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How hard had I hit my head? I remembered making a joke about mermaids, Eason giving me a playful shove, and then whacking my head as I tumbled off the boat. But I don’t remember going into the water. Although, from the water I had coughed up and my soaked clothing, it was obvious that I had not only fallen into the water, but I had nearly died.
Where were the guys? Shouldn’t they be here trying to save me? I turned to look for them, and locked eyes with a—mermaid? I was dreaming. Maybe I was still unconscious. That explained the strange cavern and my missing friends. The last thing I had said before losing my footing was a joke about mermaids, and my mind had conjured one.
Long dark hair fell down her back, hiding much of her face and body. Glowing eyes watched me from behind the curtain of hair. When I say glowing, I mean they literally glowed. The effect reminded me of the golden light reflecting in a cat’s eyes in the dark, except her eyes glinted turquoise, the color of Caribbean waters.
I followed the damp strands of her hair down her body. Her skin was pale, shimmering scales, the same color as her eyes, and they pulsed in a faint rhythm. It took me a minute to realize why the sight was familiar, why I was convinced that I had seen a similar light show. Then I remembered my work with a research team at a large aquarium. I had spent a summer studying bioluminescence in jellyfish. Their mesmerizing display had caused the entire team to lose track of time on more than one occasion. This affect, now on the mermaid, only added to her allure.
My eyes drifted lower and came to a halt. Books and movies normally portrayed mermaids as having either shells or seaweed styled into a bra, or being completely topless. Turns out they all had it wrong. The reality was more like the armor given to females in video games. You know, the kind that appeared more sexy than practical. A thick piece of ‘armor’ covered her breastplate and sternum. Smaller individual pieces protected her ribs and connected to the sternum, creating an elegant draping design.
The armor was black and red, but I couldn’t figure out what it was made from. I would have guessed leather, but that wouldn’t be a logical choice for a sea dweller. I wanted to reach out and explore her body with my hands, not just my eyes. If I was being honest with myself, I didn’t just want to explore her body for science. No, I was being drawn to her, ignoring the pull was becoming increasingly difficult with each passing second. It was as impossible as resisting gravity.
Water droplets slid down her body, and my eyes trailed after them. Trepidation and excitement warred inside me. It wasn’t every day, or every dream, that you got the chance to study a mermaid. Her skin shifted colors when it came to her hips, the transition from her pale skin to the charcoal of her tail was smooth and gradual. She hadn’t just slipped into a tail from the internet to indulge in her own fantasy. No, she was the real deal. The fluke was submerged in the water at the center of the cave, so admiring it would have to wait.
Our eyes locked, and I sucked in a breath as I watched her pupils shift back and forth between rounded and slitted. She wasn’t like the mermaids of my daydreams. She was more than I could imagine. Emotion surged inside me, things I thought you could only feel for someone you had known for years. How could you feel so strongly for someone you just met? If I’d had a ring, I would have proposed on the spot. I wasn’t going to waste this opportunity, even if it was just a figment of my imagination.
I opened my mouth and the voice that came out was one I didn’t recognize. She was affecting every part of me.
“Hey baby, are you a mermaid, or am I the one who made you all wet?”
I wanted to jump back on the boat so I could knock myself out again. Sure, I may be obsessed with cheesy pickup lines, but that one had come out of nowhere. Where had I even heard it?
I watched her reaction and prayed she couldn’t speak English. Her aquamarine eyes shimmered with intelligence, and her head tilted as she worked to decipher something. Scales began to flicker, colors flashing like lightning while traveling along her body in a brilliant display. Intuitively, I recognized it as a visual display of her emotions, but couldn’t figure out if it was fear, anger, curiosity, or something else.
“You desire me?” The words were spoken in the low sultry tone of a 1950’s female blues singer. Her voice hit me like a bolt of electricity, surging through my body and leaving a burning path of desire in its wake.
