The Pearl of the Dragon [The Triplet Mermen Trilogy]

by Casper Graham

“Yeah?”

  “Uh-huh. Her name is Ocean. She’s a mermaid.”

  “Cool. I haven’t heard of her, though. She must be from a different merfolk community. There are hundreds of millions of merpeople under the sea, so it’s impossible for me to know them all.”

  Gavin smiled. “There aren’t as many dragons left in the world, unfortunately. Last I heard, there are less than a thousand dragons still alive and kicking. Most dragons have moved beyond the veil into the other side.”

  Caspian squeezed Gavin’s thigh gently. “I’m sorry to hear that.”

  “It can’t be helped. After mating, each female dragon will only lay an egg once every one thousand years. Every dragon will only have one mate for the entirety of his or her existence. Not all dragons mate with supernatural beings who can be impregnated. After all, we select our potential mates based on magical and scent compatibility. Our numbers are bound to dwindle after a while.”

  Caspian’s heart thudded a little bit upon hearing that. “Do you regret mating with me?”

  Gavin grasped Caspian’s hands and entwined their fingers together. “Never. I honestly have a hard time believing how lucky I am that you’re willing to bond with me.”

  Caspian felt the relief coursing through him upon hearing the reassuring words of his mate. “I feel the same way, too. Maybe we can have our own kids someday through surrogate? We can use your sperm. It will be killing two birds with one stone. We will have children of our own while helping to repopulate the dragon community.”

  Gavin beamed. “That’s an excellent idea.”

  Then, Caspian felt a fluttering in his stomach when Gavin pulled his hand up and pressed a gentle kiss on the back of his palm. After that, they continued the journey in silence. It wasn’t the awkward kind. It was actually comforting. Caspian leaned against the back of the car seat and heaved out a contented sigh. He attempted once or twice to trick Gavin into revealing more clues about the location of their date, but his mate simply smirked at him. In the end, he gave up. Besides, Gavin told him that they would be reaching their destination. He would find out all about it soon enough.

  Chapter 4

  Gavin blew out a long breath he wasn’t aware he had been holding as he waited for Caspian’s reaction. “So, what do you think?”

  “Uh…” Caspian trailed off before facing him. “I…I don’t know what to tell you. You drove us into this massive piece of land that was surrounded by gigantic and high walls and those enormous and thick metal doors. There are beautiful trees and flowers everywhere, but this…this tiny house so far inside the land…well, what is it supposed to be? Even the garage for your five cars is much more spacious.”

  Gavin grinned at Caspian. “It’s my…I mean, our house. Welcome home, baby.”

  Caspian stared at the mini house before reverting his gaze toward Gavin. “You’re joking, right? That house can fit two of you standing up, but I don’t think you’ll be able to sleep horizontally in it. It’s so…so small. I’ll be fine because I’m much shorter than your six-foot-two height. I also don’t have as much muscle mass as you do. What are you? Three thousand pounds of muscles? I’ll be comfortable enough inside the house with my size, but you…do you sleep in a fetal position or something?”

  Gavin chuckled at the exasperated tone of Caspian’s voice. “I weigh two hundred and twenty pounds, babe, and I sleep like you do. We’ve slept together, remember?

  Caspian blushed. “Of course. You’re my mate. I’ve never spent the night with anyone other than you. My brothers and I had separate bedrooms even when we were kids.”

  Gavin nodded. “Anyway, don’t judge the house from the outside.”

  Caspian’s face brightened immediately. “Oh, it’s magic then. The inside of the house is much more spacious—”

  “Nope.” Gavin interrupted his mate and smirked at Caspian for good measure.

  Caspian glared at him, obviously frustrated now. “Can you just tell me what is it about the house that makes it livable then?”

  Gavin grabbed Caspian’s hand and led his irked mate toward the solitary building on the entire estate. He noticed Gavin’s interest in some of the magical plants or trees all over the land once or twice, but they were about to have their first date. Caspian could admire and study everything within the estate some other time. Gavin stopped walking and reached for Caspian’s chin with his other hand.

