Passionate Ink (9 page)

A knock on her RV door had her jumping out of her chair.

Shit! Customer?
She couldn’t face a customer now and she seriously couldn’t do a job. Her hands were just too shaky. She’d probably end up crying like a blubbering idiot if she opened that door.

Her gut clenched at her next thought.

Maybe Calder had come? There’s no way she was going to talk to him again, ever.

“Cat! It’s me. Open the door. Are you all right?”

Misty. Thank God. Cat heaved a sigh of relief. On rubbery legs she walked the few steps and opened the door. Misty took one look and shook her head and gathered Cat into a warm embrace, cooing that everything would be all right.

Yeah, this was why she’d called her friend. It was comfort and reassurance she needed. And Catalina let the tears roll freely.

* * * * *

Calder had wanted to talk to Cat once again before night fell, but a pristine, white convertible with red interior was parked right beside Catalina’s RV and he decided against it. She had company. Probably a client. The last thing he needed was for some witness to see her freaking out when he showed up on her doorstep.

He’d waited as long as he could for her visitor to go, but he had to leave before he shifted. The sun was setting a spectacular spray of gold across the mirrorlike ocean, and had he not been so upset about the terrible way he’d behaved today, he would have enjoyed the sunset.

Instead, he felt dead inside as he motored his houseboat out onto the waters to prepare for the change. Dead, emotionally dead and physically numb.

Maybe, just maybe, he’d lost her forever.

* * * * *

Misty stayed with Cat for the rest of the day, talking to her, soothing her with red wine and coaxing her to eat a lobster sandwich before stuffing a couple of their favorite comedy DVDs into the player. Cat appreciated Misty’s company. Loved her friend dearly for calling in sick for an audition she had in Beverly Hills, but when Misty threatened not to go into work at her waitressing job on the biggest night she made her best tips, Catalina didn’t want her friend to suffer financially because of her.

She’d already taken advantage of Misty’s friendship, now she needed to draw the line.

Besides, she really wanted to be alone. A loner all her life, she was used to her own company, but somehow tonight there was a really extreme urgency to have no one around.

Giving a reassuring promise to Misty that she wasn’t going to leave in the dead of night, at least without saying her goodbyes, her friend reluctantly left to get ready for work.

While cleaning the few dishes, Catalina glanced out the tiny kitchenette window and her breath caught at the beauty in the golden sunset. Long shadows scurried across her yard and the marina a mile down the coast where Calder had his houseboat. Her gut plummeted as his houseboat headed out to the open sea. Despite not wanting to, her heart longed to be with him. Out in the quiet, dark depths of the ocean, making love and simply being.

You are a sick fuck.
She could never be with a guy who was as mentally disturbed as he obviously seemed to be. On top of that, he believed she was a shapeshifter too. Even to insinuate her tattoos were altering due to her flesh readying for the change.

Nutjob.

She’d call it a really early night. She would drift off into dreamland and make herself not think of Calder or his tentacles. Locking up, she turned down her air-con a bit and headed for the shower. Undressing, she stepped into the shower and moaned softly at the tender bite as the spray of water pummeled her flesh.

Huh.
Odd for her skin to be so sensitive. Almost as is if she’d lain out in the sun for too long and had been mildly burned. But all over? Hadn’t Calder said something about sensitive skin? The guy was insane. She needed to stop thinking of the things he’d said.

She hurried cleaning herself and when she was finished she stepped out of the shower. Reaching for the bath towel from the hanger beside the door, she caught sight of herself in the mirror and couldn’t help but be taken aback at the beauty of her tattoos. The tentacles that climbed over both of her shoulders looked so vibrant, as if they were real. Even more real than normal. Even better than last night. They pulsed and shimmered and she gasped in horror as parts of her flesh literally seemed to smooth. Not just her tattoos, but her
flesh
. Just like Calder had said about her skin changing. Cat shook her head as a rush of denial flooded her.

Too much wine. That’s the problem.
She wrapped the towel around her body and quickly headed for bed. The fact the soles of her feet were incredibly sensitive too as she padded into her bedroom registered quite deeply in her mind. And as she slipped beneath her light, summer sheets, the material almost drove her nuts at the wicked way it caressed her flesh. She tossed aside the sheets, opting to sleep without them. But when the mattress beneath irritated her beyond belief, she wanted a soothing bath.

Unfortunately, she didn’t have a bathtub. But the ocean was just steps away. A nice refreshing swim would get her feeling better.

