Under His Skin (17 page)

“You’re angry with me . . . because I
don’t
want to heal a
toos
?’

Ana crossed her arms. “I’m angry with you because you’re a judgmental prick who thinks his god-given powers of healing make him a god. You think you’re better than other people. You sit up there on your high-horse and pass judgment on the people who come to you for help.”

“I healed him, didn’t I?’ Brec sputtered.

“And what did you use to heal him?
Lemon balm, chamomile, aloe, and cayenne pepper?
None of those is for pain relief.” She narrowed her eyes. “As a matter of fact, the cayenne pepper was unnecessary since you already used lemon balm. That was just to cause him pain, wasn’t it?”

Brec’s jaw dropped. “Who’s the healer here, me or you?” he snapped finally.

“Good question,” Ana fired back.

“
Cayenne
is an anti-inflammatory.”

“So is lemon balm. And the lavender would have eased his pain, but you didn’t use it.”

“Oh, for the love of
Kamoho
, will both of you silence yourselves?”

Ana and Brec both whipped around to stare at the
toos
. His black eyes were still closed, but now his lids were wrinkled as if he were squeezing them shut deliberately.
Ana stepped closer to the table as he raised his hands to rub his temples.

“You’re awake,” she said softly. Giving Brec one last scathing glance, she turned her attention to the injured man on her table. Now that Brec had made his feelings toward the man abundantly clear, she was more determined than ever to help him. Someone had to withhold judgment long enough to see him grow well enough to return to the sea.

“Indeed, it would be hard for even the dead to keep their peace with the two of you shouting like that,” the
toos
grumbled.

He cracked open one eye, fixing that bottomless black stare on Ana’s face. Her pulse sped up, adrenaline sizzling in her veins. Despite his weakened state, there was no mistaking that eye for anything but a predator. Now that she knew what he was, she could picture that bottomless black eye in the body of his true form. She had a brief moment of imagining herself in the water with his sleek torpedo shaped body, that empty black eye showing no emotion as a mouth full of teeth opened wide . . .

“What’s your name?” Ana asked, forcing her voice to be calm and light even as she shoved the nightmarish image away. She didn’t want to show the same judgment Brec had. As far as she was concerned, the
toos
was no more evil than anyone else and she wouldn’t judge him poorly just because his other form was a shark.

“You may call me
Mano
,” the
toos
mumbled. “Now please, do stop shouting.”

“I’m sorry,” Ana said sincerely. She glared at Brec again. “I was just discussing Brec’s healing tactics.”

“Ah, yes, the
cayenne pepper
.” The
toos
winced. “That explains the burning.”

“It was unnecessary and I can’t believe he did that,” Ana hissed.

The
toos
opened both eyes and frowned at her. “You can’t believe he did that? I’m surprised he didn’t apply the medicine with the sharp end of a blade. Our people are mortal
enemies,
he has every reason to want me to suffer.” He tilted his head, wincing as he did so. “If I may ask, why are you so upset by what he did?”

Ana stared at him in dumbfounded confusion.
“Why would I possibly condone torturing someone who’s already in pain?”

“Don’t you hate me?”

“Why would I hate you?”

The
toos
closed his eyes. “I am really quite confused.”

He seemed to think for a moment. Suddenly, he leaned up and sniffed the air just in front of Ana. She stiffened, using more energy than she wanted to admit to avoid jumping back. Her brain teased her with images of the
toos
’
sharp teeth and drowning black eyes.
I am not afraid of him
, she told herself firmly.
He’s done nothing to deserve my fear.

“You are not a selkie,” the
toos
said, opening his eyes in surprise.

“No.”

“Ah, that explains it then.” He relaxed back onto the table, his eyes drifting shut again.

Ana’s brain whirred a mile a minute. Why wasn’t the
toos
angry with Brec? Why did her not being a selkie explain everything? She looked up at Brec to find him watching her with a strange expression on his face.

He opened his mouth as if he was about to say something, but then closed it. Sighing, he shook his head and turned his attention to the
toos
.

“If it’s all right with you,” he said quietly. “I think we should move him to your spare room. He’d be more comfortable there.”

Was that a peace offering?
Ana shifted her weight to her other foot, not sure how to respond. Had she shamed him? Did he realize how wrong his actions had been or was he only doing this now to appease her? And why would he care about appeasing her?
Thoroughly confused,
And
shook her head and stepped up to the table. “I’ll help you carry him.” She started to slide one hand beneath the
toos
’
back.

“Ana,
don’t
!”

Something sharp shredded through the flesh of her fingertips, tearing skin and sending a warm rush of blood down her hand. Pain ripped through her fingers as Ana screamed in surprise. Jerking her hand away from the
toos
’
back, she barely saw his eyes shoot open in time to jump back.

Blood flew off her injured fingers as she jerked it to her body. Another scream ripped from her throat as the
toos
sat up on the table, his head turning and his fathomless black eyes locking onto her injured hand. Ana’s heart pounded. He braced his hands against the table, his muscles tensing as he prepared to leap . . .

“No!”

