Page 17 of Magic Potions and the Merman's Lure

Chapter 11

Ro

I peer at Keri over the edge of the tank, my arms folded beneath my chin and supporting my weight. My tail shifts lazily in the water as I watch her, my gaze following her every movement as she makes notes on the paper clipped to her board. Her tongue pokes a tiny bit from between her lips as she concentrates on what she’s doing. I know I am staring but I can’t help but look my fill. Being trapped underwater for the two days it took for the rain systems to move out had been nothing short of torture and was a disturbing hint of what it would be like when the full moon came around again. Except that I know it will be worse. The last full moon was bad enough. I took it in stride because we had only just met but given that being separated from her by the storm had been more difficult, I know that it will become even more painful the more I bond to her.

I will experience an intense pain of separation, and now I know that I will also worry continuously about her every minute I’m stuck beneath the surface.

“How wondrous and how miserable mating is,” I whisper to myself.

“Huh?” Keri glances up at me. “I’m sorry, did you say something?”

The smile I offer her is wry and I shake my head. “Nothing important. I’m just glad to see that you did not become ill from helping me.”

“Oh.” Her cheeks pinken as her gaze drops back to her notes. “Yeah. I took the day off to recuperate which probably helped. Hot drinks, extra vitamin C, and huddling under a pile of blankets seemed to do the trick.”

I should have been there to warm her, my body pressed against hers beneath the blankets, sharing my heat. If only I had my supplement! The rain wouldn’t have affected me at all if I had it. I could have caught up with Keri and escorted her home to get out of the weather. Perhaps then it would have been me she had her hot chocolate with instead of Adiele.

Regret is a bitter venom that fills my mouth and stomach. I refuse to wallow in it, however, though it does make it difficult for me to stay on task with this pretense of being a volunteer for the Council’s study when all I want to do is spend time with her. I want to touch her, not be separated from her by the tank or anything else required of me. I thump my tail against the tank with annoyance and then immediately feel guilty when her eyes snap up with surprise.

“What’s next for today?” I ask, hiding my frustration behind a smile.

Her eyes narrow a fraction but, whatever she’s thinking, she shakes it off a moment later as her eyes return to her clipboard. “It looks like they want me to also check your responsive reflexes today.”

A shiver of excitement runs through me because that means she will be touching me. Most of her tests have been carried out directly within the tank, but for what she’s talking about, I will need to be up close and personal. As she would struggle getting into the tank with me, if there was even enough space for us to both comfortably move around without risking scraping her my spines or stinger, that means this examination will be happening on the examining table. It doesn’t look even remotely comfortable but I’m excited regardless.

“I guess, that’s it for the tank today,” she continues, confirming the direction of my thoughts. “Hop on out of there onto the examining table and we will get started.”

I nod and peel off the small white things Keri stuck all over me earlier to monitor me while she had me do various activities within the tank. I toss them over the side of the tank by their long wires and leap for the hook, drawing myself out of the water before lowering my weight to the table she rolls up beneath me. The pink hue of her face hasn’t faded but is even brighter as her fingers twitch nervously.

“I... I’m going to have to touch your fins,” she explains.

I nod gravely, hiding my anticipation. “Be careful of the spines,” I remind her.

She nods and I’m on the edge of ecstasy as she reaches for one of the large fins at my pelvis. Of all of my fins these are the most sensitive. I hate that the plastic gloves covering her hands reduces my sensation of her fingers exploring me but perhaps it is a good thing because I’m struggling to control my impulse to moan and extrude as her fingers slide along the length of the fin, touching the sensitive webbing between their delicate bones. The tiny nerves in these fins are even more sensitive than those in my other fins which largely relay movement and shifts within the water around me. The nerves here are sensitive to a larger number of stimuli, especially those connected to mating. The fin trembles in an uncontrollable response and a tiny smile tips the corner of her mouth.

She makes a note, and my claws dig into the padding of the examination table as she repeats the test on the opposite fin. I’m at the limits of my control when she runs a finger down the ridge between them causing my tail to curl upward and my pelvis to jerk up in response. I’m unable to control my gasp as my pelvic fins flutter and slap along her wrist and hand. Although the seam containing my cock is just above the joints of this set of fins, it feels as if she is caressing deeper as her fingers tease my gonads.

My cock bulges against the confines of its sheath and I can feel it parting, eager to copulate when she abruptly removes her hand and begins to scribble down notes with her pen. I’m breathing raggedly but the need fades as she continues to write. Eventually her gaze returns to my tail and drifts lower to my curled tailfin. I eye her curiously. Although my tail has less sensation since Aquanas need to use their tails defensively, I’m not entirely convinced that she won’t have some effect on me anyway. Exactly how does she plan to torture me next? I can hardly wait to find out.

“I think I will test your dorsal fins next,” she directs unexpectedly, making my brows raise in response. “Flip over, please.”

I swallow and roll over. The pressure of the table against my slit rubs in a way that shouldn’t be arousing but I can’t help but think some of that is due to the tingle rushing over my scales as she leans over me. I moan softly as she grabs my lower dorsal running down the back of my tail. She pinches it firmly at the base close to my skin where the fin structure is thicker and firmer. This shouldn’t be even remotely erotic as those fins have nothing to do with mating, but the pressure sends an odd shiver through my spine, forcing me to roll my hips against the table below me. Her grip shifts to the topmost part of the fin along the muscle there and my breath expels from me in a sharp pant.

She pauses but doesn’t remove her hand. It is blissful and torturous all at once. My hips subtly bump the table again and I hiss quietly to myself as she shifts her fingers along the muscles and squeezes slightly, sending a tight pulse straight to my cock.

“Does this hurt?”

I shake my head. “It feels strange... good,” I clarify.

“It does?” There is a hint of surprise to her voice and the knuckles at either side of that muscle begins to rhythmically massage the point. “And this?”

“Very good,” I moan.

“Is this an erogenous area for your species?” she asks curiously. “Do you use this fin at all in mating.”

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