The waters were noticeably warmer as Ariel and Eric made their way closer to the equator on the backs of giant seahorses they had picked up from the palace. They had been traveling for several days and knew that it would not be much longer until they reached their destination.

"Eric, can you take a look at the map?"

"Ariel, I know where I am going," Eric responded, a little annoyed.

"Right," she rolled her eyes at him, "Yesterday when you took us east and almost into the jellyfish pod."

"Hey! That wasn't my fault!" Eric exclaimed with a smirk, "You're the one who said it was a left near the cliff." Ariel couldn't help but laugh. They both knew that Eric was the one who insisted on going left, saying the word 'left' so many times he made jokes about it. "I said, 'Ariel, maybe you should look at the map' and you said, 'No, how dare you, Eric? I know where I am going?'" he mocked her, and himself.

"Isn't the coral reef beautiful?" she said to him in awe, looking at the colorful bunch of sea urchins beneath her fins.

"Mhh, yes, it's amazing! I've only been to these waters once before, but never this closely."

"Oh! Eric, I think I see it!"

They came up on what seemed to be a small underwater city of bright lights and music.

"What did Urchin say his place was called?" Eric asked.

"I forget- Lee's something."

They swam around, taking in the lively and colorful city filled with merpeople along with many different types of sea creatures.

"Excuse me," Ariel asked a starfish floating nearby, "Do you know where Lee's Restaurant is?"

"Lee's Harpoon?" the starfish replied in a raspy voice, "Sure, it's down this way and to the left."

"Thank you!"

"Ariel? Is that you?!" Urchin called out from behind the bar, "Ariel!" He swam to her quickly and threw his arms around her, holding her tightly.

"Urchin!" Ariel cheered. Eric just watched with a big smile on his face- he had promised Ariel he would behave, unlike the last time Urchin was around.

"Hello, Urchin," he said with a smile. Urchin let go of Ariel and immediately switched to Eric, giving him a quick hug with a few pats on the back.

"Eric," Urchin said, "Great to have you here."

"Urchin, I can't wait to see the marvels of this place- also, to meet your special person," Ariel beamed.

"Haha, you will for sure. I have quite a few interesting things to show you."

Ariel and Eric ate at the restaurant- it wasn't terribly busy and Urchin was able to join them. He told them about his life since he had gotten to the South Seas and how his father was away on a trip, so he had to tend the restaurant in his absence.

"The best part of all- you won't believe!" Urchin said enthusiastically.

"What is it?" Ariel asked.

"I'll have to show you. How long are the two of you planning on staying?"

"We have as long as we'd like," Eric said, looking at Ariel, who nodded, and then at Urchin.

"Great!" he said, "First we have to go to the surface."

"The surface?" Eric sounded worried, "Are you sure?"

"Trust me."

When reaching the surface, Ariel couldn't believe her eyes. A merman swam by with a human woman holding on to his shoulders as he dove in and out of the water. Another group of mermaids were stretched out on the sand, with the waves gently crashing against their fins every so often. They were joined by other humans, men and women, as they talked and laughed or ate. A calypso band of mermaids and humans played on some rocks along the shore to the right. There was a bar right on the shore, a swim up bar where mermaids sat with half of their bodies in the water and the other half having colorful drinks above the water. It was an entire community of humans and merpeople having a fantastic time!

"Wow!" Eric grinned, with his mouth hanging open. The couple looked at each other and beamed from ear to ear, eager to join in on the fun.

"Isn't it great?" Urchin asked, popping out of the water shortly after. "Come on, I'll introduce you." They followed Urchin to the swim-up bar where they all sat, waiting on a cute, young woman, with dark hair, dark tan skin and rich brown eyes. Ariel sat between the two strong mermen on an underwater stool made of stone

"What can I get for-?" the young woman started before she stopped and rolled her eyes at Urchin, "Ugh."

"Hi, Leila," Urchin smiled, a little embarrassed. Ariel and Eric looked at each other with a smirk.

"How can I help you?" Leila smiled at Ariel and Eric and ignoring Urchin, "You two are new here. First time I see you around." Ariel nodded.

"What do you have that's good?" Eric asked.

"They're from out of town," Urchin chimed in, trying to get Leila's attention.

"Well, we have fruit smoothies, veggie shakes, juices, seaweed wraps, kale chips-" she started, knowing the menu like her own name.

"Ariel, get the Baja Passion fruit Blend. Eric, you would like the Blueberry Chiller," Urchin suggested, glancing at Leila every so often as he spoke to them. "Your entire stay is on me," he boasted proudly. Leila sighed deeply and went off to make the drinks, but not before giving Ariel and Eric a wink.

"You seem to be having a rough time with her," Ariel giggled.

"She's a rough woman," Urchin joked.

"That little thing?" Eric asked, puzzled, "She looks harmless." They all watched her sweetly taking orders on the sand side of the covered bar from other humans as she prepared their drinks.

"Right, doesn't she?" Urchin couldn't help but stare at Leila's smooth, toned back as it fell down into her well defined curvy hips and backside adorned by a short grass miniskirt. She bent over to scoop some ice into a glass, standing on the tips of her toes, making her shapely leg muscles flex and contract. Urchin bit his bottom lip, admiring her beautiful figure. Eric couldn't help but look as well, with a raised eyebrow and open mouth.

"Hi, Urchin!" two perky, young mermaids called out in unison, waving their hands and a blonde one blew a kiss. Urchin turned and smiled, raising his hand and putting it back down against the bar.

"Hello, ladies," he winked and the blonde swam up to him, boldly sitting her light red tail on his lap. "Woah," Urchin said, a little taken back.

"Will you be around tonight?" she whispered, inches from his face. Ariel noticed Leila giving the mermaid a piercing glare from the corner of her eye.

"Let's talk later," Urchin told the mermaid quietly, trying to gently push her off his lap.

"Wow, is everyone here attractive?" Eric said aloud, making Ariel grimace. When Urchin finally managed to get rid of the young mermaid, Leila placed both drinks in front of Ariel and Eric.

"These will make you feel right at home here," she smiled, adding a straw to each "Just remember to do whatever it is you feel."

"Leila, can I have a Coconut Rum Twist, please?" Urchin asked the pretty bartender. Leila grabbed a pitcher of ice water and threw its contents on the blond merman's face. Merpeople and humans alike, who were at the bar, gasped in shock and then laughed lightly. She then threw the pitcher at him, missing his head and grazing his ear, and let down a hard slap across his face.

"Stop!" Ariel yelled at Leila, taking her hand and placing it on Urchin's ear. "Urchin, who is she?" Ariel asked him worriedly.

"My fiance," he replied sheepishly.

"EX- fiance!" Leila corrected him sharply as she began to clear out some glasses before exiting the bar. Urchin propped himself up and leaped over the bar, tail falling to the hard ground. He grabbed her by the waist with one arm. "Get off me! Let me go! I hate you!" she yelled, clawing at his grasp. He pulled himself back up with the other arm, over the bar again and into the ocean. Leila shrieked.

"Quiet, you crazy woman," he teased. He pressed both of her arms down by her sides and kissed her deeply.

"No!"

"Kiss me," he growled, before kissing her again. Leila relaxed her posture and wrapped both legs around the merman's body beneath the water, followed by her arms around his neck.

"I guess she is pretty rough," Eric snickered.

"Hey! Enjoy the island!" Urchin called out to the couple from the ocean with a wave, before getting back to kissing his woman.

Eric placed a hand at the base of Ariel's back and stroked it softly. Suddenly, Ariel let out a gasp, she couldn't believe her eyes.

"Eric, look!" she pointed.

"Ariel, don't point!" he brushed her hand down, seeing what she saw. More than half of the mermaids and the women in the area were completely topless. The women wore small pieces of cloth on their bottoms that was practically underwear, others wore grass skirts or bright floral prints wrapped around their hips. Some human women had on seashells like mermaids would. Ariel took another sip from her passion fruit drink.

"Mhh. This tastes a little funny, but I like it," she said to Eric before drinking some more.

"Is there alcohol in that?" he asked, taking the drink from her hand and giving it a sip. "Oh, that's yummy. It's not too strong, perfect for you."

"Let me try some of yours," she said looking up at him from her seat. Eric put the drink to her lips and tilted the glass back toward her face gently. "Ugh," she winced, smacking her lips and blowing out air through her mouth. Eric immediately connected his lips to hers, licking over her lips and prodding his tongue inside. Ariel met her tongue to his, feeling a sudden yearn for him she hadn't felt in the few days since they began traveling to the South Seas.

"Are you going to take your seashells off like the other ladies here?"

"Eric! No!" she shrieked bashfully, covering her chest with both arms. Her reaction made him laugh.

"I know. I would kill anyone who'd look at you," he said into her mouth before kissing her again and placing a hand on the lap of her sparkly green tail.

"Eric, let's dance!"

"Hi! Ariel? Eric?" a tall, handsome man, with dark brown skin smiled at the couple as he walked in closer and extended his hand to Eric as the couple left the group of dancing humans.

"Hello," Eric shook the young man's hand with a smile.

