“So we’re attracted to each other. That’s not love, Tracee.”
“But you have feelings for him.”
“Had. Had feelings for him.”
“You’re not a faucet, Val. You can’t turn your feelings on and off like water.”
“Watch me.” Valerie pushed herself off the bed and walked over to the door.
“Dylan lied to me, Tracee. I’ll never forgive him for that.”
“Never is a very long time, my friend.”
Valerie walked out the door without answering. Tracee jumped off the bed to follow her. “Hey, I’ve got more questions.”
“I figured you did, but I’m starving.”
“Okay, you talk, I’ll cook.”
Together they went in the kitchen and pulled out eggs and bread to make breakfast.
“Tell me this,” Tracee started again as she stirred eggs over the heat. “If your mother chose Dylan from the start, why was she talking to all those other mermen and why did she invite that seal guy to dinner?”
“Because, in some perverse way, she thought it would drive me into Dylan’s arms.”
Tracee smiled. “She nailed that one.”
“So not true,” Valerie sputtered.
“So true. What is the first thing you did after finding out about the site?”
“Went to your house.” Valerie took the plate Tracee offered her and set it on the table in front of her.
“Very funny.”
“Okay. I dragged you here and went to Dylan’s hotel.” Valerie took a forkful of eggs and stuffed her mouth.
“Yep. Which means your mother was right.”
“God forbid,” Valerie mumbled, her mouth full of toast.
“Maybe she is right about Dylan.”
Valerie dropped her fork onto the plate. “And maybe I’m a vampire.”
“Are vampires so stubborn they are willing to walk away from someone who could be their life mate, just to spite their mothers?”
“Life mate. For the love of Neptune, will you get a grip?”
“It’s possible.”
Valerie seemed to be thinking. “It doesn’t matter,” she finally whispered.
“Of course it matters.”
“Tracee. Look around. Do you see Dylan? If he truly had feelings for me, do you think he’d let my mother tell me about their little plot?”
“You said he was hurt. You said your father and Megan swam away with him.”
“He wasn’t hurt that badly,” Valerie reasoned. “If he truly cared, he’d have been here hours ago.”
“Did it ever occur to you he might be nervous?”
“Why?”
“Oh for Pete’s sake, Val. The poor man didn’t want your mother telling you about this. You can bet he had a plan all laid out for breaking the news to you. In all likelihood he is afraid of getting something thrown at his head if he shows up here.”
“He deserves it,” Valerie asserted. “Do we have a really heavy vase somewhere?”
“Stop it. You’re not going to hit him.”
Valerie just looked over at her and took another bite of eggs. They ate in silence for a while. Tracee wanted to say more but decided it would be best to wait for Valerie to think things through first.
After finishing her food, Tracee took the plates to the sink and rinsed them. “You need to get some sleep, Val.”
“Later. Right now I’m going for a good long swim.”
“Want some company?”
Valerie smiled. “No, I think I need some time alone.”
Tracee nodded her head and watched as Valerie walked out the door. She turned back to the sink to wash the dishes.
* * * *
White sand glistened in the early afternoon light. Foamy capped waves washed ashore, creating small swirling pools in the footsteps of beachcombers.
Dylan watched as Valerie strolled along the water’s edge about fifty feet ahead of him. He’d been trailing her for the last ten minutes, slowly gaining on her.
Several gulls flew overhead, shrieking loudly, and sandpipers ran in and out of the waves, digging for small crustaceans washed in by the tide.
Dylan closed the distance between himself and Valerie before calling out to her, “Valerie.”
She stopped walking.
Ten more steps and Dylan was at her side. “Valerie.”
“Go away, Dylan.”
“No.”
Valerie spun to face him. Her hands snapped hard on her hips, the look on her face utter defiance. “I have nothing to say to you.”
Dylan reached for her hand.
“Don’t touch me,” Valerie hissed. “There is nothing you can say to me that’ll fix this.”
