THIRTY
Mia
I fan my hands in front of my face, trying desperately to cool off. “Is it just me or is it hot in here?”
Objectively it’s not a hot day. In fact there’s a slight chill in the breeze off the ocean, but not much of it penetrates the tiny tent Tegan and I are crammed into.
Tegan withdraws her face from the flap of the tent and looks around at me. “It’s a little stuffy, yeah. What are we waiting for again?”
“My parents said they’d be here.” I run nervous hands down the sleek front of my simple white dress. “I can’t decide if I want them to come for real or not. ”
“Pfft. Better if they don’t.” Tegan rolls her eyes, which looks like quite an effort under the two sets of false lashes she’s wearing. I think she got more dolled up than me and it’s my wedding day! But I’d expect nothing less from Teegs and I’m one hundred percent happy with my decision to let Luke plan a relaxed beach wedding. I didn’t spend hours at the hairdresser, or thousands of dollars on my outfit.
None of it matters anyway, because it will all be wrecked the moment we get in the water for the mating ritual.
I summon up my courage. “OK, let’s do this. Now or never.”
Gripping Tegan’s hand tight I brush aside the tent flap and step out onto the sand. Then I freeze. I expected to see the few rows of chairs Noah and Jack laid out filled with only our friends and family. I did not expect to see half the people in Kraken Cove lining the edge of the beach to watch!
“Oh, god. I don’t think I can do this.”
“They came.” Tegan jerks her head to the front row of fold up chairs where my mum and dad are perched uncomfortably. They look far too dressed up in a suit and cocktail dress, but I did tell them it was on the beach. I guess they didn’t believe me when I said not to go fancy.
“Oh no. It’s too much pressure.”
Someone presses play and the portable speaker starts playing the music we chose that somehow sounds all wrong now.
“Mia, hey.” Tegan takes hold of my shoulders and turns me to face her. “Look at me. You can do this. You found a good one. That’s what this is all about. Not your parents, not them. You and him. ”
I look above the heads of all our friends and family to where Luke is standing, watching me. His blond hair is tousled by the wind and he looks amazing in his white shirt and pale caramel shorts. His face lights up in the biggest smile as our eyes meet and all my nerves disappear. Tegan’s right. I found a good one, or he found me. And I know he’ll never let me down.
I give her a nod. “You’re right.”
“Of course I am. Now let’s go get you hitched!” She gives my hand one final squeeze, before she lifts her chin and begins striding down the makeshift aisle between the chairs. After a few paces, I follow her and once I start, I keep my eyes fixed on Luke and everything else just drifts away as if the tide came in and washed it off the beach.
When I reach him, he holds out his hands and I put mine in his and smile. “Hi.”
“Hi.”
“We’re really doing this huh?”
He nods. “We’re really doing this. You ready?”
I take a deep breath. The ritual makes me his forever. It changes my body so I can breathe underwater. There’s no going back.
Am I ready for no more nights alone in bed and a life with my dream guy?
I grin. “Hell yes!”
The ceremony doesn’t take long. Joanne told me that kraken culture always included spoken vows and they were one of the earliest groups of monsters to adopt human customs and mesh them with their own. Once the simple vows are exchanged and the celebrant declares us husband and wife there’s a cheer from the crowd .
It feels strange to sign my name on a piece of paper to solidify something so important. How can one piece of paper be enough to show what Luke means to me?
I get a little lost in the hugs and congratulations until I find Luke’s hand or his arm slips around my waist and I remember to relax.
Finally the formal part of the afternoon is over and Jack spreads out the picnic rugs as the townsfolk walk or drive back to town. Mum and Dad approach as Noah is busy handing around baskets of food and there’s an awkward pause after they congratulate us where I wonder if they’re going to hug Luke.
“I’m glad you came,” I tell them. I might not feel glad right now, but I know I will later, when I think back on this day. The fact that they came leaves the door open for the relationship to heal over time.
