A Bride for the Water God (Divine Dragons 1)
Chapter 9

I couldn’t breathe underwater. Didn’t Calder know that about humans? He would accidentally drown me in his attempt to take me somewhere special.

There was something strangely poetic about that—about being drowned by my dragon god husband in his desire to show me some place he deemed special. It was the fate I’d expected for myself from the beginning.

A deep surge of fear shivered through my body. Panic tightened like a noose around my throat, and my chest ached from the lack of air. I clawed at my throat, eyes stinging from the salt in the water. When my hand slipped from Calder’s and my body thrashed, he turned.

His body moved with the flow of the sea. Ribbons of darkness and water curled to meet each movement of his imposing, impressive form. Every ripple and current was a testament to the wonder of his power and enhanced the sculpted ridges and planes of his body.

A storm of dark energy and dominance over the seas radiated off him. The near black strands of his green and blue hair waved like seaweed or ribbons of ink around his face. The shadows of the deep sea accentuated the harsh, handsome shape of his mouth—the sensual curve of his lips was almost devilish.

The shape of his horns reminded me of a spiraling, rippling river. His frilled fin-ears twitched. Wings spread wide; they flowed carefully, maneuvering him effortlessly through the water along with the streamlined movement of his tail.

It didn’t matter that I was drowning when I was so enrapt with the grace and ethereal beauty of the Water God in his natural habitat. He was in his domain, and he was as regal and dominating as any king could hope to be.

At least I would die after having the best orgasm in my life because of him. Few could say that, and I guess I’d have to die with thanks for that. It was the best dick I’d ever had.

Calder’s eyes rounded, both puzzled and shocked. Three lines had opened on both sides of his neck, gills flowing over his throat and allowing him to take in the water. I didn’t have those.

He reached out, long arm grabbing me instantly. His powerful hands cupped my face, cheeks bubbled out.

“It’s alright, Marilla. You can breathe here with me. Just let it in,” he urged. Instead of bubbles spewing from his mouth, it was his actual voice, and I heard him as if we were on land.

I couldn’t hold my breath any longer if I wanted to. My mouth burst open, and I gasped, lungs sucking in with the need to breathe. It ached like pin needles at first, but as my chest expanded, the pain eased.

Water flowed in and out of my lips, my lungs inflated again, and on the next inhale I realized that I was using my lungs to breathe water—but not through my mouth.

The god’s hands dropped to my neck, and I finally felt the fluttering gills on the sides of my throat.

“Temporary,” he clarified. “And only when you’re with me. Now come.”

Taking my hand again, Calder floated through the water. His wings and tail did most of the work, taking us through the underwater fortress as if he were soaring. The water became air, the sandy sea floor was the land, and the schools of fish were like darting, skittish clouds.

Beams of light from the sun speared through the water like sapphire columns. A forest of weaving, gnarled seaweed below reaching up the phantom fingers of dead sea monsters. Large creatures swam in the distance, remaining far away as if they could sense the greater danger and commander of the water at my side.

After a while, Calder aimed toward an underwater mountain. It was a craggy structure of stone and coral, busy with sea life. Fish in a myriad of colors, small sharks hunting for prey, an octopus lifting a shell, and anemone blooming and snapping shut. It was the choreography of the sea, and it was beautiful.

Then the god whooshed us through a tunnel in the stone. I gasped, and bubbles escaped my lips. The current in the tunnel swept us up, almost shooting us out. Before I knew it, my head burst out into the air once more.

I sucked in the deepest breath my body could handle. The gills had done their job, but my body was made for air.

Calder hoped from the water and twisted around to me. He cast me into his shadow, and I briefly wondered why it was so dark but strangely illuminated. When he snatched my hand and pulled me up, I realized we were in an underwater cave.

The light came from gemstones jutting from the stone walls. Gems of all colors scattered around the inner cave surface shone with an inner light, bringing the cave an almost celestial glow. They were like thousands of tiny shimmering stars in a place where there was no sky and there was no moon.

