Music
For a Merman
Sea
of Love Book 2
by
Alice Renaud
Genre:
Fantasy Romance
“Rob
Regor knew that humans were trouble. All the shape-shifting mermen of
the Morvann Islands knew it. And human women were double trouble,
especially when they were lying on the road in front of a
digger.”
Rob
has a mission. Go to the mainland. Work as a policeman. Find out as
much as possible about the mainland humans. Report back to his
father, the head of the Regor Clan. It should be easy.
Until
he has to arrest Charlie. Rob can’t fight his attraction to the
sexy eco-warrior, and it puts him on one hell of a collision course
with his family and his Clan. Will he break the rules – or break
her heart, and his?
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Rob Regor knew that humans were trouble. All the shape-shifting mermen of the Morvann Islands knew it. And human women were double trouble.
Especially when they were lying on the road in front of a digger.
The site manager strode up to him. “Can you move her, officer? I’m already behind schedule.” His tone was polite, but his clenched fists told another story.
A gaggle of locals and tourists had gathered behind him. Their eyes bore into Rob, some curious, some hostile. Unease crept across his scalp. Many locals in St-Sulien opposed the development of this stretch of Welsh coast, and tempers in the village had been running high. He could have a mini-riot on his hands if he didn’t take control.
The thought was like a kick to the backside. This was his first real challenge as a rookie cop. He had to show his superiors that he could handle it.
He adjusted his cap and strode to the horizontal figure on the asphalt. She looked so vulnerable, with her head resting inches away from the giant vehicle’s wheels. Her tight jeans and red T-shirt were streaked with dirt, her mane of black curls grey with dust. He wondered how long she’d been lying there.
“Miss. Please get up.” He hoped that he’d got the tone right. He wanted to sound firm, not too fierce or too pleading. He still found the nuances of human speech tricky at times.
Two amber eyes, as bright and challenging as a leopard’s, stared up at him. “No chance.”
Prickles of annoyance displaced his unease. Even for a human, this was ridiculous behaviour. Dangerous, too. One wrong move from the driver, and the digger would flatten her. “Miss, you can’t stay here.”
She crossed her arms over her chest. “I’m not moving.”
Someone sniggered. Irritation swept over Rob’s body like a rash. He was a merman warrior of the Regor Clan, damn it. He wasn’t going to let a bunch of humans ridicule him.
He straightened his uniform. He’d have preferred to arrest her away from the crowd, but she wasn’t giving him that option. “Miss, I am Police Constable Rob Regor. I am arresting you on suspicion of aggravated trespass. You do not have to say anything. But it may harm your defence if you do not mention, when interrogated, something which you later rely on in court—”
She interrupted him with an exaggerated sigh. “Spare me the routine; I’ve heard it all before. And it’s ‘questioned’ not ‘interrogated’.”
Great, now she was correcting him. In public. It was getting better and better.
“Anything you do say may be given in evidence!” He caught himself. He was snapping. He couldn’t let his temper show too much in front of that crowd. He counted to ten to simmer down. “Right, miss. I am going to put my hands under your armpits and lift you up.”
She studied him with narrowed eyes, then her mouth relaxed into the beginnings of a smile. “You can put your hands wherever you like, officer.”
A
Merman's Choice
Sea
of Love Book 1
For
centuries the shape-shifting mermen of the Morvann Islands have lived
incognito among humans. But one of them, Yann, has developed some bad
habits. Like rescuing humans, even when doing so risks revealing his
true nature. When he fishes Alex out of the sea, he doesn’t expect
her to reappear eight months later, and turn his life upside down by
asking him to be her guide.
Alex
is determined to fulfil a promise to her dying grandmother, by
gathering pictures and stories of the Morvanns. But she soon
discovers that, on these remote Welsh islands, legends have a habit
of becoming true!
Over
the course of a few days, Yann and Alex grow close. But some mermen
hate humans. Their hostility, and Yann’s secret, threaten to tear
the couple apart just as they are discovering that they are soul
mates. Can Yann overcome the obstacles in his path and make the right
choice?
