Deeper Than the Ocean PP 1 Page 4

  One finger pushed inside and her slit surrounded it, so he pushed deeper. Her fingers grasped his hand harder and her head fell back, her lips parted. When she released a series of soft cries, he curled another finger inside of her with the first.

  His thumb brushed her tight curls and she gasped. Studying her face, he deliberately stroked that same place again and her slit pulsed around his fingers. He twisted them inside her, plunging and withdrawing at an unhurried pace. So very, very nice.

  Her hips rocked against his hand now and all lingering doubt as to whether he could arouse and please her evaporated into the night air. She gripped his hand almost painfully, but the way she panted out his name, her eyes clenched tight, encouraged his exploration. He circled the hard nub he'd discovered and her body trembled. For a split second he was confused by her reaction, torn on whether to keep going. When Di tensed and then screamed, however, it was a sound of pure, unadulterated eroticism that traveled straight to his cock.

  She rested her head on his bicep, her body still shuddering against him. His fingers continued to probe inside her slit for he couldn't release her yet. The scent of her tight sheath had amplified and a desperate hunger for more gnawed at him.

  "It was good?" He asked just to be sure she'd been satisfied. For some reason he couldn't explain, he craved confirmation.

  Her cheeks lifted, her smile evident against his skin. "Oh, God, yes Danyl. You don't even have to ask."

  She whimpered when he withdrew his hand, but then pulled away to watch as he spread her moisture over his shaft. If he thought he'd been aroused before, each stroke sent a multitude of shockwaves streaking through him now.

  "You would never know you're not human," she said. "Your features, your body, your words and actions are all very much human. If I hadn't seen for myself…" She raised her eyes to meet his. "Show me how to please you, Danyl. I want to be sure I do."

  *

  There was something endearing about the way his face flushed. He seemed all at once shy. Certainly unlike the man who'd just given her a screaming orgasm only minutes ago.

  "This is not my element." He looked toward the waves crashing on the shore. "I—I don't know … I'm not used … I've never…"

  She took his hand, led him to a grassy area and sat down. "I understand. As strange as being with a merman—I can't believe I just said that—is for me, doing this on dry land must be awkward for you, too."

  He dropped to his knees, shaking his head. "That's not it. Well, not all of it. I've never done this before."

  The fine lines of his muscles rippled any time he moved and she'd been so studiously observing them that she almost missed his meaning. But then she got it.

  Oh my.

  "You've never…?"

  Danyl shook his head again. "Never. Where I'm from, my ability to walk on land makes me … an unsuitable match." His shoulders slumped. "I understand if you don't wish to go any further with me, goddess."

  The way he said that last word was a shock to her system. It was a reminder that he must have truly felt unworthy of her. Self-confidence that flared only moments ago now became a distant memory. Now, more shy hesitation bloomed.

  To hell with that.

  His proud erection hadn't waned in the few minutes they'd been talking and she had zero doubt in her mind of what he longed for.

  She reached over, splayed her hand over the wide expanse of his chest and gave him a gentle shove. He fell back on his elbows, and his brows lifted in surprise. "Not on your life," she said with a low growl.

  She could have spent the next hour studying the cut of his lower abdomen, and the definition of his legs. She wanted to savor running her fingers over the lines of his chest, and tracing the cobblestone perfection beneath it. The beautiful cock rising from him, leaking its arousal, captivated her attention. She had to lick dry lips to stave off the urge to wrap them around him and taste his hard length.

  "You're killing me," he moaned. The way he kept watching her mouth told her more than she needed to know.

  "Yeah?" She ducked her head closer to him, inhaling the gentle tang of musk and salt wafting from his skin. "Is this killing you?" The first run of her tongue down his shaft made his thighs twitch. She licked again, starting at the base of his cock and working her way up to the dip leaking a pearl-colored drop. "Or should I do it like this?"

