Merman - Romance

chapter 22

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Chapter 22

“Jessell?”

Ridec was asking quietly his fingers roaming through her long soft tresses.

“Ridec?”  Jessell turned slowly in his arms and glanced up with tired eyes.  “Are we home?”

“No,” Ridec whispered softly.  “We’re far away from home.”

Jessell shook her head slowly as if willing the fogginess to pass.

“What happened to me?”

“You passed out; you’ve just been doing too much Princess.  I wish you would take it easy.”

“I’m clean.”  It was a statement although it held the hint of a question to it.  Jessell was looking down at her hands and clothes as she spoke.  “I was covered in blood.”

“You were out for a couple hours,” Ridec explained and Jessell grimaced.

“I’m starting to make a habit of this.  I hate to feel weak.”

“I would never see you as weak my Princess.”

“How did I get cleaned up?”  Jessell questioned and it was Ridec’s turn to grimace.

“I cleaned you.”

“You cleaned me?”  She stared at Ridec with wide expressive eyes.  “You took off my clothes?”

“I didn’t trust…”

Jessell was already planting a very firm slap across the side of Ridec’s face causing all the others who had been gathered at the other side of the room to look around.

“She’s such a tyrant,” Rea grunted.

“I assure you Princess I was very respectful but…”  Ridec hesitated.  “I had to know if any of it was your blood.  I had to make sure you weren’t infected.”

“I’m not infected,” Jessell said indignantly.

“I know that now but I didn’t before.  I just wanted to protect you and I thought the best way to do that was to find out if you had been hurt.  To make sure there were no cuts on your body that the blood could have gotten into and caused contamination.”

“You must have really enjoyed that,” Jessell said and Ridec couldn’t quite keep the smirk that curled the edge of his lips from appearing.  That was clearly not the response that Jessell wanted because she planted her hand firmly across his cheek again.

“How dare you stand there leering at me,” she huffed.

“I’m sorry Princess but if I had to do it all again I would even if it meant your killing me for an act of disrespect against royalty.  I’d die happy knowing that you were okay.”

Ridec crunched up his face in preparation for the next slap and closed his eyes, he knew the nature of mermaids and of royalty in particular, they were not accustomed to mermen speaking back to them with such blatant disregard for their wishes.  He waited but no slap came but the brief feel of soft full lips against his that set his whole body on fire and caused his heart to melt away within his chest.  Far too quickly the sensation was over and he was opening his eyes to see Jessell pulling away from him.

“Perhaps mother was right Ridec, maybe you are too much for me to control indeed.”

“Never too much my Princess, always only just the right amount.”