Merlicious-2

In space and under the sea, merfolk exist. Enjoy these tales of fin,
fun and fantastic adventures in life and love.

China Blue Eyes, June E. Bradley
Lorelei is welcomed to the undersea community of Seacrest, but conflicts and learning
to survive in the turbulent environment interferes with her mermaid transformation.

 Dreams of the Deep, Liz Isola
When a mer-sculpter and her neighbor express interest in her, Dolly wonders if they
can deal with her real reason for being in a wheelchair.

Seduction of the Siren, Cara North
When the object of her seduction can't hear the siren’s song, and normal communications fail, there's only one way to get the point across!

The Young and The Restless, Alexis Ke
Washed up on the beach and accused of murder, Zion must convince policewoman
Tatyana he’s not what she think he is; or is he?

Freedom’s Quest, Monique Lamont
Lialani is locked in an aquatic theme park, weeks away from becoming the main attraction, with resident marine biologist Kyle her
only hope of freedom.

Marine Biology, Diane Merlin
Isabo rescues a merchild. Staal is determined to do anything to get his niece back. Will sex be his
downfall with Isabo, or their salvation?

EXCERPTS

China Blue Eyes
by
June E. Bradley

South China Sea – 1857

 Alone on the beach, Lorelei walked toward the foaming surf and rolling waves. Palm trees swayed lazily along the white sandy shore. Waves lapped in slow motion at the pristine sand before returning to the sea. Trees and volcanic seamounts dotted the landscape. Sand dunes lined the beach where white crystal sand reached an aquamarine sea, beckoning her to explore its wondrous depths.

She stepped into the water and walked until submerged. She was surprised when she realized she didn’t need air to breathe. Alarm raced through her as the sea current pulled her deeper. She forced herself to relax, and a peaceful feeling seeped through her body. Finding a level area, she stretched her arms and looked about.

The land under the sea was similar to her home above water. There was a cultivated area in front of her filled with lush green plants and what appeared to be trees growing underwater. She thought this to be strange, but it didn’t frighten her. Everywhere, there were well-attended gardens. The fragrant, somewhat salty, scent of flowers and plants was, although strange, very pleasant. Their leaves and blossoms beckoned her to explore. Red, white, purple, blue and gold flowers peeked out from their green foliage. She had never seen such strange blossoms. They invited her to enjoy their exotic forms and to enter a path leading to fountains and lawns of green sea grass that hinted of a quiet and peaceful place. There was not another person to be seen in this peculiar setting. The only other life around her was some exotic fish lazily swimming about.

She hoped John, her husband, wouldn’t worry about her. When he went to sea for months at a time, she worried something would happen to prevent his return to her. This time she was the one who was away.

She had no memory of how she came to be in this beautiful sea world. At the end of the path, she found an old open gate. Hung on it was a jagged wood plank with antique lettering carved into it. She deciphered the archaic writing to read ‘Vel Com Ye To Zeakreast.’ “Welcome to Seacrest!” she exclaimed. Lorelei remembered the legend of the mystical world of Seacrest. She recalled from when she was a child her grandmother entertaining her for hours with tales of Seacrest, the land of mermaids, mermen and other weird sea creatures.

The excitement of her discovery was tempered when she realized she was in a very unusual site on the seabed. Instead of being cold and murky, the sun shone through the water. The calmness of the water revealed clear blue skies. She could even see puffy white clouds moving across the blanket of blue above.

The gates she entered swung closed behind her. Lorelei made her way down a path and stopped when she saw a handsome merman and a gorgeous mermaid swimming toward her.

They were smiling as they waved a friendly greeting. She thought she heard them say, “Welcome, Lorelei. We have been waiting for you.”

They were close enough for her to notice they didn’t move their lips. Lorelei thought, “How come?”

The merman answered, “Sound does not transmit too well underwater. It has a very short range and becomes garbled by distance. So we merfolk developed a thought-talk that enables us to communicate underwater. It allows us to talk to any semi-intelligent creature in our waters.”

The merman was every girl’s dream. Tall and muscular with dark golden skin and wavy blonde hair tied with a leather band that hung below his shoulders. His eyes sparkled like emeralds.

