Making Waves (Mythological Lovers) Page 10

  Finally, I opened my eyes and peeked at the stick. Two pink lines, a clear pregnancy result, darkened across the tiny white window. Where had that been last week when I tested twice?

  “Well?” Mom demanded.

  I sagged against the bathroom sink and exhaled a deep, relieved sigh. Tears stung my eyes within moments and trickled down my cheeks. We’d made it in time, with months to spare. Time enough to prove to his father our mating could be successful after all. Time enough to save Dante from the rear guard.

  My mother knocked again and threatened to pick the lock, so I saved her the trouble and opened the door. Without a word, I showed her the positive test then set it down.

  “Oh, honey...” Happiness warred with concern on her freckled face. “Are you okay with this?”

  “I am, Mom. I really am. I wanted to save this for after you met Dante but... I love him and we’re getting married. I mean, we talked about it.”

  She squealed and threw her arms around me. We hugged and bounced in place together for a few seconds before she finally let me go.

  “You have to go tell him,” Mom said. “Can you call in sick?”

  “I have to check on a few things but I’ll take off early and— crap. Dante has a tour group booked today. Do you think you can keep the news between us so I can tell him after dinner?”

  “I can do that,” she confirmed. “Besides, it’ll give me a chance to size my future son-in-law up.”

  Eyeing my mother up and down, I sighed. “He’s worried you’ll hate him, so please take it easy. Try not to scare him away.”

  “When have I ever scared any of your boyfriends?” Mom scoffed.

  “Alexi Papadopoulos comes to mind.”

  “Yes, well...”

  I kissed her cheek and grinned. “He was a loser anyway. You go have fun and I’ll pick you up here for dinner at six.”

  Everything about today was going to be great. I laced my hands over my belly and dreamed of the life growing within. Would it be a little boy with his father’s bright smile or a girl with my stormy gray eyes?

  As tempting as it was to tell Pam and Julia, my pregnancy remained a secret to share with Dante alone. I floated throughout the work day from one task to the next and even smiled in the face of Castlebury’s attitude.

  “Something’s gone wrong with my printer.”

  “Can’t you have David fix it?”

  “David is unavailable. You, however, are standing about.”

  I glanced at the laundry list of tasks on my desk, from equipment orders to time clock corrections for the floor staff. I’m going to kill this bastard with kindness. “Sure. I’ll be in to fix your printer in a second.”

  “Excellent.”

  “Douche,” I muttered after he left. The man was always jamming up his printer, but he couldn’t be bothered to learn how to open the machine and fix it on his own. It wasn’t even a difficult repair.

  I handled several reports then headed over to Castlebury’s office. His voice reached me through the door, causing me to slow and linger. A peek through the cracked opening revealed the man at his desk, phone to his ear.

  “I have a fully equipped boat ready to head out on the water,” Castlebury said into the phone. “Yes, yes. Of course. Acquire the specialty gear as discussed and we shall be good to go. No. No. Multiple harpoons will be necessary.”

  What the heck is he planning? Probably something that’ll wind up making me pull ridiculous hours. The last time Victor went out on his boat he came back with wild specimens that didn’t adapt well to confinement and (inspired) Teo’s rule about acquiring our animals through channels authorized by him only.

  “You’ll be handsomely paid for your time, I assure you. When we’re done, we’ll both be rich men...” His eyes raised to me from the computer screen as he hung the phone up. “Something I can help you with, Miss Kokinos?”

  “Your printer, Victor. You asked me to come fix your printer.”

  I did it hastily, hoping to be in and out before he could initiate small talk.

  “Employee productivity has taken a dramatic decline this summer,” Castlebury murmured from his desk chair. “What do you plan to do about it?”

  “Maybe an employee appreciation luncheon? Reward the ones who perform up to standards to inspire everyone else?”

  Doctor Castlebury’s brows raised. “Excellent idea, Miss Kokinos. Perhaps during the week while most staff members are available? Wednesday would be suitable.”

