The Sea Queen (The Dark Queens Book 1) Read online

  I was now pretending to dust off my tail. They were meeting up for sex. See, sex was wonderful. How could I not want that?

  He tried to mask his answer by whispering it in her ear, but nothing was hidden to me within my waters.

  “As long as you promise to wear those wicked fishnet stockings you found the other day.”

  Fishnet stockings? What in the world were those? And how could I get my hands on some?

  She tittered. It was really rather adorable. And then, with a gentle swat to her rear, Sircco swam off, acknowledging me briefly with a short dip of his head.

  “King.” I curtsied.

  Nim’s arm was once again threaded through mine, and before I knew it, she’d dragged me into their massive dining chambers, which we had all to ourselves, as was the case these days.

  Nimue had decreed that she wished to take her lunches alone. But for some odd reason, she always allowed me in on her private time.

  “Sit.” She pointed to the seat beside hers at the head of the long driftwood table.

  I sat, twiddling my thumbs as she began to unpack her basket of goods. I smiled as her eyes grew big. Holding a fork in each hand, she looked like a child as she gazed longingly at each plate.

  “I hardly know where to start. You spoil me rotten, Janita.”

  “Ah, it were nuthin’, m’lady.” I batted away her words while inside, I beamed.

  She happily munched for a while, and I didn’t interrupt her. I wished her to eat her fill. She had my twins to care for, after all.

  But once she began grazing, I figured she’d eaten as much as her stomach could hold, and I spoke up. “My lady?”

  “Hm?” She looked up, finally setting down her forks. She’d very nearly demolished all three plates of food. What could have easily fed four had just barely been enough for one very ripe consort.

  “I wish to speak frankly, if I may.”

  “Of course, Janita. You know you can tell me anything you wish.”

  I dipped my head. “Thank you.”

  Suddenly nervous, I drummed my fingers and swished my tail back and forth. I wasn’t a complete novice when it came the idea of men, but there was so much about them that felt lacking to me.

  Swallowing a deep breath, I rushed out, “I’ve found myself a male.”

  “Oh.” Her rosebud lips quirked into a small “o.” “That is wonderful. Is he handsome?”

  My eyes widened with enthusiasm. “Excessively. He is—” I almost said his name and then realized that would open me up to far too many questions “—lovely. He’s got great, wide hands.” I splayed mine open. “Fingers that can really grip my arse, you know.”

  She pressed her lips together, then gave a small cough before waving her hand. “Bone. It is nothing, continue.”

  I frowned. I never left fish bones in my meals.

  As if realizing my thoughts, she was quick to say, “Oh, no, not from your food, dear. Cook fried me up a plate of fish earlier, and I’ve been coughing all morning trying to get it loose.”

  I thwacked her back hard at least three times.

  She grunted, falling forward and planting her hands on the table.

  “Good?” I asked, ready to thwack her again if she should need it.

  “Oh no,” she looked up at me with eyes now watering and gave me a thumbs up. “I think you got it for sure.”

  Nim cleared her throat, grunted, and then nodded. “Yup, definitely gone now.”

  “Good. So anyway,” I sighed, “he’s hawt.”

  She laughed. “That’s the best kind. What are his lips like?”

  I brushed fingers over my own. They were soft and sensitive, but I remembered what his had felt like. Hard, claiming, dominating. “They are fuller on the bottom than the top. But he knows how to work them well, if that’s what you mean. My body turned to lava when he touched me.”

  “Oh my. Tell me more.”

  I smiled, setting farther into my chair. “Well, I wish to claim him tonight. I want to straddle his cock and ride him till the morning, that is.”

  She choked again, and I lifted my hand, but she quickly shook her head. “No, I’m good, love. I’m good.”

  “Are you sure? Fish bones can be quite tricky.”

  “Quite. But I’m all for riding a lovely cock. What exactly is the matter? Because I sense you have a question.”

  I drummed my fingers. “What are fishnets, and why do men like them?”

