by Dee J. Stone
Agreed.
He gently unfastens my legs from around him, grabs me by the waist, and tosses me onto the bed, climbing on top of me. His body presses into mine, but he’s not hurting me. He takes both my hands in his and brings them to his mouth, his eyes shining with love as he stares down at me. Slowly, he kisses each finger. It’s so sweet yet erotic at the same time, that my eyes flutter closed as a moan escapes my lips. My stomach is spinning around and I can’t feel my legs.
Damarian’s hair brushes my cheek as he leans toward my face. “How I love to see your body react to my touch.”
With my eyes still closed, I lock my arms around the back of his neck and yank him closer to me, squeezing my cheek against his and inhaling his exotic scent. “Mmm,” I say.
“I will now kiss every part of you,” he says, bringing his lips to my forehead. “From here, to here.” His lips tickle the bottom of my foot.
“Okay,” I rasp, opening my eyes and looking into his, getting sucked into those beautiful, deep, dark blue eyes that are exploding with all different kinds of emotions.
His lips are back on my forehead, then they travel down my face, over my nose, where he pauses to nuzzle his with mine. A second later, they are moving over my mouth, first softly, slowly, then faster, rougher, with more intensity and passion. He gently bites on my bottom lip. My back arches as I bury myself in this kiss, in this moment, in these feelings this merman is giving me.
His lips unlatch from mine and move lower, to my chin, down my neck where he spends some time running them up and down the length of it, producing small moans of pleasure from me. Then they make their way down my chest. He nudges his nose into my stomach before sweeping his lips down one thigh, followed by the next. I squirm a bit at the sensitive touch and mentally kick myself for not wearing sexier pajamas. I didn’t think we’d spend the night together. When Damarian’s finished kissing each of my toes, he makes his way back up my body, taking just as much time.
I’m left panting, my limbs numb. And then we’re joined as one, physically, emotionally, beyond this world.
Damarian digs his face into the hollow space between my neck and shoulder. “Did you enjoy that, my love?” His breath is warm against me.
“Yes.”
“I am glad. All I wish is to make you happy.”
I tuck my fingers under his chin and raise his face so I can gaze into his eyes. “Thanks, Damarian. For everything.”
“You do not need to thank me, my beautiful Cassie. It is enough that you are here with me.”
We doze off, intertwined in each other. When my alarm clock blares at three AM, all I want to do is continue sleeping in Damarian’s strong, protective, loving arms. It’s my undying love for him that causes me to spring up from bed and gather my bag of essentials. Damarian is still sprawled across the bed, his mouth slightly opened, his fingers curling at his sides. I bend toward him and kiss his temple. “Hey, we need to go to the beach now.”
He stirs and stretches his arms, a satisfied grin on his lips. “It was not a dream. I am here with you, and what we shared was wonderful.”
My cheeks warming up, I peck his lips. “It was amazing. But I want to get to the beach as fast as possible. I’m not sure how long you’ve been out of salt water.” I don’t need to swim as often as he does, but I might as well go for a dip, too.
“All right. Thank you, my sweet Cassie.”
“You take care of me and I take care of you,” I tell him.
Putting my finger on my lips, I open the door as quietly as possible and motion for Damarian to follow me downstairs. If Mom wakes and stops us from leaving, I don’t know how I would get Damarian to salt water.
We’re not wearing shoes, but our footsteps are so loud we might as well be wearing military boots. And since when do the stairs creak this much?
We make it out alive and in one piece. I put my hand on my chest and laugh. “I feel like I’m in high school and am sneaking off to a party. Or like I’m sneaking in a boy.”
“Have you done this many times in your youth?” Damarian asks as we head for the beach.
“No, not really. I didn’t go to many parties and I didn’t have any boyfriends. Other than Kyle.”
He nods.
“Did you have any girlfriends?”
He shakes his head. “I was not allowed, for I was spoken for.”
That’s right. Ever since he was a baby—or a fry, as the merpeople call them—he was engaged to Princess Flora. If not for me, he would have been forced to marry her and rule the merpeople. Actually, it’s all due to his brother, Kiander. I still think I haven’t thanked him enough.
