Page 18 of Fionn (Starlight Mermen #1 | Starlight Alien Mail Order Brides #7)

Fionn

S he was different when she came back. More radiant. More confident. And even more beautiful than before.

I couldn't take my eyes of her. She’d put on a simple flowy dress that accentuated her curves. I watched as she ate, listened as she explained the various dishes to me, laughed at her jokes. She was so perfect it hurt.

I was sure now. She was mine. My mate. All doubt had vanished.

Before the matriarchs had restricted normal dating, there had been a simple test for finmen to find their true mate.

All you had to do was to hold your greenskin against hers.

If you weren't mates, you'd get a slight tingle, almost uncomfortable.

But if you were mates... I'd heard it described as an almost spiritual experience.

Nowadays, this rarely ever happened. Matches were made for genetic potential, for keeping our species alive, not for love.

I was sure that some of the rich and powerful still got to choose their mates for themselves, but not us, not normal finfolk.

Males had to stand before the Matriarchal Panel and females had to accept whoever they were assigned.

It was no way to live. I hated that my kind had to resort to such methods in order to survive.

In one way, I could understand why the matriarchs had designed this law.

For the good of the species. But for a finman like me who, if they had their way, would never have a mate, never find love, never lie in the arms of a female - it was torture.

"What are you thinking of?" Elise suddenly asked.

"You." Always.

"Well, then we match because I was thinking about you as well." She smiled and pushed her plate away. "When you registered with the dating agency, what was your plan? Long-term, I mean. Did you want to return to your planet? Fin..."

"Finfolkaheem."

"Originally, we wanted to find some females and take them back home.

To be honest, we hadn't thought much about it.

When we set off, we half expected the story from our Archives to turn out to be a fairytale.

We didn't dare to hope. Even when we made contact with the dating agency and got confirmation that Peritans did exist and that there might be a way to find mates for ourselves, it felt like a dream.

I think I always assumed that I would return to Finfolkaheem, but that was not based on rational thought.

I don't know what the matriarchs would do to us if we brought a group of Peritan females with us.

Would they accept you? Would they want to know if our two species could have offspring together?

Would they commission experiments on you? "

My greenskin tightened at the thought. I would never let that happen. Elise would always be safe with me. Even if I had to protect her from my own people.

"Maybe we should stay here."

Her words made my heart stop.

We.

Us.

Together.

Did she mean that? Or had it been just a slip of the tongue?

"Elise... are you saying that you could imagine being with me?"

Everything inside me froze. Time slowed into a sticky syrup that refused to flow faster. Her silence was an eternity, until-

"You are my match." Her words were quiet but certain. "Pam told me just now. According to her genetic test, we are a match."

Time became a rippling current that swept me away. I couldn't breathe. Couldn't believe it.

"Fionn?"

I took a deep breath to steady myself. "I... I didn't think it would happen so soon. Pam didn't give us much hope. Just because our ancestors had found mates on Peritus didn't mean that we would achieve the same. But here you are, my mate. My Elise."

I wanted to touch her, kiss her, but the mountains of food still separated us. Elise's gaze also flicked to the plates between us. She must have been thinking the same thing. I hoped.

I swept my arm across the blanket, pushing all the dishes into a messy heap on the side. Elise - my mate - gave me a wide-eyed look, then laughed.

"I guess that's one way of tidying up. What are we doing now?"

"Now, I will kiss you."

I breached the distance between us and knelt before her, cupping her face. Her skin was soft and warm. The scratches on her cheeks had faded but I could still see where Kelon had injured her. He would pay. I would make him pay.

Gently, I lowered my lips to hers.It was instinctual.

I had never done this before, but I had watched it often enough to know what to do.

The moment our lips met, my old life ended and my future began.

She tasted of everything I'd been missing.

Her lips were soft yet strong as she met my kiss with the same passion I felt.

Her hands snaked around my back, pressing me against her, while our tongues began to dance.

I stopped breathing. Nothing mattered but her taste, her warmth, her presence.

I drowned in her kiss until all my layers peeled away; the guard, the clutch-brother, the rejected male, the hopeless warrior.

She clung to me, wrapping her legs around my waist. My cock came to life, hard and strong, desperate for attention. She must have felt him press against her belly, but she did not recoil. If anything, she pulled me even tighter against her small body.

When we finally broke apart, both of us were breathing heavily.

