Bloody Kisses (25 page)

L
inc’s mouth
watered looking at his mate. She was more lush and lovely than he could have imagined. And she was his. He ran his hands up her thighs, his pale skin contrasting with her gold.

How are you pale when you are outside more than me?
he heard her wonder.

Scales,
he answered.
Natural sunblock.

You were dark when we first met. You looked like a surfer, tan skin and blue eyes.

My skin hasn’t been touched by sunlight since you’ve been gone.

Linc saw her eyes widen, and she opened her mouth to apologize.

No,
he told her quickly.
No more apologies.

He was distracted by her mouth, his gaze arresting at her lips, and the way she bit her bottom lip to stop herself from speaking. He pulled out that tempting lip with his thumb and kissed it. Her hands skimmed across his back and down. She hesitated, unsure.

I’ve never done this before.
Her voice echoed in his mind.
I don’t know what to do.

Linc jerked back, staring at her in wonderment. He expected she had been with humans. She was a twenty-six year-old woman. Her cheeks flushed with embarrassment, and he felt her question. Would she be able to please him?

You please me,
he assured her. Sending her image after image, impression after impression. Her skin beneath his hands, her breast in his mouth, her lips against his. She sucked in a breath, her leg wrapping around his hips to pull him on top of her. She left her legs wide open, and he fit between them as if he was always meant to be there.

He wanted to be inside her, skin-to-skin. They would be one, the final step in their mating dance.
I want to…

Yes,
was her answer, but on the heels of her answer came a question.
Protection?

He imagined a child like her, inquisitive and short-tempered, and answered,
Please. I would like a daughter just like you.

She smiled against his lips, but she didn’t believe him.

He pulled away. “Truly, Edie. It is all I could hope for to have a child with you.”

“I never imagined myself a mother.” She bit her lip again, looking up at him shyly. “But with you, to have a family? I couldn’t imagine anything better.”

She opened her legs wider, and he slipped between the cleft in her legs. She was wet and warm, and she moaned as he slid himself along her folds. Her hands glided along his back to grip his ass. He rocked himself back and forth and then reached between them, circling her clit with his thumb. A shudder went through her, along with a sizzle of arousal that made her hips jerk in time with his thumb.

Does this feel good?

Her answer was to moan and reach between them, holding him steady. He opened his eyes, meeting her wide brown stare. With a slow thrust, he let the mushroomed tip of his cock breach her channel. Her eyes rolled back in her head, and he was slammed with her sensations. He never believed anything could feel this incredible. How did mates survive this? Not only could he feel his own pleasure, but hers. It brought him closer to the edge than he liked—he wanted this to last forever.

Her inner muscles contracted and adjusted to his size, and he pushed forward a little more. She was tight. So tight. But the sounds she made encouraged him on until he was seated inside her completely. He held himself there, the tip of his cock pressed against the mouth of her womb. Her hands stroked his back, his ass, and her legs lifted, knees gripping him tightly on either side of his waist.

Her hips lifted, just a tiny bit, showing him she was ready for him to move. He withdrew slowly, her tissues dragging along his shaft and then squeezing even tighter when he pushed inside again. She met him, thrust for thrust, countering each withdrawal with her own advance. Their breath came faster, pants filling up the now-steamy cave.

Linc drowned in Edythe: her sounds, her scent, her taste, her body. Somehow, he grasped her hand, and her fingers entwined with his, squeezing tightly. He opened his eyes, and staring down at her, they both detonated. They were like a volcano, erupting beneath the ocean, white hot and then cooling into obsidian, unbreakable and everlasting.

E
dythe hummed under her breath
, her fingers playing along Linc’s chest. He didn’t want to move, even when she unintentionally tickled him. He caught her hand, lifting it to his lips and kissing her skin. She was salty when his tongue darted out to taste her. Something about his action startled her, and her mind began to swirl with questions. They filtered to him, and he laughed. She wondered about everything from freshwater, to what he ate, to where the bathroom was and if he showered. Then her thoughts turned, but before she stopped herself, he heard her.
Family.
She wanted to know if he had a family.

Yes. I have a mother and a father. I have an older brother.

Edythe pushed at his chest, sitting up.
Are they here?
“Will I meet them?”

Linc grimaced.
I have not been… welcome… in a long time.
The look that passed over her face warmed his heart. No one had cared about him in a long time. She was angry on his behalf.

I don’t know if I want to meet them now.
Her inner voice held a growl, and it made Linc harden in response.

