for who she was. He loved her just exactly so.
Her heart squeezed. “I love you.”
“Of course you do.” He trailed sizzling kisses down her chest, tugging her night shirt up and feasting on her needy nipples, then on down to her lightly swollen belly to her pounding, wet heaven. He seduced her with expert strokes until she clamped her thighs around his head and dragged him up, and then he fit his cock to her and drove into her like the waves carving out the shore. She took every delicious pounding thrust, hooking her calves around his muscular backside, until he’d wrung not one or two but three whole orgasms from her. Because he liked to do it, and he had the stamina, and why not? She could just have it. She could just want it and have it, and he wanted to give it to her too. “Watching the passion on your face brighten your soul makes me lose my mind.”
She clamped onto him. “Lose it, then.”
He shuddered and surged into her, filling her with yet another delicious full-body climax and pleasure like champagne foaming over with his slippery release.
It was great, really great, to wake up to him too.
Energy surged through her.
She patted his shoulder, rolled his heavy body off her with a groan, and danced to the shower. A seawater shower, because it didn’t matter and because she had plans.
He got up and stumbled in after her. His yawn changed over to pleasure as she attended to washing him down, and then he grabbed a quick snack from the kitchen while they headed out to do the first part of his morning rounds. It was her favorite, and she tried to join him every day.
They greeted other early-risers—mostly warriors, including former members of the All-Council army. They returned the greetings awkwardly, and Gailen stopped to chat, really trying to get to know them.
As the Sons of Hercules still had pockets of tenacious supporters, so did the All-Council.
As soon as the island had been raised and the new covenant signed, King Kadir had sent a coalition to take over the All-Council fortress and empty their prison. They had declared a new era for the mer, and now the traditionalists were the dissenters, silent for the moment, but never gone.
Gailen resumed their walk and took her hand. His thumb curved around to touch the back of her hand, where it belonged.
And so did the other one.
His grip wasn’t strong yet, and maybe it never would be, but he barely seemed bothered anymore.
They walked deeper into the island.
Once, she and Gailen had thought they could never change.
And the same thing happened with the All-Council. They were still stuck in an era where they believed that they couldn’t transform. They hadn’t realized that the world had already changed without them. And now they’d been faced with the proof of it, and they had to change.
One of the new coalition’s first actions had been to open the archives so that the remaining representatives would go out and tell the history. Some of the historical events put mermen in a really bad light, and some of the things damaged the humans. Legitimate complaints had been forgotten over the years, and now the current generation was in danger of reopening old wounds.
But there was still a great chance to atone, move beyond, and open to new possibilities.
All the humans who fought over territory, who’d felt sorry that they hadn’t lived in a time when they could explore the oceans, had to understand that actually, there was still a lot to be explored. There was an ocean beneath the ocean, where dead warriors were laid to rest, which they called the blacknight sea. It was a real place, and it was where the megalodons lived, and other creatures that awaited scientific discovery.
The surface of the earth was like the skin, and even the deepest trench was still just a pore. There was more of the world waiting to be discovered for anyone who dared to test their limits.
But pushing limits wasn’t easy. Almost everyone was stuck a little bit.
Even when she had been stuck with her allergies, she had an option to be more open with her online connections, and she’d chosen not to do it. Well, not chosen, but she had allowed her illness to dictate her life and her protective shield to disconnect her even when maybe it would’ve been better to connect.
They reached the great pool in the center of the island. The heart stone lay beneath the gently moving waves. She left her wrap on a bench by the start of a willow tree and waded into the sultry water.
Gailen checked the willow—he was as fascinated by her land plants as he was by the ocean’s—and joined her. “In a few years, when these grow up and give shade, we might introduce some fish. Did you see the portals I worked on? We should be able to clear them of muck and then let in water from the ocean.”
“It will be a beautiful lagoon,” were the last words she said above the surface.
He grinned at her beneath the water.
Her shift was still a matter of will. She held his gaze as she tried to serenely force the air from her lungs, clamping her mouth shut. She seemed to suffer less of the gag-drowning reflex if she let the water in from her lungs up her throat instead of the other way. That had to be the warriors’ seamless-transformation secret.
He knew that she liked a little privacy to get her peace of mind back after shifting, so he kicked to the portal he’d been talking about and reached shoulder-deep into the pipe.
Brave.
She transformed her feet into fins and kicked to the lagoon floor.
And then she focused energy on her fingertips and brushed the knotted wood. It lit up with a million stars. She felt a great reverberation in her soul.
Gailen swam to her and entwined her in his arms. “It is echoing within you and within me.”
It was great to swim here in the morning to wake up, but it was even better as their last swim at night. The stars beneath reflected the stars overhead. It was so beautiful living in this microcosm with Gailen. He loved her, held her, and set her free.
And she was so happy to finally be free, wrapped in his arms, swimming with Gailen.
Thanks so much for reading! If you loved this exciting conclusion to the Lords of Atlantis series, check out my new series, the Blades of Arris.
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STARLA
Also by Starla Night
Lords of Atlantis
Seduced by the Sea Lord
Sacrificed to the Sea Lord
Enslaved by the Sea Lord
Stolen by the Sea Lord
Surrendering to the Sea Lord
Secrets of the Sea Lord
Spellbound by the Sea Lord
Shattered by the Sea Lord
Saved by the Sea Lord
Sheltered by the Sea Lord
7 Virgin Brides for 7 Weredragon Billionaires
~ ONYX DRAGONS ~
(Complete Series)
Malachite
Pyrochlore
Kyanite
Amber
Jasper
Alexandrite
Flint
~ CARNELIAN DRAGONS ~
(Linked Novellas)
Syenite
Peridot
About the Author
USA Today bestselling author Starla Night was born on a hot July at midnight. She hikes, scuba dives, and swims naked in the ocean. She writes about smokin’ hot dragons and tattooed mermen at StarlaNight.com.
starlanight.com