Merlicious 3

by Cara Preston, Cheryl Bonner, Laura Kitchell

  Stella looked down, gnawing her lip. The cowries would mean so much to her and her family. But more than that, Seth would respect her.

  Cassandra spoke up. “What are you all waiting for? Who needs this stupid contest? I think it's been mismanaged, and someone should look into how this thing has been handled."

  Cyril glared at her. “Look. That was an unexpected development. No one wants to see anyone hurt. But there are no guarantees in this game. It is a test of your strength."

  "I'm staying,” Seth snapped.

  Stella chimed in. “I'll stay, too."

  Cyril looked at her as if he were about to speak but looked away, his lips closed.

  The others nodded, making it clear that the seven remaining contestants were going to stick it out. Cassandra relented with a pout and said she'd stay. “No one's going to beat me,” she mumbled under her breath. “No one.” She glared at Stella.

  Chapter Eight

  Trial of Courage

  Cyril was grim as they assembled for the next challenge out in the deep sea. The small group hovering around the Aphotic Canyon was subdued. The submarine gap was a steep-sided valley on the sea floor that extended for hundreds of miles, getting deeper the further it reached into the ocean. Within its depths, no light penetrated. Strange creatures lived down there. Even merfolk were unable to survive in those depths.

  "Okay, folks.” Cyril beckoned with a weary arm. “This is the final challenge. You couples are the last to remain in the challenges. Remember you can still drop out now if you want to."

  Stella looked at Seth. Her hand crept out to grasp his without thought. He returned the pressure, their energy mingling. They stepped forward.

  Seth was her match in some way, Stella marveled with a brief insight. Something more than passion fired whenever they were near each other. A hazy idea that this was not merely love-play for her this time rattled in her head. But did Seth feel the same? She pushed the thoughts down. Later would be the time to examine these feelings.

  Cyril looked them over with a solemn air. “This challenge will test your courage and strength. You'll descend into Aphotic Canyon. Deep below is an anchor holding a container of medals. You will swim down, fighting the currents, the water pressure and the icy temperatures. You must gather as many medals as you can and return to the surface before you succumb to oxygen deprivation. Because of the danger, you'll go in pairs. We're also going to attach you to safety ropes in case you lose your bearings under the intense pressure."

  Cyril waited for the uneasy murmuring to fade. “A lot of things could go wrong. Your lines might get tangled, or one of the flatfish could cut a line or injure you. There's still time to back out."

  No one did, and they chose partners. Leo was left with Cassandra. He showed his displeasure with his tight lips.

  "Leo, please can we go?” Cassandra pleaded.

  "I'm not stopping you,” he growled. Sighing, she remained at his side.

  Once all the contestants were buckled into their tandem lines, Cyril gave the signal. “Contestants, ready? Go!"

  Stella and Seth shot straight down, hands extended above their heads to streamline their bodies as much as possible.

  She fought the pressure, beginning to feel dizzy. Seth's fingers intertwined with hers. She had the strength to go on, forging downward. She scrabbled around for the medals. The currents buffeted her away from the anchor. She had to hold on with arms and tail-fan. She and Seth supported one another so each could grab a prize, one at a time. She felt Cassandra's hair sweeping around her head. Her lungs burned. The gills on her throat were pressed shut to conserve the little oxygen in her veins. They knocked aside huge blind flatfish darting around them.

  She and Seth began to kick to the surface, their medals clutched to their chests. She didn't have the strength to go on and began to fall behind. But Seth grabbed her hand and hauled her after him. His strength was impressive. As the pressure decreased in the upper levels, her gills began to extract oxygen from the water for her to breathe.

  They popped to the surface. She flopped onto the buoy, sucking the sweet, clean air into her lungs. The medical moderator knelt over her and Seth with respiratory equipment in case it was needed.

  One by one, pairs bobbed to the surface, gasping and coughing.

  Only Cassandra and Leo remained below. The moderators and other contestants waited in tense concern. Finally, Cassandra flew out of the darkness. Alone. She popped above the surface, clinging to the starting buoy, coughing and hacking.

