Chapter 5
QURILL
Astryd clings to me as we cut through the water.
The way she tightly holds me makes me glow with pleasure.
She is everything I have ever wanted—beautiful, adventurous, and adrift, just like me.
I want to show her she’ll never be alone again.
That she can find safe harbor in my port.
Forever, if she’d allow it. I’ll take care of everything if she agrees to be mine.
It would be my privilege to care for her. It is the role I was born to fulfill.
I hadn’t meant to hear her private thoughts.
The magic that lets us communicate is fickle, and while I had tried to be noble and not pry, she was too great a temptation.
I want to know everything about her—her likes and dislikes.
What makes her happy, how to satisfy her properly so that she may never wish to leave my side.
Because, despite everything, she does still wish to leave.
There is a conflict raging inside of her.
One forged from the necessity of self-preservation.
I understand why she is wary of someone like me.
She has been alone for so long with no one looking out for her.
To throw away a simple life of solitary security in favor of running off with a merman you just met seems a bit foolish.
Even if being together feels as natural as breathing. I would spend every moment together, reaffirming that she had not made a mistake in trusting me.
I want to keep her—more than I’ve ever wanted anything in my life.
She is mine, and she is giving me tonight to prove it.
I have until dawn for her to change her mind and realize her place is at my side and in our bed.
The moment she dove into the sea, fearless and naked, her fate was sealed to mine.
It is sudden, but just because it is fast doesn’t make it any less real.
Astryd fears I will grow bored with her, but there is no chance of that.
She will satisfy me for the rest of my days as I will her.
I will prove to her that we deserve more time.
Even if it is not forever, she wants to give me, I would eagerly take another day, a week, a month—whatever more I could get before she returns to the surface.
I feel her slipping away already. Even as she holds tightly to me, there is a part of her that has already begun to slip away. I must grab hold of her while I still can.
She is my future, even if I am not hers.
The way my father described meeting my mother makes more sense to me now than ever.
It is an instant and overwhelming feeling when you find the other half of your soul.
It consumes and unsettles you. This primal need to stake my claim on her fully pounds through my veins.
That is why I will not give in to despair. I will follow her forever, hoping she’ll change her mind if she does wish to return to the surface tomorrow. There is still time to win her over—I cannot lose my mate when I have only just found her.
Our naked skin slides together as we pass through other schools of rainbow fish.
Her hand extends to graze their scaly bodies.
She gasps, her blue eyes taking in her surroundings.
If she thinks these wonders are marvelous, I’ll show her every hidden wonder the sea has to offer.
Today was a drop in the bucket compared to what the world has to offer.
There would be nothing off-limits to her. I will indulge and satisfy her curiosity. She will be well cared and provided for.
And loved most of all.
Had she not felt that between us earlier? The way she called out to me as I feasted on her cunt solidified our bond. I can still taste her sweetness along my tongue. She was hot and wet, delirious in her need for me and me alone. Her heart had reached for mine. I felt it.
Perhaps to her, this feels like only lust. A need to satisfy a longstanding ache.
If it is, that desire can be stoked into something more permanent.
She wants me the way I am—in my true form.
I’ve never laid with anyone looking like this.
Astryd is not repulsed by me. There is only desire and longing in her gaze as she beheld my naked torso.
Could it not be clearer that we were meant for each other?
I will make good on my vow. The pleasure I am about to unleash on her body no mortal man can compete with.
If she chooses to leave, she will wade through the seawater, calling out for me, knowing no one will ever satisfy her as thoroughly as I can.
She’ll beg me to fuck her, and I will oblige until she finally gives in and lets me keep her beneath the waves.
The palace comes into view. The pocket holding the seawater back parts for us easily. We splash onto the tile floor. I cushion her body against mine as I watch her suck down lungfuls of air. Water slides down her body, and her hair drips on my chest.
She smiles up at me, even as she begins to shiver.
Quickly, I set her on her feet and go in search of fresh towels.
Once located, I wrap one around her body and use another to blot dry her hair.
