14] A Sweet Serenade

Eros has been rambling about consummating our mating bond, through sex, which I never agreed to. He stands beside me, breathing quite nervously as I stay kneeling beside him.

When Eros reaches for the belt along his pants and starts to unbuckle it, my own nerves clear and I inhale a breath; deciding to be bold.

"Eros," I slide around to his front, I bring up my hands and I remain kneeling in front of him as I grab his wrists and his palms. I stop him from unbuckling his belt. He watches me with eyes that resemble a drowning ocean while he was seemingly anxious, and allowing me to speak, "...you know, you don't have to belt me... for foreplay," I whisper, "You don't have to make me scream. Or bite my tits. You could... you could kiss me... gently. You could give me a hand and help me up?" Eros tilts his head in slight agreement and snakes out a hand around the base of my throat, lifting me up and hearing me choke on the air slightly before he lets me go. I stand before him in the entrance to one of the old bedchambers and I caress my throat, "Why are you scared, Eros?"

Maybe it was a bad time to ask why he seemed nervous.

He slowly holds out his hands, grabbing the side of the doorway... he watches me as I take a couple of steps backwards while blood dribbles down my thighs... to my ankles.

"...Lily's red sea... the only thing I see... dripping and staining those petite, little knees..." oh no, he's snarling out a slow predatory song again and he's lip is curling up, showing a thick, monstrous fang. I can't believe two of those things ripped into my neck. It had been the worst pain I had ever felt, quickly slammed away by hormones that sweetened the pain and forced my body to ripple and clench with intense pleasure. It was one of the most terrifying experiences I had ever been through while in the shallows of the beach, being held down. Unfortunately, it wasn't a one off. Erebos needed to feed. Regularly. And now he wanted to fuck too.

Honestly; it was too fast. It was too much.

I cover my pussy with both my hands as my heart starts racing and I turn towards the bed as Eros' eyes roam over me, more lyrics spelling forth, "She wants gentle, a sweet younger me. But I'm hungry... and horny... and I need to hear my mate scream..."

"Eros," I purse my lips as I remain facing the bed, my nerves starting to fire again as his voice gets closer.

A predatory finger slides down across my naked spine and my whole back arcs.

"Coral words... all nonsense to me," Eros' song turns into a simple snarl at this point and the hair on my neck – which is water proof, as all Mermaid hair was – is already dry. Which means his large exhale whispers the hair off my nape, exposing my skin to his mouth... those fangs...

I spin into Eros and I hold out my hands, shoving them into his chest.

My Erebos mate pauses his words and his ocean eyes do not remain still.

They dilate, they skitter as they watch me stumble to the side and try to put space between us.

"I can't, not yet... please..." I beg him and Eros takes one step towards me, making me squeak out, "No!"

His second step has him leaning into the corner post at the end of the bed. He grips it and presses his cheek into the wood, holding himself back as he watches me; reduced to a pained silence.

I look around me as he contemplates my begging from the end of the bed as I stumble towards left wall.

My mind was racing.

What if he didn't stop – what if he didn't allow me to wait – what if he forced me, this time and every time after that – what if my life was reduced to no choices, always...!

I lunge for an old coat hanger, a wooden one and I lift it and hold it in front of me like a spear.

But Eros has not moved any closer. He stays against the bed post, watching me hold the 'weapon'.

He is unreadable.

"...Panic doesn't suit you, Lily..." he murmurs, so quietly I strain my ears, until he speaks louder, "Can you hear the silence of this castle?"

"Yes," I answer, confused where he is going with this. I don't drop my makeshift weapon, however.

"I thought we could fuck privately before the others arrive," Eros explains, "I thought this would be romantic – the silence and the privacy."

"You sound like you're changing your tune, like you're just hungry and horny as you just said seconds ago when you were 'singing' to me!"

He jerks his cheek off the bed post, scowling at me in utter outrage.

"Erebos sing to their mates!" he snarls it loudly, "You insult my song to you?!"

Oh, crap, he's offended.

"How am I supposed to understand that?" I ask, "All you've done is put me in a tank and you murdered those Coral guards –"

"You called to me and I came," he snarls over the top of me, "The tank was meant to be a bit of fun. How boring are you that you cannot play a game?"

"What game? What game?!" I pretend to lower the spear and as Eros instantly goes to take a step around the bed post towards me, I hold it up higher again and poke it forward in the air, "Stay back!"

Eros opens his mouth, about to let out a quick retort.

Until his eyes widen.

And he shuts his mouth.

And raises his palms.

But he looks smug.

Too smug.

He waits where he is, silently doing nothing, just standing in front of me while his black hair wisps about in the castle drafts of cool ocean air.

When I calm down, I very, very slowly lower the coat rack and stay hidding behind it.

Eros lowers his hands and watches me as I watch him.

He refuses to speak – or move.

I also refuse to speak – or move.

So, we stare at one another, waiting for the other to react.

As my breathing slows, the only thing he does is reach up a hand and pick at one fang, scraping at it with his nail... cleaning it for a second.

He lowers his hand.

Waits some more.

I break.

"I appreciate your understanding," I try to force him to give up on the idea of jumping on my behind and rutting with me just because he was horny.

I wait for him to speak. Nothing. Not even a facial reaction to suggest he cared about what I said.

I take a slow step around the coat rack. I pause. I watch his expression, waiting for the moment I might have to run.

