by Dee J. Stone
More couples have joined us in dancing, including Leah and Armando. Kyle stares at them with a frown. I sigh. “Excuse me for a second, Damarian.” I walk up to Leah, take her arm, and drag her away from Armando.
“Hey, what the heck!”
I fold my arms over my chest. “What are you doing?”
She raises an eyebrow. “Celebrating in your wedding?”
“No, I mean with him.” I nod toward Armando.
“Um, dancing with my date?”
“Are you trying to get Kyle jealous?”
“Kyle? Oh, he’s here?” She stretches her neck and turns her head in different directions. “Didn’t see him.”
I tap my foot. “Nice try. You’re totally trying to get him jealous. First of all, that’s not cool to Armando. And second of all, you’re messing with Kyle.”
“I don’t give a damn about Kyle,” she says through clenched teeth.
“I think you should talk to him. He’s been glaring at Armando since he got here.”
“Well, that’s his problem. Now, if you excuse me.”
I grab her arm before she can scurry away. “Oh no you don’t. You are going to walk right up to Kyle and talk to him.”
She yanks her arm away. “I will do no such thing!”
“Please, Leah. I don’t know if he’ll ever be on land again. You guys really need to talk.”
“Good, he shouldn’t come back to land again. Let him drown in the ocean for all I care!”
She said that too loud because some of the nearby people gape at us.
“Keep your voice down,” I hiss.
“I would if you’d stop telling me to talk to that jerkwad.”
I fold my arms again. “It’s my wedding and I want you to talk to Kyle.”
Now she folds her arms. “What, it’s your wedding so all your requests have to be fulfilled?”
“Yes.”
She presses her lips together.
“Come on, Leah,” I beg. “You guys just left each other with no conclusion. Neither of you will move on if you don’t talk. Do you want to spend your days hooking up with guys like Armando or do you want a real relationship?”
“A real relationship with Kyle? Hello, do you want me to grow a tail?”
I throw my hands up. “I don’t know! But you two clearly have feelings for each other—”
“I don’t have any feelings for that fish.”
“—and you need to figure it out.”
She tightens her arms on her chest. “I’m not going and you can’t make me.”
“Please.” I clasp my hands in a begging gesture. “Just do it for me.”
She narrows her eyes, then groans. “Fine! Only because it’s your wedding.”
“That’s all I ask.”
Louis dances with me, followed by Uncle Jim and Timmy. I have to force Bobby to dance with me for at least five minutes. I peek at Leah and Kyle, who are sitting alone at a table, deep in discussion. Armando is flirting with another girl.
Soon, I am back in Damarian’s arms. I squeeze myself against him and sigh in content. “It feels so good to be in your arms again.”
He strokes my cheek. “My beautiful Cassie. We are now mated as humans.”
I touch his cheek. “Now, we are finally complete.”
Chapter Twenty-One
Damarian carefully lowers me on our bed and climbs on top of me. It’s a little hard because of my dress, but he manages to win the battle.
“Don’t ruin your tux,” I say. “It’s a rental.”
“I cannot promise that I will not.” He opens the jacket and lays it over a nearby chair. “I hope I will not damage your dress. But I find it ever so tempting to take it off, bit by bit.”
My stomach throbs, making my fingers and toes grow numb.
Damarian bends his head to take my lips with his. “I cannot ever truly understand what it means to be mated as humans, but I am very glad that you are Mrs. Sapphire.” He nuzzles my nose with his. “Now I will begin to kiss every part of you, removing any clothes that get in my way.” He takes off his shirt and pants. “These garments are too stiff to my liking.”
I laugh. “Next time, we’ll make sure to order an extra soft tux for a spoiled merman.”
He licks the skin between my nose and lips. “Next time? Is there something you are not telling me?” he teases.
“Yes, that I had so much fun bonding to a merman that I want to do it again with another one.”
He grins and brings his lips to mine, keeping them an inch away. “Is that so? Well, then perhaps you do not deserve this kiss.”
Every part of my body yearns to feel his warm lips against mine, to be consumed in the fervent feeling I always get when our lips touch. “I…I want it,” I rasp.
“You do, do you not? But maybe I do not wish to give it to you.”
I raise myself off the bed so I can smash my lips to his, but he’s quicker and pulls away. “A valiant attempt, my love.”
“Don’t think you’re the only one who can be a tease.” My hand moves to his bare chest. “Is this a naked chest? I wonder what will happen if I gently run my hand along these hard muscles.”
His body stiffens as my hand treks down the length of his torso. He catches my hand before it can move another centimeter. “You are quite the tempter.”
“Temptress,” I say, lifting my chin.
He licks my nose. “You are quite the temptress.”
I giggle as I wipe my nose. “Enough with the games. Just kiss me already.”
“With pleasure.”
He starts off with the top of my head, pressing small kisses to my forehead and eyebrows, then sweeping his lips across my eyes and the bridge of my nose. His movements are so gentle, so loving, so passionate, that it feels like I’ve been transformed into a cloud and am floating high in the sky. His hands roam over my body, but he can’t touch my skin due to my dress. He hikes it up my thighs so he can caress my leg.
