Kissing the Shark (Maritime Monsters #1)

Chapter 5- Karlo

CHAPTER 5- KARLO

IT’S AN ORDINARY day working for the Maritime Monsters Institute. I make some coffee in the break room and shoot the shit with Ardsley by his desk. Apparently Skyler’s gone down early for some big project with Emma.

“Word on the seas is that we found a real shark shifter who lives in the ocean,” Ardsley says with an excited grin.

“No way,” I reply.

“Yes way.” He munches on a granola bar, and I pull my rolling chair near his. The upstairs of MM is your typical office, with cubicles and work rooms for group projects. We run big marine life experiments as well as social events to boost museum ticket sales. As such, we each have our own workstations, but I like to pal around with my two best friends in the morning.

But Skyler is downstairs with a shark shifter. Is it possible that he’s the man I see in my dreams?

No. No way. Just because I nearly drowned two weeks ago and I have saltwater-induced hallucinations of a shark rescuing me doesn’t mean it’s true. So we have a shark shifter as part of our outreach, so what? It’s purely coincidental.

I should just be glad that we’re all going to meet an ocean native. There’s so much we can learn from him to improve human-monster relations. I need to focus on all the potential research opportunities, not wondering if he can shift into a sexy human. Though a half-shark half-man sounds intriguing…

Several minutes later, a few of us have gathered in a group workspace. We’re looking over population density maps of the Pacific Ocean, trying to track where our released endangered species have gone. Satellite imagery can only do so much, and as a team, we need to find out where our most at-risk creatures migrate to.

“So this is my desk, and around the corner is the group office. I can introduce you to some of the folks you’ll be working with.” Skyler’s voice travels as he walks toward us. When he turns the corner, I’m frozen at the sight of his guest.

It’s a shark shifter, alright. This tall monster has blue skin, a tail, and a dorsal fin, all the trappings of a great white. Based on his shapely legs, big arms, and toned torso, I can safely conclude he’s in his hybrid form―that is, a combination of human and creature traits.

And what a torso it is. I’ve never been attracted to monsters, since my hometown had so few of them. Ardsley is cool, but we’re just buddies. But this man —shark? Man shark? Shark monster? —is something else. He towers over us, but underneath his slick and scaly exterior, his face is almost…beautiful.

And he looks determined as he walks up to me. Wait what?

“Um, hello.”

“Is this…yours?”

He dangles an object in front of me — my key chain!

“Oh yeah, this is my key. How’d you find it?” I thought I’d lost it the day my dumbass went surfing alone.

“I…um…found it on a beach.”

I thank this —big, tall, muscular, and handsome —shark shifter and introduce myself. Do I find it weird that he’s only talking to me? Kind of.

But now he’s on one knee. Caressing my hand. And he’s asking me, no, begging me to be his mate. Everyone in the office is officially staring at us.

We’ve left the port of weirdness and headed straight into the ocean of insanity.

“Uh…” My brain short circuits and I look around. I swear, no one else is breathing. There isn’t even the sound of any typing, just an office full of colleagues watching this shifter, a grown shark man, asking me to mate with him.

What does that even entail? Wait, why am I considering this?

“Ha…haha!” I yank my hand away and shake it while I laugh. Shark man, frowns then stands up. “This is a prank.” I wag my finger at Skyler. “Very funny, Skyler.”

Skyler looks just as shocked as the others as he slowly shakes his head.

“You hired this guy to say some wacky words! Very funny, but April Fool’s Day is over!” I stand up and, with shaky hands, gather my papers.

“Karlo, I’ve never met him before today,” Skyler murmurs, even though it’s pretty clear everyone is listening to this crazy scene unfold.

And it is crazy. Nothing this shark has said makes any sense. “Still…a…good prank!” I say with a strained voice.

“What is a prank?” The shark, standing tall and proud, stares intently at me. “Do you agree to be my mate, Karlo Castillo?”

I gulp and look around at everyone’s faces. Then, I turn back to the monster. “I…um…” Is this shifter going to eat me?

