Page 27 of Tempting Triton
It is my time, and I am ravenous.
26
Elena
The inlet, while beautiful, is insanely boring in its isolation while I wait for Triton to heal enough to wake. I eat, I swim, I rest, I check on Triton—rinse and repeat. One of the only positives is that I get to be on land for a short while, enjoying the warmth of the sun on my skin and sand between my toes. Sitting with the quiet of my thoughts for long bouts of time leaves me still unsure if I want to give up the surface entirely. I think I would miss these things too much to ever be truly happy, but then I look over at Triton sleeping peacefully and how close I came to losing him, and am torn all over again. I can’t help but admit to myself that I have feelings for him, but what does that mean for me? What does that mean for us? Is there a future for us if I decide I don’t want to be permanently beholden to the sea, and if not, have I now missed my only chance to return home?
I shake my thoughts off. I would’ve never been able to leave Triton behind, even if it meant my rescue. He means too much to me now to ever be able to leave him to suffer. My original plan of using him to help me escape the barrier was abandoned as soon as I kissed him in the cave on our first night out.
Movement catches my eye, disrupting my train of thought as Triton sits up in the shallows, looking around until he spots me sitting in the shade of the mango tree.
“My Elena.” His usually melodic voice when out of the water seems raspy, and I liken it to the equivalent of a pack-a-day smoker.
“Triton! You’re awake!” I drop the mango I’ve been mindlessly peeling, the juices coating my fingers as I pull the skin from the golden flesh inside, and rush to his side in the shallows, water splashing up my legs before falling to my knees and flinging myself upon him with a cry.
He grunts at the force of our impact, tipping backwards into the water with me atop him.
“I didn’t think you’d ever wake up,” I cry, tears slipping from my eyes as I cling to his neck. He goes to wrap his arms around my waist, but I pull back, slapping him on the chest.
“Don’t you ever do that to me again! You scared me half to death.”
“You are well?” He looks down at my hands resting on his bare chest, which rumbles as he growls.
“I’m fine. You, however, almost fucking died. What were you thinking!?”
“I was not thinking,” he says almost distractedly while leaning into me to sniff at my neck, sending shivers racing down my spine. “You smell good enough toeat.”
“Oh, uh—maybe it’s the mango?” I have no idea what he’s talking about, so I hold my hands out in front of me to indicate that it could be where the smell is coming from, since I was just peeling one, but it could very well be the flowers from the bushes. I certainly don’t think it’s me that smells so good. How could I? I haven’t seen a bar of soap in almost a week.
He continues trailing his nose down my neck and chest, to my stomach, sniffing every inch of me as he goes before flipping us in one swoop so I’m beneath him instead. My head rests amongst the damp sand, water softly kissing my skin from the neck down as Triton continues his journey south. I yelp, squirming ashe buries his nose in my crotch and inhales. My cheeks flush bright red, heat flaming my skin in embarrassment, even as a different kind of heat unfurls from within me.
Triton looks up at me from between my legs. “You are bleeding.”
“What do you mean? I’m not hurt.” Confused, I prop myself up on my elbows right as a cramp aches low in my belly.
“Oh, no.” I noted cramping earlier on, but assumed it was because I hadn’t eaten. My period is a very unwelcome surprise right now. “You have got to be kidding me. What the hell am I supposed to do now!?” I groan, flopping back onto the sand and throwing my arm over my eyes to shield myself from the bright sun overhead.
“Triton!” I yelp as firm hands lift my hips from the water to peel my bike shorts over my ass and down my legs. “What are you doing!?” I attempt to cross my legs to shield my now bare lower half, but Triton stops me, prying my legs apart and nuzzling at my core, coming away with a smear of crimson across his cheek.Oh. My. God. I cover my burning face with my hands, unable to believe that this is happening right now.
“That is so not hygienic,” I groan. I attempt to close my legs again, and once more, he stops me, keeping my legs spread wide for him, the water caressing my sun-warmed skin.
“You will not close your legs again.” He stares intently at me, still resting between my legs, his hands gripping the insides of my thighs that peek above the water. It’s only now that I realize that Triton isn’t home right now, butheis. His beast.
I lick my dry lips, the taste of mango lingering on them, and swallow a shaky breath. “You’re not going to eat me, are you?” I stammer. I’m reminded that historically, Mer have eaten humans. I don’t think he actually wants to eat me, but I don’t want to test the limitations of this mate bond we’ve got going on.
“Oh, my mate”—his mouth splits into a gorgeous feral smile—“I am going to utterly devour you.”
He lunges for me, and I let out a squeak as his mouth comes down upon my clit beneath the water, lapping and sucking at me like a starving man stumbling upon a feast that’s been laid out especially for him.
“Oh my god,” I moan, shoving the thought of this being sowrongto the back of my mind. If Triton’s beast wants to eat, then who amI to deny him? The extra blood flow has everything feeling a lot more sensitive. The pressure of his tongue and the sensation of the water have me coming so quickly, I’m caught by surprise. Yet Triton doesn’t let up. He continues to run his tongue across my skin, sliding down to dip it in and out of me before replacing his tongue with a finger.
“More. Please, more,” I whimper, the mate bond flaring to life at our skin-on-skin contact, and I’m aching to be filled just to relieve this pressure that has been building and building between us every time we touch. The mate bond is an angry beast, and she wants what she is owed.
Triton adds another finger, curling it inside me. “Is this okay, my mate?” he grunts.
Even while his beast is in control, he is still considerate of my comfort, and I don’t know why I was ever worried to begin with.
“Yes. Please,” I beg, thrusting my hips in time with the movements of his fingers, stirring the water up around us.
