A growl roared through Merrick, so loud it felt as if the beach should shift with it. “Perhaps you are! Do you know what it was like, watching that beast carry you up from the sea? We thought it had chewed you up and decided to taunt us with your dead body!” Lessia stiffened when his hand landed on her shoulder. But he didn’t throw her down the way he liked to in the training ring, as she’d expected. Instead, Merrick slammed her into his chest, his arms enveloping her as he crushed her against him.