Chapter 5

Laveena disappeared with the woman from the street, taking her through a door to some sort of backroom that Ariel was certain she’d see before the night was over. Bowls of supplies—not that mer needed them—were sitting on a table outside the door, and the door itself was guarded by a tall, thick-shouldered woman with a jaded expression of utter boredom. Even if she’d been the only woman wearing a rose, Ariel would not have considered her. There was no song left in that one.

Ariel could feel a rising pulse of mer power from the back room. Laveena was busy. She let her gaze slide over the crowd. She’d owe Laveena for this, but right now she didn’t care.

That one? The woman in the scarlet dress? The straps of the dress were so thin that the rose was pinned just above her cleavage. Muscled flesh, short black hair—she had many of the qualities that often attracted Ariel. Caliba danced by with a small, light-skinned woman who wore a clear plastic dress over a skimpy pink bra and thong. Her rose was taped to the dress. The longer they danced the more responsive the woman became to Caliba’s lead.

Her gaze was caught by a couple tightly entwined, hips seemingly joined. When they parted slightly Ariel could see one wore something under her form-fitting pants, and her miniskirted partner was rubbing it suggestively. Ariel swallowed hard. Human ingenuity had perhaps reached its peak with the manufacture of silicone. But the women wearing extra accoutrements weren’t also wearing roses, not that she could tell. They were all forbidden—a pleasure she would have to forgo.

A tall woman in a form-fitting white tuxedo caught her eye. In the pulsing rainbows lights her skin was a rich golden brown. Her hair was thick and black as ink, curling only slightly where it brushed her collar. Her shoulders were broad and strong, her legs powerful but agile. I’d feel small next to her, Ariel thought abruptly. She shuddered at the image of herself in the woman’s arms. Her body was already reacting to the woman’s unique pheromones with wonderful chemistry. They would be very good together.

She started to get up, but then the woman turned to face her. Curse the kelp, Ariel thought. No rose. Damn. She was tempted to pursue her anyway, but with her luck she’d get caught. Being the queen’s daughter wouldn’t save her from punishment.

She wondered briefly what kind of lesbian would come to a party like this, to meet a straight woman who was curious. For a night of kicks? For the proverbial toaster oven accolades should the woman find she was not as straight as she thought?

What did it matter? There were plenty with roses, and she was going to feed tonight.

“Excuse me, but I have a thing for red hair and yours is simply stunning.”

Ariel looked up at the woman who had stopped at the table. Green eyes sparkled with a pleasing combination of mirth and wickedness. No rose, though.

“Sorry,” Ariel said. “I was hoping for one of the curious ones.”

“Aren’t we all? I was hoping your rose got misplaced.”

“No, it didn’t. I’m far beyond curious.”

“I’m Mira.” The woman held out her hand and Ariel politely shook it.

“Ariel.”

Mira lifted an elegant eyebrow as if she didn’t believe it, but only said, “A beautiful name.”

“Thank you. It was my grandmother’s.”

“For red hair…” Mira touched a lock of Ariel’s hair that had drifted over the back of the chair. “We’re not required to pair up with only the curious ones.”

“I’m on a quest,” Ariel said with a flirtatious smile.

“I understand. I just want the night and no phone calls—it’s New Year’s Eve. Send her back to hubby or boyfriend or whatever. Maybe you and I could meet up another night?”

“Perhaps.” Mira would have been a good time. Strong chemistry, a lot of laughing—it had a great deal of appeal—but not enough to be worth the torture. Damn the edict anyway.

“Pity,” Mira answered before she drifting into the crowd.

Ariel realized that under the music she could hear the rising of Caliba’s mervoice. Had she gone to the back room already? They’d talked about taking their finds to a hotel for an extended evening. There was no sign of her, though, so maybe she’d picked someone out as an appetizer.

Morova was dancing with a tawny-skinned brunette who moved like a cat. There were hints of mervoice from her as well. Everyone was getting ready to feed but her.

Laveena sauntered out of the back room, looking as if she’d just spent a week lounging in a warm tidal pool. A few moments later, clothing askew, the woman Laveena had taken into the back followed her out. She also looked deeply pleased.

Okay, it was time for a daughter of the queen, even a seventy-seventh one, to have something for herself, Ariel thought.

“Not yet casting a net?” Laveena leaned over to pick up her beer.

Ariel could smell the other woman’s sex on Laveena’s hands and her stomach lurched with excitement. Soon she would have that scent on her own hands, her face, her body. She wanted to swim. “Just about to.”

“What about that one?”

Ariel followed Laveena’s gesture. It was the delectable woman in the white tuxedo she’d noticed earlier. “No rose.”

“Are you sure? Look—up next to her neck. On her left.”

Ariel saw the rose then, nearly hidden under the woman’s white collar. She felt mildly dizzy as the possibilities sank in.

Laveena’s voice was as smooth as surf on a long, tropical beach. “It will be a pleasure to watch you hunt. I finished my first early just so I could watch.”