They made a handsome couple. Those were the only words she could use to describe them. The mermaid was beautiful and self-assured. She was shorter than her mate and was the most alluring woman Lorelei had ever met.

“I am Gemma, Princess of the Mermaids. This is my mate Lars. Welcome to Seacrest, Lorelei. We hope you will enjoy it here.”

“What is this place?” Lorelei was nervous and not sure what she was doing there.

“It is a way-station. A place for people who are sick and can’t return to Earthland, which is what we call the air world above the sea.”

“Am I dead?” Lorelei asked, frightened and unsure.

“No, just very ill,” Gemma replied.

“You can’t be serious?” She couldn’t think straight enough to ask more questions.

“For now, this is where you’ll live,” the golden haired Gemma told her.

“I don’t want to live here. I want to go home,” Lorelei complained.

Dreams of the Deep
by Liz Isola

      Dolly swam with slow strokes toward Lookout Rock, a great monolith that appeared to have been dropped on the beachby a giant’s careless hand. Just now, the tidal flow reached halfway up Lookout Rock as she began her transit of its perimeter.

The sun was full strength, unusual on this customarily foggy stretch of coastline. Dolly stretched on the waves and let her body rise and fall with the movement of the water. Sun glinted on each ripple as she gently stroked to orient herself with the lip of the rock. Droplets of water along her arms sparkled as jewels offered by the sea itself.

She pulled herself onto the rock, using the power in her arms. She rested on a dry, warm ledge to catch her breath, sitting still in the sun. Her favorite place to play as a small child, she and her father had come here for holidays. It was still her top choice of locations to sit quietly and watch for dolphins and seals at the ocean’s edge. After a few moments, she sat up straight and glanced around.

On the short span of beach remaining as the tide rose stretched the body of a man. Curious, Dolly hitched her body over the rock verge. Very quietly, she shifted a little closer, hoping to see but not be seen. He looked asleep.

His head was tilted just enough that she could see most of his facial features. She gasped. He was the most beautiful thing she had ever seen. Even though his eyes were closed, she was certain they would turn out to be blue, the greenish blue of the ocean on a sunny day such as this. His golden flesh and pale wavy hair only added to the whimsical sense of fantasy that overwhelmed her.

Who was he? A Viking king cast from his ship during a great storm at sea? Poseidon, ruler of the waves, come to life in this somewhat desolate spot? Of course, she assured herself, he was neither. Somehow, the idea of a Viking king or a sea god clad in modern swimming trunks asleep on the sands beside Lookout Rock, was more than even she of the vivid imagination could accept. He was long and lean, the bare flesh of his back and legs golden in the sun. Even asleep, he impressed her as powerful as well as beautiful.

For her entire lifetime, she considered this beach as almost exclusively hers, a section most often bathed in fog and difficult of access. It lay at the end of a long dirt track not well enough formed to be called a road, and few people ventured there. She rested on her stomach with her head on her propped-up hands and watched him sleep.

Suddenly, the man put his hands on either side of him and shoved his body into a push-up then repeated the movement two or three times. Startled by the sudden movement and afraid he might turn and detect her presence, Dolly held very still and waited to see what he would do next.

He lowered his body to the sand again and turned slowly onto his back. A deep sigh came from his lips. He leapt to his feet and looked up and down the beach to reorient himself after his nap in the sun. He squinted as he searched the horizon. Then, without even glancing her way, he walked into the ocean and began to swim with powerful strokes toward the semi-road where her mother waited for her in the family Jeep. She hoped he wouldn’t spy her.

He passed the opening without a glance and continued to swim hard and fast away from her. When she could no longer see the wonderful man, she slid off Lookout Rock and swam to rejoin her mother. As always, her mother had her wheelchair ready and maneuvered her daughter across the harder sand and into the front seat of the vehicle. Dolly didn’t mention the man. He may have been a dream, after all, as she often dozed on the great rock.

Seduction of the Siren
by
Cara North

  Chapter One

      “What a fine day for killing.” Morgan smiled as she swam out to her favorite spot, the remote rock she had been coming to since she was born where only a few surrounding islands were in view. As she pulled up to rest on the rock and enjoy the sun, she looked around and took in the great water.

The sapphire blue waves turned aquamarine and lighter shades of blue in patches. In the distance, she could see a recreation vehicle that carried two men.

