When they entered his cabin, she gasped. It looked much like a room belonging in an Arabian harem. Colorful, satin pillows were strewn all over the floor. In the corner was a large bed, but floor level. It, too, was covered in satin sheets and bedding, all a vivid blue. Decorative drapes hung from the walls and tons of pictures of undersea life. One picture was of a large city, a city that could have stood on Earth in ancient times. Janna paused in front of it and studied it. She looked at Andy questioningly.

"Atlantis."

"Atlantis is a myth. A fable, a tale told on and on through the centuries. No one has ever found real proof of its existence."

"The tales are true, although distorted over the years. Now that we're alone, come here. I want to hold you, love you. My darling, I've missed you so much. More than you can imagine." He scooped her into his arms and carried her to the bed.

"I thought we were going to shower first," she whispered against his neck as he lowered her and leaned over her.

"After. First, I want to love you," he whispered against her lips.

When she felt his lips claim hers, his tongue dancing a slow dance inside her mouth, exploring, feeling, probing, twirling around her own tongue, Janna thought she'd really died and gone to heaven. It was still all too hard to take in, but she was going to enjoy every moment of it while it lasted.

He rained kisses on her face, nibbled on the lobe of her ear, then teasingly slow, his lips descended to her breast. She gasped loudly as he took a nipple between his lips and began to suck. His fingers stole down to her throbbing c.l.i.t, tweaked it between forefinger and thumb, then rubbed it slowly in circular movements until she spread her legs wide and arched her hips. Her fingers wound in his long blond locks as he suckled and ma.s.saged her b.r.e.a.s.t.s. Oh, how she had missed his love, how she had missed him, and not only for the heavenly s.e.x they had. They'd been so perfect for each other, so well-matched, as some of her friends and her family told her.

Andy's face stole down to her belly, his tongue lapping her skin, pausing at her belly b.u.t.ton. He circled it for a few moments with his tongue, before he traveled down to her woman's parts. She felt her juices flow, trickle down her crack. He lapped at them, his tongue raking her from front to back and to her c.l.i.t again. Pausing for a moment to look at her, she met his hot gaze, his eyes a deep dark blue, matching the ocean's depths. Then, he licked her aching c.l.i.t, around and around. His finger sought her entrance. In one thrust, he put one finger inside her waiting v.a.g.i.n.a. In and out, slowly, then faster. His lips fastened on her c.l.i.t and began to suck. She bucked against his face, pushed hard. Oh, she needed more, she wanted him-all of him.

His appet.i.te was as fierce as her own hunger for him, but he took it slowly. Janna sensed that he wanted to prolong this moment, to bring it to the fullest. Her arousal was so great, she could hardly breathe. h.e.l.l, breathing under water had been easier. Her heart thundered, her skin felt searing hot.

If their s.e.x had been fantastic in the past, it couldn't surpa.s.s what she was experiencing now. Another finger entered her, and another. She guessed he now had three fingers inside her. His lips continued to torment her c.l.i.t, while his other hand parted her b.u.t.tocks and his fingers circled her rear entrance. Her juices flowed in abundance, and she felt him slick his finger with them before entering her there. For a moment she stiffened. That part of her had never been invaded. But then, as her muscle relaxed and he gained full entry, the sensation was delicious. Both his fingers inside her p.u.s.s.y, and his other finger, moved simultaneously. He nibbled at her c.l.i.t, causing her to yelp.

Then she begged. "Andy, my G.o.ds, take me. I want you," she uttered between gasps. He didn't answer her, but continued his torture of her, increasing her wanton desire all the time, until she thought she'd burst.

Suddenly, he crawled from between her legs and turning his back to her, knelt over her. His lips only left her c.l.i.t for one second. His ma.s.sive c.o.c.k was near her face. She let out a deep sigh as she looked at it. Its mauvish head gazed at her, the lone eye dripping with pre-c.u.m. Softly, she stroked the velvet skin, each throbbing vein, before she licked the pre-c.u.m off the head. Her tongue entered the hole and flicked back and forth while she slowly stroked the skin up and down.

