Terra drew back in surprise, her hand resting on the pendant nestled above her heart. He’d never indicated to her that he was in such trouble. He never told her anything. Why hadn’t she thought to ask about how their relationship affected his responsibilities… or anything!
“You see,” the male growled. “You see now what he risks for you. Will you give him up?’
Her lips parted, her heart breaking. She truly had no choice.
“No!” bellowed a familiar voice, its beautiful tones transformed into rolling sounds of fury. Ji’wa sprang up from the shallows, water sluicing off him as he darted to the beach. She had no idea how long he’d been lurking in the water, listening in, but the rage on his face indicated that he heard more than enough. The stranger had barely spun around when Ji’wa attacked. Dropping low, Ji’wa swung his tail in an arch, fan spines slicing through the air threateningly, coming close enough that it came just shy of grazing the other sirein.
“Ji’wa! Don’t!” she cried as she raced down the beach. She had no love for the male’s attitude or anything he said, but he obviously cared about her male. She couldn’t allow him to hurt his friend for coming to her and attempting to do what was right, no matter how hateful it was to her.
Her mate paused as she reached his side. She flung his arms around him. “Please, don’t hurt him on my account!” She glanced down at the male crouched on the sand bleeding from several shallow cuts. The male blinked up at her in surprise, but she turned her face away and buried it against Ji’wa’s chest. “He is worried about you, as he should be. You never told me,” she hissed against his skin, “what you are risking to be with me.”
She felt him still, and his body draped around hers as his tail swept around her in a gesture of comfort and protection. A gesture of his love, she realized.
“It is worth the risk,” he growled into her hair, but she shook her head and pulled back to glare up at him.
“How is it worth the risk?” she demanded. “When your commanders kill you, should I smile and say that at least we had our time and it was worth it? Will that comfort me when I am alone? Will that bring you back to life so that we could be together or so that you could be with your people?”
“I will not allow them to kill the most important part of myself, my heart, just to preserve my flesh. Ger’se should have known better than to even suggest it,” he snarled as he glanced over at the male whose ashamed gaze was now fixed onto the water lapping the sand beneath him. “That he would dare to attempt to convince you to such a vile thing fills me with disappointment toward a male I always counted as my brother!”
Ji’wa drew her closer and tucked her head against his, but not before she saw the stricken look in Ger’se’s eyes and the dawning of guilt. “There is no me without you, Terra. Those who survive their mates barely live, they walk through the remaining revolutions of their lives with their hearts fractured. I couldn’t bear to live through that. I would rather leave with you and go where no one will find us than allow anyone to take you from me! I don’t care if I have to fight my entire pod, High Command, or the entire world!”
He raised his head and roared, “Do you hear me!? If anyone threatens to remove me from my female, or her from me, I shall remove you as any other obstacle before me. It is my right, as it is any of yours, to find my mate and tie her to me. To raise my young and live in peace with my pod. Who among you would deny me that?”
Terra turned her head and froze. All through the shallows and clinging to the barrier rocks there were what had to be hundreds of sirei who had followed to witness. She wasn’t sure how exactly they knew that there would be a confrontation, perhaps because both commanders of their pod were on the island, but they were present nonetheless, watching with wide eyes. One by one, they bowed their heads and submitted. When he looked over at Ger’se, his friend also dropped his head.
“Everyone is acting as if it is a fact that High Command will even find out,” another male snapped impatiently as he waded out of the water. She recalled the medic though it was startling to see him without the robe that he’d always worn when she’d visited him in the dome. “There will be no death sentences. They will never find out and we will retain our pod intact,” En’il said.
“But how?” Ger’se interrupted, running his hand through his hair in frustration.
“Easy,” En’il responded with a smile. “We will claim that Ji’wa perished. Ger’se will officially take up the post of commander while Ji’wa leads our colonization of the island and our land habitat. The Li’lal’fa will be the only people who will know he is here and that he mated with the indigenous human species. We will keep this secret and welcome any young. We will continue to find strength in each other and learn to grow as a people to include outsiders that may swell our families once again. If we must do this without the knowledge and blessings of prejudiced commanders with outdated ideas, then we will do as we must for the welfare of our people.”
A murmur of agreement followed his words, not the least of which came from Ger’se who had so opposed them. Many looked uncertain but regardless of their feelings about her species, every one of them called out their support. Ji’wa barely seemed to notice. Instead, he took her into his arms so that her face was level with his.
“Do you accept me now and our tie as mates?”
“Yes,” Terra breathed. “I do believe I will.”
His mouth crashed down over hers to cheers that shifted gradually into a song that rolled over the air like water sliding over the shore. Water and voice seemed to blend together in celebration of generations that had been and had yet to come… a song of hope and love. Terra smiled against Ji’wa’s lips and returned his kiss with fervor.
