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Cruel Tides (Queen of Tridents #2)

Page 26

26

Leander

I was about to lead us out of the chilly night air and into the warehouse when Claira took a long glance back. Worrying at her bottom lip, she let out a sigh.

“Something wrong?”

“It’s just…” she started, her brow creasing as she stared into the darkness, “I feel bad about leaving Kai alone in the pool back there. He looked so spaced out when we left.”

The corner of my jaw ticked, sending my molars grinding in irritation. Of course it had something to do with Kai.

I didn’t know what I was expecting when I first broke into their little hideout, but Kai’s scraggly arms fastened around her shoulders like a hungry lamprey sure wasn’t it.

Nobility or not, if I’d had my spears with me back there, I might have hurled one through his fucking jaw. It wasn’t like King Darias would notice one of his sons missing anyway.

Fury flared through my chest as I recalled how they’d looked, all cozied together in the strange bathing pool.

The flushing of their faces. Claira’s soft lips opened slightly, panting out breaths.

The liquid rage pounding through me veered south, and I shifted my stance to adjust my infuriating human cock.

“He doesn’t need you worrying about him.” I snaked an arm around her waist, drawing her close, inviting her body to feel how much I ached for her. Claira’s worrying turned into biting, and I stroked a thumb over the edge of her bottom lip, coaxing it out from between her pearly teeth. “Do you know how worried I was when Barren showed up? When I realized you weren’t with him?”

“Oh, please.” Her lip popped free as she broke into a soft smile. “You weren’t worried. You were just annoyed that I went off with Kai.”

She wasn’t wrong. I let my thumb linger over her slightly swollen lip before replacing it with my mouth. The kiss was abrupt, just a quick taste, and instead of satisfying my ache, it made me crave her even more. “Guilty. But I don’t like it when you worry. Especially when it’s not me you’re worrying over.”

Her lips pursed, and I pulled her hips tighter to me, leaning us both against the side of the warehouse. Cold metal iced my spine, but I didn’t care. Not when Claira was here, letting me hold her so close.

“I can’t help it,” she sighed, a slight pout forming on her lips. One of her palms pressed against me, her fingers spreading over my chest, and my dick steeled harder than the metal at my back. Long eyelashes fluttered as she turned her gaze from where our hips connected, up to where her palm rested on my chest. “I’m just worried he’s going to drown or something. He’s a terrible swimmer.”

“Good,” I threw back, tipping her chin up to show her my playful smirk. “Let him.”

Why did she care so much about Kai? He was an excitable little parasite, and if his brothers hadn’t managed to kill him yet, an oversized tub of water wouldn’t be able to now. I leaned in for another kiss, but Claira pushed me away.

“Why do you have to say things like that?” she shot back, prying my arms off her hips. “Geez, Lee. You know he’s my friend.”

What?

All my playful humor drained in an instant, my arms dropping like weighted anchors at my sides. “He’s your friend?”

She huffed. “Why do you sound so surprised? He’s treated me better than anyone—” Her voice cut off with a gasp as our eyes met, her soft lips quivering like she wanted to suck everything she’d said right back into her mouth.

Too late.

Her words had hit their mark, landing like a blow to my gut. I recoiled back, ignoring the frigid bite of the metal behind me. Cold brought numbness, and I’d welcome anything that might deaden this fucking pain in my chest.

I wasn’t good enough for friendship, yet Kai, a merman she’d just met, she considered him a friend?

My throat constricted. “Oh, he has, has he?”

Kai, who already had everything he needed and then some. Was his enormous family not enough for him? His freedom to enjoy the perks of nobility without the responsibilities his title should have demanded.

He’d shown up for his own selfish reasons, deciding to stick around, playing the nice mer like that was his intention all along. And she’d fallen for his little game.

Must have been nice not having an entire kingdom relying on you. Weighing you down. Forcing your every move.

Claira’s arms came around me, snatching my spine from the biting metal. “I just mean—He’s nice,” she whispered, her voice going tender. Was this her idea of cheering me up? Well, with her arms seeking me out for once, it might have worked. Just a little. “He hasn’t tried to use me.”

So she still thought I was using her? Maybe I was. But not because it was what I wanted, but because it was what my duty to my kingdom demanded.

“He came all the way out here out of the goodness of his heart? No ulterior motives?” My head shook, my laughter tasting bitter in my mouth. If only she’d heard my father’s conversation with King Darias. Then she’d know what kind of merman Kai really was. “You’re smarter than this, Claira. But if that’s what you want to believe, go right ahead.”

