Tempted by the Forbidden Mate, page 16
“No.” Holter has his block in his hand. “But yes . . .” His eyes flit over me. And I realize I’m the reason someone would want to break into an empty apartment. I’m the only thing of value here.
“Who are you contacting?”
“Castor.” Holter pushes a few buttons on the wall, and the whole thing locks up. The computer’s two-tone sound alarms.
I can’t help but think Castor doesn’t care. Since he walked me back to Ophelia’s the night of the ball, he’s been super detached. I’ve never been a clingy person. If someone doesn’t want to be around me, I let them go. Maybe it’s coming to terms with Nico being gone. Or he’s listening to his mother. She’s right. Everyone’s expected to be king his whole life. He shouldn’t give it up for me.
“I don’t want to ask Castor for anything,” Holter says. “But right now, he has the connections and power to get this figured out.”
“And power is something we’re without.”
“Not completely.”
The door slides open before I can ask Holter what he means by not completely. Castor races in with Constantine, Ophelia’s mate, and Milo, one of Castor’s youngest brothers.
“Are you okay?” Castor demands.
Holter glares at him. “Whoever left it open was gone by the time we got here. But the final airlock contained standing water.”
“What the fuck?” Constantine ignores the lot of us and races for the back room. Milo chases after him.
Castor cocks his head at me. “Really, Annabelle, are you okay?”
“I . . .” I don’t want to tell him no. But saying I’m okay feels wrong too. I’m far from okay. I’m not even in the same hemisphere as okay.
There’s plenty of times in my life I’ve felt in danger, but I’ve always known from whom, and how to hide from my uncle is something I could write a dissertation on. Someone breaking into my apartment? My insides shake. A girl can only be kidnapped so many times before her grit starts to falter. Or maybe I’ll just turn into a raging killing machine too? Were they really after me? Or were they after something here?
I glance down the hall after Constantine and Milo.
“Hold up, let me show you where,” Holter says, taking long strides to show them where to go.
I don’t want to go back there again. It doesn’t feel safe. I don’t feel safe anywhere anymore. And why should I? A little voice pokes at me. I’ve never felt safe. First, living with my exploding volcano of an uncle. And when I left the farm for the east coast, that changed to the constant fear of flunking out and losing my scholarship at any time. Really, it’s like I’ve lived my whole life waiting to be kidnapped.
“I’ll make sure things are safe around here, Annabelle. Unless you want to move upstairs.” Castor clears his throat. He hasn’t come past the kitchen island, and he’s looking at everything in the apartment—other than me.
I’m sure Ophelia will say I can’t stay in an apartment with only an unmated viro male. It wouldn’t go well for either of us. Dorian society is different from human society, but it still has its odd social constraints. They’re both sexually enlightened and Victorian at the same time, somehow.
“No.” I turn away from him. “I like it here. The way the light hits the coral is really interesting. And I like watching the small fish dart around.” It’s true, I do.
He moves right behind me, and his warmth sinks into me. “If that’s what you want. I’ll get another layer of security.”
“Good.” Constantine’s voice rings from the other side of the room, his shadow Milo a pace behind. “I have some new sharks I’ve been training too. I’ll need a piece of your clothing, Annabelle.”
“You’ll need what?” Holter’s gruff tone has us all turn our heads to him. He leans against the far wall.
“For her scent. I’ll train them to know her scent, and they will leave her alone.”
“Sharks?” Holter drops his fists to his hips.
“Yes, sharks. They’re modified. State of the art.” Constantine nods at the window like they are already swimming outside.
“Baba is doing some great things with them. The ones we have upstairs are prototypes, but I’ve seen the ones he’s working with in the lab. It’s really amazing.” Milo glows at Constantine.
“Are you sure they’re safe?” I’m more asking Castor than Constantine.
“They will be for you, and those who you want around here,” Constantine answers for Castor.
