The Lost Ones Ch. 3

The late afternoon sun was slanting through the bedroom windows, casting their bodies in a golden glow when the grumbling of an empty stomach and the insistent pressure of an over full bladder roused Hunter from his contented slumber. He awoke to find Miranda wrapped around him like a boa constrictor, and though he was loath to awaken her, he knew he needed a bathroom and then some food, pronto. He moved as slowly as he could, trying to slip out from under her arms and legs, but each movement caused her to squirm a little closer, hold on a little tighter. Finally, he realized he was going to have to wake her to get away from her. "Miranda," he said softly, so as not to startle her away. "Miranda, honey, you have to wake up now." Her only response was to mutter something unintelligible and snuggle closer, burying her nose in his neck. He gave her shoulder a little shake and spoke a bit louder. "Miranda, wake up."

"Hmmm?" she murmured.

"Come on, all the way awake, baby."

Her eyes fluttered open, and she gave him a sleepy, provocative smile. "Hi."

"Hi. You've got to let me go now."

Her eyes closed again. "Don't wanna let go. Wanna hold on forever. Like it here..." He could tell she was still half asleep and about to doze off again.

"Be that as it may, babe, I have to go to the bathroom very, very badly. You have to let go." Something of his desperation must have gotten through to her because she roused enough to untangle her arms and legs from his. The moment he was free, he dashed across the room and into the bathroom.

When he emerged a few moments later, Miranda had wrapped herself around his pillow the way she'd been wrapped around him. What a snuggler she is, he thought with a grin. With an amused shake of his head, he padded naked out to his kitchen to find something to eat. His stomach was letting him know in no uncertain terms that it was not happy with him for not having eaten anything since the night before.

His choice of food was abysmal. Three bags of microwave popcorn, a half full bottle of imitation bacon bits, four cans of mystery vegetable, a two month old box of corn flakes and eight of those little packages of sweet and sour sauce from a fast food restaurant shared space in his cabinets with his collection of chipped cups and plates. The 'fridge held a Styrofoam take home container full of fried rice and sesame chicken from the Chinese restaurant down the street, one semi-wilted head of lettuce and three very wilted carrots, a gallon of milk three days past it's expiration date. With a groan he reached for the door to the freezer and peaked in. Oh, man! He slammed the door shut just as he heard Miranda walk into the kitchen. He gave her a tight smile that she didn't seem to notice as she peaked around his shoulder in to the still open refrigerator. "Oh, brother! I think you need a HazMat Team in here to clean that out," she said with a giggle. When he didn't laugh along with her, she looked up and noticed his hand was pressed firmly against the door to the freezer. "Okay, whatcha got in there that you're trying to hide from me?" She batted at his hand and tussled with him for a minute before pulling him away and opening the freezer.

And started to giggle.

"What? You afraid you're going to hurt my feelings because you have a box of fish sticks in your freezer?" Hunter turned bright red. Yes, that's exactly what he'd thought. He watched as she tossed the box, which appeared to be the only edible food in the apartment on to the counter, and then slipped her arms around his neck. "Hunter, I'm not actually a fish. You don't have to worry that one of my cousins might be in that box." She giggled again as he went from bright red to a delightful shade of green. Gripping his shoulders, she gave him a shake. "Snap out of it, man!" she said cheekily. "I'm not going to bore you with all the anatomical and genetic details. Just trust me when I say your love of the catch of the day is safe."

"I don't think I'm particularly hungry anymore," he muttered, embarrassed by his reaction to the fish sticks. A sudden loud gurgle from the vicinity of his stomach belied that statement though.

"Liar." He watched as Miranda dug through his cabinets until she found a cookie sheet and dumped the half full box of fish sticks onto it. As soon as she had stuck the pan into the oven, she turned and sauntered over to him. He all but jumped out of his skin when she reached out and grabbed him by the crotch. "I'm not finished with you yet, Hunter. We gotta get some fuel into you so we can pick up where we left off." Before he could respond to her sudden grope, she gave him a swat on the butt. "Go hop in the shower and clean up."

Blankly, he did as he was told.

* * *

Standing naked under the hot, stinging spray of the shower helped Hunter feel a bit more level. Miranda had blown all his circuits from the moment he first lay eyes on her. There was something about her--something more than just the fact that she wasn't exactly your everyday, average drop-dead-gorgeous woman. He felt connected to her somehow.

A smile twitched his lips as he closed his eyes and relaxed. Wouldn't his dad just had a canary if he came home with a mermaid as well as a degree? Woah! he thought, eyes snapping open. where did that thought come from? Was he actually considering taking this woman, that he'd known for less than twenty four hours, back home? In a brilliant flash, he knew the answer to that one: Yes. That's exactly what he would do. He carefully examined his feelings for this woman, and came to the conclusion that if what he was feeling wasn't love, it would be that in a very short time. He'd never, until this very moment believed in that "at first sight" crap. But it had happened. At first sight, the moment he'd seen her sitting on that rock, staring out at the sea, he'd begun to fall.

He was rolling the idea around in his mind when he heard the bathroom door click open. He felt himself harden as Miranda pulled the glass door to the shower enclosure open and stepped inside. God, she was gorgeous. She reminded him of sunshine, all bright and golden. But right now she had a serious look on her face.

"What?" Hunter asked. "What is it?"

"I'm going to have to leave soon."

He was aghast. "Why?"

"My time is almost up. I have to return to my people."

He leaned back against the wall of the shower. "When do you have to go?"