“Did you like anyone?” I ask Damarian.
He shakes his head again. “No one has made me feel the way you do, Cassie.”
Our hands find their way to each other and fit together like puzzle pieces.
When we’re near the entrance to the beach, I feel Damarian’s hand tremble. I look at him, but the streetlights don’t provide enough light for me to see his face clearly. “You okay?” I ask.
“I feel a bit ill.”
Our pace quickens. As soon as we’re in the beach, we run to our special spot by the rocks, and I survey the area to make sure no one is around. “Go in,” I tell him as I get down on my knees and open the bag. “I’ll join you in a minute.”
He nods before shimmying out of his shorts and diving into the ocean.
I lay two sheets and two towels on the sand. The towels will help speed up the process when we change back from mermaid/merman to human and we can hide under the sheets if someone were to wander by.
I take off my pajamas and jump into the water, preparing myself for the pain. It’s no easier than the last time. I don’t know if I will ever get used to it. Damarian’s arms come around me and he tucks me close to his body. “Which form pleases you more?” he asks.
Our tails move in sync in the current, as though we share a body. “I love them both,” I say. “I think I feel closer to you as a human, but then I feel a different closeness to you when I’m a mermaid. It’s weird.”
His hand rubs circles on my back. “I share your feelings. But I believe I can please you more when you are human.”
I push a strand of hair out of my eyes. “Do you ever think about…you being a merman and me being a human when we…um…”
“When we mate?”
I nod. “I mean, I’m not sure if that’s possible now, because I’ll change if you get me wet. But I used to think about it.”
“I as well.” He cups my cheek. “If you wish to attempt it, we shall. But perhaps not tonight.”
I laugh. “Yeah.” I let go of him and drop into the water. Pumping my tail and raising my arms, I break the surface, but I don’t jump too high because I can’t risk being seen. Damarian takes hold of my hand and we do it together, in sync, as one.
When I drop down one more time, something strange happens. I’m left suspended in the water, frozen in place, pressure building up in my ears. As a human, the feeling is familiar. But I shouldn’t feel any pressure as a mermaid, unless I’m at the bottom of the deep ocean. My vision seems off, too. I should be able to see the ocean one hundred percent clearly as a mermaid, and while I do see it clearly now, it’s as though I’m wearing green goggles. Everything in the ocean has a tint of green. And the water is a bit murky.
Voices are in my head. Not voices from sea life. Something else.
Damarian tugs on my arm and yanks me to the surface. He looks into my face, his eyebrows creased. “Cassie, are you all right, my love? You did not respond to me.”
I blink and glance at the ocean. What just happened?
His fingers gently close around my neck. “Cassie? Are you all right?”
I shake my head. “I’m okay. Just…it was weird.”
“What was?”
“I don’t know. I just felt weird.” I shake my head again. “Never mind. I’m probably just tired. Because of you.” I slap his arm playfully to erase that worr
ied look from his face, but he doesn’t smile.
“Are you certain you are all right?”
“Yeah, I’m okay now. I guess I’m still not totally used to being a mermaid.”
His eyes circle my face, scrutinizing me closely, but then he kisses my lips. “All right. Perhaps we shall head back?”
“Good idea.”
Chapter Four
Misty’s Juice Bar hasn’t changed. Not that it should, since I’ve only been away from land for two weeks. As soon as Leah sees me and Damarian, she lifts the counter and rushes over, flinging her arms around me. “You’re back! I was so worried I’d never see you again.” She steps back to study me. “You look different. I can’t pinpoint how, but you definitely look different.” Her eyes widen and she leans forward. “You did it with Damarian in the ocean, didn’t you? As a mermaid?”
I blush and shove her back. “Leah!”
She grins. “You can’t hide anything from me.” She turns to Damarian and hugs him, too. “Welcome back. I’m glad to see you’re both safe.”
“Thank you.”
“Come, I’ll prepare you guys some smoothies.”
