The Mermaid in the Boathouse

I leaned forward, caught the errant drops with my tongue, followed them higher. Leaning in further, I licked juice off her breast, circled her nipple, felt it tighten and rise, sucked it gently between my lips and heard a soft pop!  as it pulled free. My head rose and my tongue followed the juice up her chest and neck, licked her chin clean.

Her hand touched my cheek, slipped behind my neck, pulled our lips together. I shifted, my hand on her waist, wondering, loving. Our tongues met without shyness now, greeted one another, swept and dove in a dance of happy pleasure and I felt my passion grow before she pushed me back, just a little.

She smiled, green eyes flashing.

"The man has not yet learned of a lady's love." She took a breath, raised her head and Sang.

She Sang of love and lust and of need fulfilled, of hope and hammering pulses, of bodies locked together in the ancient dance of loving men and women. It seemed to echo through my ears, resonate through my whole body, a living thing, a love song deeper, sweeter, more powerful than anything I had ever imagined.

It was about love and I felt it in my soul and mind and heart, but it was also about raw, urgent desire and it set me aflame. Her voice was an invitation, an offering and I wanted her — needed her — with a commanding physical passion that had me gasping.

When she stopped, she sat, her hands crossed in a modest pose.

I found myself overwhelmed by desire. I was hard as an oar, my breath was coming in short gasps, my stomach tight.

She looked down at my lap, smiled knowingly and her hand swept down to grasp me. Loving fingers ran over my pair and she chuckled, almost to herself.

"What?" I asked huskily.

Her giggle became happy laughter.

"It is an ancient song the lady presents to the man she desires, a woman's love song from before the time of the first wave, a song of offering, of asking, of acceptance and of preparation. There is a man's reply, but I don't think you would know it." Her hand ran over my length, slowly, and I hissed softly as it squeezed my crown gently.

"No, lady, the man knows it not. I would endeavour to learn..."

Her laughter filled the island and she squeezed my organ again with a loving smile. "The lady doubts not that the man will find other ways to express his love..."

With that, she pulled on me and drew me towards her, whispering, "...before we enter the waves."

I lowered my lips to hers, reexplored her teeth, her gums, felt the wonder and joy and privilege of her in my arms. I swept my hand over her stomach, caressing flawless skin, moved to cover a breast. I squeezed it gently, pulled at its turgid nipple and smiled at her soft cry.

I broke the kiss, my tongue again drifting over her chin and her throat, then she gasped as it swirled around one orb, then the other, then back to the first. My hand clutched her soft flesh, squeezed gently. Her replying squeeze on my manhood made me lift my lips from her bosom with a gasp; I looked up to see a knowing smile on her lips and green eyes shining with pleasure.

"Mee-shaa."

I bent again to her breasts, let one hand slide to her first row of scales, lower still to her open genital slit, scales pulled well out of the way. My finger explored and Neesa shivered beneath me, her hand pulling my lips down harder on her breast.

My finger circled her clit, rolling it gently through her dew and I felt her hip rise against my hand, heard a series of soft cries. My finger slid lower, delved into the opening, twisted, slid deeper.

Her cries were louder, but she had no words or notes now, just joyous, panting sobs.

I lifted myself up, sought her eyes. In a moment, they opened.

Again, a soft kittenish mew, pleading, "Mee-shaa."

I rose, kissed her gently, then reversed myself, lay with my head towards her tail. Her genital slit was swollen, oozing her juices, infinitely tempting. For once, I didn't wait for her permission, but lowered my lips and tongue to it and my let my nose fill with her intoxicating scent - marine musk, sea salt and shore roses.

A great cry escaped her, then another as my tongue sought out her bud under its small hood, teased and played, then my lips caught it, sucked it into my mouth softly.

She tried to turn, to bring me into her mouth. I shifted and felt a wondrous warmth, with soft lips, sharp, careful teeth and her agile, knowing tongue crying their love.

Her hand pumped the skin of my shaft, pushing me closer and closer to my own release.

I sucked more firmly on her pearl and felt her pull more of me between her lips, felt the fire rise as her tongue lashed at me from underneath.

I inserted two fingers into her depths, twisted and her cries became a hoarse scream of infinite passion. Her body shook, twitched and shivered in her joy and I clutched her to me in a loving embrace.

I turned, lay beside her. The day would be long; I could wait.

In a minute, she pulled herself beside me, rested her head on my shoulder.

"Mee-shaa," she whispered again, barely audible. I stroked her hair with my hand while soft fingers slipped up and down my length. She turned her head to look at me, green eyes soft now, a softness I'd never seen before.

" ♪ " The man will allow the lady a moment? Please?

"The man has all the time in the world."

She laughed at that. I happily watched her breasts as they rose and fell, then she found new energy, lifted herself on an elbow to look at me.

"The man is a caring, wonderful lover and the lady is both pleased and amazed. Will the man permit the lady to teach him the ways of the Sea People?"

To that, I could only smile and nod. A moment later, warm water rolling over stiff manhood and taut balls, I was in the water beside her.

Wading out, I felt the sandbar beneath my feet drop away and pulled against her hand.

"What is it?" she said, turning to me.

"Dear love, I am not a bad swimmer..."

She cut me off.

"No, Misha, for a mere human ..." and she giggled, "you indeed swim well indeed."

