Page 46 of Luca

Cair’s arm wound around my waist, hugging me to his chest in a possessive display. “Thank you,” he said, his voice level, but I could sense the jealousy in his words. “But my mate and I shall decline your offer.”

If she was disappointed or offended, there was no sign of it. She just smiled sweetly, nodding once before pushing off the bank and disappearing under the water. She popped up seconds later on the other side of the pool, much quicker than it took for me to come back online.

“You are positively bewildered, my heart,” Cair teased, trailing his nose up the column of my throat before kissing my jaw. “Should we have accepted her, hm?”

“No, no, no,” I chanted, and Cair’s pleased hum vibrated against my back. “I was just startled, is all. I didn’t expect to be propositioned by a mermaid. Amermaid, Cair.”

“And why not?” He sat back, staring down at me in both affront and confusion. “You are an enchanting creature, Luca, and it pains me to hear that you don’t recognize your own worth or allure.”

I looked away, feeling a little exposed. “I mean, I have attractive traits, sure. My blue eyes, my curls, my lips, but I wouldn’t say I’m anythingspecial.”

My mom would tell me I was too pretty, toogood, but that was a typical mom thing, right? Sure, I’d gotten plenty of offers in my life, very few I had accepted, but I’d gradually come to the realization that they’d seen me as naive, and thus easier to manipulate.

Until Cair.

Only he had ever made me feel genuinely wanted.

Cair tipped my head up with a finger crooked under my chin. “I wish I could gut whoever made you feel that way.”

I snorted a laugh, imagining Cair killing my childhood bullies, and my ex, just for the crime of whittling away my self-esteem. I mean,fair, but also unnecessary. “Don’t let it get to you,” I said with a smile. “You treat me like I’m the most beautiful guy in the world, and that’s all that matters.”

He wanted to disagree, I could tell by the pinch of his brows, but I cupped his face in my hand, placating him. “Truly, I’m not worried. How can I be in a place like this? I can barely muster a single negative thought right now.”

“Alright.” He finally leaned in to kiss me as he had planned to before we were interrupted. “Though we may have to invest in a claiming trinket or badge of some sort. It seems my scent inside you is not enough of a deterrent.”

I laughed against his lips. “I’m pretty sure every monster we cross knows I’m yours, and they give us a wide berth. She was just bold, and wanted in on the action.”

“Can’t say I blame her,” he said. “But I don’t share.”

With that excitement over, we moved further into the shade. Cair lay in the grass, one arm under his head, and the other around my back as I tucked myself into his side, leg flung over his thighs. It was comfy, and after barely half an hour, I felt myself drifting off. My eyes closed, rocked by the gentle rise and fall of Cair’s chest, comforted by the lull of his heartbeat. Everything was slowing down, a dream flickering at the corners of my vision, and?—

A piercing screech.

A splash.

My eyes flew open and I shot upright. Gary had fallen into the shallow end of the pool, and was face down in the water. Panicking.

“I can’t swim,” he squawked when he surfaced, flailing and stumbling. He switched from green, to pink, to blue: all the colors of the rainbow. A concerned-looking mermaid reached out to help him find his footing—considering all he had to do wasstand up—but had to swerve out of the way so she wouldn’t be clocked in the jaw.

With a growl that surprisingly didn’t shake the forest, Cee waded into the water, seized him by the scruff, and dragged him onto the bank. “You’re a lizard, for Creators’ sake,” she grumbled, teeth clenched. “And you’re going to drown in four feet of water?!”

“That was—” He coughed and spluttered. “At least eight feet. Pretty sure.”

“I can’t believe they gave you a weapon. You’re an idiot,” Cee muttered, leaving him on the bank, sprawled on his belly, soaked to the bone.

There was silence for a beat, and I thought Gary had passed out from sheer fright, but he groaned as if pained and rolled onto his back. “Don’t let this put you off, my aquatic angels,” he lamented to the two he’d been flirting with, reaching out blindly like a dying Romeo in an amateur theater production. They both laughed. “We can still make this work.”

I couldn’t help it, I laughed along with them, and with one glance at Cair—seeing him, in real time, question Rathe’s judgment—I fully lost it. My belly ached, and tears welled in my eyes. I might even have snorted. When was the last time I’d truly laughed until I cried? I couldn’t remember, and honestly, I wasn’t even sure what was so hilarious anymore, but it felt unbelievably good to just let go. To be loud, and unashamed, and carefree.

To beme.

Wiping my cheeks with my sleeve, I bounded into Cair’s lap, flung my arms around his shoulders and kissed him, deep and filthy, uncaring of our audience. There was a wolf whistle behind us. It was definitely Gary, because the sound was accompanied by a wet “Get it, boss” and I just grinned, sliding my tongue against Cair’s until I was gasping for breath.

Then I kissed him some more.

“What was that for?” he asked when we parted, his lips slick and kiss-bruised, satisfaction radiating from him in sweet, delicious waves.

I shrugged.

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