by R. E. Butler
“Something like that.”
“Well, I do. But I know seafood isn’t everyone’s cup of tea.”
“It’s mine.”
“I have just the place in mind, and they do have salads on their menus as well.”
“Is it fancy?”
“Medium-fancy.”
She laughed. “What is medium-fancy?”
“Business casual? Slightly dressy. Baby, I have no idea.”
Her smile widened, and she leaned in for a kiss, which he willingly gave.
“Then I’ll go meet with Delaney and look for something medium-fancy.”
“I can drive you.”
“I thought I could take one of the bikes downstairs, get some fresh air?”
“Of course. I’ve got some work to do around the lighthouse anyway.”
He made the reservation at the seafood restaurant and took her down to the storage shed, where he pulled out one of the two bikes he kept hanging on hooks from the ceiling. He checked the tire pressure and had her take a quick spin around the parking lot before he gave her a kiss, buckled her helmet, and told her to be careful.
“See you in a bit,” she said, blowing him a kiss.
As she biked off, he watched until she disappeared around the corner. His merman wanted him to go with her, to keep her in his sights at all times, but he knew she was safe in Sable Cove. It was one of the things he loved most about the town. It wasn’t like his own hometown, where the threat of war between clans could erupt at any time. It was one of the reasons that there were so many arranged matings for political and territorial gain.
And he’d almost been one of them.
Turning his attention to the work at hand, he smiled as he thought about sweet Zia. There was still much he had to tell her, much that they needed to learn about each other, and he was looking forward to what the night would bring.
* * *
Cassian had needed to borrow a tie from Venice, because while he had a dress shirt and slacks, he’d never had occasion for a tie. The fallen angel had stopped by with a selection of ties and offered him some dating tips. Venice had fallen for a human female who’d broken his heart, so he had some experience with relationships, while Cassian could honestly say he didn’t. He’d only had one-nighters with willing mermaids and had never even had a female sleep all night in his bed.
He was thankful he could tell Zia that she was his first in a lot of ways, including the first to be in his arms all night.
And now she’d be the first female he took on a date.
After watching a video on how to tie a tie and trying for about an hour to get it perfect, he felt like he was ready.
Zia was finishing getting ready in the bathroom. She’d excitedly come back from her trip to visit with Delaney and her friends with a large paper bag. She’d also brought lunch for them—sandwiches from the diner. Then she’d helped him around the lighthouse before they parted ways to get ready.
He went into the kitchen and grabbed the bundle of flowers he’d picked up for her then walked into the front room.
He frowned as he glanced around the room, thinking it wasn’t really romantic, just waiting for her and giving her the flowers, so he hustled out the front door and shut it behind him.
Then he waited until he heard her call his name from the front room.
“Cassian?” she called, her voice filled with confusion.
He knocked loudly on the front door.
“Cassian? Did you hear that?”
He chuckled lightly and knocked again, loudly.
He could hear heels clicking on the tile as she approached the front door and took a step back from the door.
She opened it and grinned when she saw him. “Oh! Well, hello.”
He gave her a courtly bow and held the flowers out to her. “For my lady.”
She fanned herself with one hand and winked. “You’re adorable. I could get used to this.”
“You should, Zia. You deserve all the good things.”
“I feel silly saying come on in,” she said, taking a step back, “but please do.”
He pecked her cheek as he stepped inside. “There’s a vase on the counter for the flowers.”
“I think you thought of everything.”
“I’m trying, trust me. You’re my first.”
When she gave him a curious look, he amended his statement, “My first date.”
“Aw. I love that.”
She moved to walk away, and he grabbed her wrist gently, turning her back to face him. “You look amazing, Zia.” She was wearing a slinky black dress that hit mid-thigh and had just enough of a low neckline to tease her amazing cleavage. Her long hair was curled at the ends, and a sparkly clip held up one side. “You’re so beautiful. I’m a lucky male.”
She slid an arm around his waist and drew herself close to him. “You’re the sexiest male I’ve ever met. I’m the one who’s lucky, trust me.”
“Let’s call it a tie, then?”
“You got it.”
She smiled at him sweetly, gave him a quick peck, and then hurried into the kitchen. She brought the vase of flowers out a few moments later and set it on the coffee table. “Perfect.”
“Yes, you are.”
Her cheeks pinked as she joined him. “You are too.”
He opened the door for her, and she took his arm as they headed down to his truck. After she was settled, he got behind the wheel and turned on the engine.
“Ready, baby?”
“Completely.”
She leaned over and rested her head on his shoulder, hooking her arm through his, and he smiled internally at how sweet it all was.
He didn’t realize how miserable he’d been until he was happy. It wasn’t just that he was miserable because he had no clan or siren; he’d been miserable long before that. His future hadn’t really been his own because he wouldn’t be free to choose his own mate. He’d chosen duty over happiness.
He didn’t have to make that choice anymore.
Zia was the center of his happiness, the apex of his world.
