Sunken Empire

by Brandy Slaven

  He must sense my need, because his hips pull back slowly before he's pushing again. Every inch of him feels like he's awakening a thousand nerve endings. The pace is languid like he's enjoying nothing more than just the feel of being inside of me.

  Just as I part my lips to beg him for more, the sound gets lodged in my throat and morphs into a squeak because he sits up while taking me with him.

  Now on his ass, he helps me straddle his thighs, looking mighty pleased with himself.

  This new angle does even more wicked yet welcome things to me, especially as he grabs both my hips and helps drive me down onto him. Letting my head fall forward, I use the angle to my advantage and nip the side of his neck before smoothing it over with my tongue. In reaction, he picks up the pace, having me gasping for air against him.

  In a million years, I never would have thought I, Rubi Murphy, would be where I am and having sex with a merman on top of that. Curious wheels turn in my mind, and before I can stop it, I'm asking, "Can you have sex as a fish, too?"

  Another boisterous laugh echoes around us and our pace slows long enough for Zanthus to comment, "Woman, is that where your head is right now? We could go find out."

  I firmly shake my head, making him chuckle again.

  One of his hands rubs a light soothing path up and down my back, making me squirm in his lap.

  By the time my hips are within his grasp again, he's adding, "Yes. We can have sex when we've got fins. Though, it's purely mating. It doesn't feel anywhere near as good as this."

  At the arch of his hips, he slams me down and a moan of his name falls from my lips. He doesn't leave any room for conversation after that. I ride the waves of pleasure my sexy, brutish merman has set me on. My breasts bounce in his face with every thrust, and it isn't long before Zanthus jumps at the opportunity. His lips close around one nipple and when teeth graze the sensitive bud, my release hits me like a ton of bricks.

  It's possible I scream his name loud enough to shatter windows, but I can't be sure of that. For Zanthus follows me into that pleasurable bliss, and the moment he starts filling me, a bright blue light flashes around us, almost blinding me in its intensity. Then a zap hits me so hard, my body goes limp in his arms, and there's nothing I can do about it.

  "Rubi?" he asks with a worried demand in his tone as he gives me a soft shake.

  I can hear him and feel his hands on me, but it's like I'm paralyzed, unable to even lift my pinky finger. It only lasts a few seconds, but it's long enough that I start to panic. Before it really sets in, everything snaps back into place, and my chest starts burning like we've set it on fire.

  "Owww!" I scream, reaching to put the fire out. "It burns! It burns!"

  Zanthus's hand comes between us right before there's a sharp tug at my neck and his necklace goes flying across the floor. It's no sooner come to a stop when it bursts into a bright blue cloud of debris. He drops us to the bed, covering me with his large form.

  When he's confident the show is over, he raises up to stare at me, wondrously dumbfounded.

  "What was that?" I ask, trying not to flinch as the skin pulls tight at the burn mark across my chest.

  Dipping down, he pecks me on the lips as he answers, "I believe that was you breaking part of the curse."

  I'm so giddy with temporary relief that I ignore the pain and wrap my arms around his shoulders, yanking him down for a real kiss. Our bodies shift, and I can tell he's ready to go again. Well, so am I. Except moving again has me hissing in pain. I reach up to touch the spot, but Zanthus tugs my hand away.

  "Don't touch it, love," he gently orders, pulling himself up and out of the bed. I don't like the missing warmth, but he doesn't give me a chance to object as he says, "We need to go find my brothers and get that healed."

  I let him ease me out of the giant bed and set me on my feet. Contemplating how bad it's going to hurt to slip my shirt back on over this burn, I don't notice Zanthus walking into the closet on the other side of the room. No, I'm too busy trying to look down to find the wound. Since the necklace didn't hang down too far, I'd have better chances of licking my elbow than I would seeing the damn thing without a mirror. Before I can go in search of one, Zanthus is back with a soft robe in hand.

  "I'm assuming the Keep meant this for you," he states, holding it open for me to slip my arms into.