  Cyril grabbed her shoulders. “What happened to Leo?"

  "We got caught on something! I cut the line between us. Help me! I can't breathe!"

  Cyril dropped her like a spiny blowfish, bellowing for Leo's safety line to be pulled in. Several pairs of hands grabbed the cable while he spun the reel that attached it. The young man was nearly unconscious when they dragged him aboard the buoy's deck.

  Cassandra leaned over him as he was revived with an oxygen blast from a tank. “Where are your medals?"

  Leo opened red-rimmed eyes to glare at Cassandra.

  "He almost died,” Cyril yelled.

  "But he promised me his medals,” she shrilled, unfazed by the reproach. “Come on, Leo, even Seth got more than you did. And he'll probably give them to Stella. How could you do this to me?"

  "Shut up!” Leo barked. His throat was strained, but he was too furious to stop.

  Cassandra looked shocked. “How dare you speak to me that way? My father is the richest farmer in this province!"

  "I don't give a damn. Neither does anyone else. You know why? Because you're a pain in the ass, and you have been since the beginning of this contest. After this is over, everyone will know what a fiend you are. You'll be lucky if you manage to snare any sucker to marry you!"

  Cassandra's face whitened. “How dare you?” she screamed. “I'll kill you!” She lunged at him with her fingers raised into claws.

  A moderator fended her off the injured man on the deck, lifting an arm that knocked her off balance.

  She swayed then tumbled over the edge of the buoy into the churning water. A second later, one of the anchor lines began to uncoil with dangerous speed.

  Several people plunged after her, but Cassandra dwindled into the distance. “Her hair!” cried someone in horror. “Her hair is tangled in the weight!"

  Chapter Nine

  Rescue

  Everyone froze in shock as the weight dragged Cassandra deeper and deeper into the dark crevice. Her terrified face and frantic supplications for help were heart-wrenching.

  "Do something,” Stella yelled, breaking out of her suspension. It seemed like it had been eons, but in reality couldn't have been more than a second or two. Cassandra was already a small figure in the distance.

  "She's already too deep.” Cyril spoke in a shocked whisper. “The pressure down there will burst your lungs. And there's not much chance, even if you made it to the bottom, you could return to the surface before your air ran out."

  They watched in helpless dismay, knowing the inevitable end.

  A streak of power flashed by, shooting straight down. Stella realized with a shock that it was Seth. Without a word, he sliced through the water like a missile in a move as hopeless as it was noble.

  Stella's heart stood still, gripped by an inundation of conflicting emotions: love, pride, fear and anger for this crazy move, risking his own safety for that evil woman who had tried her best to make his life miserable. But he wouldn't stand by and let another creature die without attempting to save her. That was why she loved him.

  And he needed her now. Her body moved without a conscious decision. She dove after him like a torpedo.

  "Stella, no!"

  She barely registered her brother's shout or the cries around her. Rationality came after she was on her way, but she had no regret. She was going to reach Seth or die trying. They were partners.

  As she pushed deeper, the water got darker, colder, heavier. Her head was ready to
explode, and her lungs were on fire. Seth had drawn way ahead of her, almost at Cassandra's level. She realized as her vision clouded that she wasn't going to be able to reach him, but she went on. She was so proud and so in love that it glowed through any pain.

  The glint of Seth's knife flashed in the murky depths. Stella saw his and Cassandra's bodies lift a little and knew that Seth had cut Cassandra's hair free from the anchoring weight.

  He struggled toward Stella, his face contorted with pain and lack of oxygen. Cassandra hung from his arm, a limp weight.

  Seth lifted one hand to Stella, a gesture of trust and need. But he was so far away, and her head and lungs were bursting. Seth needs me! Stella made one last painful thrust. Their fingers met and locked.

  Trembling with effort, she pulled him toward her, away from the murky depths. In a minute, she was able to take hold of Cassandra so that she and Seth could struggle upward with Cassandra hanging between them.

