Merlicious 2

by Diane Merlin, Alexis Ke, Cara North

  "That was magnificent.” Her voice was a mere whisper, throaty, heavy with sex. “Where'd you learn that in the short time you left the bed?"

  "That thing you call a television.” Zion kissed her brow. “Did I make you happy? Come?"

  She looked at him questioningly.

  "I heard it on the tele—"

  A loud laugh escaped her throat. “Yes, Zion. I came. At least twice."

  "I take it that's good."

  "Oh yes.” She smiled. “Very good. I'm going to grab a shower.” Tatyana sat up and swung her legs over the bed.

  "A shower? Can I grab one too? What is it?"

  "Oh, I forgot.” She reached her hand out for him to take, wrapped her fingers around his and tugged him to the bathroom.

  She turned the water on full blast, stepped in and pulled Zion in behind her. He hesitated a second, realized it was harmless and followed her. The water cascaded down their bodies like a waterfall.

  "I like this thing called shower.” Zion rubbed his hands across his body the way he saw Tatyana do. He glanced at his hands, realizing the many functions they had.

  He stared at her body, wet, lathered and sexy, and just seeing her this way made his cock jump. Zion shivered, glanced down at his growing rod and reached out, slid his fingers across her breast, settled at her nipples and caressed them. Her soapy, slick skin tingled his hands. He cupped her harder and squeezed. Her moans grew louder. He leaned down, took her nipple into his mouth and twirled his tongue across it. Tatyana closed her eyes and moaned. She pushed him back, turned and put her back flush with his chest, grabbed his hand and brought it to her mound.

  Zion knew what to do now. He caressed his fingers across her swollen nub. Her body shuddered. He dipped his finger into her and clamped the other on her breast. She gyrated her hips against his body. The sensations shooting from his manhood shot him into space. Every corpuscle in his body came alive with fire, need and desires.

  Tatyana reached behind her, grabbed his rod, squeezed it, rubbed her thumb across the tip and guided it to her heat when his breathing began to come out in rapid gasps. She pushed back, and his tip slipped in. He gasped again. One hand grabbed her waist, and the other palmed the wall to steady himself. A second passed before he slid in another inch. Each fraction, the moans coming from Tatyana told him, was pleasurable. He sucked in a breath, let it out and drove into her with one hard thrust. She set the pace. In and out. Hard, soft, fast and slow.

  Tatyana took Zion's hand, pushed it to her mound. His fingers immediately began to rub her clit with each thrust of his rod into her womanhood. The orgasm that shot through her buckled her knees. Zion's arm around her waist held her up as he pumped into her one, two, three more times before he exploded with her. His fist slammed into the wall with each spasm tearing at his muscles.

  They slid to the floor of the shower cradled in each other's arms and let the water pummel their bodies in hopes it would cool the heat radiating between them.

  After a beat. “How'd you know my name was Zion?"

  She paused, sought the right words. “I heard you tell me.” She smiled up at him, rubbed her hand down the side of his face.

  Zion nodded, a slow movement of the head. “It means, Proomss—Promise."

  "I know.” Tatyana pushed up from the floor, “I've got to get dressed, run some errands.” She stepped out of the shower, grabbed a towel from the rack and wrapped it around her body. “I want you to stay here. I shouldn't take long."

  She stepped into the bedroom, walked over to the dresser and pulled out a pair of jeans and a tee shirt and threw them on the bed. Zion strolled in, stepped over to the bed and sat on the edge. His gaze never left her as she dressed.

  Ten minutes later, they sat at the table in the kitchen. Tatyana prepared a bowl of cereal for Zion and coffee for herself. He stared at it and then Tatyana.

  "It's safe. Eat.” She handed him a spoon, demonstrated how to use it when she remembered he had no understanding of her world.

  Zion took one bite, chewing it cautiously. He paused as if waiting for something to happen then smiled at her when he didn't get sick. He spooned the food into his mouth with hurried movements, as if starving.

  "Good,” he said between mouthfuls.

  "Yeah, thought you'd like it.” She held up the box. “Captain Crunch."