  She used her hand to hold his cock steady and circled the mushroom-shaped head, teasing the sensitive area beneath. Danyl threaded his fingers in her curls, pulling the fallen hair out of his way so that he could watch unobstructed. "Or, baby," she said huskily as her head descended once more, "like this?"

  His hips lifted from the ground when she engulfed him. His fingers threaded into her hair, guiding her head as she feasted on him. She pulled him deeper into her throat, loving the wonderful fullness he provided. The taste of him was unlike anything she'd ever known. The expected salty tang lingered on her tongue, but a heady sweetness greeted her senses as well. A triad of arousing flavors filled her mouth, his heavy breathing and heaving chest encouragement that she continue her worship.

  By the time she released him, they were both panting. Di stood, and pushed the bikini bottoms down over her hips. Her heart hammered, every fiber of her being screaming for his attention.

  Danyl lifted his arms to her and she lowered herself between them. Her nipples brushed against his chest, her curves molding into the dips of his muscles. He lay stretched beneath her, his hands travelling over her sides, caressing her breasts, kneading her ass. It was as if he needed confirmation that her body existed. She knew the feeling.

  She couldn't stop herself from learning every line and shadow of him. From committing to memory his beauty.

  The head of his cock nestled at the entrance to her pussy. She tossed aside the notion that she would tease him with it, for her own desire's thirst needed to be quenched. She had to shut her eyes as she slid down his erection, impaling herself in a series of short rocking motions. Her lips stretched deliciously around him, spreading and welcoming him inside her.

  "Gods." His low groan made her pulse race.

  Danyl's hands cupped the backs of her thighs and with a slow, deliberate motion, tilted her hips over him. She rocked until her heart threatened to gallop away from her chest, sliding over his length and building her passion until it sent tremors echoing through her limbs. Her breasts swayed with the effort, but Danyl kept his silver-eyed gaze fixed onto hers. She leaned back, and the fullness from him intensified. Their rhythm increased. The sounds of their rapid breathing and low moans in chorus with the crashing waves beyond them.

  Her fingers trembled as she stroked his face. This connection between them, starting where his body entered hers, cascaded over her, curling around her spine and sending a sensation of rightness and belonging through her.

  "Aphrodite," he whispered, " agapimeni…" Looking into her eyes, he chanted the foreign word repeatedly. " Agapimeni, Aphrodite…"

  Without knowing its meaning, she knew his tone. It was the one spoken between her grandmother and grandfather, married forty-seven years. It was the one she heard between her best friend, Ella, and her son on the day of his birth. It was the one her heart clung to and waited for all these years.

  Danyl trailed his fingers over her lower belly, stopping to rest when he located her clit. One long index finger tapped a cadence over the hardened nub, and her pussy clenched around him in response. A cry rumbled through her chest, exploding onto the unsuspecting night air.

  The breeze caressing their bodies swirled around them, lifting her hair into a curtain that fell around her shoulders and touched his chest. The waves' thunderous clash with the shoreline tried to drown out the sound of her racing heartbeat, but it would not be stopped. It would not be silenced in this maddening race to pleasure.

  "Danyl," she cried. Tremors shot through her, each pulse skittering away from where his fingers danced over her clit. His fingertips dug into her hip, his body pushing faster and deeper i
nside of her.

  "Aphrodite…" He swallowed hard, his throat bobbing as similar shudders made his stomach clench and unclench against her thighs.

  She rocked her hips faster, the pleasurable pain of his grip concentrating the surges emanating from where his body impaled and completed hers. He said her name one final time, a last strangled gasp of breath before he tensed beneath her. She threw her head back, arching her spine, and screamed hoarsely as his cock pulsed inside her. Danyl buried his cock inside, his hips rising from the ground in an effort to push himself deeper, to empty all of himself, all of his cum in jets against her womb.

  Di fell forward, her weakened limbs unable to support her own weight. Her chest heaved against his, both of them struggling to get their frantic breathing under control.

  Danyl's arms wrapped around her back. He caressed her in long, luxurious strokes, bringing to her more comfort than she'd ever known.

