Matthew emerged from sleep slowly, luxuriously. It must be nearly noon. He swam up from the depths of a calm warm sea. The glittering sea of the far south that he'd read about. A blue sea under a glorious sun. A sea full of pearls and exotic creatures and soft silky water. And mermaids. Indubitably there were mermaids in this sea. His particular mermaid slept naked in his arms. When he was inside her, she undulated in endless waves like a sea of pleasure.