by Rinelle Grey
Only this time he wasn’t letting her go. He broke his lips from hers briefly to ask, “Are you sure?”
Cari nodded, too breathless to speak. That was enough. Rowan claimed her lips with his again, moving through the ship, his body swaying in time with the movement of the waves, almost as if he had been born a merman.
That was just another sign. This would work. Mating with Rowan would return her to the mermaid world, and he would be able to come with her. Her father couldn’t possibly object to their mating if Rowan was a merman.
And if this worked, then a whole new world of possibilities opened up for all the mermaids who were desperate for a mate.
Those possibilities brought Cari joy, but they were swept from her mind by the desire Rowan stirred in her. He laid her gently in the middle of the bed, then lay down beside her.
The bed that had seemed so large and imposing last night was suddenly warm and cosy. Rowan’s body weighed it down, causing Cari to roll into the space next to him, where she fitted perfectly. Her body rested up against his, the soft bed at her back.
But all she really noticed was the feel of his lips on hers, nibbling and sucking, as his hands on her waist pulled her towards him. She relished the feel of his body lying next to hers.
Time seemed to stand still as Cari noticed nothing but Rowan’s intense kisses. She knew there was more to it than this, but she wasn’t even sure how human mating worked. In truth, she only had a mechanical understanding of how mermaid mating worked.
For now, kissing was enough.
Until it wasn’t.
Slowly Cari became aware of a feeling building up in the pit of her stomach, almost a hunger, but not for food. It was for something else, something she couldn’t even put a word to. But it made her kisses more desperate, and it inspired her hands to pull Rowan closer.
She wanted him in ways she’d never even imagined existed. “Rowan?”
He broke away from her lips for a moment and looked into her eyes, a gentle smile on his face. “Is this your first time?”
Cari bit her lip and nodded. “As a human and a mermaid.”
For a moment, she wondered what Rowan would think of that. It obviously wasn’t his first time. And even if it was, he clearly knew more about it than she did, which was probably a good thing. Hopefully that meant he’d know what to do—how to fulfil this desperate need she didn’t understand.
Rowan’s nod indicated he guessed all that. He bent and kissed her a couple more times, and then pulled back a little, leaning up on one elbow to pull off his shirt.
Immediately Cari felt a little better. She’d seen his chest before of course, since he only wore shorts when he was swimming. Like mermen, human men’s chests seemed fine to show off. But that didn’t mean she didn’t like seeing it again.
Especially since now she got to see it up close and personal. And touch it.
Cari ran her hands over Rowan’s chest, smiling when he gave a shudder and his breathing deepened. His reaction increased Cari’s confidence. It seemed humans and mermaids weren’t that different after all. Now she was glad she’d overheard her sisters’ whispered conversations, the hints and tips they’d heard from friends that she’d never paid much attention to before.
It gave her some idea of what to expect.
Rowan’s hands bunched up the white dress around her thighs, running up her legs to cup her butt. The shivers that action sent over her skin helped Cari understand why humans covered their legs. Legs, the upper part anyway, were definitely sexy.
She was curious enough to want to compare the sensation to other areas, so she sat up and pulled off the dress, grinning when Rowan’s eyes widened. It had taken her a bit to figure out how the human underclothes worked, but the bra wasn’t too different from her bikini top, although it was a lot more complicated to do up, and the pants worked like shorts. Only all of the clothes were a lot prettier than anything mermaids had.
From the look in his eyes, Rowan seemed to like the pale pink, lacy underwear she’d chosen. He pulled her back down onto the bed and began to trail kisses across her breasts, the sensitive skin responding instantly. He trailed down across her belly to kiss the mound between her legs.
Cari’s own breathing grew thready, and her whole body tingled. Cari wasn’t even sure if she could say what felt the best. She wanted more. Of all of it.
Rowan returned to her breasts, licking through the soft, satiny fabric, teasing her nipples until Cari wasn’t sure she could even remember how humans breathed. It felt amazing, and yet intensely frustrating at the same time. She wanted more. Much more. She just didn’t know how or what.
Her hands tangled in Rowan’s hair, pulling him towards her, urging him wordlessly to do something she didn’t even understand. But when he lifted his head from her breasts and smiled at her, nothing else mattered.
Her heart swelled, and she couldn’t help saying, “I love you, Rowan.”
For a second, his eyes widened, and Cari wondered if she’d said too much, but then his smile deepened. “I love you too, Cari,” he said, his voice deep and throaty. He edged up the bed and kissed her with a passion that took her breath away.
Cari knew, in that moment, that she couldn’t be happier. She had no doubts she’d made the right decision in mating with Rowan, even if it did mean giving up her mermaid life. And she couldn’t imagine how she could ever regret this, no matter what Rowan feared.
Rowan kissed her passionately, his hands roaming all over her body until Cari felt like she might burst if he didn’t do something more. This experience was exquisite, but she wanted to mate with him.
Somewhere in the back of her mind she needed to know. What was going to happen when they finally mated? That need was putting a bit of a damper on her enjoyment, niggling at her brain despite her best efforts to ignore it.
As soon as she realised it, her urgency became greater. She needed to know almost as much as she needed to mate.