I take a tiny step to the side again, hoping I can get past him.

That's when he speaks, "Remember honour, Lily?"

"W-what -?" oh no.

Shit.

I agreed to be obedient to be let out of the chains and I had technically 'failed' the part where he said I needed to honour the agreement. Crap.

Eros takes a step to the side, pretending to check on his fang again, he says nothing more and almost seems to be inviting me to continue walking past him.

I do, naïve as I am.

As I quicken my steps and head for the bedchamber door, he speaks, "... make your way down to the bay, sweet thing."

"Why?" I ask, without turning to him.

"We're going for a swim out into the Rough. Clearly we need to get to know each other better."

I didn't like it when he tried to sound 'normal'. But my ears do prick. Was that... actually... something nice he just said?

I look over my shoulder, a smile slowly growing on my hesitant lips.

Right.

That smile I have, dies.

In seconds.

There's a belt, now loose and laying across Eros' palm.

"First things first," he snarls, low, while pouncing forward and flicking out the belt while my behind is facing him. I try to spin but the end of the belt smacks against my butt anyway and I get my legs tangled. I end up falling like a complete fool in front of him. Now my backside is open to him. When the belt smacks against my ass a second time, it's painful and it's loud.

As I try to crawl forward, I'm stopped by two cruel things.

Eros stalks forward, one foot steps on my hand... the other presses against the back of my head, sliding across my cheek – he keeps me pinned as I hear the belt pulled back a third time, "Half-wit!" he snarls.

"What the fuck?!" I scream out and the back of his heel slides across my mouth and I turn from it, "Ew!" He smacks me a fourth time and I squeal out, "Stop, stop, stop! Eros! What the heck!"

"I'm hungry!" he snarls from above me and I hear the belt clack to the floor.

Oh.

He dropped it.

What now?!

Eros pounces from my head and hand – to my ankles. As he drops and his hands clasp my ankles before I can scramble away, he spreads my legs while laughing in his snarled and fucked up way.

"...just a lil' taste..." he snarls loudly and I freeze, so he's says quietly, "Lily..." my name is music on his lips, "...just a gentle... little... taste..." I feel his breath getting closer to its target and I close my eyes in preparation for the singe of fiery fangs in my thigh.

His hands end up on the front of my thighs.

His breath ends up between my legs.

And then a rough, large tongue, scrapes out against my pussy in an actual gentle swipe.

I gasp and he pauses... before he licks a second time, still timid.

The third swipe of his tongue, however, presses in... gathering as much blood as he can.... and then he moves down... his tongue licks across my thighs... his cleaning me up, quickly... a little ravenous for anything he can get.

When Eros has cleaned my legs of bloody stains, he rolls away, jumps to his feet and watches me as I scramble back to my own jelly legs and stinging butt.

I cross my arms over my stomach and I stand back a few steps while my ass tingles.

I'm blushing bright red and can barely look him in the eye after his tasting of my freakin period blood.

"What's the matter, little Darv? We're going into the Rough," Eros sounds slightly pleased by the small blood he obtained... but he still seems... disappointed, "I'm taking you to..." he pauses and I look up to see his frozen eyes, "Meet... the clan of Ezili."

Oh, he was a bad liar.

What was the hidden agenda?

"Is that all?" I ask.

"Maybe... we can fuck in the ocean Deep," Eros adds proudly and rather seriously, "You may feel more comfortable after you see what I am to them."

More logic I didn't understand.

"Um," my lips twitch and I try to think of the right words, "So we're waiting, then?"

Eros is watching me like I'm watching him.

I had no idea what he was trying to do, he had no idea what I was trying to do either.

He looks at the belt on the floor, almost wondering why it didn't 'work'... maybe he expected me to orgasm when he slapped me with it? What a strange Merka.

He starts to breathe heavier, in frustration.

"Move it," he snarls this, suddenly – in intense anger I don't expect. I turn, skulking out of the bedchamber to hear him snarl even more ferocious then the first time, "Don't walk you inbred idiot... run... I'm sick of seeing your legs. Pathetic..."

He's still snarling as I run away.

Clearly, he was realising I wasn't what he expected or what he desired in a mate.

But I was only being timid because I barely knew him and he kept putting demands on me.

And he belted me.

And he tasted me while I was bleeding.

And he made me orgasm by ripping into my neck when I was half-asleep in the water.

How could he not understand my reaction to all this?

"...imbecile...!" he is still snarling from up the stairs as I skip down two at a time, putting space between us. I assume he is getting undressed for the swim, "...simple...! tragic Darv... meek little... orphaned fish!"

Oh, really?

When I'm at the bottom, my stomach grumbles and I feel a little dizzy.

I pause in my obedience.

My anger gets the better of me as I realise just how damn hungry I am.

I turn to yell up the stair case, "I'm starving, you know!" I scream back up while I can't see him, "You dumb shark! I'm not the only orphaned fish in this relationship! Hypocrite! Mindless eel! There's two of us in this mating bond! Not just you! Not just you!"

I listen.

...silence from above.

I turn for the castle front.

I run.

My stomach growls in complaint as I sprint.

I went a little far on the retort about him being an orphan too, since his parents were practically murdered... which was a little worse than my parents abandoning me for my darkest green tail.

But I was pissed by his stupid, completely strange ways.

And to top it off, while he was invested in getting my blood, the idiot was forgetting that I needed to be fed too!

He was the flipping imbecile! Not me!