Bunny Ears and Broken Contracts Chapter 05

Bunny Ears and Broken Contracts Chapter 05

The carpet was soaked through. Where his weight pressed into it, water stains and red marks bloomed side by side.

Gano was braced against the edge of the sofa, face turned away. His lashes wouldn’t stop trembling. He couldn’t bring himself to look at me.

My fingers traced a line — ear fins, throat, the cut of his hips — and kept going, sliding past his waist.

Gano went pale. His voice came out thin.

“Hazel, you can pull out most of the scales on my tail, but that dark one… it’s not — I mean, you can, but please don’t. Please. Okay?”

“The others grow back. That one won’t.”

I stopped. My eyes found the scale he meant — the darkest one, near the base of his tail.

The moment my palm closed over it, his whole body went rigid. Color flooded his face — then drained just as fast when he realized I wasn’t letting go.

Every time a sale fell through, the rats had ripped scales from his tail to take out their frustration. He’d gotten used to that kind of pain — the raw, bloody kind that healed.

But that one scale was different. Pull it, and the bleeding wouldn’t stop. Not ever.

Maybe he’d thought I might be different. Maybe he’d been wrong again.

He’d bitten clean through his lower lip. His fingers clawed into the carpet.

Eventually his grip went slack. The fight left his face — everything did. He just went blank.

I leaned down. I kissed the scale.

I pinned both his wrists above his head with one hand and turned his face toward me with the other.

I kissed his eyelids.

“Open your eyes. What are you thinking about?”

Gano’s eyes opened slowly, dazed and wet. Sapphire blue, shimmering — something between a startled animal and sunlight through shallow water.

I kept my voice even.

“Ever been kissed? Your seller said you were untouched.”

“Was he telling the truth?”

Gano shook his head fast. “Never. I’ve never kissed anyone.”

I licked the blood off his lip, let go of his jaw, and let my hand drift back down to the scale.

“There’s something under this scale, Gano. Why don’t you show me?”

His eyes went wide — stunned, helpless, flushed with a shyness he couldn’t control. I smiled.

“What exactly did you think I meant by ‘blowing off steam’?”

He kissed like he was drowning, pulling me under with him. The merman’s stamina was inhuman. And the barbs — those lived up to the hype.

He had zero technique, though. All raw instinct, no finesse — like being caught in a riptide.

He kept watching my face, clumsy and anxious and trying so hard to get it right.

“I’m sorry — was I too much? Did I hurt you?”

I grabbed a fistful of his blonde hair and yanked his head back.

“Obviously it hurts. You’ve never done this before, so shut up and focus!”

Gano nodded, dead serious. His gaze dropped.

“Oh.”

By the end, my head was empty. Every thought, every feeling — all of it, gone.

The last thought I had before I blacked out was simple.

That $200,000 was worth every cent.

A few days later, I had the old swimming pool out back drained and cleaned. It was big enough for Gano to swim properly.

He did a few laps underwater, then surfaced right in front of me, eyes shining. Water streamed down his face, and he looked more alive than I’d ever seen him.

“I’m happy.” His tail swayed behind him.

“Thank you, Hazel.”

I held my hand out. He pressed his cheek into my palm and kissed it, once, twice, three times.

“It’s weird,” I said, scratching under his chin. “You’re more like a puppy than a fish.”

“A puppy?” Gano blinked. “What’s that?”

He’d been locked in a tank since the day they dragged him out of the ocean. Land was still mostly a mystery to him.

“It’s an animal,” I said. “Loyal to its owner. Wags its tail when it’s happy.”

Gano glanced down at his own tail, still swaying beneath the surface.

“Then I’m your puppy, Hazel,” he said, completely serious. “Yes.”

I laughed, actually laughed, and beckoned him closer. I fastened a black collar around his neck — custom-made.

It had a few functions built in. Tracking. Shock correction. Alerts.

Gano ran his fingers over it. Before he could ask, I cut him off.

“It’s a reward. For the puppy.”

He beamed like I’d handed him the whole ocean.

I watched him blow bubbles for a while, then stood to leave. My phone buzzed — a call from my mother. We hadn’t spoken in months.

I hesitated, then picked up.

“Did you sell a beastman to Chloe?” No hello, no warmup.

“Hazel, I’ve told you a hundred times — don’t drag whatever you picked up in Pine Valley into this family. And don’t you dare drag Chloe into it.”

“I gave you a home. That should have been enough. I’ve never said a word about whatever mess you get yourself into on your own time.”

I set the phone on the ledge and let her go. The merman was still blowing bubbles.

Ten minutes later, the lecture wound down. I picked it back up and gave her what she wanted.

“Yeah, Mom. Heard you loud and clear.”

I screenshotted the call log and sent it to Chloe. She transferred $50,000.

[She showed up at my place unannounced today and saw your rabbit. She went OFF.]

[Blamed the whole thing on you, obviously.]

[You didn’t say anything, right?]

I stared at the transfer. The corner of my mouth twitched.

[Would she believe me even if I did?]

[Fair point. Fine, just take the money, you little extortionist.]

[Oh right — your birthday’s next Monday. I’ve got something I can’t get out of that day, BUT Mom wanted me at some exhibition, so I told her I was going to your birthday instead. You’re welcome.]

[$20,000.]

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