Chapter 27 Alaric
Alaric
The ocean smelled infinitely better than kitsune piss. It had taken hours for the rank stink to disappear. How one small creature could smell so fucking bad escaped me. The little bastard had curled up on the witch’s knee once we finally piled into the SUV and slept for the rest of the day.
Naturally, the bear insisted on driving again. I’d offered to do my share, but he claimed he didn’t trust anyone else to keep his mate safe.
The moment the ocean came into view, the witch sat up, moved the kitsune off her knees, and practically crawled over my lap to see out the window.
I tried not to yelp when she sat on my dick, but she was too busy staring in wonder at the sight of the waves crashing against the shore to notice my discomfort.
I watched her reaction. “Is this the first time you’ve seen the ocean?”
She blushed. “Yes. Adam never let me go anywhere as a kid.”
I’d been dragged all over by my father. He loved to show off his son.
We had a beachfront mansion in Rhode Island, close to a few human celebrities.
I used to enjoy going there as a kid, but the older I got, the more I hated the way he paraded me in front of his friends, especially the high-ranking witches.
“The ocean is freezing this time of year, so don’t get too excited,” I tell her. Her face fell for a moment before she broke into a sunny smile.
“I can’t swim, so I don’t care about that, but I am looking forward to going on a boat!” She bounced up and down on my lap, and I groaned as her ass inadvertently rubbed my dick back to life.
The asshole incubus snorted as he picked up on my discomfort.
“Will there be pretty fish like in that human movie?”
She wiggled around some more as the SUV rumbled down a steep hill toward the harbor. It wasn’t late, but the sun had set hours ago. Nights here were very long this time of year, which was frankly depressing.
My dick ached, but I gritted my teeth, grateful she’d not noticed.
“There are lots of salmon and trout,” Kai said. “Plus sea mammals like seals and whales.”
“Oh.” Raven’s face fell as she sank back down before her eyes widened in surprise and she blushed. “Oh,” she repeated.
“Something wrong, pet?” The incubus smirked. I closed my eyes and tried to think of anything but the witch’s ass rubbing my dick. Fuck me, this was embarrassing. The magical tether between us purred at her proximity. My magic loved it when she touched me. It wanted us to seal the bond.
“I…um…” I shoved her off my lap and turned away, ignoring her yelp as she fell onto Zane. He just laughed because he was a dickhead.
“You alright, little mate?” The bear rumbled.
“Yeah!” The kitsune slid along the seat and gave me some serious side-eye, but I ignored it in favor of staring out the window. Moonlight lit up the churning ocean far below, and my stomach curdled at the thought of going on a boat.
I fucking hated boats.
It took another fifteen minutes before we arrived at the harbor. Piles of filthy snow and slush everywhere made the going treacherous, and when I climbed out of the car, eager to stretch my legs, every exhale clouded into steam around me.
Thankful for the thick, down-filled coat I’d brought with me, I stepped gingerly over to the harbor wall and stared out across the churning water. It looked cold, miserable, and guaranteed to make me sick.
The merman joined me. Like always, he wore no coat or even a shirt. The guy didn’t seem to feel the cold at all. While I understood why, just looking at him gave me hypothermia.
“Do you really not feel the cold?” I asked, curiosity getting the better of me. He shook his head.
We stood in silence for a few minutes. I had to admit that, compared to the incubus, the merman wasn’t so bad. I quite liked his quiet, stoic personality. He didn’t talk unless someone asked him a question, but when he had something to say, it was always important.
If only the incubus could keep his fucking mouth shut.
“Yo, vanilla popsicle, we’re going for food. You joining us?”
I rolled my eyes. If being intentionally offensive could be classed as a talent, the incubus would win prizes.
“You coming?” I asked the merman. He shook his head.
“No. I need to swim.” I watched as he dropped his shorts and dove off the harbor wall. When I peered over the edge, there was no sign of him in the seething water until a few seconds later, a blue, iridescent tail flicked out before disappearing below the waves.
Part of me wished I’d been born a merman not a mage. Life below the waves seemed a helluva lot less stressful than my miserable fucking existence.
As if to mock me for my thoughts, my phone rang for the millionth time. I’d only just turned the damn thing on so I could catch up on the latest news headlines.
Knowing there was no way to avoid him any longer, I accepted my father’s call.
“Where the fuck are you, Alaric!”
“Happy Solstice Day to you too, Father.”