"I'm Taylor," he introduced himself, "Urchin rented one of my spare huts for the both of you for as long as you need it."

"Really?" Ariel beamed from ear to ear, "What's a hut?"

"It's a small house- a beach house," Eric explained to her.

"Yes. Exactly!" the man said enthusiastically, his sunny disposition was non-threatening to Eric, making him decide he liked the man almost immediately. "It's one of the nicer ones on the Island. Come, I'll take you there, it's not far."

"So, what is it you do here on the Island?" Eric asked Taylor as they walked along the beach and further away from the busy movement of the party.

"Well, as you can see, there is a lot of excitement here at all times."

"Yes, I've noticed," Eric laughed.

"It's really, very nice," Ariel added.

"When I first arrived here, I didn't know anyone and one of the first people-well, merpeople, I met was Urchin. He seemed to know everybody and was- still is, well connected on the Island. He found me a place to stay further into the woods in exchange for tending the bar for a few hours a day on certain days."

"Oh, that's very enterprising of you. That way you didn't have to pay him," Eric said.

"Well, we don't really use currency here. We're a close community of humans and merpeople and many of us are good friends, or have become good friends over the years," he explained.

"That's perfect. So everybody gets along?" Ariel asked.

"For the most part, we want to enjoy ourselves and be free- free from the conventional world. I mean, we do have hiccups here and there- no one here is perfect, myself included."

"How did you get to have your own hut?"

"Ah," Taylor smiled, and almost chuckled, "Well, after having a place to stay, I started volunteering for other people around the island. I'd help chop down wood or gather food for meals and then moved on to bigger tasks like help build huts, cabanas, canopies, showers-"

"What's a shower?" Ariel interrupted him.

"Ah, I'll show you once we get to the hut."

"So you learned many trades, Taylor," Eric said to the man.

"You could say that! Eventually, I had so much work and promised to keep assisting, I started recruiting others to be part of my team; usually it was new-comers who needed a place to stay or someone who wanted to exchange labor for goods. I started building huts and cabins of my own, training my team how to do it so well and quickly to the point of owning most of the huts and cabins on the Island."

"That's amazing!" Eric cheered enthusiastically, he was genuinely impressed by Taylor's ambition and hard work.

"Well, it helps others have a place to stay and keeps us united as a community overall, all doing our parts so that we can optimize on the maximum level of fun."

"That's pretty amazing," Ariel said, mostly to herself.

"The two of you will love this hut. It is my favorite!"

"Why is it your favorite?"

"One word: Location. It's on the tip of the island that's closest to the mountain and being on the beach, you get the beach, the sunset, and a hidden secret right in your backyard. I won't spoil the surprise until you see it for yourself." The sounds of laughter and music behind them grew almost completely silent. "Not too far up ahead here."

The hut was small, not in the least fancy but it was made completely out of wood and painted a pretty turquoise color and its roof was made up of dried up palm leaves. Eric furrowed his brows a little when realizing what they were approaching.

"Is this it?" Ariel asked, anxious to go inside.

"Yes!"

The inside had a normal sized bed for two people with plain white sheets and two white pillows. Not too far beside the bed was a small bamboo table with two chairs on either side of it. There was a makeshift tall bamboo bookshelf that was covered with beige linen curtains. Taylor walked over to it and drew the curtains.

"I have some clothes for you to wear while you're here. It's always pretty warm and I assume you're burning up in those big heavy clothes," he told them, looking at their outfits and shaking his head. He wore simple red shorts himself. "There are also extra sheets and blankets."

"Thank you so much, Taylor," Ariel said warmly, sitting on the bed and then spreading her hand over the cool, crisp sheets.

"No problem, stay as long as you'd like. We start festivities around sunset, be sure to join us."

"Festivities?"

"Oh, yeah! There is music, dancing, food, drinks and lots and lots of love," he winked at Eric, but Eric had no idea how to interpret it. "I should get going."

The hut had a window on both sides of the rustic wooden door- there was no glass, just pink wooden shutters on the outside. Ariel poked her head out the window and then rested her elbows against its frame as she stared at the ocean. She always loved the view from above, almost as much as she loved being in the ocean. A pair of big, strong arms suddenly wrapped around her waist and she closed her eyes, remembering all she had left; for him. She felt his cheek press against hers and felt so lucky to have him, wake up to him every morning, to be with him everyday, and kiss him goodnight before falling asleep in his arms.

"Mhh," she purred, placing her hands over his, "I think that drink I had is making me feel a little funny."

"Ah, you feel a little drunk?"

"No, I just feel- I don't know, happy!" she smiled with a chuckle.

"Yeah, you're drunk," Eric poked fun at her and kissed her cheek.

"Let's go on the sand and watch the sunset," she told him. He continued to place small short kisses on her cheek, behind her ear and down her neck.

"Well, first let's get you out of these warm clothes," he said, "You must be burning up." Eric echoed Taylor's words as he continued to kiss her neck. He gently moved her thick red hair in front of her left shoulder and kissed the back of her neck as he undid the hooks of the simple light green dress she wore, slowly exposing the fair skin of her smooth flawless back. "You're not wearing your corset?" he asked, a little excited to have such direct access to her skin. He knew it could only mean one thing. He rubbed the tops of her shoulders and then spread his fingers down her chest as he pushed the collar of her dress off her chest with his forearms. Ariel felt his strong hands cup both of her full breasts and involuntarily arched her back, pushing her chest into his grip as much as she could.

"Oooh!" she moaned, feeling her nipples on fire at his squeeze.

"You can be as loud as you want, no one is going to hear you," he said roughly before turning her around to face him. She looked stunning, with the ocean and the large sun not too far from setting behind her. He had never seen the sun look so big, or her look more beautiful, with her pink parted lips and the devilish look in her eye. He quickly lifted his white cotton shirt up over his head and tossed it aside. Unveiling his wide, muscular frame and glistening tan skin always made her blush like a young girl with a crush.

"Eric," she called to him softly, squeezing her thighs together and touching a hand to her breast. Eric undid his red belt band and dropped his pants to the floor, kicking them out of the way. The couple stood a foot apart and completely naked, gazing at each other longingly. Ariel felt so warm she felt the urge to touch herself, to caress her own body. She ran a hand down her face to her chest and between her breasts. Eric watched as her hand continued to rub down her stomach and below her navel. She winced in pleasure, getting a tight grip between her legs feeling the heightened sensation and sudden moistness, her dress still pooled around her ankles. Eric took a step closer, feeling a magnetic force pulling him toward her.

"Put a finger in," he commanded. Ariel closed her eyes and her mouth dropped open as she found her way clumsily inside her own warm, entrance. "Now, two fingers," he told her. Ariel bit her bottom lip and moaned as she worked her middle and pointer fingers in and out of herself. "You hear that?" Eric asked, at the sound of the wetness coming from between her legs. He moved in even closer, her nipple brushing lightly against his chest for a split second. He reached down between her legs and slowly pulled her hand out from inside her by her wrist. He held her hand up to his face and watched her juicy wetness glisten in the sunlight. He licked from the base of her two fingers to the tip, then completely wrapped his lips around them, sucking and swallowing her sweet flavor. His eyes were locked with hers the entire time, never breaking stares.

"Oh, Eric!" she cried, trembling with arousal. She pulled her fingers out of his mouth and crushed her mouth to his hungrily. Eric kissed back just as forcefully, placing a hand behind her head as he pulled her in closer and then pressed his stiffness against her hot body. Their tongues were in each other's mouths so hard, it was hard to tell who was kissing who. He couldn't believe how much he craved her, it was as if he had never had her before. After a few moments, Eric unlocked her lips for a second to catch his breath.

"I love you," he huffed, shoving his tongue back in her mouth before she could even respond. He cupped both of her breasts in his hands and roughly rubbed and squeezed on them, flicking her nipples with his thumbs every so often, making her moan in his mouth each time. Without breaking their kiss, he lifted her body and sat her on the window's ledge. He pulled away and bent down slightly, coming face to face with her perky, soft breasts. "You're so perfect," he huffed, before lapping his tongue over one of her pretty pink nipples and sucking on the cushion-like breast hungrily.

"Oh, yes!" she moaned, throwing her head back with half of her body leaning out the window, feeling the warm sun beating on her back, "I love you! I love you!" She kissed the top of his head and buried her fingers in his hair, pulling him closer to her, pushing her breasts as hard against his face as she could. He squeezed them both together, trying to get her nipples side by side as he sloppily licked from one breast to the other, leaving wet trails around each nipple and all around his lips.

"Why are you so perfect?" he asked again, mostly to himself, before taking another mouthful of her breast. He took his hand and placed the palm directly between her legs, rubbing it in circles.

"Ohhhh," Ariel squealed, squeezing her thighs together again to create more tension against her feminine nub. Eric suddenly rose up and lifted her off her feet, effortlessly carrying her to the bed.

"I want you to do something for me," he told her, gently rubbing her soft backside.

"What?" she smiled with excitement, suddenly filled with curiosity. Eric laid down on his back and extended an arm out to her.

"I want you to sit on my face."

"What?" Ariel giggled, a little unsure of his question.

