Page 6

six

ARIA

We spent the next few hours reading.

Or we tried to, at least.

Triton gave up after an hour or two and just sat on the edge of a chair with his hands clenched on his knees while he stared at me.

I pretended I was reading a merrae history book while trying to ignore his stare.

The shaking in my thighs wasn’t fading.

Feeling his magic in my veins seemed to have ignited something within me.

The bond was unfinished, and my body was pushing me to complete it.

I got up to swap my history book for something else, reading the summary on the back of a different book as I leaned up against a shelf.

I was still fighting the need to go back to the king.

His skirt was tented, not even almost hiding his gigantic erection.

I still didn’t think that thing would fit inside me, even if I wanted it to.

Which I didn’t.

I really didn’t.

Except…

well, maybe I did.

Just a little.

Just once.

Just to seal the bond so I could stop aching for him.

“I don’t think your cock will fit inside me,” I blurted.

Triton didn’t blink.

He didn’t look away from me, either.

“I’m small,” I said.

“I’ve always been small. I?—”

“You belong to me. It’ll fit.”

I fell silent.

I wasn’t sure the logic worked out, but I also wasn’t sure Triton cared about logic.

In fact, I was pretty sure he didn’t .

After a few minutes of pretending to read the first page in whatever book I was holding, I spoke again without looking up at him.

“Do you feel the urge to seal it?”

“I’ve felt the urge to seal the bond since my magic met your energy on Earth before I kissed you.”

Oh.

Wow.

“But is it worse right now?”

“It’s extremely difficult to fight at the moment, if that’s what you mean.”

“Yeah.” I bit my lip.

“Do you think that’s going to fade?”

“I have no idea.”

That was lovely.

Really, really lovely.

“What exactly happens after we seal the bond?”

“The connection between us settles.”

Settling would be good, right?

I bit my lip harder.

“Nothing really changes if we seal the bond other than ensuring your safety a little more, Sweetheart.” His voice was slightly softer.

“But we’ll wait as long as you want. There’s no rush.”

“Except for the fact that the kelpies and selkies want to kill me.”

“You belong to me. I won’t let any of them touch you.”

But I could protect myself…

by giving in to exactly what I wanted.

I’d been attracted to the king since the first time I saw him.

Maybe my attraction would fade after we made the bond permanent.

That would be helpful, right?

I finally put my book back where I had found it and crossed the room.

Triton’s eyes tracked my every move.

He released his knees as I approached him, and his hot hands landed on my hips when I sat down on his thighs.

“Hi,” I said.

“Hi.”

There was a moment of silence.

I felt the need to fill it, but I wasn’t sure what to say.

What did he even know about me?

What did I even know about him?

Maybe an introduction would be a good start.

“My full name is Aria Christene Weathers. My dad is a complete asshole, and I’ve only seen him once since my mom died eight years ago. He wanted her life insurance money. I gave it to him to get him out of my life for good, even though I knew she would’ve wanted me to use it for school. She was the best, and I still miss her deeply. I’m twenty-five, and I don’t want to know how old you are. Before you abducted me, I was a poor college student working my way through my last few classes at a snail’s pace. Now, I guess I’m?—”

Triton’s mouth crashed into mine, hard.

I grabbed his shoulders, digging my short fingernails into them as he kissed me deeply.

I could still taste the salt of my pleasure on his tongue, and it made me want him more.

After a few delicious moments, he pulled away, breathing just as hard as I was.

“My full name is Triton. My parents were lost in a war long before the last one. My sister and her mate are all I have. The throne I occupy drives me mad with constant solitude. I have ached for a mate for hundreds of years—and now that I have you, I will never let you go.”

I didn’t have time to process anything he said before his mouth was on mine again, hot and needy and intense.

His kisses were rough.

Brutal.

All-consuming.

His hands were in my hair.

Mine were on his arms.

He tore his lips from mine and growled, “If you don’t walk away, I will make you mine here and now, Aria. For better or worse.”

“I’m not leaving.”

He flipped me onto my back on the lounge chair.

I gasped as he tore the green silk skirt down my thighs, tossing it aside and opening my legs.

My top followed immediately.

He was naked just as quickly, and positioned over me.

Triton’s body was thick, and powerful.

He held his weight off me as he took the base of his cock in his hand and dragged the head of it over my clit.

I hooked my legs around his ass, pulling him closer.

