“I’ve missed you,” I whisper. I want to say it louder, but her lips are at my throat, and I can’t form the words. Our plan to show our unity at the ball was solid, but I think we all forgot our own need. I need her so much.

  “I missed you too.” Her breath is heady on my neck.

  I can’t think of anything else but her. She’s under my skin. I don’t know how to function without her. Her scent, her flavor, it’s so . . . intoxicating. I ease my hand down between us and find her waiting clit. She’s drenched.

  Nico and Eros could be killing each other right now, and I don’t care. I just don’t care. She bucks into my hand when I press against her. I break the kiss. Eros is on one side of her, and Nico sits near her head. They’ve both shucked their clothes. I slide down between her legs and suck on my mate mark, right next to her pussy. She bucks her hips into my face.

  “Fuck, Holter. You’re a genius.” Eros moves closer and leans over her, kissing her.

  I am, and the fact that he knows the mark is mine makes my cock hard. Her pussy is mine. I suck on her clit and push a finger into her. One at first, because no matter how hard she’s worked, Belle needs to be opened up slowly. I’m pushing the second finger into her when the mattress shifts with Nico’s weight. He’s got one of her breasts in his hand and the other nipple in his mouth.

  Am I mad she took a mate without discussing it with us? I should be. Every cell in my body wants to scream with jealousy. But this is Belle we’re talking about. If she says she wanted to tell us first, then I believe her. Do I want to know where she was between Athens and the side door of this dome? Hell yes. But I’m not going to stop this, not if the dome itself implodes. I’d shift and keep working her.

  Two fingers in her, and her moan is loud enough Eros can’t contain it.

  “That’s right, Little Krill. Let it out.” Nico almost sounds tender.

  But he’s not my problem right now. I’m not going to worry about him. Every last ounce of energy I have is focused on my mermaid. On making her know how much I love her. I might not be happy with what happened with Eros. But that’s tomorrow’s problem. Today, I want to feel her thighs squeezing my head so tightly it’s like she’s trying to crack open a clamshell. My tongue and my finger work in rhythm.

  “Do it now, Sunshine. Come all over Holter’s face,” Eros says.

  I reach up and hook into her, rubbing her rough spot. Nico’s got his hand on her belly, pushing down. And she shatters. Her thighs clamp on my head like she’s never come so hard before. With her, each time is new. Each moan is distinctive from the last. The surrounding mattresses are designed to contour to the mermaid’s body, bringing her the highest amount of satisfaction.

  “Whoa.” Belle pushes up on her elbows, grabbing Nico around the neck. She’s gentle, and the only thing that’s going to do is piss him the hell off.

  “You’re not going to break me, Little Krill.” He flips them so he’s on his back and her back is resting against his chest.

  “There’s a chest of supplies in the alcove next to Nico’s trident,” I tell Eros, mostly because he’s the closest.

  He breaks open the seal and tosses me the lube. To hell with him if he thinks he’s getting in on the action right now. What he’s done has joined us together. But not now.

  “Slide onto me, Annabelle.” Nico’s cock is hard and between her legs. She takes it and pumps him once. He groans. “Fuck.”

  Annabelle’s blue eyes catch mine, and our gazes lock. She’s torturing him, but herself too. Her cunt is gleaming for us. She slides up onto him while I undo the buckle of my pants and push them off.

  I’ve never been more ready for this. I take the lube and work around where she’s taking Nico. We haven’t done this with her before. But I want her pussy as much as he does. He’s just going to have to share. I work her tight lip, sliding the lube around until I’m positive I’m going to get my cock in beside Nico’s. I hold her legs. “Are you ready, Belle?”

  Her reply of, “uh, huh” is muffled by Eros’s kiss. I know he’s going to stick his cock in her mouth when things get going. But at this point, I don’t care. I just need to be inside her. Then I can be whole again. She’s everything to me. Absolutely everything. I remove my fingers and position my cock at her entrance.

