“Not without a bond. It would be considered disrespectful to both parties’ future mates.”

“Wow. You know I’ve kissed other people, right?”

“I’m aware of the culture around it on Earth, yes. I was with other women before I became king, so it would be unrealistic to expect otherwise from you.”

“But none of them ever kissed you?”

“No.”

“Wow.”

His lips met my shoulder like they had in the mirror earlier. Suddenly, the gesture meant more than it did before. “You already said that, Sweetheart.”

“I’m still not your sweetheart.” The words sounded a little weaker. A little less certain.

“Would you rather I call you mate? Or wife?”

My throat constricted. “Sweetheart is great.”

He chuckled again. “I figured.”

“I’m not going to breed with you, Triton,” I said. “I don’t exist just to have your babies. I⁠—”

He cut me off. “I didn’t marry you just so you could have my children, and I wouldn’t force you to get pregnant. You are my queen, before anything else. I’ll even show you where the plants that block fertility are if you’d like. My people are the ones who will push you, because we’re still struggling to rebuild our population. We’re at less than one percent of what we were before the war.”

He paused for a moment before adding, “And for what it’s worth, merrae females only have one fertile period every year, so it’ll likely be at least a few months before you could even possibly get pregnant. The birth control plant is only needed during that time of the year.”

“That does make me feel better, actually. How hard is it to get to those plants?”

“Not hard. After you learn how to shift and we seal our bond, I can take you to them.”

My eyes narrowed. “We have to have sex to seal the bond.”

“Correct.”

“I’m not having sex without protection. I was on the pill back on Earth, but it’s been long enough since I took the last dose that it’s worn off by now.”

“Sweetheart,” he said, turning me to face him and cupping my cheeks between his hands. I glared at him as he tilted my head back, tipping his own downward so our eyes met. The man was stupidly tall. “The selkies are clever creatures. They want you dead so they can control the sea alongside me. There are only a few kelpies, but they work with the selkies, and they are beings of seduction and death. If they can separate us long enough to take advantage of you and twist our bond, they will. I will not take you into the ocean again until our bond is sealed. I waited centuries to make you mine, and I’m not going to risk our mate bond.”

“Unprotected sex is a risk,” I said, though my anger had deflated significantly.