Page 2

Leander

PRESENT DAY

I ’d never regret protecting Claira from my father.

As soon as I held the trident in my hands and felt its immense power whirling through me like a raging storm, I knew I couldn’t let him have it. I had to hide it away, even if it meant sacrificing my body as a vessel for its magic—the magic my father would have used to force Claira down for the other relics, collecting them one by one, until all five tridents were his.

To his captains, he claimed the tridents would grant us the power to break the curse. But I could see his lies as easily as I could his anger. Power was what my father really wanted. To bring about a war that would end countless lives. And for what? More fucking territory? To control the ocean with the very power Poseidon himself had once wielded?

I knew Claira, and she would never forgive herself if my father’s plans had come to fruition. It would tear her apart to know her abilities had caused a war. So, I’d done what I had to. What needed to be done.

And even if it killed me, I’d never fucking regret it. Never.

“I thought you were supposed to be mad at me,” I mumbled against Claira’s neck. I managed a small smirk before my head slumped forward, catching on her soft shoulder. Fuck, I was exhausted.

She stood silently before me, her nimble fingers working at the pants Barren had pulled on my legs before hauling me up to Kai’s rented bedchamber. One of my brows lifted as her hands ventured closer to the lever holding them on my hips.

The clasp at the top popped free, and rough sand grated against my groin as she jerked the material halfway down my thighs.

“I am mad at you,” she said finally. She tugged at the fabric again, and a shower of grit rained over the washroom floor as my pants fell around my ankles.

“But you’re helping me,” I pointed out with a chuckle. My forehead rolled over her shoulder to take in the warm, salted scent of her neck. Even with the sparks of pain working through my chest and down my arm, my cock managed to throb with an ache of its own.

“You’re my mate,” she said stiffly.

Fuck. I’d never grow tired of hearing her say that.

Claira’s eyes narrowed. “But not because of some ancient spell cast by Poseidon, okay?” Her fingers brushed along the same pattern over my chest she’d been tracing since I’d taken in the trident. I couldn’t see the markings she’d described to me, and I fucking hoped no one else could, either. The last thing I needed was for someone to see hints of the trident’s location scrawled all over my chest and arm.

A gentle hand came under my jaw, and when my spine straightened, I noticed a fiery blush had spread down Claira’s neck.

“You’re my mate because I say so.”

Had sweeter words ever been said?

“Your mate…” I leaned back on the vanity, ignoring all my aches, all my pains, to pull my sweet mate up against me. “I’m glad you finally realized what a catch I am.” My smile deepened into a smirk. “But are you sure you can stand being stuck with me?”

“Well, you do drive me crazy…”

“But you love it,” I cut in, nipping playfully at her pouty lips. Even after our time in the ocean, they were still as soft and luscious as ever.

My cock pulsed against her stomach, and I grumbled as her hands braced against my hips, pushing me away.

“Do I love it? Really?” she breathed out—a clear taunt. She shifted on her feet, driving me crazy as the slight movement dragged my lengthening cock against her clothed belly.

“You do.” I groaned, fighting the urge to grind myself against her. Desire burned in my throat, hot and heady, roughening my voice. “You fucking love it when I tease you.”

Her blush flared over her cheeks as her gaze averted, drifting down to my cock against her leg. “But you’re forgetting why we came in here,” she said slowly before biting at her bottom lip. “I told Barren I would help you get cleaned up, since, well…” Her voice trailed off as her fingers brushed over my bare chest again.

Steam from the bath she’d started for me was already filling up the washroom, but getting clean couldn’t have been further from my mind.

My hands moved to her waist, slipping underneath the stiff fabric covering her hips. I pressed a light kiss on her neck as I worked at the top of her pants. “Then help me.”

She let out a huff, but her neck leaned into me, welcoming even more attention. “I would if you’d stop trying to distract me.”