All thoughts leave my head. The only thing I feel is the throbbing in every part of me.
“I never tire of witnessing how your body reacts to my touch, my Cassie,” he murmurs,
I would torture him in the same manner, but my arms have turned into noodles.
“What have we here?” Damarian asks when his lips stop by mine. “One of the areas on my love’s body that brings her an immense amount of pleasure. I shall return to this area later.”
“Total tease,” I say.
“Yes, indeed.”
He struggles to unzip the back of my dress so he can slide one of my straps off my shoulder. He pops more of those gentle, loving kisses on my skin. It’s so slow and erotic that I no longer feel like my body is attached to me.
“Do you enjoy this, my love?” he whispers.
Unable to talk, I nod and moan.
“Like I have promised to you many times, all I wish is to make you happy. Now I am fulfilling my promise.”
He slides off the other strap and the top of my dress, kissing every bit of skin that gets exposed. More of my dress is removed and more areas get kissed. By the time he reaches my toes, I feel like I have died and gone to heaven.
“Did you enjoy that?” he asks.
Again, I only manage to nod.
“But we are not yet finished,” he says as he brings his lips back to my face. “I believe I have saved the best part for last.” Slowly—once again, agonizingly slowly—he touches his lips to mine. My head lifts off the bed so I can swallow his lips in mine and kiss him like I’ve never kissed him before. Damarian’s hands clutch my waist and I grip the back of his head as our lips continue devouring each other’s. I once again don’t feel anything but the throbbing that has overtaken every single part of my body. The soft moans coming out of my mouth seems to fuel Damarian.
I am so wiped out when he’s done that my eyes close.
“No, my love,” Damarian says gently. “You cannot sleep. I have a wedding present for you.”
My eyes slowly open. “
You do? We said we weren’t going to exchange any gifts.”
“It is not a gift, exactly.” He swings his leg off the bed and bends to open the drawer of the night table. He produces his journal.
I sit up. “You’re going to read to me?”
“Yes.”
I pat the spot next to me. “I can’t wait.”
He settles down and flips through the pages. It’s been a while since he’s read any of his entries to me. He doesn’t write in it as often as he did in the past. “Are you ready?” he asked.
“More than ready.”
“My beautiful Cassie lies next to me, two nights before our human bonding, what they call a wedding. It is not the night before, for we are to sleep in separate homes in order to feel excited for the special day. I watch my sweet Cassie sleep, watch the way her chest rises and falls in a steady rhythm. Her eyes flutter sometimes and at times she releases a few satisfied sounds. I believe it is because she is truly happy. As I watch her sleep, I am filled with a love that is so thick I am certain I can bottle it. Perhaps I can even sell it for a hefty price, because I am certain that the kind of love I feel for her is so rare that it is not easily found, not on land or in the sea.”
He smiles at me before turning the page. “Only last week, she and I were parted from each other. I felt our bond slip away every hour. I felt a fear I have never felt in my life. It was not fear, but terror. Yes, I was terrified that I would lose the love that is so rare in this world. But I did not give up that we would find the means to restore it. For when you love someone as much as I love my Cassie, you do not surrender. You fight until you win. My Cassie loves me dearly, but she sometimes feels that she is not deserving of my love. I have felt this way many times in the past. My journal can attest to that. But I have learned that I do deserve it, as much as the next person. Because of that, I never wish to take her or what we have for granted.”
He turns another page. “In just two days, we shall be mated as humans. I am not certain how our lives will change, but I know that it will. I cannot wait to see what lies in store for us. I cannot sleep as I write this because every part of me is filled with excitement and joy. I do not believe there is anyone out there who is happier than me. I wish to read this to my Cassie. I want her to know that I will strive to be the man or child of the sea who is worthy for her love. She is the most important being in my life and I look forward to the family we will create together. Cassie, my love, I know that these past few days have been extremely difficult and has caused us to feel a fear we never wish to feel ever again in our lives, but I hope it will not hold you back from living your life to the fullest. Please do not carry around the fear that we will constantly fight to be together. I will not allow that to happen. We are meant to be together for all eternity.”
I scoot over to fling my arms around him. “Don’t worry. I’m not going to live life in constant fear that I’ll lose you. I know that whatever happens, we’ll do everything we can to be together.” I squeeze my cheek to his. “I love you to death, my merman.”
“No, Cassie. We love each other to life. Because that is what we have to look forward to in our future: our life together.”
“Thanks.” I kiss him. “You’re so amazing.”
“No, you are the amazing one.”
“Before we start arguing who is the more amazing one, I have a present for you, too. It’s from Mom and Louis. It’s not amongst our other gifts because we need to open it right away.” I hand him an envelope.
Curiously, he opens it and withdraws a printed piece of paper. “This is a hotel…near Disney World?”
“I know we discussed not going on a honeymoon yet, but you’ve always dreamed of going to Disney. I spoke to my mom about it and she and Louis have paid for all expenses for a whole week. It’s my wedding gift to you, and theirs, too.”
He takes me in his arms. “Yes, I have always wanted to explore this Disney World so many of you have spoken of. But what of my job? I cannot abandon the whales.”
