Backstroking with a Tiger Shark

By Charlie Richards

Tortelion, Tort to his friends, is a tiger shark shifter. He spends his workdays awing human audiences with a few aquatic parlor tricks. To him, it’s a pretty good gig. Plus, the people who come to World of Aquatica learn about his kind...well, tiger sharks of the non-shifter variety, anyway. A day that starts the same as any other suddenly takes a turn for the better when a mishap sends two humans tumbling into his tank. Blood in the water tells Tort that one of them is his mate. Joining those taken to the doc’s office as a witness, Tort learns his mate is Kane Cornshun, a busy human graphic designer only visiting the area to see his sister and her kids for a few days. Tort has very little time to woo his unsuspecting mate. Can he convince Kane to give up his life and join him at Aquatica?

• Language: English
• Publisher: eXtasy Books Inc
• Release date: Jul 14, 2017
• ISBN: 9781487414191

Book preview

World of Aquatica: When a human takes a dunk in a shark tank, he discovers a world he never knew existed.

Tortelion, Tort to his friends, is a tiger shark shifter. He spends his workdays awing human audiences with a few aquatic parlor tricks. To him, it’s a pretty good gig. Plus, the people who come to World of Aquatica learn about his kind... well, tiger sharks of the non-shifter variety, anyway. A day that starts the same as any other suddenly takes a turn for the better when a mishap sends two humans tumbling into his tank. Blood in the water tells Tort that one of them is his mate. Joining those taken to the doc’s office as a witness, Tort learns his mate is Kane Cornshun, a busy human graphic designer only visiting the area to see his sister and her kids for a few days. Tort has very little time to woo his unsuspecting mate. Can he convince Kane to give up his life and join him at Aquatica?

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Backstroking with a Tiger Shark

Copyright © 2017 Charlie Richards

ISBN: 978-1-4874-1419-1

Cover art by Angela Waters

All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part in any form by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, is forbidden without the written permission of the publisher.

Published by eXtasy Books Inc or

Devine Destinies, an imprint of eXtasy Books Inc

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Smashwords Edition

Backstroking with a Tiger Shark

Beneath Aquatica’s Waves: Book One

By

Charlie Richards

Dedication

To the readers who always ask for more...

Chapter One

"Welcome to World of Aquatica’s tiger shark show, the tall, blond announcer called. He grinned widely, showing off a pair of attractive dimples. My name is Gerard, and I’m your host for today."

In Kane Cornshun’s opinion, the man’s mild Australian accent made him enjoyable to listen to. It went well with the man being easy on the eyes. He relaxed in the stadium seating, looking forward to seeing a tiger shark in action. Appreciating the view of the handsome blond announcer’s muscular legs—shown off by the less than attractive khaki shorts he wore—certainly wasn’t a hardship.

Gerard’s expression sobered as he told them, Just a reminder to parents in the audience, this show uses raw meat to reward the shark for his efforts. If that’s something you don’t want your kids to see, then you’d best leave now.

The man waited a good thirty seconds. All right then. Gerard grinned once more. Then I’m going to tell you a little about this magnificent tiger shark.

As if on cue—hell, it probably was—a massive metal hoop lowered toward the water. A large piece of meat hung in the middle. It tapped the surface of the water three times in quick succession before lowering halfway into the water. A huge shark appeared from beneath the water and lunged through the hoop. The shark swallowed the piece of meat hanging in the center.

Kane wasn’t the only one who gasped upon seeing the shark. The large cement and plastic stadium seating was nearly full—men, women, and children all gasped, awed, and cried out in surprise. From the sheer size and strength of the creature, how could everyone not?

The tiger shark had a large, blunt nose and massive jaws filled with rows upon rows of jagged teeth. The fish’s medium gray body was covered in dark, vertical stripes that appeared somewhat faded. The tall dorsal fin bisected the back of the beast, drawing attention as it sank back beneath the waves with hardly any splash.

Now our boy here, affectionately named Tony, is just over sixteen feet long, Gerard continued. He’s a big boy, ain’t he?

Just like many others in the audience, Kane found himself nodding. To his left, he noticed his sister, Clarice, doing the same. Kane was there with her and Clarice’s two children. Twelve-year-old Marie had her mouth open, and her eyes were wide.

Clarice’s son, Kent, had just turned ten the day before. Visiting World of Aquatica had been his birthday wish, so Kane had insisted he pay for the outing. The shark show had been extra, but even from that one little jump through the hoop, with the way Kent stared in awe, Kane knew it’d been worth the extra fee.

Gerard speaking drew Kane’s attention back to the show.

Can anyone tell me why the tiger shark has earned the nickname wastebasket of the sea?

When several hands went up, Gerard pointed at a teenager sitting near the front. Because they eat anything.

Nodding, Gerard responded, That’s right. Tiger sharks are scavengers. They have excellent eyesight and sense of smell and will eat just about anything.

Gerard pointed at a hoop being lowered toward the water. Another large piece of meat hung in the hoop, except this hoop stopped about a foot out of the water. Blood dripped steadily from the chunk of meat.

Within seconds, the dorsal fin of the tiger shark broke the surface of the water. The shark swam under the hoop, its fin hitting it, making it swing. A few feet later, the tiger shark turned sharply and leaped out of the water. It dove through the hoop, snatched the meat, and crashed back into the water with a splash.

The crowd whooped and hollered, applauding wildly.

After a moment, Gerard told them, Because these sharks will eat just about anything, these guys are second only to one other shark for attacking people. Does anyone know what shark is number one for human attacks?

"Jaws!" a young girl in the audience cried excitedly.

Gerard pointed at her. "That’s right! The shark in Jaws. Do you know what kind of shark that was?"

While the blonde girl shook her head, several other hands went up. Gerard pointed at an older-looking girl, and she promptly yelled, A great white.

Gerard nodded. "Yep. Great white sharks are number one in attacking humans, but do you know what the difference between