  "Thank you, agapimeni. Thank you," he murmured.

  Chapter Six

  They stood hand in hand and let the soft, foamy waves tickle their ankles. She'd donned the silver skin again because her previous assessment had been premature and the weather too cold for less. Besides, she had about half a mile's trek in front of her and no one had to tell her that she'd invite strange looks if she emerged in the skimpy bikini.

  "I don't want to go," Danyl said, "believe me, I don't, but I have a task that I have to complete. In fact, I'll be near your boat again. Is there anything on it that I can retrieve for you?"

  She turned over a broken shell with her toe. A wave carried it into the sea a minute later. "No, I have everything from it that I need."

  Palming the coin when she'd first undressed and then redressed hadn't taken much effort or skill. It was the only thing from the Sea Anemone, beside the boat itself, that she needed.

  Why then did she carry this ache in her chest? She should be exuberant that her life's work, her dreams, were about to be realized. The victory felt hollow, though.

  The orange sun began its ascent into the sky, lighting a path across the ocean horizon. Clouds in the distance reflected purples and reds, an arrangement of color that invited her gaze back to what had always been her first love.

  "Will I ever see you again?" she asked shyly.

  Danyl's grip tightened before he released her. Turning, he stepped into her space and cupped her face. She stared into his eyes and for the hundredth time decided she could easily live an eternity in them. "If ever you need me, ever, for anything, stand at the ocean's edge and call my name. I'll come back to you."

  That knowledge should have made her overjoyed, but it simply wasn't enough. She didn't want to release him back to the sea, probably never to see him again. Besides the millions of questions she wanted to ask about mermen and mermaids, the fact of the matter was, she didn't want to lose him.

  "Anywhere?" she asked, pulling her chin from his grip. Her gaze dropped because she didn't want him to see the stupid tears she held back.

  Tears? Had he even earned them?

  She held back a sigh too. Since the effort to keep the moisture from spilling down her cheeks burned her eyes now, he must have.

  His thumb caressed her cheek and then caught a drop of moisture that managed to escape from the corner of her eye. His touch was gentle when he lifted her chin again.

  The kiss he pressed to her lips was as soft as a cloud. "Anywhere."

  He walked deeper into the water, but her feet remained rooted to the sand. She sucked in her bottom lip, worrying her teeth along it. There had to be some reason for him to stay a little bit longer, right? By now, her boat was a total loss. She really had no reason to scamper away herself.

  "Danyl," she called. The water level splashed above his knees now. There was no telling how much further in he would venture before changing back to a merman.

  A merman. Dang. She still had trouble with that one.

  "Danyl," she said again. Don't go. Those two words lodged in her throat, locked behind a voice box that refused to budge. It had taken one look into those soulful eyes when he'd turned to make her lose her nerve. Thinking quickly, she added, "What did that word mean?"

  He knitted his eyebrows together before recognition flashed across his face. The smile he gave her could have melted ice. "The next time I see you," he said, backing deeper into the tide, "I'll let you know."

  But what if we never meet again? The thought flickered in her mind before being squelched by the surety in Danyl's tone. He knew they would meet again. Everything in his voice said he counted on it.

  "Until the next time then," she whispered. Still, her eyes burned while watching the water rise the deeper he went. When at last the water hid his waist, Danyl did an impressive backwards flip into the water to disappear from sight.

  Her mouth fell open of its own accord before he'd completely submerged. Gone were his lean, muscled legs that wrapped around hers as they lay on the beach. In their place, a tail of blue-green hues extended. Its ends tapered into a flare tipped by delicate-looking white. There were no scales to speak of, but the pattern swirled in a unique decoration that could understandably be mistaken for individual scales. Her background in marine biology and the play of burgeoning sunlight helped distinguish the outlines, however. She also couldn't prevent herself from reflecting how the ventral portion of his tail now lacked one very important, titillating detail.