While he was kissing her, Rowan reached around behind her and unclipped her bra somehow. Cari wasn’t quite sure how because she’d found it hard enough to do the thing up in the first place, but she wasn’t objecting.
Rowan’s hands on her breasts through her bra had been nice, but on the bare skin they were amazing. Worries about what would happen when they mated faded into insignificance when he put his lips down and took her nipple into his mouth.
Cari arched towards him, letting out a moan.
Rowan smiled and repeated the action on the other side.
Cari wanted to pleasure him as much as he’d pleasured her, so she reached out to play with his nipples. Even though they were smaller than hers, they seemed just as sensitive judging by the groan he gave and the way he ground himself against her in response.
Cari liked that reaction, so she did it a few more times. Rowan’s response didn’t disappoint. By the fourth time, he was a little breathless. “My turn,” he growled.
She didn’t object to that. She was more than ready to be breathless with desire.
Rowan didn’t stop there though. After licking and sucking her nipples until she was panting, he moved lower, running his tongue across her belly and then dropping light kisses across her panties and down over her mound.
That did strange things to Cari’s belly. It started doing flip flops and curling up in delight. “Mmm. More,” Cari begged.
Rowan lifted his face to smile at her as he edged her pants down over her hips. The action left Cari even more breathless for some reason, especially when he began to kiss the soft, curly hair there.
“I’ve wanted to do this since the first moment I saw your tail disappear,” Rowan said softly.
Cari wanted to respond, but his tongue flicked out, sliding between her folds, and whatever he did caused a flash of pleasure so amazing Cari couldn’t help crying out in delight.
That made Rowan grin, and he did it again. And again. Until Cari was moaning in pleasure. She found her fingers gripping the bedspread and her body wri
thed in ecstasy as Rowan licked and sucked.
She’d never felt anything so amazing.
Human mating had a lot to recommend it.
Then that thought was blotted out completely as spasms of pleasure rippled through her body, lifting it off the bed towards Rowan. Stars appeared in front of Cari’s eyes, and she gasped in shock and delight.
“Rowan,” she called out, releasing the bedspread to reach for him, tangling her hands in his hair.
He gave a few more licks, sending more spasms of pleasure through Cari, then he lifted his head and moved up to kiss her gently.
“Was that it?” Cari asked. That had been amazing, but she’d thought she’d feel different somehow. She didn’t feel any different. “Are we mated now?”
Rowan grinned. “Oh no,” he promised. “That was only the beginning.”
Chapter 21
Rowan stared down at Cari, struggling to believe she was going to be his. She was everything he’d ever wanted and more. She was an amazing woman, and her response to his caresses stunned him.
He wanted to spend hours showing her every aspect of human mating, just to let her know how awesome it was.
But he could see in her eyes that she wanted something more. She wanted him, that wasn’t in doubt. He could tell by the strength of her reaction, but there was a cloud hanging over them. He knew no matter how hard he worked to distract her, she was waiting to see what happened when they were mated.
She wanted to know if she would become a mermaid again or not.
Rowan wanted to know too, even as he dreaded it. He wanted her to be who she was meant to be, and he desperately wanted to be the one to help her achieve that. But if it worked, and she became a mermaid again, he could lose her forever.
She thought her mating magic might make him a merman, and Rowan would welcome that idea, even if it meant leaving his family.
But he found it hard to believe.
He was just an ordinary human. Why would he become a merman?
“Rowan, is everything okay?” Cari’s expression was worried. And that was the last thing he wanted right now. Whatever happened, he wanted this experience to be perfect for her.
So he pushed his doubts aside and smiled down at her. “Everything’s perfect,” he assured her, and then, before she could say anything more, he bent and kissed her.
His distraction worked. When he came up for air a few minutes later, Cari was smiling, her eyes dark with desire. “Show me what happens next?” she asked.
And despite his concerns and reservations, Rowan was eager to do so.
He wanted Cari. More than he’d ever wanted anything in his life before. He’d accepted this might be all he could have, and he was going to enjoy it.
He pulled back and untied his shorts, slipping them off, a little self-conscious.
He needn’t have worried. Cari’s eyes widened as she stared at him, no hint of hesitation. Rowan held as still as he could as she sat up and reached for him, running her hands over his length, sending waves of desire pulsing through him.
It didn’t matter that this was her first time. She seemed to know exactly what to do as she ran her fingers up and down his length, at first light as a feather, which was teasingly amazing, and then more firmly. Every touch felt incredible.
But it all paled in comparison to when she bent forwards and touched him with her lips.
Rowan couldn’t help groaning in desperation. And when she flicked out her tongue and ran it all over him, he thought he was going to lose it there and then.
But he held off with great willpower, even as his desire mounted. He closed his eyes and delighted in the feeling of her tongue on him until he couldn’t stand it any longer. “Stop,” he groaned.
Cari looked up, her eyes worried. “Did I get it wrong?”
“Not at all,” Rowan assured her. “But if we want to actually mate, we should do that now before it’s too late.”
Cari’s worry disappeared, and a twinkle in her eye replaced it. “We’ve got all night,” she said, her voice sultry.
