Caderyn picked a strand of seaweed and pushed up beside her. His shoulder bumped into her hand before she fell back in surprise. Her mouth opened as if she was going to yell at him, but instead only a squeak came out.
Bridget stared at Caderyn. Fins had sprouted from his forearms as he offered her a piece of limp seaweed. She took it slowly. His fins were purple, a shade lighter than his eyes, threaded with soft white and silver like a sea shell. The skin of his forearm grew up around it. There was no way they could’ve been slipped on. Gills fluttered before lying flat to his neck. His hair was slicked back from his strong face.
The scientist inside her was thoroughly intrigued. The woman inside her was frightened. Seeing the flip of his tail rippling the surface, the scientist in her won. She crawled closer to him, leaving the seaweed on the cave floor. Silvery purple scales dusted around his eyes, so light they were hardly noticeable. Her fingers shook as she reached out to touch him. He didn’t move.
His skin was cool from the water. She let her finger glance over the scales, before her hand slid over his cheek and neck, skimming over a gill. His gaze bore into her, but she avoided his eyes as she looked at his waist, curious as to what happened to ‘that’ part of him when he changed. Was it covered in scales as well? Her throat dry, she whispered, “Can I see the rest?”
He dipped down before pushing up onto a rocky ledge that was just beneath the surface of the water. Bridget drew her fingers back. His legs were gone, as were all traces of his erection. In their place was a silvery purple tail. The long caudal fin at the bottom unraveled as thin as wet silk.
She reached for his tail in amazement, starting at his hips, curiously running down the long length, over his missing arousal to where his thighs had been. The muscles moved beneath her hand, twitching ever so subtly. It wasn’t a costume. It was really him. Caderyn was a merman. She was in an underwater island filled with merpeople.
Bridget made a weak noise, pulling her hand away. It was true. He was a merman. She was attracted to a merman. No wonder he hadn’t kissed her back. She felt as if she’d been kicked. A part of her had been holding onto the hope that she and Caderyn could be together—at least sexually.
I’m the mutant freak here. Why would any of them want me?
She wondered why it didn’t bother her too much to know he shifted. Maybe it was because the seeds of desire for him had been planted from the first moment. Or, perhaps, it was because she’d been enamored with the ocean since she was a girl. It was bound to make her more accepting.
Caderyn looked away, brushing water off his tail. His skin began to transform, making it all the more real as he slowly turned back to his human form. Bridget closed her eyes, fighting tears. Seeing was believing, and she had all the proof she needed.
“Lady Bridget,” King Lucius proclaimed, coming down into the caves. He glanced at Caderyn, a questioning look on his face when he saw the man naked. The king’s longer tunic was trimmed with gold threads. She noticed a slight tension pass between the two men. “I was under the impression you would be with scholars all day.”
“Caderyn was nice enough to show me about the palace.” Bridget quickly stood, hoping she hadn’t got Caderyn in trouble with her request. “He’s been a very gracious host and I was about to convince him to take me outside to the city.”
“Wonderful! I’ll join you,” King Lucius said, gallantly taking up her arm.
Caderyn draped his clothes around his body and pinned them at the shoulder. His handsome form was back to normal—well, her normal anyway. He watched her, eyes narrowed, but said nothing as he pushed his long, wet hair from his face, ringing the locks out. Walking behind her as the king led her back to the palace, he didn’t say a word. The guards shut the door behind them. She glanced back, glad to see that Caderyn wasn’t going to leave her alone with the Merr king.
King Lucius escorted her through the front door to the palace’s inner courtyard. Large arches passed overhead as they walked outside. Instantly, she looked up. The sky was dark blue, too dark for the daytime, yet it was light out.
“Atlas is considered sacred by our people. These walls wrap all the way around the city,” King Lucius explained, pointing at the walls jutting out from the main gate, and down over the valley.
