He stepped towards the sh.o.r.eline. The tingling in his spine had gone, as had Serena. The portal had closed one more.

He turned towards the sea. The yacht was there, thank goodness. The noise from the motor of the dingy drew close. One man waved and Stefan waved back. He waited until Nathan came close enough to climb in. There was no need to stay any longer.

"You ok?" Nathan asked. "Adam said I lost consciousness and you just...vanished."

"I wandered off and slept for a while," he lied.

"You look exhausted."

That was an understatement. He could barely suppress a yawn. "I'm fine, truly."

"So you didn't see anything at all?"

"No."

Nathan turned the dingy seaward. "Maybe we should try further north."

He knew they'd find nothing, but for Nathan's sake, he nodded. "Let's do that."

GOING UNDER.

Viola Grace Ariana Simmons touched up her hair and took a final look at the comfortable cabin that had made her travel to the water covered world of Aht-Lantys bearable. Her gear would be taken to the shuttle while she was at her final examination in medical.

She took a deep breath, then another, as the strange tightness in her chest didn't ease. Since her transformation had begun, she had eased into the gills that were now sprouting on her back and neckline. In a few days they would be fully functioning and she would be able to live and mate under the water.

Fantastic.

Her hands shook as she palmed the door open and headed to the medical bay under guard. Today a Tival crewman was escorting her, carefully keeping a respectful distance from her and watching to make sure that the other crew personnel kept that same distance.

Her body was screaming with the touch of air on her skin. It wanted nothing more than the soothing embrace of water. The pheromones that she had begun to produce were the reasoning behind her escort. The last thing that she needed was an uncontrolled mating when she was so close to her final destination.

The door to medical hissed open and she nodded politely to her escort as she left him to enter the sterile and bland medical bay. Without a comment she hopped up on an exam table and waited.

"How are you doing today, Ariana? Any discomfort?" His burnished silver skin was stretched across his frame, making the top of his head gleam in the artificial light as she looked down at him.

"I am fine, doc. A little problem with the lack of pressure in my quarters, but nothing that a few hours in a tank won't cure." Her hand came to her chest and she tried to take a deep breath as he ran the scanners over her body.

"There won't be any tank today. We are in orbit over Aht-Lantys, and this is just a final check to make sure that your transformation is continuing apace." The readouts were scrolling by and whatever he saw seemed to satisfy him as the lights and numbers flashed.

"I a.s.sumed as much." She reached out with a sigh of relief to the hand that proffered a gla.s.s of water. Without looking at it she slammed it back and smiled as her body grabbed hold of it. It was only as she licked her lips that she tasted the salt on her lips. "A saline ocean?"

"Yes, it covers over seventy-five percent of the surface. We will land your shuttle on one of the small land ma.s.ses that dot the western hemisphere."

"Fantastic. Am I good to go?" She hopped off the table and stood, shifting from foot to foot.

"Yes, your escort will take you to the shuttle bay."

"Thanks, doctor. You have been most helpful." She gave him a quick kiss on the top of his shiny head and moved to the door. It hissed open and she nodded again to her escort, not looking at him and simply following him to the shuttle bay. No other members of the crew were there to see them off when they stopped before the shuttle that would take them to the surface. Her escort took her hand in his gloved one and helped her in.

The configuration was foreign to her. Even after her years in s.p.a.ce, she had never seen anything like this before. It was an organic ship. With hands shaking in antic.i.p.ation she took the co-pilots seat and strapped herself in. Well, the ship itself wrapped around her in a gentle grip, the upper reaches of the seat creeping down over her shoulders and the sides of the seat wrapping around her thighs. She wasn't going anywhere.

"This is snug." She squirmed experimentally and was held fast.

"The kalniv have been wonderful transporters of the Aht-Laynteans for eons. They do so enjoy the short hops to neighbouring worlds." The pilot spoke in a strangely resonant tone. She looked at his face and her eyes widened in surprise.

Solid black eyes looked out of a green and silvery skinned face. His black hair was secured firmly behind his head in a tightly wrapped tail. She had no idea how long it was, but she bet it was longer than her own shoulder-length locks.

The rest of his body was covered by a form-fitting suit that she felt foolish for not seeing earlier. Her thoughts had been on the planet, never imagining that her pilot was one of the locals. "I am so sorry. I was lost in thought. I am Ariana Simmons of the protectorate of Terra." She held her hand out, palm up in Aht-Lantean greeting.

