Seduced by the Sea Lord

Chapter 2

Torun opened his eyes.

He was dry and in some kind of wood box. A loud rumble masked his surroundings, coating his senses in a thick layer of impenetrable silt. High-pitched, buzzing lights washed out the interior. Air wafted across his skin.

Where was he?

He jerked upright.

His head bashed a low overhang with a resounding gong.

He fell back. The gong reverberated in his skull, and a second thunk sounded below his resting platform.

Oof.

He lay still until the throb in his head receded and reason returned.

The mer would never transport him through the air. He must have been captured by humans.

How lucky.

He rose more carefully, ducked out from under the low overhang, and rested his human feet on the floor. He was on a boat, wrapped in some sort of cloth. Perhaps he was in one of their wooden sleeping places. What was it called? A bunk?

A woman appeared in the doorway. "Hello?"

Praise the Life Tree.

Her soul light shone in her chest brighter than any he'd ever seen. Brighter than any of the beautiful women who swam around the shores of Cancun. Brighter even than the sun.

She was his soul mate.

His chest lifted. Finally! After days of searching, after a desperate fight for his life, after defying his city and the rules of the mer, his quest was over. He'd found her.

His one.

"You're awake." His soul mate's lips pursed. "Are you okay?"

Her voice was quiet and musical, like all humans', and her words were created by an alluring movement of her lips in concert with her tongue. They crossed the air to his ears and tickled. Huh. So different from his normal method of communication, but one he had trained for his entire life.

Her chin lowered. "You are okay, aren't you?"

He forced his lips into position. "Yes."

"Oh, good." She sighed and smiled. "Welcome back to the land of the living. I just dragged you out of the ocean."

"I am today's catch."

She blinked. "Ha! I guess you are. How's your throat?"

He touched his neck. "It is raw." The vibration on his throat when he spoke tickled his fingers strangely.

"You took in a lot of seawater." She stepped into the small room.

Her body was perfect. Soft and delectably round, with dark eyes and hair the color of fine wood. Large breasts and generous hips teased him beneath her thin white covering. Pink algae colored her toes and fingernails. No, not algae. What had he researched? A colored lacquer called "nail polish." What a playful human decoration.

"And something chewed you up pretty badly." Her brows pulled together in gentle concern. "Oh, that's funny. I thought the wounds were a lot deeper."

He brushed the shallow scabs. "I heal quickly."

"I'll say." She shook her head, and her damp hair rustled against her white covering. "Only half an hour ago, I would have sworn that you'd ended up on the wrong side of an outboard motor. Now, you look like you tangled with a mildly irritated house cat."

"Is it a problem?"

"Only for me. And my mental capacity." She rubbed her forehead and emitted a shallow huff. "So much has gone wrong recently, and just now, I thought...Well, if I can't trust my own judgment, what can I trust?"

Her soul light dimmed.

No. The brilliance of his destined mate must never fade. His nearness should only ever make her shine bright.

"You can trust me," he said.

She snorted. A smile broke across her sweet face, and her soul brightened. "I don't even know your name."

"I am Torun, honored warlord of Sireno."

"A warlord? Wow." She moved another step closer, placing herself within arm's reach. "I've never heard of Sireno."

"It is far."

"Right. Okay. I'm Lucy. Lucy Shaw Edwards—" Her light dipped. "Uh, I mean, just Lucy Shaw."

Hmm.

A warrior's soul never faded or blazed in quick succession as Lucy's did. She seemed to move from one extreme to the other with minimal suffering.

How?

The sacred island brides, like the warriors, had always controlled their soul lights—so far as Torun could remember. It had been a long, long time since he'd seen a sacred island bride.

Was it because she was a mainland woman?

The Sireno elders said mainland women would never acclimate to the ways of the mer. But this woman, Lucy, was his mate. He knew it.

Unless... His senses were muted by the air and the rumbling noise...

"Lucy."

She focused on him.

He took her hand and stroked her strong scuffed and scratched fingers. "You are not afraid of the water?"

"Only when it comes pouring in from a crack in the hull." She stared at their joined hands.

"But you would be unafraid to live beneath the sea?"

"Oh, yeah, if I could score a spot as a submersible pilot, like for one of the oceanographic institutes, I'd be set. That's living the dream."

He understood about half of those words. "Living under the sea is your dream?"

"Sure, I'd love it." She traced the iridescent gold honor markings on his knuckles with a gentle index finger. "These tattoos are amazing."

"They tell my history."

"How did you make this color?"

"It is natural." He captured her wandering fingers. "Are you seeking a male to join with?"

Heat flushed across her skin, turning her cheeks a delicate pink, and her lips parted. "Join with?"

"Together. Here. You and I joining as one." He brought her fingers to his mouth. She tasted like the sea.

She closed her eyes and sucked in a breath. "Mm."

The quiet moan was more than enough answer. She needed him.

He drew her arms around his shoulders. "On behalf of the mer of Sireno, I claim you for my bride."

Her eyelashes fluttered. "What?"

He sought her lips.

She resisted and then melted.

His.

Lucy was his bride. No other warrior would ever kiss her mouth. "You are mine."

Her soul flared even brighter. She accepted his claim in her soul.

Yes.

Lucy was his.

Torun curved an arm around her generous hips and lifted her onto the bunk.

He would claim his bride!