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"He thinks I won't be here until I need to change back to my mermaid form, and that's not for two more nights." CC brushed a hand through her heavy hair. "Can I even change tonight?" She felt the call of the water, as always, but it wasn't as intense as it had been the night before. Instead of an overwhelming desire, it was just an itch somewhere under her skin.
"You must wait for the third night to change into your mermaid form—if you change more often than that, you may not be able to overcome your desire to remain a creature of the water."
"And then Sarpedon would get me." And he would kill Dylan, CC added silently to herself.
"Do not concern yourself with Sarpedon tonight. Concentrate instead on knowing your heart."
"But if I can't change back into a mermaid…"
"If Dylan is your true love, he must accept the part of you that is human."
CC gestured at her layers of skirts. "I'm not exactly dressed for swimming."
Gaea's smile was mischievous. "I have always believed one should not be dressed at all when one finds herself embraced by the ocean." With a slender finger she touched the intricate laces at CC's back. Instantly they fell open and the cloth slipped from her shoulders as if twenty nimble-fingered servants had assisted her.
CC stood to step out of the dress and smoothed it across the rock. Before she pulled off the shift, she glanced at Gaea. "How am I going to get back into that thing?"
Gaea's smile widened, and she passed her elegantly shaped hand over the dress, speaking softly to it.
"When she wills, your braids rebuild. So have I spoken; so shall it be." The air around the dress stirred, and CC could fee] the spark of Gaea's magic.
CC grinned at the goddess. "Thank you." Then she lifted the chemise over her head and kicked off her shoes. Almost automatically she pulled her long hair forward, obscuring the view of her bare breasts.
"Are you ashamed of your body, Daughter?" Gaea asked.
"No. I think it's beautiful."
"Then perhaps living at the monastery has convinced you that beauty is something to be feared and hidden?" The smile in Gaea's voice softened the reprimand.
"Absolutely not," CC said firmly. In one quick motion she swept her hair back, leaving her breasts totally bared. Then, naked except for her jewelry, she started walking toward the sound of waves. But soon her steps faltered and she was suddenly unsure of herself.
"Call to him." Gaea's voice came from behind her.
"Just call?" CC asked, looking over her shoulder at the goddess.
"He will hear you." The mist started to close and thicken around Gaea, so that her last words were disembodied. "You cannot remain long tonight. There is a storm coming, and they will be looking for you. My blessing goes with you, Daughter."
"I'll remember," CC said to the mist before turning back to face the sound of water. She walked slowly forward, making her way carefully between the many rocks and shells that littered the sand. The fog surrounded her, brushing against her skin in a wet caress, forming tiny drops of dew which glistened to decorate her body like liquid jewels.
When her feet touched water she stopped, peering outward, but she could see nothing through the thick fog. Feeling a little foolish, she cupped her mouth with her hands and called to the merman.
"Dylan! Are you here?"
Only the sound of waves breaking against the rocky shore answered her. She sighed and cupped her mouth again.
"Dylan!"
CC felt him before she saw him. There was a tingling all along her skin that settled somewhere low in her stomach—and she knew he was there. Over the section of ocean that stretched in front of her the mist thinned.
Dylan broke the surface, sweeping his long dark hair from his sparkling eyes. His blood throbbed hot at the sight of her. She was so lovely, standing there in her exotic human body which was all soft curves and long, supple lines. Her beautiful face lit at the sight of him, and her full lips shaped a delighted grin that was solely Christine—his vibrant, joyous Christine.
There was laughter in his voice when he spoke. "You do not need to shout for me, Christine. You need only call me from here." He smiled and pointed to his own temple. "Simply send your thoughts to me, as we do under the water. I will hear you."
"Oh," CC said inanely. She was sure he could also hear the herd of butterflies that were pounding around in her stomach. "I didn't know. Gaea just told me you would come if I called."
