Goddess of the Sea (Goddess Summoning #1)(20)

Maybe she was dreaming, or even dead, but the thought didn't hold any horror for her. Whatever had happened to her, she still had her own mind, and she most certainly was getting a bigger dose of magic than she could ever have imagined possible in her old life.

CC dipped the finned end of her tail down so that it broke the surface of the enticing water, and then with a ripple of muscle she flipped it up again. Warm seawater rained in a glistening arch around her; wherever it touched her body she felt it as a lover's caress.

Leaning forward, she gazed into the calm water of the grotto at her remarkably changed reflection. The only familiar thing she saw was the amber teardrop that dangled between her bare breasts.

"I'm her." The beautiful creature's lips moved as CC spoke. "Somehow I'm the mermaid now." She remembered watching her own body lift toward the faraway surface. "And she's me."

A tremor ran though her, and she raised a hand to touch the curve of one perfect cheek. Totally engrossed in studying her refection, CC didn't look up at the sound of a disturbance in the water.

"Undine, need I remind you of the lesson the gods taught Narcissus?"

A deep, mocking voice made CC gasp and jerk back in surprise. Not far from her ledge a huge man floated in the water. His torso was bare and he was powerfully built. His hair was so blond it was almost white, and it fell in a thick wave past his shoulders. He would have been handsome, had it not been for his sneering expression.

"But of course I must admit that you are truly spectacular." He dropped his voice to a seductive purr. Then, noting her expression, he added. "Are you surprised to see me, sister dear?" He floated a little nearer CC's ledge. His storm gray eyes were intense. "How could you doubt that I would pursue you?"

"Wh-what?" CC's lips felt numb, and she shrank back.

"Please, let us not play your tiresome games. Our father demands you return, and you know how angry Lir can get when his demands are not obeyed." Slowly he floated even closer to her.

CC was confused and frightened. What did this man want and who was Lir?

"When Lir noticed that you were missing again, I graciously volunteered to find you and bring you home."

He wasn't looking in her eyes, instead his gaze kept shifting from her breasts to the jointure in her tail at the place where her thighs would meet, if she had thighs. His hot stare made her feel intensely uncomfortable and completely naked. She scrambled back until she could go no farther and was pressed firmly against the side of the cave.

He reached CC's ledge and placed his hands on the edge of it. With a quick flex of his powerful arms, he raised himself partially out of the water, and CC gasped again.

His muscular torso tapered down to meet the glistening skin of a mer-creature. CC's eyes grew round with shock. Merman, she amended as she watched the hard pulsing flesh surge from a slit in his tail where a human man's groin would be. This creature was quite obviously male.

"Now," his voice was low and ominous. "I am finished with chasing you. I have tried wooing you. I have tried reasoning with you. I have even tried begging you. Nothing works. You continue to spurn me. Your stubborn tricks have left me no choice. You force me to take what I desire."

His malevolent presence filled the cave. CC could feel her heart beating erratically. Her reaction was intense and immediate. He repulsed her.

"Stay away from me." CC was surprised by the power in her new voice.

"No, my darling. Not any more. I am finished with waiting." He reached forward and stroked a thick strand of hair that had fallen over her breast. "So lovely." His breathing deepened.

CC flinched from his touch, which enraged him.

"You will be mine!" he screamed in her face. Then, with an effort, he regained control of himself, shifting his tone to a more reasonable one. "Why do you pretend you do not understand? Our father is busy elsewhere, and he has grown weary of your little escapes. He is not listening for your cries." The merman grimaced. "And your landlocked goddess mother cannot hear you within my wonderful little cave; I made quite certain of that. Do you like the gift I created for you?" One powerful arm gestured to take in the grotto. "Be reasonable and this will be pleasant for us both. You must realize that Father will actually be pleased when we have mated. I believe he even plans on granting us a realm of our own."

CC's mind whirred. No wonder the beautiful mermaid had been so eager to exchange places with her! CC would much rather be a plain, ordinary human girl than a magical mermaid raped by her perverted brother.

The creature pulled himself all the way up on the ledge. His body was almost twice the size of CC's mermaid body. His chest and shoulders bulged, and his powerful tail was banded with thick stripes of crimson and dark green.

"Do you appreciate that I attempted to duplicate the color of your eyes in these crystals?" Again his voice was ingratiating and deceptively gentle. He leaned closer to her. "But nothing could match the beauty of your eyes."

He brushed the fall of hair off her chest, leaving her completely exposed. Then he reached forward and cupped her breasts in his huge hands, worrying her nipples painfully between his thumb and forefingers. Before CC could even attempt to push his hands away, his attention wavered.

"What is that thing?" he spat. "It reeks of human design." The merman freed her breasts to grasp the amber teardrop, which glowed softly where it dangled between them.