“Are you happy?” he asked, the words slipping free before he’d even had a chance to consider what he’d do if she wasn’t.
“I’m happy in every way possible. I’ve got a sexy soulmate who saved my life and we’re on our first date. You?”
“You took the words right out of my mouth,” he said, planting a quick kiss on her head before turning his focus back to the road. “I don’t think the kind of soul-deep happy I feel with you has ever been mine. But it’s mine now. Like you’re mine.”
“I am,” she said, “and you’re mine too.”
“Damn straight. Heart, soul, lock, stock, and smoking barrel.”
Chapter Eight
Zia smiled at Cassian over the menu. The seafood restaurant had a huge offering, everything from basic seafood dishes like lobster bisque to steaks and salads.
He put his menu down and leaned back in the chair, lightly running his fingers up the stem of the water goblet.
“What are you getting?” she asked, chewing on her bottom lip.
“Porterhouse and lobster tail. You?”
“I...can’t decide. Oh! They have a cobb salad with shrimp and crab instead of chicken. That sounds really good. But there’s also steak.”
She hummed, thinking about her options.
“There’s an appetizer of steak tips and mushrooms dusted with Kona coffee. We can get that and then you can also have steak with your salad.”
“Sounds perfect.”
She put the menu down and smiled at him. He was so sexy. Dark hair, brown eyes, straight nose, and kissable lips. The dress shirt he wore strained at his muscles when he moved, and she momentarily wished they were at the lighthouse instead of a restaurant.
He cleared his throat and said, “You look like you’ve got wicked things on your mind.”
Her cheeks heated. “Just you.”
“Do tell.”
She opened her mouth to tel
l him she was wanting to run her fingers over his muscles, and maybe her lips too, when the server appeared to take their order.
“White wine please,” she said, handing her menu to the server.
“Same,” Cassian said.
“I’ll be back with your appetizer and drinks,” the server said, disappearing quickly to the back.
“Now about your naughty thoughts,” he said.
She giggled and took a drink of ice water. “I saw you when you rescued me.”
“What do you mean?”
“Naked,” she said, lowering her voice. “I saw you without clothes on because you shifted to save me. But I didn’t really look at you, since I was in shock from nearly dying. So I was just sitting here wondering what you look like without clothes on, even though I technically saw you without clothes on already.”
“I was honestly thinking the same thing.”
“How did you know I was thinking about that?” she asked.
“Your eyes changed color.”
She straightened and blinked a few times. “What?”
“They’re a beautiful green color normally, like pine needles. But when you’re thinking sexy thoughts, they swirl with blue.”
Her brows shot up. “No way! Really? I had no idea.”
“Well, I’m glad to be the first to tell you about it. Maybe it’s just for me,” he said with a wink.
“I think it must be. Blue for the water where my sexy merman spends his time.”
The server appeared with their wine and appetizer, and the topic of conversation switched to the contents of the small cast iron skillet which contained mushrooms, onions, and Kona-dusted steak. She’d never had coffee-crusted steak before, but it was delicious.
Once their main meals arrived, and she had a few bites of Cassian’s steak and he had some of her crab, they talked about going to her home and meeting her family.
“Could we stay for the night?” she asked, sticking her fork through a slice of avocado and then the crab and lettuce.
“Sure. Why wouldn’t we be able to?”
“I wasn’t sure if you could be away from the lighthouse.”
“It’s all digital now. I mean, I do a lot of work related to it, but it’s mostly upkeep for the grounds and the building. If there’s an emergency, like if the light went out for some reason, I’m sent an alert text as well as the chief of police, so they can check to make sure things are okay.”
“Has there ever been an emergency since you took over?”
“Just one. A storm knocked out the town’s power and the generator wasn’t working, so the light was out. I was working on the generator when the chief showed up, and he helped me fix it so the light would be on to warn ships of the coastline.” He took a bite of steak and then a drink from his wine glass. “So I’ll let Brody know I’ll be gone for the night, and he’ll make runs by the lighthouse to make sure it’s all okay.”
“Good. I’d really like to stay so you can enjoy the town and get to know my folks.”
“I’m looking forward to it. I’ve never met fairies before. There aren’t any in Sable Cove.”
“Well, there is now,” she said with a smile.
“Indeed.” He finished his last bite of steak and put the knife and fork on the plate with a happy sigh. “We don’t have to make a decision right now about where we’ll live once we’re mated.”
“You mean my city or yours?”
He nodded. “I can live anywhere, so long as I have access to salt water. Which, from what you told me about your home, I would.”
“Yep. But I like the lighthouse and Sable Cove.”
“I can tell you do. There’s no rush though. We could stay a while in your town, a while in Sable Cove, see how we feel.”
“That sounds good to me.”
She was pretty sure, though, that she was going to want to stay with him in the lighthouse. She loved Trieve, and of course it was where her parents lived, but there was something special and unique about Sable Cove. It already felt like home.