  The water grew lighter, bluer. But she was so depleted; it was agony to swim with Cassandra's mass hanging from her arm. More hands reached to help. Her brother and some of the other contestants had caught up with them.

  She and Seth were able to turn Cassandra over to them and let others help them with their own drained bodies. Despite all the helping hands, she reached out to Seth. She held on to his hand that clenched hers with equal fervor all the way to the surface.

  When they broke the surface, they sucked in the life-giving air with painful relief. Still they clung to each other as they were helped onto the buoy where they could rest. Neither could speak. She basked in the radiance of Seth's look, his touch on her hair, the sparkle of water glistening on his skin. The feel of his hand down her body to her hip, warm and loving. She felt his body against her, felt hers mold to him, the spread of his lower limbs.

  Startled, she looked down to where their lower extremities were pushing together. Seth displayed a rock hard erection between his newly opened limbs. Her own body responded with hot waves of desire.

  She gave a low chuckle. “Uh, Seth...? Are you trying to tell me something?"

  He looked dazed, then flushed as awareness swept through him.

  A voice broke into their absorption. “Hey, I suggest you folks find somewhere private to continue this."

  Stella looked up into the grinning face of her brother and pushed herself upright. So did Seth, but he didn't let her go. Stella snuggled back into his arms, exasperated with all the people crowding around them. People who wanted to thank them and congratulate them, tell them how brave they had been. People who recognized just how special Seth was. And all she wanted was to be alone with him!

  "What's going on?” came a plaintive whimper from the other side of the buoy. The others looked around to where Cassandra was stirring back to consciousness, coughing, spitting up water and shivering. Shuddering, she lifted stricken eyes. “I fell. I fell into the pit."

  Cyril nodded. He was in the water beside her on the buoy, his torso above the surface. His expression was hostile as he looked at her. “Seth and Stella saved your life. You should thank them."

  "What happened?” she persisted. She continued to try to sit up, patting her body, her head, clutching at the shorn ends of her hair. She froze, blanching as if she'd choked. “My hair! What happened to my hair?"

  Cyril answered in an angry growl, “Seth had to cut your hair to save your life!"

  She screamed, clapping both hands to her head, bursting into tears. “How could he do that to me? My hair! That stupid idiot, I'll make him pay for this!"

  Cyril thrashed half out of the water in his fury. “You ungrateful piranha! Don't you realize he saved your life by cutting off that damn mop? You aren't worth the danger he put himself in."

  Cassandra stared at him, uncomprehending, hiccupping on her sobs. The rest of the group muttered and shook their heads in disgust.

  "Next time you're in trouble, you might wonder who'll lift finger for you."

  Cassandra watched as he swam away to straighten out the rest of the lines with angry jerks.

  Her friends turned their backs on her, despite her rising screams and her tears. One by one, they moved over and dropped the flurries from their past wins around Seth and Stella.

  Stunned, Stella fingered the scraps of cloth with disbelieving wonder. Moisture stinging her eyes, she looked up into their faces. They smiled at her and swam to the other side.

  Seth looked at Stella, grinning at her. “Now you can go to school in Quantikko. You'll have your dream,” he whispered with happy congratulations.

  Stella's heart burst as she gazed at him through hazy eyes. Now that she had her goal within her grasp, it meant nothing. Nothing was more important than her love for Seth. She would go anywhere he went. And with equal certainty, she knew that he would do the same for her.

  Chapter Ten

  The Parting

  They recovered while the others gathered up and stored the gear. When the rest of the party piled into the shell wagon to leave, Stella and Seth remained behind.

  Cyril grinned. “Be back for you two later,” he called as the wagon pulled away.

  Alone, the couple slipped off the buoy, drifting down into the misty aqua water where they became weightless and could begin a journey of discovery.

  Stella gazed at him with delighted appreciation.

  His chest rose and fell with shallow slow breaths. His powerful hips trembled, and she could see his manhood swelling from between his newly parted limbs. His thin face and black eyes registered some anxiety beneath the desire. She moved close to him, lowering herself to align her face with his belly button.

