Falling in Deep Collection Box Set

by Pauline Creeden

  She moved closer, and when I opened my mouth to ask her a question, she placed one finger on my mouth, and said, “There are too many questions to answer tonight. I might as well continue not thinking, at least for now.”

  I pulled back from her, holding her at arm’s length. My head swam. How? How was I standing there with her? How had the woman from the ocean come to land, come to me?

  Answering those questions would clear my mind, but that wasn’t what I wanted. I wanted her, nothing else.

  She broke her silence. Her voice eased over me, filling my head.

  “I don’t want to think about this anymore,” she said.

  That was enough consent for me, and I bent to kiss her, brushing my lips across hers again and down her neck. Her skin smelled of ocean spray and flowers. I brushed her hair over her shoulder and lingered with my mouth on her skin. Her warm skin fluttered with her pulse, inviting me to touch her.

  I continued my exploration, and she tossed her head back with a laugh much lower than I anticipated. Seeing her enjoy my touch drove me. It encouraged my gluttony. I greedily kissed whatever skin I could reach, running my mouth across her arms, neck, and face. I grazed her wrist with my teeth. Kissing each finger, I watched the longing cross her face.

  “Anya, is this,” I breathed, “what you want?”

  She answered by reaching for the hem of my shirt and pulling it up and over my head. She ran her hands across my chest and her lips across my neck, mimicking the movements I had made. Her fingers tripped along my abdomen, lightly tickling and thrilling me at the same time. She smiled up at me. Knowing that she wanted to feel her way across my body enticed me, and I suddenly found nothing more sensuous than making her smile.

  As she learned my body, I reached for her, ready to free her body from the the dress she wore. It slipped to the ground, slowly pooling at her feet. I straightened quickly. Taking one step back, scanning her. The necklace she wore hung delicately. Her lush breasts enticed me and her body showed no sign of the scales I had seen an hour before. There was a slight, pale line under her ribs on each side. Her gills, I thought, reassuring myself that she was the mer I knew her to be.

  Fascinated by her golden skin and the length of her flawless legs, I pulled her to me. Feeling the vitality of her body against my own, I selfishly held her close. She squirmed a bit, grabbing at my waist and the button on my shorts, her fingers slipping and frustrating her. I laughed at her irritation. She scowled. Getting back to work on the button, she felt my eyes on her.

  “Help me,” she said warmly. I brushed her hands aside gently in order to unfasten the pants myself.

  Seeing me work the button loose, she ran her hands under the waistband and down. I stepped out of my shoes and shorts, leaving them next to her dress and moving with her to the bed.

  She moved to the center of the white cotton-covered bed, sinking into the comfort. I took one more opportunity to look at her. Running my eyes over her naked body, the rise of her breasts, the curve of her hips, the softness of her thighs. Her skin glowed with time spent in the sun. The combination of her eyes, open wide and taking in all of me at once, and her laugh intoxicated me as I climbed onto the bed.

  I moved to her, wanting to maneuver slowly, to enjoy the last moments of anticipation knowing that I would have her. She reached for me, more eager than I initially thought. Her plan didn’t seem to align with mine as she pulled her body to me. The heat of us together made the day’s temperatures appear mild.

  Anya ran her hands along my bare chest and back, avoiding my stitches and using her newly formed legs to pull me towards her. Throwing one tanned leg over my own and locking her foot behind my calf, she reached to kiss me. My fingers traced her spine, the contours of her hip. And as we kissed, she wrapped herself around me, and I took her breasts in my hands. She arched and nudged me with her hips. I grasped her and pulled her even closer.

  My hand ran down across her flat stomach, down to her hip. I moved away just enough to ease into her, tasting her mouth, her neck, her breasts. She sighed deeply and relaxed into me.

  Our bodies pressed together as the glow of the moon tossed itself around the room. Moving slowly, I grabbed her and eased her into a rhythm. Pulling against me, attempting to keep me inside, she rode the wave of delight she felt build in her body and escape her mouth.

