Chapter 7
“I’m baaack!” My mate sing-songs as the door to her home opens. Relief floods through me at hearing her beautiful voice again. I wanted to go with her, but she insisted I stay, which was probably a good idea as it gave me more time to study her language.
If I understood right, she went to get us something to eat, though I’m not sure what that entails. I haven’t seen anything that looks remotely edible so far, no fish or kelp or even clams. She tried to convince me to eat something she called a craaakeer, but I abstained.
Everything she’s eaten herself since she found me has been wrapped in weird packages, and tonight is no different. I can admit it smells delicious though.
“What… foraged?” The words come out slow, I want to be sure I get them right. It is my first attempt.
My mate drops her package on the flat surface in the middle of her cooking space, her mouth open like an adorable guppy.
“You… Did you just talk?” She eyes me warily. “Or am I losing it? Because it sounded like you spoke English.”
“I did,” I reply. She speaks this language, too.
Shouldn’t she recognize it? Have I misunderstood?
I thought I was getting it, but maybe it is more challenging than I first believed.
Her roommate left soon after she did to go to something they called werk, so I wasn’t able to practice with another human.
My mate’s mouth does the cute little fish thing again, opening and closing like she can’t figure out what she wants to say. Seas below, I want to kiss her.
“How…? Have you always spoken English? Oh my god, could you understand me this whole time?” Her words come out so quickly it’s difficult to understand, but her shock and anxiety are clear through the bond.
I go to her, wrapping her in my arms and stuttering out a purr.
Her cheek lays against my chest, though I wish this silly cloth wasn’t between us. I think she called it a tee.
I plant a kiss on her hair, and she looks up at me. Her breathing has regulated but there is still a question in her eyes.
I gesture at the device she called a television, and try to think of how to form the words I want. It is easier to understand this language of hers than it is to speak with the eloquence I’d like. “I learn. But… English is… hard.”
My mate scoffs. “You got that right. We took things from every language around the world and then butchered them together to create something with the most finicky rules.”
Her lips are too tempting, so I drop my head to kiss her deeply. She tastes of fruit I’ve never known, but now desperately want to try. Her arousal blooms, and I slide my hands down her backside, gripping her rear to pull her against my hardening erection.
I still cannot believe human males walk around with their cocks unprotected, just dangling free outside of their bodies. Seems like an evolutionary misstep. Even the thin textiles they cover themselves with offer little protection.
My mate pulls back, her palms on my chest to push away slightly. “Wait. Wait. Okay. What’s your name? What do I call you?”
My lips scrunch because as much as I want to hear my true name on her lips, she doesn’t know the language of merfolk.
I think about the sounds and syllables of my name under the water.
There was a name I heard from her television earlier that might work, it has some of the same soft hissing sounds and vowels of my name. “Call me Caspian.”
“Caspian.” She tests my name on her tongue, and I decide it’s perfect. It doesn’t matter if I never hear it in my language, as long as she keeps saying it. Even better if she screams it as she comes on my tongue.
“And you, little starfish?”
Her brows furrow. “Starfish? Is that supposed to be a nickname for me?”
“Do you like it?”
“I’m not sure… let me think about it. At least it isn’t sea slug or something I guess,” she muses.
“Sea… slug?” I tilt my head uncertain exactly what she means. This is not a term I’ve heard before.
“You know, uh…” She grabs a device and pokes at it a few times, then turns it to show me an image of the adorable creatures that cover the sea floor. Each is unique, some with extremely bright colors.
“Ah! Yes! Very beautiful. Vibrant, just as you.”
“Riiighht. Anyway, my name is Madison. But my friends call me Madi. Sometimes Mads. And my dad used to call me Skeeter but that won’t make any sense to you so—”
I cut off her rambling with another kiss. She’s cute, my Madison. I can feel her emotions wandering through the bond, jumping from one to another, her curiosity and nervousness seeping into me.
She frees herself from my embrace and walks back to the bounty she brought in for us to eat.
Each container she pulls out smells different, and I’m curious as to what’s inside.
Madison turns and pulls two flat discs from the storage behind her, setting them on the surface between us.
She scoops food onto each, then pushes one to me along with a small white trident.
Except this one has four tines. What could a weapon that small possibly be for? Why would we need them to eat?
Madison points to each food and names them for me. “These are drunken noodles, this is a summer roll, and this is pad thai. Which I am now realizing has peanuts in it. Are you allergic to peanuts? Shit, I should have asked first.”
I do not know what she means by allergic or pee-nuts, but the food looks far more appetizing than anything I’ve seen her eat so far.
I reach to pick up one of the noodles, but pause when I see my mate using her tiny trident to stab them and bring them to her mouth.
