CC knew that the circles under her eyes had darkened to bruises; the need inside her was making her feel weak and nauseous. But after she had washed the filth from her body, she forced herself to eat all of the stew and drink the entire goblet of wine. The wrenching ache was still there, but a full stomach made her feel less nauseous and dizzy.
A sound turned her attention back to the view outside the window. CC smiled. "Thank you, Gaea," she said.
Rain was falling in the comforting patter of a gentle mist, swallowing the last of the evening light. Quickly, CC sat on the windowsill, found her toehold, and dropped quietly to the soft grass below the window. Gaea's rain was a cool caress against her feverish skin, and for a moment she stood on the edge of the cliff with her arms held straight out and her head thrown back, letting the water of the goddess soothe her body and soul. Keeping the image of Dylan's dive from the side of the cliff in her mind, she balled up her chemise with one hand so that her long legs were free to run, then she moved with unerring certainty down the winding sheep path.
Dylan! She used all of her mental strength to call to him. I'm coming! Please be there!
Rocky ground gave way to sand and she ran to her familiar log, pulling off her shift with shaking hands. She kicked off her slippers and hurried to the shoreline. When her feet touched the water she paused, suddenly unsure.
"Do not make me wait, my love." Dylan's voice carried over the waves, surreal and disembodied.
"I can't see you." At the sound of his voice, CC's breath caught and her stomach tightened.
"But I can see you. You are a white goddess of beauty, fashioned of long, curving lines and softness. Come to me, my goddess," Dylan said.
With two quick steps CC ran and leapt, diving into the surf. Before her outstretched hands touched the water she felt the exquisite burning begin at her waist and shoot down through her legs. A rush of power followed the burning as the inhuman strength of her tail propelled her forward and then up. She broke the surface laughing.
The merman materialized out of the mist in front of her. Tonight his long, dark hair was free, and it fell in a thick, damp wave around his shoulders. Dylan's exotic beauty and the erotic sense of maleness that surrounded him struck her, and she felt a thrill of excitement at his nearness. He drifted close.
"I have missed you, Christine."
"You were just with me last night," she teased.
"I have discovered that the more I am near you, the more I want you. You belong at my side, and I at yours." His voice reminded her of dark chocolate—rich and sensual.
She reached up and wound her arms around his neck, loving the way his boyish smile made his lips curve when he took her in his arms.
"I don't think I could have stayed away from you another second," she said as his face tilted down to hers.
Their lips touched in a gentle kiss as they became reac-quainted with the taste and touch of one another.
"Not a moment went by today when I did not wish that you were here beside me," Dylan said as he rested his forehead against hers while his hands caressed the long, smooth line of her back.
"I tried not to think about you. I was afraid if I thought about you too much, I would throw myself off the side of the cliff and into the ocean like you did." She snuggled against him, wanting to get as close as possible.
CC could feel the tremor of emotion that ran down his body. Then the merman tightened his grip on her and she opened her mouth to him. Their tongues met and teased. CC couldn't stop the hum of desire that escaped from the back of her throat. She felt Dylan's muscles quiver in response and the kiss deepened. CC ran her hands down his shoulders, skimming over his firmly muscled arms and chest. He was slick and warm, soft skin and hard muscle all wrapped enticingly together.
CC pressed her body against his and jerked back in surprise when she felt their tails entwine.
Dylan looked down at her questioningly.
"I…" CC hesitated, feeling a little foolish. She cleared her throat. "I've never…" She trailed off, pointing down at the part of their bodies that was submerged under the water.
Understanding cleared Dylan's questioning look. He touched her face. "Remember last night? I was afraid, too."
"You were afraid?" she asked, incredulous. "It certainly didn't seem like it."
His smile was gentle. "Making love to you as a human man was an experience I will remember always."
CC pressed her face into his palm. "I want you now as badly as I did in my human body. I'm just nervous." She took a breath and met his eyes. "The truth is, even though I
said that we fit together perfectly in any form, I'm really not sure what to do."
He smiled at her and brushed her lips lightly with his. "Will you trust me tonight, as I trusted you last night, Christine?"
Without hesitation she nodded.
"Then let me teach you."
This time she was able to smile at him. "Well, I already know you're an excellent teacher."
He took her hand in his. "Then let me teach you how mer-folk make love."
CC nodded again, this time breathlessly.
Dylan pulled her under the waves and they swam side by side into deeper water. Before they surfaced, the merman stopped and turned to her, but, instead of taking her in his arms, he held her out, almost half an arm's length away from his body. First, he kissed the palm of her hand. Then he touched her cheek, letting his hand slide down her long neck to her shoulder, then on down to gently cup her breast. Teasingly, he ran his palm over her nipple, which puckered under his caress. But his hand didn't stay at her breast, instead it moved down over her rib cage to the curve of her waist. When his hand met her mer-flesh, his caress changed. Instead of his palm, he used his fingertips to touch her with featherlike strokes, which swirled enticingly down and around her hips.