"Javil Ecarn of Aht-Lantys. Pilot, musician and mayor of the city of Linmon. Your betrothed husband." He gripped her hand warmly, his skin causing her palm to tingle, then he turned to the view port.

Wait. What did he say? "Um, did I miss something? You are not my husband."

"You were transformed at my request, brought here at my request and selected by my personal tastes. By Aht-Lantean law, you are my wife." He seemed extremely amused, and yet managed to pilot the kalniv out of the shuttle bay and begin a descent pattern to the planet without a glance at her.

She was terrified now. The whole idea of being sent to marry a man that she didn't know had been a little amorphous until this moment. Her body shook and she felt faint. A cool band crossed her forehead and she sighed at the relief of tension that it brought. "I didn't expect to meet anyone for a few days. Certainly not you."

He chuckled and spared her a flick of his midnight eyes. "You look just like the image that I saw of you a year ago. Your skin is a bit paler though and your eyes are darker."

"It's a side effect of the transformation process. Apparently this is to acclimate me to my new home." She pointed to the darkening whites of her eyes and the expanded pupils. "It has taken me a while to get used to the new color spectrums."

"Yes, I can see where the changes would be disconcerting." He held the steering grips in his hands as the re-entry began to make the organic shuttle shiver and shake. "We are going to head directly to my home in Linmon. There are air-breather quarters for you there until you acclimate."

"Thank you. That is very thoughtful." She lapsed into silence as the grand oceans of the planet below came closer until it was all she could see. She was almost climbing out of her seat as the shuttle entered the waves in a slow dive. The seat held her firmly and she squeezed her eyes shut as the water closed around the transport. She panted in panic.

"It's alright, Ariana. Open your eyes."

His voice still reverberated with an odd cadence, but she squinted through her lids, then opened them in amazement. The light that managed to reach the depths they approached coloured everything with a blue-green glow. Cities glowed in the dimness and she saw a few of the organic shuttles swimming by. And they were definitely swimming. Long flukes unfolded from their sides and propelled them through the water. They swirled and played in the currents and it was at that moment that Ariana realized they were sentient. They were playing together like whales or dolphins back on Earth, and she found it rather comforting.

As she relaxed, the grip her chair had on her loosened and she was able to turn from one side to the other to look out the view ports at the wonders of this underwater world. They were travelling at a phenomenal speed and, as she felt them slow, her body was released completely from her seat restraint. The kalniv was parking itself next to an airlock adjacent to a charming house.

Javil had left his seat and was holding out his hand for her.

Surprising herself, she took it. She held her breath as the door of the shuttle irised open, fearing that water would surround her in an instant. Her fears were groundless as the airlock he led her to was bone dry. The air rushed from her lungs and she thought she saw Javil smile.

His face was serious as he led her through corridors and to a room that opened at his touch. "These are your quarters until you feel ready to join me in the other portion of the house."

"How st.u.r.dy are the seals keeping the water out?"

He was smiling again. "There are four layers of force shields, all kept in separate areas of the house. This area has been dry since my great-great-grandmother came to Aht-Lantys in similar circ.u.mstances to yours."

"Your great-great-grandmother?" This was weird. She had been told that matches for them were rare. Apparently they had a long history of importing women.

"Yes. That is her portrait, over there." He pointed to a picture hanging on the wall of the sitting room. It depicted a woman with a pearled headdress, riding a sea creature. The hues of blue that the artist had used were soothing to Ariana's new sight. Her eyes roamed over it gratefully as it kept her from focussing on her husband standing next to her.

"The creature she is riding is her shenai, its name was Nessy. The transformation process was not as complete then as it is now, her hands and feet lacked the webbing to propel her, so she rode on Nessy to most places and events." He smiled fondly and gave her arm a light squeeze. "She was also from your planet."

That astonished her. "I thought that we were declared a protectorate and that other races couldn't take us."

"We didn't take living humans. We took drowning victims, resuscitated them and had them transformed to become citizens of Aht-Lantys. The Alliance was not happy about it, but they hadn't made any provision for cadavers."

"Eww, gross." She thought about it for a moment, taking in the hairstyle of the woman in the portrait. "You weren't picking up pa.s.sengers from the t.i.tanic were you?"

"Yes. That is what my grandfather told me. It was the vessel that his mother had been on. Her name was Eleanor."

"Nessy..." The animal caught the ambient light and Ariana stifled a giggle. "We have myths about creatures that look like that. Larger though."

