LOGINShare
20
Last Updated:
2022-07-19 05:13:37Related chapters
Fun of a Lifetime 21
“ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR MIND?” Angel heard the words the minute she felt some-thing—no, make that someone—yank her beneath the waves. And, fish! She didn’t even have the full tail yet. Angel twisted around, doubling back on herself, watching as amethyst shimmered along her lower half from her toes up, and she took her first aqua-breath just as her sea-vision returned. Mariana was the tail-yanker. It figured. “Let go, sis.” As the last of her scales returned just below her navel, Angel flicked her tail to emphasize her point. Mariana still thought that because she was older, Angel had to listen to her. Angel had been trying to get out from under the big-sister thumb for selinos. When she was in charge of the Coalition, everyone would see her as an independent adult and take her seriously—at least, that was the hope. Of course she had to become the head of the Coalition. Which she wasn’t going to be able to do if Mariana got in her way. A parade of skates flapped their wingtips as t
Last Updated : 2022-07-19Fun of a Lifetime 22
THE NEW ANGLE OF THE SUN THROUGH THE WINDOWS WOKE Angel too early the next morning. Unlike this bright, burning hit to her eyelids that jarred her awake in an instant, sunlight arrived differently in Atlantis: filtering through crevasses in the undersea cavern containing the city, bouncing off the golden walls and marble build-ings, mixing with the refracted light of glowing magma to seep between her lashes and coax her awake. The early-morning chirpings of robins outside her window didn’t help matters either. Stretching her legs and flexing her toes, Angel sat up on the bed with a yawn, realizing from the birds’ startled looks that she was naked. Again. Blushing, Angel searched for the sheets to cover herself but had to settle for a pillow when she saw the twisted pile of bedding on the floor. Why was she naked? Again? Slowly, last night came back to her. Coercing coop-eration out of Mariana had taken longer than she would have liked. It’d been catch-and-release there for a bi
Last Updated : 2022-07-19Fun of a Lifetime 23
And a sigh out of her. Which, thankfully, she man-aged to keep very soft. “Cool! Let’s go see the manatees.” “Manatees?” That got her wayward thoughts off things they weren’t supposed to be considering anyway. While Angel loved the gentle creatures—especially this coastal contingent who were the ones responsible for discover-ing the coup attempt against Rod a few selinos ago—she couldn’t risk even one drop of saltwater reaching her legs. Not in front of Logan, and definitely not in public. “Michael, I think I’d like to steer clear of the ocean for a bit, if you don’t mind.” “Actually, Angel…” Logan addressed her directly, and silly her, she couldn’t hide the shiver that action sent through her. Good gods. What was wrong with her? She was a scientist, for gods’ sakes. She should have some control over herself. Yes, she’d proved that so well last night in this very kitchen … “The refuge is on the river,” Logan contin-ued as if there were no inappropriate thoughts diving through he
Last Updated : 2022-07-19Fun of a Lifetime 24
Logan peeled his gaze off the panes in the French door and focused it on the white cabinets over the micro-wave. Then at the faded-denim curtain the designer had insisted he needed over the window. At the maroon-and-navy, rope-design tile along the top of the backsplash the same designer had insisted on. It was no use. His eyes wanted to return to Angel. She looked like… He didn’t know what she looked like in that outfit. Perfect was the only word that came to mind. Her long, blonde hair—the soft, silky hair he’d felt trailing over different parts of his anatomy yesterday and wouldn’t mind having along other parts of his body—hung to her hips, damp loose waves making him think of nights spent in wild abandon. Her face, with those rarest-of-color eyes, was breathtakingly beautiful. Her smile, so generous and quick, a Cupid’s bow of a mouth and the dimple high in her cheek… the woman was utterly stunning. And he’d had her up against the cabinets, devouring her with his lips and wanti
