I reach down and offer him my hand. He stares up at me, his brown eyes filled with wonder as he looks at me. My heart clenches as I take him in. No one has ever looked at me like that. Like I’m incredible and I try to block it out as I pull him up onto deck.“Mermaid,” he says as soon as we’re safely on the dock.“What?” I ask, wondering if he’s drunk or hit his head or something.“Are you a mermaid?” He asks, his voice coming out a little raspy and he coughs slightly.“Uh, no. Are you drunk?” I ask, inching over to my phone and keys.“No, I’m not much of a drinker.” He says, shaking out his hair.Drops of water hit me in the face and I glare at him.“Sorry,” he says with a sheepish smile.“Look here,” I say, clicking on the little flashlight attached to my keyring.I check his eyes, making sure that he’s alright before I turn it off and stand.“Are you alright?”“Yeah, thanks to you.”“Okay, well have a good night,” I say, turning and grabbing another box before I head on deck of my
He nods and I let out a breath as I back away into the bedroom. All of the furniture on deck is bolted down so as long as he just sits there, he should be alright. I strip off my wet clothes and hang them up in the bathroom before I take the quickest shower ever and rush to dry off and pull on my pajamas.Isaac is still sitting in the chair where I left him when I come out. He’s looking around the space below deck but there isn’t much to see. Just a little kitchen, an even smaller sitting area, a storage closet with all of my diving supplies, and my bedroom. The furniture is all dated but it still works and usually I’m the only one down here so it doesn’t matter to me.I’m a little worried about what will happen when I get this clumsy guy in the ocean. Maybe it will be better. There won’t be anything for him to bump into or fall off of.“Did you want to grab your bag?” I ask as I shift in front of the bedroom door. “You should probably wash off before bed.”“Yeah, it’s just upstairs.
“My parents passed away too. I know how hard it can be.”“I’m sorry,” I say and it feels like we’re connected in that moment.“Thanks. Losing them is part of why I decided to finally do this actually.”“Oh yeah?”“Yeah, I always said that I was going to have an adventure but then I got so busy with work that I kept putting it off.”“What do you do for a living?”“I’m a writer. My parents were both writers too.”“Hmm.”“What?” He asks, leaning on the table again and almost upending the whole thing when he puts too much weight on it.“I can’t see you as a writer. You seem like you have to much energy to sit still for that long.”“So what do you see me doing? Lumberjack? Construction worker?”“God no! Something with padding and no sharp edges. You’d die on a construction site. You’re way too clumsy.”He laughs with me and our waitress brings over our food. We both dig in and I moan at the first savory bite. I look up to see Isaac staring at me. He swallows hard and gives me a smile but i
I probably should have seen what he does next coming.IsaacI’ve wantedto kiss Mila again pretty much from the second that I stopped kissing her and after she tells me that she’s coming with me, I give into that urge again. Our lips connect and sparks fly.Her soft lips mold to mine in a sweet caress and I feel desire curl through my blood. My hands go from cradling her face in my hands to tangling my fingers in her hair. She moans into my mouth and I dip my tongue past her lips, getting my first taste of her. She tastes like spearmint and she moans again as our tongues tease each other.I use my hands to pull her closer to me and she hooks her leg over my waist. We roll until she’s on top of me and my hands leave her hair to grip her hips. Her sleep shirt is soft and worn and I slip my fingers underneath the hem, running along her smooth skin up her back. She wiggles against me and I groan as my cock stiffens even further in my pajama pants.With only these thin cotton layers separat
She tilts her head up, resting her chin on my chest as she beams up at me.“You know, this house isn’t just for rent,” I say, trailing off.“Is that so?” She asks as we start to walk toward the house.“It’s also for sale. So, maybe if you liked it, and you wanted to stay here with me, build a life here with me, we could“You want to move here with me? What about your life back in New Mexico?” She asks, pulling me to a stop in the driveway.“I left New Mexico so that I could have an adventure. But I found you and I don’t want to leave you. You wouldn’t be happy in the desert and I want you to be happy, Mila. I’d do anything to make you happy. So yeah, I’d move here with you and we could have a thousand more adventures together and if we get bored then we can move somewhere new. I can write from anywhere and we can go diving and swimming in the ocean together. What do you say?” I ask and my breath catches in my throat as I wait for her answer.“I say… YES!” She says, throwing herself in
The function of the wing is to take what is heavy and raise it up into the region above where the gods dwell. Of all things connected with the body it has the greatest affinity with the divine., the sky unnaturally dark. His doing, or his enemies'? He couldn't tell anymore. But bloodlust required instinct, not thought, and pain could be ignored. As he roared his fury, the resulting heat that shot through his sword blade illuminated his surroundings. A hundred shadows converging, almost indistinguishable from the black clouds, but the nearest one was close enough to become an opponent. The Dark One's death scream made Jonah's lips curl in a satisfied, feral smile, despite the foul taste of the creature's blood splattered across his mouth.Good or evil, what did it matter? It all came down to this in the end--battle. Those who were the best would be left standing, if luck and skill held.But the Lady didn't stand with them on this ground. He fought for Her, but he never sensed Her pres
