Page 9 of Tempting Triton
We look at each other, confusion etched on my face, her cheeks turning a ripe shade of pink the more she yells and waves her hands around. I sit and wait patiently for her to tell me what is ‘kissed’ and when it does not seem like she will explain any time soon, I grow frustrated.
“I saved you. You are my mate.” It is true, is it not? I scented her blood in the water, which led me to her. I mended her wound, though she has not even noticed that her ankle no longer painsher.
“I beg your pardon?”If it is possible, her face turns an even deeper shade of crimson, and I am still waiting for her to explain what is ‘kissed.’
I cross my arms across my chest. “You need not beg, my mate. I will get you whatever you need.”
Her eyes bug out of her face as she tugs at her hair, pulling strands free from where it is tied at her crown, and screams, more to herself than at me, I think.I do not know what I have done wrong, but I do not want my mate to hurt herself. I rush forward, gently prying her hands free of her hair, and to my surprise, she lets me. It seems she has yelled all her steam out, her hands falling limp in mine as her shoulders slump.
My mate is a chaotic and violent little creature, but perhaps all humans are this way. I would not know, as the barrier was in place before I could go and explore the world.
“Are all humans so…emotional?”
She screeches, her shoulders tense as she pulls her hands out of mine. I think I have said something to offend her. Again.
“Oh, ho, ho, no way. No, sir.” She wags a finger at me. “You do not get to kidnap me, and then kiss me without my permission, and then tell me I’m beingemotional.”
I grimace. No matter what I do or say, I seem to keep upsetting my mate, and I still do not know what ‘kissed’ is. I mull over our interactions. Perhaps it is when I shared my essence with her?
“I am… sorry? I do not mean to offend you. Perhaps I can explain?” I spread my palms face up in front of me as a gesture of peace. She considers me for a moment, her hands on her hips as she taps her foot.
“You have one minute, and if I’m not satisfied with your explanation, you will let me leave, you hear me?” She plays with something tied around her wrist and looks back at me expectantly. “Time’s ticking.”
10
Elena
“You cannot leave.”
I’m pretty sure every time this man—merman, whatever—opens his mouth, I end up more enraged than I was previously.
“What do you mean I can’t leave? I left before. I can do it again. And you have fifty seconds.”
“You are my mate.”
“I don’t know what that means! Or what that has to do with anything.” Impatience leeches into my voice, and I tap my foot in irritation.
“It means we cannot be separated. The mate bond causes us physical harm if we are separated by distance. The further apart we are, the more it hurts us.”
My blood turns cold remembering my failed attempt at an escape. The pain in my chest, which I thought was a simple yet severe stitch from overexertion.
“Well. I don’t want to be your mate. You kidnapped me!” I want to stomp my foot, but I’m aware of how childish that would look, so I do it in my head instead.
“We do not get a choice. The Fates have decided that we are bonded, the matching half of my soul, and I did not kidnap you. I rescued you. You were unconscious and bleeding, and the tide was rising. You have not noticed that your ankle no longer pains you.”
He looks crestfallen at my declaration of not wanting to be his mate, and I shouldn’t feel bad about it, but I do. How much of my behavior and emotions are being influenced by this bond? If we don’t get a choice about being mated, what does that mean?
I look down at the ankle that was pinned between the cold steel and the sharp rock and notice that it does look perfectly fine. I chew my bottom lip, knowing that I didn’t notice it was better. So consumed in my current predicament, I had forgotten all aboutit, much like everything else that wasn’t causing me some level of immediate discomfort.
I clear my throat, a blush heating my cheeks. Well, this is awkward. Do I thank him for healing me? He also kissed me without my permission, even though I did get carried away and kind of kissed him back. Kind of kissed him back a lot. Was that because of the bond as well?Shit.
The timer on my watch goes off, and all of the tension leaves my body as I slump down beside him on the bed.
“What a mess,” I groan.
“So, you will stay?”
I scrub my hands over my face and crack an eye to look at the merman who stares back at me, brows drawn tight.
