"How does rain make you so cold?" Ariel shivered, sinking right into Eric's chest as soon as he wrapped his arms around her.

On the second night, they had shared the kiss that meant everything. She'd held out one small glimmer of hope that Eric's kiss might have restored her voice, but it hadn't. She would have made the same deal with the same sea witch if it meant staying here where she belonged, voice or no voice.

On the third sunset, Ariel stopped still on the beach, staring out at the horizon she could never swim below again. She blinked, looking down at her bare toes in the sand, and felt...what was she supposed to feel? The only magic in Eric's kiss came from Eric, not her contract fulfilled. Now she felt nothing.

Ariel imagined there had been a time Eric's study had been reserved for the affairs of state. She did confer with him often--there were no ambassadors or Atlantican advisors after all--but one kiss was all it took for either of them to forget about fair currents entirely. This meeting probably started with some treaties, but she and Eric had to move those piles of papers to Eric's chair in haste this afternoon. After all, it would never do to have Her Majesty Queen Ariel lying on her back across an untidy desk.

She grinned up at Eric, tilting her hips to draw her husband even deeper inside her while her skirts draped over the edge of the desk like a waterfall.

Through gritted teeth she muttered "Harder," into his rolled-up jacket that served as a makeshift pillow, tightening her legs around him. Their bed or even the chaise might've been a better place for them, but statecraft simply couldn't wait and Eric was too compelling a linguist.

She fumbled for his hand to squeeze as pleasure built inside her, but it all crumbled with a harsh knock on the door.

A long, exasperated sigh came from Grimsby on the other side. "Eric!" He called and Ariel froze mid-breath.

A short pause followed. Ariel assumed Grim needed extra time to rub his temples. "I reviewed the post, Eric."

He left "and Ariel" unsaid in his cadence.

"The urgent reply to Glowerhaven seems to be missing, and the mail ship departs before sunset. That very letter needs to depart now."

Ariel leaned over, looking at the papers they had moved over to the chair. Near the bottom of the pile she spied the edge of a wax seal. She pulled it out from the pile, spilling a couple of papers in the process, and sure enough the weighty envelope was addressed to none other than Glowerhaven.

A rowboat was no vessel for the kinds of orgasms Eric gave Ariel. Not for long, anyway, if either of them wanted to stay above water. And with no steady ship in sight of the lagoon, solid ground would have to suffice.

Eric was far, far too good at teasing her, Ariel thought as her cheeks grew as red as her hair. She could hear the band playing in the ballroom near the parlor they'd locked themselves in while their absence wouldn't be noticed. The nobles were used to the prince and princess "getting some fresh air" by now.

from [ meme ]

Such a loving husband. But of course Eric was, with how eagerly he'd been waiting for their marriage to be official. There were so many little things they'd both been waiting to do together (and just as many they didn't wait for), and she'd always been happy to share a bath without having to sneak around to his washroom.

Ariel rolled on her back, rubbing her small but still growing belly. Pregnancy hormones hadn't done anything to her desire for him, though she wondered what might happen when she'd grown big enough for the belly to get in the way.

If it ever did.

from [ meme ]

from [ meme ]

Floating above the surface felt so different than floating below it; Ariel wondered if the two sensations needed different names. The shallow lagoon cradled their rowboat, and Ariel relaxed against his chest, snuggled securely in Eric's arms among cloaks and blankets. She grinned at his request, scooting up to press her forehead to his.

She very nearly closed the distance between them before pulling back to tease, pressing a finger to his lips instead.

"Not yet," she whispered, barely containing a giggle since normally she was the one impatient enough to make teasing easy. Ariel wanted to learn the same for him, and over the past few weeks had taken careful note of what sensations maddened him most.

Ariel couldn't hold a smirk for more than a moment before she turned her gaze downward, the boat listing as she leaned, and tucked the bottom of his shirt up just enough to press her lips on the skin above his belt.

She took her time, once a very un-Ariel task, but she'd grown to enjoy lingering kisses from the noises they'd draw out. She hummed against the salt of his skin, her tongue brushing the faint beginnings of hair, and pulled back with a cheeky grin.