Chapter 11
Derek lay on the bottom of the ocean, a chilly current flowing over him where moments ago, warm flesh had pressed to his. The water cooled the fire that burned within him, turning his desire to so much damp ash which churned in him like regret. He’d been willing to give Kellen what he wanted to get Tad back, but after all this time, the merrow’s longing hadn’t been for Derek’s body—it’d been for his love. “I should have loved you,” he whispered into the silence of the kelp bed.
The faint current washed his words out to sea.
Derek counted two full minutes as he willed his erection away. His body, buffeted by the cool water, lost its lustful yearning soon enough; his erection wilted, his d**k sinking between his legs like a burrowing animal going to ground, and the tremors of p