Bright yellow lines ran along the blue walls. The blue almost seemed to glow in the light. Images of sea creatures were depicted along the walls, rising off the flat surface. She recognized some as the Abyss fish, but others were so fanciful she wondered if they were myths. In the valley was the city of Atlas. Except the center of town, which had a circular pattern, the roads were evenly laid out on a square grid, looking very clean and orderly.
“Most of the Merr prefer to live outside these walls in the countryside,” King Lucius continued.
“Are the walls for protection?” Bridget asked, absently. It was hard to concentrate when she was picturing Caderyn naked. Wicked fantasies kept popping into her head, ideas involving his wet, naked body on the cave floor, surrounded by the multicolored lights reflecting off the gemstone walls. She peeked to the side, trying to see if his cock was still erect. Though, one question had definitely been answered for her. The Merr didn’t wear underwear beneath their tunics.
“No,” the king laughed, drawing her attention back to him. “It’s just the way it’s always been.”
King Lucius chatted, keeping her occupied as he led her through the front gates and down an earth path. The city was just as she might expect an ancient city to be. There were no concrete sidewalks or streetlamps and the homes were squished together forming whole city blocks with no alleys or inlets. The roads were paved with large stones. The homes had no real windows, except for narrow slits along the wall.
Not far from the palace in the marketplace, there was a large statue erected in the stone square. Fittingly enough, it was of a mermaid, her long tail sweeping behind her naked upper body. The detail in the craftsmanship was incredible. Bridget couldn’t help herself, she automatically looked at Lucius and Caderyn. Caderyn frowned. The king grinned, winking audaciously.
Shops were constructed in a circular pattern around the marketplace. Some sold ready-made clothes; others sold baked goods, fish, and other meats. Bridget couldn’t be sure, but she assumed they were from the ocean.
The man on the corner blew lovely glass jugs as his wife wove an intricate rug on a loom. Bridget knew they were married because Lucius insisted on stopping at every store and introducing her. She wished he wouldn’t, as she didn’t like all the attention. But, what could she say? He was the king.
Strangely, there were no children amongst the population and the adults all seemed to be healthy specimens between the ages of twenty-five and forty. As a scientist, she found it a very curious anomaly. Unable to stop herself, she asked Lucius, “Where are the children? Do they go to school? Or are they apprenticed under their parents?”
The king’s smile faded for the first time that day.
Bridget looked at Caderyn. He lifted his hand to the side in a weak gesture before saying, “You liked the blue glass vase? Come, I’ll make it a present for you.”
Bridget studied the men and then nodded. Thinking it best, she answered, “Yes. Thank you.”
Caderyn escorted her back to the glass blower. “Nestor, the blue one. Have it delivered to my home.”
“Aye, my lord,” Nester answered, grinning at Bridget.
“Would you like anything else?” Caderyn asked softly.
“No.” Then quietly, so only he could hear, she said, “You don’t have to get it for me. I’m already too much in your debt.”
“You took Lucius’ clothes without protest.”
Bridget glanced to the king. He watched them from the distance. “I didn’t want to be rude.”
“And you have no problem being rude to me?” Caderyn’s voice was as soft as hers. She realized she’d stepped closer to him without meaning to.
“No.” Bridget took a hasty step back. “I mean yes. I mean,
no I do not wish to be rude to you.”
Caderyn turned back to Nestor, who waited patiently. “The blue one.”
“Aye, my lord.” Nestor handed the blue vase to his wife.
Bridget forced a smile, wondering how much the man had overheard.
“Caderyn, can I ask you something?” Bridget said when the man was away.
“You just did.” A slight twitch on the side of his mouth told her he was joking.
Bridget gave him a wry look. “You say we’re underwater, but look at the sky.”
“Dome. Beyond it is the Abyss.”
“Oh.”
The man came back, stopping any further discussion on the topic. She glanced up, bothered by the fact that it didn’t look like it was underwater. And yet, she had seen Caderyn shift and could see the strange palace and city with her own eyes.
