Ariel saw the rose then, nearly hidden under the woman"s white collar. She felt mildly dizzy as the possibilities sank in.
Laveena"s voice was as smooth as surf on a long, tropical beach. "It will be a pleasure to watch you hunt. I finished my first early just so I could watch."
Great, Ariel thought. Like I need that pressure. She would have to be careful Laveena didn"t see that Ariel was enjoying much more than the song.
The woman in white was too appealing to ignore just because Laveena was being, well, Laveena. She was talking to a woman in hot pink and body language said it might turn serious.
Ariel crossed the dance floor, hardly aware that a path was clearing for her. The ends of her hair brushed the backs of her bare thighs and she was lost in a vision of her red hair falling over the tall woman"s pale, nude body.
The woman in hot pink noticed her first and tried to turn the white-clad woman away, but Ariel neatly insinuated herself between the two. She gazed up at the tall woman, liking the intriguing eyes, green as an autumn ocean. "Care to dance?"
"Excuse me, but we were having a conversation," the woman in pink objected.
A scene would be tedious. Ariel used a hint of mer voice as she suggested, "Another will suit you much better."
The woman blinked several times and then shrugged. "You may be right." She walked away without a backward glance. Ariel watched Laveena fall into step behind the woman, with a backward leer at Ariel. Good, Ariel thought. Now she"s occupied.
The green eyes warmed when Ariel looked again. "I would love to dance, if you would like."
"I would like," Ariel murmured. She let the delicious woman pull her into her arms.
They fit. That was immediately apparent. The other woman"s thigh eased between Ariel"s, and their dance quickly became a suggestive prelude. Ariel let her tides begin their flow. There was no reason to hold back now. Her mer hair was quickly soaked.
"I"m Ariel."
"Erica," the woman replied. She tightened her hands on Ariel"s waist, which only increased the pressure on Ariel"s crotch. "What brought you here tonight?"
Ariel slipped her hands under the woman"s tuxedo jacket. Erica"s body was hot, female, and producing an increasing level of heady pheromones. "Pa.s.sion," Ariel finally said.
"A very good reason." Erica stooped gracefully to bring her lips close to Ariel"s ear. "I happen to be here for the same reason. And I think I"ve found it."
A moan of pure mer voice escaped Ariel as Erica"s thigh lifted her nearly off her feet. The pressure was exquisite. "I think so, too," she managed.
They moved together for a few moments before Erica silkily asked, "Do you mind if I do the leading?"
Without a trace of humor, Ariel answered, "I prefer that." She saw Erica"s eyes flood with an awareness of the power Ariel was yielding to her, and could see that Erica was deeply pleased.
Trembling, Ariel lifted her face for a kiss.
Erica studied Ariel"s face. "Let"s wait a minute for that."
Ariel arched an eyebrow, then heard the rising chant.
Twenty-nine, twenty-eight...
Amused and aroused by Erica"s restraint, Ariel nipped the line of Erica"s jaw with her teeth. "I can wait, but I"m not patient."
Seventeen, sixteen...
The sound Erica made was nearly a growl. "You want to be kissed early?"
"Early and often."
"What about made love to?"
"At least once a night." Ariel nibbled the other side of Erica"s jaw. Erica thrust her thigh upward and Ariel was lifted to the tips of her toes. She made a noise of pure need that the queen"s blood ought not, but she didn"t care. It had been too long and she was now too close. Erica was intoxicating, wonderfully so.
"Just once a night?"
Five, four, three...
Ariel groaned out, "The rest of the night I like to f.u.c.k."
Erica gasped as if Ariel had struck her, and her mouth hungrily claimed Ariel"s.
Happy New Year!
Erica was kissing Ariel like she meant it, like she wanted to finish Ariel right then. Erica"s chemistry mingled with her own to create a heady mixture that Ariel could feel soaking into her skin, her blood. If she felt it, then Erica must as well. Her rationality slipped, and she knew she ought to worry, but it felt so good to be held by a human woman. So good to be kissed like this. The kisses were a promise they would both sing before the night was over.
Ariel rocked against Erica, ignoring the rhythm of the slow tune that humans played at midnight. Her own rhythm was rising. With a shudder she realized Erica"s hand had slipped between them, and it was Erica"s fingers that were rubbing against the thin fabric that covered Ariel"s flowing wet. It felt so good that Ariel let herself go with the sensation. She hadn"t even really used mer voice yet and they were both so hot. Their chemistry was a balance between giving and taking... a perfect blend. She thrust herself against Erica"s fingers, thrilling as Erica put her arm firmly around her waist to hold her still and close.
