Warrior’s Kiss- Mountain Mermaids Read online

  Swimming toward the woman, I reached her before she sank to the silty lake bottom and hooked my arms around her. With a powerful swish of my tail, I towed the woman to the surface and pushed her onto the rocky beach. Thankfully, the rocks were old and worn down, nothing would cut her up. As I climbed onto the shore beside her and left the water, a tingle down the length of my tail as the tissue tore and it cleaved into two legs. The green scales were replaced by sturdy legs.

  Scooting closer to her, I looked her over. She wasn’t breathing, nor was she moving. Moving quickly, I tried to mimic what I’d witnessed the humans do on land and began chest compressions, trying to force the water from her airway. Lowering myself, I pressed my lips to hers and tried pushing air into her lungs, prayed to the Old gods to let the woman spit out the lake water. Time ground to a halt as I worked over her. When her body drew up and choked up the water from her lungs, I rushed her to her side, facing away from me to cater to her delicate sensitivities. Most women didn’t take too kindly to men walking around, proud and bare as the day they were born anymore. It was an aspect of society I didn’t care for.

  Sputtering and coughing so hard I was surprised she could breathe at all, the woman shot upright, knocking me off my feet in the process while I tried to check her over and make sure she was clearing the liquid from her lungs. She gasped, holding her chest, and her hand shot out grabbing onto my shoulder to keep her steady.

  “Whoa, there. Slow down. I think you hit your head when you fell into the lake. Don’t make any quick movements…like flailing around,” giving the wide-eyed woman a pointed stare.

  She adjusted so she was sitting easily on her own and felt the side of her head, wincing when she found the spot she’d hit. She hissed a breath through her teeth, prodding along the area as she took in the extent. Droplets of water dripped from the tips of her hair; the urge to rub the water away and push her hair back from her face bloomed before I stuffed it back down and steeled myself to not moving an inch toward her.

  “You might want to have that looked at,” I added, sitting back to give the woman some room.

  I took the time to really get a look at her. She was taller than most women, but not so tall as to make her stand out either. Her hair was soaked and looked black, but I knew it to be dark brown from before she’d fallen. Dark eyes matched her locks, not obsidian, but close. A smattering of freckles danced over her nose and cheeks, giving her face a youthful quality. She had bow-shaped lips which looked like they could lure men to their demise. She was beautiful, voluptuous, and sopping wet…and not in the way I would have typically preferred.

  Wow, Ivar. You really are fucked up, you pervert. Now is not the time to be thinking such things. She’s just been through an ordeal.

  My brows drew together as I watched her survey herself. She was efficient as she checked over every inch of herself, assessing like a knowledgeable healer.

  “Thanks for, uh, pulling me out of the water?” the woman squinted around, scanning rocky shore around us, clearly unsure of what had happened.

  That was good. If she didn’t remember any of what happened, everyone was better off for it. Her curious gaze flicked over me, lingering on my lower half.

  “Why the fuck is you naked?” the accusation was clear, and it didn’t look good for me.

  Shit. I had to think fast.

  “I had gone for a swim when I saw you fall into the lake. I didn’t have time to run back to shore for my clothes before you drowned,” I answered quickly, wanting the woman to get her wits about her and leave the lake.

  She peered at me like she didn’t quite believe the tale but decided to let it slide. Although, I admit I did catch her gaze dropping to my exposed manhood more than once, her cheeks heating a little.

  “Do you think you’ll be okay? I’d hate to leave a woman in a vulnerable situation,” I asked, eager to get to my cabin and get on with my time topside.

  She gave me a curt nod, pushing onto her knees and staggering to her feet unsteadily. The woman was most definitely not all right. I stood with her, grasping onto her when she stumbled and nearly fell again.

  “Take it easy,” I reiterated.

  Thankfully, this time she didn’t fight me and accepted my help willingly. I wanted to shake some sense into her and commend her for her fortitude, all while fucking her senseless. It left me in a confused, awkward place where I didn’t know what more to do.

  “I’m sorry to inconvenience you and I can’t begin to thank you for saving me. I don’t even know what to say.”

