Even after having spent a month on land, I find myself marveling at the sensation of sand on my feet. The feeling of stuff between my toes. The touch of wind ruffling the seafoam green fabric of the gown that still feels too fancy to be on my body.
To my right, the waves of the sea—my former home—crash against the beach. To my left towers the castle, home to the king of the seaside country. Home to the prince I’m trying to marry so I can get my voice back…and save myself from the fate of being forced back into my old form.
Don’t be mistaken, there were perks to being a mermaid. I don’t think anything will ever compare to the vibrant communities of life on the ocean floor. But the human world has its own beautiful communities, its own fantastic animals and breathtaking views. More importantly, though, it’s allowed me to escape the tyranny of the royal merfolk.
Not that it matters if I can’t break my curse and wind up transformed back into a mermaid when the year is up.
“Mara,” says a man’s voice behind me.
I start and turn, twisting on the rock I’m sitting on. Adam stands about ten feet away, towering over me even more than usual. The breeze ruffles his dark hair, and his green eyes cut right through me. His white buttoned shirt isn’t particularly tight, but it still doesn’t do much to hide the clear muscles of his arms and upper body, earned from years spent training as a soldier.
I flush and offer a half-hearted wave to the prince’s cousin.
When Prince Irvine first found me washed up on the shore after my transformation and brought me back to the castle, Adam was one of the few who seemed disinterested in my presence. Many in the king’s court were eager to decipher the messy English I’d managed to learn over the course of a life spent fascinated by human culture. Others happily taught me hand signs that would allow me to communicate quicker. And when I’d made up a story about being from a faraway island country, a story about getting caught in a storm while travelling and my ship wrecking, they all did their best to make me feel welcome.
But Adam remained aloof. Oddly, that only made me want to know more about him, despite the many others clamoring for my attention. The fact that Prince Irvine immediately convinced his father to take me in made everyone else want to befriend me, if only to win the prince’s favor. I’ve begun to tell the difference between them and those who really do want to help me adjust to my new life here.
And yet Adam… Adam remains a mystery. Did I do something to offend him inadvertently upon my arrival?
What I found even more bewildering than his avoidance of me was the sudden change in behavior last week. He’d abruptly begun joining groups I was in at parties, asked me questions about my life before the shipwreck, seemed interested in me. But there was a dangerous undercurrent to his questions. Paranoia on my part, perhaps, but there always seemed to be a little too much intensity in the way he watched me.
I realize I should probably respond to Adam’s greeting. I wave my hand and, using the sign language the humans have taught me, I say, “Hello, Adam. Can I help you?”
Adam cocks his head. There’s that look in his eyes that’s almost dangerous, but I feel warmth in that smirk on the corner of his lips. An attempt at friendliness, maybe?
“I know what you are,” he says.
I blink. Then, point at myself, furrowing my brow in obvious confusion.
“What you were might be more accurate, I suppose.”
My heart quickens. I’m not sure what will happen if people learn the truth of my past, but the idea terrifies me. What if they hate me? What if they throw me back in the water? What if…?
“I’ll keep your secret,” Adam continues. “I just…have some questions.” His gaze darts down, briefly, though I’m not sure what he’s looking at.
I rise to my feet, far steadier than my first few attempts at standing all those weeks ago. I lift my hands. “What do you want to know?”
“Would you mind if we went somewhere more private? The nobles like to come down to the beach this late in the morning.” He glances toward the castle towering over the shoreline. “I expect we’ll be swarmed soon enough.”
I nod, slide my feet back into my shoes, and let him lead the way off the beach.
Adam guides me to a quiet wing of the palace. It seems to be made up of quarters for nobles like him and is largely deserted this time of morning. Before long, we enter his rooms. He gestures for me to enter first, then pulls the door shut behind us. After it closes, I hear the click of the lock turning.
The sound makes my heart skip a beat. But I don’t feel like I’m in danger. He just wants privacy. Probably doesn’t want to be interrupted while accusing me of being a mythical fish woman.
Former mythical fish woman, I amend. I’m supposed to marry by the end of the year to keep my legs, but I’ll do anything to make sure it happens.
We move from the entry area into the next room, where a massive bed occupies one side of the space. Against the opposite wall is a dresser. Adam pauses next to it and studies a framed photo sitting on top. I stop next to him and find it’s a sketch of a ship, a crew standing on the dock in front of it.
“I saw you, once before. I thought I’d hallucinated the women with fish tails, but then Irvine brought you home, and I recognized you. Only…” Adam trails off and glances at my distinctly not-fish legs. The gown I wore down to the beach stops at my knees, making it obvious my tail is long gone.
