MERMEN (The Mermen Trilogy #1) (20 page)

There was a long moment of silence before Roen spoke. “It can’t happen. You deserve to live a real life, not some distorted version of love like my mother and father had.”

She still didn’t know the whole story of what his father had done, but this wasn’t the time to go there. She did know, however, that he’d caused Roen a great amount of pain. “You wouldn’t hurt me, Roen. You’re not your father.”

“No, I’m not. Because I will do what’s right for you,” he said.

“Meaning this is goodbye.” He wanted her far away from him and that island.

“Yes,” he replied curtly.

Liv held back her tears. She didn’t want to accept any of this. Most of all, she didn’t want to let him go. She’d waited her entire life to meet a man like him, and she knew she never would again. There was only one Roen Doran, and he’d somehow become a part of her.

“What if you’re successful?” she asked. “What if you convince the island she’s safe? Then will you leave?”

He shook his head no. “A group of us will need to remain with her always. But hopefully it won’t be many and we’ll all be there of our own free will.”

She couldn’t accept this, but arguing with the man wasn’t going to change his mind. And frankly, she was too heartbroken to fight anymore. She just wanted to leave because looking at him hurt too much.

“Roen, just promise you’ll help those women and stop bringing new ones to the island.”

“I can’t promise that, Liv. I’ve already made a deal with the island. For you.”

“Then break your promise,” Liv argued. “I don’t want to live if it means a bunch of women are…are…” She didn’t even know what to call it.

“Another Collection was inevitable either way. Things have been done a certain way for a very long time and change doesn’t happen overnight. But I promise no one will come to that island who doesn’t want to be there.”

Liv knew that was only half of the story. Because while those men might convince a woman to go to the island of her own free will, they were in the dark about what happened next. “You trick them, Roen.”

“Until my people are free from this nightmare and the island is safe from landlovers, I’m not in a position to change things.” Roen stared with his piercing green eyes.

“But…” Liv abandoned her thought. It didn’t matter if she believed his entire story; he believed it. And he believed he was keeping her safe along with everyone else.

Maybe he is. And maybe it’s not your battle.
That’s what she told herself, but really, her heart was slowly cracking, and she didn’t want him to see it happen.

“Well”—Liv swallowed her sadness—“I guess this is goodbye.” She glanced across the kitchen island at Roen once again, but his expression gave nothing away.

Roen cleared his throat. “I believe it is. Edward will see you back to the plane and home. By morning, the media will be off your back, as I plan to hold a press conference shortly. Goodbye, Liv.”

Liv gave a quick nod and started walking to the door.
Don’t turn around. Don’t look at him. Just leave. Just leave. Just go outside, and you’ll be okay.

“Liv.” Roen was right behind her when she reached for the door, his deep voice filled with irritation or anger or…something. “I’m not happy about any of this either. I don’t think I ever will be after meeting you and knowing you won’t be in my life.”

Don’t turn around. Don’t turn around
.

Liv reached for the door handle. “Thanks for everything, Roen.”

She suddenly felt Roen’s strong hands on her shoulders. Then his lips on the side of her neck and the warmth of his chest pressing against her back. His touch made her whole body ache and weep. It sucked to feel something so wonderful, knowing it wasn’t meant to be and that she’d never have it again.

Roen’s hands slid down to her waist, and he wrapped his arms tightly around her. “Thank you, Liv,” he whispered. “Thank you for being the only woman ever brave enough to love me.”

The tears began welling in her eyes, and her heart caved in. If she didn’t go now, she’d end up doing something she regretted. Like begging him to stay with her.
He’d only say no and make this even more painful.

She held her breath tightly, attempting to cling to her sanity. Then he released his grip and reached around her to open the door. Avoiding eye contact, she stepped out into the hallway, feeling like her body was made from eggshells in the process of cracking into a million tiny pieces. One tap and she’d disintegrate into nothing.

She glanced over her shoulder at Roen standing in the doorway, and when she saw the pained look in his eyes, it undid her. She rushed toward him and their mouths collided. His sensual lips and silky tongue moved against hers, and his kiss felt like the only thing in her life that had ever truly made sense. And the heat of his sweet breath mixing with hers, his scent filling her lungs, was like a drug made from concentrated sin.

