Chapter 15
15
“ L ook what the tuna dragged in.” Milan’s voice startled Hudson, the ire in it, the enjoyment at another’s pain. That was something that Hudson recognized immediately.
Hudson hung back as Honour moved forward, once again pivoting Kyree right between them for her protection. Did Kyree even realize that after the battle they were still doing that? An unspoken agreement between the two of them that Hudson wasn’t likely to give up any time soon.
“Milan,” Honour said, bowing her entire body as she halted, “my queen.”
Milan snorted loudly, but said nothing as she glanced beyond Honour and made eye contact with both Kyree and Hudson. A shudder ran through Hudson’s body as their gazes locked. Milan was from the deep soundings. Did Kyree recognize that? Did Honour? But she wasn’t from the same tribe that Kyree was from—there was no way.
“I’m Kyree.” Kyree swam forward, bowing like Honour had done. A sign of respect or was she trying to mimic Honour’s traditions so she didn’t piss anyone else off?
Hudson’s back went up, and she tensed. She wouldn’t be caught dead bowing before someone else. She’d left those days far behind her, and she wasn’t about to give that power to anyone else, especially someone she’d never met before whom she wasn’t sure deserved the respect or not.
“I don’t know where Soulara is.” Milan turned her back on Honour, swimming through the small cave and pulling down jars of potions that looked so foreign and yet familiar to Hudson. She came back and handed one to Honour. “For your injury.”
Honour, without question, put her fingers to the jar and drank the liquid. Milan pressed the palm of her hand against Honour’s side, pushing her back into the wall. Surprised, Honour tried to fight back but Milan had been ready. The words slipped from her lips quickly, a spell weaving through the waters, thickening them, tightening them, and then releasing. When she backed away, Honour’s bruises and cuts were gone.
“For you?” Milan faced Hudson and had another bottle in her fingers. “You require less.”
“Uh… sure.” Hudson took the bottle and downed it quickly. Milan didn’t come for her. There was no spell weaved, but the stiffness in her muscles and the ache in her sides eased instantly. “Thanks.”
“My pleasure.” Milan slid close to Hudson, inches from her face. They stared at each other before Honour came back around.
“You and your magic.” It was a curse if Hudson had ever heard. Perhaps that’d been the reason Milan had left Reine.
Keeping her mouth shut for once, Hudson waited to see what would happen next. This wasn’t her area of strength. Honour was far more a diplomat, and Kyree was the one who needed the soul stone. Hudson moved to Milan’s wall of potions and eyed each of them. She could feel Milan’s eyes on her back, keeping her in her sights as if Hudson was an enemy in a cage. She didn’t like the feeling. It was far too close to what she’d left behind in Talon.
Kyree slid closer to Milan, her head canting to the side. “You’re from the deep soundings.”
“I am,” Milan answered, still eyeing Honour. “As are you.”
“Where did you get the soul stones?” Kyree asked.
Honour put herself between Kyree and Milan, as if protecting her. But it was odd because Milan was the reason they were there. Hudson sensed no danger from her, just a misplaced anger from Honour. Which was odd. Honour never had that sense about her before.
Just what had happened when Reine’s queen defected?
“I found them, along the Ixolotol Ravine.” Milan ghosted her fingers over Kyree’s shoulder and arm. “I never thought I would see another deep sounding mer, not one who left willingly.”
Kyree pressed her lips together hard. “I left because of the humans.”
“And that’s why you want the stones?”
“Just hand them over,” Honour interrupted, her voice loud. It hurt Hudson’s ears, and immediately her skin rippled with danger. It wasn’t immediate death danger, but the kind that was going to ruin what they were trying to accomplish.
“Honour,” Hudson started, trying to interject and pull Honour’s head out of her ass. “Why don’t you let Kyree handle this?”
Kyree flicked Hudson a thankful gaze. But Honour didn’t seem to hear anything that Hudson had said. In fact, she seemed so focused on Milan that it was going to be impossible to draw her attention away. Honour moved in closer, but Hudson swam fast, reached out, and snagged Honour’s wrist to tug her back.
Honour flipped around and glared.
“Don’t,” Hudson muttered.
Kyree tried to ignore the battle they were waging, and she instead focused back on Milan. “I want the stones, if you have them, to fully connect with our beloved companions.”
“Tell me, Kyree, why are you really here?” Milan moved her gaze from Kyree to Hudson to Honour, slowly and deliberately. Milan definitely had her hackles up now, and it was going to take Kyree extra long to get the answers she sought.
“I’m here to help,” she stated simply, bowing down low again, and ducking her head. Was this a thing for the deep sounding mers? Did they not raise their heads up to their elders?
“Soulara’s been taken,” Honour rushed. “You can either help us to get her back or you can have her blood on your hands.”
“Soulara is unharmed,” Milan answered.
Honour scoffed loudly. “She’s—”
“Honour.” Kyree stated firmly. There was a flash of anger in her gaze as she faced Honour.
