Page 29 of Tempting Triton
I feel as if I am imagining it, that because I want it so badly, it cannot be true. Must not be true. My eyes burn, my throat feels tight, my chest even tighter. What is happening to me? It is as though I have been speared all over again. I look down at the healed wound on my shoulder, expecting to see it torn open and weeping my lifeblood into the water around us. Strong fingers grab my chin, pulling my gaze back towards my Elena. My vision has gone hazy, my mate blurry before me. My cheeks feel wet, which is an unusual sensation for one who is always wet.
“Hey,” my Elena croons softly, “you’re crying.” Her soft fingers swipe at my cheeks, pulling them away to show me the wet glistening on her fingertips.
“I am?” I sniff. I never knew crying could be so painful.
My Elena pulls my head against her chest, her body still cradled in my arms with her legs wrapped around me. “It’s okay, you let it all out.” She hums, and I can feel her chest vibrating when she speaks, the sound of her steady heartbeat beneath my ear.
I do not even know why I am crying; all I know is that I cannot stop. Emotions wash through me, everything I have held back and buried deep enough so that I could wake up each day and live mylife. All the hurt, anger, and pain at my parents for having left me here. For watching my kin suffer and die from the cold, left to fend for ourselves at such a young age. From being alone with no other company, save for Ichó. For feeling guilty that it wasn’t enough, is still not enough. The overwhelming feeling of being chosen when I did not expect it, but could only dream of it, and again, the guilt of knowing what that costs the other half of my soul. Will she suffer for having chosen me? Will I ever be enough?
28
Elena
My heart breaks for Triton as I watch him come undone at my declaration. I can’t imagine how he must feel when he’s been on his own his entire life. To be separated from your own kind, isolated in the ocean with just the sea creatures for company, forced to find your own way in life, and figure out the intricacies of your species by accident rather than from teachings, would have been incredibly lonely. It is no wonder he is overwhelmed by his emotions when he has been abandoned by his parents at such a young age and left to fend for himself, watching his friends and kin perish from the cold, simply because it’s tradition. Anger twists my guts as I think about Triton as an infant and how his parents could have possibly left him behind. I hope that they feel awful about it now that they have spent an eternity separated.
Triton is good, kind, and funny, and it would be a privilege to be tied to him for the rest of my life. I feel guilty about abandoning my plan to return home, and my heart pangs at how I left things with Brett. But looking at Triton as we make our way back to his home, I can’t imagine returning to the life I had before him—the monotonous existence of doing something I no longer have the burning passion for, punishing myself for something I have no control over.
In the end, my parents would have wanted me to be happy, and that’s something I’ve found here, with him. I won’t lie and say there aren’t things I’m worried about—like if I’ll ever be able to walk above the surface again once Triton has shared his essence with me for the final time.
I stroke Triton’s hair where his head rests on my stomach, feeling the rhythm of my breathing through the rise and fall of his head, when I’m startled by the slow glide of him down my body beneath the water. Parting my thighs, he places his head between them, swirling his tongue over my clit before laving at me like a starving man, causingme to buck beneath him, whimpering in pleasure. He has me coming apart in minutes, my walls clenching around his fingers as he slowly curls them inside of me.
His head pops above the surface to throw a lazy smirk my way, before coming up to place his mouth upon mine. Saltwater drips off his face as he nips and teases at my lips until I greedily allow him entry, his tongue invading my mouth and dancing with my own. I can taste myself on him, mingling with the salty brine of the ocean, and it reminds me of summer days at the beach.
Gently, he eases himself inside of me, my thighs still parted around his waist as his cock lazily pumps itself, the ridges coaxing me back to the brink of climax. It’s slow and sweet, and nothing like the last few days of frenzied lovemaking. Each thrust, each moment he holds my gaze says,I love you. You are mine.Forever. His head bows, nestling into the crook of my neck as we come apart together.