  "Are you sure you just don't like walking around in pink silk while no one is watching?" I tease.

  He chuckles as he brings his naked chest against my back and puts his palm against my bare stomach, not allowing me to tie the robe closed.

  "Have I told you how much I love to hate that roguish mouth of yours? Maybe we'll find a good use for it later," he whisper promises in my ear.

  I try to twist my head around to capture those lips again, but he stands to his full height with a chuckle. As he starts toward the door, I follow behind him, trying to tie a knot in the robe's waist.

  Then it hits me.

  "Wait!" I demand. "I can't go out there looking like this."

  "Why?" he asks, turning around to glance over my body.

  Waving a hand over myself, I give him the ‘are you dense’ stare before hissing, "I'm naked underneath here. They'll know what we've done."

  His chuckle is dark and rolls over my skin, begging me to take him right back to bed.

  "They're already going to know what we did, princess," he remarks. His eyes are carefully trained on my face, so I know they don't miss the wince there.

  That cockiness starts to fade as he questions, "Having regrets?"

  Ignoring the pain in my chest, I close the distance between us and throw my arms around his neck while reaching up on my toes. When he still doesn't lower his head like I want, I jump, locking my legs around his waist. Thankfully, his hands catch me under my ass cheeks; otherwise, I might not have been able to hang on long.

  Slanting my lips over his, I let my words touch his tongue. "Never."

  My heart jumps at the smile that takes over his face. Successful in one moment of victory, my heart still pounds because I've got to find a way to dull this pain and face the other two.

  Zanthus's finger hooks underneath my chin where it fell when my feet hit the floor again. "Stop fretting and thinking like a human. They're not going to feel any different."

  I nod with more confidence than I feel, and he drops a quick kiss against my lips before setting me on my feet, taking my hand, and leading us out into the hall.

  "Cover your ears, love," he warns, and I hurry to do as he says.

  Cupping his hands around his mouth, a sound emits from between them almost dolphin-like in nature. I'm thankful that he had the thoughtfulness to give me a heads up because even around the fingers stuffed in my ears, it's still loud as hell. When he reaches for a hand again, I let him have it, trusting wherever it is that he's taking us.

  Which, to my surprise and giddy glee, turns out to be a swimming chamber on the bottom floor. The entire room is like stepping straight from the Keep into our own private beach oasis. Waves lap a sandy shore close to the entrance, bringing a peacefulness I didn't think possible in troublesome times like these. Adding to that, the smell of salty ocean water invades my senses, making it all the more tempting to take a dip inside. The only thing stopping me is the view. Where there should be four walls and a ceiling, like a normal room, there are only two plus the one from which we walked through the doorway of moments ago. The only two complete walls form obtuse angles against the Keep, allowing the area to fan open wider the further away it gets. Standing between us and the crush of the open ocean above and on the other side of us is the barrier.

  Its deep abyss doesn't make my stomach flop to the floor like it did before. A good kind of chill races down my spine as something akin to a voice whispers from the dark. My toes sink into the soft yielding sand as I take a step forward. That's as far as I get before an arm snakes around my middle.

  "Enjoy your time with my brother, little siren?" Zephyr coos in my ear, his wa
rm breath shooting tingles down to my core.

  There was something there between us before I slept with Zanthus, but it seems stronger now somehow. In true Rubi fashion, I blurt out the elephant sitting on my chest, "We had sex."

  Zeph's laugh escapes as a bark, bringing a smile to my own face at war with the turmoil of emotions inside of me.

  Zale's chest brushes against my arm and I glance up at him to find his smile matching my own. After confessing I had sex with one of his brothers while currently standing in the arms of another. The human part of my mind expects to see some jealousy or possessive anger, and when none surface from them, it leaves me grasping hard at the other half of my brain, trying to blow all expectations to the wind.

  "Are you uncomfortable with the situation, Damselfish?" Zale asks quietly, giving his brother a stern look after tensing behind me.

  Asking myself the same question, am I uncomfortable?

  Overwhelmed by the revelations over the past few days? Yes.