"Apparently, that is what she said, which is why she named it Nessy. No one here ever got the joke, but it made her laugh." He looked fondly at the portrait, then led her through the rooms. "This is your bedroom. It matches specifications that were given to us by the Alliance. You can access clothing in that wardrobe and there is the sanitation chamber." He let her explore each item that he showed her, explaining the functions of the unfamiliar fixtures matter-of-factly. "This room has a tank in it to allow you to immerse yourself at your leisure. When you are ready, you need only to walk down the main hallway and enter the water lock. It will fill and you can explore the rest of the house."

"Uh, thanks." She didn't know what else to say. Simply stood quietly and waited for him to leave. It caught her by surprise when he swept her into his arms and into a kiss that scorched her toes and left her breathing heavily.

His eyes were shining as he released her. "There is a supply station in that cupboard. I will see you tomorrow." Javil had a certain strut to his step as he walked down the hall to the water lock. With only a short backward glance, he peeled himself out of the wet-suit and stepped into the tube, completely naked.

Apparently Aht-Lantean males were built more or less like human ones, except for the lack of body hair. There was no pubic hair to distract her from the erection that beckoned to her, and as the water filled the lock, her eyes widened at the enlargement in appearance lent by the liquid. His unrepentant grin caught her by surprise and she was left staring at his departing figure as he swam away through the now open other end of the lock.

"Whew." Her hormones had her heart pounding and her newly forming gills wanted nothing more than to follow him into the rest of the house so that she could find out what the rest of his body felt like. His lips had been sheer heaven.

Ariana shook her head and looked out the window of her new home. The wild beauty of the water and corals that fill the view satisfied a certain longing within her that she didn't know she had. She was home. She could feel it.

Her arms wrapped around her torso and she contemplated her new situation. She had agreed to the biological changes, the new location and the new life. When she volunteered to leave Earth, it had not been hard to go. She had never felt right on Earth. Never felt like she had a place that was hers or people who would be there when she needed them. It had been easy to leave. Here on Aht-Lantys, she finally felt right. Her place was a.s.sured if she and Javil got along. And it looked like that wasn't going to be a problem.

Three days pa.s.sed, Javil visiting each day with a scorching kiss every time he left. It was all she could do to not follow him into the water lock as he disappeared into the blue-green half of his home. He was wearing a style of wrap skirt that left his thighs exposed to her gaze, so she looked at him until her heart tried to escape from her chest with its pounding.

It was after his visit on the third day, her body still screaming at her in frustration, when she stripped off and headed into the tank. She eased her feet into the water, wincing at the cool surrounding her limbs and absorbing into her skin.

As the water crept up to mid-thigh she shook at the wave of sensuality that took her over. The cool caress of the water between her thighs was setting off nerves she didn't know she had. In fact, she thought she remembered the doctor saying something about her reproductive organs re-wiring during one of the arduous treatments.

She relaxed her grip on the edge of the tank and let herself sink to the bottom. It was true. Her every nerve ending was singing with pleasure as the water closed over her head. She kept her mouth firmly closed, holding her breath. The embrace of the salt water was more than she had imagined it could have been and it was only when her vision began to dim that she struggled to return to the surface of the tank.

Only to find it blocked.

Her fingers clawed at the seal that had covered the top of the tank and her chest tensed as it tried to hold in what little air it had. Blood coloured the water in the tank and her eyes wept into the fluid surrounding her.

This was it, she was going to die on an alien world without even leaving her room.

Her body let its final bit of carbon dioxide out of her lungs and she sank slowly to the bottom of the tank once again. She shuddered and waited for the water to rush into her body and kill her, but it didn't happen. Instead she felt an odd pulsing in her back and neck.

She was breathing!

Ariana held perfectly still and simply listened to the new rhythm of her body. Her hands flexed and opened, displaying the webbing that she had grown, her muscles realigned to a relaxed pose in the water. She wanted to swim.

A chime rang within the tank and she watched with eyes wide as an iris opened beneath her to flush her into the room beyond. Her head whirled, her hair swirling in a cloud around her as she took in her new surroundings.

Javil was surprised to see her. What the h.e.l.l are you doing in here?

I fell through the ceiling, or the tank, or my floor. Whatever. Where am I? The mental communication seemed as natural as breathing water. She had been warned about it and had practiced with a few telepaths while still on board the ship.

You are in my study. The tank must have dropped you here. Did it lock on you?

Yeah, how did you know?