His fingers were fire. Dylan's touch was like nothing she had ever experienced—it was so incredibly different from having her legs caressed by a man. When he stroked that soft, glowing skin, his touch was magnified. It carried through every part of her mer-body, like his fingertips were superconductors for erotic sensation, and she was his conduit. As the newness of unexplored sensations surged the length of her body, CC felt weak and powerful at the same time. She closed her eyes, overwhelmed by the intensity of the feeling.
No, Christine. Dylan's voice came gently into her mind. Do not close your eyes. Watch me touching you. Look how incredibly beautiful you are.
CC opened her eyes. Dylan kissed her gently again, then he let his body drift down, so that his hands and his mouth could explore the rest of her. His mouth traveled from her breasts to the softness of her belly. When the warm heat of his mouth slid to her mer-flesh she had to hold tightly to his shoulders to steady herself.
Amazed, she felt herself open to him as his tongue moved down her body, coaxing and teasing alive sensations that she hadn't even imagined possible. She watched him love her and the last of her trepidation died under the heat of his touch. She gazed at her body and at the astonishing creature who held her so intimately, and she realized that it truly didn't matter what form their bodies reflected—it was love that anchored her to him, not a body or a time or place.
Dylan's mouth and hands continued to work their magic, and CC's ability for rational thought splintered. All she could do was to hold tightly to Dylan and experience the sensations that surged through her body. His touch merged with the soft pressure of the water that surrounded them until it seemed to CC that even the ocean was making love to her. Suddenly, her mind fragmented as an orgasmic rush of electricity rippled through her body.
Dylan cradled her within his arms and pulled her to the surface. He kissed her deeply. CC felt so liquid that she almost believed that her body could dissipate and become a part of the seas, and only Dylan's touch kept her connected to the physical world. They drifted in the ocean, hidden by the loving caress of the goddess's rain.
"Did that please you, my love?" he whispered against her lips.
"You please me, Dylan, more than I could ever tell you. It was a good thing that we were underwater; I think if air had touched me I might have combusted."
Dylan laughed. "Your nervousness must be gone."
"Forever." She grinned, then playfully took his bottom lip between her teeth and pulled gently. His moan of response brought to her a rush of new pleasure. "Now I want to please you," CC said.
She reached between them and took his already hard flesh in her hand. Stroking his shaft, she felt him throb and pulse with need. His breathing deepened sharply and his eyes closed.
"No," she said, her voice thick with the power of seduction. "Don't close your eyes. I want you to watch me touch you, too."
Dylan's gaze was hot as he watched her hand slide up and down his length. She kissed him again, then let her body drift down under the water until she took his golden flesh in her mouth. She felt him quiver as she let her tongue and lips work together. When she took him deeply into her mouth, his gasp of pleasure sent a thrill of desire through her. She loved the taste of him. He was salt and sea and the musky tang of an aroused man. And he was beautiful.
Abruptly, she felt him tug at her shoulders and she allowed him to pull her up. She found his mouth, and heat exploded within her at the ragged intensity of their kiss. She felt his hardness against her. Instinctively, she reached down to guide him within her, but Dylan stopped her.
"Wait, love. There is more," he said between broken breaths as she kissed the firm line of his jaw and slid her tongue teasingly down his neck.
"How could there be more than this?" She pressed against him.
"Watch," he said, his eyes dark with passion and promise.
Dylan unwound one hand from where it had been buried in her hair. Raising his arm he drew a circle in the air above them. CC's eyes widened in surprise as the ocean around them started to swirl in response.
"I command a bed in which to love our princess!"
Dylan's voice was filled with power, and it echoed against the misty night. As he spoke the seething water changed. It bubbled and frothed and somehow hardened until the two mer-creatures were buoyed up on a bed of aqua sea foam where they lay in each other's arms. It was as if they were resting inside a crested wave where Dylan had somehow halted time and the elements.
"You have magic," CC gasped.
"My magic is you, Christine."
Dylan kissed her, letting his hands move down her body to cup her breasts and then stroke her glowing flesh until CC moaned in response.
"Now, please," she panted. "Don't make me wait anymore."
Dylan shifted his weight until he lay over her, holding himself up on his forearms. When she reached down to guide him into her, he was powerless to resist.
"Christine!" he gasped her name as her heat tightened slickly around him.
They moved together easily, finding a rhythm that was at first slow and gentle. CC marveled at how well they fit. His body pressed against hers, and everywhere they touched sparks of sensation tingled through her skin. She ran her hands over the taut muscles of his arms, amazed at his power and how he trembled under her touch. Then their rhythm quickened, and CC strained upward to meet his thrusts. Her hands found the hard ridges of his back, and she let her fingernails tease, before she locked her arms around him, pressing him more firmly against her.
"I cannot wait," Dylan moaned.
"Then don't. Please, Dylan!" she urged.
With a last, powerful thrust CC felt Dylan begin to throb within her, and when he shouted her name she felt her own body explode in response. As her sense of reality fragmented into the realm of sensation she held tightly to Dylan, trusting him to bring her safely back to earth.