For the Taking by Lilian Darcy Page B

deeply.
    “Yes, oh, yes,” he said.
    No longer able to stay above water, they sank together into depths that were now darkened by the fall of night. Somewhere not too far away, they heard the muffled, chugging sound of a boat’s engine. Most likely it was a local fishing boat heading out from the harbor in hope of a nighttime catch. They had sunk out of sight just in time, and the close brush with discovery should have frightened Lass, only there wasn’t room inside her for thoughts like that right now.
    Her sense of taste was sharper in the sea, almost as acute as a dog’s sense of smell. She’d always known that, but it had never meant much to her before. Now it did. Exploring Loucan with her mouth, she discovered the unique taste of his skin, a blend of exotic flavors that made her think of cinnamon and coconut.
    Although his tail held no particular appeal to her senses, it was a part of him and therefore important.The scales that would have glinted golden-brown in the sunlight felt smooth, and the muscle beneath was firm and supple, a more powerful version of her own mer form.
    Breathing through gills now, neither of them needed air. She could kiss him forever. Nothing else seemed to matter but touch and taste…until suddenly she tasted blood. On land her mouth would never have been this sensitive, but underwater it was. The gash in his heel was now transformed into a wound near the soft, finned tip of his tail, and it was still bleeding into the water.
    The memory of her mother flooded her mind again, more vivid than ever. It brought with it the rising panic she dreaded. When she fought Loucan off and began swimming again, she took him by surprise, but he soon caught up to her. This time, though, he didn’t try to hold her or stop her, just took her hand in his and swam toward the water’s surface. Breaking through into the air, they both began to breathe.
    “Can you see the boat?” she asked him.
    “I don’t care. We’ll dive again if it’s anywhere close.” Loucan kept moving through the water, swimming on his side. The light of the moon showed Lass the determination and certainty in his face. “We haven’t finished with any of this,” he said. “Not your memories, and not what we felt for each other just now.”
    “Where are you taking me?”
    “To my boat, moored in the harbor, where we can be alone and safe, and can talk.”
    At the speed they moved, it didn’t take long to turn into the quiet harbor and reach his boat. It was a sleek, sizable vessel, with a polished wooden deck, a powerful motor, a tall mast for sails, and comfortable cabins below.
    On deck, Loucan poured cold, fresh water over their bodies. Not expecting it, Lass shivered and screamed.
    “Didn’t you know?” he asked. “This will speed up the transformation by several minutes.”
    “I’d never discovered that.”
    “But Cyria didn’t tell you?” He leaned to his side and pulled two thick, dry towels out of a storage hatch built into the deck, and spread them in front of them.
    “No.” Lass stretched herself out on her stomach, with her torso raised on her elbows. “For the first few years we were in Australia, we never went near the sea, and by the time we did, I’d forgotten all but the basic fact of the transformation. Everything I know about it, I’ve found out for myself, by trial and error.”
    She paused, then added, “Mostly error.”
    He laughed, then looked at her more closely. “I keep forgetting how alone you’ve been. Worse, in a way, than Kai and Phoebe, who were raised to fear the sea and didn’t even know they were mer.”
    “No, that would be worse,” she said, shaking her head. “I can’t imagine not having the sea in my life.”
    He kept watching her, and her self-consciousness grew once more. They were both still naked, and her skin was sensitized by the ocean’s caress as well as by his touch. She’d made her need for him so apparent. He seemed to feel the same, but that couldn’t