Epilogue
Terra smiled as Ji’wa took her hand in his and led her into the water, it lapped against her legs, her sex, and her belly as he pulled her deeper within. She glanced nervously at the waves.
“Are you sure I don’t need the respirator?”
Her mate shook his head and grinned. “No. My kind shares breath when we mate. It symbolizes our trust and dependence on each other. While I know you have no gills to help, I have been building up my lung capacity during the period of our courtship so that we could do this as it was meant to be done. If you trust me to do so, that is.”
Her fingers tightened around his in a confident squeeze. “I’ll always trust you.”
Ji’wa inclined his head with satisfaction and tugged her gently. “Hold your breath as we go under. I will find you.”
With a smile on her face, she let go of his hand and dove into the water. The world turned shades of blue all around her as she swam further out, watching the sandy bottom and rocks drop away into greater depths. Just ahead were the barrier rocks standing tall and proud. At her side, a pearly luminous form sailed by, his fins fanning around him as he swam leisurely through the gentle tide, his copper hair streaming out behind him. He was gloriously breathtaking. His yellow eyes were fastened on her as he leisurely circled her. She allowed her own eyes to skim him lovingly, taking in every beautiful line of him.
His cock was fully extruded and, in his arousal, glowing with the same pink bio-luminescence as it jerked and pulsed between his muscular thighs. It was long and thick, like a tapered wedge. Excitement flooded her as he darted around her with a quick flurry of his tail. She lost sight of him and she paused to float in place, slowly turning as she searched for him. She was going to have to surface soon, but she wanted to see where he was before she did.
Bubbles burst out of her when arms closed around her, turning her through the water. From her peripheral vision, she was aware of his tail curling around her, fully fanned out, just before Ji’wa’s mouth sealed over her own. Their breaths mingled as Terra gave herself over to his care. She wrapped her legs around his hips so that she could press up against him as his shaft pushed deep within her while his tail coiled tighter around them. Only when he was fully anchored within her did she become aware that they we
re rolling through the current of the shallows. With every turn of his body, his hips rolled against hers, thrusting into her until her body shook with pleasure, crying out with a building frenzy of need.
His mating roll became quicker as his pace became more frenzied and she closed her eyes against the disorientating turn of the sea around her. There was no surfacing, there was nothing but the two of them locked together inan endless dance. They spun through what felt like an ocean of time as one orgasm seized her after another, and when he came, his song broke out in a crescendo around them that evoked the beginning of life itself.
Terra lost and found herself and everything that she wanted in that moment.
She found her mate and her family in that roll that tied them together for the rest of their lives. When he finally took her to the surface, she breathed in the salty sea air as he held her in his embrace as they floated leisurely together. As much as she loved those tender moments, it couldn’t compare to what she’d found beneath the waves.
Other Works by S.J. Sanders
The Mate Index
First Contact
The VaDorok
Hearts of Indesh (Valentine Novella)
The Edoka’s Destiny
The Vori’s Mate
Eliza’s Miracle (Novella)
A Kiss on Kaidava
The Vori’s Secret
A Mate for Oigr (Halloween Novella)
Heart of the Agraak
A Gift for Medif
Monsterly Yours
The Orc Wife
The Troll Bride
Sci-Fi Fairytales
Red: A Dystopian World Alien Romance
Ragoru Beginnings Romance
White: Emala’s Story
Dark Spirits
Havoc of Souls
Shadowed Dreams Erotica
The Lantern
Serpent of the Abyss
About the Author
S.J. Sanders is a writer of Science Fiction and Fantasy Romance. With a love of all things alien and monster she is fascinated with concepts of far off worlds, as well as the lore and legends of various cultures. When not writing, she loves reading, sculpting, painting and travel (especially to exotic destinations). Although born and raised in Alaska, she currently as a resident of Florida with her family and pet lizard.
Readers can follow her on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/authorsjsanders
Or join her Facebook group S.J. Sanders Unusual Playhouse
https://www.facebook.com/groups/361374411254067/
Website: https://sjsandersromance.wordpress.com/
Under the Lake
By: Diana Rose Wilson
Under the Lake
Diana Rose Wilson
Darcy’s life takes an extraordinary turn when her eccentric cousin gifts her with an inheritance of substantial wealth, including his mansion on the lake. But her world is turned upside down when she falls in love with an alien creature who lives in a high-tech laboratory under that lake.
When she is attacked and beaten by a dangerous shadow group, her fantastical being rescues her and takes her to his home to heal and protect her, but at what cost? Her fascination with her new companion could prove fatal to them both.