It has sensors to determine if your gills are fully functioning, it must have sensed it and forced you to start breathing.

What fun. She floated over to a seat and perched on the edge. I thought I was dying.

He stood and crossed the room to where she was seated in one smooth move. With a twist of his body and a stroke of his webbed hands, there he was. His fingers caressed her cheek as their gazes met. I am glad that you have joined me in my world.

I thought that it was about time. She slowly lifted her arm and smiled at the feel of the heavier water against her skin. Does it always feel like this?

Like what?

His hands traced patterns on her flesh and she remembered that she wasn't dressed. A lover's caress. Arms supporting you, a beat of a world that you can feel in your very bones.

He didn't answer her, simply moved to her and took her mouth with his own. Even the feel of his lips on hers was different in the water. He was so much hotter to the touch surrounded by the cool of the ocean. She lifted her fingers to cup his head as his tongue parted her lips and delved inside.

A moan would not leave her throat, so she let her mental voice gasp with pleasure as his hands trailed over her b.r.e.a.s.t.s and settled heavily on her belly. She was leaning toward him, seeking the contact of his chest to hers with a singular purpose-pulling him into her. I want to wrap myself around you and feel you inside me. The mental whisper sounded like a gunshot in the silence.

With a groan of his own, Javil put his hands under her thighs and pulled her to him.

She felt the heat of his erection against her and shifted for firmer contact. He was wearing another of those short kilts and he swept it up and out of the way, granting her the feeling of heated skin that she had been craving.

It was only when she felt herself drifting and holding on to Javil for stability that she opened her eyes and noted that they were floating upside-down in the study. With an impish grin Ariana reached out to touch the floor and used her thighs to grip him as she sought contact on her c.l.i.t. As her mind shuddered and sighed with her completed quest she thought she heard a chuckle.

It was reinforced when the head of his c.o.c.k rubbed against her and she parted her thighs wide to invite him. With a grunt of satisfaction he drove his hips forward and sheathed his shaft within her. She squeaked and rocked against him as he set a beat, gripping his shoulders to stabilize herself as he moved within her.

They bounced from wall to wall, floor to ceiling and window to door in their pursuit of pleasure. Well, he was pursuing it. She had stumbled across it a few times and had simply held on for dear life as his body sent hers into spasms. He finally cornered her and his body shuddered and groaned as he came, jetting a stream of heat deep within her.

Ariana felt their bodies sliding down the wall, the wall and ceiling making up the corner where he had found his release. His head had bowed to rest his forehead on her shoulder and she smiled. Can we do that again? Astonishment lit his eyes as he drew his head back. Then a howl of laughter rippled in her mind, almost deafening her to the new voice that tripped through her thoughts.

Javil, you are late for lunch. Mom and Dad are waiting.

A woman who bore a startling resemblance to the man still buried to the b.a.l.l.s inside her came through the doorway. Her grace was astonishing and her movements mesmerizing.

Oh. The newcomer froze in place and blinked in surprise.

h.e.l.lo Siven. I forgot that we had an appointment today. He kept his body between his wife and the newcomer, which caused a small trill of pleasure at his consideration. This is...- Your import is going to be p.i.s.sed that you are already fooling around with another woman. Siven was railing at her brother and the noise was giving Ariana a headache.

This is...

I can understand that Pelya wasn't your type. I mean, she was way too clingy and far too interested in the family money. But it is a little cruel of you to have an air-breather upstairs and to be sporting around in your office. Her arms crossed over her chest and she glared at them both. And what do you think you are doing, fooling around with a married man? How tacky is that?

My name is Ariana Simmons. I am recently of the Alliance protectorate of Terra. Now here in Aht-Lantys as the bride of Javil Ecarn. You are his sister? She smiled and tried to be polite, despite the fact that all she was wearing was her lover.

Javil! Why didn't you tell me? h.e.l.ls! Silven muttered, then coloured slightly. I suppose that I should let you get dressed. Call me when you are ready for lunch. She whirled and swam back the way she had come, leaving them alone once again.

I think we need to get you some clothing. He detached himself from her with a sigh. Another time, it won't be over that quickly. He brought her hand to his lips and kissed it gently.

Quickly? She kept her amazed thoughts to herself. He tugged her along by his grip on her hand and, in a matter of moments, they were in his bedroom. A flat platform was obviously his bed, gauzy curtains blowing in the currents were lovely jewel tones and they tried to wrap around her as she pa.s.sed.