Making Waves (Mythological Lovers) (14 page)

“Morning sickness?” someone asked.

“You know it.” I washed my face with cold water. “Except, you know, at all hours and not just in the morning.”

The older woman chuckled and patted my back in sympathy. She suggested I keep saltines in my purse, a tip I wisely filed away. I wasn’t about to turn away suggestions from those who had already been through pregnancy and childbirth.

Returning to my office, I found Castlebury sitting behind my desk, clicking through my computer. I couldn’t see the screen, but panic immediately clawed at my heart.

“Can I help you, Doctor?”

“Ah, Alessa, there you are. Julia told me you’d taken photos prior to my arrival.”

“I’m printing them out now but had to make a bathroom run.”

“Yes, I heard congratulations are in order.”

“Um, thanks. Look, not to be rude or anything, but I have personal photos on there, if you don’t mind. I can send you everything from the party tomorrow,” I offered.

“My apologies.” Castlebury wore a contrite expression, but his eyes seemed too bright. The man never, ever apologized for anything. He hopped up from my chair and strode from the office without a backward glance.

I hurried around my desk and plopped down, searching my screen for any sign of what he’d been looking at. The printer continued chugging photographs out on the expensive glossy paper and the only picture folder open was the party. I breathed a sigh of relief then noticed a minimized tab.

Why is my email open?
I wondered. When I bent over the computer, I saw a tiny ‘email sent’ notification in the corner. I hadn’t sent an email.

I investigated the sent folder and found a recent letter to V.Castlebury. My blood ran cold, chilling my entire body from head to toe. I downloaded the attachments in the email and opened them, revealing five precious photos of Dante’s herd mates and my underwater exploration.

“No, no, no,” I pleaded.

I rushed out onto the employee floor to search for Castlebury, but he was nowhere to be found. He’d made his discovery and hightailed it to parts unknown.

Because of me, another human had been made aware of the hippocampi.

***

T
elling Dante about my failure was the hardest and it cast a dismal shadow over an otherwise cheerful event. I’d let him and his herd down, endangering the very people who would one day protect my daughter.

Dante decided to keep the news from his father, fearing it would strike a critical blow to their newly rekindled relationship. Instead, seeking advice, we found Teo that same evening and told him.

“Bah,” Teo said. He offered me a mug of tea. “You worry over nothing.”

“He has photos of them, Teo. Real photos of five hippocampi. What if they’re what he’s been out there looking for all this time on his exploration dives?”

“Are you not jumping to conclusions, Alessa? You worry over nothing but a few insignificant photographs.”

“You know as well as I do that he’s always rambling about some sea monster he met in his youth. What if this is it and he’s been looking for proof all this time?”

Teo rubbed his chin thoughtfully. “It would explain why a doctor of his background would come to this resort. He could work anywhere in the world.”

“See!”

The dragon chuckled. “Relax, Alessa. I promise to you that within the next two weeks, all shall be fine.”

As Thursday and Friday crawled by, my fear worsened and I dreaded the outcome. Dante didn’t blame me, but I had difficulty sleeping at night and feared any day, I’d turn on the television to a news report announcing the scientific discovery of a new species. I glued myself to my computer during the days, keeping an eye on marine biology outlets, online journals, and even Facebook groups like I Fucking Love Science.

No one reported it.

My mate urged me to focus on our wedding instead, so my mother dragged me out to the mainland to purchase the perfect dress. She chalked my nervous behavior up to the pregnancy and impending matrimony.

Saturday morning dawned bright and beautiful without a single cloud in the sky to threaten our beachside wedding ceremony. It was small and intimate, with only a handful of close friends, my mother, Dante’s grandfather, and Teo’s family. Next to the discovery of my pregnancy, it quickly became the happiest day of my life. I stood beside the man I loved, hand-in-hand with him while wearing a cream sundress in lieu of white. The shell and pearl necklace he’d made for me graced my neck, a breathtaking replacement for a traditional wedding ring. The smile never faded from Dante’s lips, and at the end, our first married kiss tasted as sweet as the day he first took me in his arms at the cabana.