Last Updated : 2022-07-19Fun of a Lifetime 25
THE MANATEES WERE BEAUTIFUL. ANGEL HAD ALWAYS thought so. So serene. Content to bob among the shoreline vegetation, these creatures never seemed bothered by any-thing. They took life as it came, floating with the waves, bumping into each other for comfort. Talk about babysit-ters. Any child of the sea was always safe in their care. She still kept in touch with the herd her parents had hired to watch her and her siblings when they’d vaca-tioned off this coast when they were younger. Matter of fact, she thought she recognized a familiar face or two, but luckily, by pretending to have a pebble in her shoe, she had the chance to ask the manatees to treat her as they would any other Human. The birds, however, were another matter. “Can you talk to animals? I saw that in a movie.” Michael asked as a cardinal flitted down from the trees to tweet at them for the seventh time, swooping from one side of the path to the other, garnering her more interest than she cared for. “Of course she ca
Last Updated : 2022-07-20Fun of a Lifetime 26
ANGEL TOOK ONE LAST PASS BY THE MANATEE ENCLOSURE AS they headed toward the park’s exit. She’d loved seeing everyone, but the fact that they were in pens saddened her—and reminded her exactly what Humans were ca-pable of. Oh, yes, this facility was for the animals’ ben-efit, and visitor money enabled the caretakers to care for the manatees, but other Humans weren’t so altruistic. That’s why she was determined to succeed. For every-one’s benefit. The smiles Logan had given her today when she’d sug-gested Michael hold his hand were a personal benefit. “So, Michael, what do you think of the manatees?” she asked as they were departing, not dwelling on per-sonal anything when it came to Logan. Well, trying not to. Michael wrinkled his nose. “Manatees don’t look like mermaids. Mermaids are pretty.” A smile replaced the thoughtful look on Logan’s face. He obviously found Michael’s comment funny, but Angel took the comment for what it was: a compliment. “Perhaps not to you, but they’re b
Last Updated : 2022-07-20Fun of a Lifetime 27
LOGAN COULD PUT THIS DAY ON HIS LIST OF GREAT ONES. Michael had obviously had a wonderful time, and Angel… The woman was beautiful, knew a hell of a lot about the creatures the park rescued, and Michael obviously adored her. And, Nadia’s prediction notwithstanding, Logan was coming to adore her as well. He honestly couldn’t say when he’d enjoyed a day—and a woman—more. He followed Angel and his son across the parking lot and clicked the remote opener so Michael could climb in the car, wondering if Angel would sit in the back like yesterday, or the front as she’d done on the ride over. Then she tossed her hair over her shoulder again and he wanted to ask her to sit up front. Right next to him. Every time she’d done that today, every time her eyes crinkled with laughter or she’d sung with the birds, he’d found himself remembering last night. “Angel.” Her name slipped out before he thought better of it. She reached the car and looked up at him with those expressive eyes. “Yes?”
Last Updated : 2022-07-20Fun of a Lifetime 28
ANGEL CLOSED THE STORYBOOK AND SET IT ON THE NIGHT- stand beside the bed. “I had a fun time today, Michael.” She handed him his bedraggled, stuffed raccoon. “Me, too.” Michael plunked the animal next to his pillow. “Angel?” “Hmm?” “Are you gonna be here tomorrow?” He made a big pretense of arranging the raccoon’s paws just right, and his eyes didn’t meet hers. “Of course I will, Michael. I had a great time today.” She almost reached out to tousle his hair but stopped her-self. Yes she’d be here, but he was already so attached to her, she shouldn’t encourage more. How would he handle it when she did have to go home? “I’ll send your dad up, okay?” “Okay,” Michael mumbled. “Good night.” She pulled the covers over his shoulder. “G’night.” At the bedroom door, Angel watched him slip his hat back on his head then settle down. One arm wrapped around Rocky, Michael curled the rest of his body around the toy and pulled the covers tight as if shielding them both from the outside world.
