J.M. Snyder

Derek Meredith lost his lover of ten years, Tad Archer, in a boating accident. Four months later, anonymous phone calls lead him to a weathered bar on the coast, where he runs into an old friend named Kellen who has, in his own words, found something Derek has lost. Kellen and Derek are both members of a mythical race of sea creatures known as merrows. Friends earlier in life, Kellen had loved Derek from childhood, but a wanderlust filled Derek's heart, leading him to seek life on the shore among humans. Tad was the reason he'd left the ocean behind, and Kellen has never managed to move beyond that rejection. Back in Derek's life again, Kellen offers him an "indecent proposal" -- a night of passion between the merrows for the return of his lover. But complications arise, among them the fact that without his talisman, an item linking his blood with the sea, Derek is unable to return to the ocean and rescue Tad. His talisman was given to his lover on their tenth anniversary as a symbol of his love; in exchange, Tad gave him a gold ring. The metal holds mystical properties for those with merrish blood, and Derek hopes that the power of love that resides in the band might be enough to help him rescue his lover ... without having to succumb to Kellen's sordid desires in the process.

Undertow

Searching those pale eyes,Derek tried to explain,“I…I don’t have my talisman with me.”Kellen let out a bark of a laugh.“No,honest,listen.I gave it to Tad on our last anniversary.He gave me a ring,that’s the custom among humans,and I gave him my talisman as a…I don’t know,a promise I’d be with him forever.”


Kellen laughed again,and there was a mean edge to the sound.“Some promise,”he teased.Then,holding up the hand he held onto,he looked at Derek’s empty fingers and asked,“Where’s the ring?”


“At home.”Each word hurt to speak—it was one thing to think of these things alone,in the dark quiet of night,when he lay among his memories and ached for his lover’s touch.It seemed so surreal to be standing here in a bar with Kellen,sharing these feelings with little or no regard for how they affected him.


Chapter 9