I barely notice, too focused on swallowing the lump in my throat at the reminder of Irvine. Damn it. When he’d been the one to rescue me, I’d thought it must be fate. That I’d marry him in the year and break the curse attached to my new body. But…
Adam must see the faraway look in my eye, because something in his expression changes. “Saw Irvine with that duchess visiting from down south?”
Embarrassed that the cause of my disappointment is so obvious, I nod. Then, with my hands, I quickly explain my situation. That a sea witch offered me a human form so I could escape the miserable life I lived in the merfolk kingdom. The curse she attached to it, requiring me to marry within a year to restore my voice and avoid being changed back.
“I’d be surprised if Irvine ever marries, and I pity his wife if he does,” Adam finally says once I’ve finished. After a moment’s consideration, he adds, “If marriage is all you need, you may be able to convince him, though. He does need a legitimate heir at some point, after all.”
I sigh. Maybe if I get desperate.
“Why become human?” Adam asks. “Why not run to a different part of the ocean? Have the witch disguise you in some other way?”
I lift a hand. “I’ve been…obsessed with human culture my entire life,” I admit, feeling my face heat. “I find you all fascinating. And the surface world was the only place I’d be guaranteed to be completely safe.”
“And do we live up to your expectations?” I see a hint of a smile on the corner of Adam’s lips. I feel some relief, sensing that he finds my interest in humans amusing rather than…creepy. At least, I hope that’s the case.
“Your world is wonderful,” I tell him, my hand picking up a faint tremble. “Being among you is better than I dreamed. Your food, your clothes, your…activities…” I lower my hand slightly, but don’t let it drop all the way, wondering if I should add anything else.
Adam cocks his head to the side in that way that makes me feel like I’m missing something. Something obvious.
After a moment, he asks, “Did Irvine show you…anything else?”
I blink. “Such as?”
“Well, you did want to marry him. Surely you know what humans who are interested in each other that way tend to do.” Adam takes a slow step toward me, though I barely notice through the spiraling thoughts that statement has brought to my mind’s surface.
I flush. “I know…a little of what you’re talking about,” I tell Adam with a wave of my hand. “How humans…but no, Irvine and I haven’t so much as put our lips together.”
Adam looks genuinely surprised. Then, his eyes dart down.
I glance down and feel my face grow even hotter as I fully remember what dress I’m wearing. The low cut of the gown leaves a fair amount of my breasts exposed. It’s not something I would have thought twice about in the ocean—merfolk barely wear anything at all. But according to the maids that have been helping me pick out clothes, something like this is supposed to have an…effect on human men. Exactly what that effect is, I’m still not entirely sure. It didn’t seem to work much on Irvine after the first few days, when he got distracted by women visiting form other kingdoms.
“I’d been hoping that would change today,” I add lamely, the motion of my hand breaking Adam from his stare.
Adam clears his throat. “I expect Irvine’s still interested, if that’s what you want. He’s just…easily distracted.”
I shake my head. “I don’t think he’s meant for me. I think I’ve known that for some time, too, I’ve just been hanging on out of…fear.”
Adam takes another step forward, bringing himself surprisingly close to me. When he speaks, his voice is a low grumble that makes my face heat for reasons I don’t quite understand. “Would you like to know what it feels like?” he murmurs.
My hand is trembling harder now as I lift it. “What?” I manage, though part of me realizes what he’s talking about.
“What humans do,” he says slowly. “When they’re attracted to each other.”
My eyes lock with his, and I swallow. Am I attracted to Adam? Yes, I think so. His face is beautiful, and…
I’m hot all over, and my stomach feels as if its melting into other parts of my body. When Adam leans in closer, I let out a small squeak, a bit surprised by the sound. I know I can make noises that aren’t speaking, but it’s not exactly something I do on purpose.
I should do something. Anything. I lift a hand and press it to the side of his face, savoring the warmth. He takes a deep breath. His hands move to my waist, and he gently pushes me backward until I hit the bed. I stumble onto it, unable to stop myself. My hands move back to catch myself in a sitting position.
“I’m shocked Irvine hasn’t fucked you yet,” Adam says, his voice low. “Those servants the king gave you have been putting you in some very…fitting gowns. “
I tip my head a bit. My brow furrows slightly. Adam sees my confusion and lifts an eyebrow. “I’m not sure what you merfolk consider attractive, but your body is practically irresistible.” His gaze slides over me, greedily swallowing every inch.