“You’re sure?” Castor asks. I’m feeling the same trepidation. The last shark—no, the only shark—I’ve had a close encounter with, tried to eat me first and then took a bite out of Nico’s shoulder. But then that’s like saying I was attacked by a bear in the woods, so I’m scared of a well-fed bear at a zoo. The thing is, I don’t want to be attacked by a bear, a shark, or a lonely merman.
“As sure as the jet stream flows.” Constantine smiles at me.
“I . . . I didn’t bring anything down. Ophelia said she would have my things packed for me.” I twist my neck around the empty apartment. I didn’t bring anything down because nothing in Kai’s old bedroom is mine. Even the things I bought at the shop aren’t mine, or at least, they don’t feel like it.
“Well then, I will ask my mate for the item. If that’s okay with you?”
“Yes.” I nod. But I’m looking at Holter. I can’t help but wonder if trained sharks have something to do with the attack on Holter and Nico’s dad. But I’ll ask him later, when all of the Drakoses have left.
“Come, Milo, it’s almost time for dinner.” Constantine puts his hand out.
“I’m hardly a podlet anymore, Baba.”
“I know. It’s hard for me.” Constantine stops at the door. “If there is anything you need, know that we will help.” The door swooshes shut behind him and Milo.
“I should be going soon. But I’ll have guards put on the doors tonight, and tomorrow there will be a security system in place.” Castor comes at me, his hands outstretched. And I don’t know what I expect, but him kissing me on my cheek isn’t it. It’s fast and light. His barely-there touch sends goosebumps down my arm. And it makes me ache. My brow furrows and my stomach churns. “Have a good night, Annabelle. Augustine will be bringing dinner down from my mother’s apartment.”
“Yes, your mother already mentioned to me that he would. Thank you.”
“Right.” Castor steps back, and the void between us is unfathomable.
25
Holter
It’s our third night here, and I’m staring out the window. Castor doesn’t live here, but you would never know it by the circus going on outside our airlock. Shadows fly over the floor as massive sharks swim back and forth. I’m not sure how I feel about them, myself. Granted, we don’t know what almost killed Alder, not yet. Every day that passes, the doctors say any day now they could wake him up. But that the longer he’s asleep, the more he’ll heal.
It’s been five days now since they took Nico. I tried to talk to Castor, to see if we couldn’t help Nico’s plight. Brave the chasm with him. Or stage some tridents. But no, they’ve got security guards on us, on anyone they think might help Nico. Coming back from the chasm is something you have to do on your own. It’s why it’s only been done once by the one they called the reincarnation of Poseidon himself. No, while I want to believe there is hope, and while I stay strong for Belle, there’s little hope, little chance that any of us will see Nico again.
And then there’s the tampering with our airlock. I can’t leave Belle alone—not that I want to. Ophelia has offered me chests of gold to stay with Belle and protect her. Like I need anything from any Drakos. I’ll find another way to support myself.
It’s odd living this close to the ocean floor. But I understand how Belle likes watching the fish swim around the dome’s coral. I hear her footsteps before she rounds the corner.
Out of the hallway from the bedroom, I wave. She’s lovely and sad. The tunic that had fit her perfectly in the store less than a week ago hangs from her body.
“Come here.” I open my arms, and she steps into them. I should hate this, every second of it. My friend and my pod brother are gone. But I have her, at least for a little while. To myself. She puts her head on my shoulder, and I wrap my arms around her. “How did you sleep?”
“I’m not sure I did. Is there any change in Alder?”
“No. I’ll tell you if I hear anything.” I give her a squeeze and let her go. “There’s a package from Castor on the counter.” He hasn’t come around in the last few days, but the packages arrive like clockwork.
Her eyes flick to it. But she doesn’t go to it.
“Open this one, Belle. You’ll like it.” He told me what it was because I had to order a few extra supplies.
“Okay.” She shuffles over to it, pulling the cloth bow off and out of its sack. “A coffee maker and coffee!” She huffs the beans with her nose. In a whirlwind of activity, she gets her caffeine ready. I’ve never understood the draw. But Belle’s enthusiasm is contagious. “Do you want me to make you some?”