"This evening. I'm sorry Hunter."

Suddenly furious, he reached out and gripped her by the shoulders. "Damnit, Miranda. I don't want you to go. I want you to stay here, with me."

"Oh, Hunter!" To hide her suddenly tear-filled eyes, she threw herself into his arms. "I want to stay with you, too. But I can't. I have responsibilities that I can't shirk for personal enjoyment. My people are depending on me."

"I don't understand. What kind of responsibilities? You're just one person. Why are they depending on you?"

"I'll tell you later. But first..." she let her hands run down his chest and belly, until her hands were filled with his tumescence. She stroked him once, twice, bringing him to full hardness. He watched, filled with hazy pleasure, as she sank to her knees before him. "Let me taste you, Hunter."

"Yesss..." he hissed as he felt her lips close over him, taking him into her soft, hot mouth. Pleasure blasted through his body as her tongue caressed the underside of his shaft, stroking back and forth. Oh, it was Heaven. He couldn't stop his hips from undulating, just a bit, to increase the friction. Miranda understood what he wanted, and began to press harder, suck harder. The pressure became too much. He could feel it pounding in his head, in his heart, in his loins. He thread his fingers through her long golden hair and attempted to pull her away from him. "Oh, baby, stop. I'm going to come...I want us together..."

The minute her mouth released his member, she was hauled to her feet, and then hoisted her into his arms. She gasped as he pressed her back against the cool tiles of the shower enclosure and pressed himself against her. She spread her thighs and heard him groan as he settled into position. "Hang on," he groaned, and then brought her down hard on him. She arched her back in pleasured surprise, writhing eagerly as he cradled her buttocks in his hands and began to raise and lower her. He was so big, so hard, she couldn't believe she was able to take him. And he had been whipped into a frenzy that made him less than gentle, in a manner that thrilled her to her core. She whimpered as he rotated his hips, and he grinned wolfishly at her. "More!" he growled. "Give me more!"

She wrapped her arms around his neck, burying her face in his throat, her legs wrapped tightly around his hips, allowing his thrusts to go even deeper. It became too much for her, and with a snarl of her own, she turned her face and bit down, hard, on his shoulder as she reached climax. In response, she felt him force himself as deeply as he could good and shudder, over and over. His spasms were accompanied by the hot sensation of his seed filling her belly.

He leaned weakly against her, as drained of energy as he'd ever been in his life. She hung limply in his arms, as replete as he. * * *

"Walk me to the water, Hunter." The sun was once again setting over the ocean. It had been one day, a mere twenty four hours, since this woman had walked into his life. And despite everything he'd said throughout the day, it hadn't changed her determination to leave. So he'd taken her hand in his and walked with her down to the beach. They'd stopped at the edge of the sand, and Hunter had turned to walk away when Miranda reached out and lay a hand on his shoulder. "I want to explain some things before I go."

He thought about it for a moment, before acquiescing with a nod. She smiled slightly and slipped her small hand into his as they began to stroll slowly across the deserted beach to the water's edge. "My people are dying, Hunter."

"What?"

"We're a dying race. We haven't had a male child born capable of siring children of his own in twenty years. We don't know why this is happening. Our doctors are totally stumped. So, it has become the responsibility of our female population to, each one of us, produce at least one child. We're trying to find a genetic combination that will produce a fertile male child. So far, we've had no luck." With a sigh, Miranda stared downward, poking at a small shell buried in the sand with her toe. "It's my time to go back, to do what I have to do."

Hunter was aghast at the idea. "No! Miranda, stay here with me!"

"I can't! What if I'm the one who could save my race?"

"And what if you're not? What are the odds? You came here, to dry land, for a reason. You don't really want to do this!"

She was almost hysterical by now. "No, I don't, Hunter! The idea of being a brood mare for my race makes my skin crawl! Carrying the child of a man I don't know, don't care about, with a fifty-fifty chance of the child being male and only a slim-to-none chance of the baby being fertile? But I have to try! I love my people too much not to." She took a deep breath to calm herself. "I came here, to dry land, chasing a dream--a story told to little children. I knew before I came that it would be like trying to find a single grain of sand on this entire beach when I started."

He latched onto this as a way to keep her here longer. "What story?" he asked, reaching for calm the way she had.

"There's a legend. It's said that many centuries ago one of the clans decided to dedicate themselves to dry-land living. They left the sea and were never heard from again. Whether they died off, or were killed by humans. Whether they even existed in the first place...no one knows. I was hoping..." she trailed off with a shrug.

"You were hoping to find a solution without having to sacrifice yourself." Hunter murmured. He cupped her chin and forced her to look at him. "That was a brave thing to do."

"It was foolish. The Lost Ones are just a story, a fairy tale told to children." She faced the sea. "I have to go." Tears streaming down her face, she waded out until the water was up to her hips.

"Miranda, wait!" She turned to him, a question in his eyes, as he waded out to join her. "What about me?" he asked desperately. "Could I father a child on you and have it born fertile?"

"Oh, Hunter! Our two species are not biologically compatible. We can't have children together. I wish we could. I'd be honored to carry your baby." With that, she flung herself into his arms. He held her tight as the sun disappeared beneath the horizon. "I..."

"I know, baby." He tipped her face to his and kissed her gently. "It's time for you to return home. Remember me."

"Until the day I die, my love," she murmured, and then turned and disappeared beneath the waves. He watched for a long while, until far out in the distance he saw the flip of a golden tail fin, and she was gone.

To Be Continued...