“She’s a bog witch, Kyree. Don’t trust a thing she says.” Honour crossed her arms, and Hudson once again slid in closer to her, fearing that Honour was going to lash out physically if she didn’t get her way soon enough.
“I know what she is,” Kyree answered slowly and faced Milan. “She’s not of my tribe, but we know of hers.”
Just how many deep sounding tribes were there? Hudson bit the inside of her cheek and refrained from asking that question out loud. This wasn’t the place to get answers.
“How can you trust a witch?”
“I’m assuming this is why you left Reine?” Kyree asked Milan, not Honour.
“In part,” Milan responded. “Though Honour never shared her feelings before now.”
Hudson snagged Honour by the upper arm and hissed into her ear. “You’re not helping the cause.”
“We need to find Soulara,” Honour retorted.
“Sure, that’s a start, but you bullying Soulara’s mother isn’t going to get you any answers or win you any points. Come with me.” Hudson started to drag Honour away, but Honour resisted. “I promise, Kyree will be safe here.”
Honour looked like she was going to object, but Kyree nodded at them, encouraging Honour to leave and showing Hudson that she was doing the right thing. Kyree focused back on Milan, and ignored the two of them.
“Nylah led me here. When Honour approached the elders about the war, it was Nylah who encouraged me to leave our home.”
“What?” Honour snapped.
“Honour,” Hudson said as another warning. She wasn’t going to let Honour ruin this, not if she was so desperate to find Soulara and save her. “Come on.”
With a hard pull, Hudson dragged Honour out of Milan’s cave and away from the entrance. Nylah stayed with Kyree, which was to be expected, but Hudson missed the ray’s bright energy. When Honour resisted, Hudson wrapped her tail around Honour’s and tackled her to the ground.
“Stop it already,” Hudson muttered right into Honour’s ear. “You’re making this worse for everyone.”
“She’s not safe in there.”
“She is!” Hudson nearly shouted. She tangled Honour’s hands behind her back and wrapped an arm over Honour’s shoulder and across her chest, locking her into place against Hudson’s front. “She’s perfectly well, and if you’d tone down your damn anger over Milan, you’d see that.”
Honour wriggled, trying to get herself free. They both knew that she could do it if she wanted. Honour had the strength to put up a good fight. But she didn’t push the limits of her body. Had Milan’s tonic not healed her completely?
“You took her potion. Did you not think she’d kill you if she had the chance?”
“Milan is sworn to heal, not kill.”
“Then why are you so scared about Kyree being in there by herself?” Hudson tightened her grasp when Honour wiggled again, and she regretted it instantly. Honour’s backside pressing against her front was doing far different things to her. Pleasure lighted through her, her clit already throbbing as if Honour was going to flip around and touch her.
But with the state that Honour was in, that wasn’t a likely possibility. Not unless Hudson could use that to distract her from Kyree and Milan. Honour wrenched her body hard, turning them onto their sides. Hudson growled, not just from the sudden movement but from the second shot of arousal that coursed through her body.
“Fuck this,” she said loudly.
Letting go of Honour briefly, Hudson reset herself and pinned Honour to the ground. She took her hand to distract her before she flipped herself around and wrapped her arms around the bottom of Honour’s fluke. Without warning, Hudson pushed off the sea floor as hard and as fast as she could. She dragged Honour by her tail away from Milan’s cave and over the rocky scape.
Honour fought back, crying out and screaming. She tried to bend to pull Hudson’s fingers off her, but Hudson had a firm grasp. As soon as they were on the other side of the rocky cliff, Hudson pushed Honour against the wall and covered her so their fronts were pressed together hard. She smooshed their faces together, melding her mouth against Honour’s, their lips pressing hard, their teeth gnashing.
This wasn’t the pretty, sweet kiss that Kyree had given them both before. This was all physicality. It was a battle. It was a fight for control and dominance, and Hudson was going to win. Even if it seemed that Honour ended up on top.
“What are you doing?” Honour shouted, trying once again to wiggle loose.
“Keeping you out of the way.” Hudson snaked her hand behind Honour’s head and wrapped her fingers tightly in Honour’s hair. “Kyree needs to do this on her own.”
“Fuck that. No one is safe with Milan.”
“Not even Soulara?” Hudson muttered as she pressed Honour tighter against the rock wall. “Because that’s Soulara’s mother.”
“And my queen. I’m not stupid.”
“You’re certainly acting like it.”
“Shut up.” Honour wrenched Hudson around, pinning her to the wall now.
Grinning at Honour, Hudson moved in and stole another kiss. This time Honour didn’t resist. Instead, Honour pushed right back into her. Hudson freed one hand and wrapped it around Honour’s back, keeping her in place and locking their bodies tighter. Honour moaned, nipping at Hudson’s lower lip before she released Hudson’s other hand and palmed her way across Hudson’s chest.
Honour’s mouth left Hudson’s, heated kisses pressed to her skin, down her neck to the top of her chest. Laughing, Hudson bucked her hips and grunted.
