Page 11 of Tempting Triton (Mated Myths #2)

Triton

A s dawn breaks and the sea around us gradually lightens from a murky black to a sun-dappled blue, my Elena and I swim back towards the shore where I first found her.

In my frenzy, I did not stop to check for anyone else amongst the metal wreckage, but my Elena has told me there were other women with her, so we must go and see if they are alright and help them if they are not.

I watch my mate paddle beside me, admiring her powerful form as she surges through the water.

The Fates have picked the perfect mate for me, strong and brave.

She was born for the water. If she should have a tail, she would rival me in speed.

My competitive side is eager to put her skills to the test, but later.

I gather that this is important to my Elena and do not wish to distract her.

“We should check those out on the way back.” My mate points to what I now know are called shipping containers that have sunk to the sea floor, their doors wide open, with their guts hidden in shadow in the depths of the sea. “They must have fallen off the ship the same time ours did.”

I nod, a shiver wracking my body as we pass over the containers.

A physical sensation I had long since forgotten, and not felt since my youth during the cool season, has me questioning if it is the hulking dark masses beneath us or something else that elicits this physical response.

An ominous feeling, sitting in the back of my thoughts, reminds me that I need to get back and check the barrier, and soon.

The water noticeably warms as it shallows, the blue of the sea and the silver of light sparkle and shimmer as it ebbs and flows.

Small shoals of Marides break apart around us to reform at our backs.

My Elena sighs, a dreamy look on her face as she eyes the small fish and the way their bodies sparkle when they dart to and fro, feeding on plankton too small for the naked eye.

“The Marides make me think of you.”

Elena cocks an eyebrow at me in question, and I grin.

“Beautiful.”

She snorts.

“And delicious.”

Her cheeks blossom with a pink flush, and a slight hint of her arousal permeates the water around us.

She shakes her head with a huff and pushes ahead of me in the water, leaving me to chuckle to myself behind her.

I do not mind that she is ahead of me, though, as now I can watch the thick muscles in her thighs and buttocks tighten and elongate with every one of her kicks, something I would not have had the chance to admire if she had a tail like my kind.

The wrecked container sits shallow enough that the sand brushes against our bellies, its darkened rust color like a burst of blood against the white of the sand. So very obviously out of place on Aeolia’s shores.

“You will wait here, and I will check for the others.”

Elena opens her mouth to argue.

“You cannot breathe above the water until my essence wears off.”

Her mouth shuts with a huff. “But you don’t have legs. How will you look for the others?”

“I have eyes, do I not? I will call the water to me to raise the tide so I can swim closer to the shore.”

“Don’t tell me you can control the ocean.”

“Okay, I will not tell you I can control the ocean. ”

I am already raising the conch shell tied around my neck to my mouth to issue a short, sharp blow, when I’m sure I hear her mutter ‘ this fucking guy ’ to herself. She shakes her head, but then pauses all movement to watch me with intense scrutiny.

A minute passes. Nothing happens, and I just know my mate is dying to question me.

“Just wait, my Elena.”

“Hmph.” She crosses her arms in front of her chest, her soft, plump lips turning into a pout. “I wasn’t going to say anything.”

I chuckle. From our short encounter, I already know my Elena must always have the last word.

She gasps softly as the tide rises and deepens around us, waves crashing overhead to caress the shore at the influx of seawater.

Her sense of wonder is a beautiful thing, and I vow in this moment that I will show her more of the ocean’s secrets and treasures if only to see her eyes sparkle with the same unrestrained joy as they do now.

“I will be quick.” I dart further into shore now that the water is deeper, my Elena hot on my tail. I roll my eyes. Of course, she would not stay put .

I swim past the opening of the container I found my Elena in, now at least half submerged beneath frothing waves, still unsettled from being pulled to us so quickly by the power of my conch.

I pop my head above the waves, inspecting the shoreline in both directions.

The bright white sand is flat, untouched.

No humans are sprawled in the sand, nor sitting around a makeshift camp waiting to be rescued.

The tide and wind have done a good job of removing any evidence of anyone having been here at all.

I sing out. What would not affect a human below the waves acts as a lure above the surface.

If anyone is out there, they will feel compelled to answer my call; the pull to head to water is hypnotizing.

I wait a moment, scouring the shoreline and brush further inland for any sign of movement.

Nothing answers my call except the quiet whooshing of the wind kicking up sand and rustling the scrub.

My Elena pops her head up beside me with a sharp intake of air.

“It wore off.” I assume she means my essence, and I mentally calculate that that one lasted at least twice as long as the first one.

Would it double in effectiveness each time?

How many times it will take to become permanent is as much of a guess to me as it is to my Elena.

Perhaps Ichó knows more tales of humans and Mer, the only ones he’s shared being of my human mother and Mer father.

“Anyone?” Elena brushes wet strands of hair from her face before pulling the tie from her hair to let her golden locks flow down her back and sway in the water around her.

“No. No one.”

Her face drops, and I am loath to disappoint my mate.

“I’ll check the other half of the container.

” Before I can protest, my Elena paddles until the water is only waist height, then stands and walks the rest of the way out of the water.

The sea clings to her skin like a lover’s embrace, drops glistening along her sun-kissed torso, her clothing wet and tight against the lightly muscled planes of her body.

This is the first time I am seeing her fully out of the water, and I am in awe of her beauty.

The sun casts her hair and skin in a golden glow as it reflects off the sand, and I am sure I am staring at an embodiment of the goddess of the sea.