Her lips and cheeks were flushed, her pupils dilated.

I loved seeing her like that. I'd had that effect on her, nobody else.

My cock tented the Peritan-style shorts I was wearing in her honour, and for a moment, her attention flicked down there, but she didn't comment.

"Thank you," I said breathlessly. "Thank you so much."

She cocked her head to the side. "Are you thanking me for a kiss?"

"Is that not done amongst Peritans? We are taught to thank a female for any and all physical attention."

"No, I don't think we have a rule about that on Earth. But please keep doing it. I like it."

I smirked. "Does that mean there will more kisses I can thank you for?"

"I think that can be arranged. Where did you learn to kiss like that? I've never... it was spectacular."

Her praise hardened my cock even further. I would have to find a quiet moment to take care of him - unless Elise... No, this was not the right time. Kelon was still out there. I couldn't give in to my urges and fantasies only to then be surprised by him at the worst possible moment.

A deep buzzing sound far away made me straighten.

The Tidebound was on the move. Hopefully, they would find Kelon before the midday meal.

He could have swum a fair distance since his disappearance, but the Tidebound had advanced scanners that would reach deep into the sea.

He could not hide from us for long. And once he was back on this island, we would make sure he never had an opportunity to harm a female again.

"Do you want to stay here for a bit longer?" I asked Elise. "Or we could go for a walk? Or a swim?"

I had to force myself to suggest these things.

I wanted to keep her locked into her suite where it was safe, where I could guard and protect her.

But I knew better than to expect her to sit there like a caged avian.

She was a female used to being active. She wouldn't enjoy being cooped in, despite the danger to her life.

"I don't think I'm quite ready for a swim yet.

I hate to admit it but my muscles still feel like I've swum a marathon.

How about we try the hammock? It looks big enough to fit us both.

You can tell me more about life on Finfolkaheem and I can explain some human traditions to you.

" She pulled her small communicator device from her pocket.

"I can show you pictures of my home, where I come from. And my parents."

Parents! For some reason, we had not talked about her family yet. Guilt bubbled up in me. I should have been more interested in her life, asked her more questions. I had to show her just how interested I was in her.

"What are their names? Are you close?"

"They were called Stacey and Ron. But they're no longer with us. They were killed in a car accident five years ago."

I didn't say anything. I simply pulled her closer, wrapping her in my arms until the world could no longer hurt her.

She sighed. "I wish you could have met them.

They always supported me, no matter how cracked up my ideas were.

One year, I decided I'd become an Arctic explorer.

We didn't have much money at the time, but dad bought me a ridiculously oversized ski jacket in a charity shop and then drove us up to the Cairngorm mountains.

There's a wild reindeer herd there, and we got to visit and feed them.

On the way home, we stopped at the Highland Wildlife Park to see the polar bears.

" Elise sniffed. A single tear rolled down her cheek.

I wiped it away before licking my finger. Salty. Like the sea.

"I am so sorry," I whispered. I ran my fingers through her short, silky hair, wishing there was something I could do for her.

Grief was a terrible beast. No matter how much you thought you had it under control, it could never be fully tamed.

And it always broke from its chains when you least expected it.

"I've had time to process it. But it still hurts. I don't think that will ever pass." She took a deep breath. "What about your parents? Are they still alive?"

"I don't know. We are not raised by our biological parents on Finfolkaheem. Finbabes are given to the hatchery where they are assigned to clutches of three to four. Cerban and Rainse are my clutch-brothers. We are not related genetically, but we grew up together as brothers."

"Was it always that way?" she asked softly.

"No. The system was set up so females could focus on producing more offspring for the endurance of our species.

By not having to care for their finbabes, they are free to put all their energy into procreating.

" I hated how detached and clinical I sounded.

I'd never liked the idea of having to give away my offspring, should I ever have a mate.

I wanted my finbabes to grow up with us, as a family, not raised by an army of carers and teachers.

"Sometimes, a matriarch will adopt a finbabe," I continued. "If they see potential in a child, they may be raised to become a leader or politician or a future matriarch. That's what happened to Kelon."

Elise snorted. "They made a bad choice with him."

"I agree. He was given every opportunity my clutch-brothers and I can only dream of, but look at what he did-"

Suddenly, a shudder went through Elise. She stiffened, her eyes wide.

"What is happening?" she whispered, before she dissolved into thin air.