  “Go slow,” Nico grunts into Belle’s back. He’s holding her around her hips, sliding her back and forth. When I move into position, he holds her still. It’s tight, so tight. Slowly, I make my way in until I’m seated to my hilt. She’s a dream, an amazing dream I never want to leave. We have her home. I take a second, and when I’m sure she’s ready, I fuck them both, driving them into the bed.

  But Belle isn’t going to leave Eros out of this. She’s pumping his cock with her hand one minute, and the next her mouth is on him. She swallows him down whole. He holds her head. The blue feathers in her braids flutter away as he picks them out. His eyes are closed.

  But I can’t close my eyes to this. “You’re so beautiful, Belle. You’re the most beautiful mermaid on the planet.”

  Her pussy flutters, and I lose all control, slamming into her over and over. I want to possess her. Own her. Make her understand she’s mine and I’m never letting her leave us again. Nico moves his hand from her hip to mine. He squeezes, and I slow the pace. I get it. He wants Eros to blow first. His eyes are squeezed tight, and he doesn’t have long. With my pace slower, Belle works him harder.

  “Sunshine,” Eros grunts, but she doesn’t let him go. She swallows everything he gives her. Eros pulls out, and he kisses the trail of his cum away from her chin and cheeks.

  Her eyes are back on me, and nothing is going to slow me down now. I’m here for her. Each thrust, each movement. I wiggle my hand between our bodies and find her clit. It’s only a few strokes before she’s losing it. We’re all writhing and shaking on the mattress. Eros holds her leg out. With another roll of my hips, we come crashing down.

  Belle screams our names. It’s loud in here, but not that loud. Nico was right. There isn’t a person here who doesn’t know who she belongs to. She’s our mermaid, and I wouldn’t have it any other way. I’m wearing the scent block. But she’s still mine.

  I pull out of her. I look up, and Eros is feeding Belle some restorative gel. I smirk like he does. She’s going to need to supplement. Because I want her again, and soon.

  She rolls sideways off Nico, who looks better than he did when we came into this place. His coloring isn’t as off, and while his chest is shaking, so is mine. She nestles into his side, her fingers skating up and down his abdomen.

  I press a kiss to her cheek. She hums when my lips slide over her.

  “Think you can hang on to our Sunshine a while?”

  Nico’s lips are on her shoulder. He glances at Eros. It’s a small attempt to tell him he’s not going to kill him today. When Eros was in our pod bed—no, I guess it was just Nico’s pod bed at the time—Nico shot down every nickname Eros came up with for her.

  Belle smiles. “I’m not letting any of you go.”

  “You want to get cleaned up?” Nico’s fingers sink lower to Belle’s core.

  “Not yet.”

  “That’s our mermaid.” Nico’s knees bend, and he’s straddling her before she can say another word.

  Belle looks up at me over Nico’s shoulder. “And what more do you have planned?”

  “So much more.” I smile. “But for now, I want to watch.” I move to the side of her Nico abandoned. He’s entered her again. Their rhythm shakes the mattress.

  I’m kissing her, and then she turns her head to Eros. I shouldn’t like it, but I do. Watching her enjoy another male is good. It’s different from when she’s doing it with me. I can enjoy every micro-expression. Every sigh, every twitch of her hands.

  But then he breaks his kiss with her and languishes attention on her newest mating mark on her neck. Her hips buck, but Nico’s not having it. He’s not done with her. He stills her hips, controlling how she moves.

  I go in for her lips, tasting Eros on them. My hands are everywhere, and soon she’s coming again hard. A sheen of sweat over her breasts glistens in the light.

  The music drifting through the ballroom reaches my ears. I haven’t been paying a bit of attention to it. Or the opening to the alcove. An opening where Castor stands glaring, confusion and frustration on his face. He crosses his arms over his chest and turns his back on us when he sees me looking. He’s barring anyone else from entering and keeping anyone from looking in on us.

  Being with us behind closed doors is one thing. In public, with Belle mated to Eros now, it would be the death of Castor’s political career. He might be a reformed thief, but his reputation still precedes him. Although, there isn’t a male alive in the city today who doesn’t know that Nico Portsmouth and Castor Drakos are friends and that the two of them would die for each other.