“Don’t worry, I took care of it. For the next week, we are going on our honeymoon.”
He kisses me. “How much love I have for you, my human and child of the sea. I cannot say this enough: I will love you for all eternity.”
I hug him tighter. “That’s all I want to hear.”
Chapter Twenty-Two
Eight months later
Mom pulls a pan of baked chicken and potatoes out of the oven. “This looks just about right. Damarian should be home in…half an hour? Just keep it inside here on low heat and it’ll be warm for when he comes home.” She puts the pan back in the oven.
“Mom, I told you we’re fine.”
“And how are you doing with your classes? Can you keep up? Did you quit your teaching assistant job? I told you to quit. It’s too much to handle.”
“Mom, I’m six months pregnant, not on crutches.”
It seems my words have flown past her ears, because she grabs a broom from the closet. “Don’t you lift a finger. I’ll take care of your cleaning.”
I give up. I lean back on the couch and breathe through my nose. Maybe the best thing to do is let her baby me. This pregnancy is new to her as much as it is to me. I suspect she worries because of what I’m actually carrying inside me, but I told her countless times that the baby is human. Damarian and I were hesitant to see a doctor when we first found out because we were scared there could be a merbaby in there, but I had all the symptoms a human gets and my body didn’t beg for sea water. I took a risk and made an appointment with the doctor my mom used when she was pregnant with me. Damarian and I had a plan if she or the technician saw a strange creature in my belly. We would hit them over the head and then claim Damarian was so excited about the baby that he accidentally hit them. Totally lame, I know, but at least we didn’t have to follow through with it.
“Don’t you have to go home?” I ask Mom.
She’s now mopping the kitchen floor. “Louis is watching the kids. Do you need help with any papers? Maybe Louis can drop by.”
“Mom, I love you for all you’re doing, but I’m perfectly capable of going to school and cooking and cleaning my house. Besides, Damarian does more household chores than me.”
She finally focuses her attention on me. “What was that?”
“I appreciate all you’re doing for us, but Damarian and I can handle it.”
She rests the mop against the wall. “Are you sure? I’m more than willing to help.”
“I’m sure. We’ll let you know if we need help.” I pick myself off the couch and walk over to her. “Thanks for everything. And for making us dinner.”
She smiles. “No problem.” She kisses my cheek, then bends down to place a kiss on my stomach. “So when are you going to find out if you’re having a boy or a girl?”
“I don’t know. Damarian wants to be surprised, since merpeople have no idea what they’re having until the fry is born. I think I want to let him have his surprise.”
“That’s sweet.” She glances at the time. “Speaking of which, your husband should be home soon. I get the feeling you want some alone time with him.”
“He’s been working so many hours at the aquarium that we haven’t spent a lot of time together.” Not to mention my mom has been over practically every day.
She nods. “Okay. Just let me know if you need me to come over.”
“Thanks.” I walk her to the door, hug her goodbye, then close the door after her. I love my mom, but I’ve never wanted a quiet house so desperately before.
I park myself back on the couch and pick up the baby book Mom bought for me yesterday. Baby. It’s been months, but it still hasn’t sunk in. Maybe it won’t until I’m holding the baby in my arms.
Footsteps at the door, followed by keys jamming into the lock. The door opens to reveal Damarian. As soon as he notices me sitting on the couch, his entire face lights up. “Cassie, my love!”
He has the same excitement every day when he comes home from work. I always f
eel the same warmth in my chest when I see how happy he is to see me.
“Are you well?” he asks as he sits down near me and kisses my lips.
“I’m fine, thanks. I managed to get rid of my mom.”
He makes an overly exaggerated expression. “How did you manage that?”
I playfully slap him. “Stop. She’s just worried about me. Plus, she made us dinner again.”
“I appreciate her efforts, but I wish to prepare a meal for you. It has been a while since I have cooked.” His hand moves to my stomach. “How does the little fry fare?”
“She or he is doing great.”
A look of relief passes over his face. He sits back and smiles.
“Damarian?”
“Yes?”
“I was thinking. About the baby and all…”
He puts his finger on my lips. “Do not fret. I have told you I am content with living life on land. Our child will be human and I am willing to sacrifice everything I hold dear for her.”
I look away. “I wish there was a way. It seems so unfair to you. And to me. I miss your family like crazy.”
I haven’t been in the ocean since I found out I was pregnant because we’re not sure what would happen to the baby. So far, my mermaid side hasn’t demanded sea water. Maybe I don’t need it because my true form is a human. Let’s hope it stays this way until after the baby is born.
Damarian puts both his hands on my cheeks and looks into my eyes. “Our child will be the most important person in our life. She comes first. Always. Would you not do the same if the situation was reversed and you carried a child of the sea?”
“Of course. I would live in the sea for the rest if my life. Well, other than when I need to get to land to shift into a human.”
“So you understand the way I feel,” he says.
I nod slowly.
“My family has reassured me that they will visit us as often as they can. Zarya and the twins will one day be old enough to come to land. Our fry will not be without a family.”
True, but I regret not being able to share the amazing world under the waves with our child.
