18. Eve
EVE
Time is different underwater.
No streaming sunlight tells me it’s morning. The change in water color indicates the same. During daylight hours, it’s a gentle blue. Clear enough for me to see far along the white sand floor. It looks endless, the blue void. It’s peaceful in its expansiveness.
Daunting, but I don’t feel overwhelmed. I’ve never felt better.
Thanks to the male lying beside me. My body feels like goo. I released enough endorphins last night to float on a cloud of pure bliss.
Our shared passion has chased away my lingering doubts.
Whether it’s a reward for us indulging in the mating bond, I’m not sure. Regardless, I have no conflicting thoughts. I’m right where I’m supposed to be: at the side of a most dominant Kraken King.
Groaning, I stretch out my deliciously sore muscles. Many of which I haven’t used in a very long time.
The sheet falls away from my bare body. The remnants of my dress litter the floor. I shake my head at the number of red marks all over my body. There’s no denying who left them. I’ve always hated hickies but from Harven they make my insides melt.
No one who sees them will deny he owns me.
All the fear from last night washes away as I turn towards his chest. Tentacles glide along my hips and legs. I’ve never been much of a snuggler, but the way Harven held me all night was perfect. In his arms I’ve never felt safer. More at peace.
Sleepy gold eyes blaze over my face.
“I thought you were never going to wake up.”
The deep timber of his voice skitters along my bones. I clench my inner thighs together, enjoying the feel of his hard muscles tucked against me.
My ass is sore. It’ll be tender for a while today thanks to Harven’s spanking.
“I was ravished by a monster. I needed my beauty sleep.”
Harven’s tender smile deepens the ache in my chest. His hand rubs at the same spot between his pecs. It must be the physical manifestation of our bond. It glows quietly next to my heart. Hoping he’ll finally take me this morning.
“If I had time, I’d ravish you again, but my council meeting is soon.” His tentacles flicker in annoyance. “You slept late. I didn’t have the heart to wake you.”
His hands splay possessively over my ass. I hiss as he massages my sore skin.
“Your tentacles are as wicked as your palms.” I slide my fingers through his beard. “Are you going to be busy all day?”
We haven’t even fucked, and I’m growing needy.
It can’t be helped. I feel territorial over him. I’d love nothing more than to spend all day together in bed. Knowing I want him to have me fully makes me even more eager.
He is king. I’m sure he has many important matters to attend to, but selfishly I want him all to myself. Releasing my ass, he nods solemnly.
“Unfortunately.” Kiss my temple, he lifts from the bed. “At the celebration tonight, I’ll be all yours.”
“Lucky me.”
Harven’s hand loosely collars my throat. The loose grip makes me slippery between my thighs. I want him so much it’s a physical pain. His thumb traces my pulse.
“You will watch the festivities from my lap.” He pulls me close, lips smiling against my ear. “Wear something flimsy so I can play with your little cunt.”
I gasp as his tentacle snakes over my wet folds. If not for his grip, I’d be a puddle on the bed.
“In front of everyone?”
My face warms at the idea of submitting to him in front of an audience. God, he has me considering such wicked, devious things if it means pleasing him.
And I do want to please him, but not in a subservient way. He likes my fire, likes that he can’t control me. I’ll push back when I need to and give in when the reward is the sweetest.
“You are mine, Eve. Wherever—whenever I want you. I could fuck you in front of my whole court, and you’d let me. Wouldn’t you?”
The confidence with which he says it sparks my ire. I twist my lips and cross my arms over my chest.
“Last night, I think I got swept up in the moment. Let me remind you that I’m not a piece of meat for you to—”
His mouth captures mine with a growl as his tentacle slides inside me. Harven thrusts his tongue deep.
He fucks my mouth as his tentacle pounds my pussy. I grip his strong arms to keep upright.
“Deny you’re mine again, Eve,” he growls against his mouth, “and I’ll spank you in front of my council before feeding you my cock. Do you want them to watch how well you take it into your perfect throat? How sweet your moans are when I’m turning your ass pink?”
