Chapter Ten

 

 

The pirate ship–as we now knew it to be–was moored in Neverland's bay. The pirates had built a dock and a village of huts on shore, but there was always a skeleton crew guarding the ship. We surveyed it from a cliff above the harbor, and sent Tinker Bell closer, to get a better look. She reported back that there were three men on deck and two–that she could see from peering into portholes–below.

We made our way down to the beach, and then Tink called to the mermaids. Neverland was created to protect me, and her inhabitants (at least the magical ones) were always kind to me. So, when the mermaids heard what we had planned, they eagerly agreed to help us. Let's just say that Captain Kadmos hadn't made any friends in Neverland.

Laren was among the mermaids who answered Tinker Bell's call, and he hurried over to me when I ventured into the water. He held a hand out to me with a wide grin, showcasing his sharp teeth.

“Hold on one moment,” Straton growled as the merman's arms slid around me.

“What's wrong?” I asked him innocently.

The mermaids were smiling at the men, urging them forward with open arms. I wasn't jealous at all. I knew my boys would never fall in love with a mermaid, so what was the harm in a little embrace? Straton, though, looked upset to see me pressed up against Laren's slick chest. I recalled my mother's instructions as I laid my palm against Laren's solid chest. Aphrodite had said that men needed a challenge, and, if possible, a rival. Nothing got the blood flowing like a little competition.

“Come on, Strat,” Drakon said as he waded into the arms of a mermaid. “You joining us, or are you going to wait on shore with Tink?”

“I'm not waiting here,” Tinker Bell grumbled. “I want to have some fun too. I scouted; I think I should be allowed to join in the actual adventure.”

“Absolutely, Tink,” I reassured her, and she settled.

“I'm coming,” Straton grumbled as he stepped into the water.

A beautiful mermaid swam up to him, and he grudgingly put his arms around her waist.

“Kiss me,” Laren whispered in my ear.

“What?” I pulled back a little, staring up into his completely blue eyes.

“I need to share my breath with you if we're to travel underwater. We thought it would be more acceptable coming from members of the opposite sex–mermaids for your men and a merman for you. Do you not want to kiss me, Pandora?”

“I... um ...”

“You showed me the sky,” Laren murmured. “Now, let me show you my world.”

“I do want to see your world,” I said softly.

I glanced over at the others and saw them all pressing their lips to the mermaids, but it wasn't a normal kiss. There was magic tingling near their mouths, and the mermaids seemed to be breathing into the men. Straton was arguing with his mermaid, as I was with mine.

“Straton,” I called to him, and he turned to me. “They're trying to share their ability to breathe underwater. It's a kindness, and we shouldn't refuse it.”

“It's just a kiss,” Erastos teased Straton. “Haven't you ever kissed a girl?”

“Shut up,” Straton growled.

“Just kiss the girl,” I said to him and then lifted my lips to Laren.

Laren smiled and covered my mouth with his. His tongue licked at me until I opened my mouth wide, and then he breathed into me. I felt a rush of oxygen fill my lungs, brightening into an effervescent tingle. I gasped, pulling it in deeper, and Laren pulled me tighter to him. He moaned, rubbing against me, and I felt something prodding the juncture of my thighs.

I eased away, and Laren smiled seductively, his eyes heavy-lidded with lust. I looked down his wet body, to the scales that began at his hips. A little further down, just below the surface of the water, the scales bulged out and had started to split. I glimpsed a fleshy, pink tip pushing at the scales.

“My apologies,” Laren murmured as he rubbed a hand over the split, urging his manhood back under the scales. “That was more erotic than I'd expected.”

Before I could answer, Straton had Laren by the throat and was pulling a fist back to punch him.

“Straton!” I pushed between the men and yanked at Straton's hands. “Release him; he's helping us.”

“He just helped himself to your body,” Straton growled.

“Enough,” Laren said as he wrapped a hand around Straton's wrist and removed it easily. He looked over his shoulder and shook his head. I followed his gaze to find more mermen closing in on us. “I understand, earth-walker. Believe me, I understand.” Laren smiled at me. “But I have no intentions towards your woman. A fish can love a bird, but where will they live?”

We all looked back and forth between the men, and finally, Straton took a deep breath and nodded.

“Yes, just so,” Straton murmured. “And she's not my woman. Forgive my brutish behavior.”

“It's forgotten,” Laren said generously.

Straton went back to his mermaid and pulled her against his chest as he stared at me. He continued to hold my gaze as he kissed her, and took her breath into himself. Oh, so that's what jealousy feels like. And yet, my emotions were tempered with excitement. I had never seen Straton look so lustfully on me.

“Are we done with all of the dramatics?” Erastos asked in a bored tone.

“We're done,” Straton said as he took the mermaid's hand. “Let's get this over with.”

I turned and looked up at Laren. He shook his head with a smile.

“That one,” he whispered to me, “will be trouble for you, sweet Pan.”

“Will be? He already is,” I huffed, and Laren laughed.