She could sense them, smell their beer and hear their laughter on the air if she tuned her senses just right. She stretched her body along the rock and let her fin sway in the water. Her nipples beaded and stretched to greet the warm sun that stroked them with welcoming rays. Morgan bit her lower lip. She could easily find pleasure at this place. In the simplicity of the ocean and the sun, two worlds combined on that rock, the world below the water and the world above. Her kind had a choice, but that choice came with a price. One not many were willing to pay.

Many mermaids had lured, loved and left their lovers at the bottom of the ocean. It was the only way to ensure safety for the mermaids and at the same time relieve the never-ending throb inside. The ache deep within that drove them to the surface to find a mate. But every time Morgan kissed a man, she thought of only one.

The one that got away.

From that point on, whoever was in her clutches paid for that mistake with his life.

Her fin flipped and sprayed a bit of water over her naked upper flesh. The cool drops were a relief to her warming skin. Morgan thought about it for a while. Right now, she could call to the boat and have two men please her at once. And they would, if she let them. Then she would have to kill them. However, she sniffed the air one more time, they were so drunk they were liable to drown on their own without any help from her! Yuk!

She sighed. Today she didn’t feel like luring sailors or taking lives. She simply wanted to enjoy the water, the sound of the waves and the smell of the crisp breeze. She inhaled deeply, closing her eyes.

As the scent filled her lungs, Morgan snapped her eyes open and turned to look at the closest island. There she caught sight of the man that had wandered onto the beach. Only one family lived on that island, and they had not been there in years. Not since the accident.

She tuned her senses to the shore again, fully absorbing the man. The tall broad body walked lazily toward the water.

He wore only a towel wrapped around his waist. Once he got closer to the water’s edge and started in, he dropped the towel. Her jaw dropped with it.

Morgan snapped her mouth shut. She had never had such a reaction to a man. It was unheard of. She was a mermaid, for crying out loud. Men reacted to her!

Her thoughts turned more lascivious in nature. She could call to him. Lure him to the sea. Ease her now aching body and then watch him drown. Watch him swallow all of her heartache as he sank to the bottom of the ocean. The bitterness began to rise along with that memory.

Morgan had loved once.

She loved a young man. A boy she had saved when she was but a child herself. It was the touching that did it. She made contact with him out of the water. For those brief moments, she felt human, whole.

“Justin Reed,” he said and then passed out.

The Young and the Restless
A Mermalicious Tail
by
Alexis Ke

Chapter One

      “Did I not tell you to be quiet?” Neptune’s voice vibrated through the lyceum.

Many times before when he’d been this angry, he’d stomped and caused earthquakes that sent tsunamis across the land.

“But—”

“Silence!”

A wave pushed Zion down into a bow.

“You were warned not once, but twice. Why do you defy me?” Neptune’s voice carried sorrow, grief and anger.

Zion opened his mouth, closed it and lowered his head when Neptune raised his trident.

“I will only tell you this once more.” Neptune’s tail waved, and the water parted before him. “We do not belong on the land. It is not that we can’t go there but that it has been done with proportional disasters. Your place is here, among your own people. Do not, and I mean do not, question my authority again. You will not like my wrath.”

Zion lowered his head in seeming submission, turned and swam to the far side of the sea to brood. No one understood him. No one cared about the future. Only Zion had the vision of walking among the land lovers. Only Zion dreamed of finding the secrets his people had hidden from them for so many years. And, by golly, he was going to find them.

“Wrath indeed. How dare that pompous old fool tell me what I can and can’t do?” The words were out of his mouth before he could stop them.

Immediately, his head began to spin. The pressure became almost unbearable. It was like the time he swam to the shore and watched the others as they played on the beach. He’d stayed topside too long and become water hungry. But why was it happening now? He was nowhere near the white sandy beach he longed to walk on. Water surrounded him. The dizziness flooded his sensations, alarming him.

“I must get help.” His words were garbled, even to him. Muffled. His vision went black and his eyes fluttered then closed before he could summon help.

* * * *

“Give him some room!”

“Where’s the oxygen? Is he breathing?”

“Does anyone know CPR?”

