We spent the next few hours reading. Or we tried to, at least.

Triton gave up after an hour or two and just sat on the edge of a chair with his hands clenched on his knees while he stared at me.

I pretended I was reading a merrae history book while trying to ignore his stare.

The shaking in my thighs wasn’t fading.

Feeling his magic in my veins seemed to have ignited something within me. The bond was unfinished, and my body was pushing me to complete it.

I got up to swap my history book for something else, reading the summary on the back of a different book as I leaned up against a shelf. I was still fighting the need to go back to the king.

His skirt was tented, not even almost hiding his gigantic erection. I still didn’t think that thing would fit inside me, even if I wanted it to.

Which I didn’t.

I really didn’t.

Except… well, maybe I did.

Just a little.

Just once.

Just to seal the bond so I could stop aching for him.

“I don’t think your cock will fit inside me,” I blurted.

Triton didn’t blink.

He didn’t look away from me, either.

“I’m small,” I said. “I’ve always been small. I⁠—”

“You belong to me. It’ll fit.”

I fell silent.

I wasn’t sure the logic worked out, but I also wasn’t sure Triton cared about logic. In fact, I was pretty sure he didn’t.

After a few minutes of pretending to read the first page in whatever book I was holding, I spoke again without looking up at him.

“Do you feel the urge to seal it?”

“I’ve felt the urge to seal the bond since my magic met your energy on Earth before I kissed you.”

Oh.

Wow.

“But is it worse right now?”

“It’s extremely difficult to fight at the moment, if that’s what you mean.”

“Yeah.” I bit my lip. “Do you think that’s going to fade?”

“I have no idea.”

That was lovely.

Really, really lovely.

“What exactly happens after we seal the bond?”

“The connection between us settles.”

Settling would be good, right?

I bit my lip harder.

“Nothing really changes if we seal the bond other than ensuring your safety a little more, Sweetheart.” His voice was slightly softer. “But we’ll wait as long as you want. There’s no rush.”

“Except for the fact that the kelpies and selkies want to kill me.”

“You belong to me. I won’t let any of them touch you.”

But I could protect myself… by giving in to exactly what I wanted.

I’d been attracted to the king since the first time I saw him. Maybe my attraction would fade after we made the bond permanent. That would be helpful, right?