Sunflower | NSFW Salina Commission for TermaShark (Patreon)

Author's Note: Thank you so much to Terma for trusting me with your beautiful sharkgirl!

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Nix stood on Salina’s doorstep, sunflowers in one hand, hopes in the other.

Do sharkgirls like flowers? He’d wondered the same thing when he’d picked them out of a basket, then again when he paid for them, and a third time now. It’s more romantic than a fish kebab, right?

The sun was just clearing the horizon when his fist hesitated a few inches from her door. She’d be awake, right? She was the one who’d told him to show up at dawn. Strange time for a date, but Salina was a special girl. Whatever rules she set to make the day happen, he’d happily abide.

Maybe I should have just bought the fish.

The door swung open without him knocking, and a grinning Salina awaited him on the other side. She’d worn a striped bikini top and cut-off denim shorts that didn’t rise high enough to hide the straps of her bikini bottoms.

“Good morning, Nix!” She giggled and hopped out onto the porch. “You came on time!”

Nix returned her smile. “‘Course I did. You know I hate being late.” Though he did feel overdressed. He thought he’d picked out something casual enough—a white shirt he’d ironed that morning, black athletic joggers after she’d said, “Wear something comfy!”—but Salina was nearly naked. And he was having a tough time keeping his gaze from sliding lower.

“You feeling okay? Your face is all red.” Her smile wavered, and she touched his cheek.

Nix cleared his throat and waved her away. “Never been better. Really.” He suddenly remembered the flowers. “Here. These are for you.”

Salina’s eyes widened as she accepted the bouquet. Two dozen fresh sunflowers. They remind me of your smile. Was he allowed to say that?

“Nix! These are so pretty!” She buried her nose between the petals and inhaled a deep breath. “And they smell amazing!”

“They, er, reminded me of you.” Not the whole story, but it was good enough.

“Oh, yeah?” She nudged him with her elbow. “What about me?”

Nix should have seen this one coming from light-years away. Salina never minced words. “Well… They’re bright…” He felt the burn return to his face and shrugged. “And… Sunny…”

Salina giggled and kissed his cheek. “Thank you.” She took a step backward and looked him up and down. “You did bring swim trunks, yeah?”

“Oh. Yeah. Underneath these.”

“Good! I’m going to put these in a vase. Meet you on the sand in just a minute.” She wiggled her eyebrows. “In your trunks.” Without letting him reply, she turned away and bounced into the house, her powerful tail swaying behind her.

The clever part of him wanted to joke about stripping down so early in the date. But the sight of how the denim cupped her flank sapped his humor away, exchanging it for more…indecent replies.

He forced himself to turn away and stepped down onto the sand, though her silhouette had already carved its image into his mind.

Salina’s house was on a private section of the beach, about a hundred meters away from the water. The sunrise reflecting on the waves made for a peaceful scene, and the salt on the air was a refreshing change to the smell of oil, fuel, and the constant hum of lights and live wires.

Nix tugged off his shirt, folded it neatly, and set it between the gaps of the railing on Salina’s porch. His running shoes, socks, and then the joggers followed, joining the shirt in a single folded pile. The watch around his wrist would be fine; it had survived a lot worse than a little salt water. Though it hadn’t occurred to him to pick up a pair of sandals for the occasion until now, when the warm sand seeped between his bare toes. There was a very good chance it would heat up in the afternoon sun. Ah, well, that was a problem for later.

“It’s so nice to have a day off!” The door opened and clapped shut behind Salina’s announcement. “I’ve planned the whole thing!” She skipped down the stairs with two enormous surfboards; one in each arm.

“Salina…” Nix crossed his arms over his chest. “I don’t know how to surf.”

“I figured! That’s why I’m going to teach you!” Salina propped the boards into the sand as effortlessly as if they were toothpicks. Her strength was pretty damn amazing.

Nix rubbed his chin—a nervous habit that he’d never been able to break—and silently considered the surfboards. “Alright. So long as you don’t laugh at me.”

“I would never laugh at you for trying something new!” Salina skipped forward, leaned on her tiptoes, and kissed his cheek. When she rocked back to her heels, they were both blushing. “You’ve never laughed at me before, Nix.”