  Her cool fingers gripping my arms as I steadied her, and her gaze dipped to my bare shoulder.

  “Shit, look at you. You’ve still got seaweed stuck here,” she frowned, and her hand slid up my arms and tried to brush off the offending object of her focus.

  There was one problem though. The seaweed she spoke of wasn’t seaweed at all. It was my mark, the one I’d been cursed with that fateful day so long ago when I’d begun this half-life split between the land and the water. It was a mark I’d hated for a thousand years, one I knew a woman would never see. Yet, here she was. I felt a spark as her fingers ran over my green-scaled patch, her body stiffened, and I felt the whole world shift as understanding took hold.

  It was impossible.

  I couldn’t have a mate.

  Yet here she was. Her eyes rolled back into her head as I knew exactly what images she was seeing. This woman, this stranger, was bearing witness to my entire existence, to the curse which led to this fate, and to the whole truth of what I was. This woman was my mate, the woman created to break my curse. Her grip on my arm tightened and then her whole body fell lax, losing consciousness. I caught her before she made it to the ground and lifted her into my arms. This woman was a stranger and now, she was mine.

  Well, fuck.

  3

  Makenna

  As soon as my fingers brushed over the green scales, I was transported to another place and a time long, long ago. This man before me was far older than his appearance betrayed. I saw him as a child, Ivar. That was his name. I saw him as he grew into a man, strong and capable. He was a warrior, a Viking. Each tattoo he bore told a piece of his story, of battles and great raids. I saw as he took a wife and she bore him a daughter. Their painful goodbye tugged at my heart and I felt their hope at a successful journey that would be swift and carry him home.

  He never came.

  Tamsin’s rage bled all over the land with her broken heart, cursing the raiders- Ivar’s people. His legs had fused into the green scaled tail I’d witnessed in the water and he’d been bound to the lake for all those years, cut off from everyone he’d loved. Their voyage had promised so much, but only offered their demise.

  A love so true, the earth rejoiced.

  A betrayal so cruel, the stars cried.

  Those that chose to ignore my pain,

  Will forever be bound to the earth they

  Tried to steal. My heart is black to their

  Cries of pain. Your souls will twist in

  The mud below just as the fish dig for food.

  You’ll suffer as I have under each full moon.

  Until such time that you find your true love.

  Those words echoed loud and clear in my brain and I felt like I was grasping at straws while trying to understand what that meant for me. True love? Was that me? Did I even believe in such things? I had more questions than answers. The only thing that was crystal clear was this man had known pain, and he’d known loss. His fierce stare was the last thing I saw before the darkness of shock swallowed me whole.

  Slowly, I came back to my senses and drifted to the surface from my dream-filled slumber. I wasn’t the least bit rested and if I hadn’t heard movement nearby, I would have likely rolled over and fallen asleep. That would’ve given me the safety of being able to write off what I’d seen as a fantastic dream.

  Nothing more.

  However, that wasn’t the case. Nothing about the bed or the scent around me was famili
ar. I hesitated, not sure whether to bolt from the bed and make a run for it or to stay, the vision still crystal clear in my mind.

  Merpeople?

  No fucking way. Legends. Myths. Fairytales told to children to put them to sleep. Nothing more…or were they? Logic told me absolutely not, but how else could I explain what I’d seen?

  My body ached and the pain in the side of my head throbbed. All of my limbs felt like they were weighed down with lead. Sand seemed to fill my eyes, making it gritty to move them or attempt blinking.

  Instead, I kept my eyes shut and listened to movement nearby. It was him. Ivar. I didn’t have to open my eyes to feel his presence nearby. The memories of the visions I’d had rocked through me with clarity. The lake…it really was holding secrets. Since I’d seen his mark and seen his history, the premonition had been clear. This man was supposed to be my true love: a Viking raider who was over a thousand years old and had all those years of baggage with him. It seemed impossible, but I’d seen it with my own eyes. How could this have been kept a secret all this time? Surely, there had to be people who knew about it, a cover-up spanning dozens of generations. I didn’t know what to believe, although the tiny voice in the back of my head whispering this was my illness rearing its ugly head.

