“Nothing’s gonna hit you,” Rickshaw promised. “We’ve got this.”

“You’ll have Penny back in no time,” Paisley added. “We’ll make sure she makes it to that plane.”

“I’ll stay with Ruby and the kids,” Hailey said, “but you guys keep her safe.

Hailey walked over and kissed Penny on the forehead.

“Come back soon,” she said.

Penny nodded and smiled.

“Alright,” Thane said. “Oliver, why don’t you stay and keep watch here with Hailey. No place is safe right now.”

“Sure thing,” Oliver said.

“Poet, you come with us on the boat,” Thane added.

“Thank you,” Poet said with a slight bow of his head.

Thane leaned down to whisper in Penny’s ear, “He doesn’t really like to shift. He still hasn’t gotten used to the pain. He prefers dry land.”

“Poet,” Penny said. “Why don’t you stay and keep an eye on Ruby. I’m sure she and Hailey could use the extra help.”

“No,” he said. “I’ll go with you. I’m fine.”

He was always so polite.

“See you soon, babe,” Kino said as he hugged Penny and then pulled off his clothes and handed them to Ruby.

Penny couldn’t help looking at this buff, Hawaiian man, with his cock dangling in the open air. It was almost comical how at ease he was with it. She turned to the other side and saw that Jagger had done the same. There he was in his long haired, swinging dick glory. Rickshaw was already naked and was beating on his chest like Tarzan by the time Penny looked his way. Faith pulled her clothes off. Kalina and Paisley followed. Even the women looked amazing. Paisley had her curvy thing going on, but she owned it so well she oozed sexiness. Everyone handed his or her clothes to Ruby. They said their goodbyes and then all ran to the ocean, diving in and never popping back up for air.

Juan Diego began checking the small dingy that would take them out to his larger vessel. Poet helped him use towels to dry a few saltwater puddles that could easily touch hers or Thane’s feet. Penny watched as they did this, and it dawned on her that Poet wasn’t shifting, even though his feet were entirely under water. Thane had told her he couldn’t touch salt water at all without it happening.

“Thane,” she said. “Why is Poet able to touch the water and you aren’t?”

“He’s different,” Thane said. “He’s always been like that. He can touch the water and he’s fine. He shifts on command, choosing when he’ll do it and when he won’t. And he hates it so it’s rare that he’ll do it.”

“Can he teach you?” Penny asked. “To control it?”

“It’s not that simple,” Thane said. “He was born that way. It’s not really something he can tutor me on. But that would be great, wouldn’t it?”

***

Penny was so full of questions. It was one of the things he loved about her. She was always thinking, as if every aspect of life was something she could apply the scientific method to. Hypotheses seemed to hover constantly in her mind. He wished his inability to control his shifting in salt water was something she could solve with ease, but he knew it wasn’t.

Once they were back on the boat, Thane was anxious. He hated being on the water in human form. He feared an attack on the boat, but he also knew that Evelyn would have to bring an army to take down the sharks he had guarding them. The members of his group were fun, friendly, and family-oriented, but they were complete badasses when it came time to fight.

Sitting on the deck of the boat, Thane held Penny in his arms and thought about how lonely he’d be with her gone. He hadn’t known her long, but somehow, he’d poured every inch of his being into her. She was everything now. That’s the way it was with his kind. When they found a mate, they became connected, and separating them could cause serious damage. Knowing she’d be back soon would have to keep him sane, and the fact that she’d return sooner if he took care of their problem would only drive him to do it more quickly.

Evelyn had to go. Plain and simple. Either she left the area, or she died, and Thane knew she wouldn’t willingly leave. She would have to be forced by extreme measures.

“I love you,” he told Penny as he wrapped his arms around her stomach.

She leaned back into him and stared out at the ocean. They were only a few miles from Queensland and the resort docks, and Thane was starting to relax a little. They were almost there. They weren’t in the clear, but they were much safer than they’d been farther from shore.

“You have to come back to me soon,” Thane said.

“You have to let me come back to you soon,” she said. “I’m not leaving because I want to. You remember that. This is your doing.”

Tags: Chris Genovese Guardians of the Deep Paranormal
Source: readsnovelonline.net