She relaxes against me as I tend to her wet strands.
When I am satisfied with how dry her hair is, I toss the towel aside and prowl in front of her.
Her eyes sparkle up at me. Color dances beneath the freckles on her cheeks. I trace her soft skin with my thumb, loving how she leans into me.
“Are you still sure you want me to take you?” I ask.
Biting her lip, Astryd nods softly. The flush on her face travels down to her chest. Her sweetness hangs heavy in the air. I long to savor her arousal directly from the source again.
“It feels right for it to be you,” she confesses. “I’ve never wanted another like this.”
Satisfaction unfurls in my chest. I cup her cheek, tipping her head even farther back so that she can see the need in my eyes. I want her for more than just a night of pleasure. I need her by my side. I need to keep her safe.
“Then you shall have me. All of me.”
Her smile turns sad.
“Only for tonight,” she adds. “I want to give this part of me to you. To remember me by.”
“You can stay longer.” I hear the desperation in my voice. “However long you want.”
Astryd blinks rapidly before looking away. Her sadness is palpable. Back inside the palace, her mind is shut off to me, but I know her well enough to see the thoughts swirling in her mind. She has made her decision, but I’ll be damned if I don’t try to persuade her otherwise.
However, I don’t want to push her away. I have to bide my time. I promised her pleasure, and I intend to deliver. My thumb drifts to her bottom lip as I pull her gaze back towards mine.
“Let’s not talk about the future,” I sigh. “Not when the present is so much sweeter.”
Heat kindles in her gaze. Her naked body is flushed. I long to strip the towel off her and glimpse the supple curves beneath. In fact, that’s what I’ll do at this very moment.
The heavy fabric hits the tile with a thud.
She gasps as goosebumps erupt on her flesh.
She is all pillowy softness. Golden skin glimmers in the low evening light.
Her breasts are full, and her hips are round.
Shapely thighs hide the hidden treasure between them that’s already dripping.
Pink nipples stand at attention, begging for my mouth.
I gently thumb one, loving how her head falls back.
“I must apologize to you. It seems I’ve been remiss in not giving you a proper kiss.”
The ones after I feasted on her cunt were sweet, but I want my kiss to devastate her. I want it to set her on edge, so by the time I graze her pussy she's coming at the first slight touch. Her lips part as her eyes flutter closed. My lips swipe over hers. She’s so soft—ripe for the taking.
Without warning, I bend down and throw her over my shoulder.
She laughs as she hangs down my back. My arm holds her tightly under her knees.
One hand smacks her ass, delighting in the pink that blooms on her soft skin.
She moans, her arousal deepening. I walk quickly to our bedroom.
I deposit her on the bed, her rosy cheeks pulled tight as she grins up at me.
This is the room I first brought her to after rescuing her. The primary suite is meant to house a king. This will be our royal bedchamber. I’ll learn every inch of her body in the room, starting tonight.
Her mouth parts, and she makes quite the picture on our bed. Legs spread to reveal her glistening pussy. Her breasts rise and fall. Astryd’s full, pink mouth gives me a wicked idea. One I need her standing for.
I pull her from the bed and into my arms. My fingers shift through her damp hair and hold her firm. Our mouths meet with a mutual groan. My tongue licks over her lips, which she eagerly parts. The dance of our tongues makes my knees buckle. She moans into my mouth.
The taste of sweet sunshine coats my tongue.
Her blunt nails rake down my back. My hand drifts between us to palm her breast. It fills my hand completely. There are a million different things I want to do to them. Lick them, bite them, fuck them. I want to paint them in my seed and watch her lick it off.
My mind spins as I kiss her harder. If she is to return to the surface tomorrow, she will go bearing my marks and with my seed in her pretty cunt.
My cock rages between us. Astryd groans as she shifts between us, rubbing herself against my aching hardness.
Seed already drips from the tip, strengthening my decision.
I break our kiss, watching her blue eyes blink open as she sucks down air. I smooth her swollen lips with my thumb.
“Will you let me have complete control over you tonight? Submit to me fully?”