“I’m not a mermaid,” she whispered, taking large breaths of air, appreciating the feel of it in her lungs like never before. “I’m not a mermaid. It didn’t happen.”
A tear slipped from her eye, making a hot trail down her cheek. Her hair was damp and her throat was sore. She knew saying it aloud would not change the truth. Her body had changed.
Burying her face in her hands, she moaned, “Oh, goodness, I am a mermaid.”
Shaking, Bridget scooted to the edge of the bed and stood. The red cloak she had worn before was damp, but she draped it over her body as best she could to hide her nakedness. Her feet were bare and she could only guess that her sandals had been lost in the pond. Remembering the looks of hatred from the other mermaids, she shivered. They had wanted her dead.
The bedroom was large, with no windows. Soft light filtered overhead. There was a fireplace and burnt out torches on the wall. The room was beautiful, but she was too tired to really look at the paintings.
It didn’t take a genius for her to figure out that she was in Caderyn’s country home in the borderlands. Her body stiff, she limped across the room and pulled the door open, peeking out into a nearly empty room. Though she heard muted voices, she could not see anyone.
As she left the bedroom, she noticed that there was a large pool in the floor. She stepped around it, glancing inside it. The water looked as if it went deep. The floors were stone tiles with marble-like swirls. The walls were smooth with frescos painted within fake arch doorways. The scenes were of merfolk and other underwater creatures and landscapes.
Tiptoeing toward the sound of voices, she heard Caderyn say, “They let her go. She has suffered the change.”
His voice became muffled as if he turned his head from her direction. Bridget crept closer, trying to hear.
“She had yet to be prepared for it and didn’t know that it would happen,” Caderyn said.
“No one told her?” a softer voice asked.
“She’s only been here for two weeks. None of us thought she needed to know,”
Bridget took a deep breath, trying not to cry. She didn’t want to hear anymore. He had known what would happen to her, what she would become, and he didn’t tell her? They all knew and no one had thought to say a thing? Not the king, the healer, or Aidan? None of it hurt as badly as her husband keeping it from her though.
Caderyn not telling her the truth was the same as him lying to her as far as she was concerned. How could he not tell her she would turn into a mermaid? How could he keep something so important from her?
Everything that had happened since that fateful night on the boat built within her. She was confused, hurt, sad. Feeling as though her life had been ripped from her control, Bridget ran to a door. She needed to get out of there. She needed to think.
The door led to a rectangular kitchen with a little island in the middle. She turned back around. Then, seeing a small entryway, she crossed over to it as quietly as she could and slipped through the front to the outside.
Once out of the house, she ran full tilt toward the trees with one thought swimming in her head. She had to get away from him. Caderyn knew and he didn’t tell her. She had to think about all this, away from Caderyn’s sexy influence. She needed logic.
Reaching the edge of the forest, Bridget glanced back. The home stood boldly against the countryside, looking like a marble building straight out of ancient Rome. It was beautiful, but she was too numb to be moved by it. She’d been forced to accept a lot recently and had taken more leaps of faith than she’d ever taken in her life. This emotion thing was difficult and messy, and she wasn’t sure she liked feeling swept up in the whirlwind of it.
“I’m a scientist, damn it,” she whispered. Bridget wasn’t sure how to deal with everything. Turning, she continued to run with no clue as to where she was going or what she was doing. Nothing made sense anymore. All she knew was that she wanted to go home.
Chapter 23
“Mmm, well, look what we found wandering in the forest.”
Bridget stopped walking. The sultry voice was followed by a round of feminine laughter. The sound wasn’t pleasant.
In her haste to get away from Caderyn, she’d gotten lost and had no idea how long she’d been walking. Glancing around the trees, she watched as the redheaded mermaid with the eerie matching eyes stepped from the forest. The woman wore a skimpy green robe. It was so translucent it showed off her naked body underneath. It fluttered lazily in the breeze. When she stepped over the ground, her bare feet didn’t make any noise.
“What do you want with me?” Bridget backed away from the women, frightened. These mermaids had tried to kill her. Would they now try to finish the job?