She thought this was a distraction? No, this was nothing compared to what I could give her. She was about to forget all about the bath, the steam, the fucking insanity we just went through, everything.

She gasped as I ripped her pants down with a quick jerk. “Lee!” Seizing her by the hips, I swung around, setting her up on top of the washroom vanity. “But you’re still hur?—”

The crash of our lips coming together silenced her, my hips nudging her legs apart until my cock was nestled high between them. She was right. The trident had fucked me up, and my body was now warring against itself, struggling with the new power electrifying my insides. But with every passing breath, my limbs grew stronger. My senses sharper. Even Claira’s scent was somehow sweeter, her nearness easing all my aches, this pain running through my chest. And I needed more. I wouldn’t stop until I’d completely lost myself in her. “I’m already feeling better,” I said, grinning.

“Clearly.” She laughed, the sound soft and comfortable. She was at ease now, but soon I’d have her writhing in my arms, panting for all the pleasures I could give her.

Without warning, I yanked up on her shirt, and what was waiting for me underneath had me breathless. In the bright lumination of the washroom, her skin shone more silken and perfect than ever.

“You’re not wearing your underthings,” I said, my throat going incredibly dry. My hand reached, moving underneath one of her bare breasts. I watched her expression change as I dragged a callused thumb over a rosy nipple.

Her shoulders bowed at just the slight touch, and I circled it again, enjoying the weight of her in my palm. Lips glistening, her mouth parted on a pant. “Is that a problem?”

My mouth quirked, and I leaned in, capturing her sweet breast in a kiss. The whimper she made when my tongue massaged her nipple into a firm point had my human cock leaking pre-cum onto the floor.

Poseidon help me, she was addicting.

Her taste was like a melody playing over my tongue, and I drank down every note, greedy for more.

“Lean back,” I ordered between teasing sweeps of my lips, and my beautiful mate didn’t even hesitate. The mirror behind the vanity squeaked as her back reclined against it. Her legs fell readily open, and I had never been so thankful for lantern light. “ Fuck, you’re beautiful.”

“Yeah?” she breathed out, color washing over her cheeks again. Her shoulders shifted like she was nervous about me seeing her, but every soft curve, every glorious bend… Even in full view, everything about her was perfect.

“Yeah,” I answered with a growl, running my thumb down her slit. I loved how soaked and needy she was for me, with the little nub she liked me caressing so much already swollen, begging for my attention.

“And these legs.” I leaned in, tickling the side of her knee with the press of my lips. “They’re as perfect as your tail.”

A vision of her tied up under the waves came to mind—my prick spreading her scales wide, filling her up, both our bellies locked together. Fuck .

Water poured from the spout on the wall of the bath, the steam it made beating against my bare skin, heating me through. “I want to take you back to the ocean,” I confessed. My lips glided down her leg, and she groaned when I paused just short of her center.

“You’d like that, wouldn’t you, beautiful?” I planted a soft kiss against the smooth skin of her inner thigh. “The weight of my tail pinning you to the sand…” Another kiss, this time on the other side. “The feeling of my big cock rocking in and out of you while the waves crash over us.”

Her eyelashes fluttered, a guilty smile forming over her lips like she was enjoying imagining such a scene. Her eyes trailed down to the swell of my human cock, and I swear I could almost feel the caress of her tongue as she swept it over her lips. “Sounds nice,” she said, almost too soft to hear over the rushing sound of water behind us.

It didn’t just sound nice.

In the depths of the palace dungeons, despite the bonds holding her captive, we’d almost shared a similar moment. The next time I had her alone in the water, our joining would be fucking perfect .

With that thought in mind, I kissed her, my lips surrounding the swollen peak crowning her slit. Claira’s legs jerked, closing around my shoulders, but I only deepened my affections, laving a broad stroke over her slit, tasting her arousal.

I hummed as my tongue dipped into her again. “You taste amazing.” The bite of salt water still lingered there, but I didn’t mind it. If anything, it made me want to take her into my arms and haul her back down to the beach with me all the more.

