Page 43 of Beneath the Surface

“Within reason. I will tell you there’s no such thing as a fat mermaid or merman.”

“Speaking of merfolk—and I’m not exactly sure what the right word is so I’m just going to go for it—are merfolk the only nonhumans around? Are there other beings? Would ‘beings’ be the right word? Would paranormals be more correct? Shifters maybe?”

“Honestly, I have no idea what else exists out there. It stands to reason that if we exist, there are other beings who aren’t fully human too. But have I met any? No.”

“Interesting. And kind of scary if you think about it.”

“Humans tend to be a little arrogant in the belief they’re the only sentient being on this planet. But that works out well for us, so I can’t really complain.”

“It sure does.”

“I’m not sure shifter’s the correct word for us either. From what Brooke has told me about the books she’s read with shifters in them, shifters are beings who can turn into animals. We don’t turn into an animal. We have two forms: one with legs and one with a tail. I guess, though, we do ‘shift’ from one form to the other.”

“Huh. Is there any type of written history, or anything about where you guys came from?”

“No, not really.” Nisha sipped his water. “The best we have are stories passed down from generation to generation. Those stories say we were once fully human millions of years ago, but slowly moved to the ocean to hunt and live. As time passed, we evolved to fit our new habitat.”

“It’s funny you should mention that. I remember seeing a documentary on TV a couple years ago that had something to do with that.”

“Yeah, I think Brooke saw the one you’re referring to. It freaked her out just exactly how true to form it turned out being.”

“I bet.” Kannon checked the lasagna then closed the oven door. “I’m going to go take a quick shower. This has about twenty more minutes to cook, and then it should be ready.”

“I’ll keep an eye on it while you go get cleaned up.”

“Thanks. I’ll be back shortly.”

Kannon walked back to the bedroom, stripped, and took a shower. When he returned, Nisha’s clothes had arrived, and Nisha was taking the lasagna out of the oven. After they ate and cleaned up the kitchen, they spent some time lounging around outside and talking.

Brett called, and they returned to the resort to do a quick run-through of the wedding. Nisha introduced Cora to Kannon. Cora was very nice, even though she didn’t have much to say. He was a stranger, and it was very obvious that even though he was Nisha’s mate, she wasn’t comfortable with him yet.

Kannon didn’t take it personally. Privately he wondered if many of Nisha’s friends would treat him that way when they met, but it wasn’t something he was overly worried about. If he was honest with himself, he was just a little leery of them also, so he could understand how they felt.

After they rehearsed the wedding a couple of times, Kannon and Nisha returned to Kannon’s bungalow. Kannon fixed them something to eat, and they sat on the deck, enjoying the pleasant tropical night. Hours later, they decided to call it an early night and went to bed.

THE NEXT morning they spent lazing around the bungalow. After breakfast, Kannon called Brett to make sure there weren’t any last-minute emergencies. Brett reassured them both everything was under control. Since they weren’t needed, they spent the time together, just talking and making plans. Kannon had a list of things to do after the wedding regarding his move to the island. By midafternoon, they returned to the resort, where Brett met them.

“So, you about ready?” Kannon asked.

“Absolutely.”

“Nervous?” Kannon elbowed Brett.

“No, actually, I’m really not. Excited, yes. But nervous? No way. She’s it for me.”

“Oh hey, just had a thought. What are you going to do about pictures? You are taking pictures, right?”

“The resort keeps a photographer on staff,” Brett said. “He’s going to take the pictures.”

“Okay, cool,” Kannon said. “It would be a shame to do this and not have pictures, you know?”

“Oh yeah. It’s the second-best day of my life.”

Kannon looked closely at Brett. His best friend wasn’t lying. Kannon couldn’t detect any nerves whatsoever. Brett looked relaxed in his wedding finery. His black hair gleamed in the sun. Brett wore khaki pants that fit his toned body nicely, and a white dress shirt that was untucked.

The pants were rolled up just like his and Nisha’s. Since they were still inside, each of them wore sandals. Kannon looked up as Cora joined them. Her knee-length turquoise dress had spaghetti straps, and flowed around her legs as she walked.

She’d piled her dark blue hair up on top of her head, with wisps around her face. Her pale skin looked wonderful in the color Brooke had chosen. She wore no jewelry, but she didn’t need it. She was tall, with a killer shape, and if Kannon was even remotely attracted to the female form, hers probably would’ve knocked his socks off.

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