“You’ll never stop being our little girl,” says Dad. “But we know you’re also a grown woman and we want to know her too.”
It doesn’t really ever get comfortable, but the next few moments of conversation are less stilted. Eventually Dad leads Mum to a rug at the outer edge of the group and Luke and I are able to relax.
Luke was pretty vague when he explained the details of the mating ritual so there’s a flutter of nerves low in my belly when it’s finally time for us to stand and make our way to the edge of the water. He slips his hand around mine and gives it a squeeze as if he knows. He probably does. He has a knack of reading my emotions so fluently sometimes he knows how I’m feeling better than I do.
“What next?”
“We go for a swim.” He smiles at me reassuringly. “The rest of it is private so we’ll say goodbye now.”
There’s another round of tearful hugs and kisses. Tegan gives me a tight squeeze and whispers into my ear as she says goodbye. “You didn’t mention his brother was hot!”
I’m desperate to probe, but there’s no time. Soon we’re stepping into the waves so Luke can transform. He turns away so the humans in the group aren’t offended. “Ready?”
With a brief nod, I dive straight in, trusting him to keep me safe. I’ve grown used to the way he holds me in the water and breathes air into my mouth to allow me to stay under longer.
Beneath the waves, he discards the rest of his clothes and wraps his arms around me. Then we’re off, speeding through the choppy waves into the deeper water. The rolling sensation as I move with him is hypnotic. I grow confused about which way is up and down, but I’m not worried. Luke will keep me safe.
He stops after a while and we float as he gives me a burst of air. His glowing tentacles sway around us, keeping us steady. Slowly, he raises us to the surface and I blink as my head breaks into the air and I can take a real breath.
“There’s a little cove with no road access about a kilometer that way.” He points toward the headland jutting out from the bay. “I’ve stashed some things there.”
“OK.”
The air is warm and the sun is still hot despite the cool breeze. We dip back below the surface and it doesn’t take long to arrive at Luke’s cove. He brings me up onto a tiny beach surrounded by tall sandstone cliffs. It’s sheltered from the wind and there’s an overhang where the water and wind have eroded the cliffs to form the beginnings of a cave. As we crawl onto the sand, the water laps at our feet and Luke’s tentacles rove up my legs.
I giggle.
Then suck in a breath as he finds a particularly sensitive spot. “So are you going to tell me now what the ritual involves, mystery man?”
I expect laughter, but his cheeks deepen in color. “Ah... well listen. Just so you know, you don’t have to do it.”
I frown. “What?”
“Swallow my um... my cum. In this form.”
My eyes widen. “Is that all? Well what are we waiting for?” I’m already reaching for him when he stops me.
“Mia, I mean it.”
“Luke! Don’t you know I love making you feel good?” I swat his hand away and move myself into position. When I wrap my hand around his cock it rapidly thickens, growing harder every moment I’m touching him. “You silly. I’m going to enjoy this. Now relax and let me.” I give him a push in the center of his chest and he subsides into the sand.
When I lower my head and lick him slowly up the shaft he groans. His hands hesitate at my head, but his tentacles are already wrapped around me, sliding around my waist and up my thighs.
I take him into my mouth and savor the salty fresh flavor of him, moving leisurely up and down. There’s no way I’m rushing this. It’s something I never get enough of. Come to think of it, I can’t recall Luke ever letting me finish him like this. I guess he’s been holding back until now .
I smile to myself at the soft noises of pleasure I draw from him with my mouth and tongue. Eventually, he threads his fingers into my hair and gently guides me to speed up.
Happy to please him, I follow his lead, drawing him deeper, sucking on him, bobbing my head up and down.
When I flick my eyes up to look at him, his beautiful face is tipped back in pleasure, his mouth hanging open. At that moment the tip of a tentacle brushes my clit and I moan around a mouthful of his cock.
After that my movements grow frantic. I’m feeling greedy. I want him to touch me. I want him inside me. I also want to taste his pleasure and yes, I want to complete the ritual.