  “Babe, everything here belongs to you, as well. Let us have our first date now. You can come out into the garden next time and examine everything to your heart’s content.”

  Caspian blushed and nodded. “Right. Okay.”

  Then, the two of them continued toward the building. Once they were right in front of the door, Gavin pressed the single button next to it. Caspian’s inquiring look toward him turned into something akin to astonishment when the door slid to the side. He gestured for Caspian to enter with a theatrical bow and gesture.

  “After you, my love.”

  Caspian snorted. “Dramatic, but I’m impressed.”

  Gavin winked at his mate in response as he followed the merman inside. “Oh, you haven’t seen nothing yet.”

  After that, the door shut behind them. He pressed one of the buttons on the right wall while Caspian eyed the other buttons with an open curiosity. His mate’s face lit up a second later.

  “Is this an elevator?”

  Gavin snickered. “Yeah.”

  The elevator descended gradually. It might have been surrounded by bricks above, but it was actually made of glass. Gavin wrapped his arms around Caspian’s waist as his mate gaped at the different floors.

  “You have an entire floor of books?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Can I invite Baltic here for a visit? I can’t wait to observe his expressions. He will think he has died and gone to heaven.”

  Gavin tightened his embrace before kissing the top of Caspian’s head. “Of course. You don’t need my permission, babe. This is our house now.”

  “Oh, right. Okay then.”

  “Great. Underneath the library, we have the swimming pool and the gym. One floor below that is the living room and the kitchen. Our bedroom is the entire floor beneath them.”

  Caspian gaped at Gavin. “What do we need so much space for?”

  Gavin chortled for a moment before answering. “I’m not large in my human form, but there are times when I feel like resting in my dragon form. That’s the reason why I require such a substantial amount of land up there. I had this underground house built several years ago. The architect and all the workers were supernatural beings, dwarfs to be exact, so I didn’t have to worry about getting any unnecessary, probing questions from them. All the cleaning for this house is done by magic.”

  “Okay, but I still have no idea where we’re going.”

  The elevator stopped before Gavin could reply. The door slid open to the side. Caspian glanced at the huge bed before laughing at Gavin, who simply snorted in response.

  “As enticing as the idea of making love to you is, let us go on our first date before that.”

  Caspian chortled. “We’ve done everything else in reverse. What’s one more?”

  Gavin groaned. “Don’t toy with my self-control, babe. Not now. I really want to fuck you again, but I’ve promised you a date. Let us get that out of the way. Okay?”

  Caspian pouted a little before nodding. “Fine, but I want at least two rounds of sex later tonight.”

  Gavin snickered. “You can have as many orgasms as you like, but later.”

  He then reached for Caspian’s hand and guided his mate farther away from the bed and the temptation it represented. The remainder of the entire floor was one giant and empty space, which was lit up by multiple lights.

  “Isn’t this a little eerie?” Caspian asked a moment later while shifting closer toward him. “There are only your bed, the walk-in closet, and the bathroom on the other end of this floor.”

  Gavin shook his head. “There are actually glass walls
that act as separators between the bed and everything else. They’re controlled by a remote that can hide them deeper under the ground. I’ll show them to you later.”

  “Okay.”

  Once they had traveled far enough, Gavin released Caspian’s hand and took a shining sphere out from the left pocket of his jeans. Caspian gasped at him.

  “It’s not a pearl from a merperson, babe,” he reassured his mate. “Ocean is a mermaid with an odd sense of humor. She always shapes her magic into this tiny ball that resembles a mating pearl from a merperson, but it really isn’t. Step back a little, please.”

  Caspian obliged. Then, Gavin dropped the sphere onto the ground before stepping on it. There was a gentle cracking sound before water magic was unleashed like fluttering ribbons into the air. The magic swirled for a little longer before it settled. There was ice everywhere after that. Gavin observed as Caspian made his way onto the ice. The look of wonder on his mate’s face reassured Gavin that this date was off to a fantastic beginning.