"Don't ask questions," he joked, lifting himself up a bit and pulled her into bed with him, "Sit on my face Ariel, just do it."

"Are you sure?"

"I'd love it so much, darling," he smirked, "Let me taste you."

"Alright," Ariel agreed, finally understanding what it was he wanted to do. She carefully positioned her knees near his head, spreading her thighs wide as she straddled his head, hovering over his face and she faced his feet.

"You look beautiful from here," Eric said, getting a close view of her pink flesh.

"Eric!" she shrieked with nervous laughter, covering her privates with her hand.

"No, no," Eric moved her hand out of the way, "Get down here, I want to taste you."

"Eric, this is strange-" she started, but the feel of Eric's tongue on her skin made her gasp when he brought his head up to meet her lips. "Ohh! Ahhh," she moaned as Eric pulled her down to his face by her hips. Ariel closed her eyes and took long, deep breaths, as she eased herself onto him, moving her hips- finding her groove against his tongue.

"Eric, aahhh- Eric!" she moaned loudly, feeling complete ecstasy as he licked her, thirstily swallowing the sweetness of her body. The electrifying sensation building at the touch of his tongue flowed through her body and to her nipples, making them ache. "Mhhh!" she bit her bottom lip, muffling a scream. Eric dug his fingers into the flesh of her thighs, letting her know it was time to release- and she did. She felt the exhilarating rush pulsing through her veins and her head spun in circles.

She collapsed forward against the bed beside him and all Eric could do was smile.

The clothes that were left for the couple were folded neatly on the shelves: two pairs of shorts and two white shirts for Eric, two pairs of seashells and a mini grass skirt for Ariel.

"Look, Eric. My legs are showing!" Ariel said a few moments later filled with excitement, as she stuck a leg in front of her body, modeling the grass skirt.

"They look lovely," Eric responded, slipping on his shorts and tying the drawstring. "Ariel, are you sure you want to go out there in that?"

"Oh, come on!" she winced, "It's what everyone else is wearing."

"You should go out there topless while you're at it," he jeered.

"Eric!" she giggled, putting both hands over her purple seashells. "What are you worried about? Everyone staring?"

"Yes!" he shouted, "They won't be able to help it. You're too beautiful. Your body is my treasure." He walked over to her and pulled her into him roughly by her waist. Ariel loved how possessive he was with her.

"Ready to go?" she giggled.

The sunset was a beautiful dark orange with a soft pink behind it. Ariel had never seen the sun look so big and so close. They walked hand in hand back toward the festivities. It was easy enough to find if you just made a left and followed the beach. As they reached the party, the sounds of splashing and soft calypso music playing filled the air.

"Yes! Eric, let's dance!" Ariel pulled him forward, running toward a small group of people who were dancing.

"Woah!" Eric laughed, trying to keep up with her. The couple danced on the beach with the glow of the sun setting behind them. They moved their hips from side to side to the rhythm of the steel drum band. Ariel couldn't help but think of Sebastian and how he'd love the music. But then laughed at the thought that Sebastian would most likely criticize the players and take charge of the musicians.

"Good evening, everyone!" a deep voice boomed and the music suddenly stopped. Ariel and Eric looked over to see Taylor, smiling with one hand in the air. The murmur of chit chat and commotion began to settle down as everyone's gaze was fixed on Taylor. His pearly white smile shined brightly against his chocolate brown skin. "I sure do love it here, don't you?" he asked smoothly. There was a light roar in agreement from the small crowd and one of the mermaids in the ocean wolf whistled at him. "The sun will set shortly here, so let's take it down a few notches and set the mood for a calm, relaxing, evening of good friends, good food, good times and great loves." He pointed to a merman who was perched on a rock with an acoustic guitar. The merman began playing light latin music and was soon joined by soft percussion.

Ariel and Eric looked at each other and smiled. Being there seemed to be just what they needed. The people around them started to lay towels and blankets on the sand, preparing their seats for the perfect view of the sunset.

"Here you are," a man handed the couple a rolled up navy blanket. Eric unrolled the blanket and spread it across the sand. Ariel helped straighten out the corners before kneeling down on top of it. Eric joined her on the blanket shortly after.

"Drinks?" Leila came by with two drinks in her hands, "I made you some new ones. I hope you like it."

"Oh, thank you! Everyone here has been so hospitable," Eric told her.

"Isn't it great?"

"Are you still working?" Ariel asked.

"Just got off. I'll be in the water with Urchin over there," she pointed to Urchin who was chatting up some young mermaids. "Ugh, that merman can't be left alone for a second," she groaned, before heading into the water. Ariel sipped her drink with a bright pink straw.

"Mhh!"

"Can I have a taste?" Eric asked with a smirk. Ariel put the drink and straw up to his lips. "Off your tongue," he told her. Ariel smiled bashfully and leaned in for a soft, wet kiss. "Delicious." Ariel smiled and took a long, hard gulp from her drink.

"Ouch!" she winced, putting a hand to her head in pain.

"You drank it too fast," he laughed, "Did you just finish that entire thing?"

"I was a little thirsty," she said shyly.

"Oh, man," he groaned. "Come, let's watch the sunset." Eric sat with his legs open, inviting Ariel to sit between them. She put her glass down and nestled her back against his strong chest and Eric wrapped his arms underneath hers, leaning his chin in on her shoulder. They both loved the ocean so much, they could stare at it for hours. They loved it almost as much as they loved each other. Eric turned his head and planted several soft kisses on her neck.

"Eric?" she sighed softly.

"Hmm?" he continued to give her small pecks.

"Don't let me go."

"Never."

Hearing him say that made her heart sink and a small tear escaped her eye. She was happy; so happy it hurt.

"But what if something happens to you? I worry about it sometimes. Worry about losing you," she said to him, feeling overwhelming emotion.

"Ariel, you have no idea what I go through in my head. I think about you going missing again, kidnapped, hurt, lost, upset, leaving me to return home to Atlantica-"

"You're my home," she cut him off, "Wherever you are is where I'll be, forever." Eric squeezed her tightly and Ariel turned her head to kiss his lips.

"Let's forget about all of that right now and enjoy this perfect sunset."

The waters were calm and clear, reflecting the deep oranges and reds of the sun as it sunk into the ocean. Once the sun had completely disappeared, it left behind a ruby glow in the sky. Neither of them had taken notice to the light posts being lit all around as well as several humans gathering for food served at a table not too far away.

"Dinner is right behind you," a voice called out from beside them, making them snap out of their trance. It was an older woman, at least twice as old as the either one of them, but not quite old enough to be their mother. She was sitting next to a man who had a scruffy black and white beard and no hair on his head.

"Oh, thank you," Ariel told the woman kindly, after looking at the table.

"You wait here, darling. I'll fix you a plate," Eric got up from behind her and kissed her cheek before heading off to the dinner table. Ariel blinked hard, feeling suddenly woozy and disoriented.

"He's a dream," the woman called out to her.

"Huh?" Ariel responded.

"That man. He's a dream. Who is he?"

"Oh, he's my- my," Ariel stammered, unable to think of the right word. She almost called him her 'prince', but she didn't want anyone to know who they were. "My husband," she thought of finally.

"Are you alright, dear?"

"Yes, I-" she looked down at her lap, unsure of how she felt, "I feel a little funny."

"She's drunk, honey," the man beside the woman nudged, with a chuckle.

"Ohh! You must've had one of the passion fruit drinks," the woman said, pointing at the glass in the sand. "And you're such a tiny little thing, it's going to hit pretty hard. It will feel good in a bit, try not to fight it, just close your eyes and relax."

"Alright, thank you," she responded in compliance and rested back against the blanket, closing her eyes and feeling her head heavy.

When Ariel opened her eyes, it was night and the sun had completely set. The sounds of light chatter, music and the ocean waves filled the air. She felt disoriented and cold- not feeling anyone near her.

"Eric?" she wondered aloud, sitting up from the blanket and rubbing her eyes.

"I'm right here, Ariel," she heard her prince's voice. She looked to find him just a few feet away, talking to a pretty brunette woman and an even prettier blonde mermaid with a ponytail, blue fin. The brunette waved at her.

"Are you feeling better? The ocean puts me right to sleep every time. So much peace," the woman said warmly. Ariel nodded with a smile, unsure of what to say. Eric took his cue from Ariel's body language that it was time to say goodbye to the pair. He politely told them it was nice to meet them and joined Ariel back on the blanket.

"Here, have some food," he handed her a plate of fruit and vegetable salad topped with chunks of cheese. "You'll love it." Ariel smiled and quickly began to eat.

"How long was I asleep?"

"Not long," he responded.

"Eric," she nagged, "How long?"

"Twenty minutes? Not very long. I didn't want to wake you. Your friend over there said she had told you to rest." They looked over at the older couple. The woman rested on her stomach with her eyes closed while the man sat on top of her, massaging her neck and back. The sight made Ariel giggle a bit, which then made Eric laugh at her amusement.

"My body feels warm, but I'm a little chilly."

"Here," he positioned himself behind her again, "I'll keep you warm in my arms." Ariel snuggled back into his arms, still taking bites from her dinner.