My blood sings as he roughly pumps in and out of me. He pushes me onto my back and gives me his weight. The thrusting tentacle only picks up speed.
“Say you are mine, Eve. Now.”
A second tentacle joins the first. They both slide into me on their sides, skimming their suckers along my inner walls. Pleasure scores my flesh. Harven is in my lungs—my heart. Everywhere.
“I’m yours—I’m yours!”
I feel a third tentacle at my back entrance. My whole body goes stiff as it tests the ring of muscle.
“Soon,” he vows, “you’ll know what it means to be completely filled by me.”
It’s too much. The pleasure from last night kickstarts my climax. I’m so close, and he’s barely touched me. The fullness is decadent.
“My king—Harven—I’m too sensitive—I can’t stop it. Please, please!”
The third tentacle leaves my ass to suction to my clit.
Harven takes my mouth with a snarl and devours it. The kiss is a bruising one. A mark of his complete ownership. My hips lock as pleasure tears through me. The tentacles fuck me through my peak. I scream into his mouth as my nails sink into his forearms.
Once I return to my body, Harven slips the tentacles from me. He holds them before my mouth.
“Suck,” he commands.
I lick the closest one. I taste the sweet musk of my arousal.
Catching his eye, I give the appendage the same treatment I did his cock. Bobbing my head, I work it in and out of my throat. My teeth score its sides as my tongue licks in the suckers.
Harven groans, licking my release from the other tentacle. The sight is too obscenely perfect. Pulling his tentacle from my mouth, a familiar one nuzzles against my chest. I trace my nail across its scarred top.
This one has a particular fondness for me. I let it nuzzle under my chin.
“If I had the time, I’d give you my cock, but you’ll have to be a good girl and wait for it.”
“As you wish, my king.”
Harven rises with predatory grace. I roll onto my stomach and watch him dress. He picks up his discarded belt and skirt. He must’ve placed his crown on my bedside table at some point during the night.
He threads it through his dark hair. I trace over his delicious muscles, longing to taste them with my tongue.
I want him so much I can hardly think of anything else.
Crawling forward, I watch the heat in his eyes deepen as he takes in my naked breasts. I sit back on my heels as he prowls over. My hand strays to his belt, pulling him closer.
He shifts his fingers through my hair.
“Do you really have to go?”
“Yes, my mate.” He chuckles at my pout. “I thought you’d welcome the reprieve. A motherfucking bastard. Isn’t that what you called me? Was that before or after voicing your desire to kill me?”
“I may have said things I didn’t mean,” I murmur. “You can be persuasive.”
Cupping my cheeks, he bestows a lingering kiss. I clutch his hands, relinquishing them only when he glides back.
“Take it easy while you can, little mate. I’ll be back with you soon.”
He casts me a lingering look before slipping through the door. With a groan, I roll onto my back. I trace my fingers over all of the red marks adorning my skin. I shake my head, unable to stop the smile from forming.
I’m in so much trouble.
A soft knock echoes from my door as I secure the final pin in my hair.
“Come in,” I call, hoping it’s Harven.
I fluff out my skirt and shake out my loose waves.
I had taken extra care, shaving every inch of my body and applying thick cream until my skin glistened.
What a difference a day can make. If you had told me a week ago I’d eagerly be counting down the minutes until I saw Harven again, I wouldn’t have believed it.
I missed him so much. Painting had not been enough to distract me as the hours dripped by.
The footsteps padding across the room are far too light to be Harven’s. Masking my disappointment, I turn, expecting to see Leri or Hyra.
The last person I expect is Seera, strolling in with her head down. Her teal curls are artfully arranged in an updo. She’s wearing a simple silver dress.
I try not to let jealousy overwhelm me as I look at the Pearl. It’s her job to serve the king, even if I loathe that she knows him so intimately. Still, she’s never been mean to me. If my suspicions about her and Bly are correct, we could help each other.
“I’m sure you’re surprised to see me,” she muses.
Her large eyes widen as she takes in the marks along my body. There was no point in trying to hide them, so I decided to display them proudly. I’m sure Harven will like it.
