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“She’s all dirty now.” Gill slapped me on the ass, hard, and I yelped.
“You slept with him, too?” Nemo groaned, collapsing beside me and stuffing his face with so many berries, his cheeks puffed out.
I slumped to the ground next to him, and he slipped his arm around my waist, resting on my stomach.
Once we returned to Tritonia and saved my father, I’d no longer see any of my mermen. A princess with three suitors was unheard of. We could meet in secret, but someone was bound to find out. Then what? Would my father lock up my mermen for daring to lie with a princess of the realm? Take Fin’s hands for claiming my virginity? Exile all of us? While I often harbored the notion of running away from everything, it was unfair to steal my mermen from their loved ones. Either way, I doubted Gill’s willingness to stay with me long-term, regardless. A wildness resided in his blood, like it did in mine, and I knew it couldn’t be tamed. Yet, I wanted more, so much more from all of them than just an adventurous tryst. For the foreseeable future, I wanted to be afforded the chance to explore my relationship further with all of them.
Sea god, why did I have to fall for all three of them at once? If it was just one of them, Fin, perhaps, we might have stood a chance with my father.
A thick, gluey heaviness settled under my ribcage. With Nemo’s firm cuddle and soft kisses, he lay on the side of my head, and the glue turned into a dull ache, leaving me wanting to crumble into a thousand pieces of sand. Every part of me wished I could stay forever in his arms, finding comfort, love, and honor.
“What are you thinking about, Princess?” Nemo pressed a berry to my lips.
I accepted it, savoring the sweet taste, avoiding telling him my thoughts. He didn’t like it when I dwelled on the bad. Nemo’s head was up in the clouds, and I hated dragging him down with my troubles.
“Nothing.” I brushed the back of my hand along his bulging upper arm.
He forced my chin up so our gazes met. “Don’t lie to me.”
One question in particular burned a hole in my tongue, and I just had to ask. “What will happen when we get back to the palace? My father won’t allow this. The three of us.” I shook my head, fighting the sand choking up in my throat. “I can’t lose you.”
Nemo kissed me on each eyelid. “Don’t think like that.”
I loved how he remained positive even in the darkest of times.
“The king isn’t keeping Nemes apart from his future wife,” Fin joked, running his hand up and down my back.
“Damn straight.” Nemo’s chest muscles twitched, as if he was ready to fight every soldier in the kingdom for me. “I’ll kidnap my future wife if I have to.”
His positivity gave me a shred of comfort. A hiccupped laugh burst forth, and my men joined in, too.
Gill surprised me by kneeling in front of me. “I’d kill anyone who tried to stop us from being with you.”
Sea god. He stole the breath right from my lips. I remembered every single word he’d said earlier. Words any woman desired to hear from her mate. For so long, he’d fought everyone and everything: his parents, teachers, the merkids at school, anyone in authority, including Fin. Had he now found direction and something to fight for in me? I hoped to the sea god he had, and I nestled into the tender hold of his hand on my face.
“She’s mine, too,” Nemo said.
The way he elbowed Gill and they mucked around, nudging each other back and forth, told me Nemo was finally coming around to the idea of sharing me.
“Children.” Fin nuzzled my neck.
I shivered with delight in his embrace.
When Nemo and Gill finished, they threw their arms over each other, hugging and laughing. Brotherhood. Camaraderie. Respect. Values I admired and honored in my mermen.Shellfish. I still couldn’t believe I had three of them. Talk about the luckiest girl in the world.
For too long I’d been told what to do. Obey court protocol. Attend meetings regarding the realm. Comply with my father’s wishes and the expectations placed upon me as a princess. Now, it was time for me to do something just for me. My happiness was all that mattered. From that point on, I was determined to keep my mermen. Losing one was like losing my scales…my fins…I couldn’t survive without them. I’d do anything to stay with them, and I prayed to the sea god they felt the same way.
Somehow, I had to convince my father the mersoldiers were worthy of my love.
More than anything, I just wanted to get back to the sea. My skin craved the salty water to soothe and moisturize it. My fin and scales begged for release. My heart wanted to exchange the pearl for my father’s freedom. The longer we lingered in the Darkwoods, the more an icy tentacle of dread took residence in my chest, strangling my sternum.
