I dream of mermaids.
It’s not a particularly unique sentiment – little girls all over the world have said the exact same thing. I would know since I’d been one of them myself, fantasizing about underwater kingdoms, and beautiful creatures with delicate human features that flow into majestic, brightly colored tails.
Lately, though, those dreams of mine have become far more literal than they used to be.
And a lot darker.
More…erotic.
I slip between wakefulness and the astral as easily as blinking from one moment to the next. One moment, I’m cataloging the taxonomies of Abyssopelagic invertebrates, and the next, it’s me who is in the abyss, submerged. Sometimes I’m cold, hundreds of feet below the surface of the ocean where sunlight can not reach.
Other times, though…I’m so very hot. So warm that my breath comes too quickly, as if my lungs are taking in too much oxygen where there should be none. The slick sweat coating my skin creates a barrier between the elements, cocooning me…melting me.
And, every time, frigid or burning, he is there.
He is the predator and I am his prey.
It all happens in a split second, and just as I am about to succumb to the depths…he’s there – a dark mass radiating a faint effervescent glow so that I can only just make out the outline of him.
He is everywhere, above and below, surrounding me.
Then I feel him, all rippling, lean muscle as the hulking length of his tail curls around my spasming body and constricts, holding me in place. I don’t see him kiss me, but my body thrums when supple, commanding lips connect with mine. The moment they do, the salt water in my lungs is gone, and I know that it’s his air that sustains me. I draw in a deep breath that is somehow fuller, richer, more delicious than anything I could ever have imagined.
I feel his tongue slip between my lips, teasing me into action, coaxing me to explore. My hands slide along the smooth column of his throat, around to the back of his neck, and into the dark tangle of his hair, pulling him closer as I kiss him back. I need more. His tongue slips deeper into my mouth, caressing my own, before it glides along the roof of my mouth and along the sides of my teeth. He tastes like the sea, salty and rich.
His tongue laps at the pulse at the base of my neck and I wonder if he can feel it fluttering away out of control. Strong fingers curl around my throat and stay there, holding fast, daring me to try and run from him — I’m not certain that I would, even if I could have.
He makes another sound, somewhere between a growl and a hiss, and then I'm in motion.
I'm still blind, and there is no air. I can't see the way he moves me, can't feel the water moving around us. He just pulls me into place like it is nothing for him to do so. I feel the rough wall of rock and sand at my back come from out of nowhere, rattling me on impact.
My legs are still closed tight and it's his tail that forces them apart. He holds me in place against the wall with his tail, freeing his hands to roam my body. It's an almost frenzied exploration. His hands slide up my thighs, and then he's pressing my legs even further apart, sliding between them, and my body goes rigid as his tongue trails from my nipple down my stomach.
I can feel him moving lower, his tail tightening around my body, nearly crushing me, inhibiting my ability to breathe. I can tell by the deep vibrations emitting from him that he enjoys my struggle, my pain. It thrills him, and in turn, his dark delight sparks something wanton and submissive inside of me — a dangerous yearning to please. I want to surrender, to give myself completely over to his will, to allow this creature to use my body to satisfy his own lust.
Then his mouth is on me, his tongue flicking over me, teasing me with a feather-light touch. Without warning, his teeth sink into the flesh of my thigh, harder this time, and I scream out in pain. It hurts so much that tears form in my eyes, but then, almost immediately, there's a rush of pleasure as his tongue soothes away the hurt — unnaturally so.
He laps at my core, his tongue delving deep, his nose grazing my clit, and I feel my body tighten. The pain is exquisite, and I feel my body responding to the pleasure and the agony. I can feel the heat building, coiling deep inside, and I know that I won't be able to hold off much longer. But I know that this isn't up to me. I am his play thing, a body to toy with at his will, and my pleasure is a byproduct. I know in my core that I will not be satisfied until he is.
The immense muscle of his tail tightens around me once more as he shifts, rising above me. Then his cock is sliding between my thighs, rubbing against me, but not entering me. He groans as he thrusts between my legs, coating himself with my arousal. I moan in response, wanting him inside me, needing to feel him. He continues to tease me, thrusting against me, but not penetrating, and I feel myself growing even wetter.
I don't know what it is about this creature, but I know that I need him inside me, filling me, stretching me, completing me. He continues to grind against me, and I feel my body tense. I can feel him throbbing against me, and I know that it's just a matter of time.
Then I feel him push into me, and—
"Phoebe? Phoebe!"
I jolt awake, dazed and confused on the floor of my bathroom. Blinking, I find myself staring up into my roommate's concerned face and groan.
"Phoebe? Are you okay? I heard a noise and found the door open." She looks at the water running over my face and laughs.
I shake my head, my cheeks burning with embarrassment, as I look down scanning my naked body, sure that there would be some physical evidence of everything that I had just witnessed. I could still feel his lips on mine, the agonizing bliss of his bite, the tantalizing stretch as my mystery merman had begun to take me — I wouldn't have been surprised if I had woken up with my hands buried between my thighs. It wouldn't have been the first time.
But, no, aside from a dusky flush to my olive complexion, and the beaded peaks of my nipples, there was no sign of my merman. As he always did, he had retreated back into the depths of my dreams.
Leah turns off the shower and helps me to my feet. "I think I just passed out," I mutter, feeling foolish. I'd been so engrossed in my latest fantasy that I must have slipped and knocked myself out.
My roommate presses the back of her hand against my forehead, tutting like a proper doctor-in-training. “I hope you’re not coming down with something. That’d really put a damper on your trip.”
“Trip?” I ask, my thoughts still fuzzy with imagined memories of fangs piercing my thighs…so close to my center…making me hotter…wetter—
Leah waves a hand in front of my face, jolting back to the present once more. “Uh, Earth to Phoebe? What do you mean ‘what trip?’” She frowns, “Only the one you’ve been waiting your entire academic career for? The one you plan to base your thesis on?”
My shoulders immediately tense as I remember. How I could have forgotten, even for a moment, I don’t know. “Right. The South Pacific,” I sigh, my stomach churning now for an entirely different reason.
“Damn straight, the South Pacific!” Leah crowed, “You’d better get your shit together, girlfriend. You’ve got mermaids to find!”
It’s the research opportunity of a lifetime, a hail Mary that will make or break the careers of half a dozen academics…and I’m one of them. We only have one goal in mind: Find definitive proof of the existence of a sentient subaquatic species, thus redefining humanity’s evolutionary tree.
No biggie.
The rest of my life starts tomorrow morning…and I’m not even packed.