Page 37 of Fionn
"Touch it," he whispered hoarsely. "Please."
Gingerly, I slid my fingers along the smooth strips of skin. They were slightly wet. If I'd had my eyes closed, I would have assumed I was touching kelp.
Fionn groaned. "Do... not... stop."
He continued the kiss while I stroked his greenskin, marvelling at how smooth and slick it was. It shivered beneath my touch, the most alien part of him. He'd said it could sense currents in the water. Did it sense what I felt for him?
Fionn began to move in me, slow strokes at first, then picking up speed. I was stretched to the brink, but I was so wet that I was no longer in pain. I knew he was holding back. He was fully controlled, scared to let go. For this first time, I accepted that. But once he understood that I wasn't breakable, that he would not hurt me, I would demand that he give up all control and surrender to the desperate need driving us both.
“Too much?” he panted. His green eyes burned into mine, desperate and tender all at once.
I shook my head fiercely. “Don’t you dare stop.”
Pleasure built in relentless waves. My cries filled the room, unrestrained, shameless. He drove into me harder, faster, chasing me to the edge. His fingers found my clit, stroking in time with his thrusts, while I massaged his greenskin. His hand cupped my breast, flicking my nipple just the way I liked it, and I shattered around him with a scream.
He followed me over the edge a moment later, roaring my name as he spilled inside me, his body convulsing against mine. His sharp teeth closed on my shoulder in a primal claim, not breaking skin but sending another jolt of ecstasy through me.
The ripples around his cock were relentless, driving me from one shattering climax to another, while I screamed and swore and revelled in bliss. I was surfing the wave and he was there, next to me, holding me, whispering to me until I reached the shore and could breathe again.
We collapsed together in the tangle of silk sheets, both shaking, breathless. His greenskin stuck to my sweaty skin, connecting us. It shuddered softly every time he took a breath.
Fionn kissed me softly, reverently. I was limp, barely able to return the kiss. Still floating in post-orgasm bliss.
“Elise,” he murmured, voice hoarse. “You’re my mate. My future. My everything.”
17
Fionn
The meeting was too formal for my taste. Elise shifted in her seat, clearly just as uncomfortable as me.
Captain Maggnus was opposite us, flanked by the first and second officer. He was a huge male, not the smartest, but he carried himself with a natural authority. Pam was joining via holocall, while my brothers and Paul, the resort manager, were seated to my right.
We'd already talked to the IA earlier in the day to finalise Elise's compensation claim. The Tidebound was now officially hers, as was an intergalactic bank account with more credits than she could spend in a lifetime. She'd mentioned something about donating to a charity that helped children from unprivileged backgrounds learn to swim. I would support her no matter what she decided to do with the credits.
"Kelon paid our salaries for the journey, but not for the prolonged stay here," the captain continued his argument. "We've now been here for six Peritan sunpasses. If you want us to stay for much longer, you will have to pay us."
Pam cleared her throat. "You are free to leave at any time, but I will not send female matches to Finfolkaheem. All first encounters have to happen here or elsewhere on Earth, under controlled circumstances. We've learned our lesson with Kelon. From now on, there will be more of an agency presence at these dating events."
I knew the captain and almost the entire crew - save two who had made comments along Kelon's line of thinking - were waiting to find matches in the agency's database. It was pure greed that he wanted to be paid while also getting the opportunity to find a mate.
"I can pay you," Elise sighed. I thought she'd bowed to Maggnus' pressure, but then she added, "As long as you are prepared to transport anyone who is part of the dating agency or who is a potential match to the island and back."
Captain Maggnus frowned. I bet he'd imagined an easy life for himself, lying by the beach and exploring the local ocean all day while on full pay, rather than having to do actual work. But then he inclined his head.
"That will change of course when I have found my own mate."
Elise smiled. "Of course. Same goes for anyone in your crew. They can all get a long holiday when Pam finds a match for them. And if there are any happy couples by the end of this process, you and your crew can decide whether you want to continue to work for me or settle somewhere else."
"What if we want to return to Finfolkaheem?" Po'shran, the second mate, asked.
Elise exchanged a look with me. "Fionn and I plan a trip there some time in the future. I want to see your planet before we decide where to settle. Anyone who wants to come with us can. But first, I need the Tidebound to fly me home. There is a place I want to show to Fionn."
We'd waited for nightfall. I was dressed head to webbed toe in bulky black clothes and had covered my head with a cap that threw shadows on my face. Even so, anyone who came close would see that I wasn't human, but it would do for this short excursion.
Elise had brought me to a large, square building at the edge of her city. The Tidebound was parked in a special part of the airport that the Hot Tatties agency had chartered when they'd first encountered an alien species. One of Pam's employees had driven us here in a four-wheeled vehicle with blacked out windows to make sure I didn't cause a riot. I'd had my face plastered to the window, trying to take in as much of Elise's world as possible.
It was so different here compared to the tropical island. Grey buildings, narrow streets, flickering lights, noise drifting to us from all directions, and a smell difficult to describe. And so, so many humans. I'd thought it impossible to find a quiet spot where I wouldn't be discovered, but Elise had chosen well.
