Something Fishy About Love (Monstrana Paranormal Romance 3)

“That’s your black cat?” Eina smiled at him and walked further up shore to perch herself on a large rock.

Leo followed and sat beside her. Their knees bumped, sending a thrill up his leg. He quickly pulled away and clasped a hand on his thigh to hide his reaction to her touch.

“Yeah, that’s Rod. He’s my employee now. The best personal attendant I’ve ever had.”

“You employ a cat?” She shook her head in amazement. “And just when I thought I had you figured out.”

His gaze flicked to hers. “Oh really? And may I ask what you have figured out about me in only four days’ time?”

Her cheeks turned pink and she gave him a guilty expression. “You might not like what I have to say.”

“Try me.”

He leaned closer to her. There was something endearing about her embarrassment.

“Well, I think you’re a bit wild.” Her cheeks turned a deeper pink and she averted her eyes. “And that you probably never lack for female company. You don’t take much interest in your country’s politics. Don’t care much about world events. You probably spend most of your time on reckless behaviors like gambling or high-risk stunts. And you don’t understand why anyone would live any differently than you.”

He pulled back and ran his tongue over his teeth, trying to dispel the sour taste in his mouth. Everything she’d said was true, but for some reason, he hated the sound of it coming out of her mouth. It made him sound like the world’s biggest cad.

“See? I knew I shouldn’t have said anything.” She reached out to rest a warm hand on his forearm. There was an apology written in her eyes. “I just complained two minutes ago about being as shut tight as a clam, but you seem to bring the opposite out of me. I open my mouth around you and my opinions just spill out like sand.”

“No, I asked for it.”

He looked down at her hand still resting on his arm. His whole body seemed to react to the innocent interaction, blood rushing to his face and delicious fire racing up and down his skin. Eina saw him staring at her hand and she snatched it away, tucking it safely in her lap.

“I’ll try harder to find you some food,” she said, pushing herself to her feet. Her face was red. “Thank you for your help today.”

He watched her walk into the waves, the water shimmering once again around her legs. And with an elegant dive, she was gone.

And already, he was counting the hours until her return.

Chapter Eight

Eina kicked her powerful tail toward the surface. She’d returned to the island empty-handed once again, despite spending all day looking for a way to find Leo sustenance. The problem was that none of her mermaid sisters seemed concerned for the vampire’s appetite. They shoved her worries aside and told her to return to her post.

Always the demure one, she’d been unable to argue with them. To tell them that Leo was more than just the mindless monster they’d imagined. She was left kicking herself for not having the guts to stand up for their political prisoner.

Time spent with Leo had been surprisingly not horrible. As much as she hated to admit it, she liked talking with him. He had an easy presence. One that made her feel like she wasn’t being judged. She could spout her opinions and he listened to them all. It was a strange feeling, getting closer to her reluctant prisoner. In any other situation, he would’ve been a friend. A terribly gorgeous monster friend with killer fangs.

Too bad things weren’t different.

Her head broke the surface and she looked up at a brilliant fall sunset, complete with vivid stripes of orange and red thrown across a blue sky. It was as if the heavens were on fire. The picture was so intensely beautiful, she could almost smell smoke.

In fact, the more she breathed in the clear evening air, the more she became convinced she could actually smell something burning. Her eyes darted toward the island. A black plume of smoke originated at its heart and curled toward the sky.

“Leo,” she said in a frantic whisper, kicking urgently for the shore.

As soon as it was shallow enough, she willed the magic in her flesh to work. An itchy sensation burned along her fish tail. The water around her began to bubble as if it were boiling and her scales slowly dissolved, revealing smooth human skin. At about knee length, the scales peeled away painlessly from her body and formed her makeshift dress. The fragile gills on her neck disappeared, requiring her to breathe air like any human. When the transformation was complete and she could feel her toes wriggling in the rocky shore, she sprinted up the beach to find the source of the fire.

“Leo?” She cupped her hands around her mouth and shouted his name again. “Leo, where are you?”

Adrenaline coursed through her body. She prayed that he wasn’t hurt. Or worse. If he’d been injured on this island, she’d never forgive herself. After all, it had been her idea to bring him here. She should’ve just left him on a Monstranian beach. Let him go back to his senseless life of flirting and debauchery. At least then, she wouldn’t be responsible for whatever had happened to him.

“Leo!”

She came to an abrupt stop on the opposite end of the island, her throat choking on the sound of his name. The vampire prince stood on a bare piece of dirt, his hands on his hips, surveying the fire that was slowly consuming the few dozen trees on the island. He hadn’t heard her approach. On his face was a ridiculously proud grin, as if he had just located the secret city of Atlantis.

“What do you think you’re doing?” Eina demanded, marching toward him. Anger coursed through her body.