“There’s only a little. You enjoy it.” I had it in Boston and had started to enjoy it. It was a lot different than what we have here. Our farm domes grow many exotic things, but the beans we have aren’t anywhere near what the humans have.
“I want you to have some. But maybe I should save this for a special occasion . . .”
“You do not need to hoard your coffee, Belle. Between you and Castor, you could buy half the planet if you wanted to.”
“I . . . I know you’ve said that, but it’s hard to remember.”
“It’s hard to remember because you don’t believe me. I’ll take you to the bank anytime you want, and you can let them tell you. Enjoy your coffee.”
Her eyes widen, but she gives me a quiet nod, one of the ones where I always wish I could hear her thoughts when she does it. I leave her to it, sitting in the living room and watching her skitter all around performing the ritual of her brew. I flip through my block, and there’s a message. Today’s the day. The Pleiades will take Nico to the chasm. There will be a small crew, a judge, and a selection of governors. Nole isn’t here, so the next highest Glyden male will take his place. Castor. The governors are meeting to discuss what to do with Belle. I’m to bring her to an assembly today after the launch. A launch that she’s not invited to, and neither am I.
“What’s going on?” she asks in a small voice.
“How’s your coffee?”
“Don’t you answer a question with a question to me, Holter. What were you reading on your block? Is it about Nico?”
“Yes.”
“And what did it say?”
“Today’s the day.”
“Oh. And you’re sure there’s no way for us to help him or talk to him before he goes?” Her volume rises from soft to frustrated.
We’ve talked this through a number of times. She’s come up with creative ideas that would get us both killed. I shake my head. “And the governors want to meet with you later today.”
“I bet they do. They want to see what high bidder they can sell me off to. Well, I’m not having it. I’m not going to spread my legs because they tell me to. You can mate me first.”
“Belle.” My tone is low and rough.
“I don’t care about the station or society.”
“But you’re going to have to.”
“Says who?”
I let out a long sigh. Because she sounds a lot like Muster, my other dad. He doesn’t like the rules or regulations of Dorian society either. Let a dolphin fuck them is his favorite phrase. And where has it gotten him? A job he doesn’t like on the Omicron.
“Belle. I’m trying to keep you safe.”
“It’s a little late for that.” She pinches her nose. “I’m sorry, Holter. Let me drink this. I’ll become a completely different person.”
“I’m not sure I like that idea.”
She cocks her head at me and raises her eyebrows. “There’s got to be something we can do. And if not us, then someone else.”
That already occurred to me. The someone else. It couldn’t be anyone Nico would turn to, or anyone I would turn to, but someone who would be willing to help. Only one name pops into my head.
“You’ve got a look about you, Holter.” She crosses the room, her robe kicking open as she does and a mug clenched between her hands. It clicks on the shell table as she puts it down. She straddles me, her long robe covering my legs.
The rules here are gray. I’m not her mate. But her mate isn’t able to help her. And a mermaid can’t go long without . . . I fill my lungs with her apple scent. My hands are instantly on her thighs. Fuck. I’m so hard I can’t take it.
“Is this wrong?” She slides her hand down my chest and pulls open my tunic.
“It’s been days for you. That’s too long.”
“It has been, but you like to follow the rules. I used to too.”
Used to. Interesting. My hands skate down the soft fabric around her thighs until my hands rest on her ass. I hitch her up tight against my hard cock. My trousers barely contain me, the tip of my cock poking out of my waistband.
Belle bites her lip and swipes her hand over the tip of my cock. “Nico won’t mind.” Her voice is soft as silk rubbing over my skin. I’m sure he won’t, but I might.
My face is a mask. I don’t want to think about him. I’m struggling to remember the rules here. All I can think about is how much I want her. I pull her close. My hands roam her ass and land on her waist. I kiss her like I’ve never done before, deep, like we have all the time we could ever need.