He turned quickly, propping himself on his elbows to stare down at her.
They weren’t sure if I was dangerous,
he explained.
It was possible I would hurt them.

She didn’t accept his justification for their behavior. She didn’t feel like it excused his family. They should have been looking out for him, keeping him safe.

Linc pressed his lips to hers; he had to. She was angry for him, and it touched him. He loved how she responded immediately, not holding anything back. Her legs wrapped around his back, pulling him into her body so his cock slid inside her.

This time their lovemaking was slower, but intense. She held him closely, her hand stroking, massaging anywhere she could reach, while her lips trailed across his lips and down to his jaw. She sucked on the skin at his shoulder, and then, as she trembled and tightened around him, she bit down.

He lost all control. His body curled around hers, and his hips pistoned in and out of her. He held himself inside her as deep as he could thrust, emptying himself until he was wrung out.

I love you.

As he came back to himself, he heard her voice chanting inside his head, over and over. It slayed him, knocked him sideways. She loved him. For the fifteen years she was gone, he didn’t let himself think about love.

But now he did.

He loved her.

The smile she gave him was radiant, and for some reason it filled him with pride. He gave her that joy. It was his doing.

He leaned down, ready to kiss her again, when another voice appeared in his head. One he hadn’t heard for a long time.
Linc. I am coming into your home.

He stopped, his lips hovering above Edythe’s. He jumped out of bed, his body shielding itself with scales. He felt his teeth length and sharpen and his fingers hooked into claws. He could feel Edythe’s anxiety at his back, and it only made him fiercer.

Go away,
he warned the voice.

I am coming in, Linc. Prepare yourself.

I am warning you, do not come into my home.

The voice was silent. He could hear Edythe scrambling behind him, finding her clothes and pulling them on. Part of his brain recognized she hadn’t heard the voice, and her actions were due to his behavior. He could alleviate her fear by telling her what was happening, but his entire focus was on the entrance to his home. His brain screamed messages at him that could not be ignored:
fight, protect.

He moved closer to the stairs, watching the water for the intruder. The water bubbled and boiled, and a familiar head and shoulders emerged from the darkness. He didn’t wait, he launched himself at the Aegean.

“Linc!”

He wrapped his arms around the male, and the power of his kick propelled him back into his underwater cave. The male held onto him tightly, twisting his body so they spun, and he was slammed into the cave wall.

Calm yourself!

He ignored the male’s demand. He would not. His mate was in danger. His only purpose was to protect her. He pushed away from the male, but not before he was able to rake his fingers down the male’s back. The scales gave way beneath his nails, and the water darkened with blood.

Linc!
Edythe voice filtered through his anger, but it only fueled him to fight harder.

The male dug his fingers into his arms, curling beneath his scales to the skin beneath. Such a move was agony, but Linc did not release his grip. With a massive kick and twist, the male shoved him into the wall again and again. The cave dimmed as the delicate light-giving fungi were smashed into oblivion.

From the corner of his eye, he saw a flash of blue-green scales streak toward him. The male who sought to beat him senseless rocketed away. A small form floated in front of him, her body turning to stay between him and the male.

It took Linc a moment to realize who he saw.

Edythe.

Somehow, she had accessed her change and covered her body in scales. His mind filled with her angry hisses and growls, and the haze that made him so dangerous lifted. His mate needed him.

Edythe. Get behind me.

The male treaded water, making a move to swim around her, but she darted in front of him.
No.

The male startled, she was projecting her voice not only to him, but to the male who hurt him.
My mate,
she said, and the male’s eyes widened, his stance immediately changing.

He held up his hands in a gesture of surrender before placing one hand over his heart. He looked at Linc and then back to Edythe.
I apologize, female. I believed my son held you here against your will.

Her astonishment made her scales disappear completely, leaving her naked. Linc moved fast, scooping her into his arms and swimming back to the inner cave.
You may follow in a moment, Father. First, I must explain things to my mate.

His father’s voice echoed in his head and, from the twitch Edythe gave, in her mind, too.
Of course, Linc.

He swam quickly to the staircase, emerging into the cave to wrap a blanket around her trembling figure.

“Your father?” she asked through chattering teeth.

Linc watched her with concern. The change she’d forced on herself would leave her weak. She wouldn’t be able to regulate her body temperature for a while, and he’d need to watch her closely. He carried her to the bed, stacking pillows around her body and tucking another heavy blanket around her.

“Wait here a moment,” he commanded. He realized dried seaweed was the only food he had available. “Here. Eat.”

She wrinkled her nose. “Seriously?”