Her lips were so soft on his cheek. “Well, no… Of course not…” Did she know how addicting her voice was? Her smile?

“Eh? Ehhh?” She playfully poked his chest.

“Okay, I see your point.”

“Good! Now, first! Sunscreen!” Salina procured a glass bottle from her back pocket. How did it fit back there??

“Sharks need sunscreen?” he teased.

“Only on the human parts.” She passed the bottle to Nix and turned around, collecting her hair over her shoulder. “Would you get my back for me?”

“Y-yeah.” The burning sensation crept down his throat. Did she understand what she was doing to him? He uncapped the sunscreen and shook a small puddle of it into his palm, then handed the bottle back to her.

With a deep breath, Nix rubbed the liquid between his hands, then drew two lines across her back. Her tan skin was warm and just as smooth and soft as her lips.

“Oh! That’s cold!” she giggled.

“Sorry.”

“No, don’t be! It’s fine!”

Her shoulder blades flexed beneath his touch, and he found himself measuring and memorizing her layout just as he would a new world. Five palm-widths from one shoulder to the other, three hand-lengths from her shoulder to her hips. The curve of her spine was like an unexplored alleyway that carved through the center square, beckoning his wandering fingertips to discover it.

“Your hands feel really nice,” Salina murmured. “They’re so strong.”

Her bikini top held on by just two tiny knots: one at the base of her neck and one in the center of her back, blocking his clear path down her spine. He fought the urge to pull it, instead bringing his hands just above her shorts and slathering the rest of the sunscreen over her hips.

When he let his arms fall, his fingers were trembling.

“Thank you.” She turned around and licked her lips. “Now it’s your turn.”

Nix didn’t hesitate to face the ocean. Better for a giant, indifferent body of water to judge the emotions he struggled to contain than for Salina to see them.

The first brushes of her fingertips along his waist startled him. “Damn, that is cold.”

“I told you!” She rubbed her palms in quick circles until they warmed to his skin. “It’s good preparation for the water.”

“Is that cold, too?”

“You’ll see.”

The truth was, he would have walked naked into a snowstorm if it meant he could feel Salina’s hands on his skin for just a few seconds more. She moved with the quick dexterity he watched her wield whenever they worked together, pressing the sunscreen into every inch of his skin as if she were greasing parts of a delicate engine.

“Your back’s as strong as your hands. I didn’t realize thievery built so much muscle,” she mused.

“That’s, er, not what does it.”

“I figured. But hey! It’ll be really good for surfing!” She patted his shoulders, then dropped her hands. “Okay, all done. Now for the rest!”

They each finished lathering themselves with the oil on their own. Nix kept his gaze trained on the line of palm trees just behind Salina’s house, resisting the allure of Salina’s glistening chest and taut stomach. Her shorts came off, and she started smearing sunscreen over her pronounced thighs. He didn’t recall applying sunscreen as a very sexy thing to do, but somehow his heart was already making a break from his chest.

“Now that we’re all nice and protected, it’s time to get in the water.” Salina picked up one of the boards, handed it to Nix, and pointed at the curled band on its back end. “Put that around your ankle, or else you risk losing the board.”

Nix picked up the band and turned it over a few times to inspect it. “It won’t drag me under like an anchor?”

“No, silly. It floats.” A wry grin shaped her mouth. “You’re the anchor.”

“Oh, good. So long as the board is safe.” Nix chuckled and strapped the Velcro around his ankle. The wrapped cord strained and bounced as he lowered his leg to the ground. “Surfing successful.”

Salina laughed and took his hand. “Not until you’re in the water!”

They walked to the shoreline together, and Nix was a little sad when she pulled her hand away.

“Okay. Hold your board like this, and we’re going to jump over the first few waves,” she explained, using her free hand to mimic the tide. “Eventually, we’ll hop on and paddle out a teeny bit farther. Just follow my lead.”

“Got it.”

She wasn’t kidding; the water was very cold. Likely not enough time just yet in the sun. But watching Salina squeal and play in the waves was more than enough to warm him back up. He took two bigger waves to the face before he understood how to dive through them, but once they’d swum just beyond the “tiny breakers,” as Salina called them, the journey smoothed out.

