XIII. Dubious Consent

Emma couldn't believe her luck.

Every day she was getting stronger, healthier, and happier. Since transferring into Cam's charge, she felt like she almost had her old life back. The power drinks each morning were so like the smoothies full of boosters she ordered at the JuiceNet. Whenever they trained, she was encouraged to push herself to the limits of her physical endurance, just as she had when prepping for a race, or other swimming competitions. She finally felt like she was doing something, and she welcomed the intensity of the fitness training.

She worried that Denman might catch on—that growing stronger in human form might be too obviously against her plans. Cam laughed it off. "That's the great thing about it. It looks like we're doing exactly what she wants, but she has no clue I'm helping you find a way out."

"Why does she want me training?"

"I don't know, yet. But you'll be long gone before we have to find out," he pat her leg reassuringly.

It didn't escape her notice. His touches had become more frequent and lingering of late. At first, it was just a brush against her fingers as he handed her a drink, or an offer to hold her feet as she did crunches; things that could be mistaken as an accident, or a friendly gesture. It was more than that, now. When she confided in him, he held her hand, sometimes touching her shoulder in response. She caught him looking at her in a curious way whenever they took a break from the rigorous exercise plan to lie on the floor and just breathe.

She didn't mind. It wasn't just because Cam was her ticket out. When he touched her, it sent a thrill up and down her spine, almost like the sensation of her skin as it transformed. It was a bit like her limbs were made up of a thousand tiny bubbles that tickled her skin as they fled to the surface. He wasn't just a source of this great feeling, either. Cam was the solidarity of her human life. She could feel magical without the silly tail and powers. All she needed was his touch, and she knew it would be okay again.

She couldn't tell the girls. Cam hadn't exactly offered to help them all escape. He said he was working on a plan to free her. He said nothing about the other mermaids. She could hardly expect him to make such a huge promise. Once she was free, she'd come back for them, of course. But why get their hopes up prematurely?

There was little that got past Nixie, however.

In the middle of Emma's second high-speed lap around the perimeter of their tank—which was not without a number of ridiculous twirls—Nixie blocked her path and forced her to surface.

"What's going on with you?" she prodded.

"What do you mean?"

Nixie crossed her arms. "Those fitness classes don't happen to have a male trainer, do they?"

Emma twisted some of her hair between her fingers. "Why do you ask?"

"You're too happy. It's not like you."

"Oh, so I can't be happy?" Emma tried to look insulted, but it was impossible to maintain an angry glance while she was also weaving tiny braids into her hair.

"Nixie's right," Cleo joined. She hadn't changed her own elaborate hairstyle from Nixie's labours for her announcement party. "You're acting kind of weird."

"She's got a crush," Nixie stated with an eye roll. "You realise everyone here is one of Denman's crew, right?"

"He's not like that! He's... nice!"

"Nice like he could go without land boy coverings and you wouldn't mind."

Emma didn't appreciate Nixie's humour. "No, nice like... he's thoughtful, and kind. He listens, and he's..."

"Paid to be nice as part of Denman's sick experiments," she finished.

"Nixie, don't be sore because your 'pairing's been delayed."

"Hey, he's got his own training schedule to become a more pleasing specimen. Why would that upset me?"

"Whatever."

Cleo frowned at the both of them.

"Emma, I'm serious," Nixie warned. "Anyone who's here of their own free will is either a mad scientist, or willing to sell out their friends for whatever that crinkly stuff is you use to barter with."

"Money," Cleo affirmed.

"Right. Money. It's great if you're having a good time, but you can't trust him."

"I'll make my own decisions about who to trust, thank you. I don't remember asking you for life advice." Emma swam off in a huff. Nixie didn't get it. Of course, she didn't know Cam's side of the story, but Emma couldn't say anything without telling her the escape plan, and Nixie wasn't likely to keep a secret.

She expressed some of her frustrations with Cam the next day.

"You didn't tell her, did you?" he responded apprehensively, "Nixie is a blabber mouth."

"No, I didn't want her to say anything to Cleo."

"The more people know, the more dangerous it'll be for us."

Emma agreed. "Still... we'll come back for them, right?"

"Of course! But we can't risk a mass exodus right now." He sighed. "I still haven't found a way to shut down the security system. There's gotta be a power conduit somewhere..." he grew solemn, lost in thought.

"You'll figure it out," she murmured, and kissed his cheek.

Cam looked up at her with a sly grin. He leaned in to kiss her fully, but she shied away.