Great, Ariel thought. Like she needed that pressure. She would have to be careful Laveena didn’t see that Ariel was enjoying much more than the song.

The woman in white was too appealing to ignore just because Laveena was being, well, Laveena. She was talking to a woman in hot pink and body language said it might turn serious.

Ariel crossed the dance floor, hardly aware that a path was clearing for her. The ends of her hair brushed the backs of her bare thighs and she was lost in a vision of her red hair falling over the tall woman’s nude body.

The woman in hot pink noticed her first and tried to turn the white-clad woman away, but Ariel neatly insinuated herself between the two. She gazed up at the tall woman, liking the intriguing eyes, green as an autumn ocean. “Care to dance?”

“Excuse me, but we were having a conversation,” the woman in pink objected.

A scene would be tedious. Ariel used a hint of mervoice as she suggested, “Another will suit you much better.”

The woman blinked several times and then shrugged. “You may be right.” She walked away without a backward glance. Ariel watched Laveena fall into step behind the woman, with a backward leer at Ariel. Good, Ariel thought. Now she’s occupied.

The green eyes warmed when Ariel looked again. “I would love to dance, if you would like.”

“I would like,” Ariel murmured. She let the delicious woman pull her into her arms.

They fit. That was immediately apparent. The other woman’s thigh eased between Ariel’s, and their dance quickly became a suggestive prelude. Ariel let her tides begin their flow. There was no reason to hold back now.

“I’m Ariel.”

“Erica,” the woman replied. She tightened her hands on Ariel’s waist, which only increased the pressure on Ariel’s crotch. “What brought you here tonight?”

Ariel slipped her hands under the woman’s tuxedo jacket. Erica’s body was hot, female, and producing an increasing level of heady pheromones. “Passion,” Ariel finally said.

“A very good reason.” Erica stooped gracefully to bring her lips close to Ariel’s ear. “I happen to be here for the same reason. And I think I’ve found it.”

A moan of pure mervoice escaped Ariel as Erica’s thigh lifted her nearly off her feet. The pressure was exquisite. “I think so, too,” she managed.

They moved together for a few moments before Erica silkily asked, “Do you mind if I do the leading?”

Without a trace of humor, Ariel gave the answer she could never give to another mer. “I prefer that.”

She saw Erica’s eyes flood with an awareness of the power Ariel was yielding to her, and could see that Erica was deeply pleased. Trembling, Ariel lifted her face for a kiss.

Erica studied Ariel’s face. “Let’s wait a minute for that.”

Ariel arched an eyebrow, and then heard the rising chant.

Twenty-nine, twenty-eight…

Amused and aroused by Erica’s restraint, Ariel nipped the line of Erica’s jaw with her teeth. “I can wait, but I’m not patient.”

Seventeen, sixteen…

The sound Erica made was nearly a growl. “You want to be kissed early?”

“Early and often.”

“What about made love to?”

“At least once a night.” Ariel nibbled the other side of Erica’s jaw. Erica thrust her thigh upward and Ariel was lifted to the tips of her toes. She made a noise of pure need that the queen’s blood ought not, but she didn’t care. It had been too long and she was now too close. Erica was intoxicating, wonderfully so.

“Just once a night?”

Five, four, three…

Ariel groaned out, “The rest of the night I like to fuck.”

Erica gasped as if Ariel had struck her, and her mouth hungrily claimed Ariel’s.

Happy New Year!

Erica was kissing Ariel like she meant it, like she wanted to finish Ariel right then. Erica’s chemistry mingled with her own to create a heady mixture that Ariel could feel soaking into her skin, her blood. If she felt it, then Erica must as well. Her rationality slipped, and she knew she ought to worry, but it felt so good to be held by a human woman. So good to be kissed like this. The kisses were a promise they would both sing before the night was over.

Ariel rocked against Erica, ignoring the rhythm of the slow tune that humans played at midnight. With a shudder she realized Erica’s hand had slipped between them, and it was Erica’s fingers that were rubbing against the thin silk that covered Ariel’s flowing wet. It felt so good that Ariel let herself go with the sensation. She hadn’t even really used mervoice yet and they were both so hot. Their chemistry was a balance between giving and taking. A perfect blend. She thrust herself against Erica’s fingers, thrilling as Erica put her arm firmly around her waist to hold her still and close.

With a disbelieving shock, Ariel realized she was close to peaking. Erica’s chemistry blended with hers until they created something completely new to Ariel. She’d remember this night. She would sing for Erica and Erica would sing for her. It shouldn’t feel so good, but it did.

“Is this what you came here for?” Erica twisted her hand and Ariel cried out as fingers sank into her swollen opening. Through a daze of heat she saw Primia’s dark body pinned between two rose-pinned playmates. She cried out again.

The room spun and Ariel realized she was being carried through the door to the back. Just before she lost sight of the dance floor she saw Laveena’s sharply observant eyes and her feral, pleased smile.