We settle down at the counter, and Leah gets to work. “Is your mom still at your place?” she asks.
“Yeah, and she was pissed.”
Leah places our smoothies on the counter and presses down the lids. “I had no clue what to tell her. Sorry, I think I just freaked her out more.”
“Don’t worry about it. I shouldn’t have put you in that position. I didn’t know I’d be gone for two weeks.”
Damarian stabs a straw into his smoothie and chugs it down. A warm feeling enters my heart and I smile. I love when he’s a merman, but I love watching him do human things. It makes the future look just a little brighter.
“Did everything go okay down there?” Leah asks, keeping her voice low so the other customers won’t hear. The place is a little packed today. Maybe because summer is coming to an end and school will start in a few weeks.
School. College. I really don’t want to think about that right now. I want to be in my own Damarian/Cassie bubble, where we can just stay in each other’s arms without having to worry about what’s going on in the ocean with the rebels. And how we can live in both his world and mine.
“Yes,” Damarian answers. “All went well. It was due to Cassie. She was brave and fearless.”
I wave my hand. “Don’t give me all the praise. If not for your father and the others, there was no way I could have saved you.”
“They would not have been able to locate me if not for you.”
“Yeah, but I would have died down there without them.”
Leah laughs. “Okay, every single person who helped save you, Damian, is awesome.”
Damarian and I exchange a glance, and we smile.
“You can’t imagine what it was like, Leah,” I say. “Being down there in the ocean, seeing it as vividly as I did.” I shake my head. “It was breathtaking. I saw a blue whale with my own eyes. A frickin’ blue whale. It swam right by me. And I can talk to sharks.”
Leah’s mouth and eyes open wide. “Holy crap. That does sound amazing. Hey, Damian, got any single friends willing to wash up on shore and sweep me off my feet?”
All three of us chuckle. “Don’t you go cheating on Jace, Leah.”
Continuing to laugh, she says, “Never.”
“You can’t imagine how many species of sea life is in the ocean,” I continue. “Just thinking about it makes me appreciate the world in a whole new light.” I lock my fingers through Damarian’s. “He makes me appreciate life in a whole new light.”
Leah’s about to respond, but a group of about fifteen kids and two adults pile into the shop. She curses under her breath.
“Looks like you’ve got some work to do,” I say, giving her a sympathetic smile. “We’ll catch up with you later.”
“Hey, Jace and I are going bowling after my shift. You guys want to join? We’ve never hung out as couples yet. Doesn’t that plain suck?”
“It totally sucks.” I’ve been so busy with Damarian and everything that’s happened that I haven’t had the chance to just slow down and enjoy every part of my human life, like being totally invested in my best friend’s life.
I glance at Damarian and find him clueless. I give him a quick explanation of the game.
His face washes with intrigue. “I believe I shall enjoy this ‘bowling’ immensely.”
“Yes!” Leah says. “It’ll be so much fun.” She glances at her watch. “My shift ends in half an hour. Jace said he’s going to meet me here. Let me text him and tell him you’re joining us.”
“Okay, we’ll find a table and wait,” I say.
I buy a bag of potato chips and lead Damarian to an empty booth in the back. I pop open the bag and tell Damarian to try some. As soon as he bites into one, his eyes light up and he grabs a handful, throwing it into his mouth and munching. Again, I’m filled with a warm feeling. He’s my merman, my Damarian. And he’s so freakin’ adorable.
We talk and eat. As soon as Leah’s shift ends, she joins us and demands I spill every detail of my adventure in the ocean. I spend the next few minutes telling her everything. Damarian is totally cool with Leah being in on the merpeople world. I think he feels more at ease because it’s reassuring to know that we have people we can rely on. From both worlds.
“You punched a shark?” Leah says, her jaw nearly sweeping the floor. “You have a death wish?”
I shrug helplessly. “I must have been high on adrenaline or something.”
“Hell yeah. If my man was in trouble, you bet I’d be kicking some ass.”
“Kicking some ass?” Damarian asks.