His lips curved wickedly.

“Not so afraid of my size now?”

“Just fuck me already, Triton.”

His smirk morphed into a feral grin as he drove the tip of his cock inside me smoothly.

I gasped at the insane, burning stretch of him.

Maybe I was right before.

Maybe he wouldn’t fit.

His electric magic pulsed through my thighs, and the pain vanished entirely.

He sank in deeper.

I was panting as I dug my heels into his muscular ass a little harder.

He lifted me higher, changing the angle and easing his entry.

And finally, he filled me entirely.

The world spun.

My body ached and burned and throbbed.

Triton was everywhere.

He was everything.

He was mine .

The magic pulsating between us was fierce, shaking the chair we occupied and the wooden platform beneath us.

Waves slapped the deck as magic emanated from Triton.

From us .

“You’re so fucking tight, Sweetheart. You feel amazing. Are you okay?” Triton’s gaze burned into me.

When I met his eyes, I realized he was waiting for me.

Waiting to hear I was alright so he could move again.

“I’m perfect. Evve tah, right?”

His wicked grin returned.

“Yes, Sweetheart. Evve tah .”

“For the record, I still don’t think you’d fit without your magic.”

He laughed, pulling out and thrusting in again, slow and shallow.

When he’d watched my responses long enough to see that I was okay, he moved a little faster and harder.

My hand went to my clit, but Triton’s fingers beat me to it.

He circled it slowly while he filled me over and over again, taking me closer and closer to the edge with every thrust.

Our gazes were still locked as I finally found that edge and shattered with a loud cry of pleasure.

He snarled, coming with me.

The furniture shook more violently.

The crash of the waves grew louder and rougher.

The magic that had gathered between us swelled—then burst.

I climaxed again, more intensely than before.

My nails dug into Triton’s skin as I came down from the high, holding on to him for dear life.

We had just sealed the mate bond, but we still knew almost nothing about each other.

Our gazes were still locked a few minutes later as Rayna’s voice entered our minds at the same time.

“The selkies are on our doorstep. Come up here as fast as you can.”

“Fuck,” Triton growled, grabbing me off the chair and hauling me into his arms.

I gasped out a curse of my own as his gigantic erection slid free.

He grabbed our clothes off the floor, dressing himself smoothly with one hand before tugging my skirt up my legs and over my ass.

“I can get myself dressed,” I protested weakly.

“There’s not time.” Triton took a step over the lake.

In the blink of an eye, the column of water that extended from the pond above the waterfall stretched toward us.

It snatched us up, and we shot through a tunnel, back up to the surface.

The king yanked my top over my head and tugged it into place as the water deposited him on his feet in our room.

I tried to elbow my way free of his grasp as he carried me down the hallway, but failed.

He wasn’t letting go.

“You’re taking me to find the birth control plant after this is over,” I whispered.

“That was a promise.”

“Do not say that aloud. The last thing we need is a group of merrae following us,” Triton warned.

“Fine, I’ll be quieter about it.”

We found Rayna in the hallway, next to a grumpy-looking giant.

That had to be her mate.

Weston, or something similar?

“Aria needs to change quickly,” Rayna said.

Triton finally set me on my feet.

“The clothes are ready?”

“Only a skirt. She’ll have to go topless,” Rayna held a small bundle of blue fabric toward me.

My eyebrows shot upward.

“Excuse me?”

“Selkies don’t have scales. Dressing in a color that isn’t yours would be a sign that you are one of them or relate with them. We need to show a united front,” Rayna explained.

“I don’t care what it’s a sign of, I’m not walking around with my tits hanging out,” I tossed back.

“Just put this on.” The skirt she handed me was the same shade of dark blue as Triton’s.

He trapped me against the wall, hiding me from view as I quickly swapped the blue skirt for the green one.

“She’s right. We need to be united,” he said, meeting my gaze again.

“I was human up until you stole me away from my home yesterday, so I don’t think anyone would expect me to agree with you right now.”

“Which is exactly why you have to. It will show that you already respect our society.” Rayna spoke up again from behind Triton.

“Your hair will keep you covered. Triton can hold it in place with his arm.”

“No one other than me will see your breasts.” His voice left no room for questioning…

but I still had questions.

So.

Many.

Questions.

“What do I get from you, if I do that?” I asked.

