she put her arms around his neck. I crouched in the ocean and took hold of Zelie from behind, lifting her up by her thighs. She weighed nothing beneath the water.
Still kissing her, Reed pushed the tulle skirt upward where it floated to the surface of the water. I knew when my brother entered her by the throaty gasp Zelie gave as she broke free of Reed’s kiss. She gripped my brother’s neck and leaned into him. I felt her hips move in my hands as Reed thrust inside her. Zelie rocked against Reed, moving as steadily as the tide. Her moan plunged straight down to my groin.
Fuck. This was happening. My first time. Soon Reed would turn this beautiful bombshell of an elf around and hold her up for me to mate with.
It happened sooner than I thought. Even in the throes of pleasure, my brother was serious about sharing. Zelie’s thighs lifted from my grasp as Reed spun her around to face me. Her swollen lips parted as she looked into my eyes with a dazed smile, breathing deeply.
“Don’t overthink it,” Reed said to me.
I stepped closer and slid my fingers between her legs. Finding her entrance, I guided myself into her glorious depths.
My breath hitched.
She was a perfect fit. I gripped her thighs, accidently crushing Reed’s fingers as I got carried away in the moment. He grunted and let go, letting me have her entirely. Zelie grabbed my shoulders and pushed on them, lifting herself to ride me beneath the waves. She moaned with each rise and fall of her hips.
Fuck. I was on the verge of coming, and we’d only just gotten started. First time or not, I didn’t want to blow my load within minutes of mating.
I tried taking even breaths to calm the blood racing to my groin. When that didn’t work, I sent a chill down to my dick.
Zelie gasped and bucked against me. “What was that? It feels like your shaft turned into a popsicle.”
Reed laughed. I grimaced at him over Zelie’s shoulder.
“Better to come than freeze your dick off.” The bastard floated on his back, smiling up at the moon.
Zelie ran her hand over my cheek, then leaned forward and whispered in my ear. “It’s okay, Ronin. I know it’s your first time. If it makes you feel any better, I’m having trouble holding on. You and Reed are . . . well, let me just say, oh, sweetberries.” She took my face in her hands and pressed her lips to mine.
We steadied our rhythm, kissing and grinding to the sound of soft splashes against our undulating bodies. Reed, being the good brother that he was, didn’t interrupt even after we’d gone way past the brief time he’d gotten with Zelie. My brother floated soundlessly on his back beside us until Zelie cried out, taking me with her.
I held Zelie against me, covering her face in kisses. She rested her forehead against mine and sighed. I savored the feel of her weightless in my arms.
“What happens in California stays in California, right?” Zelie murmured. “I remember Lark telling me something about that years ago.”
I frowned at the mention of Lark. Reed swam over, his teeth gleaming in the dark. “Actually, that saying goes for a place called Las Vegas. It doesn’t matter, though. What happens in the mortal realm is happening back home in Pinemist. You’re ours now, Zelie.”
“My brother speaks the truth,” I said, relishing the shiver I felt go through the female in my arms.
“And by the way, Lark is a complete dingleberry,” Reed added, wading to our side. “Our brother’s lucky he found a male willing to put up with him.”
I snorted my agreement.
All too soon, Zelie pulled away from me and pushed herself gently out of my arms. She cleared her throat. “Time to return to the elven realm. I need to prepare a tincture.”
A proud grin spread over my lips. Planting my seed in Zelie felt like a claiming of sorts. Like Reed had said, she was ours now.
“Or we could stay the night—what’s left of it,” Reed suggested.
“I like that idea,” I said.
Zelie rubbed her lips together as she stared in the direction of the condo. Standing in the ocean, in the moon’s glow, she brought to mind a fabled siren—one I’d happily follow out to sea.
She tucked her hair behind her ears. “I’m ready to return home.”
Reed scooped her into his arms and headed toward shore. “Whatever you want,” he said.
Zelie laughed and slipped