As they completed the tour of the marketplace, Bridget didn’t say much. Even King Lucius was quiet. By the time they went back to the palace, it was time for the evening meal. She again was led to the hall. She felt plain in the white tunic, but at least her hair was bound back this time and not so frizzy. The meal was much like her first time in the hall. The only difference was that the fish was baked, and seasoned with herbs. Bridget wrapped herself a fish taco with the flatbread instead of tearing it like the others, adding vegetables to the creation. Caderyn and Lucius watched her curiously, before trying it themselves. They both nodded in approval.
Bridget was quiet during the meal. She wished she could be alone with Caderyn. There were so many questions she wanted to ask him. After the meal, she was surprised when King Lucius escorted her back to Caderyn’s home. Caderyn didn’t come with them.
“I hope you’ve been comfortable here,” Lucius said. As always his voice was pleasant, his tone polite. The king was a nice man.
“Yes, Caderyn has been most kind.” Bridget smiled.
“I hope that his is not the only kindness you’ve noticed.”
Bridget froze. Was the king coming on to her? She studied his face. He was smiling at her, but he’d been smiling most of the day. Was there something more than general curiosity about her culture? She thought back to his questions. He’d asked plenty about what it was like on land, but he’d also asked about her life. Was she married? Did she leave anyone behind? What was the nature of her work?
“Everyone has been wonderful,” Bridget said diplomatically. “I’m still trying to get used to the whole idea of this place. It’s been a lot to take in.”
Lucius’ smile widened. He leaned forward, hesitated and then pressed a light kiss to her lips. Bridget didn’t move. His lips were warm, but she was too shocked to notice much more than that. The king was coming onto her. The knowledge took her by surprise.
“Good night, my lady.” Lucius bowed slightly to her, before walking back toward the banquet hall.
Bridget only nodded. The king had kissed her. A king. A merman king! If ever this dream was going to end, now would be the time. If the king was attracted to her, then it meant that a merman and a human woman could…
“He’s not attracted to me,” Bridget said, thinking of Caderyn. The realization stung. If it was just that they were too different, she could understand that. But, to not be attracted to her after she practically threw herself at him. “It wasn’t that he couldn’t. It was that he didn’t want to. He doesn’t want me.”
Bridget looked at the door to Caderyn’s home. She didn’t want to go there right now. She wanted to be alone. Heading in the opposite direction of the king, she jogged down the hall.
Why did it matter if he wanted her? It wasn’t like she’d actually go through with it. Would she? He was part fish. She wasn’t. Or was she thinking about this the wrong way? Was it more like she was American and he was Merr? They had different backgrounds, but they were initially the same. Never in her life had she wanted a laboratory so badly.
“If I could test his hair, or perhaps a blood sample,” she said to herself, scratching the back of her head, clinging to the cold hard facts of science to avoid looking at the emotion. “Maybe if I could do a DNA sequencing…” Bridget continued to mumble to herself, not watching where she was going. “I could compare the two species and determine the level of compatibility for…”
“My lady?”
Bridget glanced up, lost in thoughts. It took her a moment to focus on the man in front of her.
“It’s Aidan,” Aidan said, smiling.
“Yes, of course, Aidan. How are you?”
“Fine, but I should probably be asking you that question,” Aidan said. “You seem pale.”
“It’s… ah… been… well… um.”
“Odd?” Aidan prompted. “Peculiar? Strange? Fantastic? A nightmare?”
“You could put it that way,” Bridget said with a small laugh. “I don’t think it’s sunk in quite yet. I mean, when I think about it, I know what everyone is saying. I know you tell me there is no way out, but as a scientist I can’t accept that. We got in. There has to be a way out.”
“Here, come in.” Aidan led her into a long, rectangular room. Inside was an odd collection of human artifacts, laid out on long tables. The objects seemed to span across time. There were anchors, hooks, several coins dating from antiquity.
“Where are we?” Bridget asked weakly. “What is this place?”