“Wait, Lee—” Her voice quaked as my tongue flicked in teasing circles. “I’m supposed to be the one cleaning you up.”

Oh, I loved how her comebacks lost their edge whenever my hands were on her. The control she gave me, how her body moved against me, shy but eager for more.

My arms shifted beneath her hips, pulling her closer, and either she or the mirror let out a squeak as her back sank down the washroom wall.

Hands found my hair, winding and tugging, holding me closer. That sting—oh, it made my cock steel so hard I had to press it against the vanity while my mouth worked her over.

Human legs were truly a wonder, and even though hers were the first I’d ever explored, I knew that none could be better than these.

Gasping sounds spilled from her throat as I growled against her, her hips squirming like she couldn’t decide if she should seek higher pleasure by grinding over my face or try to get away. I held her there, my muscles tightening even as the grip of her hands in my hair turned into clawing fists.

“Lee! I—I’m…” She moaned, and my fingers kneaded into her hips, my lips endeavoring to coax her closer, to push her body over that edge. My beautiful mate.

Yes, fucking come for me, beautiful.

I chuckled as her hips twitched underneath me, a low moan building as she found her release on my tongue.

Her head rolled as she keened, her knees clamping on my shoulders until something snapped inside her and she finally yielded, her whole body going pliant in my arms.

I waited until her hands fell from my hair before I set her back down on the vanity. Her eyes were misty when they finally opened.

“I love those little sounds you make.” I brushed a section of hair back behind her ear.

Her lips pursed in the cutest way. “I bet you do,” she panted out. “We were supposed to be getting you a shower, you know.” Her head shook, but I could tell she was still in a daze. “I can’t believe how much hot water we’ve wasted…”

My smirk grew. “Let’s remedy that then, shall we?”

Her expression quickly changed as I hoisted her up off the vanity, delivering her to the side of the shower. I drew back the curtain and stepped inside, taking her into the bath with me.

My back acted as a shield, guarding Claira against the hot stream pouring out from high on the washroom wall. As soon as I set her down on her feet, her eyes wandered over me. She took in each hard angle, every droplet of water trickling off my shoulders, until her gaze simmered hotter than the stream beating against my back.

Slowly, she wet her lips. “Looks like you’ve recovered.”

“Getting there.” Fastening my arms around her waist, I pulled her close enough to kiss. “But I think I might enjoy your help.”

Her palms landed on my chest, and I almost lost my balance as she bounced up on her toes, urging me back a step. Water dripped over my eyes as I passed under the stream, its warmth flowing through my hair and down my chest. When she leaned forward again, I expected her to kiss me underneath the spray of water, but she only snatched up a dark green bottle from the side of the bath.

Popping the top, she poured a good amount out onto a hand. Its strong scent mixed with the steamy air. Her lips sank into a frown as the smooth puddle of goo spread out over her palm.

Concerned with her sudden change of mood, I cupped under her chin, tilting it back until our eyes met. “You don’t like this soap?”

Her head rocked back and forth in my palm. “It’s not that.” She worked the pale goo into a frothy, bubbly mess between her hands before running it through my dampened hair. “It’s just—it’s lemon …” Her voice trailed as her fingers worked, massaging heavenly circles all over my scalp.

Fuck, it felt like magic. Every muscle in me relaxed at once until I could barely keep my eyes from drifting shut.

When her fingers paused, I had to hold my tongue to keep from asking for more. Fuck . How did such an innocent caress feel so damn good?

“It’s nothing. Don’t mind me. I was just thinking out loud,” she mumbled. Her fingers drifted lower, massaging over the nape of my neck, but I wasn’t about to drop whatever had made her so unhappy all of a sudden.

“It’s not nothing.” I rolled my shoulders, enjoying the careful attention of her hands on me.