It was already dark outside and, since the camp spot her RV was parked in had tall privacy hedges on both sides of the property and the moon hadn’t come up, she was able to pad naked around to the back, unseen by any curious eyes. Taking a look up and down the beach, she groaned in relief to find it empty of people. Most of her neighbors were elderly and quiet and the rest of the people seemed to work nights or were maybe making supper.

Sprinting from the cover of the bushes, she sighed as the fine grains of sand sifted between her toes and the sultry warm breeze whispered against her flesh.

Instincts were leading her now. She’d find the relief she craved in the cold depths of the ocean. Everything else was suddenly forgotten. Her anger toward Calder disintegrated as she slipped quietly into the cool, tranquil water.

Heavenly. Absolutely heavenly.

* * * * *

Her enticing scent drifted along the currents. It made his three hearts pound insanely hard and, using his tentacles, he stroked through the water and made it to Catalina’s side within minutes. He had excellent eyesight, despite it being so dark down here, and could see she’d changed. She lay on the sandy bottom, her legs and arms transformed into tentacles. She blinked beautifully at him with questions in her wonderful blue eyes. But he couldn’t explain anything to her while in their Octoposeidon bodies. Yes, they still had their mouths, but speaking under water was kind of hard. He would have to wait until they shifted back again and, even then, she might not remember as temporary amnesia during the first few shifts were a high occurrence until the brain caught up with the body.

At nights they lived on instinct and the need for her sexual release emanated from her in intoxicating waves.

He needed to take her. Now, before any other males caught her scent and showed up to fight for her.

She was timid as he approached. Understandable. She didn’t know she’d turned. She was dazed and didn’t realize yet he’d spoken the truth today. Or that she’d been human only moments earlier.

As he reached out a tentacle, she tensed, possibly aware of what he wanted to do with her. Aware and ready. Her four limbs flowed toward him in the current. Eagerly he met them. Their suckers aligned perfectly as he latched onto her, suction cups fusing. They matched beautifully.

He moved his body against hers and quickly impaled her, his engorged cock sliding deep into her vagina. He groaned at her tight, hot, moist grip.

Quickly, he released his sperm into her. This would keep predator males away, show them this female was claimed by emitting his scent along with hers into the ocean currents. Only the extremely aggressive males would come now, if they dared. He was a big Octoposeidon and he would fight to the death for her. If he lost the fight, the other male would lay claim to Catalina by sucking Calder’s sperm from her vagina and replacing them with his own.

Over his dead body
.
She was his and his alone.

They would do this every night for the rest of their lives. Fuck, eat, swim and sleep. In that order. She shuddered beneath him as he plunged a tentacle into her tight ass. Another of his tentacles held her firmly around her waist as he thrust his swollen tentacles in and out of her ass and pussy. She mewled sweetly as she convulsed and climaxed. Then he slid a swollen tentacle into her mouth, silencing her gasps of pleasure as he triple penetrated her. He plunged and thrust until once again she was writhing and convulsing and trembling into another all-consuming orgasm. Perfect, his mind said happily. Absolutely perfect.

Chapter Seven

Catalina awoke smug and comfortable in her small, air-conditioned bedroom. Thankfully whatever had gripped her last night was gone. She felt wonderful, satisfied. Too much wine and not enough food, that’s what it must have been. She snuggled her face into her feather pillow. Gosh, she didn’t even remember coming out of the ocean after her swim. But her dreams had been filled with lust and sex and leisurely swimming without a care. All of it in a dark, watery world and Calder had been the one fucking her.

Her eyes popped open.

Calder.

Damn him. Why did she have such wonderfully sensual dreams of a crazy man?

“How do you feel?” Calder’s voice curled out of the corner of her bedroom, slicing panic into her.

She bolted into a seated position. “Oh my God! What are you doing here? Get out of here!” she yelled at him.

Sweet mercy!
He was a serial killer and she was his next victim. She scrambled out of bed. She didn’t know how she did it so quickly nor did she remember doing it, but he caught her around her waist, his hand clapping over her mouth, preventing her from screaming.

He held her firmly against him. And that scared her even more. She struggled against his grip, but he held tight.

“I won’t hurt you. I promise.”

No! He probably said that to all his victims!

“We need to talk this through,” he said softly in her ear. “What you experienced last night wasn’t a dream. We were together. When morning came, you and I shifted back into full-human form.”

He was insane!

“You’ll begin to remember all of this soon. It’s just at the beginning when you shift the memory is slow in catching up.”

Insane!

“I know this is really hard for you. It’s because we’re in human form. We’ve lost the ability to follow our instincts, but when we’re in our Octoposeidon form we are at a primal level. Nothing else matters
but
instincts. You seem to have calmed a little. Can I remove my hand now? You won’t scream?”