His tongue entered her p.u.s.s.y, deep, deeper, flicked back and forth, while his lips sucked hard, drinking her juices. His fingers teased her c.l.i.t, moved back and forth within her rear entrance. She sucked gently, very gently. She didn't want him to come in her mouth, she wanted him inside her, to be in his arms. Finally, when she thought she couldn't take any more, he climbed off her and lay atop her.

Taking her in his arms, his c.o.c.k found her entrance without guidance. Gazing into her eyes, drawing from the love her soul sent to him, he thrust hard, very hard, and slammed into her. Holding perfectly still for a moment, he continued to gaze into her eyes. "My darling, will you marry me?" he asked.

"I've already said yes once, before you disappeared," she whispered.

"I'm asking you again. Will you marry me?"

"Yes, oh yes." Her voice broke and tears welled in her eyes. He kissed each tear away, licked them off her eyelashes, then as his lips claimed hers and his tongue explored, he started to move within her.

Circling his body with her legs, she clenched her p.u.s.s.y and unclenched, holding him there, trying to stop his release, but she could hardly contain her own. Waves of pleasure ran through her, almost choking her, her heart hammering, until she felt his body shudder. "Yes, Andy, oh yes... give it to me, give it to me hard," she hissed as she drew away from his lips. His mouth crashed down on hers again as he slammed into her one last time, then slowly his strokes slowed. Their combined juices ran down her crack. She felt them soaking the sheet beneath them.

He lay in her arms, holding her, until their hearts calmed down. Then he finally lifted his head and looked down at her again. "I love you so much, my sea-pearl," he said softly.

"And I you, my darling."

"Will you forgive me?"

"It's forgotten."

"Now we'd better go and shower and join my family and the crew. They're waiting for us."

"After missing you for so long, I'd rather be with just you," Janna said with a pout of her lips.

"We have a lifetime ahead of us, my love."

"A lifetime? I'm still not sure if this is all in my imagination, a dream, death, or if it's real."

"It's very real, and soon you'll have the explanation."

Andy handed her a suit. It was bright blue and black. He also handed her a soft towel. She expected to find some hi-tech shower, but it was fairly normal with ordinary fresh water. She wondered how they could store so much water aboard the ship to last them.

When she was finished and she got her damp body into the spandex suit with difficulty, Andy handed her a pair of boots. Janna felt very much a sci-fi figure out of a comic book as she gazed at her reflection in a full-length mirror. A dryer up above dried her hair. She brushed it into shape as it dried, all the while feeling his gaze on her.

Janna was finished, and he kissed her briefly on the lips before leading her out of his cabin, through long corridors that seemed endless, until he opened a door to a dining room. The room was furnished with hi tech furniture, nothing like she'd ever seen. A chair drifted down from the ceiling. She sat on it and faced his siblings and other people-she guessed they were members of the crew. A soft buzzing noise drew her attention. "What is that sound?" she asked Andy.

"We're on our way to my planet," he told her.

"Oh. How long will that take?"

"Not very long. We travel faster than the speed of light. That's why Earth's radar has never detected us."

A crewmember entered carrying a tray of steaming plates.

"Ah, here's dinner," Andy's brother, Jogopar, said. "Janna, what do you think of this adventure?"

"Mind boggling," she answered. "Strangely enough, I'm starving hungry."

They all laughed. "Okay, while we eat, I'd better explain to her. She still thinks she's either dead or dreaming." Everyone fell silent at his words and concentrated on their food.

Janna looked down at her plate-vegetables, fruit, some kind of stew, yet she couldn't detect any meat or fish.

"We don't eat meat or fish. We're what you call on Earth, vegetarians. As a result, we're all very healthy. We die of old age, not from diseases."

"We could learn from that on Earth. Do you think it's mainly the diet?" she asked.