Last Updated : 2022-07-20
Latest chapter
Fun of a Lifetime 69
“ANGEL? LOGAN? WANNA PLAY BALL?” MICHAEL’S shadow fluttered on the filmy netting draping their hon-eymoon cabana door. Private island getaways didn’t need doors—unless one expected a six-year-old to make an appearance. Logan helped Angel smooth the sheet on the bed, then checked himself in the mirror. They’d had to scramble into their clothes when Mariana had done the first loop around the island. Good thing Angel’s sister had a big set of lungs—half the Caribbean had probably heard her warn them Michael was on his way. One more reason he’d be indebted to Mariana for the rest of his life. He didn’t mind in the least. “Come on in, Michael.” Logan brushed past Angel, unable to prevent himself from touching her shoulder, then he pulled back the netting. “Oooh, awesome!” Michael bounced in—of course— and picked up the crystal sculpture Mariana had given them for a wedding present. “Awesome? What happened to ‘cool’?” Logan said, rustling his son’s hair. The hat had been left back in
Fun of a Lifetime 68
LOGAN WAS GLAD ANGEL DECIDED ON LEGS FOR THEIR wedding day. And the morning after—if only for the fact that she looked utterly magnificent straddling him. Her skin glistened in the warm Caribbean sun. The pineapple-and-hibiscus-scented breeze wisped her golden hair around them, and the rhythmic arrival of the surf on the deserted island beach set the tempo for their lovemaking. The twilight ceremony last evening hadn’t been his idea. If he’d had his way, they would have been mar¬ried in Atlantis immediately after the trial, but Angel had specifically requested a land wedding with all her family… and no tails. It wasn’t enough that she’d fi-nagled both the job she wanted and had him—by virtue of his experience with green technologies—appointed to her Advisory Board, she’d wanted to make a state-ment about bringing the sea and the land together via their marriage. The earliest the wedding could be pulled together, tails shifted into legs, and Michael brought over had been last night
Fun of a Lifetime 67
There wasn’t a dry eye in the place—oh, that’s right. They were underwater. But Angel knew tears when she felt them, and they were what was sliding down her cheeks. And what she tasted when she kissed Logan. “I love you, too,” she whispered against his lips. “I never lied about that.” “Then it’s settled.” Zeus clapped his hands and a giant golden abacus with different colored pearls floated in front of The Council. Angel looked past Logan as Zeus swam over to it. What was the head god up to? She caught Mariana’s smile before her sister tucked her chin to her chest and draped her long hair in front of her face. She had a feeling Mariana knew exactly what Zeus was going to do—and she had a feeling she was going to be eternally grateful to her sister. “In the system of checks and balances that we use On High, two negatives—” the god slid two small black pearls to the side—“equal a positive.” He slid a pink pearl on another row. “Angel offered herself in Michael’s place. Knowing C
Fun of a Lifetime 66
MARRY? Every head, eye spot, and antenna swung toward the doorway. Angel couldn’t have heard correctly. And then she saw who it was. Logan? As gorgeous as the last time she’d seen him, Logan swam into the Coliseum, Mariana right behind him. Oh gods. What had Mariana done? The Council would crucify him—and she did mean literally. No Humans except her sisters-in-law had ever witnessed a convened Council, but they were married to members of the royal family. “Who are you, Human?” Thorsson’s last word rasped across the silence as tightly as his clipped beard swung against his chin. All the beings in the arena followed Logan as he walked—yes, walked, on two legs, every bit as tall and strong and proud of his heritage as he had a right to be—toward The Council. He didn’t utter another word. Not until he reached her. “Hey,” was that word. Then he hugged her. Chest-to-chest, thigh-to-tail, arms-wrapped-around-her hug and, omygods, it felt so good. She’d never thought she’d see him ag
Fun of a Lifetime 65
