When he spoke his voice was low, but no less deadly sounding. "Get off me."

"Phymos, wait. I can..."

"I said get off me." Teeth gritted now, Phymos lifted her and set her aside as though she were a pesky concubine. But she was more, he thought as he sat up straight on the bed, then stood. She was the woman he loved. The mortal woman he loved.

"Phymos, please..." Dira continued to plead with him, beg him to stop, to listen.

He did stop. When his gaze landed on Euryon, he felt the anger boil just below the surface of his flesh. "You did this. Tricked by my own brother, my twin."

"You wouldn't have looked at her otherwise," Euryon said simply, his tone almost conversational.

"She's mortal!" Phymos all but screamed the words. "We are not to wed a mortal for the consequences will be grave. It is our law."

"A law that many overlook."

"Not I and you know it."

"The others have not faced grave consequences," Euryon reminded him.

"Not yet but the day will come. I will not wed her and you had no right to team up with her, to trick me."

"Then you will live forever without love," he said sadly.

"Better to live without love than to wed a mortal," Phymos spat and stalked out of his own bedchamber.

"He didn't mean that," Euryon said and sat down on the bed beside Dira. "I'm sorry. I didn't expect him to react so violently to the truth."

"Didn't you," Dira lashed out. "You knew he would be angry."

"I did," he admitted with a small nod. "But I also knew that once his heart was yours, once he realized it, he could do nothing more than accept."

"You're saying his heart isn't mine?" she asked and felt her own heart break just a little bit more.

"No. I am saying that he doesn't yet realize how deeply, how completely he has given you his heart."

Dira swiped at a tear that slid down her cheek. "Why did you do it? What made you betray his trust, trick him as you did?" She knew her own reasons for wearing the necklace, because she loved Phymos so deeply, but failed to ask Euryon's motives until now.

"He doesn't understand the beauty, the fulfillment he can find in loving a mortal. I wanted him to see you. It was shown to me by the G.o.ds that you are the woman for him, but he would not have seen it, seen you at all if he'd known from the start that you are mortal." Euryon sighed, looked at a point across the room. "There is more to the necklace than I told you."

Dira's blood turned to ice in her veins. "It made him love me. It controlled his heart, his feelings."

"No. His feelings are true. I promise you this." He looked at her again and she saw the truth of his words in his eyes. "But the necklace, the spell, it can make you eternally immortal. You must only wish it so while wearing the necklace and it will be."

Dira hoped Phymos would come to her, but in the days that pa.s.sed, she realized he would not. When her patience ran thin, she squared her shoulders, prepared herself for a confrontation with an angry king and set to look for him. She searched nearly the entire island of Atlantis before she found him in the one place she thought she should have looked first. He stood on the sh.o.r.e where he first proposed they wed, his gaze focused on the sea. The days had been hard on him, lines etched his features that had not been there before and anger still simmered in his eyes.

Though she practiced what she wanted to say to him, all words left her in the face of such anger. Nerves rocked her and her first thought was to run away, to give up, but she didn't, couldn't so easily give up the man she loved her whole life. There was tenderness in him. She knew that, had seen it, felt it. Beneath all the anger, all the hurt, there was tenderness and love. She had only to bring it to the surface once more.

"You aren't wearing the necklace," Phymos said with only a quick glance at her bare neck before his gaze returned to the sea.

"No." But it was in the pocket of her dress. She would put it on, make the wish, give up her mortality for him.

"I can't stop thinking about you," he admitted in a barely audible whisper.

"I didn't mean to deceive you."

"Liar."

Dira nodded and gulped. "You're right. I did mean to, but not forever. I wanted to tell you, intended to."

"For some reason, I believe that." He looked at her, then turned so that he faced her completely. "Euryon told me of the spell, the wish."

"I will do it," Dira said quickly. "For you, to have you Phymos, I will do anything."

He reached for her, pulled her into his arms. "You already have me."

Hope swelled in her heart. "Do I?"

"The G.o.ds will eventually doom us who break the laws to a fate we do not yet know," he said and the certainty he felt of this rang in his words. "But a fate without you is only another type of doom for me. Throw the necklace away, Dira. Your mortality is as precious for you as my immortality is for me."