He turned their bodies, putting her back against the wall. With his large size and height she felt completely shielded from the world around them, it was just him and her and their mouths moving together, their tongues sliding in a desperate frenzy.

Then his body began buzzing with that strange energy, and he leaned into her, his hands feverishly moving over her breasts and down to cup her ass.

“God, I want you, Liv.” He returned to kissing her for a moment. “I can’t get the taste of you out of my mind.”

She felt the same way.

Roen ground against her; meanwhile her hands reached around him, seeking out his hard ass, wanting to feel the muscles flex beneath her palms. In her mind, she saw the two of them naked, their bodies moving together in desperate need, while Roen pumped his hard cock inside her. It was the same erotic image she’d seen night after night since she’d left the island. And if this was the end of the road for them, then she wanted to know what it was like just once. She wanted to feel him over her, in her, holding her down as he thrust his thick, long shaft as deeply as it could go. More than that, however, she just wanted more time to know every piece of him—even the parts she couldn’t see inside his heart and soul.

She broke the kiss and looked up at him. “Roen?” she whispered, her heart beating at a million miles per second. “I’m asking.”

He flashed a sinful, seductive little smile with that sensual mouth of his, but in the space of one second, all emotion drained from his face, and his eyes seemed to turn a deeper shade of green. Hate, fury, bitterness reflected back at her.

“And my answer is no.” He stepped away as if she were poison.

Liv blinked.
Wait. What just happened?

“You were wrong,” he said. “You’re not strong. You’re weak. I need a woman I can fuck and won’t break, who can raise my sons and won’t get in my way. That or she must be able to protect the island. You’re not good for either.”

Liv felt mortified. Down to the marrow in her bones. “Is that you talking or that fucking psycho-bitch?”

Roen raised his hand to slap her. “Don’t ever,
ever
speak of the island or of me again. If you do, there will be no mercy. Understand, landlover?”

Liv didn’t raise her own hands in defense. She would never cower from a man. She would never allow someone to bully her or try to control her like that.

“You done?” Her eyes stuck to his hard gaze, challenging him back.

He laughed sadistically and lowered his hand. “Leave. Scurry back to your little human life. Just remember who gave it to you. And never forget who can take it away.”

Liv glared at Roen. Or the island. Or whoeverthefuck really spoke. “My
parents
gave me life. And they would never try to hurt or use me. Can’t say the same for you or your island, Roen. Goodbye.”

She turned and headed for the elevator, poking the call button. Within a few moments, the doors opened, and she stepped inside. This time, she wouldn’t look at him. Never again.

~ ~ ~

“Sonofabitch. Who does he think he is?” Liv said from the backseat of the limo heading down the nearly vacant highway toward the SeaTac airport.

“Our leader,” replied the driver, who she’d learned was named Edward.

“Not
my
leader,” she grumbled. At least out of all this, those psycho Neanderthals weren’t coming for her. She hoped. And now that she knew Roen was free, she had closure.
Yeah, free to be a complete asshole.
She could finally move past this chapter of her life.

With the pent-up emotions inside, tears began streaming down her face. She wiped underneath her eyes.
You’re safe now, Liv. You’re safe.

Yeah. And Roen bartered with the island again to get it
. Her mouth fell open as she mentally stepped back from the situation. He wouldn’t go out of his way to protect her if he didn’t really have feelings for her.

He didn’t mean it. He didn’t mean any of it
. He just wanted her to leave. Liv felt ashamed for what she’d said and not seeing right through his little ploy, but…

She shook her head. He wasn’t faking it. She was good at reading people—their posture, facial expressions, breathing—Roen had been dead serious about what he’d said. It was like when he was on the island and had become this other version of himself.

Did it really matter? It was over. She would never see him again, and he didn’t want anything to do with her. That much she knew.

The scariest part was that his little story about that island being more than just an island was plausible. The little things she’d seen and felt supported it. Hell, the minute she’d shared the word “mermen” with her psychiatrist, it was like the salt water in her veins began punishing her.

