2. Deep End
Marina
I’d tossed my mate into the deep end. But instead of flailing about like I’d expected, she glowered at me as I made her kiss me again, this time creating a bubble of air around her mouth. She dragged in a deep breath, her shoulders relaxing.
Whatever danger Creature Cafe was in, I could not be bothered to help at the moment. That was not my fight, and now that I had my mate, I could protect her from whatever evil storm was brewing around that place.
She was here.
In my arms. In my ocean.
“You can speak,” I said.
She was very pretty. I couldn’t take my eyes off the freckles that dusted her cheeks or the amber-brown of her irises.
There was a ring of liquid gold around her pupils—beautiful.
Absolutely beautiful. I found her so interesting, with no scales in any places, and her legs.
No gills or fins. Eventually her skin would start to wrinkle from the water, and I’d need to get her to the surface—but for now, here she was. Safe with me.
I could see her mind working, trying to reason with the fact she could now breathe underwater. She dragged in more air, shaking her head as she exhaled.
“You can speak,” I urged. “Say something.”
“What . . . what the fuck is wrong with you?”
Well, I hadn’t expected that. Demi was angry, and that was understandable, I reminded myself. I, too, was furious the last time I was dragged through a portal to some unknown place. But I was her mate. She should trust me. She should know I’d never do anything to harm her.
Over the last week, since the Barista agreed to match me via his annoying disaster of a daughter, I’d been preparing for this moment. It’d been difficult to not show just how excited I was that she was here and that she was real.
My mate was no longer a figment of my imagination, but a real, live, breathing woman.
“You told me I could do as I pleased,” I said.
“I meant you could eat me out!” Demi yelled. “Not take me to the middle of the ocean!”
She kicked her legs, her eyes drifting beneath us. A reef thrived below, and I was careful to keep us from touching the precious coral. I even took account of the pressure difference for Demi, so that she didn’t get sick from suddenly being in the water.
I’d thought of everything.
Except for the fact that my mate might be resistant to what we were.
I scoffed at her. “We’re not in the middle of the ocean. We’re close to the surface, close to the shore line, and close to a cavern that will allow us to see each other.”
“It’s dark,” she said, looking toward the surface above.
It was dark, and the sea was restless. Angry, even. I could feel it in the currents, my skin prickling from the micro movements. It was as if a creature had been awoken, but not one of the sea. I’d been alive a long time and had never seen anything like this.
“I don’t understand how this is even possible,” she whispered. She brought her hand to the bubble around her mouth, carefully prodding it. It wouldn’t pop, though.
I wasn’t the first mermaid to be mated to a human.
For centuries, merpeople with human mates had used our magic to give them the ability to breathe.
If Demi accepted me as her mate, her body would adapt in small ways to be able to withstand the sea.
She wouldn’t be a mermaid, but she would form gills around her throat and her nervous system would become resistant to freaking out from being in the water for so long.
Her lungs would come to withstand the pressure of deep diving without caving in as well.
“I don’t understand,” Demi said.
Her cheeks reddened, and I could smell her blood. I could still taste her on my tongue, too. Without a doubt, this human belonged to me.
My bite at her neck was red and angry, but I was quite proud of it. No one in my world would dare touch or harm her now.
Really, she didn’t know how lucky she was.
Despite her fury, I pulled her body close to mine. She was so warm in my hands, so human. And she was mine.
“You have no problem believing in monsters, but this is where you draw the line?” I teased. “Breathing underwater because you kissed your fated mate?”
Demi shot me an angry look again and shoved away, her arms and legs kicking as she kept her body suspended. Eventually, she would tire. I had no doubt her stamina would last a long time, hours even, but eventually she would need to hold onto me.
I wanted her to hold onto me. Feeling her fingers in my hair as she kissed me wasn’t enough.
I was starting to wonder, though, if this whole fated mates thing was going to be harder than I first thought.
She should have been kissing me again by now, right?
Didn’t she feel the inexplicable draw between us?
Why wasn’t she jumping me and begging me to eat her out?
“Demi,” I purred. “Come here.”
“I don’t want to,” she snapped. “I want to go back to the surface.”
I scowled at her. I had heard that humans could be stubborn, of course. My cousin was mated to a human, and he was wrapped around that human’s finger like a net. “We’re not doing that,” I said sternly. “We’ll go to the cave and continue our date.”
“The date is over,” Demi said. “You bit me, Marina. I don’t know how much you know about humans, but biting is typically not okay on the first date.”
“I know about humans,” I said with a shrug.
“I know humans poison my home and steal my food and send their submarines to the depths to explode. That my mate is a human should bother me, but it doesn’t.
I have waited for you for centuries, and my patience has run out.
Apologies for being so forward, but you did say I could do whatever I wanted to you. ”
“And again, I certainly didn’t mean you could give me a bite like this. What does this even mean now?”
I was getting tired of watching her limbs flail about. I slid my arm around her waist and tugged her against me. “It means you’re coming with me.”
