Page 10 of Tempting Triton
“If I’m to trust what you’ve told me, it’s not exactly like I can leave, is it?”
“That is true, you cannot.” He nods in thought beside me. “Perhaps we could start over?”
I side-eye him, taking in his boyish features and tanned skin. I notice the way his eyes crinkle at the edges like he’s secretly hopeful I will acquiesce, but doesn’t want to look too excited for fear of scaringme off. How is it that I already recognize these small details about someone I’ve only just met? It’s eerie, but it does help me make up my mind.
“Perhaps we should.” I sigh. “I’m Elena.”
I stick my hand out for him to shake, and a grin splits his face. He takes my hand in his and brings it to his cheek, nuzzling against it like a kitten, purr and all, as his chest vibrates. I swallow and blush at the act. It feels so intimate as he holds my gaze.
“MyElena.” He hums, looking very pleased with himself. “I am Triton.”
“You’re not kidding? You really don’t know what kissing is?”
Ichó brings us more food—a platter of shellfish and seaweed—as we sit on Triton’s bed, sharing tales about ourselves like old school friendsafterI explained the importance of consent.
He shakes his head as he crunches on a crab leg, shell and all, causing me to grimace.
“But you kissed me. You kissed me when I first woke up.” I think back to the way his hands gripped my ass and clenchmy thighs together. The circumstances were all wrong, but it was still hot as hell. I bite the inside of my cheek while mentally scolding myself for the thought. What is wrong with me? Oh, right, stupidmate bond.
“That is what ‘kissed’ is?” A little wrinkle forms between his brows, and I refrain from smoothing it out, sandwiching my hands under my legs.
“A kiss, but yes.”
“I… did not know. I was only giving you the ability to breathe underwater. The first one was wearing off, and you were drowning.” He anxiously pauses, and I ignore the fact that he’s admitting to kissing me before I knew he kissed me. I assume that’s how I got the ability to breathe underwater the first time.
“Ichó has told me stories since I was a pup of how our saliva has healing properties and sharing our essence could grant humans the ability to breathe underwater, temporarily. It needs to be repeated every so often, but the more it is shared with one person, the longer it will last each time, until it eventually becomes permanent. Mer have to be careful not to share it with humans too often or else risk them never being able to return above the surface again.”
This is like one giant Uno reverse Little Mermaid nightmare. Just call me Ariel. I flop backwards, groaning and massaging my forehead, the beginnings of a stress headache building.
“Are you well?”
“How many kisses does it take for these”—I gesture to my new gills—“to become permanent?” I ask, not totally convinced he’s playing some kind of innocent act with me, especially after that whole Jekyll and Hyde split personality thing he pulled earlier. What was the deal with that anyway?
“I do not know,” he trails off. “I have never kissed—as you call it—anyone before.”
“Never? What about your parents, or a girlfriend?” Something about his statement doesn’t sit right with me. “Or a boyfriend?” I tack on as an afterthought. For all I know, he doesn’t like women, or is it merwomen? Mermaids?
“I do not remember much of my parents. It has just been Ichó and me for a long time.” Something flashes in his gaze, so fast I almost miss it before he shuts it away. But it looked like loneliness.
“Only Ichó? Aren’t there other Merpeople?” It’s not a question I ever thought I’d have to ask someone.
He shakes his head, his golden curls swaying in the water. “Merfolk are a nomadic species. We migrate during the winter to warmer waters. They often leave their young to grow and mature where they were born and return to them at the next warm season. It is quite difficult for Mer to bear pups, so there were only a few of us born during the season my parents left, and only I survived the winter. By the time the warmer months came around, the barrier was in place, so my family could not return to me.”
“That seems… lonely.” And barbaric, but I don’t want to say it out loud and offend him now that we’ve come to a tentative truce. I couldn’t imagine ever willingly leaving an infant to fend for itself.
He shrugs. “It is, and it isn’t. I have Ichó, who has cared for me since.” A bright, toothy smile lights up his face at the mention of his dolphin friend, and I guess, nanny? His smile is so endearing that I could almost see him as entirely non-threatening. Then I remember that snap change in his demeanor and remind myself how quickly that can change.
“Wait, you mentioned a barrier?”
He nods enthusiastically. “Yes, I was on my way to inspect it when I scented your blood in the water. I will need to go back out there, but I did not want to leave you while you were unconscious.”
I choose to ignore the statement about smelling my blood, but cold chills shiver up my spine. “It’s a physical barrier? A wall?”
He cocks his head. “Not a wall, like this is a wall.” He gestures to his room with its coral walls. “But physical in the sense that nothing can pass through it.”
I groan, pulling myself to my feet, and begin pacing. None of this makes any sense. Mermaids are real. Their kisses are magical. I can breathe underwater. The dolphin can talk. I’ve been kidnapped three times in as many days. I’m still not convinced that the drugs used to knock me out aren’t still affecting me. How is any of this possible?
“If nothing can pass through this so-called barrier, then how did I get here?”
