He’d known her mere hours and already couldn’t imagine what his life would be without her, or how he’d survived before her.
Was this love?
She turned to look at him, a smile playing at her lips. Armes followed her in, letting the vines fall and seal them inside. “It’s my favorite place.”
“I can see why.”
Water cascaded down the cliff, falling into a deep pool below. The water was clear during the day, but at night with the moon shining down, it appeared as though it were lit from within.
Insects chirped, singing their songs of the night, and owls hooted ahead. He’d been here hundreds of times, but he had to admit that her being here made it even more beautiful.
“The water is not shallow near the edge, legend says the waterfall itself carved the pool.”
“Can we swim?” Coral asked, pulling his focus back.
“Yes, of course.”
She turned toward the water and reached up with one hand. He was frozen in place, too stunned to speak as she let the fabric fall to the ground, bathing her slender body in moonlight.
Mouth dry, he simply watched as she dove, completely nude, into the water.
Chapter Five
Coral
The second she hit the water, Coral called to her Siren blood, bringing it forward. The familiar tingling sensation started at her hips and worked its way down as her legs transformed to a tail.
Smiling, she swam faster than when she’d had legs, and it was only a moment before she was touching the soft sand at the base of the pond and heading back to the surface.
Armes stood in the same spot he’d been in when she dove in, his eyes locked on hers. Even from where she was positioned, she could see the rapid rise and fall of his chest.
It thrilled her. “You coming in?”
It had been risky, dropping her dress that way, but she’d decided what she wanted the moment she’d knocked on his door. Him. Them. Even if it were only for the night.
Nodding, he straightened and snapped his fingers. Magic flowed down his body in a swirling of lights that captivated her as his Centaur body transformed into that of a human man.
In an instant, the lights were gone, and he stood before her, completely nude. His body, hard muscles and sharp angles, made her mouth water. And as her eyes traveled down, past his hard chest, and the V of his hips, she moaned. Heat pooled in her belly as she feasted on the sight of him.
Back in Atlantis, her people didn’t hide their lust. She’d seen the naked men they brought back with them, most of the Sirens didn’t even bother taking them home first and would seduce them at the water's edge, but in all that she’d seen, never had her eyes fallen on a man who made her ache.
He was hard, ready for her, and if she hadn’t been sure before, she certainly was now.
He’d been beautiful as a Centuar, but was absolutely breathtaking as a man. Coral stared, unable to look away as he moved toward her, each step bringing them closer to the point of no return.
“You started the game,” he said with a smirk as he reached the water’s edge edge.
When she didn’t speak, he laughed and dove into the water. She turned and waited for him to surface. Heart hammering in her chest, she could see him swimming up through the clear water.
He broke the surface right in front of her, only inches from her body.
“I didn’t know Centaurs could change that way.”
“Not something a lot of us practice.”
“But you do.”
“I find I enjoy my human form. Especially when it allows me to get closer to you.” He moved closer, and her lips trembled in anticipation.
“Can you read thoughts?” she asked quickly, remembering her earlier concern when she’d been near the king.
Armes threw his head back and laughed. “No, my sea queen, we cannot.”
She blushed, but was relieved.
What would his kiss feel like? What would his hands feel like on her body?
Armes snaked an arm behind her and rested it on the bank. Leaning in, he used his other hand to run a finger down her cheek. “I wonder though,” he whispered. “What would I hear if I could?”
“I’ve never been with a man before,” she blurted. Cheeks flushing, she looked away, embarrassed that she’d practically shouted the words at him.
“If you don’t want—”
He started to pull away, but Coral shook her head and grabbed his shoulder. “I want to, I want to know what it feels like before—” She swallowed hard. “Before I won’t have the chance.”
After a moment, Armes nodded knowingly and leaned in. Each second that passed before their lips touched felt like a lifetime.
She closed her eyes as his mouth pressed against hers. Soft and pliable at first, he pressed against her, his hard chest holding her near the wall.
Coral groaned as his tongue swept across her lips, begging for entry. She complied, wrapping her arms around his neck and pulling herself into his arms.
Heart thundering in her chest so loud she was sure everyone back in Atlantis could hear it, she lost herself in the taste of him as he devoured her mouth.
He pulled away, just long enough to whisper, “Coral, you are breathtaking.”
“More,” she urged.
“Who am I to deny you?” He crushed his mouth to hers, the tenderness from before gone, replaced with a ferocity that sent her blood racing through her veins.
Desperate for more, she pushed him back and climbed out of the water. The second she was sitting on dry ground, her tail disappeared, revealing bare legs. Armes growled low, a primal sound, and Coral smiled.
She’d always felt she was pretty, but with him looking at her the way he was, with the hunger reflected in his eyes, Coral felt as though she were the most beautiful woman in any world.
In this moment, in this space, there was only the two of them. They weren’t a Siren and a Centaur, two species destined to be apart, they were only Coral and Armes, two lovers lost in each other.