  Just a new manifestation of your trauma. See? You’re losing ground here, losing the battle to stay sane. How long will you be able to hold on before everyone else realizes the truth? You’re crazy. The vicious voice that constantly whispered every doubt and fear I had reared its ugly head right then. I didn’t want to be crazy. I wanted this to be real. Seeing the way Joe had broken constantly worried me that I would follow his path. Was this the beginning of my break with reality? I didn’t know, but I hoped not. If what I had witnessed at Sapphire Lake was true, it meant the stormy-eyed stud muffin was here somewhere. Right then, I made a deal with myself. If when I got up and went to check everything out and the man was nowhere to be found, I’d check myself into the hospital and seek treatment. On the off chance I did see him, I’d stay. I didn’t know what I’d do beyond that, however it was a start.

  Laying there quietly, I listened to his native language as it rolled off his tongue in the middle of a heated argument with himself. I didn’t understand his words, but I knew I was the cause of his agitation. Hell, this wasn’t going the way I wanted it to…wait, how did I want it to go? I wasn’t sure I even wanted a man in my life right now.

  The pain in my head grew as I pondered life problems harder than I was ready to. My brain was bruised, concussed, and overwhelmed. I relented, admitting defeat this time and let sleep take me again.

  There was no telling how long I was under, but it was long enough for my muscles to begin aching with sleep and lack of use. When I moved and stretched, my muscles began to protest and threaten cramping, so I moved very carefully. Finally, my eyes felt lighter and I could manage cracking them open. Stretching out, I felt a few pops and cracks as everything loosened from my long slumber.

  When I did, I realized it was daylight and the sun was streaming brightly through the bedroom window. Groaning, I pushed upright and scooted up the bed I was tucked into. I was alone in the room and I heard no one outside the closed bedroom door either. I wasn’t familiar with where I was and wondered if this was his home. Did the cursed folk have homes on land too? There were a lot of things I had questions about, but no answers to. They just weren’t in the Viking curse crash course I’d been given.

  Fuck, I still couldn’t believe it.

  This shit wasn’t real life. If Ivar was nowhere to be found, maybe I really had made the whole thing up. I’d had a mental break down and lost touch with reality. That could explain every event of the last twenty-four hours or so, or so I thought. I still didn’t know how long I’d been out for.

  Tossing the covers back, I threw my legs over the side of the bed and braved standing upright. I hadn’t seen a doctor so far as I knew, and I couldn’t rule out a serious head injury. An interruption in my sense of balance could be expected.

  When I got to my feet though, I found I was sounder than I’d originally gave myself credit for. Looking down, the clothes I’d been wearing the night before were gone and in their place was a men’s sized t-shirt and a pair of boxers. The summer sun was warm, and I decided to brave the morning chill to find the man who’d become a fixture in my life almost instantly. I didn’t know what that meant for us long term and I wasn’t prepared to analyze it too in depth before I ventured out of the room. I did know for a reason I couldn’t explain, I needed to see him. I needed to lay eyes on the man who’d rescued me from the lake the night before. Maybe it would give me some closure or some confirmation I was, in fact, walking the plank right off the deep end. And if it proved the opposite, well, then…I’d deal with it when the time came.

  Emerging from the room, I realized it was a tiny cabin. There looked to be two bedrooms and a single bathroom that covered the necessities, but not much more. The living room sat right outside the bedroom I’d been in. The couch was grey, although I don’t think it was the original color- it looked nearly as old as I was. The wooden planks of the floorboards were worn with age and use. However, despite being a little shabby, it was inviting. Ivar was nowhere to be seen. Had he left?

  A solid thud sounded from somewhere outside and I was moving to the door to investigate before I really gave myself time to think about it. Ivar…he was my focus right now. Opening the front door, I stepped out onto the small cement porch step. Dense trees surrounded the cabin, the lake could be seen glistening through the small crop of trees. Near the tree line, I could make out the form of a large man.

