Page 43 of Bride of the Sea King

I set my feet next to his, though my knees weren’t nearly as bent as his were. Short leg benefits. My ass rested against his erection, and it throbbed heavily beneath my backside.

At least he was affected by me too.

“I’m always affected by you. Far more affected than you seem to understand, though I continue pointing it out.”

“Stop reading my thoughts.”

His lips brushed the side of my throat as if in apology. I couldn’t help but tip my head to the side just a little, even though he was ignoring what I’d said.

“Grab the plant again, Sweetheart.”

I reluctantly did so.

Triton’s erection was still throbbing beneath me, and I wanted badly to take it in my hand. That was just the mate bond talking, though. Wasn’t it?

“Channel your magic into the water around the plant and force water beneath the roots holding it to the stone. You are in complete control; it’s just a plant.”

I let out a slow breath and tried to ignite my magic once again.

And tried.

And tried.

But I couldn’t find the sparks I had stretched around me earlier. Maybe I had used too much before or something? It felt too far out of my reach to access it. I couldn’t even find the magic I’d need to shift my legs back to a tail.

“It’s not working.”

“You probably exhausted your current pool of magic. It should regenerate in the next few hours. For now, just focus on the way mine feels.”

“That’s a terrible idea.”

He chuckled.“For you, maybe.”His lips brushed my bare shoulder for yet another kiss before he reached around me and grabbed the plant.“Hands on my arms.”

Reluctantly, I placed them on his forearms.

The muscles there (who the fuck had muscles there?!) flexed slightly as a pulse of his magic ran through his hands and into the plant.

I bit my cheek to hide a moan.

He might as well have had his face between my thighs again.

The plant was free of the stone a heartbeat later, as if it hadn’t been absolutely immovable a few seconds earlier.

I slipped out of his arms quickly, and he handed me the plant.

Thankfully, I managed to find a spark of magic strong enough to shift my legs back into a tail. The alternative would’ve been asking Triton for help, and I knew what that would lead to.

We needed space between us while I came to terms with everything. And figured out how things were going to work between us now.

So, I needed to avoid his magic as much as possible. Sex would just cloud my mind.

I held my plant to my chest as Triton led me back toward the castle. The ache in my hips wasn’t fading, and we had a lot more swimming to do.

ten

TRITON

“Please tellme we’re almost there,”Aria mumbled.

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