“Time to rinse. Close your eyes.” The scent of the soap hit me full force as she pushed my head back into the stream. “It’s seriously not something I should even be thinking about. Not at a time like this. I mean, I’m in here with you right now and?—”

My eyes opened to a look of guilt spreading over her face. “What? You don’t want me smelling like Kai?”

“Th-that’s not it!” She nearly knocked my head off my shoulders as her hands pulled out of my hair. “I don’t think he was even using this. I mean, he likes the smell of lemons, but he never smelled like lemons whenever he—whenever I?—”

Looking absolutely mortified, her eyes cut to the bath curtain exit. If it weren’t for my arm around her, she might have darted out of the washroom, wet and naked.

“ Shh, shh . It’s okay.” I gathered her up in my arms, leaning in close enough for my lips to brush over hers. “Claira, look at me.”

Her vulnerable gaze found mine through the mist, and I swallowed slowly, carefully wording what I knew needed to be said. “I know you’re worried about Kai, and that’s okay. Really, it’s okay.”

“But, Lee?—”

“I’m worried about him, too.”

Claira’s eyes filled with questions, but her lips snapped shut.

“I don’t hate him,” I offered. A lift of one of her eyebrows told me she didn’t believe me.

Whether or not she acknowledged it, I was telling her the truth. Sure, I had hated him once. But not now. When Kai took that polearm to his back in Claira’s place, everything changed.

Claira wasn’t cursed. If that weapon’s twisted metal had pierced her, I would have lost her to the sea. I’d have been powerless, watching her bleed out in my arms. And in killing her, that polearm would have killed me, too.

But Kai had willingly taken the blow in her place. And for once, I was thankful for the curse, as well as the knowledge my father’s beatings had given me on using the curse to my body’s advantage. Because if Claira hadn’t let go, and if Kai had spent even a moment longer without his wounds closing, he might not have made it out of the ocean alive. And I would have had to watch part of Claira, my beautiful mate, die along with him.

Kai claimed to be her mate, and at first, I hadn’t believed it. But now, how could I not? He’d almost sacrificed his life for her. And what was I doing? I’d been too busy letting my fucking guard down and patting myself on the back, thinking we’d won. Like an idiot. I’d missed the true danger. But Kai hadn’t.

Even though Claira already knew, I had to say the words. Maybe it was so I could hear them for myself. “If it weren’t for him, you wouldn’t be here.”

Her hands fell from my hair, down to the sides of my jaw. She took a slow breath, her eyes focusing intently on my lips. “That’s true. But if it weren’t for you telling me to let go, he wouldn’t be here.” Gentle lips met mine, tender and sweet, and for once, I let her have all the control. “So thank you for that, Lee.”

Fingertips pressed into my jaw as one of her hands dropped, moving down to my chest, my abs, even lower, and I growled against her mouth as her fingers curled around my cock.

She pulled back to look at me, her eyelashes sweeping as her gaze flicked down to my length she held in her palm and up again. “You’re still hard.”

My lips quirked. She was so damn adorable. “Well, you did just kiss me.”

Her look turned incredulous, but I shifted forward, hitching up one of her legs, drawing her knee up in my arm.

“Whoa, wait! What are you?—?”

She gasped as I slid a hand over her seam. My grin widened. “And you’re still so slick, so open. Fuck, I love how needy you get for me.”

Claira scoffed despite the fierce blush rising over her face. Her arms went out to brace on the walls like she didn’t trust me not to let her fall. “Humans don’t open , Lee.”

I cupped a hand over one of her frantic palms, easing it down, leading both of us between her legs. “Is that right?” I rumbled, watching her nerves play over her face.

She bit at her lip as I guided her high between her legs, her head shaking. “At—at least I don’t think they do,” she whispered, sounding nervous.

I rocked our joined hands back and forth in gentle motions, nestling her swollen nub against the flat of her palm until her hips started rolling on their own.