"I'm glad to see so many of you here. Almost everyone on the island is here," Taylor spoke to the crowd again. "Just missing a few faces, I'm sure they're around here somewhere." He began to speak more quietly. "Now, I want you all to focus on physical connections. Touch the person you're with. Feel them, feel their energy, put them at ease. Make them feel comfortable, make them forget where they are."

As Taylor spoke, Eric moved his hands up from Ariel's lap to underneath her seashells. Ariel gasped and tensed her body, getting the attention of Taylor from above.

"Just relax," Taylor said calmly, "Relax and trust that you're in good hands that want to do nothing but provide you complete pleasure." He made sure that Ariel heard him, without looking directly at her, in fear of making her feel uncomfortable.

Eric gently massaged her nipples with the tips of his fingers. He loved watching her squirm with her knees pressed tightly together and feet flexing back and forth.

"Eric, what if someone sees us?" she whined worriedly, looking around the beach.

"Ariel, look at everybody. No one is paying attention to us, everyone is just enjoying themselves." Ariel closed her eyes and arched her back, feeling suddenly aroused by the faint sounds of passion on the beach.

"Mhh," she moaned, feeling less and less inhibited with each breath.

"Yeah, good girl," Eric coached her as he trailed his hand down her stomach and between her hips.

"Ohh, Eric," she sighed, turning her head up toward his to meet his lips for a long kiss. Eric found the folds between her legs and stuck his middle finger inside, firmly rubbing against its slickness. Ariel could feel his manhood pressing against her back through his shorts.

"Good everyone," Taylor spoke again to the crowd of people. "Now I want you to let go of inhibitions so that your body can receive maximum pleasure either by pleasuring your lover or having them pleasure you. Take it a step further, listen to what their body is telling you, do something you've never done before." Taylor sat back down to join his own little harem of women and mermaids.

"Hi," a woman with dark brown hair appeared near the edge of the blanket, she was accompanied by a young blonde mermaid who had crawled out of the ocean. The woman was completely topless and had very, large round breasts and dark brown nipples.

"Hi," Eric responded, a little startled, as he continued to rub Ariel- but unable to look at the woman straight in the eyes for too long before glancing at her breasts.

"Hello," the young mermaid smiled cheerily and placed a hand on Ariel's knee that was now bent up in the air and touching her other knee.

"Do you mind if we join you for a moment?" the woman asked. It didn't take long before the mermaid slipped her hand between Ariel's thighs and began caressing them softly. Ariel wasn't sure what was happening, she just knew she felt so good with Eric's hands between her legs and this young blonde mermaid caressing her thigh.

"Ooohh," Ariel groaned loudly. The woman took Ariel's hand and began to stroke it gently.

"Hello, darling, are you having fun?" the woman said seductively to a grinning Ariel. Ariel nodded. Eric couldn't help it, but his eyes were so drawn to the woman's breasts he could barely think. "Yes, you look like you're enjoying yourself."

"I'm Magnolia and this is Misty," she glanced at the young, blonde mermaid and then at Eric. She moved in a little bit more closely with her knee touching the side of Eric's leg. Eric hadn't realized that he had retracted his hand from between Ariel's legs.

"I'm Eric and this is Ariel," he managed to say, after a big gulp. Misty fixed her eyes on Ariel's and watched as Ariel's lips parted when Misty's finger replaced Eric's between her legs. Eric couldn't see from his angle as he talked to Magnolia. It seemed to be their own secret, Ariel's and Misty's. Ariel could barely focus on what Magnolia was saying to Eric, and soon felt her eyes grow heavy.

Ariel woke up the next morning with a strange feeling in her body. She let out a long and drawn out yawn followed by a long stretch of her arms above her head. She realized that the sun was beginning to rise in the distance when feeling the fresh warm ocean breeze on her skin. She was on a blanket on the cool white sand while the clear blue waves calmly stopped and drifted back into the ocean just a few inches away from her feet. She sat up and smiled, always admiring the way the ocean looked from above. She brought her knees up and tucked her legs into her body.

Legs? When did I get legs? She thought to herself. She rested her head on her knees and wrapped her arms around her shins in a dream-like state. She felt the feeling of an unfamiliar object touch her right hand and extended her left hand in front of her.

A ring? It's beautiful! Is it a seashell? She wondered.

"Ariel, you're awake," a woman said beside her, "I brought you some fruits for breakfast." The woman placed a small plate of fruits on the blanket. It was the first time Ariel had ever seen a human so closely before.

"Oh, thank you," Ariel smiled, fascinated by the woman's body- a human body, with human legs.

"Of course!" the woman replied cheerfully, "It's going to be an interesting day."

"Huh?" Ariel wondered quietly.

"Let me know if you need anything."

"Wait, where are we? How did I get here?"

"Just enjoy yourself while you're here. We'll do the rest," she smiled.

It was nearing noon and Eric found himself surrounded by some chattering women and mermaids. He had never been in a place like that before, filled with both humans and merpeople. He believed mermaids to be a myth. He didn't question being there too much, he figured he took a wrong turn when sailing and his crew must've been somewhere nearby- they wouldn't have just left him. Or maybe I'm shipwrecked, he wondered.

One mermaid was leaning her head against his shoulder, while a lovely blonde human girl kneeled at his side, casually brushing her knee against his thigh and touching his leg each time she laughed. A second mermaid rested her elbow on his shoulder while she stroked his jet black hair.

"Eric, let's go for a swim," the mermaid on his left suggested.

"Maybe later, Coral- I mean, Pearl."

"I'm Coral!"

"I'm Pearl!" the mermaids said in unison, but Eric couldn't quite tell who said what. He was feeling suddenly overwhelmed.

"Eric, do you want me to give you a massage?" the blonde at his side asked, running her hand up his thigh. A massage sounded wonderfully to him. She bit her bottom lip and gave him a devilish smile. Eric blushed a bit and smiled back at her. Before he could respond, a beautiful woman with dark hair approached him and extended her arm.

"Eric, let's dance!"

"No, Eric is going for a swim with me."

"No! He's swimming with me," the other mermaid interjected, "He's been dancing all day."

"Eric is getting a massage from me!"

Eric was confused at what all of the commotion was about and why he was at the center of it all, he mostly wondered how they all knew his name. He didn't remember meeting anyone there before that day. While the women and mermaids argued, Eric tried to slowly slip himself out of the quarrel. He quickly and quietly walked away from the group, out toward the band playing. When he was a safe distance away, he felt as if he could finally relax.

"Hi, handsome!" a pretty woman with a bun in her hair stopped him, "Where are you going?"

"I was just going for a walk," he said, pointing in a random direction.

"A walk in the ocean?" she laughed and grabbed onto his arm.

"A walk along the shore."

"I'll join you, is that alright?" she asked coyly.

"Sure," he smiled, secretly wishing he could be alone for just a moment.

As they began to walk along the sand, a woman crossing paths with the two caught Eric's attention. She had long, bright red hair and a very slender and petite frame. He could already tell how beautiful she was from her profile, but when she turned her head to look in his direction he was smitten. The woman clinging to his arm, squeezed him more tightly. Eric couldn't even make sense of the sounds coming out of her mouth. In fact, it was almost as if she weren't saying anything at all. He was too busy staring at the marvelous redhead in front of him.

Somehow sensing his eyes on her, the girl with the red hair suddenly looked right at him, their eyes instantly locking. Eric felt a tingling feeling that made the hairs all over his body rise and his heart clench. He couldn't take his eyes off of her big blue ones as they passed. He turned his head as they walked past her, not wanting to look away. He noticed her carelessly bump into a man in front of her. She politely apologized and then turned her head in the other direction to find him again. He was still looking back at her as he walked forward- further away from her. When she noticed he was still looking, she blushed and couldn't help but smile to herself bashfully.

Eric watched as the charming man cracked a perfectly white smile and stole her attention. Shortly after, Eric could no longer see as they walked around the bend of the beach.

When Ariel looked back at the handsome young man with the pale, blue eyes he was no longer there. I wonder where he's going? What does it matter, he seemed to be quite close to that human woman, she thought.

"Ariel," the charming man in front of her pulled her away from her thoughts, "Would you like to dance?"

"Dance?" Ariel's eyes lit up, "I've always wanted to dance!" He extended his arm and led her to where others were dancing to lively calypso music. Ariel was thrilled to join in on the fun The man with her was quite attractive and had a great smile.

"You're pretty good at this for your first time!" he laughed, moving his hips and pulling her to and from him, twirling her every so often.

The time spent dancing flew by and after 4 or 5 songs, Ariel danced with the man and at times with the crowd as a whole. She hadn't remembered the last time she had had so much fun, dancing- on legs! A slower tempoed song began to play and Ariel stopped for a moment, feeling suddenly lost. She looked up at her dance partner with the light brown hair and green eyes. It was the first time she had noticed his eyes. He extended an arm out to her and she took it hesitantly. He pulled her in closely to him and swayed her from side to side. He moved his hand from her shoulder down to the small of her back, resting it partly right above her bottom. Ariel's eyes grew wide at his touch as she tensed a bit.

"You're a great dancer," he said to her.