We lie back in the shallows, the morning sun warming our spent and deliciously aching bodies, and I relish the feeling of it upon my skin. I silently ponder if it’ll be my last as we prepare to make our way back to Triton’s home—my home now, too.
“I do not wish toreturn,” Triton groans.
I roll to face him. “Despite what you say, I think Ichó will be worried we’ve taken so long.”
“Perhaps it is time for the old cetacean to retire from his duties. I am not a pup that still needs caring for, I am grown. It is time he should live his own life.” As he says this, I get the impression it’s more for him, reassuring himself that he doesn’t need his dolphin nanny anymore. They’ve been together for such a long time, been each other’s only company. Ichó was tied to Triton in obligation to his parents, but a lasting friendship bloomed nonetheless, despite Triton’s grumbling. A bond like that is unbreakable.
Triton groans as I roll out from under his arm to search for my forgotten clothes amongst the lagoon. I find them stiff, with dry, crusted sand amongst some scrub, and grimace. I’m not sure how they wound up over here, but I give them a rough shake out before sliding my clothes back over my head and up my legs. It feels strange to have clothes on again after being nude for the past few days. Thankfully, my period is finished, and I don’t have to worry about bleeding through my clothing and attracting sharks. My cheeks flame at the memory of Triton’s beast between my legs the first time.We might have to make this a monthly trip for as long as I can be above the surface, and after that, I’ll figure something out.
I take another look around us, at the sky, the sand, the shrubs, and wonder when I might see them again. Facing Triton, who lazes about in the lagoon, watching me with hooded eyes that throw heat my way, I steel my resolve and tread into the water. Triton’s waiting arms curl around me as he swims us further towards the entrance carved into the rocks. Wrapped around him, his stormy ocean green eyes delve into my own, searching for a crack of regret.
“My Elena, my mate. I promise I will try to be worthy of everything you are giving up,” he whispers between us.
I swallow thickly, tears threatening to spill. “I’m ready.”
We lean in, our mouths lock together in a scorching kiss, filled with promises, hope, and longing. Our tongues move in a slow dance as Triton breathes his essence into me. Pain, sharp as a razor blade, blooms beneath my ears as gills form. Still entangled in his arms, a single tear tracks my cheek as we drop below the surface.
29
Triton
My Elena giggles when I stop her with a tug of her hand for the hundredth time so I can smother her with kisses, unable to keep myself apart from her physically despite the bond being sated and fulfilled. She chose me. She chooses me. I vow to never let it be in vain, to do anything to make her happy. My heart is overjoyed and full to bursting.
The water warms and turns opaque as we near the reef and shallower water, escaping the murky darkness of the depths surrounding Aeolia. I sigh contentedly at the familiar surroundings of my home, the warmth of the water, and how the sun dapples beneath the sea, highlighting the various colors of coral and the flashing scales of darting fish. Home. I cannot believe I get to share all this with my Elena, and I cannot wait to show her all the hidden treasures we have not had time for yet.
I take a moment to point out an eagle ray and relish the look of wonder on my Elena’s face as she takes it all in. My mate is just as fascinated with the different landscapes and creatures of the ocean as I am, and it cements the Fates’ choice in mate for me. She is perfect.
I’m hit by a mass right in the gut while I’m admiring my mate, sending me spinning as my Elena shrieks my name. I curse myself for being taken by surprise, not usually needing to be on guard in the protected waters of Aeolia. Being one of the most feared predators in the waters, besides Scylla and Charybdis, has made me lax. My beast rears forward automatically, ready to defend my mate against our attacker, when the soft tinkle of her laugh reaches me. My beast shrinks back just as quickly, letting me take the reins of our consciousness again, my vision becoming clearer as he settles himself again.
Ichó dances around my Elena, clicking and flipping, nudging at her body with his nose in excited bursts. He is happy we have returned. Or at least, he is happy my Elena has returned as he rounds on me in the agitated grouchiness reserved only for when I am beinga naughty Mer.
“Hello, my old friend.” I wiggle my fingers sheepishly. “Did you miss me?”