Brec leapt in front of Ana, putting himself between her and the
toos
.
Mano
stared at her like a man in the desert stares at a glass of water, desperate and nearly mad. The scent of blood tinged the air and Brec knew to the
toos
’
senses it was even stronger. Manos was likely drowning in the smell of Ana’s blood, the coppery liquid calling to him, driving him wild. After his brush with death, Manos had to be starving, his body urging him to eat and rebuild his strength. This situation had the potential to turn deadly in the blink of an eye.

“I can taste her blood,” the
toos
whispered hoarsely. He licked his lips, catching a drop of Ana’s blood that had splattered on him when she jerked her hand back. He trembled on the table, his gaze never wavering from Ana’s injured fingers.

“She was trying to help carry you,” Brec said calmly. The fact that the
toos
hadn’t leapt for Ana yet was encouraging. At least he was trying to fight it. “She didn’t know about your other mouth.”

The
toos
still stared at her, his throat working as he swallowed. He didn’t hear Ana moving, was barely certain she was breathing. Brec had been in the water with a
toos
in shark form, had nearly missed losing his tail to one. He knew exactly what sort of primal fear was flooding Ana’s blood right now.

Several minutes dragged by. The
toos
stared at her with an intensity that made Brec’s skin crawl, but he didn’t move. Any sudden movements on anyone’s part could snap the
toos
’
control. Just when Brec feared things would devolve into bloodshed, the
toos
dragged in a deep breath. Ever so slowly, he turned. Facing away from Ana, he swung his legs off the table. His new position bared his back to her and Brec heard a sharp intake of breath.

He’d seen it before, but it was still a shocking sight to behold. A gaping jaw took up most of
Mano’s
back. Rows and rows of brilliant white, razor-sharp teeth glistened in the light over the kitchen table. Brec’s stomach rolled at the ruby-red stains of Ana’s blood coating several of the wicked points. How close had she been to putting her entire hand in that mouth? How close had she come to losing her hand?

“Your skills may be the death of her,”
Mano
gasped. “I can taste her blood, and I’m feeling almost well enough to do something about it. And I’m . . . starving.” He shook his head, his shoulders tensing as if trying not to turn back to face Ana. “You’ve saved my life. Get her out of here before I make you regret it.”

Brec grabbed Ana’s arm and dragged her away. The black gaze of the predator warned that there was little time to put some distance between them. If they had a prayer of keeping him anywhere near docile, he had to feed him soon. With a full belly, the
toos
would be more able to control his hunger and his innate tendency toward violence.

Ana kept her gaze locked on the
toos
as Brec dragged her out of the dining room through the kitchen and into the living room. The mouth on his back opened and closed and Ana
whimpered,
a tiny sound of pure fear. Brec retrieved their coats from a closet by the door and she barely seemed to notice when he shoved her coat at her. He took advantage of her distraction to jerk his skin free from its hiding place behind the couch.

“What’s this for?” she murmured, her eyes still gazing in the direction of her kitchen.

“I have to get him some food. He’ll only eat fresh meat, so I need to go to the water and get him some fish.”

Ana frowned as she looked down at her coat.
“Why am I coming? Shouldn’t I bandage this up?”

A roll of gauze bounced off Brec’s shoulder and he barely caught it before it fell to the floor. They both looked up to see the
toos
standing in the doorway to the kitchen, his gaze locked on the blood flowing freely from Ana’s fingers.

“Yes, bandage it up,”
Mano
said softly. “For what little good it will do you if you don’t
get out now
.”

Brec opened the door and jerked Ana outside, ignoring her squeal of pain. A gust of frigid air blew the heat from his body and he shivered, wishing he had time to grab Ana a hat, scarf, and gloves. They were going to have to hurry or she’d have to contend with frostbite in addition to the lacerations on her fingers. Frustration seized him. He didn’t know how badly her fingers were cut. Fingertip injuries always bled so badly, it was impossible to tell. Unfortunately, the black-eyed predator behind them made it impossible to stop and examine her now. Tucking Ana against his body, he slammed the door behind them and started half-dragging her to the water.

“Wait, wait, we can’t just leave him in there!”

Brec paused and jerked his head back to stare at Ana in shock. “What are you talking about? You saw him, he’s barely holding on to his appetite. Do you
want
him to eat you?”

“If he’s up and walking, then why can’t he change form and go back to the sea?”
Ana demanded.

The desperate tone in her voice confused him, but Brec didn’t have time to play twenty questions. He pressed the gauze into her hand.

“Bandage your fingers and keep walking while you do it.” He turned and started walking again, relieved when Ana followed him after only a moment of hesitation.

“I don’t want him running loose around my home,” Ana insisted. “I don’t trust him.”

“And you shouldn’t,” Brec said, holding on to his patience. “We’re getting food for him to keep him from eating you, that’s not a situation that’s meant to inspire trust.”

“What if he goes through my things,” Ana worried.
“What if he—”

Brec whipped around, an idea leaping into his mind and stopping him in his tracks. He searched Ana’s surprised face as hope burned to life inside him.