  “Luke, kiss me,” she said, and the sound of her voice drove me. I stopped everything and leaned forward, kissing her lovingly until I was at the brink myself.

  My motions hastened. She worked to catch her breath, panting in muted whispers, repeating my name while matching my movements measure for measure.

  Her voice, her warmth, her body, it was all too much for me. I let out a strangled moan, collapsing onto her with one final motion. She caught me as I fell to her, my body limp with exhaustion.

  Our bodies coiled around one another, the fascinating arrangement of limbs reminding me of a sea star.

  Eventually I heard the deep, rhythmic breathing of sleep as she clung to me. If I had plans to move from that spot before she woke, they were gone now. I felt the darkness thicken as clouds moved across the moon and heard the ocean breaking onto the beach. I was happy right there, but I wondered how happy my team would be staying on the island.

  Nineteen: Anya

  AS DAY BROKE, sleep slowly cleared from my clouded head. Luke’s arm rested across my stomach, anchoring me. Without it, I felt I may float away, adrift on the ecstasy of his touch from the night before.

  But my head eventually cleared as day streamed into the bedroom. I hadn’t meant to get caught up with Luke. My plan was to save him and get his team on its way. I didn’t need this complication, nor did my tribe. What was I going to do now?

  There was a growing trench in the floor of the sea and a human cozied up in my bed. Neither of those promised a peaceful start to the day.

  When I got up the nerve to slither out from under Luke’s arm, I moved fluidly and quietly. However, the knock at my front door startled me. I grabbed my robe and ran from my room to the entrance.

  “I’m coming,” I whisper yelled.

  “Come on, Anya. We’re waiting,” sang Fiona.

  “For what?” I grumbled, tying the robe.

  Phoebe was the first into the house.

  “We’ve waited, and now we want to hear about the human!” she exclaimed.

  Fiona may have let Phoebe in first, but she quickly slipped past the two of us and went directly to my bedroom.

  “We can see the human, Pheebs. Come here!”

  “Don’t you dare, Fiona. Both of you. Seriously.”

  My annoyance and utter embarrassment started to show and my friends skulked back to the kitchen where I made coffee for all of us.

  Fiona set out to interrogate me first.

  “You’ve been missing since Lover Boy here showed up on the island. What’s going on?”

  “Look, now isn’t the time for this conversation,” I pleaded with them. “I’ve had a breakthrough with my research. Luke isn’t even the lead story anymore.”

  “Must be some important stuff,” Phoebe contended. “Stuff you might want to share with your friends.”

  “I’d love to, but there is a lot going on right now. First, the energy I was telling you about is acting up, growing really. It may be the answer to Luke’s research, too.”

  “And Gregorio? We saw him hanging around you lately.”

  “Oh, Gregorio. I’m avoiding him as much as possible. There is something going on with him. I don’t know what it is, but I don’t care for it.”

  “He’s talking all over the island about how Jinsen has assigned him to ‘stick to you’, whatever that means. And he has no issue telling everyone how wrong it is that you welcomed the humans to Orotava.”

  “Well, that’s mighty nice of him, isn’t it?” I added loudly, forgetting one of those unwelcome humans was asleep in the next room.

  “He hasn’t changed much since we were kids,” Fiona added, acid on her ton
gue. “He was a dolt then, and he’s a mean dolt now.”

  “I don’t need anyone watching out for me, or watching me, or whatever it is he’s doing. And I’d think that Uncle Jinsen would know that. I wonder if my father has anything to do with it?”

  “You may not think you need it, but what do you know about these people, Anya? Why are they here? Is it really research? And of what? We can’t have groups of people finding out about Orotava.”

  While I continued my conversation with Phoebe, Fiona moved closer to my bedroom. “She knows more than you’d think. And she likes how he looks in her bed apparently. Woooo-whoooo, girl!”

  At that, Luke groaned, rolling over onto his stomach, congratulating Fiona’s snooping with a view of his tight glutes. While they were still under the sheet, it was enough to set Fiona off on a tangent.

  “He’s gorgeous! Why isn’t he naked?” she exclaimed as I made a bee line to shut the bedroom door.