Muscles flexing, Armes placed a hand on either side of her and pulled himself up just enough to retake her mouth. Coral buried her hands in his hair, scooting back as he pushed himself onto the bank without breaking the contact.
She breathed him in, every nerve in her body on fire as she kissed him with ferocity she hadn’t realized she possessed.
His hand brushed the outside of her thigh, traveling up, over her stomach, until he cupped her breast. Coral moaned, arching up into his touch. His thumb brushed over her nipple, the roughness of the pad against her delicate skin increasing, setting her body ablaze.
“I’ve never known a woman as beautiful as you, my sea queen,” he purred against her mouth.
She was unable to speak, words completely losing meaning as she let herself become completely lost in him.
His lips left hers, replacing his hand on her breast, and Coral cried out as his tongue traced over her nipple. Coral’s fingers dug into the soft dirt beside them as he trailed his mouth over the curve of her breast and took the other hard peak into his mouth.
“I want to touch you,” she said breathlessly.
Armes moved back up her body, and Coral stared up at him as she reached down and wrapped her hand around him. His eyes closed, and she squeezed lightly. When it brought him pleasure, she did it again, and moved her hand up the length.
“You’re going to be the death of me.” He took her mouth again and reached down between her legs. When his fingers brushed over her core, she cried out, arching up against him.
“Please, Armes,” she begged.
“I don’t think you’re ready for me just yet,” he whispered against her lips. “And I’m not ready for this to be over.” His lips trailed down her neck, savoring every inch of her skin as he traveled lower, snaking a tongue over the inside of her thigh.
Coral trembled, how much more could she take before she combusted? Body aching, she looked down, and her eyes locked with his just as his mouth cente
red between her legs.
She cried out again, louder this time, as her head fell back while he drove her to the brink of insanity with his mouth. Kissing, licking, savoring every part of her until she was sure she couldn’t take anymore.
Stars exploded around her, and her body jerked as the orgasm ripped through her. His delicious torture continued until she was lying limp on the grass, unable to speak.
Armes slowly crept back up her body, letting his mouth trail light kisses along her skin. “Are you ready?” he asked, breathless just as she was.
“Yes.”
He reached down between them and positioned himself at her core. The pressure built as he pushed inside, gently, and Coral gripped his shoulders tightly as her body stretched to fit him.
“Are you okay?” he whispered near her ear.
“Yes, please don’t stop.” It hurt, more than she’d thought it would, but the further he got inside, the easier it became, and the pain was slowly replaced by delicious pressure that felt so right, she wasn’t sure how she’d ever gone without it.
“You feel amazing.” His voice was strained, and she wrapped her legs around his waist.
“More,” she urged him.
Swallowing hard, he stared into her eyes as he began to move. Slow, deliberate thrusts that had her panting and all but begging for more.
“More,” she begged again. She could feel her body readying for another orgasm, and was desperate to reach it.
He leaned back and began to move faster, his body gleaming with sweat from the heat surrounding them, and Coral reached up, wrapping her hands around his biceps.
Body climbing higher, Coral closed her eyes, calling out his name as the second orgasm tore through her, just as his own sent his body trembling.
Armes rolled to the side, lying right next to her on the grass, his chest rising and falling just as rapidly as her own.
“That was amazing,” Coral said with a smile she didn’t think would ever leave her face. Her body felt amazing. He’d sent her climbing higher than she’d ever been, before bringing her crumbling back to the ground. She was deliciously sore, and already wanted desperately to experience it again.
“More than,” he agreed.
“Is it always like that?” Coral asked, propping up on an elbow to look at him.
He turned his head to look at her, eyes still heavy with lust, and smiled. “Not at all. That was spectacular.”
She beamed. “Really?”
“Really.”
Lying back on the grass, Coral stared up at the stars twinkling just above them. “I always wondered what it would be like.”
“Can I ask why you never—I mean, typically Sirens have mated by your age, haven’t they?”
When she didn’t answer, he propped himself up. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean anything by it.”
“I didn’t take any offense.” Turning to look at him, she reached up and traced his sharp jaw with her finger. “My mother didn’t wish me to have any children since I would not be allowed to remain in Atlantis once I became the guardian.”
“That seems harsh.”
Coral shrugged. “She did not want to risk me staying around.”
“You didn’t volunteer to become your worlds Champion? I know you said it was your destiny, that your mother groomed you for it, but was there no time when you accepted it?”
“No, I was told from the time I was very young, that this was to be my future.” A tear slipped down her cheek. It would be a lonely future, away from what she’d found in this clearing with Armes.
“Why you?”
“My mother does not want me to be queen.” She’d never spoken the words out loud, and now that she had, they sent anger burning in her chest.
Armes sat up. “But you would be next in line.”
“I would. But with no other heir, she gets to remain queen until either she dies or another daughter is born to her.”
“Why wouldn’t she want you to be queen?”
Coral sighed. “My mother is—she enjoys being in charge.”
“That’s selfish.”
Coral laughed. “She has been known to be selfish, and vain.”
“Can you not deny her? Do you have to go through with the transfer?”
