Hi all!
Annabelle Hawthorne has returned with the next chapter of "Seriously, how did you get away with 103 chapters of this drivel?" I'll be your host for this afternoon as we dive right in!
For the new readers, we started with a blowjob in the bathtub, met the grim reaper, and are now on Hawaii hiking up a mountain. I probably forgot to mention a few things, but fuck it. You're either going to stream roll ahead, give up, or decide to pop back to chapter 1 to see what made this blowjob so great. I suppose the secret fourth option is to print the whole story out, roll it into a massively thick cylinder, then ease your orifice of choice down onto it in the hopes of absorbing the story through your mucus membrane, but that's incredibly niche, and I would like to remind you to flare the base. Nobody at the ER will believe that you slipped in the shower and fell on an erotic novel and now its stuck.
For my returning readers (who now have a very interesting visual in their heads), welcome back! I'm in pretty high spirits these days, but that's due to the enormous amounts of caffeine I've been running on. I couldn't afford actual drugs like Stephen King, so the coke I've been doing comes in a bottle. Other than that little face, we're practically the same person!
Book 7 has been a bit harder for me to write in recent days because I am seriously beach deficient as a result. I actually started listening to a youtube playlist where the music was supposed to make you think you're sitting in a Hawaiian cafe. I've also had some semi-mild personal drama, but writing is kind of my therapy, so I've been digging deep to keep my words up.
I am hoping to go full time with my writing gig later this year, so things should stabilize for me pretty soon, I just have some life stuff that needs shuffling around. The main reason I even bring this up is that the support of readers here on Lit are directly responsible for making that huge leap to living my dream as a full time author. I don't have sufficient words to describe how this feels for me, but I'll give it a go.
Thank you. Thank you for your comments, for your letters, for remembering to leave me stars so that others could find me, for binge reading until all hours of the night, for saying kind things when I was full of doubt, for reminding me that I am a capable storyteller when the words simply wouldn't come. These are all things you have done for me, and I'm going to keep working hard to put out the very best story I can.
Don't forget to check my release schedule in the bio to see when I'm planning chapters, I really do aim for that nebulous Friday release so you can kick up your heels over the weekend. But for now, it's time to sit back, relax, and get ready for a scene that most of you would say is
Sudden But Inevitable
Beth stood on the dock, watching as the boats carrying Mike and the others vanished around the edge of the island. She held a mimosa in one hand and clutched her hat against her head with the other to keep the wind from carrying it away. She was a little frustrated that she couldn't go with them, but it did come with certain perks.
Nearby, a figure surfaced from the water. It was a merman with a smooth, glistening torso and well defined pecs. He had dark skin and raven-colored hair that had been decorated with glass beads. Thick tribal bands had been tattooed along his chest and shoulders, creating shadows that somehow gave him more definition.
"Will you be joining us today, Lady Radley?" His smile was genuine, and he extended a hand toward her. "I was informed you may enjoy a tour of one of our local reefs. It's off limits to all but our most distinguished guests."
Beth grinned and drank the rest of her mimosa in one go. "I would be happy to join you," she said. "What is your name?"
"I am Ano." The merman used his tail to propel himself out of the water enough that he performed a bow. "You will be in my care today."
"Lovely." Beth took off her hat and pulled her sundress over her head. She was wearing a purple one-piece swimsuit with white stripes along the edges. "I'll be with you in just a moment."
She walked toward the beach where a young woman, an Order attendant, was waiting. Beth handed over the hat, empty glass, and sundress.
"Can you make sure those don't blow away?" she asked. "Looks like I'm going swimming."
The woman nodded, then took the bundle up to where breakfast had been served. Aurora stood there, her eyes on the horizon as if she was deep in thought. Beth wasn't certain what the woman might be distracted by, but figured it probably had to do with Lily refusing to leave her room again.
Thinking of the succubus, Beth turned her gaze upward. Lily was watching from above, and took a moment to give Beth the finger.
"Never change, Lily." Beth smirked and turned her attention back toward the dock. Ano was bobbing up and down with the waves, patiently watching her. She tried to act casual, her hips swaying as she walked to the end of the dock.
"Are you ready?" asked Ano with a mischievous gleam in his eyes. "Did you want to bring your snorkel gear?"
"I don't need it." Beth leapt from the dock, summoning her magic. The water embraced her when she broke the surface, helping her sink to the sand fifteen feet below. Her magic helped her to maintain a thin bubble of air around her eyes, allowing her to see as if she was using goggles. Ano was ten feet back, hovering above the sand as he watched her.
Pinching her nose, Beth blew outward in an attempt to equalize the pressure in her ears. This was something she hadn't quite figured out how to do using her magic, but she would get there eventually. She swam toward the merman, who held out his hand.
"Let me know when you need air," he said, his voice soft against her ears. His lips hadn't moved, which meant there was likely magic involved. Beth vowed to pay close attention and see if it was something she could learn. She took Ano's hand and allowed him to pull her as they headed away from the shoreline.
They swam for several minutes before she tapped Ano's arm and he took her to the surface. While she could hold her breath for a really long time, she couldn't do it consecutively, so they swam along the top of the waves for a while, with Ano's tail propelling them forward at high speed. The occasional merperson was sometimes spotted below, interacting with animals or collecting trash.
"Picking up after humans is a full time job," Ano noted when Beth stopped for a minute to watch some merchildren gather up plastic bags into a ball that they tucked into woven seaweed tote bags. She nodded sadly at him and then they continued outward. Almost half an hour after leaving the shore, the azure depths around them vanished as a small hill made of sand and coral emerged from the darkness.
The tapestry of life painted across the raised ocean floor was far more elaborate than anything Beth had ever seen before. Vibrant colors and an abundance of wildlife held her attention for so long that the burning in her lungs was the only indication that she was out of breath. Ano assisted her to the surface, where she bobbed up and down in the waves, gasping for air.
"There's no need to rush," he reassured her. "We've got plenty of time."
Beth smiled at the merman, then allowed her body to float along the surface. He was right, there would be ample time for exploration. She was all nerves and excitement right now, and her magic wasn't helping. It was forming new connections in the sea, acting like sonar as it swept across the coral below and explored the depths of every nook and cranny. If she closed her eyes, she could see everything in her mind's eye. The ocean was a place of power, and she was officially plugged into it.
