“Ah yeah, I did, but it sort of just happened. His beast kind of took over and forced the mating. I know how that sounds, trust me, but honestly, I’m not upset. I mean, Iwas, but when I thought about it, I realized I’m actually really excited. Let’s face it, he’s sexy as fuck, has mad dick skills, and he’s sweet and kind and loving. I could end up with a lot worse.” I’m rambling slightly, but it doesn't seem to matter to her. My brain and maybe even those first stirrings in my heart are almost desperate for her to not judge Caspian. The situation is complicated and doesn’t look the best from the outside, but I’ve already seen such good signs of the man that he is. I want to know more, and all these little glimpses have just confirmed that he and I could be good together. I have a lot to learn, but he seems like he will be ready and willing to give me things that I need and haven’t found yet in my other relationships.
“Oh my god, a beast means it’s a shifter. Which shifter? I saw you with Dylan and Caspian the first night, and gossip around the ship says that you’d been hanging out until you had a falling out.” Movement behind her catches my eye, and I look around the little café for the first time. It’s set up mostly like an Earth business would be, minus the servers because everything happens automatically. But there’s a cozy little fire toward the back of the shop, probably for ambience because the ship’s not cold or anything. Surrounding the fire are heaps of cozy-looking double pods, like mostly enclosed booths. Sitting in one of these pods is Dylan and another guy, the two of them in some kind of intimate conversation. I’m happy for him; he looks like he’s flirting with the guy, so he must like him. He glances up, catching my eye, but he only returns my wave with one of those impersonal bro nods.
Ouch, that hurts. Seeing my face drop, Mags turns around. “Oh, look at that. Dylan the manwhore is on the prowl.” She turns back to me, rolling her eyes. “Don’t get me wrong, he’s a great guy, but wow, he knows how to love them and leave them. He changes his partners like he changes his moods.”
Huh, maybe I misjudged him altogether. He was the first friendly face I saw, and I latched on to him like the new girl at school. I guess that friendship wasn’t as genuine as I thought, but I can’t imagine what I did to piss him off.
I decide to let it go. Although I thought we’d be good friends, he has no reason to be pissed at me about anything. I’m sad, but not heartbroken about it. I just hope he doesn't cause problems for Caspian. Caspian’s family now, and nobody fucks with my family. According to the grandpas, anyone who messes with my mate can easily find themselves replaced.
My watch beeps, and I look at the message flashing across the screen. I’ve got twenty minutes until I’m supposed to meet Caspian at the Aquilian pool.
“Hey, Mags, this has been fun and I definitely want to do it again, but I need to meet Caspian. Can you show me the way to the Aquilian pool?”
She jumps up. “Of course, let’s go to the elevators. It’s up a floor.” She takes off, and I hurry after her, not wanting to get lost. “Is it Caspian who’s your mate?” she asks in an excited voice once I catch up and the two of us are heading up in the elevator.
“Ah, yeah.”
She grabs hold of my hand and squeals in excitement. “Wow, that’s awesome. You’ll have to tell me all about it. What was the mating like? Do you remember every blissful second of it?”
I blush a little at the memory. “No, not really, my mind was pretty much mush.”
“Oh! Do tell?” she asks, curiosity in her eyes.
“The man has mad fucking sex skills. I swear I’ve never been dicked so well in my life. I didn't know those kinds of orgasms were possible. Seriously, it’s no hardship to have those for the rest of my life.”
Her mouth drops open in shock before we both dissolve into peals of laughter just as the doors open, showing a room filled with water.
“Holy shit.” The giggles disappear as I take in the sight in front of me. There is a section just in front of the elevator to step out onto, and from what I can see, it runs the rims of the walls. Apart from that, the whole room is like an ocean with a few houses floating as their own islands. “How does this work? How does the water not go everywhere if there’s space turbulence or whatever?”
“There’s a special gravity field that holds all the water down while allowing bodies to pass through it.” She looks around the pool. “I thought that maybe Nixie would be here. Unlike most mermaids, she’s friendly with other races. She regularly takes her human form and comes hang out, but I can’t see her.”
Right now, the water is still, not a ripple to be seen. “It looks like they're all gone. I’m going to leave you here since Caspian should be here any minute. I’ll catch up with you at dinner. I want to hear all about what it was like to meet his beast.” She leans in and gives me a kiss on the cheek before stepping back into the elevator.
Once she’s gone and I’m all alone, I realize how quiet the room is too. No lapping sounds because the water is so still. There’s no wind or anything because of the artificial environment.
Stepping up to the edge of the pool, I toe off one of my shoes and dip my foot into the water. It’s warm and balmy, like a tropical beach, and I pull off the rest of my clothes, so I can go for a swim. I told Caspian I didn't have a swimsuit with me, and he suggested I swim naked. I wasn't keen on that, knowing that other creatures live in this area, so we compromised. Underwear, it is.
Sitting down on the edge, I swing my legs into the pool, but before I can do anything else, there’s a frenzy of motion and something launches itself out of the water. I have just enough time to suck in a lungful of air before I’m dragged under.
Fuck my life.
Whatever it is drags me through the water so fast there’s nothing I can do but close my eyes, hold my breath, and hang on. The noise of the water rushing by my ears is thunderous and shocking after the calm quiet of the topside.
My lungs start to burn as the urge to expel the breath I was holding increases. I start to pound against the scaly creature’s body, desperate to get away, my self-preservation having kicked in. Suddenly, we stop, and before I can open my eyes and continue my fight, something closes over my mouth, drawing the trapped air from my lungs before forcing in fresh air. When my eyes pop open, I find myself wrapped in the arms of a merman.
My hair swirls around my face, making it difficult for me to see him in the dim light of the depths, so I try to push it out of the way. His body is glowing, that slight light illuminating the area, and as my eyes reach his face, I recoil in fright. His pale golden eyes are narrowed, his razor-sharp teeth bared in aggression, and his gills are rapidly opening and closing like he’s breathing harder than normal.
His own long hair floats around his face, metallic gold like Nixie’s was. Is this her brother? Looking down, I can see his long, thick muscular tail beating back and forth to keep us afloat. It’s covered in pastel green and shimmering gold scales that stop just above his pelvis, giving way to pastel green skin. Or I thought that it was skin, but it seems like it might be another layer of scales, these ones so itty bitty that it almost looks like they’d lay flat to the touch. Maybe protection against predators?
As we stare at one another, my lungs start to hurt enough that I beat against his chest once more. With a lazy flip of his tail, we head upward, the pressure on my ears easing as we get higher. Fuck, I hope I don’t get decompression sickness. Our ascent is much slower than our descent, with him stopping more than once to fuse his mouth to mine, forcing in a new burst of oxygen. The last time, however, he lingers, locking those cold, aloof eyes to mine. Honestly, I have no idea what he wants from me. I guess he doesn’t want to drown me, thank god for that, but I’m otherwise clueless.
Pulling away, he continues toward the surface, not paying any attention to me. I look around, not really able to see now that we’re moving again, but I recognize that we’re swimming into a tunnel that leads out into some kind of room. It’s hard to make out what I’m seeing, but I think it’s furnished, or as furnished as it can be for a merperson. Not soon enough, we get to a ramp and swim up it until we break the surface. He pushes me up onto a small platform before he joins me, his body towering over mine while his large fin sits half in the water and half out.
“Who are you, and what are you doing in my pool?” he growls, his teeth still sharp and aggressive.
“Fuck you!” I slap at him before trying to scoot backward, but he holds me in place.
“You were with the boss men the other day before the parade. Who are you, and why are you in my pool?” he repeats, shaking me.
