Elyssa’s thundering heart skipped and crashed into her chest.

My queen.

Kadir sensed her doubt and stopped his passion, stilled as though she had cried out. With his deep awareness, he always seemed to know exactly what she was thinking.

Now, of all times, she wanted to be his. She wanted to make him happy. She wanted to experience again his incredible passion, which flowed over her like a typhoon so hot and furious all she could do was hold on. He’d ripped her dress nearly in half without even thinking about it. All that hard, hot, masculine power focused on pleasuring her made her swoon. She wanted You are my queen to be true.

But then it struck her that everything depended on her. Everything. She wasn’t Lucy. She wasn’t Aya. How could the entire future of merman-human relations rest on her thin shoulders?

“Elyssa.” The fierce warrior frowned and stroked her cheek. “You vowed.”

Fear stopped her from transforming. It hurt Kadir. It hurt her.

But she couldn’t just think her way to success, or she’d already have displaced Chastity Angel as CEO and promoted Aya. She’d already have transformed. And she’d already be a great ruler in every way.

“Very well.” Hard darkness set his jaw. “I will talk no more about you becoming my queen.”

“No, you have to!” Him giving up on her would be the ultimate failure. Elyssa squeezed her eyes shut so she didn’t have to see Kadir’s disappointed face. “I’m sorry. I just, um—”

He growled. “You are restricted from saying that word.”

“Um?” Of course Kadir was right. A queen should speak confidently, not stutter. “Sorry.”

“That word.”

“Sorry?”

“Stop.” He stroked her cheek, forcing her eyes on his. “It is one of the words that dims your light.”

Oh.

When he studied her with such intensity, she melted a little. “Sorry.”

His intensity increased, and so did the pressure on her cheeks. “Elyssa.”

“What?”

“You said the word again.”

“I know! Sorry. I can’t help myself. I just—sorry.”

He rested his forehead against hers. “You are the most confusing, intriguing, enticing bride who ever joined with a merman.”

That…didn’t sound like a compliment.

“I expected to begin the journey to Atlantis. But instead, I have spent today sitting with my bride. Talking. Connecting. You have shown me a world I did not understand.”

It sounded worse and worse! “I’m so sorry.”

He eyed her intensely. “Use that word again and I will take it from your mouth with my tongue.”

A shocking pulse of heat rolled through her.

He continued speaking. “I have always wanted one young fry. Now, you have taught me to want five. I have always wanted a queen. Now, I want only you.”

Wait. That was the world he didn’t understand? Multiple kids and her as his wife?

She knew she’d been losing him back at the coffee shop. The harder she tried to prove her worth as queen, talking about her qualifications for ruling and that one political science class she almost flunked in high school, the less impressed he’d seemed. Finally, she’d realized it was all over. She had nothing left to lose. And so, she started talking about pointless things. The logo on the coffee cup. Her hopes and dreams.

Now he wanted only her.

Tingles of destiny warred with disbelief.

That was what had touched him? Turned his monotone grunts into full conversations? Lit a fire in his silver-flecked eyes so hot it made him back her down an alley and crash over her in a tsunami of passion?

“Don’t forget the two dogs,” she said faintly, her mouth talking while her brain struggled to catch up. “Oh, I guess you call them ‘house guardians.’”

“Elyssa.” He pulled her lax hand from his hard bicep and kissed the center of her palm. A naughty edge of teeth made her shiver. “I vow to honor you. Protect our innocents. Join with you. Defend our Life Tree.”

His words stole her voice. She whispered. “Even if I can’t transform?”

“You must.”

“But—”

“You will return to Atlantis with me. Now, or when I have returned with another blossom.”

Her chest warmed like the full sun shone down on her. He’d return even though she’d messed up today. He wanted her. She sucked in a deep breath and threw her arms around Kadir. He caught her and crushed her to his hard pectorals.

With his steady faith, she could overcome anything.

He drew back. His lips nuzzled her, changing the glow into a steady, hot pulse-beat. She melted into the promise of his kiss.

Her phone jangled and vibrated in her torn dress pocket.

Kadir tensed.

She straightened and dug out the phone reluctantly. They were almost connected. She could feel it, finally. A new, powerful strength beat in her heart. With just a little more focus, she could certainly get over her doubts and transform. “It’s Aya.”

He stepped back.

She answered. “Just give us a little—”

“Come back right away! Lucy says you’re already a mermaid. She’ll prove it.”