* * *
“Can we go for a walk on the beach?” she asked when they were back at the lighthouse and he’d offered her his hand to help her from his truck.
“Of course.”
They stopped at the edge of the beach and took off their shoes, leaving them behind as they walked onto the still-warm sand.
“Tell me about mating,” she said as they walked hand in hand along the beach where the warm water from the cove made patterns in the sand.
“Do you mean what it’s like to mate with a merman?”
“Yes.”
“To properly mate, we have to be in the water.”
She looked up at him in surprise. “Like floating in the water? Or under the water?”
He chuckled. “No to both. We could be on the sand, with the surf rushing over our legs. It’s my merman; he needs to be in the water.”
“That sounds romantic, being in the sand, but also kind of messy. I won’t mind, though, I promise.”
“There’s an outdoor shower enclosure that I keep stocked with clothes and supplies for when I go swimming at night and want to rinse off. I don’t like tracking sand into the house, so I do what I can to keep it to a minimum.”
“That’s pretty smart.” She took a step into the surf, the water sloshing over her feet. “So that’s it? Making love in the water and we’re official mates?”
“Pretty much. But there’s something unique about it too. I’ll be very potent.”
She made an appreciative sound in her throat, and he grinned at her. “No…” He cleared his throat. “I mean yes, but I actually mean that you’ll most likely be pregnant after the first time. It’s just how my kind are. Being in the water makes us super potent. We could make love out of the water, but it won’t be official for me. I’ll feel like we’re not truly bound together.”
“I get that.”
“How about you? Fairies have any interesting sex things for mating?”
She smiled. “Nope. But we do get married. Merpeople don’t?”
“No, the mating is the official joining.” He gave her hand a squeeze. “I’ll ask you to marry me. I guess I should ask your dad first?”
“He’d love that. But we don’t have to worry about that now. Not tonight, anyway.”
“Oh?”
She took a step back into the water and reached for the zipper of her dress. She cast her gaze up and down the beach, grateful it was deserted.
Cassian’s eyes gleamed. “Whatcha doing, beautiful?”
“Mating you properly.”
She slipped the dress from her shoulders and let it catch on her elbows, revealing her bare upper body to him. Her nipples beaded and her heart started to pound. She’d never been so excited in all her life.
This was her forever guy. Her one and only.
Her mate.
He hesitated, not joining her deeper in the water.
“Zia,” he said, his voice rough.
“I don’t want to wait, Cassian. I know that I might be pregnant when all is said and done, but the thought of waiting another night, of sleeping in that bed without knowing what you sound like when you fall apart is driving me crazy. If you want me as much as I want you, then join me.”
She let the dress slip over her hips and then held it away from the water as she stepped from it. She tossed the dress up onto the sand and away from the water. She was wearing only black satin panties, but she might as well have been fully naked the way that Cassian looked at her.
Like he could devour her and she’d love every second.
She thought he might say he wanted to wait. That they could take the time to get to know each other.
And she would be okay with that, really she would.
But she just wanted him so badly.
She wanted to be his mate in truth. It felt like the most important thing they could do.
She opened her mouth to ask him what he was thinking about when he jerked his tie off and thre
w it behind him. He grasped the shirt with both hands and tore it open, growling softly as he stalked toward her.
She’d never seen anyone so hungry. For her.
* * *
Cassian had never wanted anyone more than he wanted Zia. Her petite and curvy figure was perfect for him, and the look she was giving him was all sex and heat.
She stood in the water up to her calves, the moonlight making her skin glow. “You look like a goddess,” he said as he shucked his pants and tossed them backward onto the sand.
He moved through the shallows to her, his merman wanting free, to share his breath with her and take her deep into the water, to show her everything he was, share his world with her. But now wasn’t the time for that; they could go swimming afterward.
Now, her body was calling to him, her sweet scent filling his senses and making him crazy.
He rested a hand on her hip and gazed down at her, his thoughts swirling.
Lowering his head, he stopped just a hairsbreadth away from her lips. “Ziarena, will you do me the honor of being my siren? Of being my mate in truth? I promise to protect and care for you and our offspring, and to always be true.”
She gasped and then smiled, her eyes sparkling. “Yes, Cassian. I want to be yours in truth, and build a life and family together.”
His heart kicked up as he pressed his lips to hers, drawing her closer with his hand. Their bodies touched, his erection trapped between them, and he groaned as their lips parted at the same time and their tongues touched. She was a siren in every form of the word, addictive and sweet, and all his.
He tilted her head, sliding his fingers through her soft hair, deepening the kiss. Their tongues danced together, their bodies bumping as the waves lapped at their legs. He thought he’d combust. That he’d just burn up in flames and there wouldn’t be anything left of him but a smile.
Her hand slid between them and she brushed the head of his cock with her fingers, and it felt so good he nearly came. But that wouldn’t do.
He broke the kiss and scooped her up in his arms. “Careful, sweetness. I’ll go off like a rocket with your questing fingers.”