Page 27 of Stranded With the Grumpy Mermaid

Permission. Trust. Want.

All of it hits me at once.

I put my mouth on her. She's hot against my tongue, nothing like the coolness of the rest of her skin, and slick enough that the first taste of her makes my groan vibrate directly against her.

Her hips jerk. I flatten my tongue and drag it slowly through her, from her entrance all the way to her clit. She cries out and the sound is raw enough to make my cock throb against the blanket.

I do it again, slower this time. I part her with my fingers and watch for one second as the light beneath her skin gathers brighter between her thighs. Then I lower my mouth again and close my lips around her clit.

Her thigh comes up over my shoulder. Her heel digs into my back.

Her fist closes in the wool by her hip and her whole body tries to lift into my mouth, so I put my forearm across her hips and hold her down. Not hard enough to trap her. Just enough that she has something to push against.

She isn't quiet. Every stroke pulls another sound from her. A gasp. My name. A broken little moan when I suck harder.

Her fingers find my hair again and hold on.

"Rafe."

I keep going.

"Right there."

I stay exactly where she asks me to. Her breathing breaks into short, ragged pulls. Her thighs tremble around my head.

"Rafe. Rafe, don't stop. I'm close."

I slide one finger slowly inside her. She's soaked and burning hot around me. I curl my finger forward and feel her clench.

Her cry tears through the quiet morning. I add a second finger, stretching her carefully while my mouth stays on her clit. Her thighs start to shake. Her body tightens around my hand, every muscle drawing taut, and I know she's there.

"That's it," I breathe against her. "Give it to me."

She comes with her back arched off the wool and my name breaking out of her.

And she lights up. Not just a shimmer. The whole of her.

A clean blue-white flare turns her skin luminous beneath my hands.

Her inner muscles pulse hard around my fingers. I keep my mouth on her and work her through every last contraction until the tension leaves her thighs and her fingers loosen in my hair.

The light fades slowly. I press one last soft kiss against her before moving up her body.

Her chest is still heaving when I settle beside her. Her face is flushed. Her eyes are unfocused.

She’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever laid eyes on. I lean down and I kiss her.

She tastes herself on my mouth and licks into the kiss with a low, satisfied sound that makes my cock jerk against her thigh.

When she finally pulls back, she's breathing hard.

"I need you inside me.”

Nothing in me is capable of pretending that doesn't destroy me. Her hand slides down between us and closes around my cock. Her fingertips skim the underside of my cock, and my breath comes out rough through my teeth.

"Neri."

She strokes me once, slowly, from base to tip. My hips follow her hand before I can stop them.