  He was so tense. She was eager but wanted to make sure he enjoyed every minute.

  "Relax,” she whispered. She covered the bulge of his shaft with her hands and massaged the thick muscle. Seth threw back his head with a gasp, his lower body jerking. Stella held on, letting herself drift down. His fingers grasped at her shoulders as she eased forward to put her lips on his erection. Taking it deep into her mouth, the smooth scales gave her tongue a scraping that soothed her itch even as it fed it.

  His fingers clutched in her hair. “Stella!” His voice was strangled. “Stella, please let me touch you."

  She stopped long enough to look up at him. “Not yet. First, I'm going to show you how good it can be. Just let me be in charge for now. You'll get your chance."

  At her next touch, his limbs parted with a smooth peeling action. One moment he was mer from the waist down, the next, his fins spread wide, and his thighs parted to show the powerful physique beneath. The inside of the limbs was smooth like the skin on his upper body, soft and sensitive to the touch while his manhood, hard and pulsing, emerged proudly. Her inner core already ached and quivered with the desire to take him into her. She kicked her limbs fretfully, anxious to get them free.

  He moaned and rocked in the water, finally climaxing with a sudden shout. Leaning back to watch his explosion, Stella's nipples stood erect and dark.

  Seth's awareness eased back as he held her in an embrace. She realized that her own tail had finally parted as her limbs wrapped around his waist, feeling his still bulging manhood against her tender inner skin. He was no longer frenzied in his need, but his shaft would remain rigid and virile for hours. When merpeople's sexual organs became exposed, they demonstrated amazing endurance.

  With a sigh, Seth rested his forehead against hers, “That was incredible."

  She hummed. “I told you you'd like it."

  He laughed softly, cradling her swollen female core against his rod. “Does that mean it's my turn to do you now?"

  Her stomach pulsed with erotic pleasure. “What would you like to do?"

  Now thoughtful, he let his finger trail along her jaw. “I think ... I'd like to explore your body."

  All her blood seemed to rush to her womb. “Yes,” she managed to murmur.

  Breathing warmly, he let his tongue slide along her jaw, grazing down her body at her rosy pulsing center. H
olding her limbs wide with his strong, gentle hands, he simply observed it. Bending her head, she saw him staring with a lascivious fascination that excited her even more.

  When he didn't make a move, she flexed her hips. He opened his mouth and let her fit her bud between his lips. He teased her with his mouth and fingers. She moaned with satisfaction which was immediately flooded with a craving for more.

  She felt like she would die if she didn't have him inside her in the next minute. Opening her eyes, she made a grab for his shoulders and was surprised to see him watching her face with a whimsical half smile.

  He was tormenting her deliberately, extending her pleasure with newfound instinct. On that realization, she came with a powerful flexing of every sexual hot point on her body.

  She was slow to come back into her senses. Her skin tingled with pleasure from the touch of his body against hers. Embracing one another, they tumbled in a lazy roll in the water.

  "That was incredible,” he whispered. “I never knew a woman's body could be so amazing and erotic."

  "Neither did I,” she answered in delight.

  His eyes widened. “But you already—"

  "Not like this.” She halted the roll of their bodies to take hold of his jaw and look into his eyes. “This is unreal."

  His mouth firmed with serious intent. “You know we belong to one another now, don't you? You're my life's love."

  She didn't know her heart could beat this strongly and not burst. “You're my life's love,” she repeated, just as serious, just as committed.

  He closed his eyes and kissed his way down her body, sucking on each nipple, kissing the curve of her belly and the dimple of her navel. When he tongued the opening to her sex, she cried out, her bones melting.

  When she didn't think she could take anymore without losing consciousness, he surged back up her body and speared his pulsing rod inside her with one shove that filled her to her core. Both of them stilled with the shock of completion. Incredibly, she felt him growing inside her. They were both hot and throbbing, holding onto one another.