Page 8 of Alien Triton's Prize

“It is. It’s all yours. And since you had to leave your portable device on the surface, I will get you a replacement for that as well.” I still couldn’t believe that their technology didn’t work underwater. How backward was that? “You can take the external gills off while you’re in here. If you wear them all the time, they will start fusing with your body and eventually become permanent. But if you take them off every day or so, that won’t happen.”

“Oh! So that’s what Lago meant. In that case, I should take them off.” She lifted her hands to her face, paused, and then moved them to her neck. “Umm, how do I do that?”

“Allow me.”

I reached for her and traced the gills over her shoulders and down to her chest. Her soft inhalation as my hands brushed over her breasts was barely audible. I watched in fascination as her nipples pebbled under the thin fabric triangles. I gritted my teeth and willed my body not to react as I continued to search along the edge of the gills, looking for a place where I could slip my claws underneath.

I didn’t want to be too forward. Sure, I’d hoped perhaps she’d be amenable to playing the part of my wife in more than one way while she was here. But I didn’t want to give the wrong impression by ravishing her the very first moment we were alone. That would have to wait.

“Found it!” I eased a claw under, and using the flat side of it so that I didn’t damage the delicate gills, I lifted the edge free and peeled the gills off her body.

By the look on her face, the process of removing them didn’t feel much better than when we had put them on.

“Thank you,” she said as I placed the gills into a water-filled box on the table meant to store them on dry land. “And… Can I ask you a question?”

“Of course.”

“You mentioned that there are very few females of your species left. Why is that?”

I’d known I’d have to explain this eventually; might as well get it out of the way now. I guided her to the seat, then reclined next to her, and explained our people’s recent history.

“Our people have been at war with a neighboring civilization for generations. Both sides were ruthless, our otherwise logical minds blinded by hatred. We became brash and unthinking. About a decade ago, they released a chemical weapon into our water that killed off many of our females. My sister survived, but I lost my mother. She succumbed to the chemicals quite early.”

“I’m sorry. That sounds awful. What happened to your enemies after?”

“They are no longer our enemies. We are no longer at war with each other. There is a tentative peace now between our people.”

“Really? After they did something so horrible?”

I grimaced. “We were no better,” I admitted. “We sent our best to infiltrate their labs. Mere days after the toxic plume settled over our city, theirs was engulfed as well. Our cities are the two largest on the planet, and in the end, they suffered even heavierlosses than we did. Now our entire species is on the brink of extinction. Their goal was to end the war once and for all. They achieved that goal, but there were no winners. We all lost.”

“Sounds like war’s the same everywhere.” Her voice was grim. “I’m sorry.”

“It was only after this disaster that our scientists started working together, not on weapons but on the external gills. Without females of our own, we had to find suitable mates among other species. We are lucky at least in that we are breeding-compatible with other species across the stars. Like yours. So far, all offspring conceived with Thalassonian sires are born with predominantly our characteristics and can live under the waves.”

“I guess your people have been keeping Starlight Brides busy.”

“Yes, we have. And other galactic matchmaking services as well. We’ve also found human brides at the human colony on the island.” The one she’d join after our year was up.

My contact conch pinged with an alert; the sound was strangely sharp now that the conch was out of the water. I checked the message, hoping it was something I could do from home, but it wasn’t. The information the supplier wanted was somewhere at the office.

“I’m very sorry, Vera. It’s work. I need to head out for a while.”

“That’s okay. I’ll just get myself settled.”

“The rest of the house is open to you as well, of course. Feel free to explore if you like; if you don’t, I will give you a proper tour later.”

I pulled my new bride close, my eyes landing on those soft pink lips. Maybe I could have just a little taste of her beforeI left? I might not have read the information about humans very thoroughly, but I knew they had similar mating customs, including touching lips.

Threading my hands through the still-damp strands of her hair, I captured her lips with mine. It was supposed to be just a small kiss, a hint of things to come later. But when she made a soft needy sound and kissed me back, her little tongue tangling with mine, I couldn’t stop myself from taking more, plundering her mouth and claiming everything I could reach.

She tasted divine! Better than any expensive, imported brine. Her form, so soft and tempting, molded to my body with pliant promise. It took everything I had to stop myself from thrusting through my vent and demanding we consummate our marriage right here and now.

She was panting softly, her eyes half lidded and unfocused when I finally pulled myself away.

“I will return soon, my bride.”

Chapter 5

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