"Sorry, I just... I'm not ready for this. Not yet. Maybe when we get out of here. I don't feel totally myself, yet. I'm in human form right now, but I don't feel human. Not completely. Do you know what I mean?"

"Sure," he nodded, though clearly disappointed. He put on a fake smile. "How about drinks?"

"Thanks," she mumbled.

As he went to blend the veggies, she stole up beside him, meaning to reassure him that she wasn't rejecting him—just asking for time. Something happened with the blender, and he struggled with it a moment. He lost his hold on the cover, and it flew off the blender along with a spew of vegetable juice that covered them both in a thick coat of green sludge.

"Oh, I'm so sorry!" he cried, but Emma was laughing. "That's so nasty! Let me grab a towel!"

"No," Emma, still laughing, caught him by the arm. "Don't bother. I'm already going to turn. Just don't let me fall."

Just as she said that, her legs vanished, and her tail appeared in place of them. Cam caught her as she fell forward, into his arms.

"How about a shower?" he chuckled.

-x-

The water felt glorious. Hot, steamy water; not the horrid cold of the salty tank. Emma knew she didn't have too much time before she'd have to be back in the tank for the feeding frenzy, but she wished she could stay beneath the hot stream forever.

"Hey... Emma?"

Cam stood behind her, eyes respectfully on the floor. "Sorry, didn't mean to bug you." His hair was soaking, and his naked chest still slick from his own shower. His only covering was a pair of swim trunks. He dragged his big toe along the pattern of the tile.

"Oh, it's fine," she answered, "I'm just finishing up. Do you think you could turn off the water? I'm sort of trapped."

"Sure." He was forced to stand over her sitting form to reach the dial, but when his hand was on it, he hesitated under the spray. "Feels nice, doesn't it?"

"You have no idea," she grinned up at him.

"Look, Emma... about what you said earlier. I just wanted you to know that I don't need you to be human." He knelt by her so the water now streamed over his back and shoulders and cascaded onto her stomach. "I think you're fantastic in whatever form you're in." He brought her chin up as she'd turned her gaze away in a blush. "Just be Emma; human, mermaid—I don't care if you're an octopus."

Emma giggled. She put a hand out to catch the water streaming off his shoulders. "This does feel nice."

"This is nothing," he said, and his voice was husky. He crouched over her so that his knees were on either side of her hips as he leaned in to kiss her as he meant to. He ran his fingers along her waist, where scales met skin, consuming her lips all the while. She had a fleeting thought that if she was in human form, he'd be touching the waistline of her knickers.

She was all water, and fire, and steam, and didn't see at what point he was no longer wearing his shorts. The first indication was when he thrust towards her, and she felt her scales stretch and open for him.

She didn't know if she wanted this—if she wanted it here with him. But it was all happening so fast, that she felt it was already too late to consider. If her body reacted in such a way, that must mean she was enjoying it. Just like for wildlife; her scales wouldn't have unfolded if she wasn't aroused. His hands did feel nice, rubbing against her skin and scales.

Then she was on her back, and without warning, he was inside her while his hands covered every inch of her in quick succession. She wanted to move her legs—whether to deepen the sensation, or throw him off, she still wasn't sure—but she had none; only her tail that writhed beneath him as he moved over her in total freedom.

Emma was lightheaded when he helped her sit up. She hadn't experienced any fantastic explosion of pleasure, but the sensation wasn't bad. Cam leaned his head against the shower wall, and released a moan.

"What...?" she gasped. "What was that?"

"Something we'd better not tell anyone. If Denman finds out..." he passed a hand over his face and shook with a sudden shiver.

Emma touched his arm, suddenly worried that she had done something to jeopardise her way to freedom. "Was I okay? It wasn't... bad, was it? I mean, do you regret it?"

Cam laughed as he returned his shorts to his body, and tucked his arms under Emma's; a sign that it was time to go back to the tank. He bent his head to her ear and whispered, "Never."

Author's Notes:

I'm cowering from the possible repercussions of this chapter. I've probably said this a hundred times already, but I did say this would be a darker story!

Also, I know this update is a little late, and I haven't replied to all of last chapter's reviews for which I apologise. My laptop was overtaken by some heavy duty malware that encrypted all my documents, and I just got it back from having the virus cleared last night. Sadly, or... devastatingly, I should say, anything I did not send to my Beta was lost. (Lesson learned: send EVERYTHING to the Beta!) I still have this story on file, so fear not! It's just a very dark time for me while I assess how many original stories I've lost.