She couldn’t stop her shocked, “What?” but Aya just tossed meeting instructions at her and hung up.

Could she become a mermaid queen in spite of her doubts? Really? Then everything was on hold. She raced to follow Aya’s directions, tugging Kadir with her.

A driver picked them up and drove them back to the private dock. Butterflies fluttered in Elyssa’s stomach. What would Lucy have to tell her?

At the private marina again, Kadir’s long strides closed on the dock. She hurried to keep up. Everyone was gone now — her parents, the filmmakers, everyone. They reached the wooden slats and Aya met them.

Aya shoved her phone at Elyssa, bright with excitement. “Talk to Lucy.”

Elyssa held it in both hands. This was it. She took a deep breath and answered.

“You’re a mermaid too! I’m so excited.” Lucy was older than Elyssa. She was also much more accomplished, a boat captain and expedition leader who dove for treasure before becoming a mermaid. But on Aya’s phone, the difference between them melted away. She giggled like a teenager. “You’re going to have a blast. And you’re going to a mer city where they want you! We got run out of Sireno. We’re coming to visit.”

“Ha ha. We’ll see if the city actually wants me.” Elyssa twisted away from Aya’s frown and Kadir’s matching expression. “I, um, still have to get there.”

“Transforming is hard. The first time is the worst. What’s going on?”

Elyssa told her the details, strolling down to the end of the dock for privacy. Lucy uh-huhed and hmm’d through the whole trauma. Just speaking all her doubts and fears aloud was deeply cathartic.

“And I keep feeling like I’m drowning,” Elyssa finished.

“That’s natural,” Lucy said immediately. “But listen, you understood them speaking underwater. That’s impossible for a human. We only hear a weird humming. You’re already transformed.”

“I half-transformed.”

“There is no half-transforming.”

“Are you sure?”

“Positive.”

“They think I didn’t drink any nectar and they’re pretty sure I’m not smart enough to be queen.”

Kadir made a noise.

Oops. Had he heard? She thought she was far enough away. She quickly turned and headed down the dock to the abrupt end. When she was whining like this to Lucy, she couldn’t hold his strong gaze.

“Well, that’s rude of them, and it’s also completely wrong,” Lucy said though Aya’s cell phone. “Your fins and webbing are already there, waiting for you to make them come out. It might take months to train them to emerge on command. Speaking and breathing are easier because it just happens. And didn’t you see more than usual? Or hear the plants and animals making music, maybe?”

She had seen awful far. “But the drowning—”

“Will never go away. Have Kadir distract you. The next thing you know, you’re six feet under. I like to lose myself in Torun’s kiss.”

Her chest heated. “Kiss?”

“Make out like there’s no tomorrow. If your king is half as hot as Torun, it shouldn’t be a problem.”

Her desire twisted. She’d been reliving his kisses every time her mind wandered. “Oh, it’s no problem.”

“Good. Have fun. I’m so excited for you! You deserve it.”

You deserve it.

It was nice to hear those words from Lucy, who only knew her from the short time they spent together on the Sea Opal expedition. It meant more than any encouragement from her family, who often seemed to tinge theirs with sympathy for whatever mistake she’d just made.

Maybe she would handle the ruling thing after all. First, she had to get to the city.

“Oh yeah,” Lucy added, just before hanging up, “and get naked.”

“Naked?” Elyssa squeaked.

“It helps. Especially the first time.”

They finished their goodbyes. Elyssa handed the phone back to Aya.

“Apparently I’ve been a mermaid this whole time,” Elyssa said. Awkward! “Um, thanks for going out on a date anyway.”

“Elyssa.” Kadir’s eyes glimmered with strong emotion. But which one? “Soren’s words dimmed your light.”

So he had heard her. “Soren spoke the truth.”

Kadir’s mouth flattened to an inflexible line. “From this hour forward, only honorable words will be spoken in your presence.”

“Hopefully I can keep from screwing up so you don’t have to worry.”

He focused on her again. Clearly, he intended to protest.

But she had already wasted enough of everyone’s time.

She took a deep breath. “I’m, um, supposed to get naked and then make out with you. Will you help me?”

His protest died. He tipped her over the side of the dock. Together, they plunged deep into the startling blue depths.

