5. Little Sailor
Demi
I sprawled out on a cushion on the cavern floor, smiling at Marina dreamily as she lounged in the pool. She’d shifted back into her smaller form and had drawn her hair back with a shell clip, her breasts on full display.
I could stare at her all day and night.
Now that I wasn’t completely freaking out about everything, I took a moment to look around the cavern. I’d lit the candles once we came back here, so warm light flickered as I took it all in.
She’d really thought of everything.
Some of the ice in my chest melted.
For so long, I’d been doubtful that I could ever meet someone who’d truly fit into my life. Or that I’d meet someone where I felt like I fit into theirs. Going on a first date at Creature Cafe had really been done from a place of “why not, I guess?” which didn’t exactly feel fair now.
That date meant a lot to Marina. While I didn’t truly know her yet, I could see that much.
I reached for the basket of items she’d left here and opened the top, peering inside. There were snacks, a bottle of fresh water, a blanket—and rope.
My brows lifted.
“What are you thinking about, little sailor?” she asked warmly.
The water sloshed as she came to the ledge, propping her elbows up on the stone. I turned over on my side to face her, sliding my hand toward hers. Our fingers tangled like a net.
“You,” I said. “Also about how much work you put into this little cavern. Did you know I lived close to here?”
She shook her head. “No. It’s really the only underwater cave I could find that would work, though. One of my brothers told me about it.”
“Brothers?” I asked. “How many siblings do you have?”
She made a face, humming to herself. “Oh gods. Let me count.”
My eyes widened as she murmured to herself.
“Fourteen,” she finally said. “I think. Maybe one or two more, I don’t really know. Our family is quite large. I have an older sister and two older brothers, and the rest are younger.”
“That’s so many,” I whispered. “I can’t imagine having that many siblings.”
She chuckled. “Well, we live a long time. The Kings and Queen are quite active. Our society requires this, because all of us fulfill roles to serve our subjects.”
“What do you do?” I asked.
“Well, most of the time, I focus on planning rebuilds for cities and homes that are affected by collapsing coral shelves and other problems within the ocean. It used to not be such a hard job, but the waters are changing. I’m busy enough that my brother has now joined me—we work together often.
I’m sure you’ll meet him eventually. He, too, is mated to a human. ”
“Really?” I sat up slightly. “So it’s not too uncommon then?”
“No, of course not.” She sighed contentedly, bringing my palm to her cheek.
“It is complicated, though. Only because of what we both require, environmentally speaking. I do hope we can find a solution that would allow our humans to stay in our homes full time. Some monsters can utilize a glamour so they look human, but not us. I cannot change my tail to legs. I wouldn’t want to anyway. But it does make things harder.”
“We will make it work.” I blinked, surprising myself.
Why did everything feel so natural with her? I wasn’t losing my mind, right? Maybe it really was the fated mates business.
Marina beamed at me, her hand tightening around mine. She lifted my hand, her fingers brushing my ring. “You always wear this,” she said. “Is it special?”
I swallowed hard, giving a small nod as I showed it to her. “My mom gave it to me before she passed away. It’s nothing too expensive, but it was one of her favorite rings that she wore. It means a lot to me. I always have it on, even when I work or play rugby. I like the idea of keeping her near.”
Marina’s smile was soft and dreamy. “That is very sweet. It’s beautiful.”
“Thank you,” I sighed.
“Do you have siblings? And what of your father?”
“No siblings,” I said. “And my dad is wonderful. Hopefully one day you’ll meet him.”
Her brows shot up and she leaned in. “You want to introduce me to your father? Isn’t that a big deal in your world?”
I wrangled a smile. “It can be. I’ve never introduced someone to him before . . .”
“So I’ll be the first then.”
“Possibly.”
“Definitely,” she said with a dark chuckle.
I rolled my eyes at her, but I loved the mischief gleaming in her eyes. She was possessive and I loved it. I loved that she wanted to meet my dad, even not knowing anything about him.
And I realized—she was the first person to ever ask me about my ring.
All the strings in my heart tugged as I stared into her eyes.
“Demi,” she murmured, tucking a loose strand of hair behind my ear.
In a blink, the energy between us shifted, and I was leaning forward—covering her lips with mine. She tasted like the sea, but sweeter. She moaned against me, her fingers sliding behind my head and gripping my hair.
I just couldn’t get enough of her, and I didn’t want to go back home quite yet.
“Marina,” I said between kisses. “I saw the rope in the basket.”
“Yes,” she said, her hold on me tightening.
“Do you want me—fuck—” My eyes rolled back as she sucked the base of my throat, a bolt of pleasure rushing through me. Devious little siren. I could barely think straight with her touching me. “Do you want me to tie you up?”
“Yes.”
“You have to release me—ahhh, fuck me—Marina! You have to let me go, then.” Her mouth had fixed over the bite mark and she was sucking it, more ripples of pure bliss rushing through me from head to toe.
“Don’t wanna,” she chuckled, sucking harder.
She was going to leave a mark, and I didn’t even care. Gods, everyone at work and practice and the grocery store and wherever else could see the mark—and I’d feel happy. Possibly even proud.
I really did want to tie her up though.
I grabbed a fistful of her silver hair and dragged her head back. She growled at me, and I narrowed my eyes.
“I’m tying you up,” I said. “Unless you don’t want me to—”
“I already said yes.”
She was going to drive me wild in the best way, I already knew it.
I kissed her hard on the mouth again, then pushed her back, rolling away before she could drag me into the water. I could feel her eyes on me as I pulled the rope and a set of safety shears out of the basket, inspecting everything closely.
When I looked back, only the top half of Marina’s face was above the water. I raised a brow as I slid to the ledge.