It must be the power of that incandescent light, the magical heat of it. She realized abruptly she was sinking with the wing, had been the whole time she was experiencing that heady feeling that seemed to make her aware of all the parts of herself that could stir a lover. Her mouth, her throat, her grasping fingers, the undulation of her hips . . .Even as the wave of sensations amazed and confused her, a tingling sense of unease penetrated them, warning her that the pleasurable light was struggling, fading somehow.There was also a definite urgency to its downward motion that couldn't be explained by the weight of waterlogged feathers, mainly because they did not appear waterlogged at all, floating as easily as the tendrils of her own hair. And didn't birds--or birdlike creatures--have hollow, nearly weightless bones?The wing had maneuvered her off the white sand bottom, down to the nearest shelf another thirty feet below, then to a finger seventy feet below that. From here, she cou
"Come on," she whispered desperately. "We must move." They had to go deeper, where his light wouldn't be seen. The overwhelming warmth she felt from him was being poisoned by the artificial despair creeping more deeply into her mind. His enemies were too close.Slowly, despite the weight of the wings, he began to turn, taking them over the edge. She pushed harder with her tail, wanting to fall clear enough that they wouldn't bounce off the sharp edges of the coral. Come on. They had to go deeper, deeper.She was already deeper than she'd been before, and Goddess, but the water was cold. So cold. And dark. His light was the only light. As they tumbled together, with her wrapped in his wing and wrapped around him, she realized she could lose her sense of direction, go down when she meant to go up, and never find her way to the surface again. The reality of that brought another terrifying thought. When she was lost in the darkness, it wouldn't matter to anyone. No one.But nothingness wo
She'd wanted to see his face for more than that brief glimpse. Did he fear what she would see? Beauty and the Beast was one of her favorite fairy tales, because an empath could see it all. The monster beneath the flesh, no matter how beautiful the mask. The beauty of the soul, no matter the disfigurement. But she hadn't wanted to assess the balance within him. She'd needed to look into his eyes for a reason she couldn't define, but it had been all-consuming. If she'd seen the darkness in him outweighing the light, would she have clung to him anyway, because he needed her? It was a desperation that went deeper into the soul than even she'd ever delved. Down to the dark, frightening places where children screamed but no mother came, pain and fear were the air one breathed, and the earth had no magic beneath the soles of the feet."Isaac?"A warm light had spread over her skin. She raised her gaze to her father's dark eyes. Apparently when she hadn't responded right away, he'd intensifie
. How on earth did she know what brimstone smelled like?Maybe she remembered it from that time she'd ended up in the outer catacombs of Hell, looking for the caverns where her parents had first met. She'd been twelve, and fascinated by the story of how Anna had hidden Jonah there when he was hurt and being pursued by Dark Ones. Of course, Lex hadn't been thrilled to run smack into Lucifer while on her romantic quest. She'd been told in no uncertain terms she would not be swimming down into his realm again, not if she knew what was good for her. She was twenty-one now, but the memory still made her shudder.God, she loved her parents, but they had such scary friends. The Lord of the Underworld was her father's best friend, while Mila was the seawitch Mina, a creature whose name no merperson would speak aboveBut whether or not Isaac was smelling brimstone, this had to be a dream. Mainly because that part of the mind that kept things from being too frightening in dreams said so, even
His hand slid up, his thumb finding her nipple and making her moan softly. Closing his eyes, he forced himself to focus. Goddess, it was as if he hadn't sated his lust in eons. What was it about her? Rationally, he knew it could be something the witch had done. But his heart knew differently, for an angel's heart knew truth."I'm off balance, because despite all that, I'm enthralled by the way your hair lies on your shoulders, how anger flashes in your eyes like heat lightning. The flush of your cheeks, the way your nipples have hardened against that thin shirt just from my barest touch." He folded his hand around her throat and cheek, tucked her head under his chin, and let sensuality give way to comfort.When Mila let out a resigned sigh, coiled her arms around his upper body, he felt that curious relief again. "I'm angry, because in the midst of all these things, I want you. So I strike out at your desire for me, so new and clean. It's beautiful, Anna, a miraculous gift to any male