I huffed out a laugh. “Sweetheart, you have no idea. Yes. Yes, I want you so much it hurts, and that isn’t just a figure of speech.”
Again, her head tilted as she thought over my words. She worried her bottom lip between her teeth—fangs.
She has fangs.
This wasn’t a mermaid, this was a Siren. And if the legends were anything to go by, I was sharing a tiny cavern with the most devious and accomplished predator of the sea. If she decided to attack me, my larger size wasn’t going to be enough to save me.
She started to move forward but stopped and glanced down at her tail. I wondered if her hesitation was due to the weight of her tail and fluke. Once that was pulled from the water, the weight would likely be significant. It would slow her down giving me a bit more of a fighting chance should she decide to attack. On the flip side, it would make her more vulnerable, and I doubted that was something she would be okay with.
I hated to think of her feeling uncomfortable, even if I knew she had no reason to fear me. Moving slowly, I scooted toward her. Glinting eyes lifted at my movement, and a predator stared back at me. My heart tripped over its own beat for a split second, but then I remembered this was a dream and you couldn’t really die in a dream. At least, I hoped you couldn’t.
Inch by excruciatingly slow inch I edged toward her. I stopped when my leg brushed against her thigh. I wondered about the skeletal structure of a mermaid. Did she have two thigh bones? Silencing my inner scientist yet again, I reached out, brushing her check with my knuckles. I couldn’t hide the small tremor in my hand as it shook in much the same way it would if I were petting a wild tiger.
She stiffened but remained still. I didn’t get bit, so I took that as a good sign. Cupping her face in my palm, I stroked her cheek with my thumb, enjoying the contrast of her slick scales against my roughened skin. Some of the tension left her body and she relaxed into my touch.
“May I kiss you?” I wish I could say my voice came out sexy and confident, but the truth was that the words were little more than a whisper.
Glowing eyes watched me steadily. Her pupils had stopped shifting shapes and now remained slitted like the eyes of a cat. It should have freaked me out more. Maybe I just had a previously unknown kink for the dangerous because something about the unnatural beauty of her predatory features had my body burning with a need like nothing I had experienced before. I wanted her, even if having her was the last thing I would ever do.
“Yes.”
My heart soared at that single word. Leaning in, I pressed my lips to the curve of her jawline. Wanting to savor every second of this incredible illusion, I kissed my way to the corner of her mouth, my pace unhurried. Her breathing hitched and she shivered. I smiled, knowing that she was experiencing the same crazy desire that was currently threatening to burn my insides to ash.
I caught her bottom lip between my own, sucking gently. The salty taste of her skin was a reminder that this wasn’t your typical kiss. Another taste met my tongue, one that I couldn’t place. It was sweet like nectar or honey. My body trembled with desire. I should have been embarrassed to be so affected by simply kissing her, but I didn’t care about anything but making her my own at that moment.
Her lips began to move with mine, and our kiss took a turn from sweet to steamy. A soft little hum escaped her mouth, the sound vibrating through me. Dizziness washed over me. The sensation was that of holding your breath for too long, then releasing it and desperately gulping in lungfuls of air. Except in this case, it was her that had me gasping in need. If things stopped at that point, I’m sure I would have passed out.
I needed more. Sliding my hand into her hair, I pulled her lips more firmly against my own. Her hands trailed up my water-soaked shirt. It clung to my skin, and she traced along the lines of my chest through the fabric.
When she sighed out another hum, blood rushed to my groin with a suddenness that caused me to jerk. The movement caught us both off-guard and she nicked my lip with her fang. We both froze. The faint acidic taste of blood was in my mouth, which meant she likely tasted it too. Would she turn full predator now and eat me? Somehow, instead of the thought dousing my desire like cold water, it turned me on even more. Sweat trickled down my forehead and spine, not from fear, but from desire.
“I am sorry. This is not normal for me. I cannot resist any longer.” Her soft textured voice trembled.