His patience was growing thin. It had taken five hours for his body to recover from the beating in his hotel room and another two hours to convince Edward his intentions regarding Valerie were honorable.
He’d wasted four or five more hours going to the Richardson plantation, only to discover Valerie wasn’t there and neither was Katherine.
Edward hadn’t been able to shed any light on where his wife or daughter were.
It took more time to track down the location of Valerie’s hideaway here in the cove. No way was he leaving without working this out with her.
“You’re being childish, Valerie.”
“Go to hell.” She didn’t wait to hear a response. Turning her back on him, Valerie resumed her walk down the beach.
Dylan stood silent for a moment.
“You still want me,” Dylan yelled at her back.
“You lied to me,” Valerie yelled back.
“I never lied.”
Valerie stopped walking and spun to face him. “You son of a bitch,” she swore. “What the hell do you call it?”
“Leaving out a minor detail.” Dylan smiled.
“Minor,” Valerie sputtered. “The fact that you’re a merman is no minor detail.”
“Certainly it is.”
Valerie seemed to be gearing up for a fight. The fury in her eyes flashed with disbelief. “You made love to me, knowing all the time I’m a mermaid. You plotted with my mother to seduce me…”
“No,” Dylan declared.
“Yes. Mom told me about your visit to St. Kitts. Told me about all the e-mails you two exchanged after meeting on that fucking date site. Did you get a good laugh, Dylan? Did it make you feel powerful to know you could pull one over on little old me?”
Dylan realized things were spiraling out of control. Valerie’s anger was ten times what he’d expected and this wasn’t going at all like he’d planned. “Valerie, please. Can we sit down and discuss this like adults?”
“Fuck you.” Valerie turned and ran for the water.
“Come back here,” Dylan demanded. He watched as Valerie dropped her clothes on the sand, waded up to her knees and dove headfirst into the waves.
Dylan followed. “Damn it, Valerie, come back here and talk to me.”
With mighty strokes he swam after Valerie, his tail fluke forming moments before his gills opened. The thin membrane covering his eyes allowed him to see well underwater and he caught a flash of red hair just ahead of him.
Damn, she’s fast. Dylan powered his way through the water, closing the distance between himself and Valerie. “Stop,” Dylan ordered as he reached her side. “Valerie, we are going to talk.”
“Go away.”
Valerie twisted away from him, gliding neatly around a stand of coral and propelling herself deeper, toward the sandy bottom.
Dylan followed her every move, twisting left, then right, trying to stay within inches of her. “You can swim to Japan, Valerie. I’m not leaving until we talk.”
She stopped. Her tail drawn under her, she came upright in the water, her hair flowing around her shoulders, and her mouth opening and closing rapidly to take in water for oxygen.
“Fine,” Valerie said, “tell me. Tell me why you deceived me. Why you used me.”
“I…” Dylan started.
“Go ahead, Dylan. Explain your grand plan to win the heart of the princess of Isca. Tell me all about how you wanted a mermaid of royal descent as your mate. Thrill me with tales of…”
Dylan could only think of one way to shut her up. Reaching for her outstretched hand, he pulled her into an embrace. His mouth closed over hers, his tongue plunging past her lips to dance along the side of her mouth.
Valerie struggled to break his hold, but Dylan held fast, her naked breasts pressed tight against his chest. Dylan used one hand to hold Valerie’s body against his.
His tongue slid further into her mouth, the salt water playing on his taste buds as it flowed down his throat and out his gills.
He stroked her back, swirling his tongue around in her mouth, trying to calm her with his body, where his words hadn’t. Dylan felt her relax into him, her hands stroking along the top of his shoulders, tracing the sensitive skin below his earlobe. “I want you, Valerie.”
Her hands moved down his chest.
“I’ve wanted you from the first time I saw your beautiful face smiling at me on my computer screen.”
She stroked her fingertips over his waist and down the front of his stomach connecting with the vee where his skin ended and scales began.