With a disbelieving shock, Ariel realized she was close to peaking. Erica"s chemistry blended with hers until they created something completely new to Ariel. She"d remember this night. She would sing for Erica and Erica would sing for her. It shouldn"t feel so good, but it did.
"Is this what you came here for?" Erica twisted her hand and Ariel cried out as fingers sank into her swollen opening. Through a daze of heat she saw Primia"s dark body pinned between two rose-pinned playmates. She cried out again.
The room spun and Ariel realized she was being carried through the door to the back. Just before she lost sight of the dance floor she saw Laveena"s sharply observant eyes and her feral, pleased smile.
Erica"s tuxedo gleamed softly in the dim light. The sounds of s.e.x and fulfillment pulsated in Ariel"s ears as Erica pinned her to a wall.
"This is what you came here for, isn"t it?"
"Yes," Ariel breathed. "Yes." Human women could reach her this way. She could just feel her body and not worry that she shouldn"t scream her needs. She could no longer smell the rose on Erica"s collar and wondered, for only that brief moment, if the rose had been a lie. Erica was no stranger to women. What did it matter, Ariel asked herself. If Erica had consequences it was her own risk. The rose allowed Ariel to enjoy herself, completely.
"Yes is my favorite word," Erica said. She kissed Ariel fiercely. "Say it again."
"Yes."
"We"ll make love later."
"Yes."
"We"re going to f.u.c.k now." Erica unb.u.t.toned Ariel"s jacket and breathed out slowly. "Beautiful."
"Please."
"I like please nearly as much as yes," Erica whispered. She cupped Ariel"s b.r.e.a.s.t.s and teased the hard nipples with her thumbs. "Please what?"
Daughters of the queen, Ariel thought dimly, didn"t beg. Her voice sounded weak compared to the pounding of her heart. "Please f.u.c.k me."
"Spread your legs for me," Erica ordered.
"Yes," Ariel moaned. The word was becoming a prayer.
They groaned together as Erica yanked her panties to one side. Ariel felt naked and exposed in ways she never did with other mer. Erica was in her head, like she knew Ariel inside and out. It had been centuries, if ever, since a lover had held her this way.
"Yes, this is why you"re here, for this." Erica sank two fingers inside Ariel, who stiffened and nearly lost her footing. Then she didn"t have to worry. Erica was strong enough to hold her against the wall.
"Yes, please." Ariel felt the tingle of her mer voice. It would bring them into even closer intimacy, so she let it flare. "Erica, love me."
Erica"s body jerked in response. "I"m going to, you"re beautiful. You feel so good to me."
"Love me."
Erica lowered her mouth to Ariel"s b.r.e.a.s.t.s, capturing her nipples with her teeth, one after the other. Ariel cried out and thrust herself down on Erica"s hand.
"Bound forever by pa.s.sion, sing for me."
Erica groaned. "Yes, help me, I need this as much as you do. To f.u.c.k you and have it turn out good. To f.u.c.k you and feel you come for me. Ariel, please., . please ..."
"Yes."
"Please."
Ariel lost her mer voice in the first wave of peaking. She ground her wet, swollen c.u.n.t on Erica"s palm and cried out sharply, eagerly, as decades of unmet need were finally eased. She contracted hard around Erica"s fingers and felt the powerful swell of her mer voice, rising in a cooing song of pa.s.sionate climax. Her tide peaked with a wave of release, pouring from her filled and loved places onto Erica"s powerful hands.
Erica gave a choking cry. "Yes, Ariel, yes, so good, yes."
"Bound forever by pa.s.sion, Erica. Singing forever."
"Come again, I know you can, pour like that again." Erica pulled Ariel down to the mat on the floor, rolling on top of her. "Ariel, please."
Erica"s mouth was devouring her b.r.e.a.s.t.s, sucking, biting, then claiming her tongue and lips with kisses that made Ariel tighten on the fingers still inside her body.
Erica scrabbled in a nearby basket with her free hand. "I don"t want to hurt you, but I can"t stop f.u.c.king you."
"You don"t need that," Ariel gasped. She closed her eyes and summoned a new tide.
"Oh f.u.c.k, how do you do that? You"re soaked, again..." Erica"s hungry mouth went between Ariel"s legs and Ariel reveled in the hard force of Erica"s tongue on her wet flesh.
Erica was trying to tease her but her hips were moving against Ariel"s shoulder. Ariel found something of her wits though Erica"s tongue made it hard to want to do anything but remain exactly as she was and gush again and again.