So I concentrate on making it the best blow job ever.
It’s not long before his cock is rigid and his hand tightens in my hair. “Mia, fuck! I’m going to—”
I don’t lift my head. I stay right where I am, sliding a hand down to cup his balls until he explodes and warm salty liquid fills my mouth. I hold suction over his cock and keep moving my mouth until he’s finished.
Then slowly I withdraw, sitting up on my knees to smile at him as I swallow.
“Oh god, Mia, you’re gorgeous.” Luke sits as well, brushing my hair away from my neck. He gathers a drop of cum from his softening cock on a knuckle and brushes it onto my skin. It feels strange for a moment until I realize the skin has a small opening there. It increases as the sticky cum coats my skin and I lift a hand to feel tentatively.
Sure enough three small slits open in my neck, thin and fragile to the touch. My head spins a little.
“Are you OK? ”
I nod. It’s hard to speak. I have a moment’s worry when it feels as if I’m not breathing properly, though I know I’m drawing air in through my nose and mouth like I normally would.
“It’s working,” Luke says, moving forward. “Let's get you all the way into the water.”
I want to ask if he’s sure, but I still can’t make my voice work. Deciding to trust him, I take his hand and crawl until I can sink into the water. As soon as my neck is below the surface, I relax a little.
I realize what the problem was. The air felt too thin. Now I’m able to breathe the water, it feels thick and satisfying. I’m no longer gasping.
“It worked!” I laugh as I push back and let my body relax into the water. It comes out in a gush of bubbles, but I think Luke picks up on my meaning even if my words are difficult to make out. He dives toward me, grabbing me and spinning us so we whirl through the water and twist until I don’t know which way is up or down.
It doesn’t matter, though. All I care about is I’m still in his arms, held close to his warm strong body.
After my momentary distraction, my arousal is back and I feel every place our bodies connect, most especially, the thick hardening bulge pressing insistently at my lower belly.
We drift to float and I give him a questioning look. Is he ready again so quickly?
In answer Luke gives me a wicked grin and wraps two tentacles around my legs suddenly yanking them apart .
I gasp as another teases at my pussy. I expect to choke on water, but instead I only breathe it in, moaning into a flurry of bubbles as he curls the tip and touches me just the way I love.
More tentacles at my back keep me pressed up against him as Luke claims a kiss, slicking his tongue against mine. Soon he has me so wound up I’m impatiently bucking against his hold, but it’s no good. He refuses to let me go, refuses to let me touch him at all until I surrender to the orgasm that takes hold of me, dragging me under a tide of sensation and cry out in a scream muffled by the water all around us.
When I open my eyes, he looks pretty pleased with himself.
He releases my legs and I take the opportunity to wrap them around him. Now it’s my turn to hold him tight and not let him go!
He laughs. The sound is deep and distorted in the water, but it still makes my chest swell with happiness. Then his hands are on my ass and he guides me into position so he can plunge inside me with one deep thrust.
I moan at the feel of him inside me. I cling to him as he moves inside me, gaining speed, driving me toward another orgasm already.
The water glows with his light and he holds me close, tentacles writhing over my body to tweak and play with all the sensitive places at once until I surrender to it. I drift on it and it goes on and on until at last he joins me. His arms and tentacles tighten around me. He captures my mouth in a fierce kiss.
After a long moment, he relaxes and lets out a long sigh. Tiny bubbles drift around us. Still joined, he guides us back to the beach and we lay with my head on his chest. My hair is splayed in wet tendrils over his skin. His tentacles are still wrapped around me.
I grin. “I think I’ve done it.”
“Mmm?” Luke sounds distinctly sleepy, but he lifts his head to look down at me.
“I’ve officially escaped all the stuff that was weighing me down.”
“Babe, you did that ages ago. I’ve been waiting to see what you’re gonna do now you’re free.”
THE END
I hope you enjoyed Kraken Cove: Second Chance with the Sea Monster, the first of three Kraken Cove Brothers novels.