  “Ah. I see.” Leaning back in her seat, she rubbed her belly a few times before saying, “Men are visual creatures by nature. You don’t really have to do much to excite them. Just show up, preferably naked, and they’re like putty in your hands.”

  “Mmhm.” I nodded, deep in thought. But that still didn’t explain why Sircco wanted her in fishnets. “But—”

  She held up a finger. “You clearly overhead my king referring to my fishnets.”

  I didn’t blush. Why should I? There were no secrets uttered within my waters I did not know. I shrugged.

  “You see, when a couple has been together for a while as the King and I have, sometimes we wish to get creative to keep the spark alive.” Glancing over her shoulder, she leaned forward and whispered, “Sircco and I play games all the time. Sometimes I tie him up to my bed and give him a few lashes to rev him.”

  “Wow.” I breathed. “And he doesn’t get angry about that?”

  She laughed. “Not with the types of lashes I gave him. It’s important that for every sting there is also something tender to help ease the pain. He generally likes a gentle rub or a kiss.”

  “Mm. Yes, I could see where that might work.” I imagined Hades stretched out before me with a whip in my hand, and I felt such a flutter of white-hot need that it was an effort to remain in my seat much longer.

  “But not all men enjoy that type of game. You have to figure out what your man enjoys, Janita.”

  Feeling a little as though I’d just been shot back to square one, I glowered. “And how am I to know what he likes?”

  “Ask him.”

  “Ask him?” I snapped my fingers. “Just like that?”

  “Yes, of course. Just like that.” She winked. “Believe me, men are quite willing to talk about sex. It’s one of their favorite pastimes, after all.”

  “Mine too. When I finally have it, that is,” I said dreamily then looked up at her. “What type of questions should I ask? I’ve seen men and women ride each other like mules. I’d imagine he’d like that.”

  “Oh yes, I’m sure so.”

  “And I saw a woman once stick a carrot up her man’s—”

  She cleared her throat again as a fierce blush rose to her cheeks. “I can imagine. And you never know, your man may like that, too.”

  I nodded. “Okay, so I ask him. Got it.”

  “Buy yourself a few outfits. Play dress-up for him. Men usually like that.”

  “What kinds?” I really should have brought a notepad, there was so much information to remember.

  “Well, pirates are a fantasy for some. I happen to have some great clothes if you need any.”

  We were about the same size—prepregnancy, that was. I was just about to ask her for some when I realized that technically she thought I had a tail and wouldn’t need a skirt or pants, but I couldn’t imagine simply walking up to Hades with only a top on and my pearl exposed to the world.

  But then again...

  “In fact,” she clapped her hands, and almost instantly a maid appeared.

  “Yes, m’lady.” The chubby maid with coal-black hair dipped low.

  “Buella, can you please run to my chambers and pick out a set of my old pirate clothes. The best set I have, the um...magenta and gold one, I think,” Nim said after eyeing me a quick second.

  “Yes, mum.” Buella was gone in an instant.

  Nimue turned back to me with a smile. “It’ll only take a minute. I do hope that once you’re done sexing him up, you’ll bring him by to meet us, love. We would all very much enjoy meeti
ng the man finally good enough for our Janita.”

  I laughed. “Oh, I’m not sure about good enough. He’s thoroughly disreputable and debauched, which makes him absolutely perfect for me.”

  Our grins matched.

  Buella returned only a few moments later carrying a wrapped bundle in her hand.

  “Set it just there, Buella, thank you.” Nim pointed at my spot on the table.

  The maiden set it down, curtsied one final time, and then swam off.

  Pushing back my chair, I dipped my head at the Consort. “Well, I’m to shove off now. I do believe my work here is done.”

  “Oh, yes, go shove off.” Nim tapped her jaw. “And remember, have fun.”

  Grabbing the package, I nodded. “Oh, and one last thing before I forget. I like you very much, Nimue. Truly. Frogs of a feather we are.”

  She cleared her throat again before giving me the thumbs up. “Yes, we are, Janita. Now go make your debauched male thoroughly happy.”

