Chapter 21
GAVIN
“You were supposed to have breakfast with me, Gavin.” Ailey storms across the deck as Kyler and I make our way to the rails to swim.
“And I told you that you’re eating alone. Kyler—” I grab Kyler’s hand and tug him close. “Is my beloved. You can go back home to Avondra. Oh, wait. Your realm has bred the dragon out of you, so you’re stuck.”
Ailey’s cheek flushes, and I can see the sting of my words hit her. A crowd gathers to watch our altercation.
“Yes, well, you don’t know how to keep your promises.” Ailey looks to Kyler. “I hope you know he’s broken several promises to me. He’ll break whatever promise he’s made with you. Why would he stay with someone that can’t possibly—”
Kyler steps forward. “I seem to be the most useful person on this ship right now. I’m the only one that can retrieve the phoenix stone. And I’m the one satisfying Gavin’s needs. What are you doing, princess?” He lifts a hand and smooths a hair behind her ear.
Ailey’s face flushes. “How dare you touch me? And how dare you talk to me like that!” Instead of saying anything more, she fists her hands and storms away.
I can’t wipe the smile from my face. Our little play acting has drawn everyone around us. No doubt someone will report back to His Majesty. We just need to create drama for the trip, then our grand return.
“Come, Kyler.” I hold out my hand, eager to explore today. We’re going to practice the mer kiss, and I’m not sure if I should be giddy or terrified.
Kyler wears only the cotton shirt from the night before.
I’m in just trousers. Hand in hand, we stroll up to the rails.
The crew gawks as Kyler climbs, then jumps.
Shouts go out all around as people rush to watch him shift.
As if to prove he’s merfolk, he flashes his beautiful tail before beckoning for me to join him.
Suddenly, I’m not so sure. I’m not a strong swimmer. Why would I be? I’m a dragon. Dragons have no need to know how to swim. But I trust Kyler to keep me from truly drowning.
“You’ll catch up with us?” Captain Basil says behind me.
“Kyler can track the sounds of the ship underwater. We’ll catch up.”
Basil nods. “Do you need a rowboat?”
“I think we’ll be fine.”
“Enjoy yourself.” Basil chuckles. “I’m jealous. Haven’t seen merfolk in decades, so I’m glad to see one now. You probably don’t remember them, but they used to surface quite often. I had several merfolk friends in my youth.”
I nod. “I would have liked to know one growing up, but I’m glad to have the love of one now.” I climb the railing, grab my nose, and jump.
I flail when the waves rip me further down than I realize I’d go, but Kyler pulls me to the surface in no time.
I sputter and cough, unsure how I feel about letting myself drown for the sake of testing an ability Kyler doesn’t know how to use.
“Easy. Easy.” Kyler’s voice is strange as mer. It echoes. He holds me above the water effortlessly. “I think you should do your examinations before we try the kiss. That way, you’re not disoriented when you want to learn things.”
“Good idea.”
“So, what do you want to know?” Kyler grins at me.
“I probably know more about merfolk than you do.”
Kyler tilts his head. “I suppose you do. So why not tell me all about me, then?”
“Or we can share what we each know and debunk what’s wrong.”
“I like the way you think. Where should we start?”
I’ve thought of this. “Can I have an anatomy lesson?”
Kyler’s grin lights his whole face. “You just want to know where my cock goes when I have a tail.”
“Actually,” I start, “I know where your cock goes. You’re like a dolphin or a whale. It comes out of a sheath when you’re aroused.”
“Want to test the theory?”
Did I ever. But… “Let’s work our way there.”
Kyler lets out a huff. “Okay, where do you want to start?”
I lift a hand and brush the side of Kyler’s face. There’s a slight shimmer to his skin in merform. And just the faintest hint of scales. “These scales protect you from the sun, yes?”
Kyler blinks and nods.
“Do that again, slower.” I want to observe the second eyelid sliding across his eyes. They go the opposite direction from his human eyelids. “Fascinating.”
“Comes in handy.”
I want to touch the gills flaring and drinking in the ocean, but I think better of it. Kyler must read my hesitation because he grabs my hand and presses it to the side of his throat.
“Gentle, because it is how I breathe in this form. But you won’t suffocate me if you touch softly.”
Holding my breath, I slide my finger along the outline of Kyler’s gills, watching as they flutter beneath my fingertip. “Wow.”
Kyler giggles, the sound so joyous. “I love watching you. You’re adorable.” He cups my face.
I laugh with him. “I’ve never had a merman at my disposal.
I want to examine every inch of you.” I take Kyler’s wrist so I can study the webbing between each elegant finger.
