For a moment nothing happened. It was as if the glass was made of plastic and he had merely bounced off it. Standing once again on four legs he gave a shake of his head, and a roll of his shoulders, preparing to retreat and charge a second time. He would keep battering against that glass ‘til it broke.
Only … a cracking noise made him halt his progress and look up.
A jagged line was spreading its way down the center of the pane of glass, and myriad fracture lines were spreading out like the branches of a tree. Within seconds the entire wall was a pattern of tiny triangles, rectangles, pentagons and hexagons.
Then, much like a car window, it shattered, the pieces tumbling like a slow moving curtain to the floor. Before it could reach the floor, though, the water swept through the gap created, flooding the area around Jakob and bringing the mermaid to him.
Standing firm Jakob held out his arms to catch his prize. As her breasts bumped into his chest he wrapped his arms around her, holding her tight.
The piece of his heart that her song had pulled from him fell back into place.
“I’m Jakob,” he said as the water sloshed rather than poured around them.
“Nerissa,” she said, her voice beautifully light even when not in song. “You came for me. You heard my song.” She looked up at him in wonder, and Jakob’s chest stretched and swelled in pride.
“Yes, it was beautiful. I followed it to you.” He touched a hand to her face, skirting his fingers along the line of her cheek in an intimate caress. She was so beautiful, and here in his arms, in this moment she was his.
“But why did no one else hear you sing?” he asked full of curiosity.
Could it be because she was his, just his—for the future?
“Have you been here long? Have you not sung out for help before?” Jakob had so many questions all floating to the surface of his mind now that she was at least a little secure in his arms.
She gave a soft laugh, like the gentle tinkling of a bell. “Not everyone can hear a mermaid’s song. Other sea creatures are normally the only ones, unless someone hears it in their heart.”
It sounded mythical, but then they were both creatures that for many years had hidden behind myth. “And if someone hears it in their heart?” Jakob asked, his words calm, despite caution and hope warring inside him.
“It means they are listening to love.”
Jakob let out the breath he’d been holding. She was his. He just had to get her out of here and claim her. Well, maybe he had to woo her a little first.
“But please, I will answer all your questions if you can get me out of here. I want to be as far away as possible before that man returns.” A delicate shiver traced up the top half of her body, and Jakob pulled Nerissa closer.
Half of Jakob wanted to stay and fight, wanted to pound that man into the ground, and grind him down with his hoof, but Nerissa was right and he needed to get her to safety first. “Jon Liselle, this is his place. He must be the one that captured you. And yes, they may well have realized by now that I am somewhere I’m not supposed to be. We had better get out of here.”
“He never told me his name,” Nerissa said in a small voice, which conveyed loudly all the horrors she must have experienced.
“As long as you can recognize him again it doesn’t matter. All you will have to do is confirm his identity, and I will make sure he suffers for what he has done to you.” Tearing him to shreds in the press would just be a starting point. The EDP would finally have the proof of at least one of his crimes. If Jakob could get them out of there.
“When I have my feet back I will be able to have my own revenge.”
Jakob looked down at Nerissa’s shiny tail as it disappeared into the water surrounding them.
Nerissa seemed to hear the question Jakob didn’t voice, answering, “As soon as I reach dry land my shift will occur. I have been in water so long it might take a few minutes.”
Good, he thought. It would be easier for them to escape if she had her feet. “I can carry you until you can ride me,” he said, looking for a way out.
Up the stairs and back the way he came would be impossible. The far side of the tank Nerissa had been kept in looked as if it led out into the sea, but with the water so high around them he would not be able to charge at it.
“Now I am free I’ll be able to break the glass myself.” Nerissa looked up at him and reached with one hand to tuck a strand of his dark hair behind one ear. “Shall I?” she asked.
“I don’t understand. How can you break the glass now if you couldn’t before?”
“I need to be able to sing out loud, which I can’t do well underwater. As you saw I was kept completely immersed. Singing and breathing air go together for me. When in the tank, in my mermaid form, I could take in oxygen from the water, but I couldn’t get sound to carry sufficiently under the water. ”
“Quickly then, I fear all hell may break loose with your escape, not just the glass.”
Nerissa nodded. “You may want to cover your ears. Let me swim for a moment.”
Jakob gave Nerissa a squeeze, running his hands up and down her back before he had to let her go. Her skin was as smooth as well-honed shell, and he didn’t want to take his hands away. Later, he told himself, later I will be able to have and to hold her.
Releasing her he moved his hands to his ears and waited. Nerissa swam over to the far wall and reached up to flick the glass above the water. She held still listening carefully to the sound of it resonating. Then she began to sing, loudly, her voice climbing up through one octave to the next. The sound pierced through the palms of Jakob’s hands, and taking a deep breath he plunged his head under water to further muffle the sound.
The sudden rush of more water had Jacob lifting his head. He managed one gulp of air before his head was once more submerged.
She’d done it!
Now to get them both out of there.
At least Nerissa didn’t need to worry about being unable to breathe under water. He, however, did.