Dira pulled the necklace from the pocket of her dress, hesitated only a moment before she threw it as hard and as far as she could into the ocean. "We will face the wrath of the G.o.ds together."

Phymos nodded. "Whatever comes, we will face it together," he agreed and captured her mouth in a kiss.

Vanished Gabriella Bradley It was as if the sea had suddenly developed fingers, no... tentacles. Long strips of foamy water crawled slowly toward Janna. Mesmerized, she gazed at the strange phenomenon. During all her time on the beach, she'd never seen anything like it. Her vacation was almost at an end and all she wanted to do was spend the last few days lazing near the water, listening to the whispering, balmy breeze and the murmur of the waves.

Inhaling deeply from the briny air mixed with the scent of the forest behind her and tropical flowers, Janna leaned back and closed her eyes. It was almost the end of her three week vacation on Dunk Island, off the Queensland coast, once known as c.o.o.nanglebah-the island of Peace and Plenty-she'd chosen it for its name and reputation. Peace-that's what she had needed, craved, and plenty of it. The island had everything she dreamed about, rainforests, beaches, crystal clear water-everything except the man of her dreams.

Angry now that she'd allowed him to creep back into her thoughts, breaking her moment of tranquility, she shook her head and sat up, arms around her knees, once again fascinated with the long foamy fingers creeping along the pearly sand.

Shake that man from your mind, from your heart, she told herself. He's not worth it. But try as she might, Andy's face wouldn't go away, haunted her memories. Right now, stronger than ever, and she had no idea why. She thought she'd washed him from her heart, had come to terms with his sudden disappearance. Apparently not. The closure she sought by going away, hadn't happened. His vanishing act had been too quick, too abrupt, no explanation, no answers to her questions.

The tall, handsome, blond surfer's face and body returned to her mind's visual in full force. It was almost as if she could see his smiling face appear above the waves, his strong arm waving at her. Oh, but that imagination of hers could be vivid. Just like seeing his tall, muscular, bronzed body rising from the sea, walking toward her. Shadowed against the dipping sun, bathed in orangy pink light, he looked like a sea-G.o.d.

She swallowed hard, tried not to look at the erection throbbing against his lean belly, touching his navel. l.u.s.t pooled between her legs, her c.l.i.t throbbed uncontrollably. Janna closed her eyes and spread her legs. Her hand stole to her netherlips, now parted to allow the sun's last rays to stroke them. The privacy of the cabin she'd rented, with its strip of private beach, allowed her to enjoy her vacation in all her naked glory. Never in her life had she felt so uninhibited as she had these last weeks. Feasting her eyes on the vision, she parted both netherlips, opening her woman's parts for him to gaze at.

Drops of liquid emerged from her opening, trickled down the folds, to mix with the sand beneath her bottom. She rubbed the liquid up and down her slit, then spread her legs even more. He had stopped, just stood there watching her, his gazed fixed between her legs. That turned her on even more. Oh, if only he were real, if only that magnificent c.o.c.k of his would enter her. Withdrawing her fingers from her p.u.s.s.y, she lay back and held her arms out.

"Come to me," she whispered softly. "Come to me and take me with you." Expecting the vision to disappear, for reality to return in full force, she closed her eyes. Opening them again, he was still there, but this time he walked toward her. Okay, this is some stranger who happened upon my little private area. A blush heated her cheeks as she quickly closed her legs. But her wanton l.u.s.t didn't go away. Rather, it increased in intensity.

Slowly, step for step, he advanced.

"Who are you?" she asked, her voice a throaty whisper, laced with her desire.

The man didn't say anything.

When he was right in front of her, he stopped to look down at her body, her b.r.e.a.s.t.s, nipples now hard as the small sh.e.l.ls that surrounded her, poking up, throbbing, then his gaze rested on the v between her legs, to finally travel to her face. His eyes reflected the color of the ocean, right now painted with all the sunset hues. His eyes were turbulent, sad almost, then she saw l.u.s.t reflected in them, pure unadulterated l.u.s.t. He wanted her as much as she wanted him.