"Thank you," she smiled politely. He was gazing at her, right at her face.

"And you're very beautiful," he added. Ariel blushed and looked away. He cradled her body in a bit more, inviting her to place her head on his chest. She did, knowing that this way she wouldn't feel uncomfortable looking at him.

Then, almost as if some supernatural power read her mind, she saw him again- the stranger with the polished black hair and blue eyes. He had just taken a seat on a rock near the band. The woman was still with him. Ariel watched as the woman sat beside him, turned her body toward him and took his hand in her lap as she spoke.

I wonder if he knows I'm here, Ariel thought to herself. Not even a full second later, he glanced up at her, finding her face immediately. It seemed almost as if he had known exactly where she was and where to look. As Ariel's partner turned her away, she was tempted to move her head the other way to keep the beautiful man in her sights, but she didn't want to make it too obvious. Ariel's partner held her more tightly, pressing his pelvis into body and moving his hand up and down her back.

The man on the rock however, went from casually glancing to blatantly staring. When Ariel faced him again, their stares were fixed once more. Ariel lost her senses, the music, the people, the smells, the dancing, it was all one big blur surrounding her and the man she couldn't take her eyes off of. Even the woman beside him had disappeared- in Ariel's mind. She didn't notice when the music had ended and her partner had stopped moving.

"Ariel, did you hear me?"

"Yes?" she answered in a daze.

"I'm going to go get us some drinks," he laughed, "What would you like?"

"Oh," Ariel snapped herself back into reality and looked at him with a smile, "Anything is fine. Thank you." He stroked her arm briefly as he pulled away and walked over toward the bar. Ariel turned back to see if her beautiful stranger was still there and found herself in front of a manly, tan chest with some hairs between the pecs. Her feet suddenly felt like heavy blocks. She lifted her chin up slightly and was face to face with him, the one that seemed to see right through her and make her heart race uncontrollably.

Say something, she thought. Unsure if she was talking to herself or to him. He just stood there, expressionless and wide-eyed with his hands at his sides. She mirrored his stance.

"Hi," he said to her, emotionless but deliberately. Ariel wanted to react; she wanted to smile or laugh or fix her hair or say something clever, but just couldn't.

"Hi," she replied. The two merely stood there, anxious, but seemingly in no rush to move things along.

"Ariel," the other man returned with drinks in his hands, "I've got you some coconut water." He handed her a big green coconut that was cut open and had a colorful straw sticking out of it. She needed both hands to hold it although he only carried it over in one.

"Thank you," she told him. A new, more upbeat song had started.

"Let's go sit for a bit and have our drinks," he said, leading her by her arm toward the bar and away from the man. Ariel looked back a couple times, watching him still standing there and looking at her. The last time she looked, he was being pulled away by the woman to dance.

A few minutes later Eric had felt stupid and foolish. He had been with so many women in his life, but none of them had ever made him feel so nervous and tongue-tied. He wanted her, he needed her. He wasn't sure why. Watching her dance and leave with that man made his blood boil. He subconsciously fantasized about killing him. Why am I wasting time with this girl? he wondered as he half-heartedly danced with the girl with the bun in her hair.

"I'm going to go see what's going on the other side," Eric said to her, as he started to walk away.

"I'll go with you," she told him.

"No, it's ok. It was nice meeting you. You stay here and dance, I'm going alone," he said to her, sternly but politely. He didn't wait for a response and made his way through the crowd of people dancing. He finally saw her, sitting at the swim up bar. Her distinguishable red hair made her easy spot. He charged over, planning to grab her and carry her away somewhere they could be alone, but then he stopped himself. He figured it wouldn't be a good idea to directly confront whoever that man was with her.

Instead he planned something else.

"Are you enjoying yourself, Ariel?" a small, tanned woman bartender asked her at the bar.

"Yes," she replied, swirling her straw in her drink, a little distracted. It no longer bothered her that everyone seemed to know her name.

"Hey Ariel, want to go for a dip?" the man next to her asked. She didn't bother to ask him for his name, she didn't care to.

"Maybe later," she told him. Then, out of the corner of her eye, she noticed him again- her tall stranger. He was standing near a group of palm trees where the beach ended and you could only go more inland into the rainforest. She perked up in her seat and looked directly at him.

Come over, he mouthed with his lips and motioned for her with his hand. Ariel cracked a huge smile and felt her heart racing yet again. She looked at the man beside her and then at the bartender, neither one of them had noticed.

"Ariel, maybe we can try to-" the man started but was then interrupted.

"Chad! Play with us," a group of three mermaids splashed water on his back.

"Not right now, ladies," he said tersely and focused his attention back to Ariel. Ariel looked at the young man waiting on her, he smiled and waved her over subtly.

"Oh, come on!" one of them shouted and jumped on Chad's lap.

"Coral!" he yelled at her, "Stop that!" Another mermaid pulled on his arm, pulling him under the ocean waters.

Ariel used that opportunity to escape. She made her way over from the bar toward the man who as of recently consumed her thoughts. He smiled at her and she smiled at him as she walked. He then turned around and disappeared into the thickness of the trees. Ariel reached where he was standing and peeked around the overgrowth of nature on the tips of her toes.

"Come on," she heard a voice say. She looked behind her and noticed that Chad had found his seat at the bar again and was looking around for her. She quickly darted between the trees before he could see her.

"Where are you?" Ariel asked, as she moved around the rainforest. He poked his head out from around a giant rock in the distance.

"This way," he called to her and Ariel followed.

Eric wanted to keep a safe distance between them, mostly for the fun of having her chase him and also wanted to get far enough away from other people. He found a sandy trail he figured would be easy on her feet. He had no idea where it led, but as long as she was with him, he didn't care. Eric picked up the pace, almost trying to hide from her.

"Wait, slow down!" she called behind him.

"Come on, slowpoke!" he teased her, darting off around a bend and up a small hill. He heard her footsteps picking up pace as she giggled behind him. Eric found himself face to face with a dead end and the steep side of a mountain. He quickly climbed up a tree before she could get there and waited quietly. He watched as she arrived rapidly and then slowed down once she realized there was nowhere left to go. She looked around for any sign of him.

"Where did you go?" she called out playfully, "Alright, I guess I'll have to go back to the beach. I have a drink waiting for me at the bar."

"Guess so," Eric jeered loudly from the tree. She furrowed her brows and began to walk back the way she came.

"No, wait!" Eric panicked and clumsily lost his footing from the tree branch he was on. He fell to the ground with a loud thud, breaking several branches on the way down. Eric groaned on the floor in agony.

"Oh, no! Are you alright?" the young woman rushed toward him, kneeling beside him on the ground. For a split second, Eric had gotten a glimpse of the smooth bulb between her legs. It was so quick, he didn't have enough time to look away- not that he would've wanted to.

"I am now," he smiled, half of his face dirty with sand and dirt and with pieces of leaves and bark in his hair. She blushed, but then laughed at how ridiculous he looked. He groaned some more as she helped him back onto his feet.

"You're bleeding!" she cried, pointing to his elbow. Eric looked at the scrape and scoffed.

"That's nothing. My brother and I did way worse as children," he shrugged it off. She fell silent and so did he. All they could do was look at each other as they stood face to face.

"Hi," he told her.

"Hi," she echoed.

Great, now what? he thought to himself. He was at a complete loss for words.

"Where are we?" she asked him, breaking the silence and looking around.

"That's a good question. I don't know," he said. She laughed, thinking he was joking. Eric felt suddenly funny. They both began to walk back down the hill.

"Why did you lead us here then?"

"You're the crazy person that followed me!" he nudged her arm with his.

"Hey! I trusted you knew where you were going!"

"Well, who told you to do that?" he joked. He found himself standing more and more closely to her as they walked, or was she standing closer to him? When they reached the bottom of the hill, she suddenly stopped.

"Look, there's another way this way," she said as she started walking in that direction without waiting for him to react. He found that to be very brave of her.

"Do you know where you're going?"

"No," she smiled, looking up at him beside her as they walked. Their arms would slightly graze one another's and when their eyes would meet, she would quickly look away.

"Do you smell that? It's freshwater," Eric told her excitedly, "Must be a river or stream near by."

"You can smell that?" she asked, puzzled.

They continued to walk for about a quarter of a mile.

"So you have a brother?" Ariel asked.

"Yep, just one brother."

"Is he older or younger than you are?"

"Older. And he's a little crazy," he laughed, "How about you? Do you have any brothers?"

"No. Sisters," she said, "Six."

"Woah, you have six sisters? Your father must have his hands full. Older or younger?"

"All older and all a lot crazy," she giggled and rolled her eyes. They stopped before a giant fallen tree in their path.

"Let me help you up," he told her, holding her from behind by her hips and lifting her up onto the tree. She then extended her arm to help him up on the tree with her, but he shrugged her off. "I got it," he said smugly and took a few steps back. He darted toward the tree and leaped over it in one jump, pushing off the tree with his hands.

"You don't have to show off," Ariel jeered at him.

