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Had Kyree been aroused by Honour kissing Hudson? Or was it merely a physical reaction to watching them? Had she wanted to join in? Taste? Test? Tease?

Honour sucked in a sharp gasp as she waited for an answer. If Kyree was going to push them to talk, then Honour wasn’t going to let her get away without sharing some of her own secrets. Kyree pulled away slightly, her dark hair floating around her as if it would protect them from the light trying to break through.

“I’ve never met a mer like Hudson before.”

“I doubt many have.Unhingedis the first word that comes to mind.”

Kyree let out a small laugh and nodded. “Yes, but she responds to touch. Did you notice that? I think she craves it. Not just sexual touch, but any touch. I don’t know much about the Talon tribe, but Hudson craves contact.”

“I noticed.” Honour bit the inside of her cheek. She’d used that to her advantage, much as she’d seen Kyree do it. “Talons are known for being outstanding warriors. Everything in their tribe is about fighting a battle and tearing their enemy apart. Any touch is meant for demeaning the other person. It’s notmeant for uplifting or pleasure. They are there to take and take only.”

“How awful for them,” Kyree responded. She shifted slightly, pushing her hips into Honour’s.

Honour couldn’t tell if it was an intentional move or not, but the pressure of their tails hitting, their scales sliding against each other, sent those pleasurable shock waves right through her again.

“Do you think they can learn how good it feels to give?” Kyree fingered the edge of Honour’s wrappings mindlessly, like she wanted to check on them but wasn’t sure how, or if she should.

Honour closed her eyes, holding back her body’s reaction as best she could. Reaching up, she threaded her fingers into Kyree’s hair and jerked her head down so their lips were only a breath apart. “No, I don’t.”

“I have hope that Hudson can.”

A shiver ran through Honour’s body. Hudson had certainly given her pleasure, more than once. And Honour had taken the bait each time willingly. What did that say about her? That she was sex deprived? That she liked to live on the edge of pleasure and pain? That she confused the two?

Honour pulled Kyree closer, wrapping an arm around the small of her back and keeping her locked in place. “You need to answer my question.”

“What question?” Did Kyree sound breathy?

“Were you aroused by Hudson kissing me?” Honour’s heart clenched, making it hard to breathe. Everything hinged on Kyree’s answer, and Honour had no clue why she so desperately wanted to know.

“Y-yes,” Kyree stumbled over the word. “I was.”

Honour sucked in sharply. She hadn’t expected that. She’d thought that Kyree would be repulsed by it all. Just like she had been with herself—at least, she wanted to be disgusted withherself. But she couldn’t stop thinking about Hudson and the way she moved. She was pure sex and nothing else.

“W-what about it…” How did she even ask this? “What about it turned you on?”

Kyree shook her head slowly, but she didn’t lose eye contact. “I don’t know. But I understand Hudson’s craving for touch.”

“You do?” Honour furrowed her brow.

“I do.” Kyree skimmed her fingers confidently over Honour’s stomach and up her chest, around her left nipple and up to her neck. “My tribe doesn’t like outsiders.”

“No shit.” Honour snorted with a light laugh.

“Yes, but what you don’t know and what Hudson—somehow—did, is that by choosing to come with you to support you during this war, I’m unable to return to my people.”

Honour’s stomach dropped. Concern hit her hard. Then anger at the injustice of it all. “They kicked you out to help us?”

“Because I’ll be mingling with other tribes.”

“Mingling?”The disbelief in her tone couldn’t be more obvious. “Kyree, you’re fighting to save our world.”

“I’m not fighting.”

“You’re not killing humans or taking down krakens, but you are fighting with us. Without you helping us, they won’t have a world to survive in.” How could the elders not see that? How could they not understand just how important this was and the amazing thing that Kyree was doing not just for them but for the rest of the ocean?

“I left them.”

“So you can’t go back?”