Rite Men for Maya Read online

  He let his head loll back. Maybe he would be one of the chosen who didn’t get a mate. Or maybe he would be one of the few who called a human mate. It was rare when it happened, but not impossible. A human wouldn’t be able to get to the depths of the ocean where the rite was held, not without the help of a transition amulet.

  If she tried, would Tam be able to hear her distress?

  He opened himself to whatever was out there, hoping to feel his mate’s presence.

  Something burned down his spine, making him jerk.

  “Tam, did you come?” Aleo looked up at him.

  He ignored her and looked around. The burning happened again, quicker this time. Was this it? Was this the call of his mate?

  A shimmering rainbow caught his attention. He stared at that shining, iridescent tail as though mesmerized. The burning ran up and down his spine, spreading to his entire body until he thought he would combust despite the water surrounding him.

  He held out his hand as he lifted his gaze to his mate’s face. “You came.”

  The man before Tam had worry creating deep furrows in the flawless pale skin of his forehead. All of the man’s features were soft and boyish, making him look younger than he probably was. His wide, gray eyes focused on Tam’s hand, but he didn’t take it.

  “This was a mistake,” the man whispered. He shook his head and turned away. “I shouldn’t have come.”

  Tam grabbed the man’s hand and had to put his weight behind it to keep the man from fleeing. They were of similar stature and physique. He even had the same close-shaven haircut, though his hair was blond.

  The man was far from the way Tam had imagined his mate would look. For one thing, he’d imagined large breasts, not a wide chest. Hard, flat abs had replaced soft, pliable curves.

  Despite all of that, Tam wanted to run his hands over every part of the man. He’d never felt such a strong attraction to anyone. “I’m Tam.”

  “Kessen.” He looked back at Tam. “I’m a man.”

  Tam chuckled a little but sobered quickly when Kessen’s frown deepened. “I already noticed.” He yanked his arm, pulling Kessen against him. Their pressed bodies enveloped Tam’s cock. That little bit of contact almost made Tam come… almost.

  That was all of the proof Tam needed that Kessen was his gods’ chosen mate. But it seemed Kessen needed a little convincing. Tam was definitely up for the task.

  Tam maneuvered them back to the stage. Kessen didn’t fight him.

  “I don’t care that you’re a man,” Tam said. “I plan to prove it.”

  “I… I have a duty. I must marry a woman.”

  Tam nodded. “We’ll find her together.” He framed Kessen’s face with his hands. “Say yes.”

  Kessen’s frown smoothed away. A look of relief replaced it. He hugged Tam close. “Yes.”

  Chapter Two

  One Year Later

  Maya skimmed her hand along the shimmering fabric canopy that made up the corridors of the virility-fertility rite temple. The cloth was imbued with power of the gods that would enhance and magnify the sexual energies of those within to aid in finding their true mates. It also kept that same energy from spreading throughout the ocean and affecting the other inhabitants of the sea.

  She wasn’t even supposed to be there. She’d said she wouldn’t. Yet here she was letting her father tow her toward the one place she didn’t really want to be.

  “My sweet water, why didn’t you wear your tail?” Meren asked, looking at Maya. His gaze went from her black leggings-clad legs to the scarf halter-top that tied at her neck and left most of her back exposed.

  Maya said, “After what happened last time, I thought it best that I advertise what I am ahead of time.” She glanced at her outfit and then looked back at her father. “Do you want me to change to my tail, Daddy? Am I too heavy since you’re pulling mom and me?”

  Both Maya and Crystal were strong swimmers, but slow compared to a merman. Meren had wanted to get to the rite quickly. His only option was to tow his wife and daughter.

  “You are not heavy.” Meren slowed as sadness crossed his features.

  Crystal said, “You don’t need to change. If anyone has a problem with your legs then you can kick their ass properly, with your feet. Don’t waste another second of thought on that incident or that deceitful bastard.” She smacked the top of her husband’s hand. “Meren, I want to get to the rite, already. Hurry up.” She kicked her legs to emphasize her words.

  Meren smiled at her as he pulled her closer and kissed her hand.

  Maya basked in the glow of her parents’ love. She envied them. Their relationship was her ideal. She wanted the same, minus the arguing.

  One year of failed dating attempts with humans had led her back to her only other option. For that reason alone had she decided to attend the fertility-virility rite. Gods willing, she would find the perfect mate just as her parents had at a similar rite so many years ago.

  She dropped her father’s hand.

  He looked at her. “Maya?”

  “I think it’s time we separated. There’s no way I want to go on a sex tour with my parents. Ew, gross.” She made gagging noises even as she grinned at her parents.

  Meren laughed. “Enjoy yourself, my sweet water. May the gods grant you a mate.”

  Crystal harrumphed.

  “I’d rather she find a mate at the rite,” Meren said. “At least then she will know he is the one meant for her above all others. Human trial and error dating is too unpredictable and leads to heart break.”

  “I have nothing to say on the topic,” Crystal said.

  Maya swam away from them with a little wave, dodging the age-old argument. Maya only hoped she wouldn’t have similar arguments with the merman she married. If the man she married ended up being a merman.