“I planned to tell you about my first visit to St. Kitts. About how I’d come expecting to meet the woman of my dreams, only to find out her mother wanted me to pretend to be human.”
Valerie felt for the opening in his scales and reached inside. Dylan’s body shuddered at the contact from her fingers on his cock. “At first I was angry. I didn’t want to play her game, but she convinced me it was the only way.”
Her fingers stroked his cock and Dylan felt his balls tighten. “I allowed your mother to talk me into visiting Colesca to meet you.”
“We’ve met?” Valerie asked as her hands continued to fondle his balls.
“No. I watched you for hours that day, but never actually talked to you. I struggled with the idea your mother had presented me.”
Valerie pressed her hips into his. His hands slid up and down her spine. At least she is listening, he thought.
“What exactly was my mother’s plan?”
“She didn’t tell you?”
Valerie squeezed his balls, eliciting a small cry from him. “I want you to tell me.”
Dylan took a deep gulp of water to drive more oxygen at his brain. Trying to talk while she made his cock hungry for her pussy wasn’t easy. “Her plan was pretty simple. I’d come to St. Kitts on vacation, play the tourist, figure out a way to meet you, and if things clicked, your mother hoped we’d fall in love.”
“And did you?”
“Did I what?” Dylan asked, even though he knew exactly what she wanted to hear.
Her fingers tightened on his balls again. “You know exactly what,” she hissed.
“I think so.”
“You think,” Valerie sputtered.
Reaching for her hands, Dylan tried to loosen her grip before his balls exploded.
“I care for you, Valerie. I think I’m falling in love with you, but love takes time.”
She released his cock and balls, pushing away from his body with a great swish of her tail. Dylan felt his scales rubbing on the sides of his cock as it sprang forward, trying to escape the pouch housing it.
“Was it my mother’s plan for you to make love to me before telling me who and what you are?”
He noted the smoldering look in her eyes. It was difficult to tell if she was angry or in need of a good fucking. “I don’t think your mother expected that, Valerie. Do you think your father would have broken my nose if she’d told him that was part of her grand scheme?”
“So why did you?”
Dylan flexed his tail, propelling himself forward enough to take Valerie back in his arms. He kissed her, slowly, his lips pressing against hers as his tongue licked a small opening between them. Valerie opened her mouth to him. Their tongues twisted together as water flowed between their mouths.
Dylan cupped her face in his hand, his fingers splayed over her cheeks. Valerie’s nipples rubbed on his chest, her tail wrapped around his, connecting their bodies together. His cock broke free of the pouch behind his scales, pressed into her opening and slid into place deep in her pussy.
Her arms were locked around his neck so Dylan could use his arms to swim.
With mighty strokes he twisted this way and that, his cock sliding in and out of her folds with each turn.
Their tails were so entwined water was unable to move between them, causing suction which added to the pleasure of their coupling.
“Because I couldn’t resist you,” Dylan stated with assurance. “And admit it, you wanted me too.”
His cock slammed hard against her walls as he dove toward the bottom, gravity pulling her body hard along his.
“Perhaps,” Valerie countered, seconds before she moaned her delight at the sudden twist of Dylan’s body. “Oh, God, yes,” she cried.
“And you still want me.” Using his powerful muscles, Dylan spiraled in a steep climb for the surface. His cock locked tight against her G-spot. “Even if all you feel so far is lust Valerie, you can’t keep your body under control. You want to feel my cock vibrate inside you.”
Their bodies broke the surface of the water, flying in a high arc above the waves and diving back into its depth. Dylan’s cock slid from her pussy as they exited the water only to slam back in place as their bodies completed the arc on their downward dive toward the bottom.
Dylan knew her climax was close. The musical cries issuing from her mouth echoed underwater surrounding them. “Sing, Valerie,” he coaxed. “Tell the world of Mer you are mine.”