Jakob kicked with the power of all his legs, surging forward to find her. A small hand grasped his, and together they swam through the barrier that had allowed Nerissa to see the outside world while keeping her imprisoned.
He kicked for the surface, and she undulated her tail with force, helping to pull him up with remarkable strength.
His lungs screamed at him for air. There was no light in sight.
His eyes stung with the seawater that blurred his vision.
Oh God, at least he’d helped save her. If it was to be his last thought it was a worthy one. And it might well be, for he could barely move his legs for the overwhelming pain in his chest. The water had turned black in front of him. His eyes must have closed.
Each of his four legs, one after the other, stopped kicking.
Against his will—there was no oxygen to fuel it—his mouth opened. Salty liquid rushed in, clogging his airways.
At least he’d helped save her.
Chapter Three
Nerissa turned back in her quest for the surface as the hand in hers loosened, her companion pulling away from her. They were so close. He couldn’t let go. Not this man that had heard her song for help and come to her rescue.
Before he could fall away from her she maneuvered her body in front of his, holding tight around his neck. What did it matter if she compressed his airways? He was no longer breathing anyway.
With all her strength she pulled and kicked her tail. Inch by torturous inch they rose higher. Thank God for the extra strength she had as a supernatural being, at least while in her shifted form, alongside the adrenaline that had been buzzing in her system for months and the strong muscles of her tail, it allowed her to pull Jakob’s weight.
With a splash her head broke the surface. She tipped her neck back and gulped in air, the instinct of the human part of her driving her to breathe air even though she could take the oxygen she needed from the water. As she heaved and tugged, Jakob’s head also broke the s
urface, but he didn’t gulp in air, or stir. His body lay lax in her arms, his weight still heavy. She needed to get him to shore as quickly as possible.
Looking around, Nerissa managed to orient herself by the bright lights coming from a nearby town. Darkness stretched in the opposite direction, and the flashing lights of a building were behind her. That must be where she’d just come from. She turned onto her back and swam for what she hoped was a beach, towing Jakob behind her.
The edges of her tail brushing against solid surfaces, most likely pebbles, heralded a sense of relief. She swam as far as she was able, until they both lay in the surf, water up to her chest and the waves lapping as far as her chin. She rolled over, finding Jakob’s face with her hands, cupping his cheeks. She didn’t know what else to do except try to breathe for him. Pressing her lips to his she sent air from her own lungs into his body. She took another breath and repeated. When nothing happened she pounded her fist against his chest, her hand trembling in the cold night air and with fear.
What more could she do?
Nothing.
Despairingly she let her head fall to rest on Jakob’s chest. It landed with a thump.
And bounced back up. He was coughing. Thank God.
Quickly Nerissa reached over and walloped him on the back, thinking it might help. Maybe it did, for seawater suddenly spluttered, then gushed back out of his mouth.
“Thank God,” she whispered stroking his hair, while he continued to cough and bring up water, in between gasps for breath.
When the coughs slowed he blinked his clear blue eyes at her.
This time she pressed her lips to his in a kiss, not just of giving life this time, but also of expressing thanks.
“Are you okay?” he asked when she pulled back.
“Am I okay? Are you okay?” He was the one that had nearly drowned.
“I think so, but we need to get out of here. If we stay here much longer we’re in danger of being spotted.”
Nerissa followed his gaze. Farther along the beach she could see people spilling out of a building. There were raised voices, and was that the sound of sirens in the distance?
“Can you get up? I can’t stand unless you can pull me right out of the water.”
A little awkwardly Jakob shifted onto his front knees then rose up. She lifted her arms to him as he reached down to her. He managed to lift her into an embrace, despite stumbling back a few feet in the process. The fact that he managed to lift her at all after being practically dead was a testament to his strength and the well-defined muscles of his chest that she was now hugged against.
The warmth of his chest and the pelt of his coat slightly lower down was a cozy contrast to the cool air hitting her lower body. A shiver raced up her tail, and as it did so Nerissa became aware of where it had started. There was a tingling in the tip as it transformed into her toes.
She stretched them down to the ground. Solid ground. How long had it been since she had felt the ground beneath her feet? Too long. She rubbed the soles of her feet against the beach stones, not caring if they scraped. She wiggled her legs for good measure, realizing she was naked in the process.
With Jakob she felt no shame. He had already heard her song, which was equally as private. A sacred bond between the two of them.
“If I kneel down can you climb upon my back, and I’ll get us out of here?”
Nerissa nodded. “Of course, I’d be honored to ride you.” She couldn’t resist giving a little wink, her liberation going to her head.
Jakob chuckled. “Well let’s be having you,” he said as he went on bended knee before her.
Nerissa swung one leg over his broad back, her thighs stretched wide, the seat of her femininity flush against his smooth black coat. She wiggled into place and threw her arms around him, burying her breasts against his neck. “Ready,” she called.
With a start they moved forward, Jacob working his way higher up the beach, to where there was more sand before smoothly breaking into a run.
