Page 50 of Ensnaring the Siren

Reid?

His strong arms threaded underneath hers, and he pulled her back against his chest, kicking up hard. Back and forth, back and forth, until their heads burst above the surface.

Nireed gasped for air as sharp, shooting pains lanced up her side.

“I got you.” He towed her backward, but the pain worsened.

It was unbearable. “Stop, stop, stop, stop, stop.”

He stopped, kicking only enough to keep them afloat. “Talk to me. Is it your side? Is it cramping?”

“Yes,” she said through gritted teeth.

“We’re going to need to stretch it out and loosen up the muscles, okay? It’s going to hurt like a sonofabitch, but I need you to trust me.”

Nireed didn’t know what a sonofabitch was, but it sounded awful.

“Lean back on me.” Her side twinged as she gave him her full weight, but she could endure it.

“That’s it. Now, lean to the right.”

She whimpered as she pushed through it, tight, aching muscles screaming in pain.

“You got this, sweetheart. Keep going. Keep going. Stop. Hold it right there.”

“Reid,” she cried. This was too much.

“I know. Now let’s ease it back.”

It got harder before it got easier, but it did get easier, and he patiently supported her through every stretch. They paused from time to time, so he could knead at her knotted muscles, coaxing them to release and relax, all the while taking care not to come too close to her wound.

By the time he was done, she was exhausted and sore, but she could move again.

Still, he bid her to lie back and let him tow her in.

Boarding the boat was tricky, but she managed it on her own, using her arms and a little artless wriggling to get up onto the diving platform. Reid got out with a lot more grace, water sluicing off his body as he spun around to sit beside her.

Nireed swallowed, her tail waving nervously in the water.

She’d never seen him with so few clothes on before. She knew he was strong, but she never knew a Surface Dweller could look so…built.

No judgment to their kind, but they lived softer, kinder lives, and yet, Reid’s physique wasn’t that much different from his oceanic counterparts. Broad, chiseled chest that tapered down to a trim waist. Forearms twice the size of hers and the biceps to match. And he wore these black, short things that clung to his thick upper thighs and bottom but nothing else.

There was an interesting bulge at the apex, too, and as she eyed it curiously, it twitched.

Cheeks burning, she averted her eyes. Mighty Twenty-Armed Goddess, Surface Dwellers wore their genitalia on the outside of their bodies, even when they weren’t aroused. If he noticed her staring, he didn’t mention it.

They were silent a long time before Nireed spoke. “Bad memories find me in my dreams sometimes. Sometimes when I’m awake too.”

“What happened?”

“Have you heard about the Haven Cove mermaid lab?”

He rocked forward, the muscles in his arms flexing. “Yeah, it was notorious for keeping a mermaid captive. There was an exposé about it last year.”

She dipped her tailfin in and out of the sea, just to watch the water roll off. “That was me.”

He tensed beside her.

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