Following the ceremony, I spied a single equine shape amidst the waves. The sun glinted against unmistakable golden hair, and from Dante’s description of his father I knew it had to be him. I whispered in my new husband’s ear and together, we stole a glance at the distant hippocampus.

I’d never forgive myself if Castlebury used my photographs to harm them.

I wouldn’t lose this creature’s trust. I couldn’t.

***

“I
thought humans had specific traditions to follow after a marriage.” Dante’s warm breath played over my ear as he teased me.

“You mean like the wedding night and honeymoon?”

“That, and...” He scooped me up in his arms outside the door to the suite. “Teo told me it’s customary to carry the bride inside.

With his hands occupied, I swiped the keycard and pushed the door opened. Vases full of creamy white, pink, and yellow plumeria lined the entry hall and red rose petals scattered across the floor. The floral trail led to a table sprinkled with more petals laid out around a silver tray covered in strawberries and chocolate truffles. A matching ice bucket held a bottle of sparkling cider.

“It’s beautiful,” I whispered. I’d have to thank Teo and Marcy for the gift.

“Not as beautiful as you.”

We shared a lingering kiss, the sort we couldn’t have with our friends and family watching. Our wedding kiss had been short, but sweet.

“I’m going to go freshen up,” I said after we came up for air. His kiss alone had dampened my panties and left my head buzzing.

“As you like. I will open the bottle.”

I giggled as he set me down, picturing a geyser of bubbly cider all over him and the room. “Do you know how?”

Dante rolled his eyes. “I received a little instruction before tonight. Give me some credit.”

Teo,
I guessed.
I owe him a thank you card and... what the hell do you gift a dragon?
“I’ll be out in a few, okay?”

I left Dante behind to marvel over the extravagant suite and room service menu. When Teo told me our gift included a two night stay, I filled our luggage bag with a world of possibilities. I’d even brought the vibrator I’d shyly hidden from him at home, tucked in the bottom of my panty drawer.

About a week ago when I first mentioned our wedding plans to Pam and Julia over the phone, they’d surprised me by adding to my lingerie wardrobe. According to them, there wasn’t enough time to throw together an official bachelorette party, and Dante was hot enough to make any stripper appear inferior.

I glanced at my choices, biting my bottom lip as I tried to decide which I liked best for this night. On one hand, I had pristine white silk, virginal and sheer. On the other, I had a sexy one-piece number woven from black lace. The crotchless ensemble had made me blush when Julia suggested it. It reminded me of Dante, the perfect reason to select midnight fabric over the traditional shade of purity.

After donning the skimpy negligee, I checked out my reflection in the mirror. From the front, it appeared to cover as much as a bathing suit, but a thong exposed both of my cheeks in back.

I hope he’s into lingerie. This thing isn’t remotely comfortable.

I tossed the matching black robe onto my body and belted it before emerging.

Dante awaited me when I stepped through the door, sprawled across our honeymoon bed without a stitch of clothing. As usual, he took my breath away, but I couldn’t tell if he’d stripped to get comfortable or in expectation of our night together. Both ideas made me giggle. One look allowed me to determine it was the latter.

“What?”

“Well, aren’t
you
ready.”

His tall cock stood at attention, the perfect invitation for me to climb astride him. I resisted and approached him with my sexiest, most-seductive walk. I stopped at the bedside and held my pose. My husband rippled with muscle from his broad shoulders to his taut abs, a sight so perfect my core ached in anticipation.

“Gonna unwrap me?”

My new husband didn’t need a second proposition. Crawling across the sheets, he reached out with one hand and tugged my belt loose, parting the lacy fabric. With a single nudge, the robe slid back from my shoulders and fell to the floor, exposing the form-fitting lace stretched over my body. Dante sucked in his breath, his cock twitched, and I beamed with satisfaction.

“How do you like it?”

“The wrapper or the gift? You could have worn a piece of tin foil and I’d be excited.”

“You haven’t seen the best feature.” I joined him on the bed, on my knees with my legs apart, then placed his hand between my thighs.

“Humans make the most amazing things,” he said, marveling over my crotchless ensemble. His fingers dipped into my wet slit and two penetrated my depths. I rocked my hips to his rhythm, inviting him to plunge deeper and faster.