  “The ice isn’t cold,” Caspian spoke up a few seconds later while touching the icy grasses, flowers, and trees. “This is like a meadow of ice, but without the coldness. I love it. I can even feel the gentle wind blowing all around us.”

  Gavin sat on the ice and patted the spot next to him. He waited for Caspian to occupy it before dragging the basket of food, courtesy of Ocean, toward him. He pulled out sandwiches, slices of chocolate cake, and a bottle of wine. He grinned when Caspian gasped upon noticing the bottle.

  “Deep Sea Wine. One of the most exquisite wines from under the sea. Ocean kept telling me that you would love it. Judging by your expression right now, she’s absolutely right.”

  “Yeah. I haven’t had any in a while. I love the rich flavors of the wine.” Gavin poured some wine into a glass and handed it over to Caspian, who sipped a bit of it before moaning softly. He had to clear his throat and looked away for a moment. The combination of Caspian’s face and voice was making a certain part of his anatomy grow hard and throbbing almost in an instant. He was relieved Caspian didn’t seem to be paying attention to his obvious arousal. “The wine is sweet and intoxicating, but it’s also simultaneously a little salty and sour. There’s a smokiness to it that reminds me of home.”

  “Right. Of course.”

  He sounded raspy, but he couldn’t help it. Caspian was beautiful and enticing all the time, but the merman was a million times more enchanting at the moment. Gavin squirmed a little and tugged the basket closer to his crotch region in a desperate attempt to hide his bulge. He jumped a little when Caspian leaned his head on his shoulder.

  “Thank you, Gav. You’re thoughtful and sweet.”

  “Of…of course. Anything for my mate.”

  Then, he offered the sandwich to Caspian before picking one up for himself. He was relieved the food was enough to distract his thoughts away momentarily from his mate and how sexy Caspian was. For the next several minutes, they ate in companionable silence. The scenery was breathtaking. A whole magical meadow created from ice. It was winter wonderland without the freezing rigidity of the season.

  “Gav.”

  “What?”

  “Do…do you think you’ll ever regret being mated to me?”

  He was astounded by the question. Instinctively, he wrapped one arm around Caspian. “No, I won’t. What made you ask me something like that?”

  “I know you’ve never wanted to settle down.”

  Gavin shut his eyes and cursed Jefferson internally. He was aware Jefferson had been simply teasing him when his best friend mocked him for mating with Caspian even though he had once been adamant about remaining single forever. Jefferson and Baltic had returned to the triplets’ house after their own mating to find him and Caspian on the couch, snuggling close together. Gavin and Caspian had mated on the merman’s bed, but they decided to have another enthusiastic round of lovemaking on the couch in the living room after breakfast the next morning. Fortunately, they were done having sex and were fully clothed when Jefferson and Baltic came back to the house. He wished Jefferson hadn’t said anything about his vow to never get mated, but it was too late now. He was irritated that the seed of doubt was planted in his mate’s mind.

  “Jeff was just trying to make me angry.”

  “But he’s your best friend. He knows—”

  “Nothing.” Then, Gavin put his half-eaten sandwich on his lap before pulling Caspian’s chin toward him. He gazed into his mate’s eyes, hoping Caspian would note the seriousness in his expression. “Listen to me, Cas. I will never change my mind or heart about us. You’ll be my mate for eternity. Even when we’re ready to move into the realm beyond, I’ll still be with you. We belong together. Forever.”

  Caspian hesitated for a moment before giving him a small smile and nodding. “Okay. I believe you.”

  Gavin leaned down and pressed a tender kiss on Caspian’s lips, allowing their lips and tongues to lick and taste one another for a while. He was delighted and more than a little aroused when Caspian panted against him when they separated moments later.

  “I love you so much, Cas. It’s unbelievable, I know. I mean we’re already mated to each other, but this is only our first date. We barely know anything about each other, yet I’m so crazy about you I don’t ever want to imagine my life without you in it. Some people will label my feeling as an obsession or that I’m out of my mind, but I don’t care. As long as we’re together, it doesn’t matter to me how anyone else views our mating. I’m truly ecstatic to have you as my mate. That’s the truth.”