“You’re doing great, Nix!”

“Doing great at what, exactly?” Nix glanced at the board. “Paddling?”

“Yes! That’s a very important part.” She nodded sagely, then pointed at her board. “Right. Okay, these are called longboards. We’ll stand up on them towards the back half, but they’re easy to steer and are perfect for learning how to balance.

“We’re going to use the tiny breakers and get you used to feeling the waves and standing up at the right time. We will catch them together, and I’ll tell you when to stand up. Does that make sense?”

“Sounds straightforward enough.”

“Great! Oh, oh! Here comes a good one!”

A wave that couldn’t have been more than a couple of feet tall swelled behind them.

“Paddle ahead of it until the board’s moving faster than we can paddle!” Salina called.

Nix did as she said. A knot of excitement tightened in his chest as the wave pushed him forward, faster and faster.

“Okay! Put your hands on the board, and pop up like this!” Salina called. “You’ve got this, Nix!”

She was on her feet so quickly that Nix had trouble registering what “pop up” actually meant. He tried to copy it, shoving himself to his feet on the back half of the board, and for one brief, exhilarating second, he was standing up.

And then his face met the ocean.

The water churned around his head and body, but he only had to swim a few feet forward for his toes to touch the sand.

“That was so good!” Salina called from atop her board, her voice muffled in his waterlogged ears. “Great first attempt!”

“And it was almost fun!” he called back, spitting out a mouthful of salt water.

She turned her board around and lightly splashed him with her tail. “You’ll have more fun the second time.”

“Could you teach me what ‘pop up’ means, first?”

Salina brightened. “Oh! Yes! Of course! Come back to the sand.”

They moved to stable ground, where Salina demonstrated just how to move from his stomach to his feet in one swift motion. It took a lot more balance and shifting his weight than he’d expected. But after about ten tries, he felt that he had a decent handle on it, and they paddled back out into the water.

On their second wave, the “curl” broke too soon, crashing down over the board and pitching Nix backward. The third was composed of two waves moving so closely together that neither of them had noticed, sending both him and a hilariously shrieking Salina flying over the noses of their boards. He felt a bit better about that one, even if a tiny crab had somehow latched onto his ear.

But on the fourth wave, everything just seemed to click.

“Pop up!” Salina cried.

Nix righted himself to his feet, evened his balance on the board, and stretched his arms out. And he stayed standing.

He felt like he was flying. Salina whooped and cheered on her board beside him, and he couldn’t help but smile. She carefully steered her board until they were within arm’s reach, and she stretched out her hand. He accepted it in his own, and adrenaline pounded in his ears. The ocean rushed them forward toward the shore, painting blue-green blurs the same color as Salina’s eyes in the corners of his vision. But all he could see was her.

Nix hadn’t realized he was tilting his weight in her direction until their boards crossed and stuck nose-down in the sand. As they tumbled forward in free fall, he instinctively pulled Salina’s hand to his chest, then wrapped both arms around her waist and rolled to his back. He landed with her on top of him in a giggling fit.

“Did you just…?” Salina wheezed. “You just protected me from the ocean?” She repositioned herself so her body aligned with his, lifting her tail to illustrate her point. “Nix!”

White water gushed harmlessly around them, and droplets of it dripped from Salina’s sapphire hair and adorable nose. Nix touched her cheek, suddenly very aware of every part of her body that met his. “I’ll protect you from everything, Salina.” 

Her laughter calmed into a much softer expression. She bit her lip and rested her forehead against his. “I believe that with all of my heart.”

The surfboard tugged at the cord around Nix’s ankle, but he didn’t care. Salina was looking at him like he was the most important person in the world. Her gaze was searching… Asking?

Nix raised his hand to tip her chin up, then brushed his lips against hers. Can I?

Salina’s response was immediate. She kissed him with the same excited enthusiasm that she wore like a perfume. He slid his tongue along the seam of her mouth, and she unlocked her lips, allowing him to search and explore while she coaxed him deeper inside.

Nix tangled his hand in her hair and rested the other on her lower back. She tasted salty like the sea, sweet like her smile, and bright like her sunflowers.

Sea foam tickled his legs as the tide ebbed and flowed, and her fingers wandered up and down his chest and waist with the same cadence.