  Disappointed that she missed out on the chance to catch a glimpse, Phoebe pouted through the rest of our conversation. But she managed to contribute nonetheless.

  “Anya, we’re both worried about the humans, but we’re equally worried about your research putting you at the center of whatever may come from all of this. Why don’t we all go to Miami, Key West maybe? Let’s just be somewhere that isn’t here for a while.” she offered.

  Fiona was ready to pack up and head out too. “That’s a great idea. Let’s go! We haven’t been away in ages, and what better time than when everything is about to blow up — literally.”

  “What is that going to do?” I asked reluctantly.

  “Well, it will put us all out of the way, and we know Nishan would like nothing more than that,” Phoebe said, agreeing with her sister.

  “But it also puts the island, the tribe at a greater risk. If the energy source is a potential problem, and if I know the most about it, I need to be here to protect the tribe.”

  Phoebe refused to believe that was the only reason, adding, “And Luke, too, right?”

  “And what is Nishan going to say about him?” Fiona considered.

  I didn’t know, but I could guess, and whatever he said, it would be loud.

  “We can’t talk about this here,” I urged. “Let’s go to the lab and I’ll show you some of the data. Maybe that will convince you.”

  “Seriously? The lab? How about the beach?” Phoebe offered.

  Fiona looked at us both with mock disgust. “You both know there is only one place to talk about danger and men. The bar.”

  I threw my robe on a chair and fluffed my hair. Still wearing the clothes from the day the before, I followed as Fiona smiled and led the way.

  We kept the conversation mundane until we reached the Sword and Tavern. But when we arrived, we found despite the odd hour, not breakfast, not yet lunch, Amir and Lucy were there talking with Rowan.

  “Hey, Anya, your friends here are pretty funny,” Rowan called as we entered. “They’ve been arguing over football teams. And the funniest part is neither of them knows what the hell they’re talking about.”

  “Oh, you aren’t Derby County fans?” I asked knowing my uncle’s odd obsession with the team.

  “Is anyone?” Amir said with a laughhed. “I mean I’m all for underdogs, but damn.”

  “They made a comeback,” Rowan tossed back the tall man before adding to Lucy, “and don’t you go talking anything more about the damn Manchester wankers.”

  Lucy opened her mouth to protest, but she merely laughed at Rowan’s indignant statements instead.

  “Well, he has eclectic taste,” I offered to the humans. “What can I say? He likes what he likes.”

  “And what I’d like,” Fiona interjected, “is an orange juice, some of those berry pancakes, and a just the tiniest shot of rum.” She smiled brightened, turning to my uncle who had been serving her the same breakfast for close to 50 years.

  “And you, lovely Phoebe?” he asked.

  Phoebe smiled brightly. “The same, minus the shot of course.”

  “Of course,” .” Rowan smiled back.

  Spinning on his heels, he headed to the kitchen.

  “Aren’t you eating, Anya?” Lucy asked sweetly. She had the last forkful of pancakes ready to devour.

  “Oh, he knows what I want. I’m here almost every day.”

  Returning with two plates of berry pancakes and my order of chocolate chip waffles with orange marmalade and whipped cream.

  Amir faked shock at seeing my breakfast. “What the hell is that? Dessert?”

  “Why not start the day with the best part? I can’t stand waiting until after dinner. That’s hours away,” I said.

  “I like the way you think, lady,” Amir commented. I couldn’t have been happier with his comment, and I hoped my uncle and friends noticed the lady he added to the end. Obviously he didn’t know we weren’t human.

  Lucy and Amir, finished with their food, hung around to chat with us. They were polite and light hearted, making me laugh and listening to our stories.

  “Oh, Anya, I did have a question for you,” Lucy said suddenly. Immediately I was set on edge anticipating her question.

  “Well, I was wondering how long the dolphin pods have been coming to the bay? Do they breed here?”

  I should have known Lucy would be dolphin focused in her interrogation, and I silently thanked her for her innocent fascination.

  Calling to Rowan, I repeated Lucy’s question knowing the older mer would have a better idea of the bay’s history and the dolphins.

