Page 15 of Stealing the Merman

“That makes two of us,” Conall said and picked up his glass. “I grew up on the west coast of Scotland. The sky pisses on you every damn day. My parents run a farm there. Or rather, Mother does. Father must’ve killed himself with his drinking by now. My siblings and I helped as soon as we were old enough to walk. Herd the sheep. Bring in the harvest. All in the rain, of course. I made for the new world when I was twenty and had saved some money. Never going back.”

“Me either.”

Conall took a drink of water. “You’re from London, aren’t you?”

“That Cockney accent gives it away, huh?”

“Inevitably.”

“Well, you do sound like a Scottish farm boy. Sir.”

“Do I?” Conall growled.

“Like anangryScottish—”

A slap to his buttocks turned the end of Darin’s sentence into a yelp, and Conall laughed. “Enough.” His spirits were high, but he was going too far. Sharing too much. Darin didn’t need to know about his miserable childhood. Thank god he hadn’t let on how bad it had been, from his father’s beatings to him almost dying of a fever at the age of ten when he’d stayed outside in the cold for too long because he had to collect firewood one winter evening.

“Get ready for the day,” Conall said and nudged Darin out of his lap. “Tell the crew we stay for one more day. Make sure all necessary repairs are done. Tomorrow, we sail.”

As soon as Darin was out the door, Conall’s facade dropped. He paced his quarters. Darin was the biggest mistake he’d made in months since his disastrous misassessment of Anne. The latter had taken him to hell, and he wasn’t prepared to risk his heart again. Liking Darin was dangerous. Yes, their arrangement was casual, but his gut told him there was a danger it wouldn’t stay that way. Last night had been too much. This morning had been too much. It needed to stop.

Conall scraped a hand through his hair, combing it out of his face. He needed a distraction from Darin. And he knew the world’s most effective diversion.

He hastened to his desk, pulled open all drawers until he found the map he was looking for. He tried not to look at the books and parchments he’d swiped from his desk the night before. The map wasn’t large, but it detailed the region he was interested in: the Exuma Cays.

Leaning over the desk, propped up on his arms, Conall studied it. Like pearls on a necklace, the islands stretched across the sea in a neat row. There was the area where he’d nearly perished on a sandbank. The island where Finn had nursed him back to health. Conall’s eyes trailed over the northern cays until they landed on Shroud Cay.

White beaches. Blue lagoons. Crystal clear water. Mangrove forests. And mermen. Finn. If anyone would be able to pull him out of this madness, it was Finn. He’d saved Conall once. Seeing Finn could save him again.

The strangest thought occurred to him: Darin wouldn’t mind. They’d often talked about Finn during sex. Darin said he enjoyed picturing Conall with a merman. Conall’s hands curled into fists. He had to stop thinking like that. It didn’t matter what Darin thought. They weren’t lovers, and Darin had no say in whom he slept with. Like Conall had no say in with whom Darin— Bile rose in Conall’s throat. His body revolted at the idea of Darin lying with another man.

He hated himself for that reaction. But as he mulled his plans over, an image popped into his mind: Darin and a merman. That wouldn’t be so bad. He ignored the fact that the merman in his vision had shaggy blond curls and the world’s deepest blue eyes.

“I want to change course,” Conall announced to the crew. He stood on the forecastle deck, observing the pirates that had gathered a few steps down on the main deck. The sky was cloudless, and the sun warmed his skin. “I want to go to the Exumas.”

“I thought we were heading to Great Abaco,” the navigator piped up.

“So did I,” Conall said, “but things change. We experienced great losses yesterday.” A mumble went through the crowd. “We deserve to recuperate. To take pleasure after we’ve gone through pain!” The pirates cheered, and the wind picked up, playing with Conall’s hair. “I am putting the decision to vote: Continue north and try for another raid or head south to the Exumas, where mermen are waiting for you.” Commotion broke out among the men.

“You’ve heard of their song!” Conall yelled, drowning out the noise. “Some of you might have already encountered their charms.” Laughter. Conall unfocused his eyes, ensuring that he didn’t catch Darin’s gaze as he shouted his next words. “I’ll let you know I have, and I tell you a day in the arms of a merman is worth tenfold the risks those dimwits in the taverns drone on about. I am asking you: Should we sail for the Exumas and drown our sorrows in the skilled hands and mouths of the mermen? Should we get ourselves kidnapped by these gorgeous creatures? Yay or nay! You vote, you decide.”

“YAY!” the pirates roared, fists pumping the air, eyes glazed with the prospect of sex, adventure and tales to brag about at the next port.

Conall allowed himself the hint of a smirk. Convincing a bunch of sex-deprived men to follow him into a wet paradise had been the easiest thing. As he stepped off the forecastle deck, Conall scanned the crowd. He’d blindsided Darin and was prepared to have the boy spitting and braying at him, but when his gaze met Darin’s, he didn’t find it filled with anger and betrayal. Darin looked simply surprised. And then he waggled his eyebrows at Conall.

Darin peeled away from the crowd and followed him as he strode toward the navigation room. Conall was in no mood to talk, but it was necessary. He didn’t look back, but Darin’s presence behind him was unmistakable—Conall knew the sound of his footfall too well.

Inside the navigation room, he spun around to face Darin. This was the place where it’d started between them, weeks ago. And now they were back, not at the beginning of something but at the end.

“You could’ve told me we were going to see your merman,” Darin said as he stopped under the door frame, leaning against it. His tone was calm. The prospect of Conall seeing Finn didn’t faze him. Good. Conall had to detach from Darin, but that didn’t mean he wanted to hurt him.

Conall provided no justification or explanation. “This is what’s going to happen: We will pass by a string of islands inhabited by mermen. When they see our ship, they will sing to lure us in. Their song is magical. Irresistible. No man can withstand its power. Once you hear it, it will cloud your mind and pull you toward the one calling you. The song fills you with inevitable desire. Or so the merman told me. He didn’t need to sing to have my full attention when we met.”

“I’m glad you’ll see him,” Darin said, surprising Conall. “In fact, I’m looking forward to seeing you with him.”

He winked and turned to go. Words formed in Conall’s mouth, but he kept quiet. They left it at that.

Conall didn’t sleep with Darin that day or the day after. He never touched him again, and whenThe Pillaging Seasrolled with the waves towards Shroud Cay on a foggy morning, Conall was mad with desire.

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