  Chapter 5

  Nimue

  Sircco returned to my side the moment “Janita” left. Wrapping me up in his arms, he kissed me softly. We broke apart with a happy little sigh. Then, signaling to me with his finger on his lips, he created a pocket of air around us, a bubble that safely encased us and made it impossible for anything or anyone to listen in on our conversation.

  “What did that old stingray want this time?” he chuckled.

  The laughter I’d fought so hard to contain during her visit came pouring out of me in great, heaving sobs, leaving me feeling dizzy and breathless.

  “Oh, gods, your mother has secured her a man.”

  He snorted then joined me in laughter. “Good gods. She is adorable.”

  “Aye, she is. Though I do believe she honestly thinks she has us all hoodwinked by her maiden disguise.”

  “Well,” he slipped his fingers through my hair, hair that’d grown out past my bum at this point, “I do think she’s got most of them fooled. Mother, though naïve in many ways, is no fool. I think we see through her because we know her so well, and so few of us do. It is an honor, truly. I’m just grateful she likes you.”

  “Tut.” I patted his cheek. “I tamed her as I’ve tamed all fish. She loves me and I her, and I do hope that whoever this male is, he will survive the tempest that is your mother.”

  “Oh, gods, for all our sakes.” He stifled a chuckle. Then, lifting my hands to his lips, he kissed my knuckles tenderly. “Now, about those fishnets...”

  ~*~

  Calypso

  I was horny.

  And tired.

  But mostly I just wanted to get on with things already.

  Marching through my halls, I spotted no one about. Which was good, as I was not in the mood to entertain idle tittle-tattle. The package was burning a hole through my hands.

  I was desperate to unwrap it and see just what surprises Nimue had packed for me.

  Unable to resist the curiosity a moment longer, I hurriedly switched forms, debating whether to go to Hades as a woman of flesh or water and decided that I should do both.

  I’d heard once that the play of hot and cold could be terribly sexually stimulating. I was a fully formed woman, but the right half of me was built of water.

  To be sure, I probably looked bizarre, but there was beauty to it, too. The limbs of water sparkled like diamond dust in the noonday sun. My hair hung long and loose down my backside, exposing the tiny dimples just above my bum line. I had a banging body.

  With a contented little sigh, I undid the wrapping and cooed at the exquisite feel of glowworm silk.

  The outfit Nimue had gifted me with was a very fine stitching. The silk had been dyed opposing and yet beautifully complementary colors. I quickly pulled the top over my head and cinched the lacing behind my back.

  There was a good five inches of bare skin left bare. I smiled, ready to walk into that room with my goods exposed and have my naughty way with Death Boy, when I spied what appeared to be a lace skirt and a dainty pair of black lace stockings.

  The silly maid had obviously forgotten that I was naught but a mere maiden with no legs.

  Thankfully, though, I did have legs, and so her oversight would now prove to be a boon.

  I quickly slipped on the skirt and gasped at the decadent feel of such lush fabric but also at the provocative garment. The skirt was shredded up the sides so that each time I stepped, a long expanse of thigh would be bared. That, coupled with the stockings, which bore markings of sea roses (my favorite aquatic flower), had me feeling decidedly wicked.

  There was also a golden chain much too long for my neck, so I wrapped it around my exposed waist. It jingled as I walked. I also found a pair of high-heeled boots.

  “How in the bloody hell does Nim walk in these?” I eyed the ridiculously long length of heel—easily four inches and coming to a very narrow point at the end. But I had to admit that once I slipped them on, they made my slender ankles and softly muscled calves look fabulous.

  The finishing touch was a pirate’s hat, a black thing that curled up on one side and had a cream-white sash tied around it that trailed down my spine.

  “Mirror.” I snapped my fingers. Instantly the waters before me turned into a looking glass from floor to ceiling. Twirling, I checked myself out.

  My ass looked perfect.

  My breasts were like lovely, ripe melons.

  And my face was flawless.

  “Who wouldn’t want me?” I smiled, and with a kick of the strange heels I was coming to adore, I turned and made for the room.

