Page 69 of A Warrior's Heart

“I’m sorry,” I said again, using my tail fin to push me backward in the water to put distance between us.

Malik regarded me with a strong set to his jaw. The hunger in his eyes captured my attention most. He kept that hunger at bay, but he visibly struggled to do so.

“We should return to the ship,” he spoke with a minor shake in his voice.

Knowing he was at his limit—physically, mentally—I nodded and ascended to the surface. Out of the water, we walked together from the swimming hole back to the harbor where the ship waited.

Malik rested a hand on the small of my back as we went up the ramp to the ship, but he walked away as soon as we were on the main deck.

I stared after him, noting the tenseness in his shoulders and neck.

“Have a nice swim?” Lorcan asked, coming to stand beside me. He combed his fingers through his damp hair, drawing my eye to the bite mark Alek had left on his neck. They had gone swimming as well, and the mark was proof of what they’d done below the waves.

“Not nearly as nice as your swim, I’m sure.”

Lorcan grinned. “I will feel him for days to come.”

“In more places than one,” I said, eyeing the mark again. “Can I ask you something?”

“Always.” Lorcan guided me over to the stairs and we sat on the steps. “Tell me what’s on your mind.”

I watched as the sun inched toward the horizon. “With Alek… how did you know when to… the first time you two…” My cheeks heated. “When’s the right time to…bewith someone?”

“There is no right or wrong time,” Lorcan answered, somehow deciphering my jumble of words. “Alek is my soulmate. My heart knew him before I ever did. He fought against me at first. He had walls around his heart and refused to let me in. But once he did…” A soft smile touched his lips. “I had never known such pleasure, such happiness. He completes me.”

“When I’m in Malik’s arms, I feel that way.” I closed my eyes as a breeze kissed my cheeks and played with the ends of my hair. “I think I’m ready to try for more… but I don’t know how to act on that want. When’s the right moment? Does he want me too? What if he doesn’t find my body pleasing?” My throat tightened. “What if I get scared and wish to stop?”

“I have said this for years, my friend. Malik adores the very ground you walk upon. He would rather slit his own throat than hurt you.” Lorcan rested the side of his head against mine. “Your body will know when it’s the right time. The first step is always the hardest. You just have to trust that he’ll catch you.”

“Is it strange that he and I are together?”

Lorcan chuckled. “A bit. I’m sure it would be just as strange to you if Eva and I were to fall in love.”

I curled my nose at that. “Yes. Very.”

“But I understand it,” he continued. “For as long as I’ve known Malik, his eyes are those of a toughened warrior. He lives and breathes to protect us, taking no pleasure or joy for himself. Very few instances have I seen him let down his guard and smile.” Lorcan bumped my shoulder. “You soften his eyes, Troy. You bring out a spark in him I’ve never seen. And he does the same for you.”

Lorcan’s words played over in my head for the rest of the evening.

Malik kept his distance for a while but sat beside me at supper. I didn’t need to ask what was wrong. When we’d confessed our feelings for each other near the stream, he’d said he had little self-control around me. And I had tested that control earlier when I’d nearly stroked his cock.

The memory made my face heat again, and my appetite faded. I couldn’t even finish the cake Eva had bought from the bakery in town and pushed the plate away from me.

“You’re finished eating?” Lorcan asked as I stood from the table, his gaze falling to the barely touched cake.

I nodded. “I’m tired.”

I left the dining area and walked up the steps back to the main deck. A sky lit with shimmering stars greeted me, and I plopped down against a barrel and stared up at them. The hull had been repaired, and we planned to set sail again at first light.

Voices traveled from the dock where sailors drank and told stories of their adventures on the sea. I listened to them and smiled when they spoke of seeing a mermaid.

“Never seen anythin’ more beautiful,” the sailor said. “Made me heart stop, she did.”

“Would you ever… ya know… stick your prick in one of ‘em?” another asked. “A mermaid? Where would ya put it?”

I stifled a laugh.

When in our merforms, our tail covered us from the waist down, concealing our more private parts behind scales. For males, our cocks didn’t outwardly show unless we were erect.