Finn tilted my chin so my eyes met his. “Do not resent the power coursing through your veins, little shifter. You are more powerful than I’llever be. You are the tidal force that reshapes coastlines, the tempest that commands the sea, the Siren song, and the shipwreck that follows. Any creature who does anything less than worship youdeservesto become dust.”
“And what about you? Doyouworship me?”
“Yes.” He purred the word. “Let me show you how much.”
Water caressed my ankles and wound its way upward, brushing the insides of my thighs. I swallowed as it curled between my legs, stroking the sensitive parts of me.
Finn moved back so he could survey me. I liked seeing his expression as he watched me—it made me feel beautiful. My blood was zipping, and the space between my legs throbbed at the thought of being with him as a merman. His dark eyes continued to drink me in, and my breasts grew heavy, my nipples peaking as if begging for his touch.
With a flick of his tail, he closed the distance between us, and my pulse jumped as his hand curled around my lower back, pulling my fur-lined stomach against the sculpted indents of his hips and the smooth scales of his tail.
“I never thanked you for what you did—saving me from Stavros and his men. If you hadn’t used your magic, I might not be here,” he whispered into my neck, planting a soft kiss there.
His hand slid into my hair, and I gasped as the water pushed deeper into me. I pressed my lips to his in a desperate kiss, the shadows that had haunted me dissolving beneath the warmth of his touch. He met me with equal force, our tongues circling one another slowly as his hands trailed down my back, fingers brushing between my legs.
I inhaled sharply as his fingers moved inside me, and the water pressure worked with them.
A wicked idea came to me, and I pulled back from his embrace with a cheeky grin, then dragged my lips along the hollows of his collarbone.
I kissed my way down his chest, over his new heart tattoo and the indents of his stomach muscles until my knees were pressed into the sand and my face was against the sensitive part of his tail, where his manhood would have been. Acting purely on instinct, I licked the area slowly, his scales grating against my tongue.
“Fucking hell,” he growled, and his tail stiffened, showing me that I was doing something right.
Tracing the same space, I moved my tongue back down, circling slowly, stopping to apply extra pressure. Finn let out another low groan, tangling his fingers in my hair, the muscles rippling in his chest as he threw his head back.
A soft gasp escaped me as he sent water pressure shooting back up my legs and caressing between them as I licked and stroked the sensitive space on his tail.
“I want to taste you.” His voice was like gravel as he reached for me.
With a flick of his fins, he swept me into his embrace, and we were suspended horizontally in the water. He held me beneath him, tattooed arms cradling my body as he kissed me fiercely. His tail beat against the water, keeping us afloat. I whimpered into the kiss, and he pulled back, surveying my face, a smile flirting with the corners of his mouth.
A delighted yelp escaped me as he flipped me with ease so that the space between my legs was at his mouth. He wrapped both his muscular arms around my ass, lifting my hips so he could lick me with long, slow strokes.
Pleasure shot through my body in wavelike throbs as Finn flicked his tongue faster, aided by his water magic, and I moaned with the sensation. I hooked my arms around his emerald tail and began to do the same to the sensitive parts of him. He shuddered beneath me, and feeling him tremble at my touch only heightened my arousal.
We were suspended like this, my long hair flowing out beneath me, as he stiffened further, and his muffled groans from between my thighs deepened. Heat surged through me, and I cried out as my orgasm crashed over me like a wave. Finn shuddered in my arms, unraveling in perfect time with me.
We slowly released each other, breathing heavily. I landed on the sand, pushing my strands from my face, my emotions a churning vortex of guilt and satisfaction.
Finn raked a hand through his dark hair and surveyed me, his golden cuffs glinting in the aquamarine light, a reminder of the disease consuming him.
“Do you feel any better?” He cupped my cheek bringing my gaze to his.
I shook my head as everything I’d suppressed swam back. “I can’t just ignore what I did.”
“I’m not suggesting you forget it,” he said softly, his hands gliding down my arms to rest at the crooks of my elbows.
A blood-curdling scream sliced through the water.
“Hold that thought...” Finn let go of me, and we pushed our way back through the coral beds to the dance floor.
Finn and I emerged at the edge of the coral clearing. The music continued to weave through the water, but the Mer on the dance floor had stilled.
The cry had come from a beautiful mermaid whose armor stood out among the crowd. She was dark-skinned and dark-haired, and a black breastplate gleamed over her torso. Her amber eyes were fierce despite the distress shadowing her face.
“It’s Asherah,” Finn hissed beside me, “the warrior queen of the Kingdom of Mors.”
“Mors? As in the guardians of the Garden of Mortimer?” I hissed, my stomach twisting.
