Free Jacob's Ladder (String of Fate) by Bianca D'Arc Page A

muscled, very good looking man. And he was naked…and very well endowed. Ria couldn’t help but notice before the man reached for a robe and hid his…uh…assets…from view.
    “Son of a gun,” Jake swore, but there was a broad smile on his face. “I should’ve known.” He stepped forward to meet the man, his hand outstretched. “Tom Kinkaid as I live and breathe.”
    The two men shook hands and included a back slapping bro-hug in their repertoire of greeting. It was the friendliest greeting Ria had seen Jake give anyone so far. This guy had to be a good friend—or at least, one Jake hadn’t seen in a long time.
    “I thought that was you doing the swan dive off the bridge deck. Trying to impress Uncle Ed?” Tom asked, grinning from ear to ear.
    If anything, the smile made the man even more handsome as a dimple appeared on one cheek. It was a good thing Ria had found her mate, or she’d have been in mortal danger of falling in serious like with the handsome selkie.
    “Not sure anything impresses the old man,” Jake answered with a rueful expression. “But I figured it couldn’t hurt to try. I’m feeling at a decided disadvantage around all your people. Hell, Tom. I had no idea you were one of those Kinkaids.”
    “And I had no idea you knew about us. Damn, Jake. Too many secrets.” Tom shook his head as Jake stepped back to include Ria into their small circle.
    “You can say that again. Ria, honey,” Jake said, putting a possessive arm around her waist as he drew her into the conversation. “This is Tom Kinkaid, the dive master who taught me everything I know about diving, both with gear and off the high diving board.”
    “Ma’am,” Tom nodded to Ria respectfully, his gaze taking in the way she fit against Jake. Yeah, she saw the moment he figured out they were together. “I never realized the major here was mated into a Clan.”
    “He wasn’t,” Ria replied honestly. “Not until just recently, though his sister mated my cousin a few months back. He’s known about us for a while.” She reached out to shake the man’s hand. “Why do you call him Major?” She realized that was the second time she’d heard Jake referred to by that term. Was it a rank? Had he been a soldier? It made sense. He certainly had all kinds of military skills and training.
    Tom seemed confused for a moment as he looked from Jake to Ria and back again. “Uh…”
    “I was a major in the Marines. Force Recon. Special Operations. I did a little training with the SEALs—though I didn’t realize at the time that you guys really were seals.”
    Tom shrugged. “We like the irony.”
    Ria laughed. “Our mating is very new,” she explained, knowing the selkie was still confused about why she hadn’t known about Jake’s background.
    “Congratulations are in order, then,” Tom smiled. “Will I see you both at breakfast? I’d love a chance to catch up a bit, now that Jake knows what we are.”
    “Edvard invited us to breakfast after our swim but he’s still in the water,” Ria looked back over the dark ocean, the dawn just barely beginning to kiss the sky to the east.
    “He’s giving you time to shower and change. Go up to your rooms, get the salt off your skin and I’ll see you in the breakfast room. I can send someone to show you the way if you don’t know the lay of the ship yet,” Tom offered.
    Ria looked to Jake, but he shrugged. “I guess we could use that guide. I haven’t seen the breakfast room yet.”
    “All right. How about a half hour? Is that enough time? I’ll send my sister to get you. She’s got too much spare time on her hands as it is,” Tom joked.
    “Sounds like a plan,” Ria answered. “Now which way was our cabin?”
    Tom took pity and showed them the way to the guest cabins, chatting a bit with Jake as they went along. He showed them parts of the ship they hadn’t yet seen and talked about how the salt water didn’t bother selkie skin the way it did other shifters and