  “Maya,” Meren called.

  She stopped and looked back at her father.

  “Call us when you get home.”

  Waving as her answer, she swam toward the entrance, following the canopy and touching it at odd intervals. The beauty and the strength of the canopy were not what drew her attention. She felt something from the cloth. That something had to be what powered the rite. That was her guess, at any rate. She hadn’t wanted to ask. Already she felt awkward arriving with her parents at such an intimate gathering.

  The attendees at the entrances of the corridors nodded to her as she passed them. She nodded back. Seeing a half-breed like her wasn’t out of the ordinary since more and more of the sea-dwelling folk had taken to mating with humans. Some people saw it as good sign, while others saw it as the beginning of the end.

  Maya shook her head at the direction of her thoughts. This wasn’t the time to think about past mistakes. She’d been looking forward to the rite, once she finally gave in to the fact that she would attend. Memories wouldn’t mar the experience. She promised herself that.

  While her father had explained the purpose of the virility-fertility rite and the accompanying festival, it still seemed a little strange to tour miles of fabric-enclosed corridors, watching people have sex.

  Maybe it was the human in her, but it didn’t make sense to have sex with another in order to find one’s mate. Sense or not, that’s what was done.

  One hundred and twenty men and women paired off to form sixty couples. Two-thirds of the couples were single individuals looking for a mate. The other one-third were mated couples looking for a third.

  But not just anyone could make up the one hundred and twenty participants. The priests of the gods performed special ceremonies that determined those who would be named the chosen. Each year was different, and a person could only be one of the chosen once. Only on rare occasions was a person granted the honor again. Those people were usually destined to be part of a triad.

  Maya stopped and looked to her right and then to her left.

  The festival was split in half. Two corridors forked away from the main path, curved in a giant circle, and met up with the main path again.
It resembled a round figure eight with a line running through it.

  On one side were the individuals looking for their mate. Those individuals were paired off to help each other out. The couples weren’t strictly male-female. There were female-female and male-male couples as well. The same sex couples weren’t necessarily looking for a same sex mate, but somehow had ended up paired with a same sex partner.

  Meren had assured her, in merman society, same sex pairings for the rite -- or prior to mating in general -- wasn’t much of an issue. Maya still bet there were a few men, and some women, who resented having a same sex partner.

  The couples on the other side of the figure eight were the same. However, those couples were already committed to each other and looking for their third. It was for the gods to decide who would be mated to whom in both cases. That was the purpose of the tour. Those who weren’t part of the rite wandered the cloth-enclosed corridors hoping to feel that special something that would draw them to a chosen.

  It was the way of merman society to always choose mates at the rite. There were those who tried what the mermen called the human way, but those relationships rarely worked out.

  Maya could attest to that many times over. She berated herself internally for drifting back to painful thoughts again. The rite was what mattered.

  She looked between the corridors again. The triad side didn’t interest her, so she went to the couples side. She totally bypassed the female-female partners. They hadn’t started yet, but girl-on-girl did nothing for her, she didn’t want to watch, and the last thing she wanted was to attract a female mate. The male-female partners would be at the middle. The rite would start with them.

  Like a domino effect, the middlemost couple would set off a chain reaction that would spread around the circle in both directions and meet at the main corridor. The triad side would do the same. The energy would culminate in the main corridor and do… something. Maya wasn’t sure what that something was.

  All she knew was that if done correctly, the climax of the rite was supposed to be a unique and satisfying experience for everyone -- chosen and spectators alike. Maya hoped the final outcome was worth it.

  A growing crowd blocked her path, and Maya had to make a choice. She could try and force her way to a place where she could see the first couple or move on to the next, which would also involve forcing her way through in order to get to the other side.

  That was the only problem with arriving late -- the crowd. As a swimming race, mermen had the option of being above the couple as well as in front of them. When sexually engaged, mermen tended to roam. That would make the spectators roam with them, causing chaos. To avoid that, each couple was regulated to a small area, like a stage, that they decorated to suit their tastes.

  While the crowd might not be roaming, they were blocking the corridor. Sounds of pleasure filtered through the crush of bodies to Maya’s ears.

  “Guess it’s started,” she said to herself.

  Rather than wait around seeing nothing, she decided to go to the next couple. She nudged people to get them out of her way. Most of them were too engrossed to pay her much mind.

  The next male-female couple were petting and kissing. They couldn’t start yet, not until the first couple ended their first encounter. According to Meren, it would be obvious when the previous couple had finished because the crowd would move en masse to the next couple.

  Some would stay behind to continue watching the first couple, since they wouldn’t stop after just one time, but the majority would go from one couple to the next, following the flow of energy, until the ceremony reached its conclusion.

  Her father hadn’t described what would happen at the conclusion. He simply said it had to be experienced. Maya would have liked some kind of hint just so she could be prepared.

  The crowd thickened around Maya as the first couple finished their first encounter. Several of the people in the crowd jostled each other to get a better vantage point. When Maya got tired of being bumped and brushed with people’s tails, she retreated to the next couple. She would probably have to stay ahead of the crowd for the entire rite.