Salina broke their kiss and caught her breath. Her eyelids were heavy, and her cheeks were bright pink. “Did you like surfing?” she murmured.

“I did.” He swept a few strands of her hair away from her face and smiled. “Does every lesson come with this at the end? Because if it does, I’ll surf every day.”

“Well, in that case, you’ll be an expert in no time.” She nibbled his lower lip and teased it with her tongue.

“Shouldn’t we bring in the boards?” He lifted his ankle underneath her and let it splash back into the water. The urge to untie her bikini top gnawed at him like the thrill of a heavy purse, but he wanted to respect her property more.

“Mmh.” Salina trailed her tongue from his chin to his ear. Nix shivered and grabbed her hips. Anymore encouragement, and he’d send that surfboard to the depths if it meant tasting her skin.

“Salina—”

She inhaled a breath at his ear, and her exhale carried a moan. “You smell so excited.”

God, she could smell that? “You’re incredible, you know.”

“Ehehe.” Salina nipped his ear and trailed her nails down his chest. “We’re just getting started.” She pushed herself up until she straddled him at the hips. “Boards first.”

Salina turned and unwrapped the band around her ankle, then his. Wrapping the cords around her hand, she gathered the boards like freshly caught fish, stacked them one on top of the other, lifted them from the water, and then hurled them over Nix’s head. They skidded onto the sand a few yards away, and she grinned.

“Boards taken care of. Now it’s your turn.”

“You’re not going to throw me like that, are you?”

“Not unless you ask me to.” The starved glimmer in her eyes was a far cry from the determination she carried into her work. “I have other ideas for you.”

Heat swelled in his veins and rushed between his legs. Not even the tide’s cool water framing their limbs could calm him down. Just two layers of thin fabric prevented him from feeling her skin, though he was positive she could feel how badly he wanted to.

Salina giggled and slid her flank down to his thighs, hooking her fingers into the hem of his trunks and slowly pulling them down with her.

This was really happening. Why hadn’t he expected this to happen? A new wave of embarrassment rushed over Nix, and his mouth was suddenly parched. “Hey, so…”

“Hm?” She paused and looked up at him. Two inches more, and she’d have him stripped.

“I, uh… I’m still…newer? To all of this?” It had sounded so much better in his head. Just like every bumbling thing he’d ever said to her.

“Then let me lead,” Salina replied without missing a beat.

“But shouldn’t I—?”

“You should relax.” She bit her lip and looked down. She moved a hand from his trunks to his abdomen, tracing the middle curve to his navel and drawing circles on his skin. “I… I want to make you feel good, Nix. Really good. Like how you make me feel. All the time.”

“You already make me feel that way, Salina.”

Salina smiled and followed the curve of his hip back to his trunks. Her touch was so delicate and warm. Nix felt selfish for desperately wanting to enjoy it over every inch of him. She was so close to stroking his— Hey. Clothes are still on, man. Don’t push her.

“Should I stop?” Salina tugged at the elastic and looked up just enough to meet his gaze.

Water droplets trickled down her face, chest, and abdomen, catching the sun in a way that made her body look like it was coated in glitter. Her tail circled around and rested beside him, and her knees were buried in the sand. He’d never seen her like this before. Never felt like this before. “I don’t want you to stop,” he murmured.

“Good.” She ripped his trunks at the seams, pulled away the fabric, and tossed them to the side. “I owe you new ones.”

Nix wanted to laugh, but his nerves kept it at bay. This was the first time she’d seen him completely naked. Her eyes wandered from his face, down his stomach, to his erection. She licked her lips, then brushed her fingertips along the length of his shaft. He shuddered and wrapped his hands around her thighs. Her smile promised a hundred vulgar acts at once, and he’d readily accept any one of them.

“You have no idea how sexy you are,” Salina whispered just loud enough that he could hear her over the waves. “I want to do everything with you, Nix.”

“Then let’s…ngh!” His thought was interrupted by a groan when she wrapped her hand around his cock. “Get started,” he managed.

Her laughs were breathy, hungry. No longer the light-hearted giggles she shared so freely. These were the low laughs of a woman in control, enjoying her results. “There’s something I really want to try. Just, um, tell me if it’s uncomfortable?”

