Chapter 29 #2
“I suppose they were mad that I’ve refused to find a lifemate.
Though, the sentinels then told me they held court for the day, and they were not to allow anyone else in.
So, I went for the doors myself. They blocked me.
I went back later, and the King and Queen were nowhere to be found.
Not in the throne room. Nor the bedchambers.
Only for me to learn from Cyrus that they’d left to visit another part of the queendom.
” The more he spoke, the more his jaw clenched, his words emerging like spittle.
Angie pinched the bridge of her nose and closed her eyes. “I just, I don’t know. Where is this going to go? Do we even have a future together?”
“I could ask you the same. If I commit myself to you, I am yours for life. I understand humans don’t necessarily operate that way.” Kaden gave her a pointed look.
Angie shrugged, defeated. “What choice do we have? Run away like teenagers?”
He bristled at her last sentence. “I want to be with you. Even if it means splitting my time between land and sea.”
Angie’s heart filled with joy at the notion.
“I’ll be a marine biologist if we come out of this alive.” She choked up and stumbled over the if, and a chill ran through her bones. “I’ll be spending a lot more time in the water. I want to study deep sea fish and educate others on overfishing and its disastrous consequences.”
Kaden leaned in closer so his breath swept over her ear.
“I’ll show you things no human will ever see.
The greatest treasures in the deep, untouched by human interference.
” A coy smile played over his soft lips, drawing her attention to them, and he added, “As long as you let me steal you every now and again so I can have you to myself.”
“Hmm.” Angie sidled closer, brushing wispy bangs out of her eyes and moving in until her lips were inches from his.
Her breathing quickened in anticipation, in tandem with his, and the air stilled between them.
Her heart burst with adoration, and she put both her hands on each side of his jaw.
Pulled him into a deep, passionate kiss.
“I’d like that, but I’d like it even more if you took me for yourself now. ”
Kaden latched onto her, his hands tangling in her messy ponytail and running his fingers down her back. Whimpering, she arched her chest into his then pulled away just as quickly.
“Kaden, Kaden, wait.” With desperate hands, he brought her close to him again, but she stopped him.
Her eyes searched his face. “You made me feel so good last time, but I don’t know how to return it.
I’m sorry, I don’t know what to do with a tail, and I want to make you feel just as good.
” Then she sat straighter, focused on the spot where his waist ended and tail began. “Where is your—?”
Kaden gave her an amused smirk. “My what? Come Angie, out with it.”
Her neck flushed. Why was it so hard to say? She was a scientist, damn it. “Your penis.”
That sounded decidedly clinical and dry, and she buried her face in her hands.
Kaden’s smirk grew wider. Clearly, he was amused by her awkwardness. “It’s internal. For now.”
“For now, huh?” She dragged her gaze up and down his tail again.
“I can tell you’re not satisfied with my answer.” Kaden bit down on his lower lip, a nervous laugh escaping him. He rolled onto his back, fully exposing the ventral part of his tail. Between his small pelvic fins, a thickened section of scales and an extra fin atop it came into view.
“Oh.” She could sense his discomfort, and a part of her hated that she might be ruining the moment with her insatiable curiosity, but she wanted to understand how he worked. All of him. “So, when you mate, it comes out of—”
“Must we keep talking about mer sex? I would prefer to enjoy you.” Bewilderment strained his features.
Angie sat back. “Can I touch you, erm, there? I know you said intercourse binds you to me, but just touching you wouldn’t cause that to happen, right?”
Kaden’s cheeks tinged pink. “It won’t, but I–I’ve never been touched there.”
“Then, may I?”
The muscles in the proximal part of his tail twitched, and he scraped a hand through his hair. He nodded. “I would like to try. With you.”
Angie perked up and kissed him again. Their lips parted, and her tongue searched for his until they became entwined. She grazed one hand tenderly between his pelvic fins, testing his reaction.
He gasped against her lips, and she took that as encouragement.
His scales parted, and he filled her hand, and she was surprised it was so smooth. His size felt similar to a human male’s. She moved gentle and slow at first, listening to the way his body responded to her.
He clenched hard at her shoulders while they kissed, his body pulsing and breaths became ragged and hitched. The bottom half of his tail moved to wrap itself around her until she sat within it like a cushion. It tensed and curled, his caudal fins sweeping over and brushing the ground.
Finally, they broke apart for air. He struggled for breath, his head falling back and jaw clenched.
His fingers dug into her back, and he buried his face into the crook of her neck, his thick eyelashes fluttering against her skin in a gentle tickle. “I’ve never felt anything like this.”
She grinned, though she knew he couldn’t see her. “I try.”
When his pelvic fins covered him again, he grabbed and pinned her down with a sharp, audible intake of breath, and his mouth crashed into hers again.
He reached beneath her sweater and shirt, inching up and cupping one of her breasts and moved his other hand down to the hem of her pants, and got stuck there.
Kaden leaned back, wearing a mask of puzzlement.
“Need help?” She grinned against his mouth. “They’re buttons and a zipper. You pop them, like so.”
He watched with fascination as she undid them, and she took his hand, sliding it beneath her clothes.
“Ah, first time I’ve seen such a thing.”
“I imagine the mer don’t have much use for buttons and zippers,” she said with a light laugh. His expression was sheepish, his hand moving lower, lower, and she gasped, her gaze locked with his.
“Open your legs.” His voice came out hoarse and breathy.
She did. His fingers met her damp heat and worked in slow, methodical circles.
A gasp emerged from her throat when he slid one finger inside her, and then another.
His mouth moved to her neck and her breasts, pleasing her desperately, as if today were the last time he would ever see her. It drove her to want more, need more from him. Her mind ran wild and again, her body thrummed.
She pressed her lips to his ear. “Kaden, don’t you dare stop. Please, please, please.”
He listened and kissed her again, a clash of tongues and lips, her body heat rising with his. She wanted to hold on to this feeling, to him, forever.
Under his arduous touch, the pulsing in her temples made her feel as if her head was going to explode into a thousand stars, clouding her vision and mind like a school of fish swimming around her in dizzying dances.
She unraveled with forceful pulls until she became undone, and a cascade of dull warmth spread from the top of her head to the tips of her toes.
A cry escaped her, and she squeezed her legs against his arm while she buried her face in his neck, her body shaking.
He enveloped her in his arms and kissed the top of her head.
Her breathing gradually slowed to a normal cadence.
Neither of them spoke, but she was content to stay where they were. She didn’t want to think about returning to the docks yet.
Instead, she nestled in his arms, fearing that if he let her go, their worries would become reality.