Page 19 of Little Shake of Salt

My eyes widened as she murmured to herself.

“Fourteen,” she finally said. “I think. Maybe one or two more, I don’t really know. Our family is quite large. I have an older sister and two older brothers, and the rest are younger.”

“That’s so many,” I whispered. “I can’t imagine having that many siblings.”

She chuckled. “Well, we live a long time. The Kings and Queen are quite active. Our society requires this, because all of us fulfill roles to serve our subjects.”

“What do you do?” I asked.

“Well, most of the time, I focus on planning rebuilds for cities and homes that are affected by collapsing coral shelves and other problems within the ocean. It used to not be such a hard job, but the waters are changing. I’m busy enough that my brother has now joined me—we work together often. I’m sure you’ll meet him eventually. He, too, is mated to a human.”

“Really?” I sat up slightly. “So it’s not too uncommon then?”

“No, of course not.” She sighed contentedly, bringing my palm to her cheek. “It is complicated, though. Only because of what we both require, environmentally speaking. I do hope we can find a solution that would allow our humans to stay in our homes full time. Some monsters can utilize a glamour so theylookhuman, but not us. I cannot change my tail to legs. I wouldn’t want to anyway. But it does make things harder.”

“We will make it work.” I blinked, surprising myself.

Why did everything feel so natural with her? I wasn’t losing my mind, right? Maybe it really was the fated mates business.

Marina beamed at me, her hand tightening around mine. She lifted my hand, her fingers brushing my ring. “You always wear this,” she said. “Is it special?”

I swallowed hard, giving a small nod as I showed it to her. “My mom gave it to me before she passed away. It’s nothing too expensive, but it was one of her favorite rings that she wore. It means a lot to me. I always have it on, even when I work or play rugby. I like the idea of keeping her near.”

Marina’s smile was soft and dreamy. “That is very sweet. It’s beautiful.”

“Thank you,” I sighed.

“Do you have siblings? And what of your father?”

“No siblings,” I said. “And my dad is wonderful. Hopefully one day you’ll meet him.”

Her brows shot up and she leaned in. “You want to introduce me to your father? Isn’t that a big deal in your world?”

I wrangled a smile. “It can be. I’ve never introduced someone to him before . . .”

“So I’ll be the first then.”

“Possibly.”

“Definitely,” she said with a dark chuckle.

I rolled my eyes at her, but I loved the mischief gleaming in her eyes. She was possessive and I loved it. I loved that she wanted to meet my dad, even not knowing anything about him.

And I realized—she was the first person to ever ask me about my ring.

All the strings in my heart tugged as I stared into her eyes.

“Demi,” she murmured, tucking a loose strand of hair behind my ear.

In a blink, the energy between us shifted, and I was leaning forward—covering her lips with mine. She tasted like the sea, but sweeter. She moaned against me, her fingers sliding behind my head and gripping my hair.

I just couldn’t get enough of her, and I didn’t want to go back home quite yet.

“Marina,” I said between kisses. “I saw the rope in the basket.”

“Yes,” she said, her hold on me tightening.

“Do you want me—fuck—”My eyes rolled back as she sucked the base of my throat, a bolt of pleasure rushing through me. Devious little siren. I could barely think straight with her touching me. “Do you want me to tie you up?”