  “Really?” My mouth dropped, but I quickly recovered. “Oh, yes. Yes. Definitely. I’ll get on arranging that. Um... my mom is in town, so I wondered if I can take off early and have the rest of the week with her. I’ll come in Wednesday for the party.”

  Victor dismissed me with a hand wave then faced the computer. The printer beeped and clicked, creating electronic sounds as it cranked out sheets of printed text. “As much time as you need.”

  “Thank you, Victor.”

  Before the alien wearing my boss’ skin could emerge and eat me, I scurried from the room and tracked down Pam in the employee lounge.

  “Castlebury is being nice today,” I whispered. “Any idea what’s up?”

  “No idea. His usual fishing trip, I think. He scheduled off a week soon.”

  “I think he’s treasure hunting or something. He was talking to someone on the phone about boats, gear, harpoons, and getting rich. Thankfully he’s not Nick Cage, so we don’t have anything to worry about here.”

  Pam snorted. “Well, good luck to him then. Maybe if he finds gold he’ll quit.”

  After we shared a laugh at Castlebury’s expense, I typed up a quick flyer about the party and posted copies to our employee bulletin boards.

  Mom caught the afternoon performance in the tank. I spotted her through the glass and waggled my fingers in her direction. She gave a thumbs up for my new tail and snapped photo after photo. As much as I lived for mystifying the audience, I couldn’t wait for the damned summer to end.

  I puked in the trash can in the women’s changing room when I caught a whiff of someone reheating fried chicken in the microwave. The girls fussed over me but accepted my food poisoning excuse. I cleaned myself up and met Mom outside by the fish tanks.

  “Ready for dinner? I got us a table at the Mediterranean restaurant.”

  “Ooh, I loved that place last time I flew over. Still, I’m more interested in your young man.”

  “Mom,” I whined.

  “Don’t worry,” she said. “I’m just excited to meet him, is all.” Her attention drifted to a middle-aged man studying the adjacent tank. I admired the muscular blond with her in passing, then we strolled arm-in-arm down the flora-lined paths through the resort grounds. I pointed out my favorite shops, some of the resident animals, and chatted about Dante.

  “So what about his family? Do they live on the island, too?”

  “His grandfather runs a little hut on the beach with the best fresh fish.”

  “We’ll have to try it out while I’m here.”

  At the restaurant, I gave my name to the hostess and she said Dante was already waiting for us. She led the way inside the air conditioned building to a table toward the back beside the windows overlooking the ocean. At our approach, Dante rose to his feet.

  Five years of friendship had taught me Dante’s wardrobe only consisted of shorts and obnoxiously bright shirts, but the sight of him in a suit stole my breath away. The perfect cut had been tailored to his broad shoulders with an inseam suitable to his impressive height, and he wore Italian leather shoes to round out the immaculate charcoal-colored suit. My eyes darted to the silk tie beneath his pristine, starched white collar. The blue matched his eyes, overlaid with a white diamond pattern grid.

  I’d recognize Teo’s trinity knot anywhere. He’d worked his billionaire dragon magic and transformed my humble surfer into an elegant gentleman. Somehow, I managed to blink away the tears springing to my eyes.

  “Mom, this is Dante. Dante, my mom.” I
wiped my sweaty hands against my skirt a few times, petrified. I snuck a glance at her, only to find my fears were unjustified. Mom’s mouth opened and closed wordlessly.

  “It is my pleasure to meet you, Ms. Kokinos. I have waited a long time for this day.” Dante bowed courteously then offered his hand.

  Won over by either his good looks or impeccable display of manners, Mom pushed his hand aside and hugged him. “Please, call me Pelagia. My daughter informed me about the marriage plans in the making, which means you’ll be family soon.” Mom glanced over her shoulder and winked at me.

  Way to be subtle, Mom.

  “Yes, there are plans.” He squeezed her back, relief evident on his face. Once Mom stepped back, she gazed over him again and nodded her head in approval. “I’ve made arrangements for a small ceremony this week.”