  Terrified I won't be able to help them like I want? Yes.

  Aroused from being in the same room with any of their half naked selves? Yes.

  Uncomfortable? No.

  I shake my head and the corners of Zale's lips tilt back up as Zephyr sags against my back, letting out a, "Thank the gods."

  Zale steps in front of me, angling his head as though he's going to bend to claim my lips as his hands trail up my arms. Now trapped between him and Zephyr, I realize there's only one piece missing to this puzzle. However, I don't get to do so much as reach or call out for Zanthus before Zale is ripping the robe down my shoulders.

  "What the hell, Zanthus? What did you do?" he demands, anger making those green eyes flare to life.

  At his brother's outburst, Zephyr shifts until he's shoulder to shoulder with him, both glaring at the wound above my now bare breasts.

  "It wasn't him," I announce, seeing Zeph shooting him a murderous scowl.

  Zanthus steps against my back. "It was the talisman. She was wearing it while she rode me."

  My face flames as Zeph's expression morphs from anger back to playfulness with a waggle of his sandy brown eyebrows. Zale, on the other hand, looks between us as though we're a complicated math equation he needs to solve.

  The brutish mer at my back doesn't give him the chance to ask his questions as he adds, "I brought her here because the wound will heal faster using my magic."

  Both brothers in front of me are stunned speechless, and it's as if the ocean has held its breath too as we all wait for the next ball to drop.

  Zale swallows hard, "Your magic is back?"

  "Yes," Zanthus gloats. I don't even have to be looking at his face to feel the pride radiating from his chest as he explains. "Our little Rubi did it. She broke my part of the curse then the necklace practically caught fire on her chest. I tossed it before it combusted."

  Somehow deep down inside, his words resonate like I already knew this information. Hearing them said out loud brings an urge to the surface. Squeezing between Zale and Zephyr, I stroll to the edge of the water, letting it lap at my toes before dropping the robe into the sand. There's a sharp intake of breath behind me, but I ignore it as I wade out far enough for the water to be up to the bottom of my breasts. With my heartbeat thudding a fast gallop in my chest, I trust my instincts and lift my feet to completely submerge myself.

  I expect the water filling my ears to be silent, but it fills my head with a buzzing noise as though it's alive. Then it quiets itself to listen as I ask it kindly to take away the itch and burn at my chest. For a second, I think the compulsion driving me is insane. How would water be able to do something as difficult as I'm asking?

  At which point, it seems to laugh at me. My back arches against the onslaught of a pain worse than the fire of the necklace but lasting for only half a second. Water brushes against the spot as if in a kiss before retreating once more.

  I'm not sure how long I've been under the surface, but when I come to my feet all three brothers are side by side, looking ready to jump in after me. My lips pull up as they notice the wound. One so severe, I'd known it would leave at least one scar. Without having to examine it for myself, I know all traces are gone.

  "Impossible," Zale mutters before turning his stunned expression towards Zanthus. "She took your magic."

  His smirk makes my insides squirm in delicious ways. Our unintentional shared secret is about to be brought to light.

  "No," he corrects, "we have magic."

  Waving a hand at the water, droplets float into the air like a backwards rain, making me laugh. I can feel him using the magic, but it isn't taking anything from me like the healing did.

  "So many questions that need answers," Zale mutters.

  "Not at this exact moment," I challenge him with a grin, and Zanthus lets the droplets rain back down. I can feel the sensual touch of each one as they roll down my body, and when our eyes lock, I know that he can too. Zephyr has already stripped down to nothing and is making his way to me before I can enjoy the sight. Zale is slower because his eyes track some of the drops down my chest and off the tips of my nipples.

  Zephyr locks his arms around me as he brings his mouth down on mine, both our smiles clashing.

  "Want to see a real mermaid, little siren?" he asks.

  Almost every little girl's dream is going to happen in front of my eyes and I'd be lying if I said my stomach wasn't doing a huge happy dance right now.