  I didn’t knock. I didn’t even utter a word. I simply opened the doors a moment later, snapped my fingers, and in an instant, Hades was undressed and chained to a four-poster bed. I’d considered using my clam bed, as I was accustomed to its softness, but there’d been no way to shackle him to it.

  “Calypso!” he grunted, writhing and twisting his magnificent body, his gorgeous face red with sudden fury and shock. “What is the meaning of this?”

  Bracing my feet wide, I waited for him to stop being such a grumpy ass and look at me.

  He did only a moment later, and his jaw dropped.

  Smirking, I let him study me as I devoured him.

  He was brilliant, his body corded and tight with ropey muscle. His shapely chest rose and fell while his stomach contracted with his breath, causing his abdominals to flex and strain.

  I frowned to note he was covered in slash marks from the bottom of his chin to just above the dark thatch of curls between his legs.

  But I soon forgot about the scars at the sight of his lovely cock. Long and veiny, the color of his flesh reminded me of wet sand.

  I couldn’t seem to stop sighing, especially once that turgid member rose to greet me.

  He cleared his throat. “Calypso, release me.”

  I pouted. I wanted to keep looking at him, not talking. “Hades, I mean to sex you. Why ever would I release you? You forget you are my prisoner for the next two weeks. I keep you as I want you, and I want you as you are.”

  Wetting my lips, I stepped inside, and the doors slammed behind me with the rush of a sudden current. The water smelled of flowers but was now also scented with the rising thrum of our desires.

  He wanted me as I wanted him.

  I trailed fingers along the tops of my breasts, playing in the vee between them as though unaware of his sudden, harsh intake of breath.

  ~*~

  Hades

  One moment I’d been contemplating asking someone for food, the next I was chained to a bed and treated to a sight I’d never believed possible, not in a million years.

  Calypso was staring at me as though she meant to devour me. The thought only made me feel hotter.

  She was more beautiful than I could have imagined, a mixture of woman and magic. Even the fleshy side of her sparkled with light. I wanted to yank that hat off her head, toss it to the floor, and run my fingers through her soft green hair.

  I should be furious with her.
Never in my life had a woman treated me as she did now.

  But maybe that was part of her appeal. She was unlike anything I’d ever come across before.

  Letting my eyes linger at the swell of her breast, I wet my lips. “Take off your clothes, imp.”

  She grinned. “That is not how this works, Dead Boy. I sex you, not the other way around.”

  I narrowed my eyes. I would let her have her way with me. What red-blooded male could deny her? But I would lay ground rules.

  “Tonight only. Tonight you can have your way with me. I am yours to please. But tomorrow it is my turn.”

  “No. I reject that proposal.”

  I lifted my brow. Temperamental goddess. “Then you do not get to play with me, Calypso. I am a god, too, and I can deny you.”

  She bit her bottom lip. A lush, red bottom lip. A lip I desperately wanted to taste again.

  Calypso knew I was right. I could deny her. I wouldn’t. It seemed to me that sex was not such a bad thing right now, but I had to make her believe she did not hold all the cards. I was an ancient, too, and knew that if I let her manipulate me once, the cycle would never end. That was a mistake I’d made once in my life; never again.

  Pouting prettily, she stomped her foot, causing her luscious breasts to jiggle. By the gods, I could not really believe this was happening. A virgin goddess gifting me her greatest treasure.

  I trembled at the thought.

  She sidled close to my side, close enough that she was now leaning over me and trailing a finger down my left rib cage. It was all I could do to clamp down on my moan. I was so hard I felt I might burst.

  The drought had been long, far too long for me.

  “Hades,” she whispered as she circled one of my nipples.

  I bucked under her touch, clenching my teeth, determined not to let her see just how desperate I was now becoming.

  “You know you want to play.”

  Squeezing my eyes shut, I thought of Aphrodite’s words. Calypso was more ancient even than the Titans. She was a primordial, which actually made her older than me. But she’d not been human long, so it might be possible to use her newfound enthusiasm to my advantage.

  “You wish to know sex? True sex? Correct?”