  He what?!

  “Good.” My mother smiled, oblivious to my wide-eyed confusion behind her.

  We took our seats and ordered our drinks; water for me and wine for Dante and my mom. I figured I could have a sip or two from his glass. The moment my mother excused herself to the women’s room, I kicked Dante beneath the table. “Plans for a ceremony? Since when?”

  “Since today,” he answered. His grin reappeared, the one I’d come to love — one part arrogance to two parts adorable. “You were away when I went to pick up my suit from Teo, so I didn’t have the opportunity to discuss it with you.” He didn’t apologize for the snap decision, and frankly, I didn’t want him to. The sudden take-charge attitude turned me on as much as it thrilled me.

  Dante put on a flawless performance as my handsome fiancé. I beamed proudly beside him and held his hand throughout dinner. It turned out that I couldn’t tolerate the smell of beef any more than I could fried chicken. Dante and I stuck to the elaborate salad bar. I took generous portions of grilled shrimp, marinated artichoke hearts, and seaweed salad while my mom sampled their Greek offerings off the menu. For dessert we ordered fresh made baklava and almond cookies served with coffee, then followed our meal with a lazy, scenic stroll back to my home.

  “It’s been a true pleasure to meet you, Dante.” Mom hugged us both when we reached my doorstep then stepped inside to grant us privacy.

  “Will you walk with me for a few?” I asked him.

  “Sure.”

  He waited until we rounded the corner on the stone walking path before a thousand questions came from him. “Do you really think she likes me?”

  “My mom loved you. Trust me, she wouldn’t have had a word to say to you if she disapproved.”

  With our fingers interlaced, we made our way down toward the beach. The stone path was lit by a pair of hanging solar lanterns every fifteen yards. I moved aside for a broad-shouldered blond man to pass us. He looked as if he’d been chiseled from marble. Something about him struck me as familiar.

  “Did you mean it about wanting to be married, Dante?”

  “Of course I meant it. If marriage is the human way, why shouldn’t I want to make you happy?”

  “But will it make you happy?” I asked uncertainly.

  Dante’s warm laughter snaked around my heart, granting me the perfect amount of encouragement. “You make me happy.” He turned to face me on the narrow trail and set both hands on my hips, treating me to the hard outline of his body and perfect muscles I knew by memory.

  A few tourists passed by and veered out of our way, taking the sandy route away from the light and our romantic moment. I ignored them all in favor of gazing into his blue eyes. At some point during the course of our friendship I’d become impossibly, hopelessly in love with my best friend. And I’d have it no other way.

  “Come on. This way,” I whispered to him. Our fingers laced, my hand a perfect fit against his palm. We moved onto the beach, and once we were alone again, I captured him by a handful of his dark hair, dragging him down to kiss me. “We did it.”

  “Did what?”

  I giggled against his lips and whispered, “I’m pregnant.”

  At first, he stared, as if he didn’t understand the words coming from my mouth. His stunned silence ended with a whoop and then he swept me into his arms, spinning me around on the moonlit beach.

  In that moment, nothing but the two of us mattered.

  “Really?” he asked, refusing to set me down. The tips of my toes skimmed the damp sand.

  “Positive. I took a test this morning.” After throwing up everywhere... He doesn’t need to know about that. Not tonight, anyway.

  Dante ran his fingers through my hair, smoothing my bangs away from my face. His kisses never got old, each one setting my soul on fire with the same intensity as the last. “I promise you I will be the best father for our child.”

  “I know you will.”

  Chapter 10

  ~Dante~

  We decided to wait a couple days before spreading the news to my herd. I kissed Alessa one more time for luck, handed her my trunks, then waded into the water until it lapped against my thighs.

  “Good luck!” she called.

  I glanced over my shoulder at her and grinned. “Two hours tops.”

  “I’ll be here.”

  In daylight hours, our herd grazed amidst the ocean plant life between rounds of playful frolicking.