Voices floated around his head. Zion tried to turn over and felt a sharp pain shoot through his body. The loud groan that pierced the air came from his throat. His head hurt, and he couldn’t distill the strange sounds wafting in and out of his mind. Sirens? Yes, sirens.

“Give him some room,” a voice said again. “What happened, man?”

Zion forced his eyes open, blinked away the grit and salty water and stared out into the faces of the people pooling around him.

“What happened?” he coughed out. “Where—” He didn’t recognize his own voice. The strange syllables and sounds he understood but didn’t know why. Was it not his native tongue?

“Get these people out of my way.” A woman’s voice rang out over the crowd.

People began to move back, opening a wide berth around Zion as he lay on the beach. “Get something to throw over him—a blanket, anything.”

Zion glanced down at his body. He was nude. He moved his gaze up to the woman who started shouting orders that everyone obeyed without question.

“What’s going on?” His throat hurt. His voice sounded harsh and dry.

“You tell me.” She kneeled down beside him. Her gaze traveled down and back up the length of him. “Anyone ever tell you this is not a nude beach?” She glanced at the lifeguards and laughed. “Shucks, this whole country is no-nudity in public. A shame too.” She glanced back at his body, trailed her gaze up his muscled legs and expertly sculptured hips, stopping briefly at the junction of his thighs and continuing to his face.

The people burst into loud laughter.

“What’s your name?”

Zion stared into her eyes, blinked and shook his head.

“You deaf? I said, what’s your name?” She spoke in a slow and deliberate manner. “I’m Detective Tatyana Selbie.” She glanced over her shoulder toward the lifeguard. “Where did you say you found him?”

 Chapter One

“Child in distress!” The commanding shout crackled through the handheld radio.

Lialani’s body jerked into full alert. Rising with urgency, she lifted the binoculars from her chest to her eyes. Gazing through the twin circles, she searched the aqua shoreline. She turned up the radio and grabbed her rescue can in preparation.

“Station four, Blindman’s Bluff, south southea—”

She didn’t need to hear anything else. She snatched the black optical equipment from around her neck and discarded her t-shirt. Her muscles tensed, and heat seared her veins as the adrenaline shot through her body. She launched herself through the station doorway and raced down the ramp, clutching her gear in hand as she automatically secured the Velcro strap around her wrist.

The first contact of her bare foot hitting the unrelenting hot sand sent a jolt into her calf. Ignoring it, she ran toward the bluff at full speed. Her heart beat in time with her pounding footfalls. She could feel the blazing rays of sun heat up her caramel latte-colored skin as she raced toward the emergency.

“Help my baby. Someone help, my baby,” the distraught mother screamed and waved her arms hysterically from the rocky cliff. “Myy baaaby…” The woman’s voice shrieked in soul-drenching agony as her knees gave way, and she collapsed onto the large jagged rock bed.

Onlookers gathered at the site.

Arms swinging, legs pumping, Lialani advanced on the uneven bluff with determination.

Guard. Serve. Save. She repeated her unit’s creed, focusing her thoughts on the rescue as she skillfully tackled the rocky surface of the San Diego coastline.

Surefooted, she navigated over the slick path until she saw the end in sight. Frantically, she looked over the white-capped surf as it rhythmically crashed into the side of the precipice. She spotted the crown of the small brown-haired child as it slipped below the waves seventy-five yards away. In faith, she dived off the cliff. She released the bright day-glow orange rescue can as she broke through the water’s surface.

An icy chill ran across her skin as her arms and legs sliced through the salty current toward the descending child. No thought to the fact she’d forgotten her goggles, she pushed forward. She anticipated the sting of the water in her eyes, but it never came. Almost too quickly, her eyes adjusted to what the lifeguards in her unit called aqua vision. The child was another sixty yards away, but Lialani could clearly make out her form—a little girl in a pink and yellow bathing suit with a Disney princess on the front.

Lialani’s arms swung over her head as if moving through air. No struggle or force exerted, she was amazed how easily she had become one with her element. Colors became vibrant, and the sea caressed her body like hands of a long-forgotten lover. Her senses came alive. She could feel every strand of hair on her body; they seemed to play with the ocean. Her skin tingled.

