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Fun of a Lifetime 36
A RIBBON OF MOONLIGHT RIPPLED ACROSS THE PLANK FLOOR as if it were the calm night sea. Angel slid from beneath the sheets, too much going on in her mind to be able to sleep. The clock’s soft red glow said two twenty-seven. She needed to think and should have enough time to go for a swim, then get her legs back. She’d have to use the hair dryer in the guesthouse, but hopefully, she’d be able to crawl back beside Logan’s warm body before he woke. She smiled. Maybe crawling back in would wake him. Her body tingled yet again, and goose bumps appeared—and they had nothing to do with the gentle breeze of the ceiling fan. They’d made beautiful music together, she and Logan. A symphony of sound and touch and taste, soft whispers, gentle sighs, the crashing crescendo of the final act… There had to be some way to make this work. Her brothers had both done it, but Reel had wanted to live on land with his wife, and Rod’s wife was willing to make the sea her home. She had to figure out some wa
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Again, she skimmed the bottom, flicking her tail to head topside again. This time, she arched backward and greeted the horizon upside-down, a perfect moonlit rain-bow of color in her tail. Again and again, Angel danced among the waves, wanting to sing her happiness, but that’d only invite trouble. Besides, the moon’s trail had lengthened, and it was time to head back. She flicked her tail and dove toward Logan’s home, ready for the sea—and air—to be cleared between them. Ready to begin her life with him. She couldn’t wait to hear what he’d say. Returning to the inlet, she swam toward the bank of the small beach there. She broke through the surface and brushed her hair off her face, shaking the water from her eyes just in time to hear what Logan did say. “Son of a bitch. You’re a mermaid?” He raked his hands through the hair she’d caressed less than an hour ago. “How is this even possible? How—why are you here? I have to believe it because I saw you—I saw you. Swimming and diving
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“ANGEL?” MICHAEL KNOCKED ON THE FRONT DOOR OF Angel’s house, then put Rocky on his shoulder so they could both look in the window. It was morning. She should be awake by now. He was. “Angel!” He knocked again and lifted the front of his hat out of his eyes. He didn’t see her. “Do you see anything, Rocky?” He lifted Rocky over his head, then stopped, snorting at himself. Stooopid. Stuffed animals weren’t real. ’Course, Logan said mermaids weren’t real, so you never knew what was real and what wasn’t. Like that lizard peeking over the edge of the roof. Even though he looked like a statue, he was real. And Michael really wanted him for a pet, even if Angel said it wasn’t fair. Was it fair that he never got anything he wanted? Even when Rainbow brought him cool stuff like ice cream and soda that he wanted, she’d had to go to jail. Oh, yeah. That. Michael sighed. Rainbow told him after that stealing wasn’t right, no matter what, so he wouldn’t try to catch the lizard ’cause that’d b
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HARRY SWAM BACK AND FORTH ALONG THE WALKWAY outside Ceto’s Bahamian Palace, waiting for her guards to announce him. They’d probably shove a mouth guard in his jaw, too. The mother of all sea monsters was ob-sessive about her security. Like he’d try to take a bite out of her. The gods might have stipulated what she could and couldn’t do with her goddess powers, but some magic was stronger than none, and since he was a mere mortal, he wasn’t about to test her. He didn’t have a death wish. What he did have was a hyper sense of justice. Sharks had been getting a bad rap ever since that ridiculous Human propaganda thirty-some selinos ago, giving all sharks a bad name, not just the Great Whites. He’d lost a lot of family members over the selinos to the hysteria Humans had created. The annoyingly ironic thing was that Great Whites were rather bite-happy. Stupid idiots. Couldn’t tell a sea lion from a Human… Now all sharks were paying the price. Fine, then. Let the Greats make their own a
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ANGEL DRAGGED HERSELF ONTO THE BEACH OF THE LAST deserted cay before Bermuda and plopped her tail in the sand. Forget heading home. She wasn’t up for it. Physi-cally, mentally, emotionally. All she’d wanted was to prove to her brother that she had what it took to do the job. And look what her life had turned into… Yeah, she’d proved something all right. She’d proved that she was so unqualified to do the job it was laugh-able, and worse than that, that she didn’t know as much about Humans as she thought she did. Great. Her degree, her thesis, her life’s work… all of it wasted. If Logan was too hardheaded to give her a chance to explain, well, then, no wonder the planet was in the shape it was in. Stubborn, prejudiced… Oh who was she kidding? She missed him like Hades. Last night had been per-fect… Until she’d gotten out of that bed. He’d wanted her; he cared about her. He’d said he was falling for her. They could have had something to-gether. But she’d blown it. A tear fell on
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COME TO PAPA! A.C.’S PRIZED TEETH GROUND AGAINST EACH other in anticipation—and this time he didn’t give a fly-ing fuck that a few broke off. Breakfast was about to be served. “AAAnngggeeelll!” Of course the pup had to be yelling underwater. A.C. wanted to clean out his ears. Too bad they were on the dorsal side of his head and he couldn’t reach them. Hades. Didn’t the pup have anything else to say? Another tone he could use? If only he could surge in and grab him, but A.C. was still a few yards too far out, and the water was becoming too shallow for him to be able to function properly. And if there was one thing a Hammerhead liked to do, it was function properly. He was a veritable killing machine created by the gods. He hadn’t missed any prey yet. Except that Mer… Yeah. Much as he hated to admit it, the fact that Angel had gotten away did count as a miss. Couldn’t have that. He had a 100 percent EVA. Earned Victim Average. He’d put a lot of effort into it. A.C. strummed his
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LOGAN WOKE UP WITH A HELL OF A HANGOVER. AND he hadn’t even been drinking—how was that for fucking sucks? No, it wasn’t a hangover. He was drained. Physically from one of the best nights of his life—before her reve-lation—and emotionally… from, well… The damn revelation itself. She was a mermaid. A mermaid. He wouldn’t have believed it if he hadn’t seen it with his own eyes. He almost wished he’d touched her tail— No he didn’t. She was a mermaid, for chrissake. Mermaids were myths. Legends. Sirens. They lured ships onto rocks and sailors to their deaths by promis-ing nights of deadly delight. Which she’d proved in that damn kitchen. He knew something weird had been going on. He didn’t attack women. No matter how gorgeous they were. And yet, he’d slept with her. Was he out of his mind? He had to be. She had to have cast some spell over him to make him fall—oh, shit. Logan threw the covers off, one half of his brain call-ing him all sorts of idiot for even thinking what he w
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“NICE.” GINGER TSK-TSKED AS SHE WATCHED LOGAN FALL onto the sand, then she turned to stare at the brown liz-ard sunning himself on the guesthouse’s eave. “You re-ally performed a public service this time.” The lizard didn’t say a word. Ginger sighed. “You do know I can see you, right?” He still didn’t respond, but one of his eyes rolled her way. “Don’t you go rolling your eyes independently of each other at me.” She undulated her neck. “I call it like I see it. And you blew it, buddy. Big time.” The lizard turned even darker brown. That was such a neat ability, being able to change color. Too bad the only way she could do it was by giving up her favorite food in the world, shrimp. And even then, it took a while and she only turned white. White. Big flappin’ deal. Thank goodness Roger adored her in pink, but still… It’d be nice to change for a change. She took a step closer to the house. “Stewie, I really think—” “It’s Stewart.” The lizard turned green with indignation. Wonder
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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“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.”
