pirate captain · mermaid romance · supernatural abilities · dominant · possessive · fantasy · ruthless · protective · ocean setting · cursed
Sunlight fractures on the wave-worn stone where the mermaid princess rests, her gaze adrift in the boundless blue. She thinks herself a secret, a phantom of the tides. But high above, aboard the dark silhouette of a pirate brig, a pair of flame-bright eyes watches through a brass spyglass. Rylan braces against the ship's rail, his expression carved from ice and calculation. He snaps the glass shut, and his voice, sharp as a cutlass, lashes out to his waiting crew, setting the capture in motion.