Leah and I giggle. “It’s just an expression,” she explains. “It means doing what you need to do, no matter who or what gets in your way.”
Damarian kisses my cheek. “Cassie has kicked many asses for me.”
Leah and I burst into more giggles. She wipes her eyes. “I’m so glad you two are back. Are you going to return to the ocean?”
“We shall remain on land for a while,” Damarian says. “Cassie requires time to recuperate.”
She arches an eyebrow. “From what?”
My gaze drops to the table. I don’t want to tell Leah or anyone how I almost died in the ocean. I don’t want them to worry.
She narrows her eyes. “Did something happen down there that you’re not telling me?”
“Everything’s okay,” I assure her.
“We don’t keep things from each other, Mrs. Merman.”
“That’s Mrs. Mermaid to you.”
“Well technically, it’s Mrs. Damarian Merman, but who’s keeping track?”
“If you want to be technically technical, I’m Cassie Price of the humans. According to Queen Flora, anyway.”
“No,” Damarian says. “You are not only Cassie Price of the humans. You are Cassie Price of the Sapphire clan as well.”
I stare at him. “Are you saying I’m part of the Sapphire clan?”
“Certainly. Your tail is sapphire, is it not? Are you not my mate?”
“Well, yeah, but…” I guess it hasn’t occurred to me that I’m actually part of the clan. I’m one of them now—a child of the sea. Until my human side decides it wants to come out and play.
Damarian sandwiches my hand between his and brings them to his lips. “You are my mate, Cassie. My world is your world.”
Every cell in my body feels elated.
Leah says, “Does that mean you’re Damian Sapphire of the humans?”
I roll the name around on my tongue. “Damian Sapphire. Sexy.”
“Totally sexy.”
Damarian beams. “I accept.”
Leah claps her hands. “Yay. I feel like I just had a baby.”
We laugh again.
“You’re still not off the hook, though.” Leah wags her finger. “Something happened down there. I know it.”
I sigh. Damarian pats my hand. “
It is all right, my love. Cassie and I were in a cave when she began to shift.”
“Back into a human,” I say. “Thousands of feet in the ocean.”
Leah clamps her hands over her mouth. Damarian and I tell her the rest, how the rebels blockaded us, how Damarian and I broke through them by shooting electricity. Her eyes are the biggest I’ve ever seen. “Superpowers?”
“We don’t really understand it. Damarian thinks it has to do with him being the true king of the merpeople.”
She blinks a few times. “Wow, not only is your life one big drama fest, it’s packed with action and science fiction.”
Damarian’s face brightens. “I very much enjoy science fiction.”
“You’re okay, Cassie?” Leah asks. “That must have been so scary.”
I nod. “I thought I was a dead fish.” I take Damarian’s hand again. “The important thing is that we’re here together. I won’t let anything happen to you, Damarian.”
“I will not allow any harm come your way, my sweet Cassie.”
I frown. “We do have a problem, though. Damarian can’t swim in salt water with my mom around.”
Now they are frowning, too. “Have you considered telling her?” Leah asks.
Damarian and I exchange a glance. He raises his eyebrows.
“I don’t know,” I say. “We thought about it when it was just Damarian. But I think she’ll have a heart attack if she found out I’m a mermaid, too.”
Leah munches on some chips. “So you’ll never tell her?”
“No, I will. I have to. But maybe not yet. Maybe once Damarian and I figure out how to balance both lives. I mean, there’s so much we have to deal with, like school and jobs and the rebels. She’ll be back in New York soon, anyway.”
“But you do need to tell her, Cass.”
I nod. I know I have to. I can’t keep such a big secret from her. The same goes for my dad. But I’ll tell them when I’m ready. At the right time. Right now, I just want to live blissfully with Damarian.
Leah’s face lights up as she looks past me to the door. “Jace! Over here!”
I turn my head and see a tall, dark-haired guy heading to our booth. Leah springs up and hugs him, then pulls back and faces us. “Jace, this is my best friend, Cassie, and her boyfriend, Damian. You remember them, right?”
