Page 1 of Tik-Tok

Chapter One

Tik-Tok

Twenty-Three Years Ago

Sand was a pain in the ass.

Literally.

That was what Tik-Tok got for letting the sea witch, Celyna, ride him, buck-naked, on the beach all afternoon. Decades upon decades of yearly trysts and still, he hadn’t learned his lesson. Against a tree or in her glass house were the only reasonable options on the island of Isa Poso. There wasn’t anythingbutsand here—save for trees, sea life, and an occasional patch of salt grass. It didn’t matter if they kept their clothes mostly on because the gritty particles snuck into every crevice.

Celyna was worth the irritating chafe between his ass cheeks though. Her light blue skin, the iridescent scales scattered up and down her arms, how her dark green hair floated around her head as if she were underwater, the fluid way her body shifted over his. His cock twitched despite the fact that he had just come inside her minutes ago. She fucked gracefully, each movement as smooth as if she were swimming. Honestly, he’d be willing to make the trip to Isa Poso twice a year instead of once if she were willing to use her second-sight that often.

The silver waves of the Nonestic Ocean gently rocked the sea witch where she floated, sprawled on its surface. As Tik-Tok treaded water beside her, the middle finger of his left hand grazed over her abdomen. Up and down, leaving goosebumps in its wake, teasing. Tracing her hips, gliding along the curve of her breast, circling her hard nipples. If he were the sort of male to settle for one female, he might be tempted to ask for more, but he wasn’t. And neither was she.

Thank the sea gods.There was nothing worse than a clingy female.

Celyna’s dark, orb-like eyes turned languidly to his red ones, just as his fingertips met the curls between her legs. “You should head back to your ship before it gets dark.”

Tik-Tok took in the setting sun and let his hand drift lower. “Aren’t you forgetting something?”

“Am I?” She ground against his palm. “Perhaps I need another reminder.”

Tik-Tok growled playfully as he grabbed her hips and pulled her toward him. Her second-sight worked only during an orgasm and he’d given her multiple. “I would love nothing more than to bury myself in you a third time today, but”—he paused to stroke his tongue up the length of her sex, tasting her sweet flavor—“as you pointed out, it will be dark soon.”

With a dissatisfied grunt, Celyna lowered her legs into the sea. “You must bargain with an unknown queen for two things,” the witch said as if she were suddenly bored with his presence. “First, the ring I gave you.”

“My ring?” He held his right arm up—the low rays of sunlight gleamed on the golden surface, the joints clearly mechanical—and stared at the silver band. The ring was always cold where it circled his digit, his metal hand having no body heat to transfer, but he’d grown accustomed to the sensation. Celyna had given him the trinket the year before with the instruction to keep it close—a useless task that left him restless all year. At first, he’d assumed the reason would make itself known as the months stretched on, but it had only served to calm the clash of different powers inside himself. It also had the power to transfer magic between fae, but there was no way in hell he was doing that. Tik-Tok’s gaze darted to the other rings he wore, all gold, some with gems and some plain. “Which?”

Celyna rolled her eyes. “You know which, pirate.”

He grunted. There was a bigger picture to keep in mind—a portal to find. To open. To explore. Among … other, more important things. “And the second thing?”

“When you retrieve the ring from the unknown queen, you must exchange it for possession of a female who has yet to be born.”

“Come again,” he blurted, jerking back. There were a lot of calculating things Tik-Tok didn’t mind doing, butpossessinga female? No. He didn’t want a slave, nor did he want anyone on board his ship who wasn’t part of the crew.

“Do you want your portal or not?” she asked, impatient.

Of course he wanted his portal. He’d spent far too long and sacrificed too much to let the quest fail.

When Tik-Tok said nothing, she continued, “You will collect your ring from the queen at the same time you collect a female with silver hair and brown eyes. She will be well-known to the queen. Bargain for both things at once or the queen will not let the female go.”

His nostrils flared. “And what am I supposed to do with her?”

The witch smirked. “She’s the only one who can open the portal—but not until she’s ready.”

She can open the portal? His pulse raced.Finally.Everything was about to pay off. All he had to do was find an unknown queen. How hard could that be? While he was stuck doing the deranged Wizard’s bidding—another one of Celyna’s tasks—he’d sailed the entire world. The fae he must bargain with was bound to show up eventually—they always did if Celyna saw them in her visions.

Celyna slid forward and pressed her lips to his. His fingers tangled in her hair, holding her close, extending the kiss a few moments longer. As they broke apart, he nipped playfully at her bottom lip.

She nipped back and used one finger to push his body away from hers. “I’ll see you next year.” Then she sank beneath the silvery waves, her form disappearing from view.

Tik-Tok let out a warm, victorious laugh as he swam back to shore for his clothes. The portal was within reach.

Find the queen.

Acquire the female.

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