"We don't have the pollution on our planet like on Earth. Our lifestyle is much healthier all the way around. Now let me tell you our story."

Janna ate. Surprisingly, the food was very tasty and she didn't miss the taste of meat or fish at all.

"Many centuries ago, Atlantis was a thriving nation. We were also a very advanced, much more technically advanced than the other nations on Earth. Our scientists found out that we were facing a volcanic eruption and that it would happen fast. They also knew it would be so devastating that none of us would escape the island in time. So they prepared for this coming catastrophe. They built a s.p.a.ceship. Rather than move to another area on Earth and join the much more ignorant population there, they felt we needed to find our own planet.

The first s.p.a.ceship's launch failed. But they continued, and finally, success. They launched it several times, each time going farther into s.p.a.ce, until they felt that with the last model, they had reached their ultimate goal. They built enough ships to transport all our people. When the first warning signs came that the volcano was about to erupt, the island was completely evacuated and we ventured into s.p.a.ce. We visited quite a few planets before we decided on our home.

The planet was uninhabited and much resembled Earth as far as atmosphere went, except there was far more water than land. There wasn't enough land to build a nation. We had already learned to breathe under water while on Earth, so we built underwater cities. We mainly live beneath the water, on the ocean floors. We called this world New Atlantis. It's in a galaxy far away, one not yet discovered through Earth's strongest and most advanced telescopes. And they haven't yet advanced enough to make s.p.a.ce travel possible to Mars, let alone to our planet."

"But if that's all true, you could teach the scientists on Earth so much. They could advance in leaps and bounds."

"We decided not to. Until people learn to appreciate the atmosphere, the land, the vegetation and animals, they're not ready for such advanced technology."

"Earth is heading for destruction. Mankind is killing the planet," Janna said wistfully.

"Yes. We're very sad about that."

Without noticing, she'd completely emptied her plate. "That was good. Are there seconds?"

"Dessert is coming," Zanipa said.

"Scientists would kill to know about all this," Janna murmured.

"Yes, they would. Now do you believe this is all real?" Andy asked.

"I think so. Pinch me so I know I'm awake?" And he did pinch her. "Ouch, that hurt."

"Okay, you're awake," he said, laughing.

"My family and friends are going to think I've vanished without a trace. Like you."

"It's unfortunate, but yes. There's nothing we can do about that."

"I could at least have left a note or something. Said that I was going to travel for a while."

"They'd still expect to hear from you, honey."

"I don't want them to think I'm dead. They'll presume I committed suicide. Everyone knew I was very depressed from missing you. And my body will never be found."

"Maybe it's best that way. They'll a.s.sume you gone forever."

"But you came back to get me. And why did I have to touch you? To merge?"

"That's so the energies from my body could flow into yours and you could breathe under water."

"And if I hadn't touched you?"

"Then you would still be lying on that beach."

Dessert was served. It tasted much like ice cream, although not quite as sweet. Once she finished it, she suddenly felt exhausted. "I can't believe how tired I am. I guess the drinks I had, and-"

"The sudden exercise?" he said, uttering a laugh.

"Hey, we're not alone," she whispered.

"We're not very inhibited people. They know. We took too long to appear for dinner."

"So when is the wedding, Andy?" Kaliwa asked.

"Soon after we arrive home. Father and mother will be glad to finally see me settle down."

"Andy, why is your name ordinary, compared to theirs?" Janna asked.

"My name is really Andremox. I changed it to Andy on Earth, and asked my family to call me that as well. I like it better."

"I'll stick to Andy," Janna said with a grin.

Three months later she lay in his arms, now in their own home. The wedding had been quite an event. Janna glanced at the gown hanging from the door of the wardrobe. Specially made for her, it was the most gorgeous creation she'd ever seen. Blue and silver, completely embroidered with scallops resembling fish scales, the skirt wide as in an historical gown, the bodice completely silver. Her veil was of the finest silver netting. Her flowers were unlike any she'd ever seen on Earth. She'd felt like a fairytale princess. Matter of fact, the whole wedding was like a fairytale.

