Page 14 of Bride of the Sea King

“Being alone is a privilege I can’t provide you while your life is in danger because of the selkies.” Triton gestured to a couch near the door. “I can sit there while you rest to give you space, but that’s as far as I’ll go.”

“Fine.” I tugged my hair out of its ponytail and peeled my leggings off. He was going to get a good view of my ass in the wet boyshorts-style panties I still had on, but I didn’t have the energy to care.

And apparently he was my husband, so what did it even matter?

Triton turned the lights off as I tucked myself beneath the thin sheets. They felt amazing against my skin, and I realized they must’ve been the same sea silk that his skirt thing was made from.

I turned to my side so I didn’t have to see the king, and closed my eyes.

It took a few minutes to calm my mind, but eventually, the effects of spending nearly twenty-four hours shivering on the beach caught up to me and I crashed.

three

TRITON

No matterhow hard I tried, I couldn’t peel my gaze off the woman in my bed.

Then again, I didn’t really try. There were things I should be doing, but I didn’t have it in me to step away from Aria

She was the most alluring creature I had ever laid eyes on.

And she wasmine.

It was a foreign concept, but one I was feeling more satisfied with by the moment.

After so many centuries ruling alone, I would have a partner to share my life with. A mate.

Assuming I could ever convince her that being mine wasn’t the death sentence she seemed to think it was.

And that I hadn’t stolen herjustto breed her. Yes, we were expected to procreate, but our bond was much more than just a guarantee that we could have children.

I would need to romance her to prove my point.

Unfortunately, I was terribly out of practice with romance.

And seduction.

And relationships.

Considering I’d never so much as tried the first or third items on that list, I had no fucking idea how to do any of it.

But I would figure it out. Because Aria was mine—and I wasn’t settling for anything less than a sealed, complete mate bond with the woman I was destined to love.

four

ARIA

I wokeup to the smell of spices and saltwater.

No part of me thought I was still on Earth. It would’ve been impossible not to remember Triton walking me through a portal, declaring me his bride, turning his lower half into a monster, and putting on that stupidly-attractive skirt.

There was no forgetting the rest of it, either.

He expected me to pop out babies for the good of all mermonster-kind.

We were going to have to screw to seal our bond.

I was in danger because of the selkies and kelpies, for unknown reasons. And I still had no idea exactly what a kelpie was, outside of the fact that their magic was weirdly seductive.

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