Page 19

Chapter 19

Penelope

“ Y ou’re sure you don’t want me to come and help?” Bjorn asks, packing the last of my gear into the trunk of my car.

We spent the morning out on Bjorn’s boat, recollecting samples and data so I can get back into the lab today and make progress on my project. With Bjorn’s help and my new abilities, I was able to gather more in a couple of hours than I’d lost initially.

“Not this time. I don’t think I’ll get any work done if you’re there.”

He comes around the side of the car and places one hand on the roof and the other on my hip, caging me in. I look up into his ruggedly handsome face and he smirks, the right side of his mouth twitching under his beard.

“And why is that?” he asks, his deep voice sparking a pool of heat in my core.

The door handle digs into my side, but all I can feel is his warm hand rubbing back and forth along my hip and the spark between us pulling me toward him.

“Because you can be very—” My thoughts scatter as he sucks along the column of my neck.

“I can be what?”

Bjorn doesn’t let me answer. Instead, he pulls me closer, his hands finding my ass and his lips taking mine in a heated kiss that leaves me breathless. When he finally pulls back, I’m wet and dazed.

I brace against the car and try to get my breathing under control. “You are definitely banned from the lab until I’m not tempted to get naked with you every second.”

He chuckles as I force myself to get it together enough to get in the driver’s seat. I turn on the car and roll down the window.

Bjorn reaches into the pocket of his worn jeans and pulls out a choker, dangling it between his fingers. “I made this to cover my claim marks. That way people won’t ask questions.”

He leans in and drapes it around my neck as I pull up my hair. His warm hands on the back of my neck as he locks the clasp in place make me shiver.

“I love it. Where did you get the charm?”

“I made it early this morning before you were up,” he rumbles, eyeing my neck with a heated look of possessive satisfaction.

“You made this?” I ask, feeling as if I have stars in my eyes. Has anyone ever done something so thoughtful?

He nods, giving me a shy smile.

The gift is a simple band of purple velvet ribbon, wide enough to cover my throat, with a small wooden tentacle charm that hangs in the center. I reach so I can see myself in the rearview mirror, tracing my hands along my throat. It’s perfect. A reminder of him that allows me to keep our secret and still feel close to him.

“It’s beautiful, thank you.”

“You’re welcome.” He leans his forearms on the windowsill. “Now, go be productive. I’ve got a project I need to get working on anyway, but don’t be surprised if I turn up bayside to ride home with you. What time do you think you’ll be done?”

It’s already after ten since we went out collecting this morning, and I need to make up for lost time. “Probably late. After five.”

He nods and taps the roof, backing up so I can turn around. With a resigned sigh, I drive away, feeling as if I’m leaving my heart at the lighthouse.

About halfway down the long, ambling drive through the forest, a blurry figure emerges in my side mirror. I slow to a stop as the speeding figure comes closer. Bjorn catches up faster than would be possible for a human and leans into my window.

“You forgot this,” he explains before kissing my cheek and handing off an old steel lunch pail he packed for me this morning.

“Sorry!” I wince.

“Nah, I distracted you.” He’s not angry I forgot, his lips tugged up into an amused smile. My apprehension dissipates at his easy acceptance. “Have a good day at work, Wildcat.”

Xavier, one of the permanent NOAA lab employees, pops his head around the doorframe as I’m lining up the sample. “I’m heading out. You’ll lock up?”

I nod but don’t look up. “Have a good evening.”

Turning the fine adjustment knob of my light microscope, I bring the sample into a clear view and watch for motility of viable sex cells. I find some irregularities in the sample and log them before moving on to the next.

Now that everyone has left for the day, the lab is quiet, and I find it easier to hunker down. My stomach grumbles, reminding me that the lunch Bjorn packed was ages ago, but for now I ignore it, focusing on the next slide.

“You always did have the ability to hyper-focus like no one else.”

My ex-husband’s smooth voice startles me, and I knock the glass slide out of place, my vision scattered. I turn to see Daniel leaning against the door jamb of the lab. He just turned forty and usually looks the part of the distinguished handsome professor. He’s always been a sharp dresser, the salt-and-pepper sprinkled in his meticulously styled hair adding to the tailored clothes and giving his features an air of distinction.

But right now, he looks haggard. Dark splotches dot the skin under his eyes, and his normally put-together look is ruined by the rumpled shirt and coat he’s wearing. I recognize both, which is unusual. He hardly ever wears the same thing two years in a row.

“Shit. You scared the hell out of me, Daniel. What are you doing here?” I ease back from the microscope and brace my hands on the lab table.

“You didn’t answer your phone. I was worried.” The false concern in his voice grates on my nerves. He’s only interested in me when he needs something.

I stare him down. “It’s been that way. We’re divorced, going on five months.”