  A colt fell beside me, adopting my stroke rhythm to keep pace.

  “Hello, Taavi.”

  “Will you play with us today?” the youngster asked.

  My path to Dad took a delayed detour until we’d had three rounds of tag and the little ones were satisfied. One day, in the not-so-distant future, my foal would be among their number.

  “Good day, Delia,” I called through our link, spotting the ivory-furred mare my father had taken for his new mate. She jerked her head up, startled by my enthusiastic greeting.

  “Hello, Dante,” she greeted me uncertainly.

  “Is my father near?”

  “Above us.”

  I bowed my head to her and swam up to our cavern’s rocky surface. Dad frequently monitored the amount of grass and tropical life available to sustain our numbers. It was part of his job as our alpha, the boss who made sure we remained safe and fed. I’d watched him take on a shark once alone without the rear guard to have his back.

  I could never be my dad. Or could I? For Alessa or our child, I’d take on a swarm of them.

  “Father?”

  “You’ve returned.”

  “I have news to share.”

  Adon moved toward me across the wet sand, swift despite his muscled bulk. “Yes, I am well aware.”

  “What?” He knows? But how? We’ve told no one except her mother.

  “Did you believe such behavior would slip beneath my notice? That I would not realize two members of my guard have gone not once, but twice to the surface?”

  “Father—”

  “Perhaps you think me to be stupid or too blinded by my trust in you to realize what you have done.”

  “I never meant to displace your trust in me. I only wanted to show them there was a world above us full of people who are kind, and interesting things to learn. That’s it. Nothing more.”

  I couldn’t breathe. Nothing about this had gone the way I imagined it in my head. I had hoped he would for once, for once since my childhood, embrace me as his son again. That he would love me and take pride in my actions.

  My head drooped further, my muzzle pointing toward the mossy rock beneath my webbed hooves. This will never change. It’s now or never, I have to stand up to him for once in my life. “I took them because we are not your slaves, or your servants. You speak of the Phoenician people enslaving us as their animals then behave as if we are owned by you. What need do you have for Hyrum and Lycus here? If you punish anyone for what’s occurred, then punish me, Father. Me. I acted against your orders and convinced the others to come to the surface.”

  Adon stiffened, a mountain of golden-furred muscle before me. “What did you hope to accomplish?”

  “To show them there is more
to life than the sea. To help them understand the world above. You think me foolish, but all I have ever wanted was to share my life with you, Father. To prove I’m not the waste you think I am.”

  “Well. You have. I have never felt more pride for you as my son as I do now.”

  I prepared myself for the worst, expecting a violent tongue lashing. When it didn’t come, I stared as if he’d grown a second tail. “Proud?” I repeated.

  Adon’s shape shifted and shrank. The memory of my father’s human form didn’t match the man standing before me. I stared at him, too stunned initially to speak as I took in the shoulder-length blond hair and muscles as impressive as mine.

  “You were there. I saw you. I saw you at the beach, but I — I didn’t recognize you.” Like my father, I took my human shape and stared at him in awe.

  “I wished to see your filly with my own eyes. I wanted to understand your fascination and the justification for this defiance. She is radiant, my son, but more importantly, she made you smile.”

  “Of course she makes me smile, Father. I love her.”

  “I have not watched you smile since you were a boy.” My father inhaled a breath and squared his shoulders. “Since your mother’s passing.”

  I could speak the same of him. “You came up to spy on us?”

  “As I said. I wished to see her with my own eyes. When I ventured onto land, I sought the resident dragon of the island as I once did years ago to find you. He spoke well of her, enough to pique my interest. She swims like a fish, graceful in the water even with that fake tail.”

  “You watched her show?”

  “I did. She carries nereid blood in her veins, I am certain. Something about her reminds me of the old stories from when the water nymphs frolicked with the humans, as we once did.”

  His words stunned me, but they made sense. Is this why we’re so drawn to one another? Because she has sea nymph in her bloodline?