  As far as I’m concerned, how Castor lives his life is up to him. He can join us now like he does in private or not. He’s not fooling anyone. It’s not a secret. He can’t possibly think it’s a secret. Because nothing he does is secret for long. But it’s up to him.

  I have my mate. And while we’re not broadcasting it to the city, at least not yet, having her in my arms is the best thing I’ve ever felt.

  28

  CASTOR

  My skin is crawling. I want to go in there. I want in there so badly I’ve bitten the side of my cheek and it’s bleeding. I’m watching the dancers shuffle round and round. The ball is at six dances, and things are heating up. Most pods have taken to alcoves or chaises around the room. I’m not moving. I’ll stay here for Nico. He doesn’t need anyone else in his pod bed tonight. He sure as hell doesn’t need Eros. Eros, who stole his way into Annabelle’s pod. I watched from a distance as she took the scarf off. He must have coerced her into it.

  I was ready to throw myself between Nico and Eros, into their pod business where I’m not wanted. Where I have no right being. But damn, I can’t stop myself. No, instead, I’m staying right here. I’m not letting anyone even glance in their direction.

  The Stele governor stops next to me. “Castor.”

  “Forrest.”

  “Reduced to guard duty?” Forrest tips his head in a knowing way.

  “No, friendship and dome loyalty. You should try it sometime.”

  “Your words are as sharp as the Poseidon trident. When are you joining a pod? You know we can’t have another king who’s unmated. Unmated males like to run off to war, and we need our king right here.”

  “Atlas is home. We have our king again. I’m sure he’ll straighten things out.”

  “We’ll see. How do you plan to map out your administration?”

  “Atlas has a few years. Let’s let him rule in peace.”

  He raises his eyebrows at me. “Are you joining the Poseidon pod?”

  Poseidon pod. Fucking hell, that’s the last thing we need to have going around. “I’m not in there, am I? I’m out here, protecting my best friend and his mate’s safety, from people snooping around them, wanting to grab onto his coattails after the ordeal he endured thanks to the governors’ barbaric practices.”

  “Your brother is one of them.”

  “And Nole is away.” On a fool’s mission. A mission to keep the Tinom governor from starting another war.

  “Yes. How is diplomacy with the other nation going?”

  “You’re a governor—you tell me.”

  “Happy Vividaria, Castor Drakos.” His tone scratches the scab of my problems.

  “Same to you.” The moaning behind me has me wanting to turn and watch. But it would take too much out of me.

  Another bed nearby holds the eldest daughter of the governor of Braesen. She brings with her high status, as her mother had two daughters. Two females born in one pod—it’s unheard of. Her pod of three has also chosen a bed on the edge of the dance floor. One where anyone could look at her, at them. Saraphina continues to make eye contact with me as her hips buck and fling around her mates. Three mates. Her fourth mate would signal to her body it’s time to conceive. A favorite time to join a pod.

  The three behind me moan. My friends would do nothing for me, for my bid to be king. But a daughter of a governor—and with three mates from high-ranking families, one a Glyden? That’s the type of pod my family hopes I join. Not one with the second coming of Poseidon, a criminal, a geminae, and a hybrid mermaid. Yet they’re the only ones I want. Standing here with my cock hard, protecting them—that’s all I can do. I’m their servant now. I’ll protect them. I want to be anywhere near her.

  After the first four dances, the mermaids who aren’t looking for new mates wander up the stairs to the balcony. I feel a set of eyes on me, stern eyes glaring down at me. In two years, I’ll be king. Ophelia Drakos will learn she doesn’t control everything in Glyden, and she doesn’t control me.

  I pivot and watch. Annabelle’s on her knees now, her mouth on Holter’s cock. He’s holding her hair back, and fuck, she’s taking him so well. I can watch. That’s what happens here. But I’m not letting others watch.

  There’s heat at my back. I turn.

  It’s one of Saraphina’s mates. He’s got a throw draped over his shoulder, covering part of his chest. “Castor, Saraphina is wondering if you would like to join us.”

  “Not tonight.” My voice is gruff, but it’s not from being attracted to her. It’s what’s going on behind me.