In the cavernous, damp space, I spun around in circles, taking in every inch of the cave. My shallow, hitched breath and the steady drip and slap of water were the only sounds. Until a low growl snatched my attention.

I swallowed, suddenly aware of the god behind me once again.

“It’s beautiful,” I said, slowly spinning around to face him.

“Yes,” he gritted out with a muscle feathering in his tense jaw. His blue, ocean eyes roamed over the white dress, now see through and clinging to every curve and dip of my body. “Beautiful.”

“This is the special place you wanted to take me?” My throat was dry when I swallowed, and my eyes were gradually widening as I sensed awakening intent.

“Yes.” His response was hardly more than a rasp at the back of his throat. “This is where I came into existence. No one else has ever been here before.”

I sucked in a gasp, my face flaming at the admission. “Thank you for sharing this place with me.”

Calder stepped closer, entering my space and casting me in his intoxicating warmth. I felt so small and vulnerable with him, but I knew he was the one being vulnerable with me.

“Thank you for finally coming to me, rabbit.” The Water God closed the distance, grabbing my face and sealing his mouth to mine. His kiss sucked the breath from my lungs, consuming me as if he could pull us into one being. Judging by the rate of his heart pounding in time with mine against my chest, maybe in a way we were one—one being, one heart, one soul sharing two forms entirely at odds.

He kissed me harder, on the verge of bruising my already tender lips. A growl rose in his chest, a sound both primal and triumphant. He lowered his head, moving his mouth along my jaw and down to my neck. Lips tracing the column of my throat as I lifted higher and higher until I noticed my feet were no longer on the ground.

Warm, wet appendages were grabbing at my limbs. My eyes snapped open, and my mouth dropped as the world tilted around me. Only the force of gravity trying to pull me down told me that I was being laid back several feet in the air.

“Calder!” Panic threader through my voice. My heart thumped like a rattled bird in my chest.

“I am here, my rabbit. Just relax, I’ve got you.” A deep purring echoed through the cave. “I’ve got you right where I want you.”

The glowing gemstones had dimmed during the kiss. With the cave in low light, I had a hard time locating Calder. The warmth radiating off his body helped me replace him hovering near my hip.

The thick, powerful appendages holding me moved and curled. There was one on both wrists, both ankles, one supporting my waist and back, then another cradling my head. But I sensed several more shifting in the air, quivering with wicked designs.

“What’s happening?” I gulped down my rising fear, trying to take comfort in the god’s presence.

“I am going to make you come, rabbit.” His resounding chuckle in the glimmering darkness made my heart skitter along my ribs. “And I’m going to watch as you do.”

Something wriggled up the inside of my thigh. It was warm and slippery, gliding easily over my skin. My knees clenched together, but the appendages on my ankles yanked them apart.

A startled yelp burst from me, and I shivered viciously.

“Don’t be so afraid, Marilla. You’re alright.” A hand brushed over my temple, soothing me like frightened prey.

Another snaking limb moved over my abdomen, curling toward my breasts. With the damp dress clinging to my skin, I felt the movement acutely. One gem overhead glinted in the light, reflecting down on what held me suspended in the air.

Tentacles? Made of water?

My eyes snapped up in Calder’s direction, feeling his darkened gaze on my shaking body. His aura felt wicked, hungry, and depraved. He brought me to a special—sacred—place and intended to assault my body with pleasure for his entertainment.

The prospect thrilled me.

It was his power holding me hostage in the air. Water tentacles clenched my limbs, holding me still when I instinctively thrashed. More of them brushed over my skin. The one on my thigh inched higher and the one on my chest slipped under the fabric. The darkness and the unknown awakened a potent fear in me, but the sensual caress of the gentle limbs aroused a spark in the bottom of my stomach.

Oh, fuck, I was scared and turned on. There was something wrong with me. I’d changed since crossing the waves to the dragon’s shore. More unhinged and shameless in my desire.

And I had to face the fact that I was sinfully aroused now, and I longed to learn what those tentacles could do.