“Are you going to behave?”
“No,” she said haughtily.
I cocked my head and stared at her. “Come here.”
“You can’t make me, can you?”
“I’m sure I could wrestle you here, but I don’t need to. You’ll come to me eventually.” I leaned back, tits out, legs spread, enjoying the way the blush crept higher in her cheeks.
Eventually, she’d swim closer.
Eventually, she’d offer herself up for me to tie.
And unlike Marina, I was patient.
I started to untangle the rope quietly, and discovered there were actually two bundles.
The material seemed to be made from hemp, which I was familiar with.
It would be fine for use underwater so long as we didn’t tie anything too tight.
That would give the rope room to constrict without causing harm.
I loved rope play. It was always fun, and I loved the way a gorgeous woman looked all tied up and helpless and needy.
“Is there anywhere I shouldn’t tie?” I asked. “For safety reasons? Like your fins?”
“Avoid my gills, and I should be fine otherwise. I want you to tie my wrists together,” Marina said. “And then rope around my torso.”
“And what a princess wants, she gets,” I said patiently. “When she behaves.”
Marina scoffed, but edged closer. “I could drag you to the trenches.”
“And then you’d have no one to eat you out.”
Her hands planted on either side of me, her face suddenly in front of mine. I raised a brow at her.
“You don’t scare me,” I laughed.
“I know,” she sighed, letting out a frustrated groan. “It makes me horny.”
“I can tell. How about you put your wrists together for me?”
She held them together and it took every ounce of control not to grin like an idiot.
I tightened the rope around her wrists, creating a cuff with a knot between both of them. Marina’s eyes never left me as I drew her arms up and over her head, her nipples lifting above the surface of the water.
“Stay like that,” I commanded softly.
I loved this dynamic, especially knowing that she was still the one in control. I was tying her up, I was pleasing her, and I was submitting by being the one to dominate her.
It was exactly what I needed in my life.
She whimpered as I grabbed the other bundle of rope and slid into the water with her.
I started working it around her breasts and torso.
I couldn’t stop myself from pausing to kiss her nipples, sucking and teasing as I dragged the rope between them, tightening until she groaned, her tail whipping up and sending a splash of water behind her.
I grinned as a few droplets sprayed against my bare skin. “Use your words, princess. I know you’ve got plenty of them. Are these too tight?”
“No,” she rasped. “No, I love them.”
“Good. Keep talking to me.”
“About what? I want to bite you right now.”
I suppressed a smile as I knotted the rope into diamond shapes down her torso. “What else are you thinking about?”
“Fucking you with my tongue.”
I rolled my eyes at her, which earned a soft, playful hiss. But then I reached down, my fingertips grazing her slit. I eased two against her clits, and she let out a throaty groan.
Then, I pulled my fingers away.
“Demi.”
“Yes?” I asked politely, continuing to tie her up.
Marina pressed her lips together, pouting at me. The way the candlelight lit up her iridescent scales drew my gaze, and I went still for a moment, just drinking her in.
She was so incredibly beautiful. For the first time in my life, I wished I were an artist. I could barely draw a stick figure, and it just suddenly didn’t feel fair.
“Got you,” she teased, suddenly bringing her arms around my neck.
I squeaked as she shoved me back against the rocks, water sloshing up onto the cave floor, her evil giggle following.
“You’re impossible,” I protested weakly. “You wanted me to tie you up, and here you are being so bratty.”
“And what will you do about it, little sailor?”
Under the water we went, but I was already adapting, ready for her kiss of life. Her lips were on mine, offering me air, offering me pleasure. I devoured her mouth as I slipped my hand lower again, pushing four fingers inside her.
Marina’s moans got lost in our kisses as I started to ease myself in and out of her. I curled my free hand through the ropes between her breasts, tugging hard enough she let out a surprised yelp.
She wasn’t the only one here who was strong.
I grabbed her arms and used the ropes to secure them in place, putting her wrists against her chest. I checked the knots, making sure she wasn’t able to escape even though I knew she’d be able to if she really wanted to.
And now my mermaid was tied up in rope. It reminded me of a net, the way it was wrapped around her body, pressing into her dark gray skin, her nipples stiff and cheeks flushed.
Without missing a beat, I kissed down the curve of her neck, dragging the tip of my tongue over the hollow of her collarbone.
I held onto her hips, kicking myself lower in the water until I buried my face against her pussy.
She cried out, her voice lost to the ocean as I started to lap at her, feasting on her as if she were my last meal.
She writhed against me, her tail whooshing back and forth. I gripped the fins on either side of her hips like they were love handles, stilling her as I pleasured her.
This was where I always wanted to be. There wasn’t anything else that was better in the world to me than this moment, tasting her, submitting to her, dominating her, pleasing her.
She suddenly arched against me, screaming out my name as she came for me. I didn’t pull back until her muscles went limp, her breasts straining against the ropes as she panted.
I kissed my way back up her body, and we bobbed to the surface. Marina surprised me by drawing me closer, her head resting against my chest.
Vulnerable.
I rubbed the back of her head and closed my eyes. There was a sliver in my chest, a hollow little cavern that’d been begging to be filled for so long. To be wanted and to be seen.
Marina must have felt the same way.
This whole fated mates thing was turning out to be something I really wanted.
“I don’t want to take you back to the surface,” she eventually whispered.
“I know,” I murmured. “I have tomorrow off and we can see each other again. And then I do have to work for a few days, but . . . well, I’ll be out on the sea.”
Maria frowned and lifted her head. “Must you work? The ocean has been very angry, Demi. I don’t know about working on a boat in these conditions.”
“I’ll be okay,” I said. “It wouldn’t be my first storm.”
And I knew it wouldn’t be my last.