No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t peel my gaze off the woman in my bed.

Then again, I didn’t really try. There were things I should be doing, but I didn’t have it in me to step away from Aria

She was the most alluring creature I had ever laid eyes on.

And she was mine.

It was a foreign concept, but one I was feeling more satisfied with by the moment.

After so many centuries ruling alone, I would have a partner to share my life with. A mate.

Assuming I could ever convince her that being mine wasn’t the death sentence she seemed to think it was.

And that I hadn’t stolen her just to breed her. Yes, we were expected to procreate, but our bond was much more than just a guarantee that we could have children.

I would need to romance her to prove my point.

Unfortunately, I was terribly out of practice with romance.

And seduction.

And relationships.

Considering I’d never so much as tried the first or third items on that list, I had no fucking idea how to do any of it.

But I would figure it out. Because Aria was mine—and I wasn’t settling for anything less than a sealed, complete mate bond with the woman I was destined to love.

four

ARIA

I woke up to the smell of spices and saltwater.

No part of me thought I was still on Earth. It would’ve been impossible not to remember Triton walking me through a portal, declaring me his bride, turning his lower half into a monster, and putting on that stupidly-attractive skirt.

There was no forgetting the rest of it, either.

He expected me to pop out babies for the good of all mermonster-kind.

We were going to have to screw to seal our bond.

I was in danger because of the selkies and kelpies, for unknown reasons. And I still had no idea exactly what a kelpie was, outside of the fact that their magic was weirdly seductive.

Oh, and I couldn’t possibly forget—I was turning into one of the mermonsters myself. Physically, mentally, and emotionally, if my husband’s sister was to be believed.

Yeah, it was a mess.

My hair was tangled all around my face. I always tossed and turned in my sleep, so that was normal. I tried to push the strands away from my nose so I could breathe easier, but most of them clung to my skin.

The texture of my hair felt different, so I eventually opened my eyes to look at the strands. When I saw them, I sucked in a sharp breath and sat up quickly.

“Sweetheart?” Triton’s voice was gritty with sleep, and the sound of it sent a shiver down my spine.

No, I was not going to be affected by my sexy-as-sin husband.

Not even a little.