“Uh, Karlo, hey!” Skyler steps forward, sounding almost as flustered as I am. “Can I talk to you and Mr. Shaughnessy way over by my desk? Don’t want to interrupt everyone else’s work, right? Ha ha!” He forces a laugh, but the shark stares at him skeptically. After another beat of silence, I power-walk out of the meeting room and into the hallway.

With a few nervous strides, Skyler and I make it to his desk. Of course, the shifter isn’t far behind. His tail wags along as he catches up to us with ease using his long, toned legs. So shapely…

Focus . I’m not his mate. And I don’t intend to be. This is all some weird shifter terminology misinterpretation.

“Whew, what a morning this has been, right?” Skyler asks.

I turn to him then back to the shark, Mr. Shaughnessy. The shark nods, still not blinking as he stares at me. He’s not glaring, per se, but more, observing me. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say he was nervous.

“Right. I have…a lot to do,” I murmur.

“Do you agree to be my mate?” the shark asks with a serious tone.

I gulp. “Um…what…what are you talking about?”

“I desire you, Karlo Castillo.”

I purse my lips. “But we just met. This is your first day here! ”

“Regardless,” he says in that deep voice, inches above me. “I long to be with you.”

I turn back to my best friend, who seems equal parts fascinated and shocked. “Skyler, can you, uh…give us some privacy?”

Skyler stares at the shark. “I don’t know. I don’t want anyone to get hurt if things get heated.”

“You just want to watch the drama,” I mutter. I know my best friend too well.

“I would never lay a hurtful fin on you. And no harm shall come to you, Karlo Castillo, not while I am in your presence.” Mr. Shaughnessy puffs up his chest. It would be chivalrous and sweet if it wasn’t, you know, absurd.

I nod at Skyler, and he slowly backs away. It’s obvious he’s still mostly within earshot, but I don’t care. Right now, I need to take in all the information being thrown at me. We have our first shark shifter, a true maritime monster, raised in the ocean. And he wants to…be with me?

I play with my fingers and lean on the desk. “Is this…some weird prank?”

“What is a prank?”

That answers that question. “It’s like…a lie, for a joke. You know what a joke is?”

“I am familiar with the concept. My aunt is a human and a surface dweller, and she has taught me some terms. But most complicated language concepts are irrelevant when I am in my shark form.”

My eyebrows rise in interest. “So, you really were raised in the sea?”

“Yes. I am Razorjaw, the apex predator of the ocean.”

I let out a small gasp. My pulse raises, but from fear…right? “Uh…do you…know what a mate is? ”

“Yes. It is someone you wish to be with, in a sexual and romantic manner. Humans find mates all the time, and I am part human.”

I nod. “Okay, but Mr. Shaughnessy…can I call you that?”

“You can call me whatever you wish, my love.”

I grunt. “Don’t…call me that.”

“As you desire, Karlo Castillo.”

“Okay, what is your name?”

“Razorjaw.”

I frown. “Sure, I notice your teeth. But what’s your first name?”

“I am Razorjaw.”

I choke on air and my knees threaten to buckle. I sit down in my rolling chair and look up. “Razorjaw? Seriously?”

The shark…Razorjaw…whatever…gets down on one knee again. “My love…I mean, Karlo Castillo. Do you not wish to be my mate?”

I spin in my chair, overwhelmed with this entire conversation. My dream as a researcher was to meet a shark shifter who was raised in the ocean, not to mate with one! “It’s…I, well…no.”

“No?!” His voice is louder as he stands. I flinch and roll myself away on instinct.

“Ah, please don’t kill me!” I yelp. Skyler and Ardsley appear at my side, but I’m afraid he’d eat them, too.

Razorjaw bristles, then takes two long breaths with his eyes closed. When he looks at me again, he seems calmer. “I would never harm you, or any human that did not threaten me. My mother taught me that.”

“Really?” I ask, standing up.

He nods grimly. “Yes. And I accept your rejection, Karlo Castillo. Even though I returned your key…chain…and saved your life.”

“What?” My two friends and I all ask at once.

The shark shrugs. “Several days ago you were bleeding in my corner of the ocean. So, I dragged you to the shore. In my haste, I grabbed your key chain. It led me back to you.” He stares at me, those glossy azure eyes boring into me. “Because, like I said, you…are the most beautiful being I have ever seen. And I used your key chain to find you.”

