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

Derek fingered the ring—handsome,golden,beautiful in its simplicity.A small pattern circled it,slightly raised and polished above the matte gold beneath it.A Celtic design,interlocking slanted S-shapes that resembled the ocean’s waves.When he touched the gold,he felt a jolt of energy course through his fingers.


Quickly he broke the twine and slipped the band onto the ring finger of his left hand.It slid into place like the missing piece of a puzzle;Derek’s skin prickled,his hair stood on end,as a shockwave of raw emotion raced through him.This was his talisman now—this ring tied his blood to Tad’s with a power more ancient than the sea and his people,a force stronger than the ocean’s temper or the waves’pounding surge.


Chapter 12