  She reached the next couple right after they started. They didn’t look like they needed to find their respective mates. The woman clutched at her partner, panting his name and begging for more. Just when Maya thought the entire encounter couldn’t get much hotter, a woman from the crowd joined them. She said a few words to the man, and he answered her. It was hard to make out what exactly they said but the female partner disengaged and let the newcomer have her spot.

  The crowd clapped and cheered.

  Someone had found her mate.

  Maya wondered what the partner would do, but the woman swam over to the previous couple and joined them. Having a second female join the mix didn’t slow them down. Maya almost felt embarrassed watching them, but curiosity got the better of her.

  She’d never seen merman sex before and had always wondered how it worked with their tails in the way. It wasn’t like mermen went out of their way to create porn. The rite also served as an educational tool for Maya, learning things she was too embarrassed to ask her father. Something that had always angered him, since he was willing to tell her anything. Maya was just human enough not to want such an intimate and graphic discussion with her father.

  Someone was tickling her side.

  Maya shifted away but ignored the person. She wasn’t in the crowd to get frisky, unlike many of the people around her. For some, the rite was an excuse to have a giant orgy. The buildup of sexual energy got a lot of people hot and bothered. Maya had come for an education and possibly a mate, not a quickie. She’d leave if the person bugging her didn’t stop.

  The person persisted.

  She moved away again. The person followed her. She swung back to tell them where to go and how fast to get there, but the words didn’t come.

  Laev smirked at her. “Hi, Maya. Fancy meeting you here.”

  She would spit on him if they weren’t already in water. She had to settle on glaring at him until his smirk faded.

  “You can’t still be upset --”

  “I’d punch you in the face but I don’t want to upset the gods.” She turned away.

  “Maya.”

  “Go mate yourself, you selfish prick.” She flicked him off and swam away.

  It was funny how the mermen curse was so similar to the human curse, except that in mermen society it wasn’t simple cursing. Said on the day of the rite, she really had cursed him to find no other mate other than himself. She hoped the gods listened to her. He deserved it.

  Laev and the crush of bodies had pushed Maya to the limits of her annoyance. She pushed out of the crowd completely. That put her at the mouth of the triad corridor. She looked at it and then back over her shoulder. Nothing in the couples corridor had interested her.

  With a shrug, she swam forward. She doubted she would be part of a triad. Dealing with her father and his speeches about merman superiority was enough to drive her crazy. The thought of ending up in a relationship with two men with the same attitude as her father was enough to make her give up and go home.

  Still, she did want to get the full experience, and it didn’t hurt to look.

  * * *

  “This --” Kessen pointed in front of him. “-- is why I didn’t want your friends preparing our stage.”

  The ceremonial stage where Kessen and Tam would call their mate to them pushed even the boundaries of merman propriety. Two penis-shaped pillars jutted up from the black sand seabed, curving toward each other. Blue veins bulged as the two erect members spewed white kelp made to look like ejaculate.

  Kessen didn’t want to know what materials Tam’s friends had used to construct the pillars or how they’d managed to make the monstrosities look so lifelike. He did want to know how he or any other was supposed to see the backdrop as amorous.

  If the two giant penises weren’t enough, several other smaller penis-shaped objects -- an eel wearing a bulbous col
lar, seashells of different lengths and curvatures, and even a dildo made from woven sea grass with a handle attached -- had been added to the scene.

  Tam laughed, then covered his laughter with coughing when Kessen glared at him. Tam tried to embrace him, but Kessen dodged. Tam said, “It’s fine. It’s fine. Look. They even included the symbol of your station.” He pointed to the trident positioned in the middle of the arching penises.

  Kessen snapped, “Is that supposed to make me feel better about this?”

  “They’re only having fun. Relax, lover.”

  “This is a sacred day and they’ve demeaned it with this… this…” Kessen ended with an annoyed sound, unable to think of a word to describe the hideous display.

  There was no time to redo it. Already, patrons of the virility-fertility rite toured the corridors. Kessen had been an idiot to agree to leave the matter of the ceremonial stage to Tam’s friends.

  Why had he?

  The question triggered a memory of the night Tam had convinced him. Kessen flushed.

  He jerked with a muted moan of pleasure when Tam passed his hand over the tip of Kessen’s cock, which had peeked out of his genital slit. Only the short loincloth strip circling his hips hid his excited state from the people surrounding them.

  “Stop,” Kessen rasped when Tam slipped his fingers into the slit and stroked. “We’re supposed to wait.” Kessen grasped Tam’s wrist, but that was it. The act of pulling Tam’s hand away seemed to be beyond Kessen. He and Tam were about equal in strength, yet the sensations Tam’s fingers built within Kessen were hard to deny.

  “I can make you come now, and you’ll still be ready for me when our time in the ceremony occurs.” Tam nibbled the curve of Kessen’s neck as he spread Kessen’s slit.

  That was all the invitation Kessen’s erection needed to fully extend past its protective cover and press against the loincloth. Tam fisted his hand around the hard member and pumped.

  “Tam…” Kessen couldn’t quite form coherent speech. He gasped several times, trying to keep his composure. “We have to wait. Doing this now will disrupt someone else.”