"I wasn't! Just want to make sure you get down safely," he smiled. He reached for her hands, helping her jump down to the ground on the other side. When she jumped, she almost lost her footing and he cradled her to his side. "I've gotcha." Her body felt surprisingly warm being so close to him. She didn't want to let him go. "Stay close to me," he told her, wrapping his arm around her waist and she wrapped her arm around him as well.

They continued to walk the sandy path down to find the freshwater river. She would look up at him from time to time and he would look down at her and smile. Ariel would quickly look away.

"I can hear it," she said to him, "Water." He darted out in front, releasing her body and instead pulled her by the hand.

"Slow down," she laughed, eager to get to wherever it was they were going. They could finally see it, a long flowing river with a big waterfall at its base. He released her hand and continued to run toward it.

"Woo Hoo!" he shouted, jumping in the air and curling his body into a big ball before splashing into the water. She shrieked with laughter, loving how free spirited he was. He reminded her of herself at times. He finally resurfaced above the water, "Come in!"

Ariel grinned and ran down toward the river, jumping head-first and diving in like a fish. He swam his way over to her and the two laughed with each other, mostly at nothing in particular.

"Ah!" he screamed sharply, and reflexively put his hands behind him. He hesitated a moment. "It's a piranha, get out!" he yelled. Ariel quickly headed toward the nearest dry land on the other side and he followed behind her, helping her get out before pulling himself out of the water. "Ah, another one just almost bit my foot! You stupid things!" Ariel couldn't help but laugh uncontrollably. "Hey, it's not funny!" he shouted, partially laughing himself and rubbing his backside.

"I can barely breathe!" Ariel laughed even harder, hunched over and clutching at her stomach.

"How does it look?" he asked, lowering his shorts on one end and exposing a fresh pink bite mark. The injury was so minor, Ariel fell to the floor with laughter. "It feels like it bit off a piece of flesh!"

"Flesh?!" Ariel shrieked, her eyes filled with tears and trying to catch her breath.

"Quit it!" he shouted and started nudging her on the ground.

"Do you think that's funny? Huh?," he joked, tickling her sides, "How's this for funny?" Ariel's laugh echoed throughout the rainforest. While laughing, she rolled over onto her back guarding her sides and he straddled her hips. "Get your arms out of the way!" he shouted and pinned both of her hands down by her wrists near her ears. Suddenly the laughter stopped and everything went quiet. All Ariel could hear was her own breath and heart beating rapidly in her ears. Her mouth was parted and they were both panting heavily.

He stared at her lips and she squirmed her hips beneath him, feeling a sudden tingling sensation. Her breasts seemed to be nearly popping out of the tops of her seashells the way he had her pinned down. She watched as water drops dripped from his hair to his nose. Everything about him was attractive to her, she wanted for him to kiss her badly. But all she could do was stare at him and wait.

"What's your name?" he asked her.

"Ariel," she told him, feeling completely powerless under his hold.

"Ariel," he lowered his head to hers, "That's kind of pretty."

"Thanks," she blushed, watching his mouth as he came closer.

"I'm Eric," he said softly, he was so near she felt his breath on her lips. The couple slowly closed their eyes and parted their lips.

All of a sudden, a loud screech-like roar exploded throughout the rainforest.

"What was that?" Ariel asked, frightened. They both looked in the direction of the sound, Eric still mounting her. He began to slowly release his hold and listened for more sounds. He placed a finger to his lips, signaling her to not make a sound. He carefully rose from the ground and looked around, careful to not make any sudden movements. Shortly after, the ground began to shake and the leaves from some trees started falling off. Eric knew that whatever it was, it was big.

"Come on, let's get out of here!" he yelled, pulling her off the ground and to her feet. In the far distance, a horde of animals started running behind them, a stampede of sorts. They ran as fast as they could, not sure of where the animals were coming from or going to.

"Eric, look!" Ariel shouted and stopped.

"What are you doing? Keep moving!" he yelled.

"Come!" she shouted back as she began to run toward a nearby cave in the mountain. Eric couldn't see the cave but followed after her.

"Where are you going?!" he continued to shout. "Oh, a cave," he said to himself as they got near. The animals weren't too far behind them, if they stayed where they were, they'd be crushed to death. There was quite a large rock in front of the cave, blocking part of its entrance. Eric helped Ariel up onto the rock first, boosting her up by her feet as she tried to climb. He then began to lift his body onto the rock as the front running animals were nearing. Ariel pulled him with one hand as best she could, enough to get him to push off with enough momentum with his free hand. Eric could finally see what was running behind them, they looked like giant lizards standing upright, with big claws and large mouths. They were fast and at least 8 feet tall. There were other kinds of lizards too, but Eric didn't wait long enough to find out.

"Jump!" he yelled, holding her hand tightly and leaping down into the hole. The two fell onto the hard rock pavement, the drop wasn't very far. Eric quickly observed his surroundings and noticed light beaming through a hole at the other end of the cave and he could make out a small body of water from the corner of his eye. He caught his breath as he brought himself up to his feet.

"Are you alright?" he asked, coughing a bit.

"I'm fine," Ariel assured him, panting heavily as she stood. She rested her hands on her knees looking around the cave and out of breath. He watched as she recovered from the run, her slender body, her wet and soiled skirt. Her feet were covered in dirt, just like his. Her hair had sand and bits of nature in it from rolling around on the ground. When wiping off a strand of wet hair that clung to her face, she smudged a bit of dirt on her cheek.

"What?" she asked with smile, between deep breaths, when she caught him staring at her. His stance was tall and shoulders were wide as his chest dramatically rose and fell with each breath. She couldn't have looked more beautiful to him.

Eric gathered all of the longing and all of the desire he felt for her that had built up throughout the day and rushed toward her, grabbing her face roughly and crushing his mouth against hers passionately. Ariel kissed back just as firmly, smashing her tongue to his, letting it enter his mouth and he entered hers. Breathing hard into each other's mouths as they couldn't think to stop for air. Eric pushed her body against the large rock with his and using one of his hands, lifted her off the ground. She immediately wrapped her legs around him, gasping for air in between kisses.

"Ariel, I want you so much," he growled into her mouth, making her lips tremble against his.

"Eric," she breathed, barely a whisper. He kissed her more fervently.

"Why do I want you this much? Why?!" he almost sounded angry and frustrated with himself. He practically devoured her and she struggled to keep up with his intensity, but quickly adjusted to his laps. She whimpered and moaned into his mouth, feeling her womanhood, that was now exposed and crashing against his stomach, pulse and moisten with desire for him. He wrapped his arms around her body and dug his fingers into her back.

"Can you feel it, Ariel?" pressing his chest against her seashells, "Can you feel the desire I have for you?"

"Yes," Ariel moaned, tossing her head back and allowing Eric to kiss her chin and down her neck.

"I want you. I want you so much," he panted. Ariel wrapped her arms around his neck, pushing his head down toward her chest and lifting her body up higher on the rock. She didn't know what she was doing, it was almost instinct. Eric pulled on her seashells and snapped them right off her body. Her smooth, creamy breasts and soft pink nipples bouncing into view. "Oh, god!" Eric grunted loudly, taking a full hand of breast and squeezing it firmly. His touch on her nipple made her rub her privates against him more firmly.

"Yes!" she moaned before he kissed her lips again. He squeezed and rubbed on her breasts, flicking and pinching her aching nipples with his fingers while sucking on her tongue.

"Can you feel the connection we have? It's so strong. Can you feel that?" he huffed, staring deeply into her eyes. "It's as if I already know you, but I don't," he breathed, "It's as if I've made love to you countless times, but I haven't." Eric buried his head into her chest and sucked on her hard, damp nipple.

"Eric!" she cried in complete ecstasy.

"If I could make love to you right now, I would," he growled, kissing her soft, hot flesh.

"Please," she said softly, holding him more tightly to her.

"Oh, Ariel."

"Please," she panted, "Make love to me."

"I can't do that to you," he whispered, slowing down on his kisses.

"Eric, I can't lose this feeling I have for you," she kissed him, "Make love to me."

"Here? Now?" he asked, surprised as he stroked the soft skin of her breasts.

"Here, now, please Eric," she begged, "I want you!" Ariel kissed him more deeply and passionately than she had before. She had taken full control as she pulled his head more firmly against hers. He pulled on the tie of her skirt, undoing the fabric from around her legs, carried her over near the small pool of water, and laid her flat on the ground.

"Ariel, has anyone ever made love to you before?" he asked curiously. She was afraid to answer and didn't for a few moments. "Ariel?"

"No," she admitted quietly, "Is that bad?"

"You just get more and more perfect, don't you?"

"Please, Eric," she told him, tugging on his arm.

"Ariel," he sat down beside her, "I want to know you. I want to learn everything about you. I know I hardly know you and it really doesn't seem that way inside, but- I don't know, I want much more than making love right now can do for me." He extended his legs beside her and laid himself down, propping his head up with his arm. He used his free hand to trace circles down her chest and around her nipples. He watched as she squirmed beneath his hand.

"What do you mean?"

"I want to make love to you- badly. You have no idea how badly. I just don't want to take advantage of you."

