Just like I didn’t blame Alaric for the facthisfather was a complete psychopath.
The sins of our parents were not our sins.Thank the goddess.If we were to blame for any bad stuff our parents had done, I’d have a massive problem, given my father was (allegedly) the king of the demon realm.
But we weren’t talking about that.
I moved to sit down next to Kai. Pretty seaweed fronds danced in the water currents, and the mage lights that appeared when weentered the cave highlighted his handsome features as he stared into the shadows.
“I’m sorry your mother is a raging bitch,” I said through the mental link when the silence between us crossed the border into uncomfortable territory.
“Me too,” he replied. There was another pause while he considered his next words, and I fidgeted, silently wishing I’d begged for a cup of coffee before we left Maverick’s cabin.“I stupidly thought she’d be happy I had found my soul-bonded mate.”
“What happened when you arrived home?” The sting of his leaving hadn’t faded, but I forgave him. If my mother had still been alive, I would have wanted her to know too.
“She was happy at first, but once she realized my soul-bonded mate wasn’t a mermaid, she got angry. I tried to leave, but she had me thrown in the prison cave.”
“Why didn’t your dads stop her?”That was the part that bothered me the most. Daresh had helped us in the end, but Kai’s other father stood there and did nothing while the queen and sea witch hurt my mate, their son.
“My fathers love my mother more than they love me.”
I doubted that was true. At least not in Daresh’s case. The male had been distraught when he thought Kai was dead.
I snuggled into his side, wanting to comfort him.“They love you, Kai, but I think they’re perhaps too weak to stand up to your mother.”
Not all males were strong protectors like my other mates. None ofthemwould let an overbearing female order them around. Unless it involved sexy time. I suspected Zane would love it if I ordered him around in the bedroom. He’d hinted as much earlier.
Kai’s nostrils flared, and I realized I’d probably flooded the cave with sex pheromones thanks to the stream of sexy thoughts blasting through my head.
Bad witch!
“I’m sorry for leaving you straight after we, um, sealed the bond,”he said.“That was horrible of me. I’d understand if you wanted to reject me as your mate.”
My jaw dropped in shock.“Why would I do that?”
“I’m not a good mate. Because of me, you nearly died.”Did he mean the sea witch’s curse?
“That wasn’t your fault!”Stars above, Kai was much too hard on himself.
Before he could protest, I climbed astride his lap and rested my hands on his chest. The mate mark glowed brightly, responding to my touch. I fixed my merman with a glare, needing him to know exactly how perfect he was.
“Yes, it hurt that you left, but I found your note and understood why you felt you needed to tell your horrible mother. If she hadn’t tried to murder you, then you’d have come straight back and everything would have been amazing. But we can’t change the past. And honestly, I wouldn’t want to.”I brushed my lips against his mouth and sighed.
“I love you, Kai. You are my perfect mate, even if your mother is a psycho bitch.”
He flushed an adorable shade of lilac.“I love you too, my sweet witch.”
My stomach chose that moment to growl like Maverick when faced with an obnoxious wolf shifter.
“You’re hungry.” Kai hung his head in shame. “I’m so selfish. I should have insisted you ate before we came here.”
“Stop it! I’ll eat when we get back.”
“In that case, let’s go. I’ll come back later to swim again. I’ll probably need more water time for the next week to make up for the lack of swimming while…”His voice trailed off, but neither of us needed to say it; I knew what he meant.
“Perhaps you can teach me to swim this week, so I don’t drown if I end up in the water while you’re not around.”I prayed that wouldn’t happen, but given my luck these days, there was a strong chance it might.
“Of course I will. It would be my pleasure.”This time he kissed me without hesitation, and from the way he groaned when I rubbed my breasts against his chest, he wanted a lot more than a kiss. But while I was excited about the idea of underwater sex, I needed food and caffeine more.
And from the impatient muttering in my head, my incubus waited poolside to take us back.
