Chapter 23
Kiora
WHATEVER MAGIC TROY had done, my hair had never felt this good. His explanation of why I had a permanent bad hair day made perfect sense, too.
I knew next to nothing about my supernatural side. There were too few opportunities to talk to other supernaturals while driving a truck, and finding another mer to chat with about my hair had been nearly impossible. Until now.
Unfortunately for me, I had no idea what to even ask. With my hair, for example, I had assumed it was the way it was, and nothing could be done about it. I wouldn’t have thought to ask if there were mer-related causes and solutions.
Just another reason I wanted to stay in Whynot. Troy was here, and that alone was enough of a reason, but there was also an entire supernatural community that could help me learn about my nature.
Would Mom find answers to her problems here?
I rubbed my chest over my aching heart. I missed Mom so much, but the thought of going back into that house terrified me.
Troy came out from the bedroom, changed into a new set of clothes. On the front of his shirt was the iconic image of the mermaid sitting on the rock. His slippers stole the show, though. He had two old-English sheepdogs on his feet.
“Wow, really embracing your mer side,” I pointed out.
Troy shrugged. “Azar has a weird sense of humor. I swear, I have normal clothes at home.” He sat down next to me and grabbed my feet to put on his lap.
The entire time we were in the caves, he couldn’t stop touching me. I wasn’t complaining at all about it.
“Hey, I’m not judging. I mean, I love anthropomorphized cats so much I named myself after one. Why this cartoon, though?”
Even with as little as I knew about my own people, it was hard to miss the derisive scoffs at the way our species were misrepresented. The first thing everyone would point out was that merpeople could shift forms, which ruined the entire premise of the fairytale.
“Have I told you I grew up on a mer island?” Troy asked.
I shook my head. “I didn’t realize there was such a thing.”
“There are quite a few of those. It was so limiting. We knew about other species, but it was always mers this and mers that. I wanted more.”
I was starting to see where he was going with it. “And they had the cartoon there even though mers are supposed to hate it?”
“Yeah. They had a mock pile. You know, movies that were so bad you had to see them? That’s where they put it. Any time someone wanted to trash talk humans, they brought up this cartoon to showcase how dumb humans were.”
“But you found it relatable,” I guessed.
“Yeah. I just wanted to see more of the world. I wanted to actually meet humans instead of listening to lectures about how dumb they were. The other species, too. There was this weird superiority vibe in the community, like we were better than all other supernaturals living in the water. We were more sophisticated, smarter, you name it. I kept thinking the other species probably also think their way is better than our way.”
And so, he left and moved to a town where all the different species coexisted. He became friends with a dragon who was as different from merpeople as he could get.
“Now you proudly display your love for the cartoon that you related to.” I would’ve worn all sorts of Hello Kitty shirts if I wasn’t afraid of them giving me away. My name was the only thing I dared to use, but I always blamed it on Mom’s love for the cartoon, not my own.
“Curiosity and an adventurous spirit are not something to be ashamed of,” Troy said, and I could see him saying that to some grumpy old mer nagging him about the misrepresentation of our species.
I climbed onto his lap and pressed my cheek against his chest, listening to the steady beat of his heart. Steady—that’s what he felt like. A rock I could lean on. It made me want to cry because of how important this one quality was to me.
“You okay?” Troy asked.
“Yeah.” I kissed his neck. “Thank you for helping me out.”
He lifted my chin, so he could look into my eyes. “You helped yourself. Not that I wouldn’t have gone after you if you didn’t come to the boat, but you got there all by yourself. That’s all you.”
“Well, Azar gave me the heads up by bringing that Kraken to my window so I would overhear. And I have your charlotte trick to thank for it, don’t I?”
He chuckled. “Okay, that was me. I asked him to keep an eye on you.”
“And your other friend is leading them away because you asked him to.”
Troy’s hand on my thigh tensed. His voice sounded a little odd when he said, “He would’ve done it for you even without me telling him to do it.”
“What’s wrong?” Just my paranoia. Troy wasn’t actually hiding anything from me. Right?
“Just can’t get in touch with him, that’s all.” Troy gave me a reassuring smile that looked forced. “I’m sure he just doesn't have a signal because he’s too far from the shore.”
“Oh.” My gut twisted at the memory of that kraken. He could take down a small yacht without a problem. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to put your friends at risk.”
“Don’t.” He put his hand on the back of my neck and pressed his forehead against mine. “They would never regret putting their lives on the line to protect you. Remember that. Okay?”
Troy was getting really intense. Well, his friend was in danger. No shit, he was intense. I needed to stop expecting the worst.