“And whose fault is that, Penelope? I miss you. Us.” He steps toward me, and I busy myself by packing up my samples. “We were inseparable, Pen. Now you won’t even act like an adult and call me back after you had an accident on a dive?”

“I’m fine. It wasn’t a big deal.” I roll my eyes at his suggestion that he’s worried about me or that we were as close as he pretends.

He’s never been interested in the details of my work, never wanted to learn more than where I could get published or what research awards it would make me eligible for. Daniel hates the ocean. As a result, he steered clear of anything related to my work in the field.

Daniel moves closer, brushing his fingers along the tools laid out on a workstation. “You forgot to mention in your email that you got hurt. I had to hear about it from Luz. Can you imagine how embarrassing it was to find out from her that my wife got in an accident?”

I toss my samples inside the biohazard disposal bin and turn on him, hands on my hips. “I’m fine.” I shake my head and hold my ground. “Besides, it’s not your concern. Nothing about me is anymore.”

“But it could be. Come home, Pen. This shows how much you need looking after. You know you need me. We work, you and I.” He gives me a wry smile that at one time would have pulled me back into his orbit. Now though, I see through his bullshit. When I raise my eyebrow but don’t soften, his smile falls. He moves closer, crowding me against the table and leaning in. His fingers brush along my neck, flicking Bjorn’s choker. “Come home.”

My skin crawls at the unwanted touch. The kiss he’s aiming for doesn’t come. I duck out of his grasp and return to my lab station, hastily cleaning up for the evening. “You saw that I’m fine. Leave. We’re finished, and I don’t want you here.”

Daniel doesn’t listen, coming up behind me and hovering too close to my back. “Let’s try again, Pen. I’ve changed. I know what I need now.”

What he needs isn’t me, it never was. The light clicks on. Duh, Penelope. The rumpled look and last season clothes—he’s burned through the last of the money.

I turn on him and push my finger against his chest, stepping forward so he walks back. “I don’t have access to the funds, Daniel. I can’t give you what you need. My trust reverted back to my father when we divorced. Remaining married was a stipulation, remember?”

“I want you, Pen,” he pleads. “It would make your family, me, so happy if we can reconnect. Come home.”

For years I stayed when he would plead like this after I’d caught him cheating. I thought it was me. I convinced myself I was the problem. I see through the mask now, know the truth. “You’re not my home anymore.”

“Pen,” he says softly, clasping my hand where it’s pointed at his chest. He looks devastated, but I can see the twitch of his jaw.

“You never were my home.” I shake my head, pulling away from him. Bjorn is home, and with him, I’m going to build a life so vast I can’t even grasp it fully yet. But I know deep in my soul that it’s right.

“I can be.” He gives me a heated look that comes off as more angry than sexy. He lunges, twisting me around in one smooth move that lands with me pushed against the lab table, my hand held behind my back. “I can learn to give you what you need, Pen. I find it easier to imagine punishing you now. I want to spank your ass for leaving.”

His body crowds into mine, too close, and it feels like little prickles caught in my skin. Bile, hot and thick, rises in my mouth and I yank against his control, freeing myself and pushing away.

“That’s not happening. You don’t get to touch me anymore.” I hold out my arm, pointing at the door. “Leave. Now.”

He stalks closer, his eyes angry and his movements jerky. “Isn’t that what you wanted, Pen? You get wet at the idea of a spanking for being a naughty girl?”

“Fuck you, Daniel,” I hiss. The way he said those words, he meant to cause shame. And they did, for years. I felt as if everything I wanted was twisted and that needing those things made me unlovable.

Books. Therapy. Distance. They taught me he was wrong. And now, Bjorn is teaching me what it can look like when my desires have free rein.

“Gladly,” he snarls. “Let me fuck that smart sass right out of you, then I’m taking you home.”

He pulls me against him, diving in for a kiss, but I push his chest hard. He stumbles back but rights himself.

“You disrespectful bitch!” he shouts, lunging for me.

In a show of strength, he grabs hold of me roughly, knocking me into a nearby lab stool. It falls to the floor beside me, the metal clanking against the linoleum as I scramble to get out of his hold. Daniel’s hands grip my arms too tightly, and he jerks me toward the open door.

Fear courses through my veins, making it feel as if my insides have turned over. Daniel is a cheating asshole with a vicious tongue, but he’s never gotten violent before and right now he sounds crazy. But he’s also never been without my money before, and the desperate edge in his voice scares me.

“What the fuck, Daniel? You’re hurting me. Let me go.” I fight against him, bucking in his grasp and clawing at his grip, digging my nails into his coat.

He grunts, using all his weight to overpower me, and we stumble toward the door.

“You don’t want to make up?” he snarls, squeezing me too tightly.

I punch and kick, landing some blows, but all it does is make him angrier. His face is twisted into that of a true monster, all fierce teeth and seething rage.

