Chapter 59
Fifty-Nine
Angie
Angie’s lips found Kaden’s before his seaglass door slid all the way shut after the banquet, and she flutter-kicked her way toward the wall behind him, pushing him against it.
He cradled the back of her head with one hand, his other arm wrapped tight around her waist, dropping kisses along her jawline and down her neck.
She listened and felt for any signs of his exhaustion, but he was returning her kisses with an equal amount of fervor.
The touch of his lips sent waves of ecstasy rolling through her, and she couldn’t get enough.
“You know what I love most about this dress you gave me?” Angie panted against his mouth as she reached for one of the straps around her shoulder.
“Tell me.” Kaden lifted his head, holding unbridled adoration in his tiger-eye-hued gaze.
“Easy to take off.” She slid one hand under the strap, leaving one shoulder bare. “You want the honors of the rest?”
“You don’t need to ask me twice.” His eyes lit up as he removed the other strap.
The dress fell in one swoop down her legs, and she let it float away behind her.
He never took his eyes off her, kissing his way down the center of her body.
She gasped, holding fast to him. “May I have my first taste of you as my lifemate?” He paused, hovering between her knees, his gaze searching for hers.
She nodded, eagerly, and he pushed her upward and lowered himself, his lips and tongue finding her sensitivity, moving in delicate circles.
The pleasure built and built, and no, she didn’t want him to stop, yet at the same time, she wanted all of him. Before she could tell him so, a burst of heat racked her limbs and heated her core, and a satisfied, audible sigh escaped her lips. He remained where he was until she calmed down.
“I’ve wanted to be yours for so long, but not before you knew you wanted the same,” Kaden said. Angie reached down between his pelvic fins, but he gripped her hand, stopping her. “No. I’m ready for you. Are you?”
“I’ve been ready.”
Her new husband gave her a shark-like smile through hooded eyes. “Me too.”
She bumped her nose to his, dropping a kiss at the corner of his mouth. “I want you. All of you.”
It seemed that was all the encouragement Kaden needed, and he reached down for one of her legs, hooking it around his waist. His gills flared open and close, faster and faster, and the tip of his tail wrapped around her other leg, holding her in place.
And when their bodies joined at last, she let out a pleasured whimper.
Kaden’s shoulders shuddered when he filled her, and a quiet groan escaped his lips.
He lowered his face to meet with the nape of her neck.
His hand never left her, moving in tune with his body, still pleasing her, and she dug her fingers into his shoulders.
“I never want you to stop,” she whispered into his ear.
“Then I won’t. Until you tell me to. I want to experience that crash of euphoria with you.
The first of many to come.” Kaden gave her a gentle nip on her shoulder, and she ran a hand through his hair, thick and full and moving with the waves.
Without breaking from her, he contracted his tail and torso, turning her in a half circle so it was her back to the wall.
Her breaths came out labored as she desperately craved for release, at the same time wishing to prolong it for as long as she could. His free hand fell along the length of her back, and she arched against him, bringing him deeper into her.
“Angie.” His cheeks and neck were flushed, his long lashes framing his half-lidded eyes. “Princess. You’re my princess.”
It was as if she was sent somewhere otherworldly, and damn, since when were there stars this deep in the ocean?
If she knew lovemaking felt like this with him, she would have agreed to bond with him much earlier.
Their lips sought each other’s, fervent and wild, and he didn’t stop until her pleasure reached its peak, crashing over her head and melting down from her shoulders to her toes, racking her entire being with soothing heat.
She tightened her leg and arms around him as she cried out his name.
The pulsing in her temples made her feel as if her head was going to explode into a thousand stars.
A cascade of dull warmth spread from the top of Angie’s head to the tip of her toes, and they tensed and curled in response.
Kaden thrusted to her one more time, his arms tightening around her as shivers quaked his shoulders and arms and tail.
“You. Are. Incredible. In every way.” He kissed her again, languid and arduous, and separated himself from her, unraveling his tail and arms.
Angie traced her thumb over his cheek. “And now we can do this all day. Every day.”
“Mm. I look forward to it.” He motioned toward his hammock. “I’d like to experience that with you again.”
Angie swam alongside him, giving him a high-spirited flick on his shoulder. “I’m game.”
“Game?” Kaden quirked an eyebrow. “What game do you want to play?”
