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"I did miss you," she whispered into his ear. He didn't answer her, but she felt him nod, and his hand caressed the curve of her back intimately.
After traveling down the shoreline, Dylan stopped in front of a large arrangement of stone and coral, part of which towered above the ground. It was vaguely cavelike, but the top was open to the sky. It was round and reminded CC of a corral.
"There is no other way to enter than from under the surface. You will have to hold your breath, but it will not be for long."
The sun had set, and it was almost totally dark, with the mist obscuring even the dim light left in the evening sky. CC looked nervously at the hulking structure that jutted imposingly out of the water. "Are you sure?"
Dylan smiled reassuringly at her. "Do you promise not to kick and squirm?"
"I'll be good," she said, trying to laugh off her trepidation.
Dylan kissed her forehead gently and cupped her chin with his hand. "I would never cause you harm."
His eyes were warm and she felt undeniably safe wrapped in his strong arms.
"I'm ready," she said.
Dylan shifted her so that she floated in front of him, then he turned her so that her back was to him. His hands cupped her waist, which left her own hands free.
"When you are ready, take a deep breath and dive. I will do the rest."
Before she could change her mind, she took a huge breath, nodded and stretching her arms over her head, she dove under the surface. Guiding and pushing her from behind, Dylan's power made CC feel slick and strong under the water—and she was almost disappointed at how quickly he angled them up so that their heads broke the surface together. CC shook the water from her face, laughing.
"Wow! That was almost like I had a tail of my own…" Her words trailed off as she registered the beauty that surrounded them.
They floated in the center of a ring of coral and rocks. As she had already observed from outside, the structure was open to the sky, and the circle formed a calm pool in the center, sheltering them from the rhythmic crashing of waves against rock. But that wasn't what was so spectacular about the structure. All around them hundreds, maybe even thousands, of phosphorescent blue fish the size of one of CC's thumbs, darted in schools of perfectly synchronized swimming. Their lights illuminated the ring of water with an otherworldly turquoise glow, giving their little section of the ocean the appearance of a swimming pool lit by magical, moving bulbs. It was an oasis of brilliance in their fog-shrouded world.
"Dylan," CC breathed. "I've never seen anything like this."
"That is not all." He pulled her with him to the side of the wall. Pointing down at a little pocket of coral under the water, he said, "Watch."
CC peered down into the clear, neon-lit water and gasped in wonder. Within the rocky pocket she could see two sea horses. The miniature equine replicas were about six inches long and colored mostly an amazing black-bronze, except for an area of their bodies that looked like waistcoats; there they were splashed with brilliant patches of pink, yellow, blue and white. As CC watched, the two creatures swam in delicate circles around each other, coming ever closer. Finally, they met in a trembling embrace, joining their bodies together.
"There are more." Dylan's lips moved against her ear and he pointed to another place within the coral wall. CC followed his gesture to see that another pair of sea horses were beginning their graceful mating dance.
CC leaned back against the merman, wrapping her arms around his. "I didn't know there was such beauty in the ocean. I never spent much time around it, and I didn't realize how incredible it could be." She turned fluidly in his arms. "You really are a wonderful teacher. Thank you for showing me."
"I cannot imagine you away from the water."
"It seems ridiculous now, but I used to be afraid of the water. As you may have noticed, I'm not even a very good swimmer."
"Then you did not know any of the mer-folk in your old world?" Dylan asked.
CC laughed. "There aren't any mermen or mermaids where I come from."
Dylan looked startled. "Are you certain?"
"Well, I'm pretty sure. They are considered mythological beings. People tell stories about them and draw pictures of them, but if they ever existed in my world they haven't been seen in more than a thousand years."
Dylan studied the woman in his arms with new eyes. He was struck by the realization that he loved a woman who was not simply a land creature, but from a strange world where none of his kind even existed. How could he hope to win her love in return? He knew she found him interesting and probably even exotic and appealing, but those were not emotions on which to base a lifetime of love—they were fleeting, transient and would vanish like mist with the rising sun of experience. He began to understand the despair that had destroyed his mother.
"I must seem very strange to you."
CC could hear the vulnerability in his voice and felt him pull away from her—not enough that she would be in dan-ger of slipping under the surface, but the intimacy with which he had been holding her faltered, like he was suddenly afraid to be too close to her.
"Strange is not the word I would choose." She tightened her arms around him, so that he had to come back to her.
"Then what word would you choose?" Dylan asked, trying hard to keep his voice neutral and his tumultuous emotions controlled.
"Well, I don't think one word would do—I think I would have to use several." She kept one arm wrapped securely around his shoulder. With the other she let her hand trace a path down his face and over his chiseled cheekbone. "Beautiful," she said softly, moving her fingertips down the side of his neck and over the firm muscle of his shoulder. "Spectacular," she continued, stopping to caress his thick bicep before crossing over to his chest and continuing down. "Amazing." CC's hand moved over the side of his taut waist. When her fingers felt the flesh of his skin change from human to mer-being, she hesitated and her gaze shifted to his eyes. He was watching her intently, and his breathing had deepened.
"I have legs now and not a tail," CC said.
Her words made Dylan's lips curl up in a surprised ghost of a smile. "Yes, I did notice that," he said.
"Have you ever, uh, been with a human woman before?" she asked.
Now his surprise was complete. "No! I have never before known a human woman." He paused, trying to find the right words. "… in any way… What I mean is that I have not…"
CC nodded quickly. "So what you're telling me is that you've never been intimate with, or even known, a human woman, yet you don't seem to find me repulsive, even though right now my body is very definitely human."
"I could not find you repulsive," Dylan said as understanding lit his eyes. "Even though I have not known any other beings of your kind." She had been worried about his acceptance. She truly desired him! In part of his mind he allowed himself to begin to believe that perhaps he wasn't destined to repeat his mother's tragedy. Relief flooded his body and the ghost of a smile became real.
"Then I don't think you should worry about me not having known any other mermen. That is unless you want me to start worrying about you thinking my legs are disgusting."
CC could feel Dylan's body relax, and she floated easily against him once more. One of his hands traveled down her back and past her waist. CC sucked in a surprised breath when it skimmed over her butt to caress the length of her thigh.
"Your legs are soft and warm." His voice was deeply seductive. "And I admit to wanting to touch them—very much."
"I want to touch you, too," CC said, letting her hand move purposefully down from his waist to skim over the unique texture of the rest of him. She looked into his eyes. "But I would like to see you, too. A little more clearly. Do you mind?" She hurried on as his brow furrowed. "I mean, you've seen me—all of me—very naked. Just a little while ago I was standing on the shore with not much on except a smile. But, well, I haven't really been able to see…" She nodded her head toward the water and what shimmered gold and orange beneath it, "you."
Dylan made a muffled noise in the back of his throat, but he shook his head, holding her gaze with his own.
"No, I do not mind," he said.