“Because right now, I have nothing. I don’t have a room of my own. I’m being held here as your breeder. I don’t have any of my things from Earth. I’m basically being forced to adapt to every aspect of your culture, after being abducted from my world.”

Triton’s eyes narrowed, and his mind met mine.

“You know I want you for far more than just breeding, Sweetheart.”

He didn’t deny that he wanted me to have his baby, though.

And considering the screwy power dynamic between us, it would be extremely easy for the man to get whatever he wanted from me.

Speaking aloud, he said, “I’ll send people to your home on Earth as soon as the meeting is over. We can bring anything you want to our room, but you won’t be getting your own. We’re a pair now, no matter what else happens.”

That was better than nothing.

Enough for me to agree, at least.

“Alright.” I tugged my shirt back over my head and ducked under Triton’s arm so I could get out of the sexy little tent he’d trapped me in.

Rayna’s gaze was focused on the ceiling as I pulled my hair over my shoulders, arranging it over my nipples.

Triton’s arm went around my ribcage, trapping the strands just below my tits.

“Let’s go.”

“I don’t even know what we’re doing,” I reminded him, as the siblings moved quickly down a short hallway.

Triton was being a bossy, royal asshole again.

I shouldn’t have let him convince me to seal the bond.

Then again, my life might be less at risk because I had.

So…

maybe the bond was still a good call.

“The selkies will be furious. Just let Triton handle them,” Rayna said.

“You aren’t here to rule.”

Right.

I was there to breed with Triton.

Lovely reminder.

“Fine,” I bit out.

Breeding thing aside, I’d never been a woman who excelled at sitting down and shutting up when told to.

Sure, I could do it when my life was on the line, like I had back on the beach while I was waiting to meet Triton.

But otherwise?

That was a hard pass.

I got that from my mother, I guess.

Triton opened both of the doors, maintaining his grip on my ribs to keep me covered with my hair as we stepped into the room.

There was a single, large throne set up in the center of the space, and it was pretty obvious who it was for.

Newsflash: it wasn’t me.

The throne was made of what looked like sand and shells, though the details were ornate enough to convince me that it was far more solid than your average sandcastle.

We walked to the throne, and Triton’s arm remained locked in place around me.

“Rayna means well, but she and I have different expectations as far as the mate bond. Ignore her. You are the queen, so feel free to make that clear to the selkies.”

Thrill raced through me.

Triton didn’t want me to sit down and shut up.

He wanted me to be his partner.

The selkies stood across the room while Triton sat on the throne, setting me on the arm of the chair rather than on his lap.

I pulled his arm away lightly, deciding that coming across as powerful was more important than keeping my nipples covered just this once.

He hesitated, but finally released me.

I appreciated it immensely that he hadn’t forced me to sit on him.

He was making a statement that I wasn’t just a pretty decoration on his lap, and I loved that.

The selkies weren’t nearly as tall as any of the merrae I had met.

Even the men weren’t that big.

None of them looked abnormally strong, either.

They looked…

well, like me.

Shorter than the merrae.

Weaker, for sure.

They were all far more beautiful than I was, with something far more magical and alluring about their appearances than I had, though.

And, like the mermonsters I had met, they still looked extremely confident.

There were two kelpies flanking the group.

They were bigger than the selkies, but not as big as the merrae.

I recognized one of them from the beach.

Owin, maybe?

The kelpie woman who stood at the front and in the center of the group stepped forward.

She looked confident, her chin held high and her eyes bright with determination.

“Your Highness,” she said, dipping her head just slightly toward the king.

And toward me, I guess.

“We felt the change through the ocean when you claimed your female. Congratulations are in order, I presume.”

“You presume correctly, Eila.” I assumed that was the woman’s name.

She must’ve been the leader of the selkies’, or at least their representative.

Surprisingly, there was no sarcasm in Triton’s voice.

There was no gratitude either, though.

“Congratulations, then.” The woman’s voice didn’t waver.

Whatever selkies could do, they weren’t afraid of the merrae.

Or if they were, they didn’t want us to know it.

“Since you’ve given the other half of your throne to another merrae rather than to a selkie, we expect to renegotiate the trade deal between our people.”

“I’m listening.” Triton didn’t sound like he was listening, but no one called him out on it.

