Page 12 of Tempting Triton (Mated Myths #2)

Elena

T he warmth from the sun on my skin is invigorating and so much more potent than it is filtered beneath the sea.

I bask in it momentarily, allowing my body to soak up its rays and dry out my pruned fingers and toes.

What would happen if I were to never step foot on the shore again?

Would my skin soften so much, weakened by prolonged exposure to the water, and then slough off at the slightest touch?

I shiver at the morbid thought, tingles racing down my spine at the nightmarish idea.

So many questions, and not enough answers.

I look back at Triton, his head bobbing above the softening waves.

He looks concerned, and maybe it’s for my safety, or maybe it’s because he knows I could run off and leave him, and there’s nothing he could do about it.

The sea may be a tempting mistress, but from where I’m standing, it can so easily be my prison as well .

“Back in a sec!” I wave. Maybe that’ll ease his mind.

I could run off, but this cursed bond would have me right back at his side regardless, or have me unconscious in my stubbornness, easy prey for whatever else lurks on this island.

The thought is uncomfortable as I search my surroundings for any sign of life.

Did Morgan make it back? And if she didn’t, then what happened to her and the others in the couple of days I’ve been gone?

Did they find help, but I had already been taken by Triton?

Or has something sinister befallen them?

If they’re not here, then where are they?

So many thoughts race through my mind. Whatever has happened, wherever they are, I hope they’re all together.

I may have gotten lucky with Triton being a mostly decent guy—merman.

But if the rest of the world is anything to go by, decent people are few and far between. I just hope that it’s different here.

Sand sticks to my feet and ankles as I walk along the shore towards the other half of the shipping container.

It’s not as far out as the half I was in, but shallow water eddies and swirls inside it.

I can see there’s no one inside it from the shore.

I didn’t think there would be, but I still needed to see it for myself, like an intrusive thought that needs to play out so I can let it go .

I need a minute to myself, or an hour, before I head back to Triton to reveal my findings, or lack thereof.

I plop myself down on the hot sand, my wet exercise shorts absorbing some of the heat, so I don’t burn my ass.

I survey the scene. Why us? Why me? An ache forms behind my eyes, tears pricking at the edges.

I tilt my head back and stare up at the clear blue sky, fighting the urge to scream and cry.

It’s no use, though, as stubborn tears track down my face.

Everything aches—my body, mind, and heart.

Will I ever leave this place? Will I ever see Brett again?

That’s the part that kills me the most—the idea of him thinking I left on purpose without so much as a goodbye, our parting moments being harsh words and a door slammed in his face.

A shuddered breath escapes me as I angrily wipe away the tears that refuse to listen to my brain.

There’s no use in crying. That’s not going to get me off this damn island.

But the barrier—that’s something I can look into.

If I help Triton investigate how on earth we got here, then it may be the key to my leaving as well.

I stand, dusting myself off, and square my shoulders, determination settling inside my bones like an old friend. I’m not going to give up so easily.

Triton is still exactly where I left him, his head bobbing above the water like a golden buoy. I wade out towards him, the cool water lapping at my now too hot skin, siphoning the warmth the sun has imbued from basking in its rays.

“Let’s go.” My voice is quiet, subdued, as I avoid his worried gaze, not wanting him to know I’ve been crying. But I sense he knows anyway when he doesn’t ask if I found anyone. He awkwardly clears his throat, and I glance up to see him running a wet hand through his curly hair, his face pained.

“What?” A pit in my stomach opens up. What now?

“It’s just, uh—” He clears his throat again. “I have to, as you say, ‘kiss’ you again.” There’s no cocky smile. There’s no teasing jab. The silence is deafening.

“Oh. Right.” My face heats. How could I forget?

“Is that okay? I would not want you to hit me over the head again.” His eyes turn mischievous, a smile teasing at the corners of his mouth. Never mind, there he is.

I roll my eyes. “It’s fine. Just keep your hands to yourself, okay?” Lord knows I do not need a repeat of our earlier tryst. Things are complicated enough without this mate bond making us do all sorts of uninhibited things, and the last thing I want is to make this harder on him when I leave here.

Triton moves into my space, and I eye his hands suspiciously as he raises them from the water. He holds them out beside his head where I can see them.

“Is this okay?” His voice is so smooth and melodic, it tickles my brain, and I catch myself leaning into him.

He’s so close, I can feel his warm breath against my cheek.

I note that his breath doesn’t smell bad, considering I watched him wolf down an entire crab earlier, shell and all.

But now I’m conscious of my own breath since it’s not like I’ve had access to a toothbrush in days.

“Oh no.” I cover my mouth with my hand, so it comes out muffled between my fingers.

Triton moves back, misunderstanding my trepidation as him crossing a boundary, and cocks his head at me, his pretty golden-flecked green eyes questioning.

“Do I have bad breath?” I whisper, eyes wide.

Triton’s shoulders relax and then start shaking with laughter. His mouth splits open in a grin, perfectly white teeth on show, the sound of it skating over my skin like warm honey, luxurious and sweet .

I splash him. “It’s not funny.”

He wipes water from his face, still smiling. “You do not have bad breath.”

“Fine.” I glower at him. “I guess you’re the one who’ll suffer if you’re lying.”

He slinks in closer again, his fresh breath warm against my lips while his hands stroke the backs of my arms. “Trust me, I do not suffer to put my lips against yours.”

His mouth brushes against mine, ever so gently, yet it ignites a burning hot fire inside me.

There’s a brief pause; his forehead rests against mine, our lips barely separated.

I can feel his breath in tandem with mine as he exhales, and I breathe him in before I close that fraction of space between us, sealing our lips together.

My hands tangle in his salt-laden curls, tugging them between my fingers, pulling him into me.

Inhibitions be damned. It’s as though I am starving and he is the only thing that can sustain me.

Despite being surrounded by cool water, my insides feel like molten lava, need bubbling to the surface and spilling out through the cracks in my composure.

I tease at the entrance of his mouth with my tongue, requesting the entrance he so freely gives.

His hands never leave the backs of my arms, although I’m sure they’ll bruise with how tightly his fingers dig into my heated skin.

I can feel the sensitive skin beneath my ears tingle as it unknits itself, forming the gills I need for us to return to the coral castle, and the air becomes thicker and harder to consume.

I lean into Triton, toppling us backwards into the water, him beneath me, until we are fully submerged.

Water and oxygen filter through my new appendages, but I do not separate myself from him.

Our tongues dance with wild abandon, teeth knocking as we feast upon one another.

He groans beneath me, sending a pulse of electricity straight to my core.

I feel wild and free, this man beneath me fueling this sexual frenzy.

A little voice in the back of my head attempts to whisper sense to me, but the roaring in my ears drowns it out.

I couldn’t stop my body if I tried. I grind down upon him, trying to find any friction I can, and succeeding.

I rub myself against a large bulge that swells from what would be Triton’s groin if he were human.

But he’s not human.