SHIT SHIT SHIT SHIT SHIT! Logan kicked his feet, trying to free the one that’d been caught, all the while paddling his arms towards the surface. The creature, whatever it was, let go and Logan swam for all he was worth, managing to grab his knife. Now if only he had his mask on so he could see the thing coming. He wasn’t waiting for it to attack again; the boat wasn’t that far away. He cleared the surface and headed toward it, only to almost crash head-on into a— Mermaid. Right in front of him. Long, flowing red hair and a sparkling emerald green tail. Almost as beautiful as Angel. No one was as beautiful as Angel. “I’m Mariana Tritone. Angel’s sister.” The woman’s voice was almost as lyrical as Angel’s, but it didn’t af-fect him at all. “Do you really want to help her?” It spoke to how far his reality had shifted when he entered into the conversation as if it were completely normal. “Yes. She saved my life and my son’s. I owe her.” Not to mention, loved her, but he wasn’t su
Fun of a Lifetime 64
ANGEL SWAM INTO THE COLISEUM TO THE MURMURINGS OF the assembled members of Atlantian society. Octopi, eels, fish, crustaceans, Mers, Council members. They were all there, every stone seat in the circular building filled. A public lynching. The gold walls of the Atlantian cavern were bathed in the glow from the massive magma wells ringing the circu¬lar building. A gently waving, multihued carpet of every species of anemone known to Man and Merkind covered the marble floor, while thousands of sea beings stared at her with antennae, eyes, or some version thereof. A convened Council used to intimidate her, having all the pomp and circumstance of an entity that dated back thousands, if not millions, of selinos. But now that The Council was convened for her, interestingly, she wasn’t intimidated. Seriously, what more could they do to her? She’d almost cost Michael his life with his father, had almost cost Logan his life, period, and she’d broken the cardi-nal rule of the Mer World. Thi
Fun of a Lifetime 63
LOGAN CHECKED THE COORDINATES GINGER HAD GIVEN HIM, then looked overboard. Somewhere down there, beneath the island of Bermuda, Atlantis waited. He dropped anchor, wondering how much damage that did to the reef, but if this all played out like Ginger had outlined, that would be the least of his worries. Grabbing his scuba gear, Logan scanned the area. A perfect Bermuda day. Sunny with wispy clouds. Logan could see for miles. A pair of boats were well beyond shouting distance, and others farther past them. Windsurfers sailed near the shore, and that party cruise had been headed north. He’d rented the boat for the week, so it wasn’t expected back until then, and no curious Jet Skiers were around to take note of how long he’d be gone. His arrangements were either good subterfuge or suicide. He hoped it wasn’t the latter. One more look at the map and the coastline confirmed that he was at the right spot. Ginger had even mentioned the area off the bow where the greens of the shallows
Fun of a Lifetime 62
“HE’S ASKED ABOUT YOU.” MARIANA SHUT THE DOOR BEHIND her with a swish of her fluke and set a tray of food on Angel’s bedside table. Angel rolled over on the mattress and looked at her. “He has? Who’d he ask?” “Ginger.” Angel groaned. “Great. That bird doesn’t like me.” “True.” Mariana dipped a piece of shrimp in the mango puree. Ginger didn’t like Angel—which was why the bird had been more than happy to share that little bit of gossip with her. The bird knew the news would make its way back to Angel. But rubbing saltwater in the wound only hurt on land. In the sea, things were different. And about to get a whole lot more different if Mariana could pull it off. “So? What did Rod do when he heard Logan was asking about me?” Angel took the shrimp and popped it into her mouth. “Rod doesn’t exactly know.” Angel sat up and flicked her tail over the edge of the mattress. “Why not?” Because Mariana didn’t want to get her sister’s hopes up or jeopardize her plans. “You said yourself
Fun of a Lifetime 61
THE NEXT MORNING, LOGAN STOOD OUTSIDE A YELLOW AND red tent. They’d gotten a new one. A permanent one, according to the sign on the gate: The Flying H Family Circus. Family Circus. The irony wasn’t lost on Logan. “You really lived in a circus?” Michael held onto his hand, the baseball cap tilted back just far enough that he could look up without it falling off. “Yes, I really did.” In another lifetime. And one he was now going to subject Michael to. But he didn’t have a choice. He wasn’t about to take him along to find Angel, and Rainbow… well, Rainbow had enough on her plate at the moment if he could even find her—and he didn’t have time to look. His… parents were the best choice he had. He’d never starved, and Nadia had always been there with a big hug whenever he’d gotten hurt. She’d taken care of him when he’d been sick, asked how his day was. Right now, he’d have to be happy with that for Michael. God willing, this would only be temporary. “This looks cool. Let’s go in.”
