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“Stop getting familiar with the princess, Nemo,” barked the one who’d sounded like a leader.
“She’s not well and needs attention, Captain,” said Nemo.
My own heart spun in circles at having someone care for me. I hadn’t realized I’d wanted that before. Sure, I was a princess, pampered with food, clothes, and all the finest things the sea kingdom could offer. But I never acted spoiled like my sisters. Never bossed the servants around with my demands. That must have been why my father respected me more than he did my siblings. I didn’t rely on my privileges.To be tended to by this merman was like nothing I’d ever felt before—exhilarating, uplifting, and frightening at the same time… After all, I didn’t know him, nor he me.
We stayed like that for some time. My vision cleared slower than a turtle crawling along the beach. But as it did, it allowed me a better view of my surroundings. Bars lined either side of our enclosure—a cage of some sort. Not very big, either. Just large enough to fit us all. Horses drew the cage in a black box on wheels. I believed the humans called it a “wagon.” The iron lock on the door rattled with each step.
More wagons trailed behind us, carrying other creatures, such as fae, wolves, tigers, and bear shifters. My heart tightened for all of them. Then a blazing heat consumed me. How could those pirates do this? They had no heart!
Somehow, we were going to get out of there. I didn’t know how or when, but I was determined we’d make our escape. The survivor in me crouched, waiting for the right moment.
I rubbed my temples, and it helped eliminate more of the cloudiness from my eyes. Head leaned back, I lay there, drinking the merman above me all in. A giant, with a great, big chest, and thighs as thick as a dolphin’s body. His skin was tanned but clammy, as if he was sick. With eyes slanted slightly, he reminded me of the islander merfolk who lived between my father’s kingdom and my uncle’s. Nemo, or Nemes, his comrades called him, greeted me with a dazzling smile that scorched me to the core. On his left shoulder, he wore the tattoo of the mersoldiers: a trident with waves along the middle. His dark hair was cropped, and stubble lined his chin.
I tried to sit up, but my head pounded, so he lifted me and positioned me beside him.Sea god. I loved the way he looked after me. Next to him, I felt safe, as if my worries had vanished.
I rested my head against the bars, scoping out the other two mermen. One of them, a brooding and dark merman with cinnamon-colored skin, stood in the corner. He had eyes like amber, and a body like the sea god himself, and he also brandished a mersoldier’s tattoo. He too looked sweaty and a little pale, and he shivered. My eyes dipped to his nakedness. Dark curls decorated the top of his manhood. But I didn’t dwell there long with them all staring at me. I didn’t want to seem like a creepy pervert.
Had they all been given the drug, too?
“Nemes,” said the grouchy one, not looking at me, “I think we’ve all had enough of your little crush.”
Heat claimed my cheeks. Nemo had a crush on me? Well, he was sweet. Built like the Sharkriders, but he didn’t talk degradingly to me like those rough mermen usually did. Nemo had a face like a smiling, happy god—exactly the kind of guy I could fall for.
“Give it a rest, Gill,” the leader said. “You’re being a guppy.”
I giggled into my hand. “Guppy” was the word merfolk used when someone was immature or acting like a jerk.
“Fuck off, Fin,” Gill growled.
Ahh. The leader’s name was Fin. Suited him. Golden like the sun, his hair and skin contrasted with his rich blue eyes, reminiscent of crystal waters in the bay. Blond stubble lined his chin. His hair was cropped to his shoulders but gelled back with sticky extract, most likely from a dead sea snail. His shoulder bore the mark of a captain in the merarmy.
Gill glared at Fin. Then he pretended to bow to me, but it was more a mockery of a bow than anything.
Guppy.
His gaze trailed up my legs, over my hips, grazed over my breasts, then dipped back to the jewel between my legs.
Suddenly, the realization of my nakedness below hit me, and I curled my legs up to my chest.Poseidon. My father would kill these three for looking upon me naked. Exactly how long had I been cooped up with them? Had they been leering at me this whole time? Obviously, they didn’t have the decency to avert their gaze from a helpless princess.
“Don’t worry, Princess. We’ve all seen each other nude,” he said.
But his tone of voice did nothing to console me; in fact, he sounded as if he were trying to rub it in.
Jerk. The ashamed and irritated fire burning through my insides could ignite the entire forest our wagon passed through.
“Gill,” Fin barked.
Gill closed his eyes. “Why should I be nice to the family that forced me into the military for life?”
Ah.So he had a grudge against my family. Why had he been forced into life-long service? My father always let the mermen choose. Something about this story didn’t sit right with me. But now wasn’t the time to delve into that topic. Maybe when he’d calmed down or we’d gotten to know each other a little better.
Nemo rubbed my back, but it didn’t help relax me. I felt raw, like a pearl commencing its journey inside a clam, being polished by grains of sand. Still, I leaned beside him for comfort, hugging my legs to my chest.
Well, if I was nude, it was only fair I enjoyed the view. After all, they were delicious, well-built, and tall. Just my type.
Gill let out an exquisite, gruff laugh as my gaze dipped to his member. “Like what you see, Princess?”
“As a matter of fact, I do.”
