Page 28 of Tempting Triton (Mated Myths #2)
Elena
M y heart breaks for Triton as I watch him come undone at my declaration.
I can’t imagine how he must feel when he’s been on his own his entire life.
To be separated from your own kind, isolated in the ocean with just the sea creatures for company, forced to find your own way in life, and figure out the intricacies of your species by accident rather than from teachings, would have been incredibly lonely.
It is no wonder he is overwhelmed by his emotions when he has been abandoned by his parents at such a young age and left to fend for himself, watching his friends and kin perish from the cold, simply because it’s tradition.
Anger twists my guts as I think about Triton as an infant and how his parents could have possibly left him behind.
I hope that they feel awful about it now that they have spent an eternity separated .
Triton is good, kind, and funny, and it would be a privilege to be tied to him for the rest of my life.
I feel guilty about abandoning my plan to return home, and my heart pangs at how I left things with Brett.
But looking at Triton as we make our way back to his home, I can’t imagine returning to the life I had before him—the monotonous existence of doing something I no longer have the burning passion for, punishing myself for something I have no control over.
In the end, my parents would have wanted me to be happy, and that’s something I’ve found here, with him. I won’t lie and say there aren’t things I’m worried about—like if I’ll ever be able to walk above the surface again once Triton has shared his essence with me for the final time.
I stroke Triton’s hair where his head rests on my stomach, feeling the rhythm of my breathing through the rise and fall of his head, when I’m startled by the slow glide of him down my body beneath the water.
Parting my thighs, he places his head between them, swirling his tongue over my clit before laving at me like a starving man, causing me to buck beneath him, whimpering in pleasure.
He has me coming apart in minutes, my walls clenching around his fingers as he slowly curls them inside of me.
His head pops above the surface to throw a lazy smirk my way, before coming up to place his mouth upon mine.
Saltwater drips off his face as he nips and teases at my lips until I greedily allow him entry, his tongue invading my mouth and dancing with my own.
I can taste myself on him, mingling with the salty brine of the ocean, and it reminds me of summer days at the beach.
Gently, he eases himself inside of me, my thighs still parted around his waist as his cock lazily pumps itself, the ridges coaxing me back to the brink of climax.
It’s slow and sweet, and nothing like the last few days of frenzied lovemaking.
Each thrust, each moment he holds my gaze says, I love you.
You are mine. Forever . His head bows, nestling into the crook of my neck as we come apart together.
We lie back in the shallows, the morning sun warming our spent and deliciously aching bodies, and I relish the feeling of it upon my skin. I silently ponder if it’ll be my last as we prepare to make our way back to Triton’s home—my home now, too.
“I do not wish to return,” Triton groans.
I roll to face him. “Despite what you say, I think Ichó will be worried we’ve taken so long.”
“Perhaps it is time for the old cetacean to retire from his duties. I am not a pup that still needs caring for, I am grown. It is time he should live his own life.” As he says this, I get the impression it’s more for him, reassuring himself that he doesn’t need his dolphin nanny anymore.
They’ve been together for such a long time, been each other’s only company.
Ichó was tied to Triton in obligation to his parents, but a lasting friendship bloomed nonetheless, despite Triton’s grumbling. A bond like that is unbreakable.
Triton groans as I roll out from under his arm to search for my forgotten clothes amongst the lagoon.
I find them stiff, with dry, crusted sand amongst some scrub, and grimace.
I’m not sure how they wound up over here, but I give them a rough shake out before sliding my clothes back over my head and up my legs.
It feels strange to have clothes on again after being nude for the past few days.
Thankfully, my period is finished, and I don’t have to worry about bleeding through my clothing and attracting sharks.
My cheeks flame at the memory of Triton’s beast between my legs the first time.
We might have to make this a monthly trip for as long as I can be above the surface, and after that, I’ll figure something out.
I take another look around us, at the sky, the sand, the shrubs, and wonder when I might see them again.
Facing Triton, who lazes about in the lagoon, watching me with hooded eyes that throw heat my way, I steel my resolve and tread into the water.
Triton’s waiting arms curl around me as he swims us further towards the entrance carved into the rocks.
Wrapped around him, his stormy ocean green eyes delve into my own, searching for a crack of regret.
“My Elena, my mate. I promise I will try to be worthy of everything you are giving up,” he whispers between us.
I swallow thickly, tears threatening to spill. “I’m ready.”
We lean in, our mouths lock together in a scorching kiss, filled with promises, hope, and longing.
Our tongues move in a slow dance as Triton breathes his essence into me.
Pain, sharp as a razor blade, blooms beneath my ears as gills form.
Still entangled in his arms, a single tear tracks my cheek as we drop below the surface.