“Currently, we control the populations of the giant squids whose ink is poisonous to you, and we keep the orcs in our pocket for the safety of the sea kingdom. In exchange, we’re given control over a small portion of the trade program between us and the rest of Alterrae. We are only allowed to work with the orcs.”

“What is your request?” The king’s question was blunt.

Almost bored, too.

“We want full control of the trade. We outnumber you so vastly that we can handle the full-scale supply of all items. You control the sea, so we control the relationship between us and them.”

Triton’s arm tightened around my ribcage, just slightly.

He was worried.

Or maybe he was angry.

It was hard to say.

“What does my queen think?” Triton made a show of looking over at me, so I met his eyes.

“I don’t know anything about your kingdom,” I said into his mind.

The selkies’ leader sputtered out something similar.

“A merrae who was human a few days ago shouldn’t have?—”

I didn’t hear the rest, because Triton’s voice in my head was so confident.

And consuming.

“What do you think their relationship with the rest of the world is like after they refused to fight with everyone, Sweetheart?”

Ohh.

Right.

That did seem obvious.

Eila finished her rant, and I studied her.

Triton told me that I needed to prove that I could be queen.

Channeling his confidence and take-no-shit attitude seemed like the way to do that, even if it was mostly all bluster for me.

“I’ve heard you didn’t participate in the Dragons’ War. How many of the other groups will be willing to trade with your people exclusively?” I asked.

The woman’s face went crimson red, and she took a threatening step toward us.

Triton’s power lit up the room, a wave of electricity tearing through the space.

I had to bite my cheek to stop a moan in response.

Whatever his power did to me, it did it really, really well.

“Back away from my mate,” Triton said calmly.

The way the faces of everyone else in the room went ashen told me none of them wanted to know what he was going to do next.

Eila took a quick but clearly upset step backward.

Triton’s magic finally eased, though it didn’t disappear completely.

It took everything I had not to react to the feeling of it by shivering or rubbing myself all over him or something.

“You seek to claim some of our power while our numbers are low, because you know we’ve started taking human mates,” Triton said.

“We see it, and we won’t stand for it. If you can convince one more kingdom to trade with you, we will allow that, but we will hold the throne and the sea’s magic as we have from the beginning of time. If there is something you need from us other than power, I suggest you ask before the relationship between our people is ruined completely.”

Her glare burned us.

“Watch yourself, King Triton.”

“She’s not going to give us answers. Tell her to leave,” Triton said into my mind.

He still wanted me involved in the conversation.

That was nice.

Really nice.

“I think it would be best if you leave now. Before anything escalates,” I said.

After another moment’s glare, Eila finally jerked her head toward us in something that almost resembled a nod.

Her people followed her to the doors, and they were escorted out of the room by a merrae holding a large spear.

“She wasn’t afraid of you,” I said, standing up as soon as they were gone.

“Not afraid enough,” Triton agreed.

I turned to face him, folding my arms over my breasts to hold my hair in place and ignoring the dampness between my thighs.

His magic had royally screwed me over.

“Why aren’t they?”

“Most of the selkies aren’t warriors, but they wield poison the way most of us do blades and magic. They’re smaller than most beings in Alterrae, and they use it to their advantage when it comes to seducing and poisoning their prey.”

“Then why haven’t they attacked you yet? They obviously want to control the sea. And why haven’t they wanted power until now?”

“We still aren’t sure. We’ve sent spies, but none of them have found any real explanation. As far as attacking me for the throne, they know they can’t win that fight. If they could slaughter us, they would answer to the rest of Alterrae. While they hid during the war, the majority of us suffered and were massacred together to save our world. I am friends or at least allies with the leaders of every kingdom, even the one the selkies work with. If the selkies kill me, they will all promptly be slaughtered themselves.”

“Then what are we supposed to do about that?” I gestured toward the door the selkies had gone through.

“They don’t seem like they’re planning on backing off.”

“They aren’t. If we can’t figure out why they’re acting out, they will eventually attack us to get what they want.”

“What if they do?” I asked.

“Then we’ll fight.”

Another small wave of electricity zapped the room, and I bit back a groan.

I needed to get away from him before I did something that made no sense at the moment.

Like screwing him again.

“I need some air,” I said, and Triton nodded.

To my surprise, he didn’t protest as I slipped through the door, walking past Rayna and down the hallway.

I didn’t know where I was going…

but I needed to be away from the king and his wild magic so I had time to process my thoughts.