She shook her head. Oh she’d scream all right and she’d do it the instant she got clear of him.

He un-cupped his hand from her mouth and, to her surprise, he let go of her waist. She didn’t waste any time running. She hit the screen door with her hands so hard she didn’t realize it was latched until it refused to move.

Finally, with the shakiest hands she’d ever had, she managed to slide the bolt. She screamed as the door flew open, yet at the same time his strong arm curled around her waist like a vise once again.

Her feet left the stairs as he lifted her back into her RV. But she’d noticed they were no longer in the park, surrounded by people. She’d seen only wide open fields. The bastard had moved the RV! He had taken her to a second location. Hysteria snapped through her. She began to fight harder against his grip, punching his rock-hard arms and kicking his legs.

But he didn’t budge. The man was solid muscle and she was so going to be dead if she didn’t get away from him.

“Easy, Catalina. Easy.”

“Let me go! I won’t tell anyone about this. Just let me go.”

Normally she was so strong and in control of her emotions, but now she was terrified.

“It’ll be dark soon,” he whispered.

“What?” She’d been sleeping all day? He must have drugged her. Again.

“Males normally shift before females. When the sun sets, you’ll see me shift. And then you’ll believe.”

Weariness laced his voice and she stopped fighting. She was wasting her strength. She would wait him out and escape at her first chance. To her shock, he let go of her and she didn’t know how she managed to walk the few steps on her wobbly legs, but she did and practically fell onto her breakfast nook bench.

“You may not shift tonight. When shifting first begins, it’s sporadic. I didn’t expect you to shift the first night we met, but I sensed you were close because of your scent. And then last night your scent was even stronger so I knew you probably would and you did.”

Her scent?

“It was strong enough to lure me from twenty miles up the coast when you drove by my marina the other day in your RV.”

Oh God, he looked so serious. He really believed this bullshit.

“We Octoposeidons tire easily until we’ve shifted several times. In a couple of weeks, you’ll be energetic and you can carry on your human activities as if nothing really happened. It’s important to our sanity to carry on as normal as possible. Especially at the beginning.”

She tensed as he sat on the bench across from her. He was naked and acting as if it was perfectly normal for him to be walking around nude. And she was naked too. Surprisingly, she wasn’t the least bit embarrassed about him seeing her this way. She was just terrified.

Adrenaline. It had to be the adrenaline that was making her immune to embarrassment.

“Once you see it with your own eyes, you’ll be okay. Are you hungry? I picked up some things for us while we were on the road.”

“Where are we?”

She’d find her cell phone and dial 9-1-1. That’s what she do.

“Not too far away from your campsite. This land actually belongs to me. It’s private. About half a mile up the coast is my marina. I own it. That’s the way I earn my living. As shifters we prefer to stay close to the ocean. It’s easier that way.” He grinned.

She wished she could warm to him, but she couldn’t. He was crazy.

“Not hungry?” he asked.

She shook her head. She couldn’t eat. How in the hell did he ever expect her to?

“That’s okay. You ate quite a lot last night. We had many easy catches. You learn quickly.”

He didn’t look crazy. He seemed to believe everything he was saying. He really, truly did.
Whack job!

“Tonight, after you watch me shift, there might be a slight chance you…” He let the words trail off and his shoulders slumped as if in defeat. Emotions, sharp and raw, slammed into her. She didn’t want him to experience sadness.

She jolted in surprise.
No, don’t empathize with him.
She needed
him
to have empathy for
her
. She’s the one who’d been kidnapped.

“Sometimes the human mind cannot fully comprehend what we truly are.”

Oh sweet mercy, she was so going to lose it. Panic began to grip her. She forced herself to remain seated and listen to him. There really wasn’t anything else she could do. If she ran, he’d be on her in a second.

“I can give you something to keep you calm.” His direct gaze made her uneasy.
What if he really is speaking the truth
? She chased away that rogue thought. Like she could trust him? If she believed his story then, yes, she would be insane.

“Let’s move the trailer,” she said. “We can head back to my place. The beach there is more familiar to me.”

He remained silent. Anxiety gave her the courage to keep talking.

“What if I turn? I won’t be in familiar surroundings. I’ll be scared.”

That’s it, Cat. Make him see how much he is scaring you.

Suddenly, unexpectedly, his tense features softened and for a split second she relaxed and thought he was normal. That he was the same guy she’d fallen for.

But he’s not
.

“I’m sorry. I’m really sorry I’m scaring you. We do have a website with more information on our kind.”

She blinked in confusion.
A website?

“Pretty much every Octoposeidon is a member and we have private forums and stuff to catch up with each other. Others, loners who prefer not to mate, don’t join.”