Love with a stranger? No b.l.o.o.d.y way. Big, red, warning signs flashed through her mind. Stop! You don't do one night stands, Janna! Danger! Something crept up her leg. Thinking it was a mosquito, she sat up and swiped at it, but it was the sea-the fingers that had fascinated her earlier now crept up her legs, covering them with foam. The foam reached her p.u.s.s.y, pooled there, bubbled as it touched her heated flesh. "Andy?" she said softly. "Andy, come to me? I don't care if you're a dream, a figment of my imagination-come to me?" Her wounded heart suddenly didn't ache so much, as if the appearance of this look-like-Andy man had rubbed balm on the festering wound.

He spoke then. "Janna, my heart, I have come for you."

This was Andy's spirit. He was dead, and now his ghost was trying to get her to commit suicide. "I'm not ready to die," she said, her voice tremulous.

"Not die. I've come to you in your dreams, tried to tell you where I'd gone, why I had to leave you. But you never remembered your dreams, all you remembered was the pain I caused you. This is the first time you've opened yourself to me."

"Oh, but you're a glib one. Who are you? Who told you about my broken relationship?"

"My heart, my pearl from the sea, you see me, you hear me. Is your heart so blind you don't know your true love? Your soul-mate?"

"You're dead. You're trying to make me end my life."

"Baby, I'm far from dead. I'm here in the flesh, and I'll prove it to you."

Fear clouded her mind, entered her heart. What was he going to do? Even if she was turned on like h.e.l.l, this was too weird, too out-of-this-world strange. No matter how much she wanted to, she couldn't just give herself to a stranger in order to satisfy the l.u.s.t that raged through her.

"No stranger."

"See, you are a ghost. Only a ghost could read my mind. I'll play along. What happened to you, Andy? If you're really dead, how did you die?"

"Baby, I'm not dead. I can only spend so much time on dry land and then I have to go back."

"You're talking in riddles." The tide coming in lapped softly around her bottom, her feet, against her p.u.s.s.y. She felt it enter her waiting opening, still yearning to be filled by him.

"Trust me. Come with me and you'll know everything."

His eyes were hypnotizing. The sun now bathed the sea in a vivid orange and red, reflecting in his eyes, turning them into dark red pools. She felt herself drowning in those pools, her body a mind of its own as she stood up in front of him. Her head barely reached his nipples. She took a step back. Then another.

"Don't reject me, my love. When I heard the call of your heart I could finally come to you-we can be together again. For eternity this time."

"That's what you promised me many a time," she said, tears now stinging, finally overflowing and trickling down her hot cheeks.

"Touch me," he told her. "Merge with me."

"I told you I'm not ready to die. You broke my heart, but you haven't broken my spirit. I have a lifetime of living ahead of me."

"And we can live it together, as one. All you have to do is let go of your fear. Touch me."

His gaze bore into hers, dissipating her pangs of fear, dissolving her arguments. She loved him so much, she'd do anything for him, whether in life or death. Hesitantly, she reached out, touched his chest. He's real. Dammit, his skin feels warm. She'd expected her hand to go right through him, but if she stepped forward, she'd step right into his waiting arms. All misgivings gone, she didn't wait another second and almost threw herself into his arms. "Andy, oh, Andy, it's really you!"

"It is, my love. It's really me. Look at me," he said, and grabbing a handful of her long blonde hair, gently pulled her head back so she looked up into his beloved face.

Janna's heart thundered as his face bent toward her, his lips touched hers. She parted her lips, felt his tongue enter and gently probe. Oh, the familiar taste of him, his briny scent that in the past, had always reminded her of the sea. It surrounded her now, entered her nostrils and caused her mind to swim. "And now we enter my world, my darling," he whispered against her lips.

Scooped into his arms, she leaned her head against his shoulder. He walked into the ocean until water covered them. She expected to gag, water to enter her nostrils, her mouth, to gasp for oxygen-but it didn't happen. Much to her surprise, she could breathe under water. Tiny bubbles emerged from her nose and mouth as she gazed up at the man who had taken her to eternity.

