Page 19 of Tempting Triton
“You’re meant to put your arms around me, too. I mean, you don’t have to, of course, but that’s how you usually do a hug.” My voice is quiet, and yet it feels like it echoes all around us. Triton grunts before tentatively encasing me in his arms as well. I rest my head against his chest, the flutter of his heart sounding like the muted staccato of rain on a window, a lot faster than a human heart.
“It wasn’t an accident,” I whisper it so softly, I almost hope he doesn’t hear me.
18
Triton
She wanted to kiss me. It was not an accident. My heartbeat thunders in my ears like the roar of ocean waves crashing upon the shore. She wanted to kiss me. She kissed me. I grin down at my mate in the darkness of the passage. I am sure she cannot see me, otherwise she would not have panicked, as I have not been that far ahead of her this entire time. I do not know where this passage will open, but I know it will provide us with the comfort we need for the evening, such is the will of Aeolia. I grab my Elena’s hand as we continue to move forward in the dark recess of the passage, in part to reassure her that I am still here beside her, but mostly because I want to feel her skin against mine. The need for her is an overwhelming itch that begs to be scratched.
A light breaks through the darkness ahead of us, dancing through the black water as we approach. The passageway abruptly opens upinto an underwater grotto, the deep pool of water warmer here than out in the open. I assume it must be fed by the Pierian Spring at the center of Aeolia. I gently tug my mate to the surface, our heads breaking the warm comfort of the water to a sea of glow worms above us, coating the grotto ceiling in a cascade of blue light.
There is a stone shelf coated in a thin sheen of water that Elena could rest upon out of the water when her gills eventually wear off.Ifthey wear off. Worry stalks the edges of my mind, knowing this is the longest it has lasted so far. What if I have already given her the last ‘kiss’ she needed before it is permanent? Would Elena blame me? Hate me for having a choice taken away from her because of my ignorance of my own kind?
“Oh look, it’s a hot spring!” My Elena points towards a section of the grotto that gurgles and froths before overflowing into the main pool of water, and I can tell that this hot spring is something that excites her from the pitch in her tone and the sparkle in her eye. She paddles over to it, this time dragging me behind her. The gurgling of the water is much louder the closer we are to it, and the water is a lot warmer too. This must be one of the places the Pierian Spring feedsto before it overflows into the ocean. I can already feel my muscles relax in the healing waters just from this small bit of contact.
Elena groans as her shoulders droop, the warm spring waters working their magic on her undoubtedly tired muscles. She licks at the salty dew on her lips, her eyes reflecting the luminous blue lights of the glow worms above us, making her look otherworldly as she turns to me, desperation on her face.
“Triton, we have to get in there.”
“If you say we must, then I will make this happen for you, my mate.” Elena blushes, a small smile slipping free of her usually stony façade at my term of endearment.
There is a ledge into the hot spring that will mean we will not be able to breathe for a moment if I launch us over the edge, but perhaps there is a way beneath the water. Ducking down, I search the shadowed pool. The only source of light is whatever filters down from the glow worms above us, but my eyes can see more than well enough as I search the rocky grotto for an underwater entrance into the pool. I strike gold when I feel a push of warmer water pulsing out of a narrow crevice in the wall separating us. I follow it, wedging myself inside,testing to make sure we will fit before I alert my mate. Pushing out the other side with a huff, the warm, bubbling water roars in my ears and tickles against my skin. I pop above the surface, my head bobbing just above the water as I swim to the edge and look the short distance down to my Elena floating in the water below. I whistle and grin as she spots me and lets out a squeak of glee before ducking beneath the water herself.
Elena does not pop up immediately, and worry gnaws at my gut. Surely she has found the crevice by now, the push of warm water unmistakable beneath the surface. But what if she has gotten tangled up and is trapped? My heart flutters against my ribs as I imagine her gold silken locks tangled, pinning her beneath the water, unable to work air through her gills. It feels like a thousand years have passed as I wait, but I am sure it has only been a few minutes. My pulse competes against the whooshing of the bubbles in my ears, as my anxiety ratchets up.
A rough tug on my tail has me yelping as I’m pulled beneath the surface. The edges of my vision darken as my beast abruptly takes over my consciousness at the threat to our wellbeing.
We break free of the hold, flipping with a snarl, and gnashing our teeth at our would-be attacker, only to come face to face with our mate. Her cheeky grin slips from her face when she realizes Triton is not in control. We track the bob in her throat as she swallows, our heightened gaze pinpointing the action as fear.
“Do not be afraid.” The voice that leaves us is harsher, grating.
“Sorry,” she squeaks. “It was meant to be a joke, I didn’t think about—” She waves her hand at me, indicating our otherness.
“A joke?”
Sensing that we are not actually in danger, my beast eases away, tucking himself back into the recess of my mind where he lies dormant, but always watching our Elena.
Now that my Elena has gifted me with the knowledge of a hug, all I long for is to wrap my mate up in my arms and feel her heart beating against my own. So, I do. Reaching out for her hand, I pull her into me, encasing her strong body against mine. The warmth of the water has seeped into her skin, and I feel her melt against me as I fold my arms around her body and nuzzle my way into her hair.
“Do not worry, my mate. I was worried because you were down there so long, and then you startled me. We would never hurt you.”
She sighs against me, and I push us upwards, our heads breaking the surface, bubbles splashing our faces. I find a small ledge of rock that I can rest upon, spinning Elena and placing her upon my tail. Her back to my chest, I tug at the band that holds her hair together, loosening it until it comes free, and her golden locks are cascading down her back, floating like a curtain in the water.
“That is better.” I nuzzle my nose against her neck, and she stiffens beneath me.
“Is this okay?” My voice is gravelly, but it is not my beast taking over, just me and my nerves. The heat between us blooms at the contact, the mate bond thrumming in our veins, a constant whisper, begging us to come together. My Elena nods silently, her shoulders relaxing once more as she molds her body against mine. My hands work their way to her shoulders, rubbing and kneading at her exhausted muscles until she groans under the pressure of my hands.
My cock engorges at the sultry sound, my pocket expanding between us with the pressure, and I’m sure she can feel it beneath her.
“Is that—?” She sits up, inadvertently rubbing against the swell in my tail, and I squeeze my eyes closed at thesensation. A hundred images flood my brain of my Elena riding my cock, writhing against me as she seeks her own pleasure, even perhaps taking it between those plump pink lips of hers. Shame floods me as the seam of my pocket opens and my cock springs free, completely at the mercy of my salacious brain and the mate bond.
“I am sorry!” I push Elena from my lap, eliciting a squeak of protest from her as she drops beneath the water for a second. I move to the other side of the hot pool, as far away from her as I can get in this small space.
19
Elena
I’m shocked for a moment as I’m pushed off Triton’s lap, before I realize what’s happening. A very large mound formed beneath my ass as he massaged my shoulders with those damned magical hands of his. The pressure was just right against my aching muscles from our journey. Is it—I think he has an erection? I blush, warmth rising in my cheeks.