Lialani’s ears perked up as unrecognizable sounds called to her. Vigilant in her goal, she pulled her arms along her side and propelled herself toward the midnight depths, a determined attempt to reach the little girl now fifteen yards away. In a missile dive, she forced herself into depths other lifeguards would not subject themselves to without knowledge.

I won’t stop. Lialani’s voice rang out clearly in her mind.

Everything blurred as she increased her speed. Her legs now numb, she could no longer identify each individual kick, but she still pressed on.

For a moment, her lungs burned as if they would burst with the need for oxygen. Bubbles floated by her face as she expelled carbon dioxide from her lungs.

Wanting to scream and cry, Lialani cut through the water. Reaching out her hand, she grasped the brown hair floating free like silk in the water. Wrapping her hands around the strands, she squeezed a thick lock in her palm as she hauled the girl up. Pulling the child into her arms, she swam toward the glare of the sun’s watery reflection.

Isabo Maready scanned the water as she adjusted her mouthpiece. It was a postcard perfect day on the Atlantic Ocean. The noonday sun beat down on the aquamarine water, causing her to squint against the glare. A few gulls soared high overhead. Otherwise, there was nothing in view but water and more water. Just the way she liked it. Barely making a sound, she slipped into the ocean.

Twenty minutes later, she was heading back toward the marker she’d left attached to her boat. Another day had passed and still no sign of the shrimper Wetdream, lost more than a month ago off the coast of Nags Head. Her former lover Ben Ryan had taken his boat out with a three-man crew and never returned. His widow, Eileen, had called and asked her to search for the boat. She told Isabo the insurance wouldn’t pay till there was proof positive the boat was lost, and since there was a baby on the way, she needed the money. Yeah. Just for the baby, my ass. Eileen had always been a money hungry bitch.

Isabo put in for her accumulated month of vacation time, rented a little cottage on the ocean near the town of Whalebone and set out to search for what had become of the boat and her crew. The Coast Guard had provided her with the coordinates of Wetdream at her last contact, and she’d set up a search grid based on that information. But the Atlantic was a big place. Isabo had her work cut out.

Thoughts of Ben left her nostalgic. She let her mind drift back to the last time they were together. Moisture flooded between her legs, and her temperature rose several notches. Ben wasn’t the stuff of locker room legends, but he sure had a talented tongue.

A flash of color caught her attention off to the left. Checking her diver’s watch, she reckoned she had enough air for a quick look. Moments later, she saw the distinctive outrigger of a shrimp boat. Maybe my luck has changed. Closer inspection showed that it was indeed the Wetdream.

Isabo circled around checking for predators prior to entering the vessel. From out of nowhere, sharks began to gather. What in the world is attracting them? Surely there was nothing left of the men who were aboard. Whatever, she didn’t plan to stay around long enough to find out. From the stern, Isabo’s trained eye glimpsed another fish tail. One not belonging to a shark. One that didn’t look familiar even to a marine scientist. Eyeing the sharks, she eased closer, unable to leave her professional curiosity unsatisfied.

Drawing abreast of the netting winch, Isabo saw something that caused her to totally disregard the sharks that were increasing in number and circling closer. The most incredible creature was ensnared by the lines Wetdream had been running from the back of the trawler. If she didn’t know better, she’d swear it was a mermaid. A mermaid, for heaven’s sake. Long flowing hair, human torso, fish tail. Nah. Couldn’t be. She had to get a closer look. As she neared the creature, she could see the blood clouding the water—and calling to the sharks like the dinner bell on a ranch. If she planned to do anything, it had better be soon.

Grasping the iridescent tail, Isabo held it still while she investigated the problem. A large barbed hook was imbedded near the flared end. She absolutely didn’t have time to worry about it now. She had to get the creature away from the beasts eyeing them like a smorgasbord. Sliding the knife she kept strapped to her ankle free of its scabbard, Isabo sliced through the tangled monofilament and pushed hard toward the direction she prayed her boat was anchored. Two slim arms slid around her neck as she swam. Isabo glanced down into the perfect face of a beautiful child. This was one situation she was not prepared to deal with.

As she neared her borrowed Boston Whaler, Isabo had to question what the hell she was doing. She didn’t even know if the little girl—she couldn’t bring herself to think of the child as a mermaid—could breathe air. Guess there was only one way to find out.

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