  At my nod, he winks and dives toward the deeper water. I catch a flash of bare tanned ass cheeks before his head is popping back up. That sandy brown hair is darker from the water and floats around him as he swims toward me. Behind him, I see a fin for half a second. Then he's in front of me. Contentment is written in every line of his body language. If I had to guess, I'd say this curse took a toll on him worse than anyone else, because of how much he revels in his freedom.

  Pulling me out of my thoughts, he whips a golden fin out of the water and splashes me. I laugh not only at his playfulness, but also because I could've stopped that and retaliated just as quickly with my newly acquired magic if I wasn't so distracted by the effing merman in front of my eyes. Most of his tail is the same gold of his irises, but there are some spots that are a darker golden olive color. His face is alight with the excitement of showing off.

  I reach out a hand to run down the top of his tail, which has me covering my mouth to hide the small giggle. He's. Got. A. Flipping. Tail. Not wanting to bother the few fins sticking out on the sides, I focus my attention on the scales, skimming my hand down them. They shudder slightly as Zephyr groans, and his brothers snicker from their positions on shore.

  "They're so soft," I announce to no one in particular.

  "Yeah and that's about the only thing soft right now," Zeph murmurs. It takes me back to my questioning with Zanthus earlier.

  As if he knows what I'm about to start asking, the latter directs my attention with facts. "The scales serve two purposes in that form. Not only do we have the agility of our aquatic brethren, but they're also our armor."

  My brows pull down in confusion as I stroke the soft as feathers skin. They aren't very good for armor being as vulnerably soft as they are.

  "Only our mate would be able to make it past the barrier of armor," Zale supplies, sating my worry.

  I surprise a laugh out of all of them when after a few minutes, I announce, "I want a tail too."

  Zephyr maneuvers his body until I'm wrapped in his arms again and up to my neck beside him. He manages to keep both our heads above the surface without any help from me at all.

  "I bet it's going to be the most beautiful tail in all the realm," he insists, making me smile with a brush of lips against his cheek. "Can I keep you to myself for a minute before they try to distract you with their boring plain tails?"

  Capturing his jaw in my palm, the tiny bit of scruff there scratches my skin as I reply, "Of course."

  We're shot off like a rocket as soon as the words leave my mouth. A la
ugh bubbles from my chest and I clutch his shoulders tight.

  Almost within touching distance of the barrier, he stops and sighs with a smile. "I've never been one to keep great surprises to myself. Do you trust me?"

  I nod, and he commands, "Good. Lay on your back and float."

  Doing as he says, I feel his fin brush against my bare skin. The responsiveness of my body almost overrides his request. I'm tempted to kiss him until we're both breathless, until I start to see flashes of color outside the barrier. At first, it's a few fish, but they quickly morph into a kaleidoscope of different sea life and colors. Everything from the fish, to tiny seahorses, to a broadly spanned octopus, and even a massive whale that swims by. The calm that slips in my bones has me wishing I could live here just like this. Then I grin, because I do live here now. Underneath these stunning creatures and around even more beautiful males.

  "This is my magic," Zephyr tells me, his voice flowing through the water like a warm knife through butter. "If you get mine like you did with Zanthus, you'll be able to control them too."

  "Only, mine is cooler," Zanthus says from my other side.

  Another smile breaks across my face as I listen to the sibling rivalry over whose magical powers are cooler. The only voice I don't hear is Zale's, but as soon as the thought crosses my mind, I feel a short tug on my right ankle. I don't want to come out of the trance and let go of the beauty still putting on a show above us, but I'd much rather see my other two mates’ tails more.

  With a sigh, I let my feet sink into the water, holding myself afloat with my arms.

  It brings Zale's face inches from my own. "Hi," I breathe out.

  "Hello, damselfish," he replies, softness taking over his expression.

  There's one thing the mer in front of me had right more than anything. Questions. We have way more of them than we do answers, especially me.

  Starting with an easy one, I ask, "What's your magic?"

  He smiles. "Unlike my impatient brother, I happen to like surprises. Guess you'll have to wait and find out."