Withdrawing his fingers from me, his hand slaps down sharply on my clit. I scream, pleasure dancing on every nerve ending. The bite of pain enhances my desire. Qurill smiles as if he knew I’d like it. He seems to know my body better than I do.
“Tonight, I own every inch of you. Your sopping wet cunt?—”
He tips my hips up further. Qurill’s finger, slick with my arousal and his saliva, presses against my back entrance. He slides into me slowly, laying claim to all I am.
“And your tight asshole.” He presses a kiss to my clit as his finger sheaths fully into my backside. “Come on my face while I fuck your ass with my finger. Now.”
His tongue spears into me, reaching as deep as it can. I scream as both his finger and tongue work me in tandem. I can feel both gliding against each other inside me. My chest rises and falls as my skin glistens with sweat. The air around us is damp. The scent of salt and our coupling mingle into a heady combination.
I’ve never felt anything like this. Pleasuring myself with my own hand has never yielded such intense results. When my peak comes, I may die at the sheer force of it. I’ve been moved past the point of pleasure. I am just an object to be used for his desire—and I’ve never been happier. I want to be completely owned by him.
When his other hand begins rubbing tight circles on my clit, I erupt.
“Qurill!” I scream as pleasure washes over me.
My whole body locks down. My ass clenches around his finger while my pussy strangles his tongue. The world around me blurs as each muscle in my body strains. Fire churns in my belly, filtering out into my fingers and toes. Wave after wave crashes over me, threatening to drown me in its pleasurable depth.
Qurill continues to lick me, even once my muscles give out and I fall limply to the rock. My body shakes with aftershocks as he pulls his finger from my ass. He licks me clean before pressing a final kiss to my clit.
His eyes are completely black as he prowls up my body. Seawater drops onto my naked skin as he looms over me. I openmy arms and eagerly accept his weight. His mouth falls onto mine, sealing the pleasure he just gave me with our first kiss. I’m not nearly as practiced as him but it feels right all the same. Just like he taught me to swim, his tongue teaches mine to glide with his.
I taste my arousal, and I moan. My hands hook around his head, holding him firmly against me. His hand falls to my breasts, roughly shaping my aching nipples in his palm. I groan against his mouth until we finally break for air. He kisses along my jaw, tracing along my skin as he reaches my ear.
“Your town sacrificed you to my father,” he whispers, “but it is I who will lay claim to you tonight.”
Qurill thrusts his hardness against me. I whimper at the size of the bulge straining against his leather pants. My mouth waters, and my satiated body is now aching for even more pleasure.
“I will possess you so deeply, no human man will ever satisfy you.”
The words are growled possessively against my ear. The thought of me with another is abhorrent to us both. He squeezes my breast tightly, marking me with his fingertips.
“When I leave tomorrow, you’ll return to the sea every night naked—calling out for me to fuck you amongst the waves or atop the sandy shore. Wherever I want, whenever I want.”
“Qurill,” I sigh, turning my head for another kiss.
He obliges. His mouth devastates mine. The vows he’s just given make my heart ache. I know he is right. It will be nearly impossible for me to leave him tomorrow, but I will. The only thing I can do now is leave a part of me behind so that my memory will torment him just as his torments me.
“Let’s get you fed,” he declares, breaking our kiss. “You’ll need your strength to endure our night together.”
I nod eagerly, wrapping my arms around his neck. He tucks my body into his chest and plunges us back into the water. Holding on to him tightly, he navigates us through the sea until the palace looms ahead. The small voice inside me telling me to be wary is silent for once as we approach the towering structure.
Caution be damned, life is meant to be lived. At least for tonight.
5
QURILL
Astryd clings to me as we cut through the water.
The way she tightly holds me makes me glow with pleasure. She is everything I have ever wanted—beautiful, adventurous, and adrift, just like me. I want to show her she’ll never be alone again. That she can find safe harbor in my port. Forever, if she’d allow it. I’ll take care of everything if she agrees to be mine. It would be my privilege to care for her. It is the role I was born to fulfill.
I hadn’t meant to hear her private thoughts. The magic that lets us communicate is fickle, and while I had tried to be noble and not pry, she was too great a temptation. I want to know everything about her—her likes and dislikes. What makes her happy, how to satisfy her properly so that she may never wish to leave my side.
Because, despite everything, she does still wish to leave. There is a conflict raging inside of her. One forged from the necessity of self-preservation. I understand why she is wary of someone like me. She has been alone for so long with no one looking out for her. To throw away a simple life of solitarysecurity in favor of running off with a merman you just met seems a bit foolish.
Even if being together feels as natural as breathing. I would spend every moment together, reaffirming that she had not made a mistake in trusting me.
I want to keep her—more than I’ve ever wanted anything in my life. She is mine, and she is giving me tonight to prove it. I have until dawn for her to change her mind and realize her place is at my side and in our bed. The moment she dove into the sea, fearless and naked, her fate was sealed to mine. It is sudden, but just because it is fast doesn’t make it any less real.