Nix furrowed his brow. “Alright.”

Salina lifted her tail and brought it over Nix’s stomach. Then she inched backward and bent it in half, resting the lower half against her lower abdomen before curling her hands around the upper half. When she pressed them together, both halves fully enveloped his shaft and tore a gasp from Nix’s throat.

“Is that okay?!” Salina immediately relaxed her grip on the upper half, but Nix caught her wrists and pressed down again.

“Y-yes!” His hips thrust upward on their own accord, and a shudder rolled down his spine.

The skin on her tail was impossibly soft—like lambskin pulled taut over smooth muscle. And there were so many muscles in that tail. Nix could feel her twitch around him, creating tiny pulses that fired from every direction.

“Is it alright if I try moving?” Salina asked, looking at Nix’s fingers around her wrists.

“Mnh… Mhm…” Words wouldn’t form on his tongue. He released her hands and returned his to her thighs.

She reapplied the pressure between her stomach and her hands, then lifted her tail upward, sending another shock of pleasure through Nix’s body. Despite how heavy the tail looked, it barely rested on his abdomen as she moved it up and down. And there was something that kept the soft skin slick. His cock glided between the folds without resistance every time. Was that Salina’s natural state? Or the water splashing between them when the white foam struck her back? It doesn’t matter. Look at her face.

The intensity in her gaze was exhilarating. She worked him like a well-oiled machine, watching every twitch of his mouth, listening to every noise that escaped his lips, and then she adjusted accordingly. His fingertips carved tiny divots into her skin, and his hips rocked against her tail whether he wanted them to or not. Sand ground into his skin beneath him, but he didn’t care. The reward he received for dealing with it was far greater.

Tension compounded in his thighs and stomach. There was no way he was going to hold out much longer. “I… I can’t—”

“I know.” She licked her lips. “The scent is all over you.” She never broke her concentration. Her excitement was palpable. “Come for me, Nix.”

The tone of her voice sent Nix over the edge. His head tipped forward, and his eyes rolled back. Moans consumed his tongue, and his lips went numb.

Even as the climax spilled out of him, she continued to move her tail, pumping him for every drop. Just as his breathing started to steady, she quickly repositioned her tail to the side, then enveloped his shaft with her mouth.

Salty air hitched in his throat and choked him. Nix rested a shaking hand on Salina’s head and dug his elbow into the sand to look at her. She glanced upward on her descent, watching his face until her lips met his hips. The tip of her tongue danced around his shaft, and she swallowed.

She’s… Drinking??

The light touches of her tongue and the constriction of her cheeks roused him to another full erection. His shaft was so sensitive that it danced the line between too much and not enough. The look on her face said she knew exactly what she was doing.

Nix could watch her like this for hours, though he’d never last that long. She was so delicate and thorough, and God, she was so beautiful. How the hell did he get so lucky?

Without lifting her head, Salina ripped away her bikini bottoms and her top, tossing them to the side. Guess we’re both getting new swimsuits. Then she gingerly pulled her mouth away and sat back.

Nix cupped one of her breasts without thinking, kneading the new weight in his hand and tracing his thumb over her hardened nipple. Wait, is this okay? The tiny gasp that escaped her silenced his fears.

“Nix… Do you trust me?” she breathed.

“With my life.”

Salina nodded and twined her fingers through his, stopping his work on her chest. “When you don’t feel the waves anymore, open your eyes.” She poked her tongue into her cheek—her own nervous habit. “If you want to stop, pull my ear.”

Pull her ear? “Alright.”

Salina lay herself out flat against him, her bare chest reshaping against his. His shaft rested against her stomach, just inches from the soft folds between her legs. She wrapped her arms around his waist and whispered, “Close your eyes and take a deep breath.”

Nix sucked in air through his mouth, and as soon as his lips and eyes closed, Salina rolled them from the sand into the water. Surprise nearly knocked the wind from his chest, but he fought to hold it through the dark onslaught of the ocean.

He could feel the powerful ripples of Salina’s tail as she propelled them through the water. It didn’t take long for them to pass the waves crashing over them. The tiny breakers? Even with his eyes closed, he could tell they were moving fast.

