Chapter 9 #2
He sat down on the edge of one of the chaise lounges, untying his shoes, then removing them and his socks. He was barely paying attention to what he was doing, though, as Iris broke back into a swim, cutting through the water, going end to end far quicker than any human could ever move.
There was something undeniably beautiful about seeing someone in their element.
Suddenly, he felt a little crack form inside.
How could you take someone meant for salt water and currents … and ask them to stay still on solid ground?
And yet that was exactly what he was doing, wasn’t it?
Asking her to perform. To behave. To shrink.
He’d told himself it was for optics, but maybe it had been about control, too.
And that made something twist in his gut.
After rolling up his pant legs, Finn moved over to the edge of the pool, lowering himself down, then slipping his legs into the water.
Iris was right; it was the perfect temperature. And there was something calming about the way the water sloshed around his skin as Iris swam her tireless laps.
Over the next twenty minutes or so, her movements slowed until she stopped entirely and floated on her back on the surface of the water.
Her hair offered a peek-a-boo effect with the swells of her breasts, but offered more than enough to tantalize.
Desire pinged off his nerve endings, making his chest feel tight as he started to harden.
Still, he couldn’t look away.
She was so peaceful then, her face relaxed, her tail lazily undulating in the water to keep her afloat. The movement made the muscles in her stomach tense and contract.
Iris took a deep breath, making more of her chest appear above the water.
Finn was close to getting up and moving away to try to get some distance, some control over his desire.
But then Iris was slipping under the water.
And the next thing he knew, she was surfacing between his legs, her arms resting on his legs, soaking the material through.
He hardly noticed that, though. Not with her so close, so bare to him, her face so lit up with joy.
“Isn’t it nice?”
“Perfect,” he said, knowing she meant the water. When he meant her.
“There’s nothing like it on the surface.”
“Can’t argue with that.”
It was a city of millions of women—humans and paranormals alike. Not a single one held a candle to Iris.
“There’s a shallow end, you know.”
“Yes.”
“You should come in. Sit on the steps.”
If that was what she wanted, he’d do it. Happily. Even if it was the last thing he did before he drowned.
“But you’ll need to take these off,” she said, her hands rubbing up and down his thighs. Which was not helping the whole desire thing.
“Right,” he agreed, voice tight.
“I’ll meet you over there,” she said, sinking back below the surface and swimming away.
Finn sighed as he pulled his legs out of the water.
He turned away from the pool to remove his belt, then his pants.
He left on his shirt and jacket, knowing full well how ridiculous he looked, but figuring it would hide the raging hard-on he was dealing with as he walked over toward the shallow end of the pool.
His hand had a death grip on the metal railing as he went down one step, then two. And finally, three.
Once there, he lowered down to sit on the second stair, the water covering his thighs but not coming up to his waist. Which felt safe enough to him.
Besides, if he somehow slipped under the water, he had the world’s best lifeguard to save him.
Finn watched with a swooping sensation in his stomach as Iris swam toward him.
“There,” she said, reaching out to grab the railing to hold herself still as she stopped right in front of him, flicking her hair back and sending the sopping strands over her shoulder.
He couldn’t tell if the move was deliberate or accidental, if she was even aware of her exposure. If she even cared if she was.
His mermaid knowledge was lacking at best, but everyone knew that mermaids were very free and comfortable with their bodies, that they were sensual by nature and had no shame about their sex drives.
It was entirely possible that Iris had no idea that she had him rock-hard and aching just by being nearby, exposed, and looking so incredibly tempting to touch.
The cool temperature of the water had her nipples twisted into points, and Finn had the almost uncontrollable urge to pull her closer and suck one into his mouth.
The only thing keeping him from acting on his urges was the dubious amount of consent between the two of them. He hadn’t ever gotten around to asking her about her involvement in their engagement, about how willing she’d been to come to the surface.
It was a conversation they needed to have. Preferably when they were both fully clothed, so he could think straight.
“Aren’t you glad you came in?” she asked, seemingly oblivious to what she was doing to him.
“Yeah,” he agreed, if for no other reason than to get close to her happiness.
“Swimming is great exercise. Though, it might not do much for your calves.” Her hand moved out, fingers teasing up one of his calves.
There was no way to stop the small rumbling sound that escaped him at the soft touch.
He was sure it was too low for her to hear until her head tipped to the side, her gaze cutting to his, curiosity in her eyes.
“Does Henry have an issue with your thighs?” she asked, her hand drifting up over one of his knees toward the body part in question.
“I … n-no,” Finn stammered.
“I’ve always thought tails were most attractive on a man,” she went on, her gaze dipping to watch as her fingers grazed over the raised muscle of his quad. “But these muscles are interesting.”
Nothing about her tone suggested her touch and interest were anything other than curiosity. But there was no telling his body that right then.
As her fingers trailed up his quad, heading dangerously high, he couldn’t seem to keep himself from squirming. Unfortunately, the motion made the material of his boxer briefs graze across his hardness, dragging a hiss out of him.
He wasn’t sure where her hand may have continued to explore if given the chance. But just then, Finn heard the beep as someone’s card was scanned at the door, making him jump up a step and adjust his shirt so it covered his lap more fully.
“For goodness’ sake, this is a public pool, you—” the woman who entered started to rant as she looked at Iris’s bare upper half. Until she caught sight of her tail. “Oh, sorry,” she murmured. Her gaze skirted away.
In response to her words, though, Iris quickly wrapped her hands across her chest, shielding her body from view.
Suddenly, Finn hated modesty standards in society, simply because they made Iris ashamed of her nakedness.
“We’re just about done here,” Finn said. He shrugged out of his suit jacket and draped it around Iris’s shoulders.
“Thanks,” she murmured as she slid up onto the top step, then pulled her tail out of the water so it could dry.
He watched, fascinated, as shimmering scales gave way to flawless skin. Every version of her was pure perfection.
Iris pulled his jacket down, and Finn reached out to fasten the buttons as more and more skin appeared.
While Iris waited for the rest of her tail to fade away, Finn gathered her scattered clothes, then helped her to her feet.
“All yours,” he called back to the woman who was pretending not to watch them.
He told himself that the way he wrapped an arm around Iris’s waist was to sell the authenticity of their relationship when the news eventually broke about it, so no neighbors would say that they’d been living like siblings instead of lovers.
But he just really wanted to hold her.
They were silent on the walk back to the elevator, but as they climbed toward the penthouse, Iris—studying her feet at first—said, “Thank you.” Her head lifted, her pretty eyes full of a depth that made it feel like his heart was sinking into them. “Really, thank you. I needed that.”
“Of course,” he said, his voice choked. “I will leave you the card so you can swim anytime you want.”
This wasn’t part of the campaign plan. No one had warned him what to do when pretending started to feel real.
“That would be great. But I guess I should invest in a bathing suit,” she said as she stepped out of the elevator.
There was no rational explanation for the disappointment he felt at that declaration.
Except, of course, for the one he was trying not to let himself think about.
That he was beginning to have actual feelings for his fake fiancée.
And he had the sinking suspicion that those feelings would not be returned.