracted by the texture of the hair, the merman had reached out and lightly ran his fingers down Gabe's cheek.

Gabe held perfectly still while the mer explored.

The other man seemed fascinated by the texture of his skin, and the merman kept running his fingers over Gabe's blushing cheek in seeming amazement. Gabe could feel his face grow even hotter under the handsome mer's frank appraisal, and he couldn't stop himself from shivering in arousal when the merman traced his fingers down his cheek and onto his neck. Closing his eyes, Gabe allowed himself a moment to enjoy the sensation of someone touching him because they actually wanted to, for no other reason than they found him interesting.

It had been a long time since he'd felt anything but used and discarded.

The mer's touch traveled over his neck then it paused just below his left ear. Then fingers began to poke and prod beneath his hair and across his skin, as if searching for something. Opening his eyes, Gabe saw his own puzzled confusion reflected in the merman's eyes.

"What is it?" he asked. "Is something wrong?"

The mer seemed to hesitate for a moment then pulled his hand back. Reaching up, the merman moved aside the long, tangled fall of his lovely green hair on one side of his head, exposing the skin below his ear to Gabe's gaze.

"Holy shit! Are those gills?" Gabe stared in amazement as he watched the tiny slits that were slightly raised up in the merman's skin, opening and closing as if seeking air. The pale pink skin along the raised portion of skin was dotted with what looked like tiny blue and green scales. "Amazing…"

Looking over the rest of the merman's body, Gabe could now see everything he'd been too oblivious and confused to notice before. Other than the gills, the mer sported more scales over his shoulders and along the edges of his arms; their blue-green color flashed in the sunlight. The scales seemed to melt into pale, unblemished skin of the merman's waist below his bellybutton, becoming the large tail covered in blue and green scales. Muscular and strong, the merman was beautiful and exotic, and something about him called to Gabe in an almost primal way, tugging at his chest.

But the most amazing thing of all, was the thumbnail-sized black pearl located on the mer's forehead, in the same exact spot as Gabe's own.

"I didn't imagine it," Gabe whispered to himself. "After the plane crash, you saved me. You pushed air into my lungs and gave me this pearl I'm wearing… The last thing I remember is passing out; I probably never would have made it to the beach if it weren't for your help."

The pearl itself seemed to confirm for him this wasn't just a twisted dream, and he actually was lying there on the large boulder, face to face with a merman. Reaching up with one hand to touch his own still-aching pearl, he reached out with his other hand to touch the smooth, black stone embedded in cool, pale skin before him.

Just as his fingers made contact, Gabe's hand was caught in the merman's grip, the pressure making his already scraped and bruised palms sting anew.

Gabe froze, unsure what was happening.
Have I broken some sort of no touching code
?
Aaron said the pearl means the mer has claimed me as a potential mate, but what if he's wrong
?
Maybe I've already screwed up and now this fantasy come to life doesn't want me anymore
…

The mer didn't push Gabe's hand away however; instead, he turned them over, exposing the raw and reddened flash of his palms. Gabe winced when he saw the state his hand was in. Glancing down, he noticed the other one was in just as bad condition. Being struck stupid by the merman before him had allowed his mind to push back the pain, but now Gabe was focusing on his hands, they hurt like hell.

Reaching up, the mer snagged Gabe's other hand from where it rested on the rock, turning it over to expose the injured side as well.

He looked up at Gabe, a frown marring his handsome face as he nodded down at the abused flesh. Pain flashed through his eyes as he stared down at the ripped up hands he held.

"I tripped and caught myself on a tree," Gabe explained lamely, only realizing after he said it the mer probably didn't even know what a tree was. "Um, yeah, I scratched it on the bark, although you probably don't know what bark is. Anyway, I also scratched them up worse when I climbed up here into the rocks. Not that they're too bad; I mean I'm lucky after the plane crash this is one of the worst of my injuries, and it didn't even happen until I was back on dry land—oh!" Gabe gasped when the mer, who up until this time had ignored his rambling, began to lightly stroke his thumbs over each of the injured palms, holding Gabe's hands tightly in his grip when he to pull away.

"Please, that
hurts
, don't…" Gabe's complaints melted away when the stinging, burning sensation faded, leave nothing but tingling warmth in its wake, traveling up his arms from his hands. He could only watch in shock as with each pass of thumbs over reddened flesh, Gabe's skin began to slowly heal and all the cuts and abrasions knitted back together, leaving unblemished flesh behind.

"You-you healed me," he whispered, looking up from his now completely smooth palms into warm, gray eyes. "Thank you." Tears burned behind his eyelids and Gabe looked away, unable to understand the emotions flowing through him.