Looking back at my food, I get excited to see something I recognize.
Prawns! Though these have no shells and are protected by some kind of translucent covering. Seems safest to start with that one.
The prawn is not as fresh as I am used to, but it is palatable. She watches me like she’s waiting for me to pass judgement, so I smile and nod in approval. This seems to satisfy her, and she goes back to her own food.
Following my Madi’s lead, I pick up the little weapon and mimic her hold, stabbing one of the noodles along with something red I’ve never seen before, and bring it to my mouth.
As soon as it touches my tongue, I know I’ve made a grave mistake.
My mouth begins to burn, the soft flesh inside pulsing like I’ve eaten an anemone.
Like I carelessly popped several tiny urchins into my mouth without opening them first.
I spit the offending food back out, my tongue lolling past my lips in an attempt to escape the assault. Has my mate poisoned me?
“Oh my god! I forgot to warn you it’s spicy!” Madison scurries back to her storage, pulling down a vessel and filling it with water. “Here!” She shoves it at me.
I don’t hesitate to tip it back, letting the cool liquid soothe my tortured tongue.
Once I finish the water she gave me, the burning dulls to a manageable tingle. I don’t think I’ll be trying the third dish, though.
My mate comes to me, wrapping her arms around my waist, and the pain is almost worth it to have her in my embrace again. Almost.
“I am so sorry, Caspian! I should have told you, I forgot not everyone likes spicy food.”
“This is spicy?” I poke the offending food with the tip of the pronged utensil.
“Yes. It means food that’s hot like that, but also, it can mean… well, other things.”
The way her cheeks pink has me intrigued. My purr starts up to soothe her, especially now that I know she wasn’t trying to murder me, and I pull her down onto my lap. “What kind of things?”
“Um… well, other things that make the body feel… hot.”
“Ahh.” I nod. “Like this.” Tilting her chin, I make a path of kisses from the corner of her lips, down her neck, to my bond bite. It’s healing nicely. My tongue traces the mark, and my beautiful mate shivers.
“Uh huh, oooh.” The murmured grunt turns into a satisfying moan as my hand slips under the clothing concealing her sweet cunt. I wish she wouldn’t hide from me. Lifting her back to her feet, I tug down her shorts and the thin fabric beneath them.
“Caspian!” she gasps, hand landing on my head. “We should eat.”
“Not that.” I wrinkle my nose at the offending food, then lift her onto the table. I have something better in mind.
An adorable little squeak of surprise slips from her lips, but her gaze is hungry, and I can feel her delight in the bond, smell her arousal in the air, see her thighs glistening with slick.
“Maybe we should talk first.” She squeezes her legs together.
“Not yet.” There’s much we should talk about, but I need a better handle on her language first. For now, this is much better. “Open, starfish.”
She’s breathing fast as she widens her thighs for me.
I touched her in the cave, but this is the first time I’ve gotten to truly look at her.
Her patch of coarse curls gleams with her arousal, drenched and ready.
The females of my species don’t have this feature, and it makes my Madison even more special.
My knot swells, cock eager to sink home.
But she’s not ready for that yet. Despite our quick bonding, there’s a skittishness to my mate that will take time to settle. She needs other things from me first.
This is something I can offer her now. And I know exactly how much she wants it.
With one finger, I trace the lips of heaven, parting her golden curls.
Our eyes catch as I repeat the motion. This time when I get to the top I feel a little pearl and when I touch it, she lets out a small gasp of pleasure.
Interesting. I stay there, dragging the pad of my finger back and forth, up and down, in little circles, watching her the whole time, noting every reaction.
This isn’t like the hurried fumbling in the cave. This is intentional exploration, a discovery as nuanced as learning a new language. And I intend to master every language my Madison speaks, especially this one.
Once I’ve worked out her favorite movements with my finger, I replace it with my tongue.
My eyes roll back as that unknown fruit flavor bursts across my tastebuds.
I can’t help the moan that escapes. Curling up that sensitive area that makes her squirm.
Flicking the tip of my tongue across it.
Flattening in long strokes. That’s the one.
She likes that, moaning and squirming, grabbing her breast with one hand.
Her legs drape over my shoulders, the split sensation delightfully unfamiliar. The muscles clench, trying to squeeze shut around my ears, muffling the sounds of her enjoyment. We can’t have that.
I push her legs as I lift a little higher, spreading her wide with my shoulders. With a palm flattened on her belly, I ease her back until she’s flat on the table. My feast. The only thing that will quench my thirst.
I plan to make her scream my name until her voice is hoarse. And when she can’t take anymore, I’ll sit her up and feed her from my hand, then do it all again.