"Eric," Ariel whispered seductively, spreading her knees apart, "Touch me." Eric grinned and reached down between her legs. He knew she wouldn't stop until she was completely satisfied and figured he'd be the one to do it for her. It was hard enough to get his own body to cool off. He began to rub her, cupping her female part completely with his palm and fingers grazing her wet opening. She moved her hips in conjunction with his movements.

"Ohhh," she moaned, loudly, closing her eyes and scratching at the ground beside her.

"Yes, my little seductress. Focus only on your body," he told her, as he rubbed. He then cupped one of her breasts firmly with his free hand and sucked directly on her nipple.

"Mhhhh."

"I'm going to make you mine and pleasure you every night as often as you'd like," he whispered.

"Oh, Eric! Something- I feel something…" her voice trailed off.

"Yes! Let it happen, just relax," he coached her, rubbing her even harder.

"Oooohhh," Ariel heaved, raising her hips and curving her back with toes flexed outward. Blood rushed through her veins so quickly she felt as if she could faint. She only saw stars circling in that dark and clammy cave. Eric watched as her body released the last few spasms of a powerful orgasm. Her breathing slowed and he knew he could stop rubbing. Ariel opened her eyes to the face of the most handsome man she had ever seen. She pulled him down to her and kissed him, tenderly this time.

"Mhh, I can't wait to make you mine. Why do I feel this way? This intensity," he said to himself, laying beside her and tracing his fingers up and down her warm body.

"Eric-"

"Ariel, oh I love that name. Ariel," he repeated sheepishly.

"Eric!" she screamed, getting up from the ground. Eric suddenly noticed a pair of bright yellow eyes staring at the two of them from the shadows of the cave. He quickly rose and shielded Ariel's body behind his, waiting for whatever lurked in the shadows to attack. A low growl-like hiss grew throughout the cave. The hole through which they entered the cave was blocked by the large rock that was too tall to climb out of, at least not quickly. Ariel looked behind them at the opening of sunlight through the rocks and stuck her head out.

"Ariel, stay near me," he told her, inching backward more and more slowly. Suddenly another pair of eyes appeared about a foot from the first. Whatever it was, it was tall- taller than Eric.

"Eric, this way!" she shouted, she began to lift herself up and through the opening, and then noticed the sound of falling water just a few feet below.

"Wait, careful," he warned her, not wanting to not turn his back on the eyes. A third set of eyes appeared and out of the shadows, one large orange paw stepped down assertively and with that Eric turned and ran toward the opening. A giant light orange tiger pounced into the dimly lit area, on the other side of the water. Ariel had already made it out all of the way through and heard the terrible sounds coming from inside.

"Eric!" she called back for him. Suddenly a strong tan arm came through the hole, followed by another. She took an arm and tried to pull him out. Eric lifted himself out of the cave quickly and away from the hole, hugging his back against the jutted rock beside watched as the tiger paw emerged from the hole, trying to claw at anything nearby. The screeches of the animal were terrifying and unbearable. Eric laughed nervously, feeling his heart rushing with adrenaline again. Escaping death brought him such a great thrill.

"He's angry," he chuckled.

"What is it?"

"A tiger I think, but bigger- much bigger. I've never seen animals like these before in my life. I wish I had a good arrow to shoot it down."

"Shoot it?! For what?"

"I don't know- to skin?"

"What?" she asked, confused. Eric looked around and saw the ocean in the close distance.

"It's getting darker, the sun must be setting soon. I think we're facing east. We're right on the water again," he told her. Ariel already knew all of that, but let him continue as if it were news to her.

"There's water falling right beneath us," she said.

"Oh!" Eric looked down, careful not to fall off the side of the mountain they were unsafely standing on. He noticed a waterfall coming out of another cave right below them. "We're at tree level, so we can't be too far from the ground."

"Could we climb down from here?"

"I'm not sure," he said, thinking to himself. "Ariel, I'm going to swing you into this cave below, do you think you can do that?" Ariel peered her head over the edge.

"I think so," she said, "Now?" She began to squat down.

"No, wait!" he pulled her back up to her feet. He held her naked body in close and kissed her. "Mhh. You're so brave."

"Are you ready?" she smiled. He smiled back at her, not remembering a more perfect sight than what he had in front of him.

He held her by both arms off the side of the mountain tightly.

"Can you see where you're going to land?" he shouted?

"Yes!"

"Ok, kick off the ground and start swinging. Jump on 3, ready?"

One, two, three… Ariel jumped into the cave overflowing with water. It was hard to get to her feet and she quickly held onto a rock beside her to keep her from the pushing currents of flowing water.

"Are you ok?! Ariel?!"

"I'm here!"

Eric felt an overwhelming sense of relief come over him.

"Ok, here I go," he warned. Climbing down the rocks and dangling from the last place he could get a good hold. He swung his body back and forth and finally jumped right into the water. He immediately fought the currents and tried desperately to hold on to something.

"Eric!" Ariel yelled and jumped in, taking his hand in one hand and holding onto a rock with another. She struggled to hold on as he tried to gain traction against the slippery ground of rocks with his feet. He could see the panic in her eyes.

"Let go of me or we'll both fall," he said.

"How far down is it?"

"Ariel, you have to let go!" he shouted.

"No, just wait!" she could barely hear herself over the loud sounds of the rushing water.

"I love you, Ariel," he told her and released her hand.

"Eric! No!"

Ariel watched in disbelief as he floated and disappeared off the edge of the falling water and felt her heart completely plummet. She pulled herself up on the rock and out of the water, toward the side of the cave. It was hard to see over the edge, there was a mist of water that seemed to hover around the base, making it hard to gauge how far the drop would be. Ariel didn't waste much time and jumped.

"Eric!" Ariel woke up on the sand in a panic.

"I'm right here, darling," Eric smiled beside her. They were back on the beach in the midst of the steamy, sexual evening. Couples all around them were making love to the sounds of light music over calm, crashing waves and posts of fire lit up the night.

"What happened?" she asked him, confused, "You fell."

"I know. I'm not sure. When I woke up you were just sleeping there beside me."

"Our beloved guests!" Taylor beamed as he walked over, "We were waiting on you to join us." He sat down in front of the two and crossed his legs. "How was your transcendence?"

"Huh?" Ariel blurted.

"Your journey, how did it go?" he asked, with a Sly smile.

"Did you do something to us?" Eric asked, putting his arm around Ariel.

"Yes," Taylor started, "Tonight was the night we tested your love for one another. Your spirits are forever merged."

"Spirits?" Ariel felt so confused.

"Yes," he smiled, "Ariel and Eric will always find each other, lifetime after lifetime. Your souls are bound to one another. Even if you're in different times and in different forms, you will always have a love that transcends time and space."

"Wow," Eric said softly.

"You're both curious and adventurous, bold and brave. You will both always do what you feel is right. You will also go to extreme lengths for each other, risking everything for each other and would even die for each other. You both have a lot to learn from one another and you're great at expressing your feelings," Taylor told them. Eric leaned in and gave Ariel a proud kiss on the side of her head.

"You both also have some small reservations when it comes to trust. Eric, you can learn to trust Ariel's judgment to the same level or above your own. I know you are very independent, but Ariel is as well and if you learn to see things from her perspective you can really experience the world from an interesting and resourceful angle," Taylor placed a hand on Eric's hand.

"What do you mean?"

"Ariel was quicker to see a solution to your scenarios than you originally gave her credit for. I know trust is hard and it takes time, but you want to get there sooner rather than later," he told him. Eric nodded.

"Ariel," Taylor placed a hand on Ariel's hand and continued, "You must trust that Eric is completed devoted to you. There is no one else who can keep him from you as much as they might try. Trust that he is also doing his part to seeing it happen. I also saw that he has the utmost respect for you, your body and your purity. Despite being on pleasure island and your love being as strong as it is, Eric put his own physical needs second to what was morally right."

Ariel smiled to herself and leaned her head onto Eric's shoulder. Taylor still had both of their hands underneath his.

"I want you both to know that from this moment forward, you will always have someone on your side who only wants the absolute best for you. You will have a best friend, a lover and a soulmate. Enjoy your long and happy life together, your past lives have earned this. Enjoy your future and enjoy the Island," he spoke intently, his words struck deeper with the couple than their very own wedding vows.

"Thank you," Ariel told him, unsure of what else to say. All of her memories were so vivid, had they actually happened? Had time stopped? Was it all a dream that occurred in both of their minds at the same time?

Taylor smiled at the couple and got up to walk away, it wasn't until he sat back down with his group of women and mermaids that Eric noticed that he and Ariel were sitting in the middle of the big circle of people. No one was watching them, instead focused on their own happiness. Some people were laughing and drinking while others were kissing and touching each other's bodies. Almost everyone surrounding them was now completely or at least partially nude. Ariel looked around with her mouth slightly parted. Eric stroked her arm with his hand that was wrapped around her, from her shoulder down to her elbow and back again.

"I love you," he told her and kissed her head. Ariel turned her face and looked at her loving prince. Eric had never felt more fulfilled in his entire life. He kissed her tenderly, remembering falling in love all over again just as vividly as she. He placed a hand at her hips and gently moved it over her skirt and then back up to her waist.

