Bearliest Catch

A woman of mystery…
Jetty is a huntress of the deep ocean who finds herself fascinated by a man—a shifter—who sets anchor in her realm day after day. She is obliged to watch him, not fully understanding the fascination the handsome stranger compels within her battered heart.

A man with hidden scars…
Recovery from major injury isn’t easy. While Drew’s physical problems have been addressed and cured, the emotional scars from his battlefield catastrophe are harder to heal. He seeks the solace of the ocean even more than the welcome company of his former military comrades in the town of Grizzly Cove. When they give him a mission to make contact with an elusive mermaid, he’s more than willing to give it a try.

A people in danger…
Jetty and Drew will have to work together if they are to bring the mer people into the protection of the cove. They will both face the terror of the deep. Will they be strong enough to overcome its evil? And will their love be strong enough to overcome the injuries of the past that have left them both slightly broken in different ways?

The mer were some of the most mysterious of all shifters. Not much was known about them, but Jack’s new mate—her name was Grace—had been revealing little bits here and there. One of the things they’d told Drew in particular was that Grace’s hunting party might be looking for her and that one mer in particular, a gal named Jetty, might have occasion to swim near his boat from time to time.
Grace had asked him to make contact with her friend, if at all possible, to let them know she was all right and staying on land for the time being, with her mate. Big John, the Alpha, had gone one farther and told Drew to deliver an even greater message. He’d offered the mer asylum in the cove while the leviathan prowled off shore.
That was a big step, and Drew knew it. Inviting another group of shifters into their territory was monumental, and impressed upon everyone how dire the situation with the sea monster really was. Not that they didn’t know already. Everyone had seen the thing attacking Ursula when she’d cast it out of the cove with her powerful, permanent, magical wards.
It had been like something out of a horror flick. Massive. Multi-tentacled. And so evil it reeked.
Drew was able to sense the creature and its minions to some degree and was able to avoid areas where he believed they were lurking. Part of his magic, in addition to shielding, was sensing danger—and occasionally, he got a little tingle when he was being observed.
Like right now.
“Hey, mermaid, if you’re the one called Jetty, I have a message for you,” he called out.
He’d never tried to talk to her before. Of course, he hadn’t really been sure what—or, in this case, who—was watching him before. He’d thought maybe it was a dolphin or something. He hadn’t sensed any malevolence from the presence, just a sort of curiosity that didn’t really set off his spidey sense for danger.
He figured now that he had some intel on what was watching him from the water, he’d try the direct approach. If that didn’t work, maybe he’d dive in and swim around with the fishes for a bit. See if that got any response.
Though, of course, it was dangerous to go swimming with something that could breathe underwater when you couldn’t. He’d be a little nuts to do it, but Drew liked to live dangerously. If he didn’t, he’d have stayed safe in the cove, away from the sea monster and its evil children, and curious mer creatures who spied on him for no apparent reason.
He kind of hoped the mer would respond to his direct approach. He’d never seen Grace in her shifted form, and he was really curious about what mer looked like. In human form, Grace was just like any other person, though even Drew had to admit, she was a lovely woman. Jack had lucked out, finding such a beautiful and genuinely nice gal washed up on his beach. The Goddess had truly been smiling on the bastard.
“Your name is Jetty, right?” Drew tried again. “Grace told me you like to spy on my boat now and again. She’s all right, by the way. She sends her regards. The leviathan cut her up pretty bad, but my friend Jack found her, and it turns out they’re mates. You missed the ceremony, sorry to say.”
“Grace is mated?”
The sultry female voice came to Drew from the port side of his boat. He got up from his chair and approached the rail, peering over slowly so as not to startle the mer woman.
Only her head and shoulders were visible above the water, but Drew had to clear his throat to buy himself some time. She was lovely in an otherworldly sort of way. Fine, pearlescent scales covered what he could see of her skin, making it flash in the sunrise, reflecting the peachy dawn light. Her eyes were the blue of the ocean and her hair slicked back and wet with ocean water. It was probably a deep black color, though he couldn’t be sure it wasn’t just a dark shade of brown. Either way, the combination of blue eyes, dark hair and pearly skin was breathtaking.
And her voice… He wondered if maybe she was a sea siren with a sound like that. He wanted her to talk more, but that meant he’d have to talk first. He cleared his throat again and tried to think of something sensible to say.
“Yes.” There. That was simple enough, but she only smiled, waiting for him to say more. “Grace mated one of my friends. His name is Jack.”
“So you said before,” she replied, smiling in a way that told him she knew the effect she was having on him.
“Are you a siren?” he blurted out the pressing question on his mind.
Her tinkling laugh sounded over the water. “No. Luckily for you. If you ever met up with a real siren, your fishing days would be over.”
He was transfixed by her voice anyway. And her laugh sent ripples of pleasure right through him.
“I don’t know about that, Jetty. I can call you Jetty, can’t I?” He tried for charming and was glad when it seemed to work.
“You may, but what is your name, sailor man?” Her tone was teasing, her voice challenging in an attractive way.
“I’m Drew. Short for Andrew. At your service.” He wanted to touch her, but she was way down there and he was too far away. “Do you want to join me? I have a cooler full of beer and some ham sandwiches I’d be willing to share.”
“Ham?” She looked skeptical. “Got any with cheese too?”
“As a matter of fact, I believe I do have a ham and cheese on rye along with the ham on wheat. The gals in the bakery set me up with a selection of sandwiches last night when I went in for dinner. I order ahead when I plan to spend the day out on the water.”
“Do you have anything I can wear aboard?”
Sweet Mother of All, it sounded like she was going to accept his invitation. Drew scrambled, thinking fast about the articles of clothing he’d thrown onto the boat.
“I’ve got a terrycloth robe that would be large on you, but should serve the purpose. I’ve also got a change of clothes—a T-shirt and a pair of shorts—but they’d probably be too big for you. You’re welcome to them, though.” He was tempted to say she was welcome to anything he had, but that would be coming on a bit too strong for a first meeting. Wouldn’t it?
“All right,” she agreed, making her decision. “Get the robe and open the hatch on the stern. I’ll jump up.”