  Tatyana swallowed the last of her coffee, grabbed her keys and stepped toward the door. “I shouldn't be gone longer than a couple hours. Don't answer the phone or door."

  Zion nodded, poured another bowl of cereal and continued to eat to the sound of the door slamming shut and the locks falling into place.

  Chapter Four

  "Hey, Tat,” a long, lean man said as he leaned back on a chair and peered around the cubicle after she pulled out her chair. “I heard you had some excitement at the beach."

  "Ah. Hey, Greg.” She looked around the room and then settled her gaze on his face. “It was okay. Got a beach wash up, that's all.” She shuffled through the papers on her desk.

  "So, is it true?"

  She scooted her chair to the end of her desk and glanced around. “What?"

  "You took a nutcase home with you.” He arched his eyebrows. “Didn't think you were that trusting."

  "Me either. He's harmless."

  "Maybe not.” He reached over and pulled a folder out of the pile on his desk and tossed it to her. “A couple of teenagers came in this morning.” He glanced down at the papers she'd yet to open. “Say they saw your boy pulling a woman into the water.” He paused and waited for her to speak. When she didn't, he continued, “They say he came out by himself."

  "Huh?"

  "Yeah, you heard me. They said they thought he was killing a woman in the water."

  "Shit, shit, shit.” She grabbed the phone, put it back down.

  "You got that right.” He ran his hand through his hair. “You have a murder suspect in your home."

  Tatyana blew out a breath she didn't know she was holding. “I need to see these witnesses."

  "I figured you would. I put them in conference room B."

  Tatyana was up out of the chair before he finished. A second later she was pushing the door to the small room open. Inside sat two people, a young man and woman. ‘Girl’ would have described her better. She looked all of seventeen. Short bleached blond hair. Tee-shirt so tight if she sneezed her young, robust bosom would float out. The shirt tapered close to her waist and stopped three inches above her low-rise hipster jeans. Only a seventeen-year-old female could get away with having her gut hang slightly over the waistline of her pants. Tatyana had heard others call it a muffin top. Only a seventeen-year-old male would find it sexy. Naw, all men would find this seventeen-year-old sexy.

  Tatyana glanced from the girl to the man. He looked young too, maybe in his twenties. Cute little black thang. Stud muffin. His crumpled four-inch Afro indicative of the new era. His jeans were faded and thinning at the knees, almost bare. His shirt loose and comfortable looking. They glanced up when she walked in. Neither spoke.

  After a brief introduction, she asked, “May I see your identification?” She wanted to see just how young these two really were. Was the girl jailbait?

  The man stood, retrieved his driver's license from his side pocket and handed it to Tatyana. The woman pulled hers out of the front pocket of her tee shirt.

  Tatyana grabbed both and stared at them. Twenty-one and twenty-three, respectively. Good genes.

  "Tell me what you think you saw at the beach."

  They both started to speak; Tatyana held up a finger to silence them then pointed to the girl. The man relaxed back into the chair and folded his arms across his chest.

  After thirty minutes of the woman ranting, a pounding in her head reminded Tatyana why she hated her young years. She turned toward the guy who'd sat there, perfectly quiet and asked, “You got anything to add?"

  He laughed, looked from the young woman to Tatyana and back. “I guess not. She pretty much covered it." />
  "Any reason to believe this man was killing the woman.” Tatyana sucked in a breath and waited for the answer she didn't want to hear.

  "He was...” the man trailed off. “He didn't look like he wanted to leave her."

  "Then why did you say he killed her?” She tensed.

  They looked at each other. “The cop said that. I told him the guy was struggling with a woman, and we never saw her come ashore."

  "So,” she waited a beat. “Is it possible she swam ashore at another spot? Is it possible you didn't see her? Is it possible you looked away and—” She paused, drew herself in. Didn't want them to clamp onto the anger gnawing at her gut.

  "What?” she said when she saw them glance at each other before directing their gazes to the floor.

  "We were kind of busy.” A soft Cheshire cat smile curved the corners of his mouth.

  The woman giggled and ducked her head.