I cupped both hands to Dante’s cheeks and kissed him without restraint, releasing the raw passion pent up during our wedding.

“Lay back,” I whispered against his lips. “I have a special treat for you.”

He obeyed without question, always eager to please me in some way.

Taking his long dick in both hands, I stroked him to a state of iron tumescence. When he was groaning for more, I shifted my body around until I knelt over him. With my knees framing his head, I straddled Dante’s face and leaned forward to claim his cock. My tongue teased over the sensitive head, swirling over a drop of salty precum.

“Alessa,” Dante moaned. His hands slid up, grasping my bared ass cheeks, then back down my thighs again.

I bobbed my head to a feverish rhythm, faltering only when his fingers played across my slit. My new husband remained at my mercy, writhing on pricey hotel sheets.

I craved too many things at once, and had too many fantasies to fulfill in one night.

Now or never,
I thought, before I thrust forward and engulfed his entire cock. Dante jerked and swore, caught completely by surprise. I loved it and the power I held over him. I savored every second of having him beneath my spell.

I didn’t stop until my nose pressed snugly against his balls. He trembled and quivered beneath me, his tight muscles pulled to maximum tension.

His slick fingers left my tight channel, replaced by the heat of his mouth and the playful plunge of his tongue. We took turns driving one another mad. One moment, his tongue would slide down my slick folds, claiming me with harsh strokes, and then I’d take him into my mouth again until his dick glided to full penetration. We both shuddered, pushed to our limits.

Dante stiffened beneath me. His hips bucked and he orgasmed on my backstroke, releasing into my mouth. The salty-sweet rush pooled over my tongue as I reduced him to guttural groans and unintelligible syllables.

At the end, he slumped his head to the pillow and gave a content sigh. I still trembled with my own need, sliding my mouth off of his dick with a wet pop.

“You’re so good at that,” Dante muttered from between my legs. I kissed his softening cock and stroked his balls.

“I’ve been wanting to try that for a while, actually.”

A single roll of his body swapped our positions.

“I need to feel you inside me, and I need it
now
,” I groaned out.

“And I want to taste you,” he growled before tracing my wet divide with his tongue. Just as I’d held him at my mercy, Dante had me at his; I became his willing victim, writhing and arching on the bed. My hips rose and I grinded against his mouth, out of control with lust. He licked everywhere but the tiny pearl that would free me from my feverish discomfort, neglecting it.

“Dante? I can’t... I need...
please!
”

His lips sealed around my clit, he sucked, and I melted. My core clenched with need, desperately wet and needing to be penetrated by more than his tongue. I whined softly as he swiped it from side to side.

“I’m close, so close,” I gasped out. “I wanna come with you inside me.”

Agile and fast, Dante twisted and repositioned himself, his stiffening cock a teasing presence between my thighs.

“No, I want to ride you, baby.” My entire body burned for him with unmistakable yearning surpassed only by the craving to be in control. My nipples tightened to the point of pain, hypersensitive beneath the lace.

The comforter and sheets wrinkled beneath us as we rolled again. Rising above him gave me a sense of power and confidence. The way Dante’s eyes roved over every inch of me made me feel sexy. Cherished. Loved.

My breaths came hard and fast, my thighs tightening and clenching to move up and down on his length. Sweat beaded upon my brow as the winding pressure built within my core.

He scraped his teeth over one pebbled nipple, teasing through the thin lace cup. A second later, he discovered the stretchy material pulled away from my tits. He tugged at the straps and freed both to the open air and the sweet torture of his lips. It was one stimulation too many, and he sent me careening over the edge.

“I love you!”

I wailed as I came, the intensity of my orgasm sweeping me along on a white-hot torrent of pleasure. A wave of ecstasy crashed over me, and as I went rigid, Dante took over, pounding my body with hard jackhammering thrusts. My breasts bounced wildly to his frenetic pace.

On his next stroke, I spasmed around his cock and he came undone, losing himself to join me in mutual orgasm. We rocked together and grinded until the last rhythmic pulse, and then finally we lay still.