  “Well, the four pods shift in the bay with only two here at a time. They’ve been coming here though for more than 20 years. I got to know their family trees pretty well,” he said.

  “Seriously? That’s amazing. Can you come down to the bay later and introduce me, Rowan? I mean if you have time.”

  “I should have some time later today. Anya, do you think you could come in for an hour and take charge for me?”

  Knowing I had plenty to do, I couldn’t resist Lucy’s pleading stare, and agreed.

  With that set and plans made, the humans left and my friends and I were finally able to discuss what they wanted to all along.

  “Okay,” Fiona started, “they’re gone. Rowan is in back and it’s just us. What happened?”

  I hemmed a bit, but knowing I couldn’t get away with not discussing the night, I started. “Well there was another collision. I’m sure you heard it. Luke and I went to see the trench and—”

  Phoebe, in an unlikely gesture, cut me off there. “We don’t mean the stupid light balls, Anya. We mean with Luke. What happened with Luke?”

  “Well they’re both related, really. We were talking about our research and I needed him to see the trench. It was nothing like when I brought you two down there.”

  It was time for Fiona to interrupt now. “You brought him to the trench? That’s insane. You don’t know what he knows or may have done. What if the humans created the trench?” She sounded angry.

  “If humans created it, they haven’t come to see it. And if it was humans, it wasn’t the humans on our island right now. He was just as surprised by it as I was. And the light. You wouldn’t believe the light!

  “It was everywhere, and combing to make bigger and bigger orbs. They floated out of the ocean and then suddenly, before we really knew what was happening, they rammed together and bang!”

  I knew my description didn’t do the phenomenon justice, but there weren’t any words for the white light sharply cracking through the sky.

  “And that’s why I have to leave you both here now and get to the lab. I promise nothing more exciting than sleep happened last night, and I promise to tell you every detail eventually. But for now, I have to go.”

  With that, I left the sisters staring at the door.

  Twenty: Luke

  I WOKE UP to an empty house. Anya left a cup of coffee in the pot and a note on the bathroom mirror, “Meet me at the lab after 11.”

  Thro
wing on my clothes and grabbing the coffee, I ran out the door, considering whether or not I should lock it. There wasn’t much to consider, though, as there was no lock on the door. Mystery solved.

  As I turned from the door, I ran smack into Anya’s friend from the tavern.

  “Oh, excuse me. I was just heading out to meet Anya at the lab,” I explained with more detail than needed.

  “No problem,” he said curtly. “She’s not home, then?”

  “Nope, just a note. I’ll tell her you came by. Greg, right?”

  “It’s Gregorio. A note? To you? If it’s all the same to you, I think I’ll head to the lab too.”

  As awkward as it was, I couldn’t exactly tell the mer to go away. At least he wasn’t asking me why I was at her house.

  “And how long do you plan to stay on our lovely island, Luke? Are you and your team heading out soon?”

  “We were hoping to get parts for our boat in the next day or so, but beyond that we’ve no plans yet. Maybe we’ll stick around. I’m sure we could help somehow.”

  “Help? Help with what?” he asked. “I think you’d be best heading out. What could you possibly do that we cannot do ourselves?”

  “I don’t think there is anything you can’t do, pal. But if there is a chance that we can offer support or ideas or manpower, we may stay to do so.”

  “That won’t be needed. You’ll want to leave as soon as possible. Today would be ideal,” he announced definitively as we reached the lab door. And as he finished that statement, he broke into a large smile and cooed at Anya, “Good morning, darling. I’m happy to see you’re so focused today.”

  Surprised, Anya’s eyes went wide, maybe at the sight of him, maybe at me, but most likely at the idea of the two of us together.

  “Your friend was so kind as to walk with me this morning. Did you know he entertains the idea of staying on the island — to help us?” He hit the final three words with a bit more emphasis than I cared to hear, but she took it all in stride.

  “Good morning to you both. I’m sure Luke has plenty of ideas we haven’t discussed, Gregorio. Is there something I can help you with? You don’t normally come to the lab.”