through.”
“I have. I’ve got my swimming suit on underneath my clothes.”
Tor laughed. “Well, it’s not like you haven’t seen everything already. Let’s go.”
He led me expertly through moon-lit darkness. I trusted him with my every step. We got to the steep crevice that concealed his cove and he helped me down. Instead of making our way up to his cave, like before, we stayed on the rocks.
“Are you sure about this?” he asked.
“I’m more than sure.” I let my sundress fall to my ankles. I was wearing my red one piece. Tor whistled.
“Oh, stop that.”
He laughed and dove in. I watched as he submerged, but he went too deep and many minutes passed before he surfaced.
“What are you waiting for?”
Tingles of excitement shot up my spine and down both my legs. I was about to swim with Tor the merman!
I jumped in and gasped from the cold, but with the way adrenaline was pumping through my veins I soon warmed up. There was enough moonlight reflecting off the water that I could easily make out Tor’s face. His eyes were glinting with amusement.
“Let’s see what you got.”
His tattoos danced in a hypnotizing swirl; I couldn’t take my eyes off of them. Then he splashed me with his tail. With his tail! I swam my hardest and could barely keep up. I felt like I was just learning to swim, a complete novice.
Tor laughed and swam my way. He stopped where I treaded water, turning his back to me. “Climb on.”
I held on tight and laughed out loud with the thrill of having Tor’s body under mine, my arms wrapped securely around his neck. He dipped under water. Tor knew I could hold my breath for several minutes, but I couldn’t actually breathe under water. He stayed close to the surface.
“Show off!” I shouted.
He slowed things down then, almost to a stop and pulled me around so we were holding on to each other face to face. I could feel his scales with my toes, the muscular strength of his tail as I wrapped my legs around his body.
He tilted his head and I leaned in, touching his lips with mine. Ocean water mingled with our kisses.
“Is it possible for a merperson to fall in love with a human?” I whispered in between breaths.
“Yes.”
“It’s happened before?” I was surprised. I really thought those kind of stories were lore.
“It has.”
“Good.”
We kissed and kissed and kissed, like the world would end if we stopped, until the fireworks shot off. Tor and I scanned the sky and it felt like the fireworks were bursting with color just for us. Then he kissed me again.
“You know,” Tor said, his eyes twinkling. “Independence Day fireworks go off in three days, just across the border.”
“We may have to come back,” I said coyly.
“We may.”
CHAPTER ELEVEN
When we got back to the rocks, Tor hoisted me up but stayed behind in the water.
“Wait for me in the cave.”
Though curious about the process of how his tail would shape shift back to legs, I respected his privacy.
Dex had the Coleman lanterns lit so it was easy to find my way in the darkness. I slipped my dress back on before calling out, “Hello?”
Dex appeared in the entrance, his shadow looming like a giant, and I felt momentarily frightened. He probably didn’t take trespassing lightly, so I added quickly, “It’s Dori. Tor sent me. He’s, uh, coming and asked me to wait for him here.”
“I see,” Dex’s low voice rumbled. “Come in, then. Would you like some tea?”
My core body temperature was below comfortable levels and I nodded. Hot tea would be wonderful. Seeing me shiver, Dex handed me a blanket. I wrapped it tightly around my body before sitting in one of the chairs around the table.
“My nephew must think more highly of you than I first imagined.”
Yay. Hearing Dex say that made me bubble up inside. “Why do you say that?”
“He’s never gone swimming with a human before.”
He’d known we were swimming together. I supposed my wet hair and the damp spots on
“I have. I’ve got my swimming suit on underneath my clothes.”
Tor laughed. “Well, it’s not like you haven’t seen everything already. Let’s go.”
He led me expertly through moon-lit darkness. I trusted him with my every step. We got to the steep crevice that concealed his cove and he helped me down. Instead of making our way up to his cave, like before, we stayed on the rocks.
“Are you sure about this?” he asked.
“I’m more than sure.” I let my sundress fall to my ankles. I was wearing my red one piece. Tor whistled.
“Oh, stop that.”
He laughed and dove in. I watched as he submerged, but he went too deep and many minutes passed before he surfaced.
“What are you waiting for?”
Tingles of excitement shot up my spine and down both my legs. I was about to swim with Tor the merman!
I jumped in and gasped from the cold, but with the way adrenaline was pumping through my veins I soon warmed up. There was enough moonlight reflecting off the water that I could easily make out Tor’s face. His eyes were glinting with amusement.
“Let’s see what you got.”
His tattoos danced in a hypnotizing swirl; I couldn’t take my eyes off of them. Then he splashed me with his tail. With his tail! I swam my hardest and could barely keep up. I felt like I was just learning to swim, a complete novice.
Tor laughed and swam my way. He stopped where I treaded water, turning his back to me. “Climb on.”
I held on tight and laughed out loud with the thrill of having Tor’s body under mine, my arms wrapped securely around his neck. He dipped under water. Tor knew I could hold my breath for several minutes, but I couldn’t actually breathe under water. He stayed close to the surface.
“Show off!” I shouted.
He slowed things down then, almost to a stop and pulled me around so we were holding on to each other face to face. I could feel his scales with my toes, the muscular strength of his tail as I wrapped my legs around his body.
He tilted his head and I leaned in, touching his lips with mine. Ocean water mingled with our kisses.
“Is it possible for a merperson to fall in love with a human?” I whispered in between breaths.
“Yes.”
“It’s happened before?” I was surprised. I really thought those kind of stories were lore.
“It has.”
“Good.”
We kissed and kissed and kissed, like the world would end if we stopped, until the fireworks shot off. Tor and I scanned the sky and it felt like the fireworks were bursting with color just for us. Then he kissed me again.
“You know,” Tor said, his eyes twinkling. “Independence Day fireworks go off in three days, just across the border.”
“We may have to come back,” I said coyly.
“We may.”
CHAPTER ELEVEN
When we got back to the rocks, Tor hoisted me up but stayed behind in the water.
“Wait for me in the cave.”
Though curious about the process of how his tail would shape shift back to legs, I respected his privacy.
Dex had the Coleman lanterns lit so it was easy to find my way in the darkness. I slipped my dress back on before calling out, “Hello?”
Dex appeared in the entrance, his shadow looming like a giant, and I felt momentarily frightened. He probably didn’t take trespassing lightly, so I added quickly, “It’s Dori. Tor sent me. He’s, uh, coming and asked me to wait for him here.”
“I see,” Dex’s low voice rumbled. “Come in, then. Would you like some tea?”
My core body temperature was below comfortable levels and I nodded. Hot tea would be wonderful. Seeing me shiver, Dex handed me a blanket. I wrapped it tightly around my body before sitting in one of the chairs around the table.
“My nephew must think more highly of you than I first imagined.”
Yay. Hearing Dex say that made me bubble up inside. “Why do you say that?”
“He’s never gone swimming with a human before.”
He’d known we were swimming together. I supposed my wet hair and the damp spots on
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