It may have been the music or the flames or the beach filled with love-making, but Ariel felt her body desiring him more strongly than ever before. Ariel raised her body against his, kissing him more firmly. She didn't break their kiss as she came to her knees beside him, pushing his body backward toward the blanket.

"Ariel," he whispered when her beautiful face now hovered over his body. She smiled and bent forward to kiss him once more, her kisses were intoxicating. She noticed a few people who were in the crowd around them stop and stare at her. One couple had the woman sitting between the man's legs and they were both facing her with their legs spread open as the man's hands rubbed firmly between the woman's legs. The woman smirked at her and the man gave her a wink. Ariel felt suddenly empowered. She reached down over Eric's shorts and took a strong grasp of his partially hardened member and a smile grew over Eric's face.

"Take them off," Ariel told him.

"In front of everyone?" he asked, lifting his head from the blanket as he laughed nervously. Ariel reached behind her back and undid the tie to her seashells, letting her nude breasts hit the night air. Eric's eyes grew wide.

"Take them off," she said again, softly. This time, Eric complied quickly, now completely nude on the beach like many of the other people around him. Ariel stood on her knees and untied the fabric that kept her short skirt wrapped around her hips. She looked around again, noticing fresh pairs of eyes on her and Eric. It was thrilling to her to be so openly exposed in front of so many people. She straddled his hips and placed her slit directly on Eric's firmness that laid anxiously against his lower abdomen.

Ariel ran her fingers from his neck, down his pecs and across his chiseled abdomen, stopping to toy with the hairs beneath his navel. She rocked her hips back and forth, feeling the side of his thick manhood slippery against her moistened lips.

"Oh, that feels nice," Eric breathed deeply. Ariel felt her breath heavy as well. Eric extended his arms and brought both of his hands up to her breasts, squeezing them gently and rolling her pink nipples between his thumb and index finger. Ariel tossed her head back, feeling a deep sensation from her nipples to her stimulated clitoris. The crowd around her looked hazy now. For a moment she'd catch glimpses of mouths and tongues and breasts and penises, but never able to focus on just one for too long.

Ariel reached below her a grabbed him firmly in one hand. She had seen enough other couples do it, she decided it couldn't be so hard. She sat up, with her knees on either side of him and placed the head of his dripping skin at the base of her own wet hole. Eric's eyes grew wide as she slowly eased down onto him, watching himself disappear inside of her small body. Ariel winced a bit, enjoying his fullness and at the same time thinking it would have kept going forever.

"Easy does it," Eric coached her, holding on to her hips and propping his knees up behind her so that she could rest her back against his thighs. Small whimpers escaped her mouth, followed by deep moans. Ariel finally felt like he was in as far and she could physically take him, stretching her snug, wet inner walls. She moved her hips slowly, raising her bottom up off his body a bit before going back down again. She watched as his eyes rolled back into his head- she had never seen him do that before.

"Do you like that?" she asked seductively, in a low and sultry voice.

"Uh huh," Eric breathed, unable to focus on words. It took Ariel a small while before finding the right rhythm. She felt herself opening up more and more each time she felt her bottom touch Eric's hips. Ariel stopped and leaned forward, still with Eric inside her, and gave him a deep kiss on the lips- wet tongues circling and pressing against each other. "You're in control," he told her, looking into her eyes that hovered above him "Make yourself feel good."

Ariel sat back up and pushed her bottom onto him firmly, biting her bottom lip as she felt herself being filled up completely. She rocked herself against him, feeling her blood rushing to her female part. She closed her eyes and thought about Eric and how much he turned her on. She thought of having his head between her legs and his tongue inside her as she grabbed hold of his soft black hair. The vision of Eric was suddenly Greta, licking and tasting her, bringing her closer to ecstasy. Then Eric appeared again, but this time beside her. He pressed Greta's head closer onto Ariel's body as he leaned over and sucked and teased Ariel's nipples with his tongue. Ariel would often remember the fantasy, that became reality, of having two people pleasuring her at the same time.

"Oh, Ariel!" she heard Eric moan, snapping her back into reality. She couldn't hold out much longer on top of Eric in the middle of that sensual orgy of people and mermaids. Eric lifted his hands to her breasts and cupped them firmly, thumbing her nipples. She loved having her breasts touched.

"It's going to happen!" she shouted sharply in a high pitched voice, "Oooohhhh!"

"Keep going," Eric coached her, watching as she made a weird face before tossing her head back, "Yes!"

"Ahhhh," Ariel felt her inside's exploding nerves, coming together forcefully and leaving again slowly. She felt dizzy lightheaded and completely breathless as she laid back against Eric's propped thighs. She collapsed the back of her head on his knees.

"I love you," Eric sat up, sliding Ariel's legs forward on either side of him with him still firmly inside of her.

"I love you," Ariel kissed him, cupping his face with both of her hands.

"Can I join you?" a human woman appeared beside them completely nude. Ariel looked at Eric and smiled.

"Oh, Eric! It's beautiful!" Ariel beamed with amazement.

The millions of stars glowing brightly in the sky reflected against the pool of water at the base of the small waterfall. Large torch lamps lit the area around the water, adding the light crackling of fire to the had been nearly a week since the two arrived at the Island.

"Ariel, do you know what today is?" Eric asked, taking her hand. Ariel looked up at Eric with anticipation.

"It's my birthday."

"Really?! Happy Birthday!" she quickly wrapped her arms around him and hugged him tightly. Her reaction made him chuckle as he caressed her back.

"Do you know what that means?"

"Of course, it's the day you were born. I just had a birthday several month ago, remember?" Ariel pulled her head back and looked up at him.

"Haha, no not that. I know you know what a birthdate is. I mean, a year ago today, Grimsby took me out for a ship ride with the entire crew to give me that hideous statue of me mother had commissioned."

"Oh."

"Then, a huge storm passed through, setting the ship on fire…" his voice trailed off.

"Eric," Ariel felt her heart warming, remembering the moment when she first saw him.

"It was the night you saved me. I wouldn't be alive if it weren't for you. You have no idea how much you've done for me."

"Eric, I-"

"You have no idea how much I love you," he smiled at her, feeling his heart explode with gratitude for her.

"I love you, too," she told him, watching as his eyes began to water.

"Ariel, I love you so much it scares me. It hurts me to love you this much. I never want to lose you."

"You'll never lose me, my love," she brought her hand up to his cheek and touched it tenderly. Eric closed his eyes and pressed his face against her touch, kissing her on the wrist. Ariel watched as a small tear ran down his face, she had rarely seen him so emotional. She felt her own throat begin to choke.

"Ariel," he said softly, "Be mine."

"Forever," she responded, standing on the tips of her toes to meet his lips for a kiss.

Ariel turned around and moved her thick red hair over her right shoulder, exposing her newly tanned back. She slowly looked over her left shoulder, waiting patiently. Eric knew what she wanted him to do, he was just so beside himself with emotion. He smiled to himself, admiring the lovely figure in front of him and remembering how lucky he was. He brought her hands to her back and removed the clasp that held together the strings of her seashells, letting them fall to the ground. He traced kisses from her neck down to her left shoulder.

Ariel took his hand and lead him toward the water. He followed behind her sheepishly, feeling intoxicated by the mere presence of her. Dipping one foot in the water, Ariel stopped and giggled.

"It's warm," she said to him with a devilish smirk, as she pulled him in.

"I can't believe Belle is having a baby," Ariel smiled to herself and she looked at her feet.

The couple had set up a hammock that faced the ocean just a few away from their hut. Ariel was lying on top of Eric's chest, as they watched the sun beaming over the ocean.

"I hear her belly is getting pretty big. It's going to be a big boy," Eric rubbed Ariel's belly.

"It could be a girl," Ariel reminded him.

"Not with a belly that big," Eric said, "It's definitely a boy" Ariel rolled her eyes and smirked, she didn't understand human's fascination with having male children. "You'll give me a beautiful, healthy boy one day."

"Or a girl! And not yet, please. I don't want to have babies just yet."

"Well, you never really know when it's going to happen. It just happens."

"Do we have to leave?" Ariel asked Eric with a pout.

"We'll stay as long as you'd like. We have all the time in the world."

"It'd be nice to stay, but there is still so much of the world to see- like Paris," she said.

"Ever been to Asia?"

"Asia? What is that?"

"It's amazing. The people and culture there is different, you'd love it."

"Really?"

"They eat with two small sticks instead of forks and spoons," Eric laughed.

"How? Oh, Eric, I want to go. Can we go?"

"Of course," he told her and kissed her temple, "I heard there's this new Prince in the Middle East that has a magical flying carpet."

"A flying carpet?!"

"He rides it, too- like a horse in the sky."

"Imagine if this hammock just picked us up and flew?" she said, imaging a flying carpet. Eric laughed. "Where is the prince?"

"Uh, Agrabah- I think," Eric rubbed his head.

"What's his name?"

"I don't remember," Eric told her, "But we'll go if you'd like."

"Oh, yes! Let's go!"

"Right now?"

"Well, let's stay a few more days," Ariel said more quietly, not yet wanting to leave pleasure island.

"We can always come back," Eric reminded her, "We don't have to leave forever."