An odd sensation stirs between my legs. I squeeze my thighs together in an instinctive attempt to quell it, but that only seems to sharpen the feeling.
“When I saw how into Irvine you were after he brought you back…I thought it best I kept my distance,” Adam says. “But I couldn’t help but think about that woman I’d seen out in the ocean. How beautiful she was.”
My gaze darts down in that moment, and I see the bulge in his pants.
Adam bends over. His lips press against my ear. “Just from looking at you,” he murmurs, resting a hand on my hip. “Imagining what it’ll feel like to be on top of you.”
My stomach flutters in a way that’s entirely new. I’ve never felt anything close to this. The closest have been a few moments with the prince, but even that doesn’t compare to the intensity of this.
“Come on, Mara, tell me. Do you want this?” Adam grabs my chin gently and tips back my head so that our gazes meet. “Do you want me to show you one of my favorite things about being human?”
I nod, though I’m still not entirely sure what I’m in for.
Adam reaches down to grab the hem of my skirt and pulls it up. He pushes the fabric to my waist and squeezes my bared thighs, moaning as he does so. The sound sparks a new sensation, an intense throbbing between my legs.
His hands move up to my chest, and he begins to grope my breasts through the gown’s fabric. “Fuck,” he hisses. “Were they this big when you were a mermaid?”
A groan escapes from the back of my throat. I nod weakly.
Adam’s hands move to my shoulders and push gently. I fall onto my back, bouncing gently against the sheets.
He climbs onto the bed, resting a knee on either side of me, straddling me as he continues to squeeze my chest. He leans in and presses his hardness into the space between my legs. His hands tug at the gown’s neckline. It succumbs to his grasp and slides down, exposing bare skin and nipples.
One of Adam’s hands slides under the gown’s skirt. It grazes my thigh on its journey up my leg, and I realize I’ve become wet down there. I squirm, but Adam’s other hand moves to my shoulder and holds me in place.
His thumb settles onto a spot so sensitive I barely restrain a cry at the touch. It slides up a little and begins tracing slow circles around the area.
There’s a feeling building in my core, becoming more intense with every passing second. I continue to strain against Adam’s grasp. It’s not intentional, but my body is so overwhelmed with sensation that I can’t help it. I gasp and whimper. And when Adam asks if it feels good, I nod eagerly.
I need…something. Some kind of resolution to this strange, growing need. Adam’s ministrations seem to be bringing me closer.
I force myself to focus, to lift my gaze from his hand to his face. His eyes are narrowed in concentration, and his jaw is clenched tight. After admiring the angles of his face, his nose, his cheekbones, I drop my eyes again to his waist. To the bulge in his pants that, from what I understand, is his own body’s response to this intense feeling.
The placement of Adam’s thumb shifts slightly, sending a spike of pleasure through me. There’s a sudden, overwhelming rush that overtakes every sense. I feel my back arch, my hips jerk upward.
Two of Adam’s fingers slide into the opening between my legs. The force, the new feeling—it pushes me even farther over the cliff I just fell off. He continues to slide them in and out, dragging out the sensation. I’m trembling uncontrollably, and I can’t keep myself from gasping and moaning in pleasure.
After a long moment, Adam’s hand disappears. My previously unfocused gaze settles on him as he begins undoing his pants. “I can’t take it anymore,” he grunts. “I need to be inside you.” The pants come down, revealing Adam’s cock. It’s bigger than I expected, and I’m honestly not entirely certain how it’s supposed to fit inside me.
My concerns don’t last long. Adam pushes his length in with force, but there’s no pain. Only pure euphoria.
“Fuck, yes,” he growls as he sinks in. “Take my cock.”
As he pumps, Adam works off his shirt. His pants come off the rest of the way, too. It’s hard to focus on anything besides his body. His warm skin, his muscles, the grunts of pleasure emanating from his throat. Once his clothes are off, he grabs my hips and adjusts his angle, allowing him to pound even harder.
“Oh, god, Mara,” he groans. “I’m going to be the first man to ever fill you. Fuck, I’m—”
His grip on my hip tightens. I gasp in pleasure.
“I’m cumming!” Adam gasps. “Fuck, Mara.” He thrusts a few more times before pulling free, liquid dripping from his tip.
Adam collapses onto the bed next to me. I turn my head so that our eyes meet. My shaking makes it difficult to work my hand, but I manage to say, “That was incredible.”
“Good. I agree.” Adam leans in and purrs in my ear, “And now, I don’t think I can let you get dragged back into the ocean by that curse of yours. If you need me to…” He smirks. “I’ll marry you.”