"Are you happy, my sea-pearl?" Andy whispered against her lips.

"More than happy," she murmured with a sigh of utter contentment. "But I need to tell you something."

"Oh?" He lifted his face, his expression wary. "You haven't changed your mind? You don't want to go back?"

"No, silly. I'm so happy, I could burst. After your supposed death, I stopped taking the pill. We're going to have a baby!"

"Oh my, are you sure?"

"As sure as I can be."

"You've just completed my happiness. More than you can imagine. Wait till I tell the family about the new little Atlantean!" With that, he kissed her and his hands wandered to her b.r.e.a.s.t.s. Wonderingly, he gazed down at them. "I thought I saw something different about your nipples and your b.r.e.a.s.t.s have gotten bigger. I presumed it was from all the exercise I gave them." He stroked her belly gently. "We need to be more careful when we make love. I don't want to hurt the baby."

"Honey, you won't hurt the baby. He's very snugly tucked away. Now stop talking, and for goodness sake, make love to me!"

Epilogue.

A small article, accompanied by a picture, appeared in a Queensland newspaper.

YOUNG WOMAN STILL MISSING.

Several weeks ago, a young woman mysteriously vanished on Dunk Island. There is no suspicion of foul play. Though she recently experienced a traumatic loss- the disappearance of her fiance-according to family members, the young woman was not suicidal. Search boats have given up the search for missing Janna White. She is presumed drowned off the sh.o.r.es of the island, but no body has been found to date. Family members are still hopeful that she has simply decided to go into complete seclusion. If anyone has seen or heard from this young woman, please contact the authorities.

BELOW THE SEA.

Lynn Crain.

It's strange, now at the end of my time, I end up in the one place I totally love in the world. Under the surface of the ocean was the one place I wanted to be from the moment I could talk or walk. I loved the ocean. I loved anything to do with the acres of clear blue I could see out of my window as I grew up. Was it any wonder I ended up being one of the premier oceanographers of the world?

Well, I was like every other person at this very moment as I sat on the bottom of the ocean waiting-no, hoping-someone had heard my distress call. I had done a stupid, stupid thing, when I decided I could go out by myself and check a theory regarding a bit of the ruins I think we found at the bottom of the ocean. See, we had been searching for Atlantis for a long, long, time. And I had found it, or at least I thought I had.

But something had gone terribly wrong because I got caught in a strange whirlpool and had found myself miles off course. Suddenly I realized I wouldn't have enough air to get back to base, and it was in that moment I did the stupidest thing ever in my life. In my haste, to bring myself to the surface, I rounded a corner of the ruins and ran into a wall. It would have been fine if the wall hadn't tumbled down on top of my small two-man sub.

I had tried to record to explain to everyone what had happened and why, but how can one explain the stupidest thing they had ever done in their life? One can't and I stopped trying over an hour ago. If my calculations were correct, I had about thirty minutes of breathable air. It's said when one's air runs out, they just fall asleep and one dies virtually pain free. Pushing it from my mind, I decided to try and watch the ocean for my final minutes.

The Caribbean was a beautiful piece of water, especially in late summer as the fishes prepared to breed and produce millions of babies. But I left the world of fauna behind years ago when I was caught by the Atlantis bug somewhere off the Bimini coast. And it was as if I saw something never seen before, something only I could interpret. I had a kind of arrogance my professors just shook their head at when I went to school. Now, being in charge of a small group of marine archaeologists for a private firm, I was totally in charge and we did things my way.

Used to do them my way, I thought to myself. Leaning back in my seat, I felt really happy I still had enough battery power to run the air circulator. h.e.l.l, who was I kidding anyway...maybe I should just open the hatch and let the ocean take me. At least then, I would actually help in some sick way the very creatures I loved. Realizing just how my thoughts were taking a very deviant trend, I knew anoxia could be setting in. Soon, my mind wouldn't even have enough air to function at all.