Page 29 of Ensnaring the Siren

Two grown adults squeezed into a small space, there wasn’t a part of him that wasn’t touching her, and if it weren’t for the utter dread of getting caught, he might’ve appreciated that more.

“Carl, get your ass back here! We drive forklifts and load freight. Neither of us get paid enough to fuck around with thieves.”

Reid whispered against Nireed’s ear. “Can you tell how far away he is?”

She nodded faintly. “About one whale length.”

If Reid wasn’t such a nerd, that information wouldn’t have meant anything to him, but he was, and the whale species found in the Gulf of Maine—humpback and right whales, namely—were approximately fifty feet in length. “Same aisle?”

She carefully peered around him, hands laid flat against his chest. “Yes.”

“Feel like running? Or singing?” The last option he said as a joke, and she shot him a dirty look.

“Hey! Whoever’s in here, if you’re thinking of stealing anything, make my day and stick around. Otherwise, get the fuck out!”

“Caaarl, why would you taunt them like that?” Whoever this second Nautic employee was, he was well and truly over Carl’s bravado.

Nireed’s eyes met Reid’s as she leaned into him, reaching for something above his head, bringing them so close he felt her breath tickle his cheek, her mouth mere inches from his.

He swallowed thickly.

A small smirk teased her lips as she leaned back, a can of tuna fish in hand. He was about to joke that now was not the time for a snack, but she’d already whisked out of their hiding place, winding up her arm like a professional baseball player, and hurled the can down the aisle.

A meaty thud, followed by a shocked, “Ow! What the fuck?” was his only indication she’d hit her target.

“Come on.” Nireed snatched Reid’s hand, and they both ran.

There was shouting behind them. He glanced back only once—one of the men, Carl presumably, clutched his head, a dented tuna can at his feet, while his coworker tried to get a look at the injury.

“Assholes!” one of them yelled.

They burst out of the warehouse’s front door. It didn’t seem like they were being pursued, but neither of them stopped running until they’d left the docks and reached the edge of Haven Cove’s town proper. About a mile by his estimation.

He stopped first, and Nireed, who had fallen behind the farther they ran, collided into his back with a winded “oof.” He didn’t think he’d stopped abruptly, but with the desperate way she clung to his jacket, using him for balance, maybe she didn’t know how to stop on her own. Like a toddler, she just launched herself from one point to the next, relying on objects at rest to break her inertia.

Letting him go, Nireed bent over her knees, wheezing, then gradually straightened as she sucked in air, folding her arms above her head. The fact that she knew such a breathing technique meant she’d done this before, but not often enough that this getaway wouldn’t leave her out of breath. Still, he was impressed. He’d gotten the distinct impression that walking and running were things this mermaid had only recently learned how to do.

“You run good,” he blurted, groaning internally. Regressing into caveman vocabulary was quickly becoming a bad habit around Nireed.

She flashed him a brief, cheeky smile as she continued to gulp down air. For a moment, he quietly observed, absorbing the details. Rosy cheeks. Wet dress. Heaving chest.

No bra…

Startled, he tore his eyes away, pretending the cracked sidewalk at his feet had suddenly become extremely interesting. It wasn’t subtle, but if Nireed noticed, she mercifully didn’t comment.

Rain pelted his jacket, droplets rolling down the water-repellant fabric. He considered offering it to Nireed, but while this was crappy weather by human standards, he had a hunch she preferred it.

A hurt sounding “now what?” broke the silence, and he couldn’t avoid looking at her anymore.

Standing there in the rain, soaking wet from head to toe, Nireed looked so forlorn, the weight of today’s failure sinking in and weighing heavy on her shoulders. More like a kicked puppy than a terrifying, flesh-eating mermaid, and Reid just wasn’t going to abide that. “Let’s get a drink,” he said, waving for her to follow. “Come on, Starfish.”

He led the way toward Main Street, wondering if the mermaid would like the taste of beer.

Nireed followed the Coast Warrior down a mostly empty street. A few Surface Dwellers were milling about, some wearing water-repellant clothing like Reid, others holding a bizarre, half-dome shaped contraption above their heads.

With every step, the sandals on her feet made an annoying squelching sound. More than one Surface Dweller who passed them by openly stared at her, some mix of surprise and judgment in their expressions, which she didn’t like. It gave her the distinct impression that she wasn’t blending in very well, but the rain felt nice, so she held her head high and glared at anyone who stared too long.

Reid chuckled lightly. “You look like an angry, disheveled cat.”

---