Can two beings from different worlds coexist without her biology literally killing him? Their bodies are so different. Is it even possible to have sex, or are they fated to an unrequited love neither will recover from?
Chapter One
Darcy woke to purring. Surfacing up to consciousness through a blackness that brought with it pain so severe a groan escaped her. The purring deepened and a slight weight shifted on her chest. As it did, the agony in her body lessoned, fading with each thrumming rumble that vibrated through her where she came into contact with the source.
She remembered going to the door after telling her friend to stay out of sight.
Her friend.
The name wouldn’t come to mind and the missing memory sent a stab of fear through her.
Darcy remembered the men at the door. Their dark suits and sunglasses were ridiculously cliché. She’d laughed and they’d scowled.
They’d made a sharp demand for information. Yes, about Jeffrey, her cousin.
Her cousin was out of the country and she wasn’t his keeper. He’d left his estate to her. It was all legal, certified and final. They could check into it if they wanted.
They made some accusation that he had killed someone. Or knew about a murder.
Impossible.
They weren’t the police. When she asked for identification they’d refused to provide it. Had her friend remained concealed?
Oh god, she hoped so.
These men would do terrible things if they discovered her friend.
Her friend.
No, they were so much more than friends. At least, she wanted to be.
There was something there. Emotions—big, brilliant and uncontrollable. Like fire.
Why couldn’t she remember the name?
His name? Her name?
Fuck. She didn’t know.
It was complicated, she remembered that much and there were reasons they would never work out as more than friends. Her heart knew they were so right together, but they could never be.
There’d been an argument between them. It was her fault. She was trying to explain that the she wanted more. There was chemistry between them.
Her friend explained it wasn’t possible for them to have a physical connection.
But that didn’t matter to her. There were other ways to be together.
Emotional. Psychological. Spiritual. Primal.
The raw attraction she felt was undeniable.
She’d raised her voice.
Screamed.
And cried.
Why was the name evading her?
She could recall so much else that happened.
Darcy remembered that the goons had rushed her before she could shut the door. They’d shoved her back, throwing off any pretense of polite inquiry as they’d grabbed her.
The men had surrounded her and demanded to know where Jeffrey was. The questions tangled up in her mind, half remembered and blurring together. It didn’t make any sense; her cousin was a researcher. He was a little odd, but he couldn’t hurt anyone. She’d not even heard about a murder and her cousin had been gone for well over a month.
On her chest, the purring intensified. She cracked open her eyes and squinted into the dim light that made her head pulse with a renewed level of pain.
Sapphire eyes stared back at her, pupils narrowed into thin slits. The tiny cat meowed loudly from its spot curled between Darcy’s breasts.
Sweetie.
Darcy lifted her hand and the little creature shoved her wedge-shaped head into her palm greedily. Sweetie’s black facemask and big ears were stark contrast to her brilliant white fur. Her long, dark legs and tail were hidden, tucked under her pregnant belly.
Darcy could remember the damn cat’s name, but not the name of her heart’s desire? Her soul ached worse than the rest of her battered body.
They’d been watching a movie before the argument. She’d been so excited to share this one because Peter Pan seemed like the perfect story to share. Peter was a boy who never grew up.
Just like her friend.
But her friend wasn’t a boy. But not a girl, either. Not a man or a woman.
Fuck.
Why did it have to be so complicated?
She couldn’t fall for someone normal.
It had to be someone completely out of her reach.
Darcy had thought she could set the stage to pose her case. She had arranged everything for the date.
The plastic kiddie pool in the center of her living room wasn’t classy but she’d filled it with ice cubes and water. The exact amount of each at the right temperature.
It needed to be just right.
The hours they were together were exactly that.
Perfect.
They’d even held hands
while eating popcorn and watching the movie.
Their fingers tangled together.
Even though it was strange.
Unfamiliar and yet more wonderful for the mystery of it.
That slight contact was so titillating that she’d wanted to climb into the pool—
Sweetie meowed more forcefully. For such a small thing, she had a cry like a trumpet.
Against Darcy’s chest, through the vibration of purring, she felt the tiny movements of the kittens inside the very pregnant cat. She must be so close to her time.
Where was her friend?
Memories of the violent men and their savage attack upon her made her stomach twist. Her body clearly remembered the abuse they’d inflected on her.
The discomfort wasn’t as intense as when she’d first woke. Her thoughts were clearer now, but still a little muddled. How had she escaped?
She worried about her friend getting out safely.
Darcy hoped with all her soul that was true.
She didn’t have any of the answers they wanted. No matter how forceful they’d become, or how dire their threats, she wouldn’t give them what they wanted.
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