“Eh, that’s a conversation for another time.” She chuckled. But means I’m in agreement.”
She scooted backward as he floated over her, and he lowered himself, so their horizontal bodies were flush. He rested one arm against her upper back, holding her close, his other hand inching southward on her body, and brushing his knuckles over her inner thigh.
Tingles of anticipation fired upward from his touch, the pleasurable sensations pooling in her core, his next words sending thrums of pleasure firing haphazard throughout her system. “Good. Because I plan to enjoy every moment and every last inch of you until dawn breaks over the surface.”
Something was different about Kaden when she awoke. It wasn’t only the afterglow coating his face and torso. He still slept with one arm draped over her, the other cradled under his head, strong biceps visible.
His hair returned to its usual fullness, his olive skin glowing again. The dark circles under his eyes were erased.
Was he healed?
She dropped her gaze to his tail, where a passing current caused his tailfins to flutter.
It was no longer maroon, but darkened to a deep, rich burgundy.
Kaden had told her years ago the mer’s tails changed color when they were bonded to their lifemate. But she didn’t have a tail.
“So, what—?” She remarked louder than she intended, and Kaden opened one eye.
“Are you alright?”
“Your tail. What did it uh, mix with?”
Kaden furrowed his brow and brightened. “Your hair. And your eyes.”
“My eyes? Do I have red eyes now?” Angie swallowed a gulp.
Ancestors.
“Maybe.” He was grinning.
Of course, he didn’t have a mirror where she could see herself, and she gave him a light shove on his shoulder. “Kaden!”
“They’re not red, don’t worry.” His shoulders shook with laughter. “It’s the same color as mine.”
“Oh.” Angie’s shoulders collapsed in relief. “And what happened to my hair?” She reached for a lock of her loose hair, easy enough since it was floating around her head.
Her raven hair appeared to be highlighted with burgundy, matching the color of his tail. “Not that I ever did but looks like I’ll never need to pay for highlights, or get my hair colored,” she remarked with a light laugh. “Good thing your tail wasn’t puke or rotten seaweed colored.”
“I’m glad my tail isn’t either of those colors, either.” He dropped a hand to the lateral side of her shin and brought his lips to hers.
“You look like you’re back to normal,” she murmured after pulling back.
“I feel much better. Making love to you is magical, in every sense of the way.” He pushed himself up on one arm, his eyes widening. “Wait. When I asked the healers about my condition, they told me I either had to not use my magic for a prolonged period, or bond and we’d exchange our magic.”
Angie let out a soft gasp. “Looks like it counts for bonding with a human, too.”
“Looks like it,” he echoed. “Let me try something.”
Angie chuckled and watched him as he sat upright. With a twist of his wrist, he created a starfish shape with mini water funnels. “Oh. This has no effect on me.” He brightened and moved his hand beneath Angie’s breasts and created a water funnel heart.
“That’s amazing!” she said with a happy laugh. “You’re healed.”
“I am. Oh, I haven’t felt this good in tidesmonths.” He eyed her. “For so many reasons.”
Another thought came to Angie as he laid back onto his side, and she snuggled into the crook of his neck. “Wait, this happened after we slept together, right?”
“Yes.”
“So how do two mermaids seal their bond?” She lifted her gaze to meet his, where he wore a bemused grin.
“I’ve missed your asking questions about everything and anything undersea and mer-related.” He tapped the tip of her nose.
“You’ve answered most of them in the last two years, but I keep learning new things.”
“They wrap their tails around each other in a specific way–”
“Oh! Like seahorses?”
“I’ve also missed your animal references, but you could say that, yes.” He laughed again. “But come for a swim with me, and then we can get something to eat? Here or on the surface. Your choice.” He wiggled his thick eyebrows at her.
Angie slid out of the hammock, reaching for and slipping on her dress, which Kaden must have hung beside his door at some point during the night.
When they emerged, members of the royal court were milling in the halls and stopped to bow to them. “Prince Kaden. Princess Angie. Smooth tides to you,” the three of them said in unison.
“Princess? I’m not—” Angie started, holding her hands up. The three mer paid no more attention to her and darted away to what she assumed was their daily duties. She stared at them, dumbfounded.
“Though you’re not a mermaid, you’re still a princess,” Kaden said. She faced him and the knowing grin on his handsome face. “My princess.” A kiss on her lips. “As I am your prince forevermore.”