She got Erica"s pants unzipped and partially down, enough to smell what she ached to taste. Nothing compared to the silk of a human woman. Erica wanted her, was trying to open her legs for Ariel, but her knees were still trapped.
Ariel managed to get her hand between Erica"s legs and thrilled at the slick waters that waited for her. She wet her fingers in the heat, then withdrew them to taste. Human women could be so sweet, so very sweet. She would have gone back for more but Erica rolled out of the reach of Ariel"s hand.
"This is what we both want." Erica added another finger and Ariel cried out as she realized Erica was pushing her knuckles inside Ariel"s hunger.
"Inside me, yes."
Her body was quivering near another peak as Erica"s tongue circled and licked her throbbing c.l.i.t. She braced herself for Erica"s hand. She had thought it would take all night to get to this point. How could Erica know what to do, what Ariel needed?
"Yes! Please, Erica, sing for me?"
"Inside you, like this." Erica groaned hard as Ariel dug her nails into Erica"s bare hip, and then with a twist of her wrist, her hand was completely enveloped by Ariel"s walls.
Ariel went still, her eyes tightly closed, and let her body feel the pleasure of being so tightly filled that no place inside her wasn"t touched by the pressure of Erica"s hand. She could let her do this to her but it was not the same sensation of wonderful surrender. Her body, at this moment, belonged to Erica. Erica"s to pleasure.
"So good," Erica was crooning. "So wet and gripping me like this. I wanted to do this to you the moment I saw you. I wanted to feel you dancing under me."
Erica gently moved her hand and Ariel let herself respond. Then it wasn"t her choice anymore. Erica started to rock inside her and Ariel surged up to meet her. Soft and tender gave way to hard and primal. Time to f.u.c.k.
She rose again and again to meet Erica. Delicious Erica, so confident and able. Her tides were rising again. She told herself if she bore down any harder she"d break Erica"s hand, but it felt too good.
"Let it out, baby," Erica pleaded. "Let it go again, I know you can. We both want it, let it go."
Ariel"s wrenching cry was all mer voice, all her power and it enveloped both of them in a sapphire glow. "Like this for you, all of me, have me, yours forever now, bound by pa.s.sion forever..."
Erica was breathing hard, her head on Ariel"s thigh. Ariel felt drugged with satisfaction. She had never been so completely possessed by the power of a human woman. She closed her eyes for a moment to push away a flash of bitterness. She wanted more than one night with Erica. To share... more. Why was it considered sick? She would sing of Erica for the rest of her days if their one night continued this way.
She pushed away the thought of another night and focused on this one. Smiling with antic.i.p.ation, Ariel thought Erica deserved a reward. She pushed the pants past Erica"s knees, then scooted underneath her. She heard the wailing sounds of other lovers reaching pleasure points, even the tingle of mer voice as Morova fed.
Time to swim, Ariel thought. She pulled Erica"s hips down and enveloped Erica"s wet, swollen c.l.i.t with her mouth.
Erica cried out, then arched her pelvis so Ariel could reach all of her. Ariel swirled her tongue in Erica"s depths, drinking deeply. All that heat and wet, Ariel thought, all for me.
The taste of s.e.x rolled over her tongue, filled her mouth. Erica moved to her haunches, lifting her dripping center out of reach of Ariel"s tongue. "Want more?"
"Yes, oh yes," Ariel moaned. She arched up and found that sweet, hot flesh again. Erica"s hand cupped the back of Ariel"s neck, holding her where she wanted Ariel most. Ariel realized she had thirsted for years for this, for the surging wet of a lover who gave such pa.s.sion so easily. Mer would never completely let go. s.e.x would overcome lineage and history. But Erica was nearly there.
"Don"t stop," Erica groaned. She gently let go of Ariel, then fell urgently onto her hands. "Don"t stop!"
Ariel had no intention of stopping, not until she felt the full power of Erica"s song breaking over them both.
"Ariel". It was a moment before Caliba"s insistent mer voice broke into Ariel"s concentration. She loved Erica"s tender flesh, such heat and slickness and fire.
"Ariel, stop!"
Caliba was next to her now, trying to pry Ariel"s hand off of Erica"s rocking a.s.s. Ariel could feel Erica tensing up as the intensity began to falter. "What is your problem, Caliba?"
"She"s not wearing a rose!"
"I saw it, under her collar. Go away."
"No, there"s no rose. I checked her out. We all checked her out."
Erica abruptly rolled off of Ariel, bemused and annoyed. "What"s going on?"
Ariel ran her hand over Erica"s jacket. "Nothing, it"s just..." The rose was gone. "It must have fallen off. Though I can"t believe you"re just curious." She inclined her head for another kiss.