Chapter Twenty-One
W e slept for almost two hours. Merrow stayed asleep for a while after I had woken, but I hadn't moved. Her beautiful, naked form was curled against me with that pink hair splayed over a pillow. It looked like someone had sprinkled cherry blossoms over my bed. Merrow snored again–loudly–and I rolled over to face her. She didn't stir, so I breathed in this moment. How had I gotten so lucky?
Not that lucky, considering she was supposed to kill me.
I pushed those thoughts away just so I could savor this more. I’d made love to Merrow and I felt alive, like before her I had been living in suspended animation, instead of living. Like a fish out of water. I laughed at my own dumb joke and Merrow stretched, flinging her arm up and smacking me right in the face.
“Owen?” She stretched again and this time I dodged the other hand, before grabbing her around the middle for a hug. Her bare breasts brushed against my arm, and my hands snuck up to massage and caress them. She purred a low hmmm and I squeezed a little tighter .
“How was your nap?” I asked, fingers trailing over her body. She squirmed, pressing herself to me.
“It was great, waking up was even nicer though,” she said, guiding my hands lower and lower to where she wanted them. With Merrow on her back now, staring up at me, my heart had never been fuller. I watched the rise and fall of her chest, the way her lips had parted, and how her sapphire blue eyes widened to discs.
When my hand dipped between her legs, teasing at the sensitive skin, her look changed from sweet to wanton. She opened her knees, parting her legs for me with a smile on her face.
I obliged.
She was already wet by the time I had touched her entrance, and I slid a finger in until she was gasping. Her sounds were so delicious and knowing they were all for me was enough to nearly bring me over.
When my finger brushed against the full, sensitive spot inside of her, her eyes went wide and she sucked in another breath. I played with it, rubbing and pressing until her knees were shaking, angling my hand enough so I touched the other sensitive spot.
“Don’t stop,” she breathed, and I obeyed. The dexterity from painting came in handy for other things, it seemed. Merrow was close to release and I didn’t stop, wouldn’t until she was sated and flushed, coming from hands alone.
She writhed and tried to scoot away, but I held her firm and whispered in her ear, “Where are you going? I’m not done with you yet.” I picked up the pace until she was coming again, my name on her lips like she was made only to call for me. Her foot brushed against my calf, her toes trying to grip me. Merrow’s blown pupils and heated cheeks were beautiful.
Finally she wrapped her arms around my neck, bringing our lips together in a hungry, needy kiss. I’d been searching for this my whole life; this intimacy, this kind of warmth, this need from someone who wanted to see me. The kisses slowed, turning sweeter and gentler, but her lips were still swollen and red.
“I don’t want this week to ever end,” she whispered out, the words catching in her throat. I didn’t either. If I never got out of this bed again, it would be fine by me.
“I don’t either,” I admitted. This felt like fragile ground, like I was too close to admitting something too personal. Too truthful.
Merrow’s stomach growled and it broke the spell between us; we both laughed and her happy giggles pulled me closer to her. Our noses rubbed against each other, and she said, “Didn’t you mention Thai food? Was I dreaming?”
“I did, but haven’t ordered. I got distracted,” I said, grinning at her flushed skin.
“I’m glad you find me so intriguing but we need to eat. And read. There has to be something out there,” her words trailed off, and the weight of what laid ahead came rushing back. Death, death, death, more impending death. And then Merrow going back to the ocean, forever.
My throat closed up and I felt sick.
“You look like you’re drowning,” she said. The palm of her hand was flat against my stomach, and she lightly scratched her nails over me. It made me shiver.
“I just keep thinking that getting out of this bed is the last thing I want to do.”
“Well, we could stay here a little longer. Just until our food arrives.” Her tone was playful, but the hand that was wrapped around my cock was even more so. She tugged until I was painfully hard, ready to explore her body again and again.
“Do you have any ideas how we could pass the time?” I groaned out, and she tugged a little harder. I twitched and her breathless laugh tickled the shell of my ear. Merrow pushed me on my back and climbed on top of me. She lowered herself until I was buried inside of her, and I hissed out a breath at the sudden connection. Skin to skin, heart to heart. Merrow’s breasts hung heavily, begging to be touched. Her hair was wild, all around her lovely face, sticking to her back.
I loved this woman–this mermaid. Whoever she was, however she looked, I loved her–every facet, every scale. The scales on her body enhanced and enticed her beauty. I fingered the scales along her ribs and she bristled, twitching and leaning further into my touches.
“Oh, I have a few ideas,” she said, and brought my hands to cup her breasts. I tugged her nipples, just enough to peak them but not hurt.
We kissed and rocked and touched together until we both came; I held off my release as much as I could until she unraveled too. The blissed out, happy look took me over the edge.
The doorbell rang and Merrow huffed. “I suppose that means one of us has to get up?” She laid on the bed, stretching out her arms and legs. I wondered what she would look like with her tail, how she would move to stretch then.