“Well?” My arm holding her leg up lifted, drawing her knee even higher, and I leaned in to kiss along her neck. Fuck, my cock was throbbing.

I wanted nothing more than to move her fingers aside and toy with her, brushing and coaxing out little jolts of pleasure until she was begging me to fill her—but not yet. She might not admit it, but I knew she loved being teased.

“Okay, I guess I’m a little open .” Her elbow moved against my stomach as she touched herself again.

I nipped at her earlobe, growling the only question that mattered in her ear. “And why are you so open, beautiful?”

Her fingers retreated then, coming out from between her legs and curling into an adorably weak fist. I could feel her throat tensing as she swallowed.

“Because I…” The sweet sound of her whisper was as light and airy as the warm mist around us. “Because I want you.”

My lips slid down, vibrating over the column of her neck as a laugh hummed through me. “You don’t want to say it?” I paused with a gentle press of my lips against her skin, waiting to see if she would offer me what I wanted to hear.

Instead, her hand came up under my cock, rubbing light strokes. I couldn’t help but chuckle again.

One day, she would say the words. She’d tell me exactly what it was she wanted, and I’d give her everything she could dream of. Until then, I would say the words for her.

“My cock, beautiful?” My length throbbed against her palm, and her movements slowed. “Is that what you want? To feel my cock sliding into you, filling you up?”

“Yes,” she panted, and her palm cradled underneath me like she was trying to urge me closer.

The stream of water beat at the back of my legs as I stepped forward, gathering her leg up higher in my arms until I had lined myself up with her. Her nails bit into my chest as I drew the tip of my cock along her slit.

“I want your… your penis, ” she gasped out as I dragged along her slickness again.

One of my eyebrows rose, and I offered her nub a little extra pressure that had her squirming in my arms. “… You mean my cock, beautiful.”

“Humans have—” She tried to get the words out, but I circled that swollen bit of flesh with even more pressure before sliding against her, letting her feel every bit of my hard, pulsing length.

“You’re forgetting I’m not human. Even on land, I’m still a merman. And what do mermen have, beautiful?”

Her lips wobbled, and for a strange second, I wondered if she might burst out into laughter. Then her face fell, and she looked suddenly dead serious.

“What?” My rocking against her slowing to a halt. “What’s wrong?”

Her lips parted, and I barely saw her mouth move.

“Sea cucumbers.”

… What?

My jaw ticked as she looked me square in the face and said, “Mermen have sea cucumbers.”

“Sea cucumbers?” A strangled laugh worked up my throat as I speared into her, my head shaking wildly.

Her lips parted on a gasp as I drove in higher, easing the weight of her propped leg down to seat myself as deep in her as I could. “Are you sure this isn’t a cock inside you?”

I nearly pulled all the way out, and her head fell forward with a gasp as I slid in again. “Well, beautiful?”

She answered with a snap of her lips at mine, her tongue teasing a few slashes at my bottom lip to ease the sting, but I wasn’t about to give in to a distraction.

“Say it,” I said in a low, rumbling growl, nipping right back at her.

One more snap, and I felt her mouth pull into a tight grin against mine.

My head was shaking before she even got the words out. “I do feel a sea cucum?—”

Claira yelped as I seized her other leg up, taking her entire weight in my arms. Her arms locked behind my shoulders, but my hands had already found the best place to grip to hold her steady, nestled under the globes of her ass. My fingers flexed, biting into that perfect, firm flesh. She hissed against my lips as my cock rocked inside her.

Then she moved forward on her own, taking me even deeper. I let out a groan. Legs tightened around me, and I wasted no time driving forward until her back was flat against the wall.

“How’s this for a sea cucumber?” I grunted, my thumbs sinking into her waist as I thrust into her. Each bounce of her hips against mine sent her back even further up the wall. “Is this what you wanted, beautiful?” I rasped, driving in faster. “To work me up, teasing and biting at me, so I would fuck you up against this wall?”