Waves, it was my fault they were in danger. If I hadn’t stopped in Whynot, none of it would’ve happened. A strong community was great and all, but I was bringing dangerous people here.
My foot started to bounce like it needed to move, to run, to get me away from here, to lead the danger away. But even if I had my truck, I couldn’t get off this stupid mountain without Azar, and I didn’t think he’d do it unless those traffickers were gone.
Troy grabbed my leg, pulled it onto the couch next to him, and laid a firm hand on my foot, stopping it from bouncing.
“Do you need a distraction?” He nipped at my chin. “Because I’m more than willing to provide one.”
“I’m sore.” Not that I was saying no. I definitely wanted more of everything Troy. “But if you’re gentle, I don’t see why we couldn’t.”
“Why don’t we take it to the hot spring?”
Without waiting for my answer, Troy lifted me up and stood. How he had the strength to do it was beyond me, but waves, it felt good to have his strong arms around me as he carried me to the bath cave.
I barely had time to take my clothes off before Troy was dragging me into the hot water. As far as distractions went, this one was spot on.
As my legs turned into the fluke, I submerged myself fully, letting the water calm me. When I re-emerged, I found Troy’s hungry gaze roaming my body.
“That fluke is going to be the death of me,” he gritted out.
Unlike me, Troy kept his legs. His monster cock stood on full display, begging for my attention. As many times as it had been inside me already, I hadn’t had a chance to play with it properly. Now seemed like the perfect time for it.
Troy sat on the rock at the edge of the pool, and I swam to him, pushed his thighs apart and took up position between his knees.
“Oh, fuck,” he groaned. “Please, tell me you’re going to do what I think you’re going to do.”
I wrapped my hand around the base and gave it a gentle stroke just to get a feel for it. The bumps slid easily over my palm.
“I don’t know. What do you think I’ll do?”
I licked one of the bumps, then pulled away, watching Troy’s reaction.
“Don’t tease me like that.” He pulled my head back and gave me a firm but short kiss. “If you suck it, I’m going to make you come so many times tonight you’ll forget your own name.”
I pretended to consider it. “I don’t know. It’s kinda big.”
He threw his head back and let out a pained groan. “Can’t you see I’m dying here? Only you can save me.”
“So dramatic.”
I licked him from the base to the tip. He even smelled like the ocean, and the briny taste made me want more. There was no way I could take all of him, though. Just seeing how thick it was at the base was intimidating. My jaw couldn’t open that wide.
Licking a circle around the tip, I worked up the nerve to try and see how deep I could take him. With my hand holding him at the base, I lowered my head onto his length and got a third of the way down before my gag reflex stopped me.
“Fuck, that’s hot,” Troy ground out, his hands fisted on the rock next to him like he was forcing himself not to move.
I bobbed my head up and down, testing my limits. Finally, I took a deep breath and took him into my throat. Troy swore under his breath but didn’t move an inch. Good thing, too, because if he tried thrusting into my throat, I wouldn’t be able to take it. There was so much of him.
Needing a gulp of fresh air, I pulled my head back up. Now that I could breathe, I could also taste the drop of precum left on my tongue. The saltiness of it was addictive, and there was something else to it I couldn’t quite put my finger on.
I went back for another taste, this time trying to suck it out of him. Whatever self-control Troy had before evaporated, and his hips started to move in shallow thrusts. With my hand still on the base of his cock, I was able to stop him from going too deep.
“Waves,” he groaned. “How are you so perfect?”
Well, just for that, I took him down my throat again. He thrust only one time before his cum shot down my throat. I tried to swallow all of it, but there was too much, and it kept coming until it dripped down my chin.
“Kiora.” He looked at me like I had just stopped the tide. “Marry me, already.”
I cracked up. I couldn’t help it. “So romantic.”
“If you want romantic, I can come up with something romantic.” Troy wiped my chin, his hand so gentle, like he was afraid to break me. “Seriously, though, don’t run from me. Okay? If you feel like you can’t stay, just tell me, and I’ll go with you.”
“You can’t go with me. Your whole life is here.” Wait, hadn’t I seen a PI listed in Whynot? “Fin-Ding Investigations is yours, right?”
“Yeah, but I can close it.” He sighed. “I know this is new, and I’m moving way too fast, but I need you in my life a lot more than I need to stay in Whynot.”
I wanted to say no because it wouldn’t be fair to him. It was bad enough my own life had been thrown into the dumpster fire. I didn’t need to drag Troy into it with me. But this was his choice, too, and I was starting to feel all sorts of things for him, even if it was too soon to feel them.
“Alright,” I agreed, but what I really meant was that I would think long and hard about it.