“You’re lucky, human.” A finger poked her back from behind. Bridget jolted in surprise and spun around. The black-haired mermaid with the large breasts studied her. She too wore hardly any clothing as her blue gown wrapped tightly around her body. “You were blessed with the change before we could get to you.”
“Before we could kill you,” another added, chuckling darkly as she came from the trees. More laughter resounded over the path and soon the small area was overflowing with beautiful Olympian women.
“The gods chose to bless you with our gift,” the redhead said, her eyes glowing eerily, like a demon’s. The woman’s hand lifted close to Bridget’s cheek, but she didn’t touch her.
“Leave me alone,” Bridget whispered, wishing the words were more forceful. Moisture gathered in her eyes, threatening tears. She was terrified. “I want nothing to do with you. I’ve done nothing. Just leave me alone.”
“But we want you,” a blonde said, pouting her lips. “Maia, why is she being so mean to us?”
Maia, the dark-haired mermaid in translucent blue, laughed. She reached out and patted Bridget’s hair, smoothing it down. Pouting her lips, she said, “She’s just scared. Aren’t you, human?”
“Not a human anymore,” another corrected.
Bridget pulled away from the mermaid’s touch.
“I am Maia,” Maia said. She pointed at the redheaded mermaid. “That is Lotis.”
Bridget glanced, but didn’t acknowledge. Lotis winked, pursing her lips to blow a kiss. Bridget shivered at the cold look on the woman’s face. There was no affection there.
“Marica,” Maia said, pointing at a blonde. Then, moving her finger faster to point around the group, she said, “Ambrosia, Calliope, Dryope, Electra, Carmenta, Asia, Eudora, Ladona, Neda, Pirene, Thetis, Thisoa, Styx.”
“And you are?” Styx prompted as Maia stopped her introductions.
Bridget didn’t answer. Did they really expect her to remember all those names? Did they expect her to care? All she wanted was to go home.
“She asked your name,” Lotis said, her voice tight with growing anger.
“Your name,” Maia demanded.
“Bridget,” Bridget whispered, only to repeat more forcefully, “Bridget.”
Lotis smiled, though it didn’t reach her eyes. “Was that so hard, Bridget?”
Bridget gave a small shake of her head.
“Electra,” Maia prompted.
Bridget glanced at the slender mermaid that stepped forward at the call. The woman reached out her arms and opened her mouth. A beautiful sound, like no other Bridget had ever heard came from the Olympian’s throat. It was mesmerizing, so mesmerizing that it took Bridget a moment to realize Electra was singing her name, over and over again.
“Bridg-et, Bridg-et,” Electra’s voice trilled, rising and falling. It wove a trance over Bridget’s senses, like a cloud fogging her brain with pure pleasure. Numbness worked its way over her limbs, until she couldn’t feel anything. “Bridg-et. Bridg-et.”
“You have nothing to fear from us now,” Maia said. She reached leisurely, almost lovingly, for Bridget’s cheek. “We feel the confusion in you, the anger. You’re hurt. You don’t understand what is happening to you. We can help you, Bridget. We can be your new family. We can show you the true powe
r of your new gifts.”
“Bridg-et, Bridg-et.”
“We want to help you.” Lotis touched her shoulder. “Please, let us help you.”
“Aye,” another added. “Let us help you.”
“Aye,” said another, until they all seemed to be speaking at once.
“Aye, Bridget.”
“Let us help you.”
The soothing tones were barely audible over Electra’s amazing voice. “Bridg-et. Bridg-et.”
Bridget forgot everything, everyone. Nothing mattered but following that voice. There was no more sadness or fear or worry. She found herself walking toward the singing woman’s outstretched arms. A hand touched her shoulder and her red wool cloak was pulled from her shoulders. She was left naked.
“Bridg-et, Bridg-et.”
“We want you Bridget,” Maia whispered in her ear. Her voice was joined by the others. “We want you to join us.”
“Come with us.”
“Be with us.”
“Join us.”