Heavy breathing turned into gasping moans as I chased her higher up still, my foot finding the side of the bath, using it as leverage, until her head swung forward, catching on my shoulder as she whimpered out her answer.

“Yes. Oh— please, Lee, more. I’m about to…”

Hearing her moan my name was the sweetest melody, almost as magical as when her voice called to me.

As her moan grew, its pitch shifted, a trailing high note followed by a painfully low droning note, and I knew I’d made the right decision, letting her find her release once already.

“Good girl,” I purred, keeping our rhythm steady. Fuck, she felt perfect. I wondered if she knew I could feel how she tightened up around my cock whenever I whispered praises to her.

Hands braced on my shoulders as I sped up, aiming for the spot that had her gasping the loudest, hoping to give her everything she needed to push her over that edge.

And then she came apart, her body flexing all at once as I drove into her, her legs locking and spine twisting in my arms.

Feeling her tighten around me as she found her release had my human balls swelling. Fuck, she felt so… so amazing .

My spine was tingling, my fingers curving as I drew into her even faster when finally?—

Ca-craaaaack!

Claira’s head shot up. “Was that thunder?”

My hips were still driving in and out of her, my pulse hammering in my ears as I worked into her at a feverish pace. I was so close; I was about to?—

Crrrack!

“Leander!” Claira gasped as I seated fully into her, pulsing out my release. Fuck…

The entire universe seemed to move around me as I held myself inside her, cradling her in my arms. When I looked up, her eyes had grown far too wide for her face, her gaze locked on something behind me. I turned to look over my shoulder and gawked at the vortex of water hovering in the tub behind us.

“Uh…”

Thunder rumbled in the distance, and as my cock expelled its very last spurt of cum, the tiny whirl detonated, bursting in an explosion of water.

There was a knocking noise—or maybe another clap of thunder—and when Claira eased out of my embrace, she went straight for the lever that controlled the stream of water. As soon as the stream dried up, I could hear Barren’s deep voice calling from the other side of the door.

“Storm outside.”

“Thanks, Barren,” Claira called back, her voice still shaky and breathless. “We’ll be out in a second. We just finished.”

She froze, and I shook my head as all the color seemed to drain from her face.

“Letting me know when you’re about to come is one thing, but telling Barren …”

She swatted at my arm, putting a finger up to her lips to tell me to be quiet, then threw the curtain back, gesturing to the washroom.

“Holy fuck,” I said aloud, totally not quiet at all.

The entire room was drenched. Droplets fell from the ceiling, streaming down the mirror, and even the center of the vanity was overflowing with water. “What happened in here?”

Claira swatted at me again. “You tell me, Lee!”

“What?” I looked at her, and then at the washroom. “You don’t think I…?”

Her jaw tightened. She definitely thought I’d caused it.

“Didn’t you see that swirly little whirlpool thing?” she whisper-screamed, stepping out of the bath. Her hands went to test the towels hanging on the wall, but water was dripping down them, too.

“And the thunder ,” she said suddenly, throwing her arms in the air as she shot me another look.

“Barren said there’s a—” I tried to say, but she cut me right off.

“It, uh, crackled along with you, Lee.” She nervously drew in her lip like she was trying to work it all out in her brain. “I mean I–I counted. You and the thunder. It started right before you, uh, yeah… And then you were both barely a fraction of a second apart. One, two, three, four… five.” After she finished counting it out on her fingers, her eyes, full of suspicion, shot up to mine.

“So you’re saying,” I started, taking in a deep breath, “you think, while fucking you, I summoned a storm here on land?”

Unblinking, she motioned back to the vanity where tiny little mini vortexes were still swirling over the reservoir in the center. “That’s exactly what I think.”

The very last of the residual pleasure faded, and the tiny swirls crashed into the reservoir, exploding into a dozen tiny sprays of water. Stunned, I ran my hands through my wet hair. “Well, fuck.”