She pulled me in for a loving kiss, her arms around me. Her voice was only loud enough to be heard over the waves, her hand holding my sex.

"The man will remember that the lady trusted him, consented to be carried on land..."

"The man remembers, love."

"Then will the man now trust the lady in return, accept her promise to bear him up on the loving seas?"

Her eyes filled my world.

Without waiting for me to reply, holding my hand, she pulled me away from the beach, beyond my depth. Hand in hand, we swam through the low rolling waters, stopped far out in the still waters of the bay.

Treading water, I kissed her, ran my hands over her bosom, saw her smile, but when I tried to clutch her to me, I felt myself sinking.

Again, she laughed. I felt a firm hand grasp the root of my stiff manhood, pull me to her entrance. Her hands circled my buttocks, pulled me forward again. I sighed as I sank into her blissful warmth.

Her hands held me firmly against her. Below me, I could feel the water flow and surge against my legs and balls as her tail swept back and forth, effortlessly holding our heads above water.

"You see, oh love?" she smiled.

I shuddered as her strong muscles rippled, sending rings of pleasure running up and down my shaft, over and over.

I took her head in my hands, ground my lips into hers, felt her tongue probe deep between my lips as we swayed gently on the swells. Again, she squeezed inside and I felt my world almost collapse.

My hands found her breasts, took her protruding nipples between my fingers. Her body shivered as I squeezed her soft orbs, pulling her buds away at the same time and she ground her lips harder into mine.

I pulled away slightly, felt her strong arms pull my length back into her. Her mouth fell away with a small cry. I pulled away again, was again pulled back. Again and again, heads and shoulders under the bluest sky I had ever seen.

I felt her begin to shiver, shudder, then shake. Her lips pulled away and she Sang.

The glory of it took my mind, the warmth, the power and the insistent, demanding passion and I could no longer hold back, no longer wanted to. Her sex clamped down on my manhood, holding me in place as I emptied into her.

For just one fleeting, golden instant, I thought I could feel her very mind holding mine, pure and exultant in our mutual pleasure. Then her Song stopped, her head fell to my shoulder and, slowly, very slowly, her arms about me, the lady began to move her and her lover back to shore.

+

An unmeasured space later, her head on my shoulder, knowing our time together now was to be measured in short hours, we watched firstmoon rise and sink, held each other as secondmoon drifted its way to above the horizon.

When it was time, I spoke, the only possible question soft between us.

"Will the lady respond if the man sings?" I asked.

She turned in my arms, lifted her face and kissed me gently.

"The lady will be pleased to respond when  the man sings."

+

I had talked of scuttling the boat offshore at night, swimming ashore, quietly informing the Councillors that I'd tamely handed Neesa to the slavers, then fleeing to find her. Together we would seek a place of peace for us. Instead, her words of courage in my ears, I waited for bright, mid-morning sunshine to bring the craft neatly alongside the dock.

The place seemed less busy than normal, but familiar faces called greetings, solid hands caught my thrown mooring lines and made her fast as I lowered her sail.

"Where is everybody?" I called.

"Council meeting," somebody answered. "That tax thing."

Good. The town would be full and the Councillors all at hand.

I hauled the bound slaver up by his collar and tossed him bodily onto the dock at the feet of two burly fishermen, followed by his sin-filled duffle. It gave a muffled clank when it landed.

"Tomas, Petras, don't let him get away."

They looked at me curiously.

"Piracy," I said. That word they understood and it would do for now. Calloused hands closed on his biceps and hauled him to his feet as I came ashore. One of them picked up the duffle.

I found myself whistling as I dragged him down the dock towards the crowded town square.

+

"Tha's it!" he grinned, veins throbbing in his nose. "Tha's it, exactly! You stopped it before it started! Whistlin' all the way to the riot!" He sat back in his chair with a thump.

He wasn't wrong. Mouths had set suddenly at thought of the Sea People's fury when they inevitably learned of Neesa's sale to an off-world zoo; faces had grown pale at memories of merciless ambushes, of boats sinking as they left harbour, of thin, crying children, of empty chairs at family tables. Thoughts of war past and of war possible.

Thoughts of a Council willing to risk relighting that horror by selling one of the People like an animal.

His fist banged on the table, rattling glasses and drawing eyes from all corners of the room.

"Tha's it! You got them damn fools tarred, feathered an' chased off the island! An', at the same time, she were calming down her kin, pointin' out that it was a human who'd saved her."

He burped a yeasty laugh. "An' a good job, too!"

He grinned sloppily, leaned across the table towards me, leering.

"So, tell me, how is yer little fishie these days, anyway?"

I noticed the bartender quickly reach under the bar, his gaze scanning the too-silent room, waiting to see where it would start.

Sobering suddenly, his face dropped to his lap.

"Sorry," he whispered. "Was the beer talkin'; I din't mean no disrespect."

He thought for a moment, remembered his manners, tried to phrase his next words as if his life depended on them.

In this place, right then, perhaps it did.

"Um, how swims the Lady Neesa?" he whispered.

I could feel the tension in the room ease somewhat.

"The lady swims well."

He remembered the next formal phrase, spoke carefully.

"May her seas be ever calm."

Those words bought him, if not forgiveness, then at least a tomorrow and a dozen blades eased softly back into their sheaths. He rose and stumbled out the door.

I closed my eyes, smiled and listened to her Song again begin to soar in my heart.