Sunlight from the waves overhead dappled them. Kadir’s body shimmered, slippery as a fish. He shucked his shirt and kicked free of his jeans. Silver iridescence scrolled all over his lithe body, even down the length of his… Elyssa stared. She’d been so distracted before by trying to transform that she didn’t notice his total nakedness or his long, thick cock. It was, like the rest of him, proud and commanding.

He focused on her with hard intensity. “Off.”

She removed her dress and it floated away like his clothes. She struggled free of the bikini. Warm ocean flooded her secret nooks and crannies. It felt illicit and naughty. She was skinny-dipping in public with a hunky merman.

Far below her toes, the sand glowed brightly. It really did spread forever in every direction. If she squinted, she could probably see the Keys. The Caribbean. Texas. And, diving through the ocean like swallows and ravens, every single fish in between.

She’d been a mermaid from the very first plunge off the dock. She’d just failed to believe it.

Elyssa floated in perfect equilibrium. Currents tugged her to and fro like strong breezes. Unlike breezes, however, she could see their movements. They swirled with tiny, sparkling plankton.

She was a mermaid. A very human-shaped mermaid.

Kadir tugged her deeper. For once, her single-minded warrior seemed to relax. He stroked her cheek. His touch was feather-light and deeply moving. Tenderness she had never seen calmed his hard, silver-streaked brow. It whispered secret promises into her soul.

He twined her in his arms. “Kiss me.”

His voice thrummed from his chest directly into hers. Lucy had told her about this. Elyssa needed to speak without speaking. Think her words, and push them across to Kadir in the same cavity where she heard them.

“You…were eavesdropping,” she said cautiously.

It worked.

He drew her closer. His lids lowered and he kissed her fingertips. “I will always listen to you, Elyssa.”

Her chest squeezed.

Could she really give herself completely to Kadir like this? The rock star fantasy had peeled back to reveal a complex, thoughtful, commanding mer king. Could she really stand beside him and rule over his kingdom?

Again, in the way that he seemed to read her thoughts, a shadow passed his face. “Do not think about becoming a queen. When that time arrives, you will be ready. From now until that time, I will not speak of it in your presence.”

He did that for her. Even though it pained him.

She entwined with him. Command stamped itself on his chiseled cheeks, his strong jaw, and his broad shoulders. He would keep his word, sheltering her from her fears, for all eternity.

He nuzzled her gently. His lips teased her to open. To let him in.

She sank into his kiss.

His tongue stroked her hidden crevices, just like the water. He tasted salty as the ocean and also richly smoky. His flavor coated her lips in liquid sugar. His hard cock pressed against her soft belly with delicious demands.

This was what mattered. Not the future. Not the past. Nothing but Kadir. Her merman.

Her king.

They sank into the depths together, twirling slowly.

“Breathe out,” he ordered without lifting his lips. The words vibrated in her chest.

She trusted him.

Bubbles erupted from her mouth. Ocean poured down her throat.

Her chest convulsed.

She jerked, coughing out bubbles and sucking in thick water.

His arms tightened. “Stay with me, Elyssa. Listen to the song.”

She thrashed. Listen to the song? What… oh.

Symphony music swelled like a radio turning up the volume dial.

The mosquito hum of the earring transmitters still buzzed in her ears. But beneath it, a hum-hum-hum of silver fish flew in a school, a boom-boom of crabs scuttled along the sand, and a chuga-chug of sand dollars dug beneath the sand.

In fact, it felt like she could see through the sand somehow. Behind rocks, even though normally light didn’t bend that way. Her senses were expanding. She was “seeing” things she couldn’t possibly see. The animals glowed like Christmas lights, brightening the already brilliant ocean. A giant laser light show, from the tinkling patches of kelp beds that illuminated several miles off-shore to the surprised shouts of Kadir’s fellow warriors, swimming toward them furiously, a few miles down the beach.

Slowly, by degrees, she let go of the panic.

The ocean caressed her body inside and out. And she was still alive. Everything was fine. She did not need air to breathe.

Her hands crept to her lower back. Hard ridges formed the vents for gills. At her touch, they closed up tight, sealing her body. This was how a mermaid held her breath.

The mer warriors swam around them. Unlike Kadir, who was unarmed, the rest of them carried long metal tridents; Lotar also carried twin daggers strapped to his biceps. They were otherwise naked, but it didn’t seem weird or awkward. Of course, she couldn’t help checking them out. Their cocks flew loose and free, as intricately tattooed as the rest of them, all different sizes and shapes. In contrast, she didn’t feel like they were checking her out at all.