  Caspian beamed at him. “I love you, too.”

  It was a whispered declaration, but it sent a jolt of euphoria all over his entire being. He breathed out a sigh of relief when Caspian snuggled closer to him. They remained in the same position for a while. It wasn’t the most comfortable state for cuddling, but he couldn’t complain. He was able to inhale the salty seawater scent of Caspian, his beautiful mate, while feeling the merman’s warmth against him. It was almost better than sex.

  “I’ll treat you well and cherish you always, Cas.”

  “I know.” There was a momentary stretch of silence between them before Caspian spoke up again. “Oh, by the way, would you like to dive into the ocean with me?”

  He glanced down at Caspian in surprise, mainly due to the random and unexpected shift in the topic of conversation. “Yeah. Sure. When?”

  “Great. Let’s do that tomorrow. We can meet my parents. It has been a while since I saw them last. I miss them very much.”

  Gavin gulped. “Your…your parents?”

  Caspian chortled in amusement. “Uh-huh. Don’t look so terrified. They will love you.”

  “Are you one hundred percent positive about that?”

  Caspian blushed and shook his head. “Okay, maybe not one hundred percent, but my parents won’t murder you. I think.”

  “That’s…that’s not reassuring me in the least, babe.”

  Caspian chuckled. “You’ll be fine. I promise. My mom is a sweetheart. My dad can be rather gruff and grumpy, but he’s a softie inside. I’ll protect you from him. I promise.”

  Gavin rolled his eyes. “I can defend myself.”

  “Good, but I’m sure my parents will love you.”

  “Why? What makes you so certain about that?”

  “Because I love you, and you’re my mate.”

  Gavin felt the overwhelming joy bursting deep within him. He kissed Caspian on the forehead and nodded before continuing to eat his sandwich. He also gave Caspian one slice of chocolate cake and topped up his mate’s glass with more wine. The date was going smoothly so far. He would be sleeping next to Caspian later and every night after. The two of them would also be going on their second date the next day. It might incorporate an investigation of sorts if the shadow people had extended their attacks deep into the ocean, which would be more business than pleasure, but it was all right. At least he would be having fun with his mate deep in the ocean.

  He
was also rather excited because he would also get to see what Caspian looked like in his merman form. He could survive a few hours with his parents-in-law. It was no big deal. He just had to be on his best behaviors. Most importantly, he had to do his best not to be aroused at the sight of his sexy mate in front of Caspian’s parents. He had existed for thousands of years. He had wonderful self-control. He could restrain himself from popping embarrassing erections for a few hours. It should be easy enough.

  Chapter 5

  Caspian stood at the shore that would lead him and Gavin into the Pacific Ocean. The moment his feet touched the water, he could feel the tingling of his merman magic all over him as the song from the depth of the sea called out to him to return home where he belonged. He observed in delight as the lower half of his body began to transform into his tail. Since it was still way too early in the morning, there was nobody else along the shore. The sun had barely risen, but its faint light being reflected on his scales shone bright and brilliant. He caressed the sharp fins on his forearms before turning his head slightly toward his back. He had a column of sharp fin running down the center of his back. He was so absorbed by his original form, it took him a moment to realize Gavin was still standing on the shore staring at him.

  “What?”

  Gavin visibly jumped a little before shaking his head. “You’re…you’re gorgeous.”

  Caspian blushed and chuckled. “Thanks.”

  Caspian waited for Gavin to approach him. Once the two of them were close enough, he allowed Gavin to gently caress his fins.

  “These are extremely sharp.”

  Caspian nodded. “Those fins, along with my claws and fangs, are powerful enough to cut through diamonds. Believe me when I tell you that you really don’t want to piss off a merperson, especially during a battle. My claws and fangs are retracted at the moment. I’ll display them to you some other time.”

  Gavin snickered under his breath. “Okay. Lucky for us all that merpeople are the nicest and most even-tempered supernatural beings in the world then.”