  "Please keep yourselves available.” Tatyana pulled out her business cards, handed each of them one and stood. “I'll be getting back to you.” She walked over to the door, pulled it open and stepped out.

  Her pace was hurried as she tried to stomp off the frustration. Dog-on-it. Why now? If he's pulled into this, I will never get him out of here. He can't stay. Something like this will kill him. There are things these people don't understand. Oh geez, what am I going to do?

  She stepped outside the police station, drew in a deep breath, held it and let it out slowly. She took another, turned and bumped into the hard chest of Greg.

  "So, what do you think?"

  "I think—I think...” She closed her eyes then opened them. “I don't know what to think.” She looked over his shoulder and then back to his face. “I know he didn't kill someone."

  "And how do you know that?” He tucked his tongue in his cheek.

  "Sometimes you just know.” Not capable of killing.

  "Follow your gut, but...” He grabbed her by the arms and turned her to face him. “For God's sake, be careful. Your gut is usually right.” He faked a punch to her chin. “I don't have the energy to go after some weirdo who offs you in your sleep."

  "Well that's an atrocious thing to say.” She tried to laugh it off. Zion harming her was not what was on her mind.

  Can't help him if he doesn't even know who he is or why he's here. She turned toward Greg and said, “I've got to go. Let me know if you hear anything else."

  "Sure thing."

  Almost running down the steps, Tatyana jumped into her car and sped off without checking her blind spot. The past day slammed into her mind. It's not supposed to happen like this. Have a nice life. Go on with your life. Be nonexistent to the people around you. But no, Neptune sent another brethren to invade my peaceful existence. And why him? She'd heard of this one, years after she was exiled. He'd been a rebel, too. She was worse. She wondered what took Uncle Neptune so long to shove him aside.

  Tatyana had been driving around for an hour before she realized she was bringing her car to a stop at the seashore. She stepped out of the car, walking over to the edge where the waves gently lapped against the white sands. She pulled off her shoes and stepped into the water. The coldness of it sent a chill straight up her spine.

  "Damn you, Neptune, for this,” she murmured under her breath. “What do you want of me?” You told me I couldn't come back. Why do you keep sending remembrances of what I left behind? Urgh!

  Neptune's words floated into her memory. No, he hadn't told her she could never come back. What he said was ‘not until she found true love.’ Love strong enough to give up everything she'd wanted, needed or desired. She'd been on land for almost five years. No one was willing to love her the way she needed. No one would give up anything for her. She'd resigned herself to being happy in the world of the land lovers.

  Oh, how she yearned to be home.

  * * * *

  Zion walked around Tatyana's house, perusing, seeking, finding. He'd never seen such strange things before. The television he'd watched before still amazed him. How did the people fit into the small box? When did they come out? How long did they stay confined like that? He turned on the set, watched a few minutes of it and when he didn't find the show from the night before he turned it off. He'd hoped to learn some new techniques before Tatyana came home.

  He'd never had the feelings surging through his body before. This is what he was missing in his life. The flash of his dream shot through his mind. He shivered at the thought of Tatyana finding out his true identity. Certainly, land lovers didn't encounter mermen on a daily basis. He remembered stories he'd heard as a small merchild. The mermen and mermaids who'd lost their way and ended up on land were captured, tortured and stuffed. No one ever returned to the sea after being caught. The stories were horrific. He now wondered whether they were told to scare the people or whether there was truth in them. He couldn't chance it. There was no way of knowing who to trust when it came to his situation.

  Zion paced around the living room. Why, oh why did I have to defy Neptune? I was warned. And now I'm facing his wrath. He stepped over to the bookshelf and stared at the many bound books. He reached up and pulled a brightly colored text off the shelf.

  "Hum, Corporate Seduction. Who is this Bridget Midway?” He opened the pages, and words seemed to jump out at him.

  He thanked Neptune for at least giving him the ability to learn. He didn't know where he'd be if he couldn't read like the land people. Or write. He flopped down on the sofa and started to skim the pages. His body's immediate response startled him. The muscles in his thighs began to twitch. His cock spasmed and grew hard. He read another chapter. His breath hitched, and he bowed his head to take in a ragged breath.