Coral sat up and cupped his cheek with her hand. “I don’t have a choice. If I deny her, I risk being cast out of Atlantis and executed.”
“Executed? They would execute you for choosing your own path?”
She nodded as another tear slipped down her cheek.
“I chose this,” Armes said, his voice taking on a dangerous edge. “It is not fair that you did not and are being forced into solitude.”
“It will be fine,” she promised him, even though she wasn’t so sure.
Armes reached up and brushed a tear away from her cheek. “What if we run away together?” he asked hurriedly. “We could leave right now and no one would even know. Terrenia is vast, there are plenty of places for us to hide.”
His offer was tempting, and if it were only her refusing the transfer, she might have taken it. But she couldn’t ask him, this powerful man who’d chosen to be the future of his world, to walk away.
“You can’t leave, Armes. This is what you want.”
“Not anymore. You are what I want, Coral. I want a lifetime with you, with children, a future that is ours and only ours to control.” He pressed her hand to his heart and covered it with his own. “We would have a wonderful life. I promise you, I would make you happy.”
Tears blurred her vision as she looked at her hand covering his heart. Even though she hadn’t known him long, she had no doubt their future would be a happy one.
She could almost see them together, watching as children played. Would they be Sirens like her? Powerful Centaurs like him?
No loneliness, no waiting for a war that would probably never come. She would be free to choose her own future. Her own love that would rival those she’d read about.
Coral lifted her eyes to his. They were wide, begging her to consider. She opened her mouth to speak—
“Can’t say I’m surprised.”
Coral dropped her hand and spun to face her mother and the king of the Centaurs.
“Mother!” She reached down and grabbed her toga, wrapping it back around herself while Armes simply stood, confident in his naked human form.
“It’s too late for that, Coral.”
“Armes, I thought better of you,” King Ploar shook his head.
“You,” Queen Iris growled, turning her attention to Armes. “You dare take advantage of my daughter? Of our world’s Princess?”
“I don’t know that you have grounds to speak,” Armes said, and Coral gaped at him. No one talked to her mother that way.
Queen Iris’s cheeks flushed with anger, and she whirled on the king. “I want him punished for what he’s done.”
“No!” Coral yelled, jumping in front of Armes. “It was my idea! I drug him here! I don’t want to go through with the transition.”
King Ploar gasped, and the queen spun, fury in her eyes. “You will go through with it, Coral. It is your destiny and always has been.”
“Only because you said it was. We didn’t bother seeing if anyone else wanted the honor.”
“You are the only one capable of surviving the transition. You would damn your people?”
“You don’t know that!” Coral exclaimed. “You don’t even know if I will survive!”
“You will.” Queen Iris stepped forward and held out a hand. “Now come, the king will wish to deal with Armes on his own.”
Tears in her eyes, Coral stood her ground, picturing the future Armes had painted for her. “No.”
Queen Iris narrowed her eyes on Coral once again. “You will do it, Coral. Or I will have him executed.”
“Queen Iris—” the king started, but she spun to him.
“He defiled my daughter, spun lies into the head of a princess. She’s royalty, mind telling me who his family is?�
� When the king didn’t speak, she continued. “In our world what he’s done is a crime, punishable by death.”
“We don’t execute our people for having sex,” the king said angrily.
Queen Iris turned back to Coral. The ice-cold look in her mother’s eyes sent chills through her. She’d only seen that chill one other time.
Right before her mother had ordered the killing of a Siren general after she fell in love with a mortal.
Raising her hands, Queen Iris murmured. The whirring sound of water filled the air, and Coral turned.
Water shot out of the pond directly behind them, straight up into the night sky. Dread filled her, and Coral lunged for her mother a moment too late.
“No!” She screamed as the water crashed back down on top of Armes, swallowing him up before pulling him back down into the pond.
Coral dove, desperate to get to him before he drowned, but the water was solid, and she was forced to sit on top, watching him flail in the water.
“Mother, stop!” she screamed it, banging with her fists on the hard surface.
“You will release him, Queen Iris!” The Centaur king marched angrily toward her, but the queen stopped him with a hand.
“You will go through with the transformation.” Her voice was icy, all forced love and affection vanished.
“Let him go,” she pleaded. “Please, Mother.”
“Agree to go through with the transformation.”
“Yes! I’ll be the damned Champion! Please just let him go!”
Her mother smiled and nodded just before the surface liquefied, and Coral fell inside.
Not wasting any time, she swam even before her legs completely transformed. She could see him, just ahead, floating lifelessly in the water.
Please don’t be dead, please don’t be dead. Grabbing his arm, she yanked him up, using the Siren power in her blood to push them to the surface.
They exploded out of the water, falling to the ground with a thump. He was still in his human form, so Coral was able to roll him onto his back.
“Is he alive?” King Ploar asked, moving to stand beside her.
She felt for a pulse, and was grateful when she found one. It was weak, but there. Pressing her hands to his chest, Coral called to the water inside of him, pulling it out with the magic of her heritage.
Champion: A Prophecy Series Novella Page 3