Liv’s phone began beeping, and she dug it from her purse. Her mother’s cell phone number popped up on the screen. It was now almost three thirty in the morning. She answered. “Mom? What’s wrong?”

“Livvy, Dana’s in the emergency room.”

Oh no.
“What happened?”

“Steve doesn’t know. He said she started having problems breathing, and he called nine-one-one.” Steve was Dana’s boyfriend. They’d been living together in Wrangell for the last few years.

“Your father and I are pulling up to the emergency room.”

Liv had just been to that hospital. “I’m…I’m…” How could she explain being out of town? She couldn’t. “I’m in Seattle right now, but I’ll be there as soon as I can.”

“Seattle? Why didn’t you say anything? Did you go to see your professor?”

Liv’s sociology professor had been hounding Liv to return and finish her PhD, but with everything going on, Liv didn’t think it would be possible.

“Something like that,” Liv replied. “I’ll explain later.” When she could figure out a good excuse. “Keep me posted. I’ll be there as soon as I can.”

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

Three hours later, Liv ran through the automatic sliding doors into the small ER waiting room. She immediately spotted Steve and her dad. Her father, an insurance broker, was a thin man with thick glasses and short, curly gray hair. Steve worked for the Department of Fish and Game, but looked like he belonged on the beach with his shaggy, dirty blond hair.

“Where is she?” Liv asked.

Her dad shook his head. “Why haven’t you been answering your phone? We were worried sick about you.”

“Uh…” Liv blinked. She’d used up the battery on the flight home to read the breaking news about Roen having resurfaced. He would be holding a news conference this morning. “My phone died. How is she?”

“Stable. Your mom is with her now. The doctor’s still running tests.”

“What happened?” she asked Steve, whose brown eyes were bloodshot like he’d been crying.

“I don’t know,” Steve replied. “We were sleeping, and I heard her scream, and then she started convulsing and couldn’t breathe.”

Liv felt the floor drop out beneath her. Steve and her father grabbed her quickly, one of them managing to push her into a chair.

“Livvy, are you all right?” her dad asked. “Steve, go get her some water.”

Steve scrambled off while her father crouched in front of her.

“I’m okay,” Liv said. “Just—it’s been a long day, and the shock of Dana and…”

Fuck
. Was this some sort of punishment? Because what Steve described was exactly like what had happened yesterday to her.

“I need to see Dana. I need to talk to her,” Liv said.

“Only one visitor at a time, but your mother will be out shortly—”

“Dad, I need to see her.
Now
.”

He gave her a strange look. “Okay. I’ll show you where she is.” They walked to the admitting nurse, who waved them in. Apparently, she was too busy yelling at some man about his bad manners and bothering another nurse. In a small town like this, where most everyone knew or knew of everyone else, rules weren’t always so important. Being polite, however, was.

They walked past several empty beds and curtain dividers to a spot at the very end. Liv spotted her mother sitting beside Dana, who was lying down, her long dark-brown hair a matted mess. Thankfully, Dana’s big brown eyes were open and alert. And, ironically, she was staring up at a muted TV stuck to the wall, with Roen’s picture on it.

Like she’d done for the past three hours, Liv took her pain and shoved it down a dark hole somewhere deep inside. “Dana? How are you feeling?”

“Hey, Livvy,” Dana said in a perky voice. “Did you hear the news? Mr. Sexy is alive. God, that man is so hot. Can I have one for Christmas, Mom?”

Their mother, who had the same brown hair and eyes as Liv and her sisters, looked at her and then back at Dana, shaking her head. “Her breathing’s stable. The doctor thinks it might’ve been an asthma attack.”

Dana didn’t have asthma. In fact, she and her sisters were healthy as horses when it came to that sort of stuff.

Her sister smiled weakly. “I’m fine, Livvy. Just go home. I’m sure whatever it was, it’s just a fluke.”

Fluke. It was too much of a coincidence to be a fluke. If that goddamned island had anything to do with this, she’d burn that damn hunk of rock down to the ground.

Are you listening to yourself, Liv?
You sound like Roen. The island wasn’t alive.