Okay, maybe she could keep him talking about his kind. She could stall until sunset. Until he “disappeared” into the water. Then she could make a break for it?

She glanced out the windows, hoping for signs of a highway somewhere in the near distance. Nothing. Just fields of waving grass and rolling hills to her right, and then to her left, the ocean.

Shit.

“Okay, so what’s the URL? Maybe I can surf? Maybe it’ll help me out?”

Once she got online, she’d send Misty an email to call the cops.

He sighed heavily. “I think it’s best if we head down to the beach now. It’s getting dark and the need to change is increasing. Put on your robe if you’re more comfortable. It’s your human side that may be…ashamed at your attire.”

She nodded. Before she could make a move to the bedroom where she remembered leaving the robe, and where she had every intention of locking herself inside, he waved for her to remain seated. Disappointment rocked her.

“I’ll get it. It’s over there.” He nodded to the small, kitchen countertop where her short, terrycloth swim robe had been placed.

"The URL to the site is in the pocket. When I shift, I won’t be able to shift back until sunrise. I ask only one thing. That you believe your eyes and give me the benefit of the doubt. I hope you’ll visit the site and find as much information as you need.”

“Sure, sure.” Yeah, right. She was like so out of here when he went into that water.

He got up off the seat, grabbed her robe and held it open for her. Suddenly she became self-conscious as she moved off the seat and his sharp, hungry gaze studied her every movement. She held her breath as she turned her back to him and slipped her arms into the robe sleeves.

“Your tattoos aren’t shimmering, so you won’t be changing tonight. But if you look at mine…”

Okay, she would have to stare at his cock. It was the only area she’d tattooed. She forced herself to turn back around and look down at his semi-erect shaft.

Her breath halted at the beautiful sight. The tentacle he said she’d tattooed all around his cock was literally shimmering, as if maybe he’d put glitter on himself or something.

“We have to hurry.” There was an urgency in his voice as he grabbed her hand, his strong fingers intertwining with hers.

Oh no, she hoped he wasn’t going to kill her. Yet instinctively she somehow knew he would never hurt her.

Okay girl, ignore your fucking instincts! Fight and run
!
She blew out a hard breath and forced herself to follow him down her RV steps and into the warm, salt-tinged air.

It was almost dark and damned if that tentacle tattoo of his wasn’t glowing. They stopped at the water’s edge.

“Come on in.”

She shook her head. “I’m fine here.”

“I won’t drown you. I promise.” His white teeth flashed in the darkness as he chuckled. Well, at least one of them was having fun.

“Just a few steps in. I want you holding my hand when I turn and I need a couple of feet of water so I can breathe.”

Fine.
To her surprise her instincts were getting stronger. They were urging her to move into the water with him. Stupid girl that she was, she was actually allowing him to pull her in farther.

Suddenly, an exquisite scent drifted through the air. The enticing aroma wrapped around her body and cuddled her, held her, caressed her.

She moaned softly as she leaned closer to him. His body was warm and hard.

He didn’t say anything. He just stood beside her, facing the ocean, looking out at the big, white, full moon hanging on the midnight-blue water.

His breathing was growing hoarse and more erratic. Her heart beat faster and her eyes widened as he dropped to his knees. The splash of water sounded like an explosion.

He let go of her hand and she instantly thought about running, but then the intoxicating scent riveted her to stay beside him.

Earlier, he’d mentioned she had a scent. Obviously he had one too. It was lovely. It made her heart pound faster and made her want to be with him. She stood in stunned fascination as Calder’s arms suddenly seemed to soften and grow smaller and rounder and shorter, until they were shaped like tentacles. His head and torso remained in human form.

Okay, she was officially insane.

It happened within thirty seconds. Not more than a moment ago a man had fallen to his knees right in front of her and now Calder’s arms had turned to tentacles and a couple more of them peeked out from the water. His legs? Yes, his arms and legs were now tentacles, just like when she’d thought she’d fantasized or dreamed or whatever the hell those things had been when she’d had sex with him in the ocean.

Disbelief rocked her.

“This cannot be happening,” she whispered, totally awestruck at what she’d just witnessed. She held her breath as he lifted a tentacle and pushed his ear forward, angling his head so she could see the back of his ear.

Oh my goodness
.
Gills?

“I need to dive under as when I am in this shape, I can’t breathe air.” His voice was croaky, as if he truly was gasping for air.

And then without another word he turned around, slipped beneath the calm ocean water and disappeared, leaving only an array of circles playing along the top of the water.

She didn’t know how long she stood there, staring, before she finally remembered how to walk.