His expression sobered. "Always, Christine. I will always answer your call." He glanced around at the fog. "Is this the doing of your goddess?"
CC nodded. "It seems Sarpedon is on the prowl. Gaea says he can't find me in this. And, anyway, I think he's busy at the monastery tonight."
"It almost makes me feel pity for the monks," Dylan said, trying to lighten his voice, but it was clear the mention of Sarpedon made the merman uncomfortable.
"Don't be too hasty with your sympathy. I think that monastery could use a little shaking up, or at least that abbot sure could." She dug her toes into the sand and looked down. She didn't want to tell Dylan about Sarpe-don's possession of Andras. She could only imagine how it would make him feel—probably mad and jealous and frustrated that he couldn't do anything about it. And she didn't want the oppressive subject of Sarpedon to ruin her time with Dylan.
She glanced at the merman, and all thoughts of Sarpedon dissipated. Dylan's eyes were on her naked body. She could feel his gaze. It made her skin flush with a sensuous tingle.
He made her feel breathless and very nervous.
"I know it's not the third night, so I'm early, and, well, I can't change yet, but I'm glad you came."
He smiled at her. "I am glad you appeared early."
"Even if I can't, uh, be a mermaid tonight?" she stammered.
He raised one eyebrow, grinning at her boyishly. "Are you worried that I might let you drown?"
At his easy jest, CC felt her nerves loosen, and she smiled back at him. "Well, I do remember swallowing a lot of water the first time we met."
He laughed. "That is only because I was unprepared for your kicking and squirming." Drifting closer to shore he held one strong hand out to her and his voice deepened se-ductively. "Tonight I am prepared; come to me. I will not let you drown."
Without hesitation, CC walked into the water. When her feet no longer touched ground, she began to swim, but before she could finish a full stroke Dylan pulled her into his arms.
"I think it would be safer if you allowed me to do the swimming," he said with mock seriousness.
"And what will you do if I kick and squirm?" CC teased.
"I said that tonight I am prepared." His arms circled her naked body, pressing her firmly against his chest. CC could feel the rhythmic beat of his powerful tail as he tread water, easily keeping both of them afloat in the calm, fog-shrouded ocean. "I will simply hold you closer."
"That makes me want to kick and squirm," she said breathlessly, his touch making her feel a little light-headed.
"And I will be careful that you do not drown," Dylan murmured as he bent his head to her.
Their lips met in a rush of heat, and CC wrapped her arms around his shoulders, loving the mixture of hard muscle and slick, wet skin under her hands.
"Oh, Dylan," CC whispered against his lips. "I missed you today."
Dylan kissed her forehead softly. When he spoke his voice was rough with suppressed emotion. "I saw you."
CC blinked in surprise. "You mean when I came to the beach to eat brunch?"
"Yes. With the man."
CC touched his cheek gently, hating the haunted look in his eyes.
"I watched as he kissed you." The merman's jaw clenched. "I have never before wished to have legs, but today I wanted nothing more than to walk from the waters and take you from him."
A tingle of emotion flushed her body at his words. She took his face between her hands and looked into the deep brown of his eyes. "You need to know something." She felt him tense, as if readying himself for a blow, and she hurried on. "I'm not very good at this. I mean I'm not very experienced in relationships. I really haven't had much practice, so there's a lot I'm not sure about. But there is one thing I do know. I won't lie to you. I believe in truth and fidelity. And I'm giving you my word that I do not want Andras. He is not the man for me."
The tension in the merman's jaws relaxed under her hands, but his eyes were still shadowed.
"Man…" Dylan said, smiling sadly. "You say he is not the man for you, and I am glad of it. But I am also not a man."
"I didn't mean—"
Dylan's lips brushed gently against hers. "Shssh. I have something to show you."
Before CC could say more he flipped to his back, pulling her up so that she rested against him, safely out of the water. He propelled them backward, careful to keep her protected from the wash of waves while she lay securely within his arms.