I twist my fingers in her hair, tug her long casual ponytail, breaking us apart. Staring into her blue eyes, I want to know everything there is to know about her. I want to be the one to end all her pain, make her smile, sing and dance. Our lips crash together like we need each other to breathe.
And then her hands are on my waistband, and the air is cold on my skin. It’s colder here than higher up in the dome tower. I need to get the heat working better for her. But then her fingers wrap around my cock, and she strokes me up and down. I forget everything and groan into her mouth. Our tongues tangle. Her palm rubs the tip of my cock. I’m grabbing her ass, trying to urge her to stroke me faster. And she does. I don’t want this to be over. I want her touching me, grinding on me for hours and days. Either. Both.
“Holter,” she whispers. “I don’t know. I don’t know what the right thing to do is here.”
“The right thing is to take me,” I growl into her ear. I love the sound of her voice. Her voice is a dream. I want to fall asleep and wake up hearing her talk. “I want to be inside you, Belle.” My hands cup her breasts, and I push her robe aside. The sleeves constrict on her arms, and she drops my cock. My thumbs slide over her hardening nipples. “I want to be inside you. I want to be inside you so fucking bad. My cock is straining for you.”
Her hands are on my legs, and she’s grinding herself on me. “I want you inside me too.”
That’s what I need. I break. Standing, I carry her back to the pod bedroom, the room only she has slept in. Being in her room with her these last few nights felt like too much, like pretending to be her mate. I’m not her mate chants in the back of my head. But I’m not going anywhere. I don’t care what the governors have to say. I’m staying with her.
My strides are long, but still the apartment is big. I kick the door closed behind us. No one else is here, but it doesn’t matter. She’s talking, but I don’t hear any of it. There’s just the blood rushing in my ears. I toss her down on her bed. She bounces, her ponytail swinging wide. Her breasts are free from her robe, which is bunched up around her waist.
I stand and stare at her for a moment. I want to remember this time forever. When I could pretend she was mine.
She peels the robe off all the way. Her legs are spread wide, her pussy glistening for me. But I can’t start there, no, her nipples are hard, and I lean over the bed and suckle the left one into my mouth. She groans, and her nails dig into my scalp. I back away.
She whimpers, “Holter.”
“I need to taste you.” Leaning over the bed, I kiss a trail to her belly and toss her discarded robe on the floor. I kiss her inner thighs. My hands on her ass, I spread her wide. My tongue licks the length of her slit. I start slowly and flick out. Her breaths are long and heavy, and her fingers find my hair again. I love how she wants to touch me. I love how she trusts me to be gentle. But I’m not gentle now. I’m not going to be. I’m not going to be anything but the servant she needs me to be. She groans and wriggles, trying to draw me into her, and I’m not going anywhere. Not until I give her the ecstasy she must have.
“It’s too good. Take me, please, hard, fast. Make me hurt.”
I don’t have to be told twice. I sink my tongue into her, and she arches her back. I push one finger into her, then another, and I move them in and out. She’s writhing, her hips bucking into me. Her pussy pushes hard into my face, grinding, and I’m here for it. I let her. I want her to need me. I suck her clit into my mouth. I nibble it. I flick it with my tongue, and her hips buck. She’s screaming, but I don’t hear any of it. I plunge my tongue into her again and again and suck hard on her clit. She’s whimpering, almost crying. I slip a third finger into her, but she’s so tight. I want her to be soaking wet and begging me to fuck her. I want her addicted to me. I want her to be so desperate for my cock. I want to be the only one that can make her feel good. Fuck it, I don’t care that Dorian males aren’t supposed to be possessive about mermaids. That we’re raised to share. Right now, she’s mine.
Her pussy is soaked. Her wetness is dripping into her ass and pooling on the bed. Her tits are bouncing. She’s breathless. And I’m starving. I’m ready to devour every inch of her. But I stop, and I can feel her whole body shaking. She’s shaking, so close, and I wait. She’s going to come if I put my mouth on her again. She’s going to come hard and long.