"Not eternity, my sea-pearl."

"Where then?"

"Watch and wait, and you'll see."

Just to lie there in his arms was heavenly. If this was what eternity was about, she had no regrets about her decision to go with him, to touch him. But hadn't he said this wasn't eternity? A wild dream. Hallucinations, caused by the tall, tropical, alcoholic, drink she'd sipped on the beach prior to just lazing on the sand.

It wasn't too long before huge bubbles disturbed the water surrounding them. She had no idea how far he'd walked into the water with her. Gently, he set her on her feet. Gazing around, she marveled at the undersea world, dimly lit up by the red sun up above. It was almost eerie. Tall, strange underwater plants swayed gracefully back and forth. Small, colorful fish darted around them. Huge, underwater flowers took her breath away.

The dull light slowly faded. The darkness under the water was scary now that she couldn't see anything, but his arms crept around her, pulled her tightly against his side, and she felt safe. Just as she'd always felt safe in his arms, in his presence.

Strange sounds entered her ears-the sounds of an underwater world. Gurgling, bubbling, other noises she couldn't identify. A bright light suddenly lit up the world around her, blinding her. Automatically, she covered her eyes for a moment with her arm. Then as she lowered her arm and could see better, they were bathed in a ring of very bright light. About twenty feet away, she saw a craft, about fifty feet in length. It almost resembled a dolphin, but looking at the propellers, the bubbles they generated, the small windows dotted along its graceful lines, the large windows on the nose, she knew it was some kind of underwater ship.

"Not an underwater ship exactly," Andy told her. "It's a s.p.a.ce craft."

"A s.p.a.ceship?" her words sounded strange, bubbly, as if she had a mouth full of water. Then again, she did.

"Yes. It's the Zoriac, my brother's ship."

"You never told me you had a brother." Fascinated by the bubbles coming from her nose and mouth, she waved her hand through them. Tepid water trickled through her fingers as she moved her hand. She held it up, gazed at it for a moment. It was her hand and it looked normal. Except for the fact that she was breathing under water, her strange surroundings, she felt completely like herself.

"There were a lot of things I couldn't tell you, not until the time was right," Andy said. He pulled her tighter against his body, his hand grasping her waist, and pulled her along toward the ship. Urging her to swim with him, they dove beneath the craft to a round opening. He pulled her upward, into the opening.

She heard a sound beneath her. Glancing down, she saw a round disc closing off the entrance. They were in darkness. Still, she didn't feel afraid, not as long as she was within the safety of his arms, his lean, hard body so very close to her own, so close, she could feel his c.o.c.k against her belly, her b.r.e.a.s.t.s pressing hard against his chest.

The water disappeared, the soles of her feet touched metal. Slowly, a hatch opened above them, lighting up the interior. Breathing in normal air now, Janna blinked for a moment, the suddenness of going from feeling weightless to normal, quite a contrast.

"Up you go," Andy said as a ladder descended.

Janna saw figures up above her. Ordinary people. Humans, just like her and Andy. Humans? Andy wasn't human. He was a spirit, or some creature from s.p.a.ce. But they looked human. And...they were dressed in tight, figure hugging spandex suits that left little to the imagination. Andy's brother was as handsome as he, although darker of hair and he had green eyes. One sister was blonde, the other sister was also dark. Mortified at her nakedness as she climbed out of the hatch and stood on a solid, metal floor, she tried to cover her b.r.e.a.s.t.s and private area with her arm and hand.

Andy joined her quite fast and pulled her against him. "Don't worry, my sweet. We're not bashful here."

"But I am in front of strangers!"

"Janna, meet my brother, my two sisters, and the captain."

"And they have names?"

"Yes, they do. The tall woman is Zanipa, my other sister is called Kaliwa, and my brother's name is Jogopar."

Jogopar and his sisters smiled. "Welcome," he said. "Andy has told us much about you."

"My stars, I'll never remember those names. So, are you all from another planet then? I'm not dead?"

"All in good time. Let us go and shower, get dressed, and have something to eat, and then I'll tell you everything," Andy said, leading her along a narrow pa.s.sage.