The girl wasn’t swimming any more. Yann’s sonar gave him a clear picture of her distress. She was flailing. Sinking.
Fear punched him between the ribs. Just a few minutes earlier, she’d been splashing in the shallows, laughing and humming to herself. That music had rippled around him, brightening his journey. Now the sea was snuffing that light out. No! He wouldn’t let it happen. His webbed hands and feet churned the water, and he shot towards her like a torpedo.
Not this one, sea. Not this time.
She came in sight, slim and lovely, with long bronzed limbs and hair the colour of sunshine. But her eyes were closed, her movements slow, hesitant, as if she were falling asleep. His fear hardened into cold, sharp dread. He poured all his energy into the last powerful strokes. He’d almost reached her, when his eye caught the shadow, beyond the crystal surface, out there in the dry world. He sent a sound wave. It came back with an image, and the icy blade inside him twisted: two-legged shapes on the beach. Humans!
If they saw him, they’d know him for what he was. His people’s secret, kept for thousands of years, would be out.
The girl’s head vanished under the waves. To hell with that. He couldn’t let her drown.
He grabbed her and dragged her back to the surface. She thrashed in his arms and coughed up seawater. Intense relief swept through him as he hugged her to his chest. He’d sworn he’d never again swim by and let a human drown, and he’d kept his promise. If the young woman’s eyes remained closed, he might even get away with it. He wanted her to breathe, not scream in horror at the sight of his dark grey face.
He looked up. The shapes on the beach had gone. Another miracle, or perhaps he’d only imagined them. What if they came back? A fresh stab of anxiety propelled him through the surf. He lay the girl down on the sand, cushioning her head on his arm. Her round breasts, encased in the turquoise bikini top, rose and fell in a regular rhythm, but her skin felt clammy under his hands. He scanned the beach in vain for something to cover her with, and saw the motorbike. A sleek, sporty number, well camouflaged among the grass-covered dunes.
Shit. He retracted the webs between his fingers and toes, but his body would take at least twenty minutes to shift from the aquatic shape to the human form. And even when it did, what would the humans think, if they found him naked next to an unconscious girl?
They’d arrest him for indecent exposure, or worse. He touched the girl’s face with a tentative finger. The thought of leaving her sickened him. But he couldn’t stay.
Her eyelids fluttered and she muttered a name. “Boris?”
As if in answer, a male voice tore through the air, from behind the dunes. “Alex!”
Yann flew towards the waves. Help was coming for the girl. She’d be fine.
He sped into the open sea, leaving the human world and human fears behind. He’d saved her. That knowledge glowed inside him as he plunged into the depths. She was safe, and his people would remain safe too. He sang as he rode the riptide, a song full of triumph and laughter. Far away, the humpback whales heard him and picked up the tune. He’d got away with it.
For now. His euphoria abated. No humans had seen him, but his people had sharper eyes and ears. He shouldn’t even have been hanging around, in full merman shape, so close to an inhabited island, but he’d thought he’d be OK. In late September so few tourists were around, and locals had better things to do than go swimming in cold water. He sniffed the current, tuned his sonar towards the Clans’ Islands. Nothing. With luck, no one would notice that he’d broken the merpeople’s rules.
Again.
I
was born and brought up in Brittany, Western France, my father was
French and my mother British (from Wales). I moved to London, UK, in
1997, where I now live with my husband and son. I work full time as a
compliance specialist in a pharmaceutical company. I have been
writing in my free time since I was 14. I got quite a few short
stories published in UK magazines, before moving to longer fiction. I
wrote three contemporary romance books, but didn’t find a publisher
for them. I then realized that mermen, sea witches and water demons
were a lot more fun than sheikhs and billionaires! My first two
paranormal romances did not find a publisher either, then I wrote A
Merman’s Choice, which was published in January 2019 by Black
Velvet Seductions. It is the first book in a fantasy romance trilogy
inspired by the landscapes and legends of Brittany and Wales. I love
reading and writing stories, and sharing them with anyone who’s
interested!
Follow
the tour HERE
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