“See? Isn’t this better than fighting with Kyree?” Hudson asked.
“I wasn’t fighting with Kyree,” Honour mumbled against Hudson’s skin. She bit hard over Hudson’s hardened nipple as if to make her point. “I was fighting Milan.”
“Yeah. Sure you were.” Hudson pushed Honour’s head down even more. Would Honour know what Hudson was looking for? Had she been taught that pleasure yet by their deep sounding mer companion? “Fuck me already, Honour. I don’t have time to wait.”
Honour popped back up, her mouth a breath away from Hudson’s. “Is this what you really want?”
“Part of it,” Hudson answered, never more sure of anything. She’d wanted Honour against her from the moment they’d shared that first kiss, and she had worked hard to get to where they were now. She’d stripped down her defenses and let Honour in more than anyone before.
“Only part?”
“Fuck me, Honour. I’m not going to say it again.” Hudson clasped both her hands on Honour’s cheeks and dragged Honour toward her. The kiss was brutal, hard, passionate. Hudson poured every ounce of herself into the kiss and this moment.
She couldn’t remember the last time she had willingly let another mer touch her like this, like she was worth something, like she had something to offer. Her entire body was tuned in for the moment when Honour would do the same, when she’d break down that last vestige of hesitation and give herself over to exactly what they both wanted.
Honour broke the embrace, breathing hard as she stared wide-eyed into Hudson’s gaze. “But Kyree—”
“Isn’t a fool. She knows just as much as we do.”
“That wasn’t what I was asking.” Honour dove back in. Her fingers wandered over Hudson’s body, teasing everywhere she touched with hard pinches and soft caresses.
Hudson reached between them, sliding one finger along the edge of Honour’s slit, the slit that was already parting as if Honour had just been waiting for this moment to begin, as if she’d been begging her body to allow it to happen just as much as Hudson had been.
“Not yet,” Honour said into Hudson’s neck. “Not yet.”
Hudson kept her hand right where it was, but she didn’t move it any farther. She didn’t slip a finger inside and find Honour’s clit, she didn’t dive two fingers into her warm center and hope that she could feel Honour clench around her. Instead Hudson teased in the only way she’d been given permission—one slow stroke against the edge of Honour’s slit after another.
Honour breathed heavily on Hudson’s shoulder. Her hand still covered Hudson’s breast, her hard nipple massaged by two of Honour’s fingers. Hudson threw her head back, undulating her hips to get some kind of movement going, to entice Honour to continue with what they were already doing. Hudson keened, dropping her other hand that wasn’t continuing its pattern along Honour’s slit to her own.
If Honour wasn’t going to touch her, then she was going to touch herself. She needed the release at this point. She needed to clear her mind and her body in order to focus on what they had to do next. She’d been too distracted by Honour and Kyree lately, and Hudson needed to know what this felt like. She needed the reminder that not every mer out there was dead set on killing her.
“Honour,” Hudson whined as she slid two fingers against her clit. “Watch me.”
Honour backed away slowly, her gaze drifting down Hudson’s body to her hands. Honour parted Hudson’s slit and watched with rapt attention as Hudson circled her clit and teased her own body. Honour’s cheeks tightened, her eyes squinting, and before Hudson knew what was happening, Honour’s hand replaced her own.
“Yesss….” Hudson murmured. “Yes.”
Hudson cried out loudly, grasping at Honour’s back as they pressed closely together. She closed her eyes, shuddering while Honour pressed her deeper into the cave wall, the prickly bits of rock pushing into Hudson’s skin and giving her the tantalizing twist of pain and pleasure at the exact same time.
She loved this.
Honour moved a finger down and toyed at Hudson’s entrance, but Hudson shook her head sharply. “Don’t.” She breathed deeply. “Don’t do that.”
“All right.” Honour kissed down Hudson’s neck to her shoulder, her collar bone. She continued to tease Hudson’s clit.
Hudson breathed heavily, her entire body on fire. She cried out, looking over Honour’s shoulder and meeting Kyree’s dark eyes in the water not far from where they were.
Hudson held onto Honour, eyeing Kyree as her orgasm built—bigger, better, faster. Having the three of them together was something else entirely. She couldn’t imagine for a moment that only two of them would do in whatever formation that might be. The three of them together was so much better.
“Kyree is watching,” Hudson whispered to Honour. “Don’t stop. I want her to see this.”
Honour didn’t pause. She kept moving her fingers right along Hudson’s clit. She kept her face buried in Hudson’s breasts. Hudson arched her back and kept her gaze on Kyree, beckoning her closer with each passing second.
“Kyree,” Hudson said, her voice breaking as her orgasm stole through her. She closed her eyes tight, her head swimming with all the sensations that Honour caused, the ones that rippled through her like a strong wave, pulling her out of reality and back into it so many times. “Honour.”
“We’re here,” Kyree murmured. “We’re here.”