The lights inside the warehouse deluminated, drawing my attention to the door. “I think it’s time to wrap this up and get some sleep. We’ve got a lot to do tomorrow.”

“Lee…” Her mouth hung open like she was readying some new retort, but I took hold of her hand and led her through the door.

Quiet murmurs drifted from closed chambers, the sound ringing hollow in my head. I glanced at my father’s empty throne, wondering how long it’d been since he’d retired to his chambers. It seemed like he liked the idea of Claira spending time with Barren and Kai even less than I did, even though it was his idea to let them have turns with her.

Let the other kingdoms think we were willing to lend her to them—what a joke. Until we got our trident back, of course. Then, in the name of conquest, he’d send Claira down for the others. After he collected them all, the war would begin.

I raked my fingers through my hair, twisting and tugging at it as we walked down the row of homes. Could I really force Claira to play into my father’s games? To let her feel responsible for the deaths my father’s greed would bring about?

No. I’d die before I let my father break her like he’d broken me.

Claira pulled the curtain to our chamber back before I had the chance, the sound bringing my mind back to the present.

I stepped inside and kicked the coverings off my feet, leaving them next to the curtain. Claira slid in behind me, and I let myself take a breath. Even if she didn’t consider me a friend, she was still willing to share a bed with me.

Fuck . Did that mean she would prefer staying with Kai?

I pulled at my hair, shaking the thought away. My pillow looked more inviting than ever, and I collapsed into it headfirst, landing in a heap over the bedroll. My ribs protested the movement, but I rolled onto my back, untangling the blankets from my legs. When I’d straightened everything out, I glanced up. “You coming to bed?”

“Yeah,” Claira said softly. She bent forward, rustling through the bags she’d carried back with her. The intense smell of the human bathing pool hit me as she pulled out wads of clothing, laying them out wherever she could find space.

I watched the shadows shift around the chamber as she moved, wanting nothing more than to pull her down next to me. When she’d emptied her bags, she sat herself on the very edge of our bedroll. I reached to guide her shoulders down into the space beside me when she suddenly spoke. “Why do you hate him so much?”

My fingers curled, closing into a fist in mid-air. I pulled it back and pressed my knuckles against my forehead.

I had loads of reasons. Because her laughs seemed to come easy when she was near him. Because he didn’t even have to try to get her to look his way.

But mostly because she’d so easily let him into a place in her heart she’d made clear I’d never be allowed.

Bracing my ribs as I sat up, my eyes landed on the shadowed curves of her neck. I gently swept her hair aside, and my gut twisted at the sight of the red dots blemishing her otherwise perfect skin. The place where another merman had marked her.

I wanted to touch them—to soothe their ache—but I didn’t dare. Although she was next to me, when I looked at those marks, Claira felt further away than ever.

“Right now,” I breathed out, pausing to swallow down a hard lump forming in my throat, “it’s because he bit you.”

Her skin trembled as I spoke, her neck arching like it was chasing the heat from my breath.

“I want to touch you,” I whispered, leaning into her neck, letting my words fan against it. Her shoulders shuddered, and I swept another layer of hair aside, exposing even more delicate skin. “But I’m… afraid that if I touch you. If I show you what you mean to me…” My breath stalled, my chest going heavy, rendering me unable to say the words I feared the most.

That my need to have her near me would be the thing to drive her away.

Just like it had driven my mother away from my father. How attachments drove all mermaids away.

“I’m not going to leave,” she whispered softly. Like she already knew all my fears. All my secrets. She turned to press a kiss on my jaw, and the soft caress of her lips was the sweetest fucking thing I’d ever felt.

It was everything. She was everything. My beautiful Claira.

My fingers sank into her waist as my head dipped, my lips covering the swollen dots along her shoulder. Her body shivered under my attention, but I kept going, brushing kisses up her neck. Back down her shoulder. When my mouth returned to the place Kai’s teeth had claimed, I pulled back with a growl.

“This is where he bit you.” Fury burned like an acid in my throat, my lips close enough for my words to vibrate over her skin. I’d put my mark on her, too. And not just on her neck.

I’d leave my mark in places a friend would never get the privilege to see.

Claira’s throat strained to stifle a moan as my mouth captured her again, my lips and tongue tracing the swollen patches until I’d scribed a signature of my own across her shoulder. Minutes or hours passed as I moved down her neck, relishing every inch of skin I could reach.