Bridget continued to stare at Electra as the woman took her by the hands. The mermaid continued to sing, walking backward as she led Bridget into the forest. Bridget didn’t feel anything but the music. No part of her wanted to fight it and she had no idea how long they had traveled before reaching a rocky cliff within the forest.
Electra pulled Bridget onto a wooden platform next to the bottom of the cliff. The platform was slowly pulled up, like a rustic elevator as it lifted them off the ground along the cliff’s side. Above them, along the cave’s opening, more women glanced down at her.
The old wood platform creaked, but she wasn’t scared because the voice was there to comfort her. Finally, the creaking stopped and the platform was next to a cave entrance high off the ground. It was too high up to jump down, but it didn’t matter. She had no thoughts of escaping
The cave opened up into a long cavern, covered in lounge pillows sewn from the canvas of ships. It was a rocky paradise—beautiful and alluring, just like the women who owned it. Fine, gauzy material fluttered over the rock walls, matching the gowns of the Olympians. Many of the women wore the same transparent dresses as her captors. Bracelets wound their arms and shell necklaces graced their necks. Others wore headbands woven around their long hair, and matching armbands. Still other Olympians wore nothing but loincloths and skimpy bras. Those women looked very much like the Amazonian warriors of legend.
“Bridg-et, Bridg-et,” Electra sang, never once stopping.
“Welcome to Mt. Olympus,” Maia said, grinning with pride as she spread her arms wide to encompass the area.
A low waterfall dripped from an opening in the stone, trickling into a long pool that wound around the side of the cave. Those in the pond lounged, their tails swishing in the water. Eyes turned to look at her. Bridget stared back, but Electra’s song made her unafraid.
Suddenly, Electra stopped singing. The cloud began to lift for a brief moment, before someone else picked up the melody. “Bridg-et, Bridg-et.”
Several Olympians came forward, urging Bridget to follow them to the pool. They led her in. Cool water touched her flesh and as soon as she was waist deep her legs transformed into a tail. The mermaid also transformed, pulling her deeper into the pool. As her arms wetted, fins poked from her skin. The haze of the song was all around her and she didn’t fight as they pulled her under the salty water’s surface. She kept her mouth closed, not letting it in. The mermaids swam around her, doing somersaults in the water, twirling artfully like synchronized swimmers. The song continued in her head as they motioned for her to swim with them. It was awkward at first, as she jerked around in her new body, but soon Bridget was gliding through the water with ease.
After some time passed in playful swimming and exploration of the top section of the pool, Bridget was handed soap. She washed her skin as the mermaids helped her clean her hair. When they finished, she was led from the pool. Her arms were rubbed with perfume oil and she was given a translucent gown of blue and green. Someone brushed her hair as another slipped a shell necklace around her neck. There was nothing sexual in the way the mermaids touched her. It was more like she was their new pet and they were playing dress up.
“Bridg-et, Bridg-et.” The song continued, picked up by another and then another, as they seemed to pass her name around within the group.
When they were finished pampering her, the music stopped. The mermaids looked at her expectantly. Bridget felt the tension coming back to her neck and shoulders. Her stomach knotted with worry and she felt a little sick. Looking around, she shivered. Was the danger from them over now that she was one of them? They had treated her with kindness, despite the fact that they had originally wanted to kill her.
“Now, you look like a true Olympian, a goddess,” a woman whispered in her ear from behind.
“Show her,” Maia ordered. The way the others looked at Maia with reverence and a touch of fear, Bridget assumed the woman was their leader. “Show her the goddess she can be.”
A large, old mirror was brought forward. It was a little rusted on the corner and looked as if it had been pulled from the ocean long ago. Bridget stared at her reflection. She looked like the Olympians—her skin glistening from the oil, her hair pulled up at the sides and woven with a thin silver headband. A necklace hung from her neck and a bracelet wove over her arm.
“You don’t have to be a prisoner of Atlas,” Maia said, touching Bridget’s shoulders, petting them lightly as if she were a precious china doll. “There are other ways. Better ways. Our way. Let us show you that you are a goddess amongst the Merr. Join us.”