Valerie felt the rush of heat surging through her body. Her orgasm exploded as Dylan sailed along the sandy bottom of the sea, the song escaping her lungs announcing to the denizens of the deep her joy at the pleasure he gave her.
Dylan’s cock throbbed hard inside her. He rolled again, driving his cock back against her nub, causing another gush of come to escape. She was unable to control the quivers racking her frame.
The scales on her tail fluttered as the water sped over them. Large gulps of water rushed down her throat, passing through her gills to give her starved lungs oxygen.
Valerie struggled to control the overwhelming sensations overriding her brain.
Dylan had more to explain and his attempt to distract her was not going to work forever.
They’d stopped moving. Dylan’s body floated in the water, his cock still embedded in her folds.
Valerie’s heartbeat slowed and the last waves of her orgasm subsided. “That was wonderful,” she purred.
“We can do it all day if you’d like.”
“I’m sure we could, but I’m not sure it changes anything.”
Dylan kissed the top of her head and unfurled his tail from around hers. “We need to find a place to talk. Are there any caves close by?”
Valerie scanned the water around them. “Yes, several.”
“Lead the way.”
She missed the contact with his body, but making love wouldn’t get her questions answered, so Valerie swam to one of the cave systems in the deep waters off St. Kitts.
After swimming through the small entrance, Valerie rose to the surface inside the vast underwater chamber and pulled herself up on a large rock next to the cave wall.
Dylan followed her.
She didn’t give him time to distract her again, launching right into a question.
“Why did you make love to me at the club?”
“I told you. Because I couldn’t resist the pull of your body.”
“Not good enough,” Valerie stated.
“It’s all I have, babe.”
“You could have told me who you were anytime in those first few days. You should have told me before we had sex.”
Dylan looked uncomfortable. “Maybe I should have Valerie, but it got harder each day. I found myself dreaming about yo
u. Thinking about the life we could have together and regretting my decision to go along with your mother’s plan to begin with.”
“You told me you wanted to make me fall in love with you. Why? If you’re not in love with me, why did you want—”
Dylan touched his finger to her lips. “I didn’t say I’m not in love with you, my darling. I said love takes time. There is a difference.”
“So what? Are we supposed to get married and hope for the best?”
“No.” Dylan shook his head. “We spend time together, make love, and learn about each other’s lives. You come visit Darnax. Meet my family. We make love some more,” Dylan laughed. “Only time will give us the answer, Valerie. If this is love it will only grow and marriage can wait until we are sure.”
“You think my mother will wait?”
“She’ll have no choice. No more vibes need to be sent and if she invites another man from Paranormal Match to dinner, I’ll lock her up and throw away the key.”
Valerie laughed. It felt good. Dylan was saying all the right words. And if she was honest, her feelings for him were as close to love as she’d ever been.
She wasn’t ready to let him go. “How do I know you won’t lie to me again?”
Dylan frowned. “You have only my word, my love. From this day forward there will be no secrets. No plots, plans or interference from your mother or anyone else. I promise.”
Valerie felt her stomach flutter. “Did you say something about all day?”
Dylan chuckled. “And night if you’d like.”
“I’d like,” Valerie assured him, as she dove back into the water. With a mighty slap of her tail she darted from the cave, Dylan in hot pursuit. Valerie swam with all her strength. Thrilled anticipation soared through her veins as she waited for him to catch her once again.
Dylan’s arms reached out and swept her against his body, his tail pinning her tight. His cock once again slid into place and he swam for open water. Breaching the surface, his body arched as it spiraled through the air, driving her wild as he slipped in and out of her pussy.
Valerie pushed all thoughts of love and the future to the dark recesses of her subconscious mind and reveled in their coupling.
Dylan was true to his word.
The pink streaks of sunset dotted the water around them when they finally headed back to St. Kitts and her cottage in the cove. Valerie didn’t know what tomorrow would bring, but she knew Dylan would be part of it and she couldn’t wait for what came next.
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