“Aw, just like the fairy tale,” Ardsley coos.

I wave him off and turn back to the shark. “This is…a lot to take in…Razor, uh…”

“Razorjaw,” he says.

I nod. “Right. Razorjaw. That’s a mouthful.”

“He sure is,” Skyler murmurs. He bites his lip and I glare at my best friend to get him to stop ogling the shifter.

“Razorjaw, you’re new to the surface world, right?” I ask.

“I have visited several times over the years.” He rolls his shoulders and looks at our office desks. “But yes, I will be working here for a period of time.”

I raise my hands up. “We have certain norms here. And you can’t just go around talking like this to strangers. There will be no mating here. This is a…no mating zone.”

He’s silent, and I’m once again afraid he’s going to devour me with those sharp teeth. “So…you are formally rejecting me, Karlo Castillo?”

“Now, Razorjaw,” Skyler says. “He doesn’t mean that. This is just a professional environment. And uh, you’re new here, so my friend hasn’t had a chance to consider —”

“No.” The shark raises his hand. “I understand completely.” He steps back. “Would one of you please lead me back to the shore? I need to feed for the rest of the day, and I will return for our research tomorrow. ”

Crap . I broke his fishy heart. He seems so disappointed and walks with more of a slouch than before as Ardsley guides him to the elevator.

Why do I feel bad? This massive shifter hopped out of the ocean and demanded I be his mate. But, on the other hand, he’s the research subject of a lifetime.

More than all that, the monster saved my life. I could have let him down more gently, probably.

Shit .

I make a mad dash down the emergency stairs and take every shortcut out the back entrance of the institute. Catching my breath, I burst through the last door toward sunlight and sea breezes. Down the concrete steps, I spy Ardsley pointing to the water. Even though I’m some yards away, the shark turns toward me and smiles.

When I reach them, I lean over to catch my breath.

“Karlo, are you alright?” Ardsley asks.

“Do you require assistance?” Razorjaw asks. His concern is…almost sweet.

“I’m fine.” I wave my hand around, then regain my composure. I straighten my shirt, then turn to Ardsley. “Ards, could you…?”

“I’ll be right over there.” He gives Razorjaw a small salute and saunters off. Now it’s just me, a tall shark man, and the cresting ocean waves.

“Are you okay, my love? I mean, Karlo Castillo.”

“It’s just Karlo. And yeah, I wanted to thank you. For saving my life.”

A gentle smile grows on his face, and it makes my inside squirm just a bit. “I would save any human. I do not eat my own kind. ”

I snicker. “Noble.”

“But I am particularly glad I saved you.”

I look away, choosing to stare at the nearby waves. His blue eyes on me make me feel extra exposed. “Mr. Shaughnessy, I’m not your mate. I can’t be. Here on the surface, things are a little different.”

“But in the fairy tales, the prince always returns the item to the princess, then —”

I wave my hand at him in a cutting gesture. “Man, stop. Fairy tales aren’t real. I’m a human dude, not a princess, not a shark. I’m just a man. Are you even gay?”

“If you are referring to my orientation, that is irrelevant in the sea. More importantly, I desire you.”

I want to ask a thousand questions about his life in the sea. Instead, I look him up and down. His toned abs and bulging pecs are… tantalizing . I shake my head and clear my throat. “Well, still. That’s not how ‘mating’ works on the surface.” I use dramatic air quotes and he frowns.

“Then how do you…as they say…fall in love?”

I sigh. “It’s complicated. But you have to get to know the other person first.” I gaze at the horizon where the sky meets the sea. “You need to learn all about them and see them for who they are, not who you’ve built them up to be.”

Advice I wish I would take myself . When I look at him, the shark seems to be seriously pondering my words.

“Karlo…”

“Thank you for saving my life. And for returning my key. I hope you stay with us at MM. Because research with you could help a lot of monsters. Have a good day, Razorjaw.”

With that, I turn on my heel and walk up the wet stones back to the institute. When I reach the entrance and turn back to the dock, the shark is nowhere to be found. He’s back in the water, and I’m going back to work, and that’s how things should be.