For a moment, Rowan was tempted to agree, tempted to let her go all the way and take the chance to start all over again in an hour or two.
But no matter how much both of them were enjoying this, they were waiting for something more. And he wasn’t sure if he could stand the suspense. So instead he said, “I want you, Cari. I want you to be my mate.”
Even if it was only for a short while. He didn’t add that, but she could probably see it in his face. He knew he could recognise it in hers.
She nodded slowly. “What do we do then?”
Rowan didn’t even try to explain. “I’ll show you,” he promised and eased her back onto the bed, lying down on top of her, nudging between her thighs.
There was no concern or apprehension in Cari’s eyes, only desire, hot and delicious. Rowan couldn’t resist pausing to kiss her thoroughly, delighting in the taste of her lips, enjoying every moment of suspense.
He let the moment build, holding himself back with an iron will, sliding into her slowly, a little afraid of hurting her.
But Cari was wet and ready for him and thrusting into her was the most amazing thing he’d ever felt.
“Oh, Rowan,” she gasped in delight, clutching at his back, pulling him closer, kissing him desperately.
Rowan felt the same desperation. He wanted this, craved this, needed this.
Was this what his siblings had felt when they’d mated? This desperate need to connect in a way beyond words? Rowan was glad he’d at least had a chance to experience the awesomeness of it, even if it couldn’t be forever.
He began to move, slowly at first, then with increasing urgency. He thrust into Cari, feeling what he could only describe as their souls joining, and an incredible peace came over him. All his doubts and worries faded away, and he knew everything was going to be all right.
He and Cari were one. Nothing could separate them now. He was sure of it. Either they would both be mermaids or they would both be human, and whichever it was, they’d make it work. He just knew it.
He felt Cari convulse around him as she called out his name, setting off his own climax. He joined his voice with hers, calling her name until he felt breathless.
Even then, it echoed in his mind. “Cari. I love you, Cari.”
“I love you too, Rowan,” her voice echoed inside his head, and Rowan instantly knew what had happened.
He had a dragon voice. Or… it must be a mermaid voice. It kind of made sense that mermaids would have telepathy too. Speaking verbally must be difficult underwater.
Did that mean he was a merman? Was Cari a mermaid again?
Rowan wanted to jump up and check, but he also didn’t want to leave Cari. So he kissed her lazily, using his mermaid voice to ask, “Could you already speak into my mind, or is this new for you too?”
“Into your mind? Is that what we’re doing? No, I’ve never done this before.” Cari’s voice sounded confused. Or maybe it was just that she was focusing on kissing him at the same time. Rowan was tempted to ignore it. They could sort out what it all meant later, couldn’t they?
Cari was the one who pulled back. “I’m not a mermaid,” she said, her voice sounding disappointed.
Rowan’s heart skipped a beat. He pulled back to search her face and body. She was clearly still very human, even if that pink pubic hair would never pass for truly human. “What happened then?” he asked. “Because something did.”
Cari looked half confused, half like she might burst into tears. “I don’t know.” Her voice wobbled a little on the last word.
Rowan couldn’t bear it. “We’ll work it out, Cari,” he promised. “So long as we’re together, we can make it work.” He pulled her close, wrapping his arms around her and holding her tight as though that could keep her disappointment at bay.
“Maybe we need to try it again?” he suggested. And it wasn’t just because he couldn’t wait to make love to her again. “For dragons, they need to mate t
hree times before their magic bond forms.”
“It’s only once for mermaids,” Cari said, her voice dull. But she hugged him back.
Rowan hoped she was taking some comfort in the embrace. He held her close as he tried to sort through it in his own mind. He knew something had happened. He just wasn’t quite sure what.
Cari had said mermaids didn’t have a mermaid voice, and yet, it was exactly how it felt when his brothers or sister used dragon speech in his head. How? Rowan wasn’t a dragon, so he couldn’t possibly have made Cari into a dragon. And it appeared she hadn’t made him into a merman. So what had happened?
“Rowan? Rowan? Are you there?” Damrian’s voice in dragon speech in his head interrupted his thought process. Without needing to see, Rowan could tell he was close, almost at the ship he thought, right before he felt the boat rock as if something large had landed on it. Like a dragon.
“Don’t come downstairs,” Rowan said back, broadcasting using dragon speech automatically. He didn’t want Damrian to find Cari. Not until they’d figured out what was going on.
“Uh, Rowan? Is that you?” Hayrian asked cautiously. Great, Damrian wasn't alone. “What’s going on, bro? Since when did you get a dragon voice?”
That was when Rowan realised.
If he was using dragon speech…
Chapter 22
Rowan was staring at Cari, his eyes wide. As she watched, they changed, the pupil narrowing into a slit, and the deep blue almost seeming to glow. What was going on? That combined with the rocking of the boat as something, more than one thing, landed on it, made her more than a little nervous.
“Cari? Is it possible that… could I be a dragon?” Rowan asked, his voice uncertain.
“I… I don’t know…”
She really had no idea what was going on. If she were honest, she wasn’t even sure what she had expected. She hadn’t really thought this far ahead.