Light on the Water Excerpt:

When she opened her eyes again, the sun was much brighter. The lightning was gone, the water like silk. He angled up and slowed, letting their drift carry them out. The bubble disappeared as they broke the surface and she breathed, deep and even. Spinning in his arms, she let him control their balance, hanging from his shoulders. The sky was cloudy, the water warm but choppy.

Looking into his gray face was amazing. There was no doubt he was handsome, sculpted like a roman statue. He had a normal human face in every way. He had eyelashes, and eyebrows, and fluffy black hair that stuck up like otter fur, slightly spiked. His eyes were black, dark enough to hide everything. His touch was so familiar, so right, but his image was utterly alien, something she'd never have been able to imagine even with the help of tequila.

She grinned at him. "Wow."

He solemnly watched her. Then, ever so slowly, as they bobbed on an upswell, he smiled, too. His gaze was gentle... his teeth were a dolphin's. Rows of conical teeth made for capturing, puncturing, tearing. When she blinked at seeing them, his smile disappeared.

She looked up at his eyes, watching her carefully. He saw her, deeply, clearly. His torso swayed powerfully, the lower half of his body, the powerful, thick peduncle, brushing against her feet every so often. She wanted him. All of him. She yearned to possess him. To be possessed by him. Yes. She had no idea what to say. Her brain was seized by his beauty.

So she said that. "You're the most beautiful thing I've ever seen."

His eyes tightened first, then his nose flared, and finally his jaw clenched. His hands had been at his side, idly feathering in the water. They stilled first, then his fluke.

As they sank, his hands went to her waist, then slowly slid around, one to her tailbone, one to her shoulder, until she was wrapped in his strong arms. The bubble slid into place over her face, but since he held her so closely, it enveloped both of them, joining them in a private underwater world.

"You mean that." His voice was normal. Low, manly, nice. A faint lilting accent tinged his words, almost Irish, almost Island.

"I do."

They stared at each other for more long minutes. All she could hear was her breathing. His hands were fiery, burning the imprint of his fingers into her skin. She flexed her fingers into his shoulders. What did it mean to him to hold her so closely, her breasts now buried in the heat of his chest?

She remembered hearing her same ragged breathing in the storm, after the silence descended around her. "You came for me."

"You didn't want to die..."

"You saved me." She was not going to ask why. That had been him, putting the air around her face before he'd even reached her.

"I didn't want you to die."

Her hands softened on his shoulders, slid to the sloping muscle that connected to his neck, explored the hollows there with her thumbs.

Finally, his hands moved idly over her skin. Testing, teasing. The flex of his nails zipped across her skin. Those black eyes stared. Her heart tripped harder, thumping. The merman in her arms wanted her, too.

More Reviews:

Night Owl Romance (Lexile)

"The sense of urgency not just in Sid's need to find Jand again, but in Jand's growing desire to remain with Sid no matter the cost is part of what makes this story work for me. ...the plot was well developed. It was something I could relate to as well. ... Jand rescuing her was a perfect moment in time. ... I've enjoyed Mima's stories in the past and this one served to reinforce that belief once again."