Except for that one picture. The one that said she hoped for something better.As he came back up her body and sheathed himself again, pushing them both over the edge they needed, he knew he was going to embark on this journey with her. Not because he believed the seawitch, or that the darkness in his heart needed healing, but because suddenly the most important thing was that his little mermaid knew that someone believed in her.And hellfire, he still couldn't bring himself to go back, reach out to Lucifer or the Lady. Or any of them. What would a week matter? Time was relative, when one was an angel.SHE woke alone. The thunder was shaking the house, coming close together, flashes of lightning illuminating the cottage so she could see him standing on the deck, the sliding glass door open to the driving rain. His hair was plastered to his head, his face tilted to the sky, the wings a heavy weight on his back.She didn't dress, but moved down the stairs, stood in the open door, steppe
"What the hell did you let her do to me?""She was trying to save your life. The Dark Ones--""She is a Dark Spawn. Damn it, I never should have trusted her. Or you, a child stupid enough to think a Dark One can be your friend. I--""She may be dead because of you, my lord." Mila thrust hard against him, but of course he didn't budge. "Because of me. Because I brought her into this. She led the Dark Ones away from us.""Perhaps that's what she wants you to think." He had no patience for her feelings right now. With disgust, he released her and managed to make it to his feet this time, though he had to fight the desire to lie back down. Because his voice was hoarse, he cleared it twice before he got the words out. "What did she do to me?""You're human." She flinched at his expression. "It's only temporary. At dusk, your true form will return. Until . . ." She bit it off and looked away. "It will return at dusk."His eyes narrowed. Gods, his head felt like someone was pounding a mallet
"What have you been doing?" Erica demanded."What do you mean?""The Dark Ones were loose and swarming about the ocean floor, seeking one of the winged ones. And it's all over you, his aura. You are fair glowing with it." Erica was already rummaging through her stores, reaching into crevices in the rock used for storage for her healing tonics and potions."He said I would be safe as long as I wasn't with him.""Idiot.""Erica," Mila gasped. "He's an angel.""And an idiot. Here, drink this quickly. It will purge you and you'll be rid of that glow. Go on or I'll pour it down your throat."Anna hesitated. "What do you mean, purge? Not . . . forget?"Erica stopped, stared at her. "No," she said at last. "It's a cleansing, not a . . .""Cleansing. How . . . Does that mean . . ." He'd said he could voluntarily withhold his seed, but what if . . .Erica peered at her. Now her gaze traveled more slowly over Mila, apparently seeing far more than auras."Mila, you lay with him.""It was necessa
How do you know about that?"She shrugged. "I've spent time in the human world. I've studied their history.""So have I." The shadows were back in his eyes again, the dangerous set to his mouth that made him seem so formidable. But he regarded her curiously. "Won't someone be missing you? Your family? Your great-grandsire?""I don't stay in one place for long. They're used to my absences.""So no one looks after you.""I look after myself," she said with a trace of irritation. "I got you here.""Despite my command to leave me.""It wasn't a command," she protested.Isaac snorted. "It most certainly was, and you ignored it."She rose, went to the water. For a moment he thought she was going to dive, metamorphose into her other self and leave him there. Rising, he came up behind her, not yet touching her but standing just at her back. Feeling her hair brush his chest, his abdomen, he gazed down over the top of her head at the swell of her breasts, the pink tips so recently suckled. One
Her features were so fine, small. He put his finger up beside the line of her nose, just to judge, and it seemed the tip of his finger would almost cap it. Her lips were a tiny bow, and despite himself, he imagined what it would be like to stretch them . . .While he knew human mythology suggested angels were above such things, that myth was not based on the warrior class of seraphim. The nourishing energy they required made carnality a vital part of their strength, one of the easiest and fastest ways to replenish their powers. Many of the humanoid races freely offered themselves, and he was all too aware that many felt they had no right to refuse an angel. While he tried not to take advantage of that, fortunately, not many had the desire to resist.But as the years had passed, there was a lack of intimacy to such couplings that bothered him in a way he didn't care to examine too closely. He'd begun to prefer recharging by going into seclusion, drawing from the elements, a slower, med
He would die without her. Let me die . . .No, by Neptune's Trident. She would not. And she wasn't dying here, either. This wasn't how she was going to go, damn it.When her tail encountered a flat surface, and moving water pushed against her face, telling her the tunnel had become horizontal again and was widening, she sobbed in relief. She was able to switch arms and swim forward, using the additional propulsion offered by a wider sweep of her tail. And then, the darkness began to have shapes. Rock formations in the walls, the curve of the tunnel on all sides. Light. There was light coming from somewhere. Seafans with waving tendrils and myriad corals began to blanket the walls again, scraping at her knuckles. Bless the Lady, the water was getting warmer. Much warmer. As the tunnel directed her up, she pushed against the wall with her free arm as well as pumped with her tail, suddenly desperate to know that what she was seeing, sensing, was true and not some odd type of mirage in t