Why did he heal me
?
No one has ever done something for me out of the goodness of their heart
…
they always want something in return. Could he have an angle
?
No, that just doesn't feel right
…
but after William, I have a hard time trusting this stranger isn't trying to butter me up for something. But I still don't understand why he would help me; why he continues to help me
?
What's so amazing about me that he'd mark and claim me as his own
…?
I'm a nobody
…

Suddenly, large hands were cupping his face, and Gabe found himself gently turned until he was looking down at the merman again. Storm-cloud eyes were filled with something Gabe couldn't define.

He opened his mouth to say something—what, he wasn't sure; perhaps an answer to the emotion he didn't have a name for, perhaps a denial… but he never got the chance to say a word.

Cool, wet lips suddenly pressed against his own and a surprisingly warm tongue pushed into his mouth.

Gabe didn't know what to do. Did he pull away, or stay put until the mer was done kissing him. And then, as if a switch was flipped somewhere deep inside him, Gabe's thoughts faded and his every sense focused in on the cool hands cradling his cheeks and the unique, sweet, saltwater taste of the merman's mouth. He found himself responding to the kiss, twining his tongue with the one trying to devour him, whimpering and pushing closer as he lost himself in the merman's arms. His cock was aching, painful where it rubbed against the unforgiving stone beneath him, and goosebumps rose all over his body as Gabe shivered, swamped by the sensations unlike anything he'd ever felt before.

All of his past relationships seemed dull and inconsequential in that moment, and Gabe forgot about William and the troubles back in the real world; he forgot about the Triangle and the secrets still waiting to be revealed, and he relished in the moment. Opening his mouth wider, Gabe allowed himself to relax and sink his face deeper into the merman's hands.

I don't ever want this to end
…

He felt himself slipping; Gabe didn't know if he was being pulled off the rock or sliding off on his own, but for a brief moment he felt like he was falling… the mer and ocean waiting for him with open arms…

"Gabriel?"

Jerking back, Gabe caught himself before he could fall into the water, eyes widening when he realized just how close he was to falling in; he hung half-way off the rock.

"Gabriel!"

"What?" He pushed up on his hands, staring down at the mer who looked up at him with a strangely disappointed look. It was then he realized someone else was calling his name, looking for him.

The merman was still silent.

"I-I'm sorry, I have to go. Somebody's coming," Gabe said softly. He didn't want to leave, but that was all the more reason he should.

"Gabriel, where are you?" the voice called again, getting closer. Gabe thought he recognized it as Aaron's.

For some reason, Gabe didn't want him to see his merman. "Please, you have to go before we're found. Please go…" This mysterious being was his, and as much as Gabe liked Aaron, he didn't want to share. Selfish maybe, but he couldn't help how he felt.
Just once, I want something this special to belong to only me.

The mer looked so sad as he slid back into the water, moving away from the rocks where he lay, Gabe wanted to cry and his chest ached with the need to call him back.

"I'm sorry," he whispered instead. "I'll come back soon, I promise."

Water slipped over the merman's head and he disappeared into the depths of the lagoon.

"Gabriel?!" The voice hollered again, sounding panicked now.

"O-over here," Gabe called back, voice rough from suppressed tears. Behind him in the jungle, he could hear someone coming toward him, crashing through the brush.

Standing up, Gabe ignored the discomfort of his body from lying for so long, instead focusing on the tranquil ocean waters he could see just past the lagoon.

"I never even got to learn his name," he sighed softly, stealing one last look before turning and walking back toward the jungle.

A strange wave rolled in from the ocean into the lagoon, crashing up on the rock Gabe had just vacated with violent force. Gabe jumped in alarm then froze in shock.

There, in between the crashing of the waves upon the rocks, he could have sworn he heard a name being whispered.

"
Paxton
."

Chapter 5

"Hey, where did you disappear to?" Aaron asked, frowning and looking puzzled as Gabe slipped through the trees and away from the beach. "I told you I'd be right back."

Gabe opened his mouth to respond, but nothing seemed to come out. He was still too amazed and confused by recent events—lips still tingling from the searing kiss he'd received from his merman—to form a proper response. Aaron must have noticed Gabe's apparent state of shock, because his confusion melted into worry.

"Hey, are you okay?" Aaron asked, as he moved quickly over to Gabe's side, wrapping a comforting arm around his shoulder.

Gabe couldn't stop himself from shivering as the heat of the other man's skin touched him. It was so different from the cool, strong embrace from the merman that he found himself unsettled from the innocent touch. Gabe slipped out from under Aaron's arm and turned to face him, attempting to give a reassuring smile.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to worry you. I just needed…" Gabe frowned suddenly. "Come to think of it, I don't really know why I felt like I needed to come out here. It was like the beach called to me." He could still remember the strange tugging feeling in his chest that had made him wander away from the village, and it made little sense to him now after the fact. He hadn't thought about it much before, but now he was away from the beach and his mysterious merman, the strange sensation and its powerful effect on him really bothered Gabe.