His ownership is clear to anyone who looks at me.
“The king did that to you?”
I nod.
My outfit is revealing even by seafolk standards.
It’s a top and skirt that took me many tries to explain to the wardrobe how to make. Composed of pearl colored silk, the top barely conceals my breasts.
It’s more similar to a bra than a shirt, with its plunging neckline and off-the-shoulder sleeves. The skirt is just as revealing, clinging to my hips before brushing the tops of my thighs.
The look on Seera’s face—surprise and awe—told me I'd made the right choice in showing them. News of my night with the king had spread. The servants looked at me differently.
As if I were more than just a human for the king to bed. The marks said I was important.
Leri informed me when he brought my bowl of stew that I smelled like Harven, which apparently meant a great deal to their kind.
“You look lovely,” Seera says, then gestures toward my bed. “May I?”
I nod, cross my arms, and watch her lower herself onto the satin. The openness of her face makes me relax a fraction.
“Why have you come?”
I look pointedly at the door. No one seems to be hovering in the hall, but where there’s one Pearl, there always seems to be another.
“Nixie isn’t out there, don’t worry. She doesn’t know I’m here.
” Seera shakes her head and bestows a brittle smile.
“The female has been downright insufferable. Wailing at all hours of the day and night about how unfair this is. She sends King Harven endless notes he doesn’t respond to.
This is the longest he’s ever gone without seeing us. Nixie, especially.”
Satisfaction blooms in my stomach. My lips curl in delight. Seera raises a dark brow.
“This pleases you?”
“Humans value monogamy. I know that isn’t the norm for you all—especially the king—but I want him all to myself.”
At my confession, Seera nods. Looking at the shut door, she speaks in a low voice.
“Then we share a common desire. This time without the king’s attention has been…welcome.”
I note the desperation in her eyes. She twists her hands in her lap.
Smiling gently, I settle beside her on the bed.
“Because you’re in love with Bly,” I whisper.
Seera’s teal lashes hit her brows. Rearing back, she swallows thickly. I gently cup her delicate shoulder and squeeze.
“Don’t worry. Your secret is safe with me,” I assure her. “I see the way you two look at each other.”
Seera sighs, leaning back on her palms.
“It’s becoming harder and harder to be discreet.
We came to the palace around the same time.
We both were happy to serve the king. We saw it as an honor.
Nixie always wanted to be alone with King Harven, but Bly and I would often see him together.
” A smile quirks her lips. “It didn’t take long for us to realize it was each other we truly craved. ”
“An unorthodox workplace romance, I’ll give you that.”
Seera sighs, deflating.
“It is forbidden for Pearls to take relationships outside the king until they are dismissed from his service. If King Harven found out we have been—”
“He won’t,” I vow. “We want the same thing, Seera. If Harven truly desires me as much as I believe he does, I will press the issue of disbanding the Pearls. You and Bly will be free to be together.”
“Thank you, Eve. Truly.” Her grin turns wry. “Nixie will not be as amiable to being dismissed.”
“I’m sure she won’t be.”
“He doesn’t love her.” Seera gestures towards my body. “He’s never left any sort of mark like that on her. On any of us. You’re his mate. The court will see these marks and understand what statement he’s making. Nixie will be furious.”
“I’m counting on it.”
Seera’s expression sobers.
“She’s a nuisance, but she can cause harm. You’d do well to remain on your guard.”
“I can keep myself safe from Nixie.”
Seera slides to her webbed feet. I follow her up.
“I should get going. Nixie has quite the performance planned for tonight.”
“What does that mean?”
Seera chuckles, shaking her head.
“You’ll see. And I can’t wait to see the look on your face when you do.” She squeezes my arm. “Try not to order her killed.”
My smile is all teeth.
“No promises.”
Laughing, Seera slips out of my room in a whisper of silver silk. If Nixie seeks to impress the king tonight, I’ll just have to remind her of who he really desires. He won’t pay her any attention. Not with the show I’m planning for him.
His eyes will be firmly elsewhere.