He nodded, watching her carefully.

“I guess this answers the food question,” she said and took a bite. Her face cleared, and she took another bite. “It’s not so bad. Salty, and”—she cleared her throat—“dry. But it could be worse. I don’t suppose you have water?”

He did, and he brought it to her. Her hand trembled when she reached for it, so he held the glass for her. Her unease and worry clouded her mind. He kept his hand over hers. “You were not weird or ugly,” he assured her. “You were magnificent.”

“I was blue…,” she whispered, which made him chuckle.

“I think you had a little green, too.”

She smacked his arm, rolling her eyes, and he laughed. He heard a throat clear behind him and whipped around. “Father.”

Edythe sat up in the bed, pulling the blankets a little closer to her body. He didn’t move from her side, but watched the male, who he had not seen in years, walk carefully toward him.

“Why are you here?” he asked. His father could make his explanations and then he could leave.

His father’s eyes flashed to Edythe before settling back on him. “The humans saw a scaled creature kidnap a human woman and drag her beneath the waves.”

“Immediately you thought of me.” He couldn’t keep the bitterness from his voice.

His father made no excuses, only nodded. “Obviously.”

“Hey!” Edythe’s tone was outraged. “Linc would never kidnap me. He…”

“How else do you explain your presence, female?”

Linc growled, but she answered quickly, “Edythe. My name is Edythe. Not female. I’m here because Linc is my mate, and he protected me.”

“After you arrived to protect me,” he added with a pointed look at his father.

“The gods blessed you with another mate, Linc, to keep you from madness.”

He shook his head, reaching for Edythe. “No. This is the human I met fifteen years ago. She returned when she heard the marshes were to be destroyed. She worried for me.”

He didn’t miss the surprise on his father’s face. “She returned?”

She sighed, much like she had as a child. It was the sigh which contained every ounce of her exasperation. “Of course.”

A strange look came over his father’s face, and his voice spoke in his mind.
You are lucky with your mate, son. She is fierce. My apologies for intruding on your courtship, but I had to make sure you hadn’t given into the darkness.

“I am lucky.” He would not let Edythe be excluded from the conversation. “Thank you for your apology. I would like to return to courting my mate.”

“A human dive team searches for her body,” his father continued, ignoring his dismissal. “Keep her here, where no one will find her.”

“No,” Edythe answered just as he responded, “Of course.”

“Linc.”

“No, Edie. It’s too dangerous.”

I have to go back, if only to tie up loose ends. No one knows I'm the one they're searching for. Let me quit my job, tell my aunt I'm on an extended assignment. I can wrap it up in an hour. Easy peasy, lemon squeezey.

No,
he answered again.
You don’t understand the pain you'll feel when we are separated by distance. It is agony, Edythe. I won’t let it happen to you.

It's just an hour, Linc.

“Perhaps I spoke hastily, Linc. Now that you can look human again, you could go with her.”

“Yes.” He should have thought about that.

“Linc?” she looked at him. “What if something happens to you? What if they discover who you are?”

“They won’t, Edie. They will never know I am Aegean.”

Someday, you will explain to me how all this is possible,
she demanded.

Is it really so difficult to believe we evolved like humans? Why wouldn’t we adjust to life below the ocean, as well as above it? It’s a little…
He tried to think of the word…
presumptuous, don’t you think? You’re not the only advanced creatures on Earth.

She blushed, and he had to laugh aloud. He’d been teasing her, but he admitted he enjoyed seeing a pink flush across her tan skin. She caught onto his joke and leaned against his shoulder.
Meanie.

I love you, Edie.

She sighed, lifting her lips to his. He kissed her, forgetting all about his father, who watched them silently.

“I love you, too,” she said aloud. “Okay.” She looked at his father. “It’s agreed. Linc and I will return to the surface. Once we get back, I expect to hear all about your history, evolution, science, and anything else I might have questions about.”

His father turned wide eyes onto Linc, who merely shrugged. “As you wish.”

“I do.” She made a move to stand but stopped herself. “I also wish for something to wear. I may have ripped my clothes while becoming all scaly and fishy.”

Fishy?
His father sounded insulted.

I had scales and gills. If that’s not fishy, I don’t know what is.

Linc laughed loudly. “Is there anything else, Father?”

“Not right now,” his father answered before saying only to him,
I will return when you do. We have much to discuss, and I have much to make amends for.

Linc hesitated, and then agreed.

His father nodded once to Edythe before turning and diving back into the water.

“Okay,” she said as he disappeared from sight. “Let’s get going.”