  “I understand. Friendship is important to you. But what about your future?” He shrugs and wanders back to the bed.

  In my peripheral vision, I see him tell her my answer. She smiles at me and waves. That’s the fucking thing. There’s not a thing wrong with her other than her not being Annabelle. Another mermaid might have been upset at being turned down, but not Saraphina.

  When I turn back, Holter is coming. Eros thrusts into her, and under them all is Nico.

  The dance floor thins as more pods take to alcoves and mattresses. Ten more minutes, and everyone will either be occupied or up on the balcony having dinner.

  I’m not hungry in the least, but I should head up to the balcony. Away from them, away from anyone else thinking I might want to play for the night. I don’t.

  Never.

  The thought of touching another makes my chest tighten. I’m going to have to get over it. Perhaps I’m the one who needs to go to the hagissa. Have them take my memories, my desires. The feeling of her smooth skin beneath my fingers. The witch will have to use all her powers to make me content with another mermaid. Putrid acid races through my gut. I’d rather have no one. But then Atlas has proved that a poor idea. He’s not a terrible king, and his faults aren’t because of his lack of mate and pod. But the city isn’t going to accept another unmated male. Not now. Not so soon after.

  I can move away. I must. From the balcony, I feel eyes staring at me. My fathers, Julius and Otto, are up there talking, their heads close together. They are the oldest of my mother’s mates. My dad, Julius, glares at me. I’m summoned.

  The orchestra stops, and their final piece is met with scattered applause from the balcony. Recorded music creeps through the hall. I’m on my own. Standing alone in a room full of love and sex. I stride to the balcony.

  “Castor,” Dad says.

  “Dad.”

  He hands me a glass of warm seaweed gin—no doubt Nereus Nectar, the strongest brand available—and tea. I used to think it was the most hideous drink on the planet. But one sip of it calms the tidal wave of nerves in my stomach. “Just because a plan has been laid out for you doesn’t mean you need to follow it through to completion.”

  Father’s mouth is tight, his eyes narrowed. He might feel differently, but he’s not going to say it now. He’ll tell me later.

  Well, I’ve got no time for later. “And what do you think about this?”

  Dad shakes his head for Father. “Castor has always done as he damn well pleases, and thinking we can talk some common sense into him is a mistake.” He turns to me. “But we made you that way. We made all of you podlets so you could think on your own. You’re an adult. I think you know what you should do. The question is, what will you do?” He raises his glass to me.

  And for the millionth time in my life, Dad is right. Granted, I’ve only acknowledged a few of them as correct. Now that I want him to tell me what to do, he’s not going to tell me. But I’m pulled apart like I’m a bait ball in the middle of a shark feeding frenzy. Part of me wants to fulfill my duty, the rest . . . the rest is pure want and desire. Until I can wrestle the two together, I’ll have to live with the pain and uncertainty.

  “Do you want a ride back to Glyden?” Father raises his glass to me. I’ve only had one drink, but I nod. Going back with them to the tower will keep me from doing something public that I can’t commit to, at least not yet.

  I look back to the alcove where Annabelle, Nico, Holter, and Eros are tucked out of sight. I don’t belong there. “Yes, that would be good.”

  Father puts his arm around my shoulder. “Let’s get you home.”

  Domes built as ball domes are different than others. Dad guides us down a corridor, the sort of corridor where you question whether you should be going down, if not for your father guiding you.

  The rear airlock has none of the opulence of the spectacle out front. It does, however, house three of my mother’s finest omadas. I sink into the rear seat, once again a podlet as the chauffeur drives us home.

  Father pats my shoulder. “You’ll be fine, son.”

  I don’t feel like myself. This isn’t me. I know what I want, and I get it. I solve problems. This one is no different.

  The currents pulse with activity tonight. There are displays of dome solidarity all over the city. Outside of Permula, the water shimmers pink. I don’t have a clue as to how they’ve done it. I’ll have to find out. Annabelle would be interested in how they’ve done it.

  I glance at the ball dome disappearing behind us. No, I have to move on. But when I close my eyes, it’s her I see. I’m obsessed.