  "What is happening to me?” He glanced around the room. The pain in his groin grew in intensity with each pulse of his blood through his veins.

  When the male character took his woman on the desk, pumping into her with the force of a steam ship, Zion jumped up from the sofa, walked over to the shelf and slid the book back into the place he'd removed it from. He looked down at his stiff manhood, rubbed his hand across it and allowed the loud moan that erupted from his throat to fill the room. “What am I supposed to do now?” he called out to Neptune.

  He hurried to the kitchen, grabbed a glass from the counter and filled it with cold water, downing the contents with one long gulp. The sound of a car door slamming shut jerked him around. He ducked behind the breakfast counter and peered over the top. Tatyana said not to open the door. What if whoever it is comes in?

  The door swung open, and Tatyana stepped in carrying two bags of groceries.

  Zion stood, his hands cupping his still hard manhood. The book flooded back into his memory.

  Tatyana jumped when he stepped up to her, grabbed her around the shoulders and swung her around to face him. “What the—"

  He crushed his mouth to hers and captured her words before she could finish. Grabbing the bags from her hands, he tossed them to the floor and cupped her hips. Hoisting her up, he sat her on the edge of the table. His mouth was greedy to taste her, his hands hungry to feel her skin next to him.

  He ripped the shirt off her shoulders, grabbed the waistband of her pants and, not understanding his strength, tore them to shreds as he pushed them down her legs. He parted her knees, grabbed her hips and centered himself between her thighs, driving into her in one swift plunge.

  Tatyana was tight, wet and hot. Pump after pump, he ground into her until the loud rumble of a scream built and built and built, and Tatyana yelled his name. The vibration from her body shaking and jerking sent electrical impulses surging through him.

  Her breath caught in her throat as her hands roamed his naked back, arms and chest, fingers circling his nipples, sending a new sensation down his body to settle in his groin. She grabbed his hips with each assault, pulled him to her and wrapped her legs around his waist. Her body arched back with each thrust, each time his breath hitched, each time his heart beat. Every corpuscle in her body awakened wh
en he captured her nipple between his teeth and gave her a little nip. Her body rocked with renewed awareness.

  Zion couldn't help it anymore. Every muscle in his body spasmed and contracted. His knees buckling, he wrapped his arms around Tatyana's back, holding her tight until the sensations settled.

  Tatyana slid down his body and looked up into his dreamy eyes. “Well, that was some homecoming."

  Zion backed up and sat on the floor. “Couldn't stop myself.” He rubbed his hand across his face. “Sorry."

  "Please don't apologize. Trust me, it was ... it was, um, amazing."

  Tatyana looked down at her tattered clothing and back to Zion. “Next time, let me take my clothes off.” She smiled, picked up the ripped pants and shirt and tossed them toward the trashcan. Reaching down, she grabbed a tee shirt and a pair of jeans out of the laundry basket and slid them on.

  "Where'd you learn that?” She let out a laugh when he looked toward the living room. “Oh, never mind."

  "I'm not supposed to be here,” Zion whispered.

  Tatyana stopped, stared down at him and raised an eyebrow. “Where are you supposed to be?"

  He didn't answer. Didn't know how or what to say. Zion just shook his head and hunched his shoulders.

  "Did you have a flashback? What do you remember?” She hoped his memory had returned. Maybe then she could get him back to the sea safely.

  But after the day at the station with people claiming to have seen him murder a woman, getting him back quietly was not going to be easy. She couldn't tell him he was a merman. He wouldn't understand or believe her. Who would?

  He shook his head again. What if he told her and she called the police to come and take him away? What if she had him locked up where he could never see the outside again? That's what the elders said would happen. He loved the way she made him feel, but he wanted home. He wanted the security of the sea, the warmth of the water. If only she had been a part of that life.

  The life he didn't think he wanted before Neptune exiled him to this world. Even with Tatyana standing over him, the loneliness he'd felt before he woke up on the beach washed over him. He pushed up from the floor, walked to the door and paused. He turned, stared at Tatyana who was staring at him with confusion on her face, shook his head and tromped to the other room.