Nerissa gloried in the wind rushing past them, the cold air glancing off her skin, instead of sinking into her bones. They raced along the beach, and when they were far enough away from the lights of the pier and the town she shrieked with delight.
“I’m free,” she called out to the wind.
Chapter Four
Two hours later and Nerissa sat in front of a roaring fire. After showering she was all snuggled up in a navy dressing gown, which smelled delightfully of Jakob. She’d been inhaling his scent ever since he’d taken her in his arms and let her climb upon his back. It was so different from the scents of the sea which she had been surrounded with for months.
It was a refreshing change. During her captivity even the tangy taste of coral that had swilled past her taste buds as water filtered through had becoming cloying rather than refreshing. In contrast Jakob smelt clean, earthy in nature. A little bit musky, as was the case with land animals. Sea shifters tended to be a little bit more salty to the senses.
Just as she was pressing the collar to her nose Jakob entered the room. He was back in human form, and Nerissa took a moment to admire his physique. When she’d first seen him she’d been too desperate to really notice the way he looked, her thoughts immediately jumping on the possibility of escape. She’d noted he was wearing a suit, but that was about it. Now, she was able to look at a man for the first time in months, and enjoy it.
He wore a pair of denim jeans that sat sexily on his hips and a tight-fitting t-shirt that emphasized his muscles. His body looked powerful like that of a true thoroughbred, all sleek lines, no excess fat. His long hair was sleek with water from the shower he’d taken after her.
She wouldn’t have minded showering with him, but when they’d reached his home, a cabin in the woods, he’d said he needed to make some phone calls. He had put a physical distance between them. She wasn’t yet sure if it stretched further than that, if the emotional bond she felt was becoming one-sided.
He was standing patiently while she looked him up and down, but he wasn’t moving any closer.
“I thought I’d make us something to eat. I know I’m starving after everything that’s gone on this evening. Is there anything you’d fancy?” he asked.
Was that it? Was his blood sugar low? Maybe he wasn’t good with others, especially strangers, when he was tired.
“Anything’s fine. Something plain might be best.” She didn’t know how her stomach would react to something more than fish and plant life.
“Okay, I think I’ve got the fixings for sandwiches. Would you like to phone anyone while I make them?”
Oh! For the first time since breaking free Nerissa thought of her parents back home. They would be frantic. Or they would have been when she first went missing. They may well have become resigned over time, as she had. Although she doubted they would have given up hope, just as she had never let her soul stop singing. “Yes, please I really need to try phoning my parents.”
“Can you remember their number?” Jakob asked as he brought a phone over to her, their hands brushing as she took it.
“Yes, the home number at any rate. I just hope they’re at the house rather than at sea. They’re probably on land less than fifty percent of the time, regardless of if it’s day or night.”
“Well, I’ll leave you to it to try.” He headed towards the other end of the cabin where the open plan kitchen and breakfast bar was visible. Nerissa began typing in the numbers she knew by heart, and then stopped when Jakob turned back towards her, an expression she found hard to read on his face. “Is there anyone else you might want to call?”
Nerissa looked at him blankly.
“Like a boyfriend that might have been missing you?” he asked his voice curt.
She shook her head, and Jakob turned back towards the kitchen, his movements a little stiff for someone whom up until now she had only seen move with a fluid strength.
Did he not know they were song mates? That even if she had been seeing someone else
before, they would only ever be a part of her past now she had met Jakob? Nerissa took a deep breath to calm and reassure herself, rubbing the fabric of the dressing gown between her fingertips as she did so. They just needed time to talk. That was all. First she needed to phone home.
Concentrating on the phone in her hands, Nerissa finished entering the numbers and then pressed the call button. There was a ringing sound at the other end of the line. She clenched the phone tighter.
“Hello.”
Nerissa’s throat was choked up. Answering was beyond her.
“Hello.”
Nerissa burst into tears, the loud noisy kind.
“Nerissa, is that you?”
“Mama,” Nerissa sobbed into the phone, her mother’s voice everything wonderful.
****
From the kitchen Jakob listened to the heartfelt reunion of Nerissa and her parents. The next few days would be busy ones for her and difficult, too. No matter how well she appeared to be coping now, at some point the reality of everything that had happened to her would kick in. Was it just friends and family she would need then, or would there be a place for him?
At least she had already assured him that Liselle hadn’t touched her sexually. The man had taken samples of her scales, but aside from that repeatedly watching her had been enough. God knows what his motivation might have been.
Jakob carried over the two plates of sandwiches he’d made and placed them on the coffee table in front of the two-seater sofa where Nerissa sat, her feet curled beneath her. He went back for the two mugs of aromatic hot chocolate. There was nothing like drinking chocolate when it was made with milk and a dash of chili for extra heat. Unconcerned about the lack of mats he placed these on the table as well. It was an old piece of furniture from the seventies and had numerous circle marks already strewn across it.
With everything brought through, Jakob considered where to sit. A single seat sat adjacent to the sofa or there was the sofa itself. However, sitting close to Nerissa could prove too much, proximity a temptation too far. But then if he didn’t sit close to her he would struggle to reach the food and drink.
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