Page 13 of Tempting Triton
I splash him. “It’s not funny.”
He wipes water from his face, still smiling. “You do not have bad breath.”
“Fine.” I glower at him. “I guess you’re the one who’ll suffer if you’re lying.”
He slinks in closer again, his fresh breath warm against my lips while his hands stroke the backs of my arms. “Trust me, I do not suffer to put my lips against yours.”
His mouth brushes against mine, ever so gently, yet it ignites a burning hot fire inside me. There’s a brief pause; his forehead rests against mine, our lips barely separated. I can feel his breath in tandem with mine as he exhales, and I breathe him in before I close that fraction of space between us, sealing our lips together. My hands tangle in his salt-laden curls, tugging them between my fingers, pulling him into me. Inhibitions be damned. It’s as though I am starving and he is the only thing that can sustain me.
Despite being surrounded by cool water, my insides feel like molten lava, need bubbling to the surface and spilling out through the cracks in my composure. I tease at theentrance of his mouth with my tongue, requesting the entrance he so freely gives. His hands never leave the backs of my arms, although I’m sure they’ll bruise with how tightly his fingers dig into my heated skin.
I can feel the sensitive skin beneath my ears tingle as it unknits itself, forming the gills I need for us to return to the coral castle, and the air becomes thicker and harder to consume. I lean into Triton, toppling us backwards into the water, him beneath me, until we are fully submerged. Water and oxygen filter through my new appendages, but I do not separate myself from him. Our tongues dance with wild abandon, teeth knocking as we feast upon one another. He groans beneath me, sending a pulse of electricity straight to my core. I feel wild and free, this man beneath me fueling this sexual frenzy. A little voice in the back of my head attempts to whisper sense to me, but the roaring in my ears drowns it out. I couldn’t stop my body if I tried. I grind down upon him, trying to find any friction I can, and succeeding. I rub myself against a large bulge that swells from what would be Triton’s groin if he were human.
But he’s not human.
13
Elena
Scrambling off Triton, my movements feel so much more fluid now beneath the water, as they do each time Triton shares his essence with me. He groans, releasing my arms. True to his words, his hands did not wander. I should have pulled away from him as soon as the mate bond overtook us, but my sense of self-control went out the proverbial window. I feel like I had a fever as heat rushed through me, unable to tell what fueled my actions between the mate bond and the blood rushing to my aching core.
“I-I’m sorry. I don’t know what came over me.” I can feel the heat in my face, chest rising and falling rapidly as my heart beats wildly.
Triton clears his throat. “Do not apologize. I rather enjoyed it.” He smirks at me, his playful jabs distracting mefrom my discomfort.
“Ugh, of course you did.” I go to splash him again, but I forgot we’re underwater, so all I achieve is a slight change in the pressure of the water as it moves toward him, which makes me more annoyed. His smirk grows wider. How can his face look so kissable and punchable at the same time?
“Come, my Elena, let us return home. It has been a long day, and you need to sleep at some point. We will head out to the barrier tomorrow, and it is a long swim. You will need your energy.” He holds his hand out to me, and I surprise myself by slipping my hand into his rough one. My body cannot help but be drawn to him. His skin feels cool beneath mine, still warm from soaking up the sun’s rays above the surface. Goose pimples radiate over his golden arms.
I let him pull me beside him as we make the swim back to the coral castle, weariness taking over me at the sleepless night and adrenaline dump of our fruitless search for the others. It takes me a moment to realize we’re not traveling as quickly as we had on the way to the beach. Triton’s movements are sluggish and slow.
“Are you okay?” I pull on his hand to stop him.
“Of course, my Elena, why would I not be?” He cocks an eyebrow at me, and I study him, puzzled. I can’t tell if it’s the depth at which we swim or if his beautiful golden skin looks muted.
“You’re just moving a little slower than usual.”
He scoffs. “I am not.”
I raise my eyebrows.
“I will prove it. Let us race to the sunken containers, first one there wins.” He wiggles his eyebrows at me.
Oh, he’ssoon. My competitive streak perks up. I didn’t become an Olympic medal winner for no reason, and if I’m perfectly honest, I’ve been itching to test out his speed since I realized the advantage I would have in a race, being able to breathe underwater.
There has to be a catch, though. “What does the winner get?”
His canines glint as he grins at me wickedly, sending shivers down my spine.
“If I win, I request a proper kiss.”
I open my mouth to protest. He gets to kiss me every time his essence wears off. He holds a finger up to make me pause.
“A kiss for no other reason but to feel your lips upon mine, not as an exchange of my essence. A kiss because you want to, not because you need to.”
I snap my mouth shut. Oof, he is clever. “What if I never want to?”
He shrugs his shoulders as if expecting my question. “Then it would be your choice. But if the last one was anything to go by, I imagine youdowant to.” He smirks.
