"I've been silent too long. And now I'm a queen."
"You never have to hold your tongue with me."
"You very much like what I do with my tongue."
"You're right. Especially when you sing for me. When I move inside of you. When I kiss your lips or your gills. Those are my favorite songs. I'll have you sing them every day, sing until you're hoarse."
Her expression was somber, serious. "They're your songs, my prince. Only for you."
"Only for me." Eric pressed his lips to her neck again, licking over her gills, up the column of her neck, and to the edge of her lips. "Sing for me now, siren."
He felt his wife's intake of breath in preparation for a song. Before she could get out the first note, there was a knock at the door.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
The carriage rocked gently as it rolled down the road. The rhythmic clatter of hooves against cobblestone filled the silence that stretched thick and tense between them.
Not the tension between Ursula and Eric.
They sat close—too close for comfort, too far for satisfaction. His hand was still wrapped around hers from when they'd reluctantly left the boathouse. Those hands had dressed her. He'd fastened the clamshells over her breast. He'd refastened the sapphire gem around her neck. He'd pulled the silk gown over her limbs. The fabric had slid down her heated flesh like a twilight wave—smooth, cool, and sinful. It clung to her curves, molded to every line of her body, hiding nothing from the man who’d just vowed his life to her.His eyes had followed the descent of the silk like it was a ceremony unto itself, his touch lingering longer than necessary.
Now their fingers twined together like seaweed and netting. Her prince hadn’t let go. Neither had she.
Eric's thumb traced slow, aching circles on the back of Ursula's hand. His thigh brushed hers with every jostle of the road. The contact sent sparks up her spine. The hum of his attention was sunlight on her skin, like rays warming sea glass.
He glanced at her mouth, a slow drag of his eyes over her lips like he was hungry. Ursula curled her bottom lip between her teeth, and Eric’s breath hitched. He bit his own lip in response, his gaze darkening as if the memory of their kisses last night had sunk hooks deep into him.
Ursula's free hand rested on her thigh. What would happen if she slid her hand just slightly toward his? If she leaned forward. If she claimed his mouth again.
“Fighting has broken out in Prince Phillip’s kingdom.”
The sexual tension between Ursula and Eric snapped. What was left was the thick miasma coming from the other side of the carriage where Grimsby sat looking down at documents, his spyglasses sitting at the edge of his long, patrician nose.
Eric exhaled sharply, his posture straightening, buthe didn't let go of Ursula's hand. "We dealt with the troll situation. How could they have gotten that far inland?"
The Inland Kingdom had been under siege by trolls for the past three years. Trolls were ugly, persistent creatures that boiled down from the mountains like a plague. The war had dragged on long enough to delay Prince Phillip’s marriage to Princess Aurora, a dainty but powerful heiress of a smaller coastal realm—one whose alliance had been crucial to the treaty between the land and the sea.
“Reports are still unclear, but it’s confirmed that forces breached the borders near the Eastern edge of the forest.”
With his other hand, Eric rubbed at the bottom lip that Ursula had wanted to bite just seconds ago. She still wanted to bite it now. Possibly even more so.
He turned slightly from her, giving her his profile. He looked older when duty returned to his face. Sharper. Wearier. Handsome in a different way.
“The reports also say that these were not trolls attacking Prince Phillip's castle but mermen.” Grimsby's gaze flicked to Ursula, acknowledging her for the first time since she'd gotten into the carriage. “The castle is said to be flooded, a tsunami-like wave overtaking the northern walls.”
"A tsunami? They're too far inland for that kind ofstorm. Unless…" Eric's hand tightened around hers. "A power like that could only come from the sea king.”
"Or his daughter," said Grimsby.
"It's clearly not Ariel." Eric dismissed the older man. "My wife has been with me all night. You and Princess Aurora developed a friendship, I was told."
All this time Ursula thought her cover would be blown by that side-walking crab. But no, it would be unveiled by the sea princess' tantrum. What had Ariel done now?
Ursula gave Eric her most prim look. Her husband quirked a brow as though she'd just shared a joke between them.
Grimsby still looked at her with suspicion, even as his words were directed at Eric. "You think it's King Triton then? For what reason?"
"No, I don't think it's Triton." Eric toyed with a lock of her hair absently. "It must be Ursula."