It’s thicker than I imagined it would be, and Kyler seems not to have much sensitivity in it when I rub the membrane.
His nails are clawed now, sharp, no doubt for protection. Speaking of… “Open your mouth.”
Kyler obliges, showing off jagged pointed teeth. Teeth of a predator, of a deep-sea monster.
“Skies.” I refrain from running my fingers along the edges. “You are a wonder.”
That makes Kyler blush, which makes my cock throb in my trousers. Kyler has no idea what he does to me.
“Everything else—especially my cock—is best experienced underwater.” Kyler waggles his brows, drawing another laugh from me.
The ship is long gone, but Kyler assures me we can catch up no matter how far it manages to get from us.
“I’d very much like to examine your cock.
” I thread my fingers through Kyler’s hair and pull him closer.
Luckily, he still keeps me upright. The waves seem to help press us closer together, and in no time, we’re kissing.
Kyler moans and gasps, and I have to wonder if all his lovely sounds are his usual reactions—when he has sex for pay—or if the noises are just for me. I hope they’re just for me.
My cock plumps, and I wish I’d taken my trousers off before I jumped. I pull them off now, not caring they’ll be lost to the sea. Who needs modesty, anyway?
Kyler throws his head back, exposing his beautiful, elegant neck. I pepper his chest with kisses, drawing more moans from the merman as water splashes in my face, but I don’t care.
“Touch me here.” Kyler directs my hand to a slit where his cock would be were he human.
I follow the seam of the hole while watching Kyler’s face. Those beautiful lashes flutter as his head goes back.
“You’re really sensitive here, aren’t you?”
“You have no idea.” Kyler thrusts into my hand, seeking more friction.
Haze surrounds us, but Kyler has insisted I wear my pendant.
I realize the pendant tempers the haze but doesn’t take it away entirely.
The haze is a merfolk ability, not quite magic, which is why my pendant never registered it.
And Kyler never purposely wants to use it to hurt me, another reason the pendant never alerts me.
Kyler wraps his hand around mine and presses our fingers to his slit until my forefinger sinks inside his warm wetness. Kyler gasps. His hips buck. I don’t know how Kyler keeps us upright while he writhes.
“You’re wet.” The fact shocks me.
“Uh huh.” Kyler keeps rocking his hips, the tip of his cock pressed against my finger. “Wait. Don’t move.” Kyler presses my palm to the slit to keep his cock from sliding out.
Kyler’s lips are swollen from our kissing. His face is flushed from arousal. Gills flare out from his throat. I want to give this man everything, and I don’t care if Kyler is using some merfolk magic on me that makes me want to keep him.
“Will you fuck me?”
My brain blanks as my cock hardens to full mast painfully. “We can do that? Like this?”
Kyler nods. “I’ve never done it in merform, but…”
“You trust me.” Dear skies, what have I done to deserve such a sweet merman?
“You haven’t taken advantage of me. Not once.”
My heart aches.
“This is my choice. And I want you to fill my slit with your big dragon cock. Please.”
I groan. “Don’t say things like that.”
“I need you, prince.” Kyler nips at my lips. “You can add the experiment to your research papers on merfolk.”
“You’re not an experiment to me,” I press my lips to Kyler’s, rocking my hand to give his cock something to brush against.
When I pull away, a confused look graces Kyler’s face.
“What’s wrong?” I remove my hand and wrap my arms around Kyler’s waist.
“You don’t want to use me. Not like everyone else.”
The words break my heart. “But I am using you.”
“No.” Kyler shakes his head. “No, you’re giving me favors for a service.
I play this part to make people think you’re pair-bonded.
And I give you the mer kiss so you can retrieve the phoenix stone.
I’m going with you, though. You don’t have any way to defend yourself if something tries to attack you. ”
“You’re letting me examine you for my own benefit.”
Kyler shakes his head. “I don’t feel that way. You’ve taught me about myself too, through my parents’ journal. It’s been an equal exchange in my eyes. And I know you want this.” Kyler takes my hand to trail down his slick slit. “But if I say no, you’d back off.”
“I would.”
“I’ve never had that before,” Kyler says so softly I strain to hear him.
“Kyler, I hate that you’ve lived like that.
” I can’t help myself from cupping Kyler’s cheeks.
“You have no idea how you’ve helped me realize my dreams. I never thought I’d meet a merfolk; I’ve been looking all my life.
We don’t have to do anything you don’t want.
I’ll cherish every moment we have together for eternity.
” I mean every word. I won’t touch Kyler again if that’s what he wants.
“Have you ever loved someone before?”