  Oh well. It showed up when it counted.

  Amused by her own disturbing, sex-laced concerns, her heart lifted a fraction and a smile threatened to form. She would see him again. She was sure of it, too.

  It took only a few minutes to gather what gear she planned to take and locate the trail leading to the private beach area for the local hotel. Once there, she'd borrow a phone and make arrangements for her next moves. She'd need to replace her trusty steed as soon as the insurance money arrived, speak with her university contact and then once everything was settled, crawl into her bed for a month-long sleep.

  After about a quarter mile of walking, she frowned. Lifting her head, she turned to face the beach and scanned the horizon. Had she really heard…

  "Aphrodite!"

  The wetsuit tumbled from her hands, but she didn't care. As if in a dream, Di ran toward the water, slowing once inside and only when the drag against her legs forced her to do so.

  "You have it, Aphrodite," Danyl called when he broke from the waves again, his voice tremulous with excitement. A span of no more than ten feet separated them. "You have the key I seek!"

  *

  It had been a hunch. Just a niggle in the back of his neck. But thank the gods, he'd picked up the slate almost immediately upon locating it and tracked the key's location…

  Right back to his goddess.

  "We've got to put some clothes on you before someone sees," she muttered as they waded ashore.

  Danyl didn't know about that. He'd gotten used to the slow crawl of her gaze on his body every time he approached her au natural. With every inch she took in, his body warmed in gradual waves, stopping when just short of combustion. Now that he'd also gotten used to this cock he'd been equipped with, he kind of liked its reaction too. The pulse of need, the lengthening and gentle ascent. He had to fight every urge to throw her down against the sand and plunge himself into her wetness again. What an amazing sensation!

  Reason took over and he shook his head. "It doesn't matter because I'm heading back out as soon as you give the key to me. I'll be gone before anyone sees." She stiffened beside him and he grimaced. In retrospect, that sounded bad the way it came out. "Di, I need the key."

  She guided them inland, stopping in between brush that would provide adequate cover on three sides. "I don't have a key, Danyl. I don't know what you're talking about."

  "I've tracked it to you more than once. I thought it was on the boat, but when I just checked again, it tracks to you. Are you sure?"

  She shifted her gaze away and asked softly, "What does it look like?"

  Somet
hing about her look, her tone made him wary. "It's a flat disc. Etched with a face on one side, writing on the other. It's old and…" The way she crossed her arms, hugging herself, still unwilling to look him in the face was all too familiar. His goddess edged away, a complete turnabout from earlier. His voice dropped low and even he heard the anguish in it. "You know what I'm talking about now, don't you?"

  "Why do you need it?" Challenge peppered every syllable in her question.

  Before he could catch himself, he threw back, "Why do you?"

  Her eyes shone when she looked at him at last. "The coin is all I have," her voice grew bitter. "No job. No boat. No money. Just this coin."

  "No family. No honor. No future. Just a key to regain a little bit—just a hint—of that back," he retorted, staring her down. Fuck. Something inside him died with each second he stared into her water-filled eyes, but he couldn't back down. Not about this.

  "But you still haven't said what you need it for." Her entire body shook.

  His upper lip curled into a snarl. "To avenge my mother's death. To gain entry to where my father lives and kill him for murdering my mother. What could you possibly want it for?"

  "To take back my life," she sobbed. "I have nothing without this coin. Can you understand that? Nothing!" The tears tracking down her cheeks ripped his heart from his chest.

  Gods, they stood at an impasse. He couldn't move on without the damned key and obviously, neither could she. Unclenching his jaw, he pushed back mounting anger and frustration. Her body was rigid when he pulled her into his embrace. "I'm sorry," he murmured. "I'm sorry. We'll work it out."

  When she unfolded her arms and wrapped them around his waist in return, he released a relieved breath. They rocked together, holding each other tight, until at last his roiling anger settled and he could talk to her without attacking like a shark after blood. Di ceased trembling a few minutes later.