Free Olympic Cove 2-Breaker Zone by Nicola Cameron Page A

going to take care of me?”
    “That’s the plan.” He considered the
glint in the mer’s green eyes. “You seem really happy about that.”
    “He’s mo chuisle , lord.”
    The translation popped into his head. The
Gaelic term of endearment literally meant “my pulse,” but was more commonly
translated to “my beloved”. It was also the term used by the mers for an agapetos . “Oh, Gaia,” he groaned.
“Tadpole, how much time did you spend with him?”
    Aidan’s expression softened, turning
dreamy. “Long enough to feel his hands on me and learn his scent, lord. He’s mo chuisle , I know it.”
    “Yeah, I bet you can,” the centaur muttered,
rubbing his forehead. “But you’re not going to do that right now, understand?
You can sex him up after your tail’s healed.”
    “I have to wait that long?” Aidan said,
dreaminess turning into worry. “Lord, I can’t. What if he meets someone and
mates them instead?”
    Chiron thought back to Nick’s comment
about an asshole boyfriend. “Yeah, I don’t think you have to worry about that.
Now, do me a favor, stretch out and get some rest. If you do that and promise
to keep your hands to yourself, I’ll send your chuisle in.”
    “I will, lord.” The mer settled back
against the pillows, already blinking heavily from the morphine. “Thank you.”
    Chiron sighed. “Don’t thank me yet,
tadpole.”
    Easing his way through the door, he headed
for the living room. Nick had already finished his prescribed beer, judging by
the empty bottle on the end table, and was working on another one. The twins
had disappeared, and Ian sat next to Nick, poised on the edge of the cushion as
if he thought the doctor was about to explode.
    Chiron clasped his hands behind his
human back. “Well, the good news is, your guest is still alive,” he announced.
    Nick’s head came up at that, his eyes slightly
blurred by the alcohol. “What’s the bad news?”
    “The bad news is, he misses you, so put
down your drink and go give him a goodnight kiss.”
    Glaring, the doctor shoved his beer
bottle at Ian and got to his feet. “Don’t think that this is all over,
Sparkles,” he said, wobbling slightly. “We’ll talk tomorrow after I sober up.”
    “Sparkles?” Chiron clapped a hand over
his heart. “I do believe I’m insulted. Next you’re gonna want to see my cutie
mark.” He jerked his head towards the guest room door. “Get in there, kid. Your
patient needs you.”
    Muttering something under his breath,
Nick pushed past him. Chiron heard the bedroom door open, then close. “Humans these days. Try to help them, and they just get
snotty.”
    Ian winced. “Why are you needling him?”
    “Gotta get my
kicks where I can. Speaking of that, I’m outta here—with any luck I can still catch Tara getting
chomped on by a great white. Call me if the mer gets worse.”
    Smirking, Chiron disappeared.
    ****
    Nick crept into the bedroom, acutely aware
that he was more than moderately buzzed. Just
check on him, say good night, then go crash on the
couch.
    Aidan was on his back, hands clasped
over his belly. “Hi, Nick.”
    “Hi.” Nick made himself move to the side
of the bed, picking up Aidan’s right hand to check his pulse. It seemed a
little sluggish. “Is your heartbeat normally this slow?”
    Aidan frowned. “I don’t know. I never
really noticed before. Is slow bad?”
    Nick tried to think past the beer. “Not
necessarily. People who are very physically fit have slower heart rates.” Which was an accurate description of the merman. Even in his
human form, Nick was willing to bet Aidan could take on an Olympic swimmer and
beat him handily. “Just want to make sure you’re not bleeding.”
    Aidan flipped up the blanket, revealing
a creamy expanse of muscled flank. The bandages around his thigh showed no sign
of blood. “I’m all right. See?”
    Nick swallowed hard, trying to ignore an
almost painful desire to lean over and lick the muscled groove leading to