  That was him, the man from my vision, the one who’d pulled me from the lake. Ivar stood examining the blade of his axe carefully. With a fast turn, he hefted the weapon and threw it toward a target he had mounted against a tree. The axe tumbled end over end and stuck right into the darkened middle of the platform with a powerful thud.

  Holy fucking shit balls, Batman! Color me fucking impressed.

  Such an experienced throw…it only served to support what I’d seen. The scenes of him cutting men down as he became a skilled and decorated warrior. He was a Berserker, the fiercest of his people. He was a dangerous one to anger, but somehow, I wasn’t sure that applied to me. I also wasn’t sure it didn’t.

  Suddenly, I felt very awkward and very aware of every inch that was bare. His shoulders were strapped with muscle and broad. His legs were powerful and long, covered by faded denim jeans. The sun gleamed off his glistening shoulders and I conjured visions of my fingers running through his hair as he ravished me. Dark lines ran down his back, weaving through other lines to make something which looked like a knotwork bear. When he reached his target, he pulled the axe from the board with a grunt and turned, headed back to his starting point. His eyes met mine as soon as he’d spun around with his axe, but his face betrayed none of how he was feeling.

  His brows were dark and thick, drawn down over his eyes in a slight frown. Ivar’s lips were perfect, and the shadow of a beard covered his cheeks and chiseled jaw. He was handsome, but not in the pretty-boy traditional sense. His nose had a slight bump like it had been broken a time or two. A scar cut through his brow over his left eye. Scars from his former life marked his skin just like his tattoos. His former life…a family, one he’d lost because of me. I knew it wasn’t actually my fault, however guilt still gnawed at me. He’d lost a woman he loved, only to be told he’d get another one day. That was me, I think…but wives weren’t replaceable. Children weren’t either. Yet I was somehow supposed to be his consolation prize, a second choice by design.

  The pit in my stomach grew a little, knowing this wasn’t what he wanted. I wasn’t sure where that left me, but I needed to know more about him regardless. The things I’d seen…I needed some kind of explanation.

  Instead of addressing me, he walked back to the starting point and spun, throwing the axe with precision. It was buried in the darkened middle of the targ
et, just like the one before. I watched him do the same thing three more times, long after it became apparent that he wasn’t going to talk to me.

  Well, fine.

  I didn’t need to wound my pride any more than I already had when I’d needed rescuing the night before. At least, I think it was the night before…I needed to get home, figure out what day and time it was and then work on getting my head right. If Ivar wanted to ignore me, I wouldn’t beg for his attention. I hadn’t come looking for a man when I’d come to Aurora Falls. If I left the same as I came, I’d move on. I’d figure out a way to…I hoped. My parents needed me to at least try to be okay.

  In the side yard, I spied a clothes line with my belongings strung up to dry. Looking up, I figured it had to be at least close to noon and warm enough everything should have been dry. Ignoring the massive man who hadn’t stopped once, I stepped down from the stair and strode to the line, taking my dried clothes and returning to the house. I could pretend I didn’t watch Ivar the whole way back to the cabin, but that’s what it would be…pretending.

  Slipping back into the bedroom, I changed my clothes quickly and ignored the lake scent which clung to my garments. I tried to find my phone. Where had it gone? I didn’t see it anywhere in the cabin and I worried it had met its fate at the bottom of the damn lake. When I couldn’t find it, I resolved myself to its loss. There was nothing more for me in the small cabin.

  Internally, I was a scrambled mess, but outside, I’d adopted my focused calm. I’d wanted to see Ivar and I had. He’d made it clear he didn’t want a thing to do with me. So, I slipped from the cabin door, quieter this time because I knew Ivar was near. As soon as the door clicked shut behind me, my gaze shot to where he’d been throwing his axe.

  He was still there. His back was to me as he held his weapon in front of him like he was studying its structure and weight. With eerie precision, he threw it and this time, unlike the others, the axe’s hilt bounced off the board with a loud thud and fell to the ground. Ivar strode purposefully toward it, but he did so at his own leisurely pace. As much as I willed him to, he never once glanced back. Looking to the lake, I gathered I was on the eastern side, away from the prying eyes of the townspeople.