“I’ve got it, you stay here.”
I tugged on some basketball shorts, my body pleasantly relaxed and hurried to the front door. The delivery guy had left our order at the door, and I had it unpacked on the kitchen table when Merrow joined me. She wore one of my shirts and that was it.
As in, that was it .
Merrow reached up to open a cabinet for a glass, and her glorious ass was on full display. After how we spent the last few hours, I was sure that my body would be spent, but my lower half had other ideas.
“Food’s ready,” I said, and she turned, her eyes drifting down.
“Something else seems ready too,” she said and laughed.
“Your fault. You can’t be running around without any panties and not expect me to notice.” I’d ordered some Thai tea for us also, and Merrow sniffed at them. It was so endearing. She was so interested in human food, and I loved watching her experience it. Every taste and texture, she savored and studied.
“Try the tea, you’ll like it.” I handed her one of the cups, and she stared at the top of it, not sure what to do. I poked the straw through and took a sip. Merrow copied me and she danced in place as the sweetness hit her tongue. She abandoned trying to get her own cup down, and settled for the tea in her hands.
Then she perched at the table, the shirt barely covering her thighs, I tried very hard not to be jealous of that chair.
“Do you really think we will find anything?” she asked, gesturing to the mound of books. I didn’t think so, but I hoped we would. I didn’t have the kind of luck that included getting and keeping the girl.
“Hope so. At the very least, you can tell me how wrong the stories are about your world. I do want to hear about the ocean.”
“It’s like you already know it, judging from your artwork.” My heart sped up. That was the kindest thing she could have said to me. Pride burst through me–Merrow’s unfailing kindness touched and lifted me.
“Really?”
“Yes, when I saw them at the exhibit, it was like I saw a piece of my home. I’d only just arrived on land, but I missed the waters so viscerally. Even though I had lungs, I felt like I couldn’t breathe. The sea turtle you painted reminded me of a dear friend. We talk regularly. Her name is Titania.”
“Your best friend is a turtle?” I smiled.
“She’s more like family. I used to travel with her when I was a merling. It’s so strange, you must have some connection to the sea already. She looks just like Titania, right down to the wrinkles on her nose. The only thing that’s different is that her shell isn’t so shiny anymore. The ocean’s brine has dulled its luster.”
We chatted through our meal, and Merrow told me of her home. She told stories of what life was like as a merling, and how she learned to dance and sing. The more she went on, the more animated she became, her hands swooping in and out to mimic how she zoomed through the waves. I wanted her to sing for me so badly it hurt, but she refused. She didn’t want to take any chances with that magic, and although I didn’t blame her, I was disappointed. My noodles sat heavily in my stomach, and I wanted to change the topic.
“One day,” she promised, “One day I’ll sing for you, once the ritual is over and you are safe.”
“But I’ll be on the land, and you’ll be–”
“–in your dreams. That’s where I was before, and that’s where I’ll always be, Owen. No matter how the seas may shift and stay between us, I’ll always be a part of you.”
Merrow reached her webbed fingers across the table for me. Our hands tangled together and fit so nicely despite the webbing.
This was already starting to feel like a goodbye.
“I might call out of work. If these are my last days–”
“Don’t think like that.”
“I’m not trying to be morbid, Merrow. But if it comes down to it, I don’t want to spend my last days working. Can I tell Anne Marie?” I didn’t want to vanish without a trace either. In a sad sort of way, I wanted to know that someone would notice that I was gone.
Merrow froze. She pulled back her hand, and panic edged around her face. “Will… will she tell people?”
“Not if I ask her not to.”
“What if she doesn’t believe you?”
“Merrow, all she has to do is see the scales on your hand.” She flipped her hand over, seeing the scales again and it was like she remembered they were there. Her face fell as she realized how easy it would be for the world to see who she really was.
“Can I paint you?” I blurted out. “Like this, as a human, but with your scales showing?” The images were coming to me, how I would paint her and how I’d have her pose. The soft hue of her skin playing against the color of her hair with those vibrant, bright scales being the focal point.
“You already have,” she said, looking around the apartment with all of my paintings and sketches out. There were so many, I realized. It must have seemed odd. “But, I’d love for you to paint me while I’m here.” Before you never see me again, was what she meant, and the urgency to start made me almost manic.
“We need to get started on those books,” I said, more for myself than her.
“Show me how to listen to them,” she said.
“If we ever have the chance, I’ll teach you to read.” I wanted to touch her again, to reassure myself that she was real. That this was real. At least for now. Instead I fiddled with the audiobook app on my phone, and Merrow sensing my nerves, took the phone and set it down. She smoothed the hair from my face, a playful smile tugging at her lips.
“I’d love that,” Merrow said and she stood up, pulling the shirt over her head and letting it drop to the floor. “But later.”