Before she could protest again, I dragged her legs around my waist and my tail pushed us through the water. She stiffened, but then her arms wound around my neck, and she clung onto me for dear life as I swam with her.
“Take me home,” she demanded against my ear.
A shiver rolled through me from the roughness of her voice. Soft and breathy. I still wanted a taste of her, and resented whatever evil had interrupted our date. I would have my tongue in her right now if that storm hadn’t blown in. “No. You’re mine now.”
Her grip tightened on me as a current rushed past us. I let it propel us forward, chuckling as fish scattered, desperate to flee from a predator.
To think I wasn’t even in my true form right now. I was human sized at the moment to make things easier on Demi.
We came to the mouth of an underwater cavern and she squeaked as I carried her down the tunnel into complete darkness.
I could see everything clearly, but I could also feel it.
Every nerve in my body was sensitive to the world around me.
It was exhausting at times, but right now, I was enjoying it.
I could taste the salt on her skin and could feel the thrumming of her heart, wild in her chest. Her nipples were hard, and I knew she was wet between her muscled thighs.
We broke the surface in the cavern. I took her to the edge of the pool and placed her on the stone. She dragged in a few breaths now that she was in the open air and then crossed her arms.
“There are candles,” I said, nodding toward a small basket I’d spent a few days organizing. My brother’s human mate, Ofelia, helped me get everything together. I’d added a few items for myself as well. Not that I fully expected us to immediately dive into sex, but . . .
Well, maybe I had thought we would do that.
“There are snacks and fresh water as well. And a blanket. You humans get so cold. And I used a bit of magic to ensure the air here is safe and fresh for you.”
Demi went very still, her expression becoming unreadable. She then pulled her legs out of the water and leaned back, feeling around until she felt the basket.
“Perhaps let me light them,” I said. “I forget you cannot see very well in darkness.”
Demi sighed, but pulled the basket to the edge. I reached inside and pulled out the lighter and candles, setting them up. The flames flickered, casting warm light over the cavern and her body.
“Did you plan to kidnap me then?” Demi asked sourly.
I snorted. “It is not kidnapping if you were willing.”
“I wasn’t willing. You dragged me through a portal.”
“And as I reminded you, you told me I could do as I wish.”
Candlelight dappled her dripping skin as she slid to the edge again, dipping her feet and calves in the water. Silence settled between us as I pushed her thighs apart slowly, and nestled my torso between her knees. I craned my head back, looking up at her.
“You’re so angry,” I whispered.
Her brows furrowed. “I didn’t agree to any of this.”
“To what? A date with a monster?”
Demi shook her head. “You know what I mean, Marina.”
I fought a smile as I slid my hand up her thigh. “You can bite me back, if you’d like. Although I’m unsure if your dull teeth can break my skin. It’s quite tough.”
She released a haughty sigh. “No, Marina, I’m not going to bite you back. I do know how this bond works. At least, somewhat. I’m not ready to jump in this fast. We just met.”
I frowned. “Didn’t you know this would happen? That you would meet your fated mate?” Why was she rejecting me?
“I . . .” She swallowed hard, her expression hardening. “I didn’t really believe it, I guess.”
Pain rippled through my chest and I shoved back from her hard enough that water splashed up and doused one of the candles. I hissed between my sharp teeth and ducked underwater, taking a few moments to calm myself.
How could she not believe in this? Why would she go on a date matched by the Barista if she didn’t believe in fated mates? Why were humans so incredibly frustrating?
I deserved to be loved. I deserved this. I always got what I wanted, and I’d been so patient—watching everyone else in my life find their mates and start a family and be loved. Why couldn’t I have that? I could have anything else in the world, but not a mate who would love me?
Demi’s voice echoed within the cavern. I emerged again, glaring at the naked human.
“If you don’t want me, then I’ll return you to the surface,” I snapped. “I’m a princess. I don’t beg, and I certainly won’t beg to be wanted.”
Demi massaged her temples. “This is a disaster. Also what do you mean you’re a princess? I didn’t think you were being literal earlier.”
I hissed at her. “I was serious. The mate you sit there and reject is royalty.”
She groaned. “I’m not rejecting you, Marina. I just want to take things slow for once in my life.”
“Fine,” I said coldly. “Your lighthouse is the one that stands on the stone cliff outside the city, right?”
“Yes,” she said.
“Good. I’ll return you.”
“Good,” Demi said sourly.
I knew exactly where it was, and stared at her for a moment. I’d spent many nights watching the glowing light burn through fog and storms, always drawing me near.
If only I’d known the lighthouse belonged to my mate.
Without warning, I grabbed her ankle and pulled her back into the water. She didn’t gasp as I pulled her under and didn’t fight me when I kissed her on the lips, forming her breath bubble.
I’d take her back to her home, and then I’d wait for her to come crawling back on her strange knees, begging me to fuck her and mate her all over again.