“Most of what is here is scavenged from shipwrecks,” Aidan said. Bridget gasped. “No, no, I can see what you’re thinking and you mustn’t. They are not responsible for sinking the ships. Though, that’s the conclusion I drew at first. They merely collect from the wreckage along the ocean floor after there has been a wreck.”
Bridget stepped to the table, unable to help her curiosity. She studied the coins first.
“From what I could deduce, the coin with the palm tree is from Carthage. That one is from Spain.” Aidan continued to point at them. “Viking. Phoenician. Arabian.”
“That’s mine,” Bridget said in awe, reaching for the round disc with the strange carvings. The chain was still wrapped around it but was broken. Aidan let her pick it up.
“Althea brought it to me,” Aidan said. “She said you had it wrapped around your neck. I can’t tell what it dates from though.”
“It doesn’t. It’s just something I found along the beach.” Bridget closed her fingers around it, wanting to keep it. Slowly, she set it back down on the table. There were pieces of yellowed silk, chipped vases, a Greek bust, rusted navigational tools, pewter silverware, pieces of crystal and sections of armor.
“They seemed to have done a lot of scavenging during the Middle Ages. I think, before us, many of the humans brought here were from that time. It’s said that some of the Merr women used to lure the sailors into the water and carry them down, though I don’t know how factual the accounts are as no one speaks of it.” Aidan shrugged. “It would explain how they got so many personal artifacts though, like the coins and some of the jewelry. It also explains some of their speech patterns, like the ‘my lords’ and ‘my ladies’.”
“Aye,” Bridget added softly.
“Aye,” Aidan nodded, agreeing with her.
Aidan walked down to a table with broken relics. He kept talking about the artifacts, but she wasn’t listening to him anymore. He lightly touched a leather bound book, one amongst many. Some were ship logs, warped from water. There were a few novels. One in particular looked to be a torn paperback romance novel from the 1970’s.
“Yeah,” Aidan gave an uncomfortable laugh. “The scavengers brought back a whole box full of those novels. They’re being translated and analyzed.”
“You’re analyzing a box full of trashy romance novels?” Bridget asked, with a small laugh. “I don’t know how much you’ll learn from them.”
“Some of them are historically based. Actually, do they predict the future, or are they just fanciful?”
“No, we don’t predict the future.”
“Ah, shame. Well, maybe we won’t tell the women that. They
like the idea of dragon shifting men. It was assumed that since the Merr shift that there were others who did as well. Do others shift?”
“Not that I know of,” Bridget said.
“Ah.” Aidan turned back to his tour of the artifacts. There was a painting of a young girl, the surface bubbled and torn. “There are other paintings, but they’re kept in a vault. They didn’t wear as well as this one did.”
Aidan continued talking. Bridget looked at it all, not seeing it. Her hand lifted, skimming over a collection of old knives, not feeling the handles.
“Does Caderyn know you’re out roaming the halls on your own?” Aidan looked behind her.
“What do you mean?” Bridget frowned.
“He’s your guardian,” the man said as if it were common knowledge. “I just thought he’d be worried about you going about on your own until you’re more accustomed to the place.”
Bridget arched a brow.
“Sorry, I’ve been here for so long I have forgotten that you might not know everything we take for granted.” Aidan motioned for her to follow him. “Here, the fact that he is considered your guardian means he has charge over you until you decide to marry. Don’t worry, you get used to some of the antiquated ways of thinking. He pulled you out of the water, so he is in charge of you. Kind of like that old belief, if you save someone’s life, that life becomes your responsibility. And the person saved is in debt to the one who saved them.”
“Marry?” Bridget squeaked, nearly choking on her own tongue. “I have no plans of getting married. I’ve never really wanted to get married. There are so many more important things in my life. I have a career to think about.”
Aidan gave her a pained look. “Not anymore.”
Out of everything she endured, that sentence was the worst. No career? Her career was her life. Science was her life. It’s all she could ever remember wanting to be when she grew up. She wanted to be on the ocean, study it, explore it.
My Paranormal Valentine: A Paranormal Romance Box Set Page 7