The waves vanished, and they slowed. Salina’s tail curled around Nix’s leg, and he opened his eyes. For the second time, he had to fight to keep his breath in his mouth.

Salina had brought them to another world. Red, yellow, and orange coral reefs stretched out along the sand, and hundreds of brightly colored fish swam around and through the branched limbs and into small caverns. A sea turtle passed by their feet as their entwined bodies descended to the ocean floor, and a seahorse swimming by paused to kiss Salina’s nose.

This is her world.

“Nix!” Salina waved a hand to catch Nix’s attention, then pointed to her waist, where two small sets of gills flared on either side of her body. “I can breathe here.” Then she pointed to her mouth and his. “For both of us.” He wasn’t sure what that part meant until she brought her lips to his and breathed a fresh breath of air into his lungs.

She’s my breath…

Salina turned them so her back rested against the sand. She wrapped her legs around Nix’s hips, letting her feet rest on his lower back, then looked at him and waited.

‘I know this is weird,’ he could hear her saying. ‘But it’s special to me.’

She’s just as nervous as I am.

Nix positioned his knees between her thighs, then lifted her by the waist. The water made her weightless, and it was easy to guide her hips around his cock. She curled her arms around his shoulders and wriggled herself down.

The moment her body encompassed the head of his shaft, Nix’s lips parted in a gasp. Salina sealed their kiss, stealing the ocean water from his mouth and replacing it with fresh air. She sank lower and lower, tightening her legs and using one quick flick of her tail to make their hips meet.

His groans echoed in the walls of her mouth, and she ushered more forward with her tongue. Her breath was as delicious and warm as her body.

Nix held tightly to her hips, lifted her up, then thrust upward and pulled down at the same time. Her whimper vibrated against his tongue, and he repeated the movement. Once—alright, maybe twice—he’d wondered what having sex in zero gravity would feel like. But this was so much better.

They were one being in both their lovemaking and the air that they breathed. Life and color bustled and exploded around them, exploring the newcomers and tickling their skin. Salina looked so alive in her element. The rippling sunlight danced across her skin, and her tail swayed and floated behind her without effort.

He accepted another of Salina’s breaths, then pulled away from her mouth. Grinding her down around his hips, he moved a hand to the arch of her back and shifted his lips around her nipple. A little salt water never killed anyone. He swallowed and tongued the hardened bud, teasing her with his teeth between rotations.

Salina’s moans carried through the ripples, the sound as clear as a bell. Nix’s heart skipped when she arched her back, pressing herself harder against his mouth.

 Nix held his breath as long as he could, only stealing a new one when he swapped to her left breast. He continued to raise and lower her hips in a rhythm that churned the water around them and let him feel the softest points of her depths. Her walls throbbed and pulsed in an even more intoxicating sensory overload than her tail, and he could feel her tension slowly building around him.

When Salina’s fingers searched and clawed at his back, he knew she was close.

He claimed her kiss, her tongue, her air, and sped his thrusts. She wrapped her tail around his back and pressed her chest to his. She was soaked, as tight as a vice, and dragging him closer to the edge alongside her.

His name escaped her lips when she orgasmed, and there was no fighting against the convulsions. Nix came a second time, releasing everything he had left inside of her. Their shared breaths were ragged as they clung to one another in the sand and descended from their highs. Colors swirled around them, and the sunlight warmed their skin. It was unbelievably peaceful.

Salina was everything he’d ever dreamed of and more.

It was some time before he drew away from her. Maybe it was crazy, but he didn’t want to leave. Unfortunately, he didn’t have gills like his beautiful sharkgirl.

“Close your eyes. I’ll take us back,” Salina said, pointing to the surface.

Nix nodded and closed his eyes. She gave him one last breath before embracing him and propelling them back to shore.

Once they reached it, Nix stole a few deep breaths but refused to let Salina go. They lay there naked in the sand, seafoam lapping at their legs, until the sun was high in the sky.

“Hey, Salina.”

“Mhm?”

Nix licked his lips. “The sunflowers… They remind me of your smile.”

“Thank you, Nix.” Salina smiled and nestled her head beneath Nix’s chin. “For everything.”