Soren noted her feet. “She has not transformed.”

“Apparently the feet and hands are a later stage transformation.” Kadir rested his forearm possessively around the curve of her buttocks. “She no longer requires air. Only that matters.”

Soren grunted. “Carrying her will slow our return.”

“We expected this possibility. Brides never fully transform.”

“She is shining.” Ciran studied her upper back. Although she glanced down at his coffee-and-green swirled cock, he seemed uninterested in her attributes. The vertebrae between her shoulder blades, which didn’t seem any different to her, drew his eye. “This level of brightness suggests she is happy despite being under the water.”

“You can ask her, Ciran. She could hear our words from the beginning.”

They all fixed on her.

Oops, she was exposed. She clung to Kadir more tightly. “Hi.”

Ciran licked his lips as though he didn’t know how to repeat his question.

Iyen asked for him. Intent as a special ops soldier who needed to know whether or not he had completed his mission. “Are you happy?”

Well, a few minutes ago she’d thought she was a failure who’d wrecked the mer-human project and destroyed Aya’s great grandmother’s company. “I feel great right now.”

They all seemed…peaceful? Like exhaling a huge sigh, only no one was breathing air.

It would be useful if she could see some sort of inner-chest-glow in them like they saw in her. Lucy had been unable to see the glow. Now Elyssa couldn’t see it either. Maybe only mermen could see it.

Soren broke the peace with a flick of his fins. “We must go, my king.” He shot through the water.

A splash broke the sea by the dock. Aya. She wore her red bathing suit and snorkel set, and she gestured to Elyssa urgently.

“Just a sec.”

Elyssa let go of Kadir and swam to Aya. Her cousin didn’t seem to see her until almost the last moment when Elyssa nearly grabbed her shoulders.

Aya pointed at her underwater camera. Scientific documentation, of course. It made the same mosquito whine as the transmitters. The red light blinked. It was recording.

And…she was naked.

Oh well!

“Cheese.” Elyssa swam loop-de-loops. If this got broadcast with the rest of the reality TV documentary, they’d fog out her private bits.

Unless a cable channel bought the rights. Best not to think about it too hard.

They splashed around each other like the old days in the pool. Aya was still the stronger swimmer. Her red plastic fins easily out-paced Elyssa’s barefoot butterfly kicks. But this time, Elyssa was the one underwater, with the whole undersea world opened up. She dove down, down, down. Aya had to turn first and go back up.

The mermen waited.

Right. Enough messing around.

Aya pointed to the surface. She wanted to tell Elyssa something.

“Say your farewells,” Kadir called.

Soren’s grumble carried. “You will see her in a month anyway.”

Right. The first check in was in a month.

Aya got her breath at the surface, descended again to Elyssa’s level, and pointed upward more insistently.

Elyssa did not want to go through the transformation again. What if she couldn’t? Okay, that was a silly fear, but Lucy said all transitions were hard. The first was only the hardest.

Aya’s insistent gesture slowed and stopped. She must realize Elyssa wasn’t coming up. She made her hands into fists that seemed to mean, Good luck.

Elyssa gripped her fists and pulled her into a hug.

Aya stiffened, then her arms went around Elyssa’s back. For the first time in their long friendship, she squeezed Elyssa.

A lump formed in Elyssa’s throat.

Aya quickly released her, trying to pat her back awkwardly under the water. On the surface, she’d have been red as her signature clothes. Even underwater, behind a mask, holding her breath with a snorkel clamped in her teeth, she looked everywhere but directly at Elyssa.

“I’ll find a way for you to become a mermaid queen too,” Elyssa whispered. “I promise.”

Aya couldn’t understand her, but that was okay. She waved and kicked to the surface. Unlike Elyssa, she couldn’t hold her breath forever.

The warriors were waiting.

She swam to Kadir. “I’m ready.”

He drew her to his broad chest. “Hold on.”

She slipped her arms around his neck and fit to the hollows of his body, squeezing and squishing like two puzzle pieces snapping into place. His erection, which had gone down after she left his arms, hardened again with her nearness.

He made her feel beautiful and desired. He didn’t just say he wanted her. His body meant it.

She snuggled against him.

He kicked. They flew through the water like a plane accelerating for take off. The seafloor rushed past and the dock, with lonely Aya kicking at the surface, shrank tiny. They crossed miles in minutes and entered the greater echo chamber of the ocean. The coastline disappeared.

She was on her own.