My tongue flicked over the lobe of her ear, and a hand came up, entwining in my hair as if it were telling me to slow down. “Lee,” Claira breathed out, her fist in my hair gently pulling me away. I came up with a groan, the cold air numbing my spit-shined lips.

Her body twisted, falling into mine, and our bodies reclined. My arms came around her waist as we landed flat on the bedroll, her limbs squirming as she straightened herself on top of me.

Fuck , she was perfect. And the way we melded together, her delicate weight a comfort against my chest, it was like Poseidon had used the same magic to form us.

With the way she’d said my voice sometimes called to her, maybe he had.

“I knew stacking was the way to go,” I groaned, silently cursing myself for not pulling her on top of me last night.

Claira’s head popped up with a sudden gasp. “Oh! Your ribs.” She tried to roll away, but I pulled her right back.

“Oh, no you don’t.” A light chuckle vibrated my chest as I dug my fingers into her hips, anchoring us together. “It’s too late to run away now.”

I could just see the corner of her lips curl in the darkness. “Fine, I won’t leave. But let me just—” Her hips started wiggling, and I gritted back a groan. She slid through my fingers like a slippery fish, so I set my arms behind me, propping my head up to watch the blankets fall away as she worked her way down my body.

Then her hands rested on the metallic mechanism of my pants, and my eyebrows rose with interest. “What are you—?”

“ Shhh .” She shot a finger up to her lips, and I locked my mouth shut. Okay, I’ll play . “I’ve been wondering about something,” she said lightly, an uncharacteristically mischievous tone in her voice.

Time seemed to stop as her fingers toyed with the metal. Then the flat of a palm landed on the outline of my dick through my pants, and I could no longer hold back a groan.

“Quiet, Lee,” she shushed, increasing the pressure of her palm.

Was she trying to torture me?

My cock stirred. I didn’t hate that thought.

Cold air hit me as the top of my pants opened, and I sucked in a breath, readying myself for her approval.

Then her shoulders jolted, and her head started shaking. Like she was silently laughing.

“What is it?” I said, a bit too loudly. My eyes flicked from her face to the open flaps of my pants, wondering what it was she saw that was so funny.

Had she seen something she didn’t like?

I flexed my dick against her palm, just to remind her how badly my body ached for her, and she jerked her hand away, startled.

“Sorry, it’s just…” Her lips pulled into a smile as she gestured to my abdomen.

“Just what? ”

“ Shhh. ” A finger pressed against my mouth, and I kissed it, moving my lips down to her palm, her wrist, as far as my neck could reach. I needed to know what it was she saw. What it was about me that displeased her.

“It’s just—You’re not wearing any underwear.”

I leaned my head back, confused. “Underwhat?”

She snorted, her eyes twinkling with humor even in the darkness. “Exactly.”

Something warm slipped in my pants, and I nearly choked on my tongue as her hand closed a tight fist around my dick.

“I hope this is okay,” she said cautiously, her voice dropping so low it was barely more than a breath.

I wanted to tell her she could do whatever she wanted to me. To consider every part of me hers. But her hand slid down my length, and all I could manage was a low, guttural moan for more.

Fingertips skimmed me. Caressing, cupping, exploring. Finding sensitive areas I didn’t even know existed. Her sweet lips pinched in concentration as her other hand joined in.

“Claira,” I groaned, every muscle in my legs going taut. She pressed a finger to her lips as a reminder and flashed a sweet smile. “What are you—?”

Her head dipped, and my hips jolted as her soft lips drew around me, welcoming me into her hot mouth.

Holy fuck .

And then she sank further, drawing me closer to her throat, and it was like nothing I’d ever felt. Just when I thought it couldn’t get any better, her tongue moved, and my throat mewled out a noise I didn’t even know it could make. Claira must have liked what she heard, because her tongue started sliding, caressing, massaging the underside of my cock from inside her mouth like she was trying to coax the sound out of me again. I choked back a groan, stuffing my knuckles into my mouth to keep from waking the entire compound.

It wasn’t like this underwater, where mermaids craved power and mermen craved the illusion of companionship. No, this was something more, something better.

I felt the base of my shaft tighten, her mouth driving me closer to completion with every slide of her lips, and fought back my release, my hips twisting away.

Not yet .

I couldn’t let myself spend before I’d had the chance to explore her. To drag my mouth over every inch of her skin, finding the places that would make her cry out, just as she’d done for me.

When she came up for air, I reached out to caress her cheek, my fingertips practically vibrating with anticipation. She glanced up at me, curious, and I wet my lips.

“My turn.”