“Here you will be free,” Lotis added, joining them in front of the mirror. “You may come and go as you will. You will command your future. Tell us, what has been your dream? What ache is there in your heart?”
Maia closed her eyes, smiling slightly. When she spoke, it was as if she’d read Bridget’s mind. “You wish to study the ocean. You want to see it for yourself. Forget the borderlands. Here you may swim beyond the borders. Here you may see all the wonders and mystery for yourself.”
“We can teach you,” Lotis said. “We can protect you.”
“Join us,” Maia urged. “There will be no secrets kept from you.”
“Do not be a prisoner of Atlas,” Electra said. The women crowded around her as Bridget stared in the mirror. Their offer was tempting, but as she thought of Caderyn, she was sad.
“Junia, fetch Lysander and the others,” Maia said. “Show her the power she will wield, so much more power than a man.”
Junia, a pixie-like brunette, jumped up and disappeared down the side cave. Bridget watched where she’d disappeared. When the woman came back, she was leading six gorgeous men.
“You don’t need him,” Maia whispered, directing Bridget forward to the males. Each one of them was a very fine specimen of male beauty. Their solid bodies glistened with oil and they wore only loincloths. “Why settle for one man when you can have your pick of many? Everything he has to offer you, we have right here and more.”
“Our slaves will do anything you want them to,” Lotis said. She ran her hand over their backs as she walked around them. Bridget was left with no doubt about the role these men had within the Olympian society. They were mere toys, sex toys used for the mermaids’ pleasures. And from the looks on their faces, the men didn’t seem to mind their role too much. “Their bodies are always willing to serve.”
“We are very sexual creatures, Bridget. We get our strength from sexual release. These men before you are some of our finest slaves, but there are others if they are not to your taste. Their sole purpose in being, is to please their mistresses. And, believe me when I tell you, they will see to it you are never lacking for strength.” Maia smiled. The other mermaids laughed lightly. “They have been bred with stamina and vigor. Their bodies have been molded and tuned with mandatory exercise to keep them in perfect shape and health. If you like, you may even take several to your bed.”
“My q
ueen,” a tall man said, kneeling before Bridget. He was very attractive in his loincloth. Sculpted, tanned muscles rippled along his body as he moved. The slave was indeed an example of male physical perfection, but aside from looking at him as she would a painting, Bridget didn’t find herself attracted to him. He bowed his head, before looking up into her eyes. “I am Lysander. We are here for your pleasure.”
“My queen,” the second man in line said, also kneeling. He gave her a sultry look, narrowing his eyes as he glanced boldly over her body, stopping to stare at her breasts. Bridget resisted the urge to hide, all too aware of the transparency of her indecent gown. “I am Asar, here for your pleasure.”
“My queen, I am Fabius. Let me give you pleasure.” Fabius was obviously already aroused. Bridget turned her attention quickly away from his tight, bulging loincloth.
The men continued to kneel before her, bowing their heads. When they looked at her, it was in pure sexual invitation.
“My queen, I am Damion. Let me please you.” Damion licked his lips, letting his eyes drift down her body to her midsection.
Bridget’s thighs tightened, closing shut. A small tingle erupted in her stomach, not unpleasant and definitely not welcomed.
“My queen, I am Horus, here for your pleasure.”
Bridget was too busy trying not to run away from the other men’s innuendos that she didn’t see what look Horus gave her.
“My queen, I am Ari. Allow me to please you.”
Despite her distaste for the whole situation, she found herself becoming aroused. It was a strange desire that filled her, a need to touch and be touched. But, she didn’t want the men before her. She wanted Caderyn.
Caderyn.
Though it was tempting to spend eternity being worshiped by six handsome men, never having to feel sadness or confusion, Bridget looked at Maia and asked, “What if I refuse?”
“Our slaves will change your mind,” Maia said, motioning to the men. “Give them a chance before you say such things.”
My Paranormal Valentine: A Paranormal Romance Box Set Page 15