“I tried to do this the amicable way. You don’t want to be married? Fine. You’re a lousy fuck. But with you gone, the assets are frozen. You owe me, and you’re going to help me make my own fortune.” We slam into the door as he pushes us forward. His body presses against me, trapping me, his breath hot in my face. “The rune, it’s a lost symbol. And a discovery like that would mean collectors. Help me secure the artifact and we’ll part ways.”

Shit. Bjorn’s mark and my stupid email.

“You can’t be serious!” I jump forward, trying to spring free, jabbing my elbow into his chest.

Daniel grunts but doesn’t budge. Panic floods my system as I realize I’m truly trapped with my desperate ex. He’s acting crazy and reckless, and I have no idea who this man holding me is. I’ve never seen him so out of control.

The burning ember in my chest flares. Bjorn is coming for me. How this mate thing works is still somewhat of a mystery to me, but there is no way that Bjorn hasn’t felt my stress in the bond. He must not be close enough that I can hear him, but that ember is burning in my chest, reassuring me that he will protect me.

Even though it should make me feel better, it causes more panic to rise. Shit. The problem is my mate will protect me. He’s a warrior and a kraken shifter. If he deals with Daniel, there’s no way my ex will live through the night. And if Daniel disappears, it won’t be just Bjorn’s secret we expose. It would lead back to me. I’ll be a suspect, or we both will. Bjorn and I will start our life together on the run.

I want a life of adventure with this man, but not like that. That future isn’t one where my wounded kraken can heal, where I can figure out who I want to be, or where the two of us could build a life. We’d be constantly worried and hiding for the next decade. Maybe more. What would happen if we wanted to have children? We would have to hide and that’s not the future I want to imagine for us.

I try to stall or convince Daniel this won’t work. He can’t get anywhere near the water, my Bjorn, or that symbol. “I told you it was from a party cruise.”

“Bullshit. You know you didn’t find a party cruise token. I’ve seen the marking once before on a weapon and I know it would spark interest. Now, let’s go. Where is the dock for the lab?” He pushes me harder into the door, scowling.

“I’ll draw you a map, but we can’t go out there. We don’t have equipment. It’s gonna be dark soon,” I explain, lowering my tone and trying for compliance to see if I can get him to back down. “We could go tomorrow. Let’s cool off, come up with a plan. We can start fresh in the morning.”

“No. I don’t trust you not to recover it for yourself. The money is frozen where you can’t touch it either. The boat will have what we need. Now lead me to it.” He jerks on my arm, and I stumble behind him, trying to pull from his grasp.

We spill out of the office into the lobby, and he makes a grab for me. I try to stop us in place, planting my feet. His hold on me pushes past too tight, fingers digging roughly into my flesh.

“You’re hurting me,” I yell.

Daniel pulls on my hair, yanking my head back and dragging me through the lobby and into the parking lot. It’s empty. I scream anyway.

He tugs on my hair again, this time so hard I suck in a breath, and his hand covers my mouth. I bite his palm and thrash against him, kicking. Daniel curses but doesn’t back down, violently stuffing me in the backseat of his car with quick, hard movements. He shoves my head onto the seat and slams the door. I scramble for the handle, push on the unlock button, but it’s childproofed.

Fuck.

By the time I half-climb into the front, Daniel is in the driver’s seat. He shoves me hard, and I fall back against the leather, whacking my cheek on the side of the headrest. Getting up quickly, I try to knock him over, pushing and shoving to get control of the car and stop him from leaving. He backhands me hard and I land against the seat, stunned.

I press my hand against my busted-up cheek and laugh, the sound unhinged. In the front seat, Daniel carries on about his plans, ignoring me. I’ll give him credit for working the angle of the artifact. Daniel spends his life around showy antiques dealers through his work at the university archives and as a resident expert in the area. He knows the money he could collect if such a thing were real. But the idea that he could secure an artifact—if there was one like he thinks—on a night dive is half-cocked and laughable. None of his ramblings are founded on the logistics of diving or knowledge of the water. No one in their right mind would think this was a solid plan. Obviously, he’s not in his right mind.

It would be funny—how little my ex knows about me, my job, or the water—except with every moment, we’re drawing closer to the inevitability of Bjorn getting to Daniel before he even makes out of the bay.

Daniel takes a deep breath and fixes the collar of his shirt, visibly trying to regain his control before he turns on the car, and my fear spikes. How the fuck am I ever going to get us out of this? I try the door again, but it’s useless, so I sit back and eye Daniel, hoping like hell he’ll come to his senses. Daniel keeps muttering as he drives around the research lab until he takes the cutoff toward the docks.

It’s empty, all the boats tied up for the evening and staff gone. Daniel parks then opens the passenger door. I kick at his legs, screaming, and he drags me roughly from the backseat.

“Daniel, stop!” I plant my feet and pull against him, trying desperately to get him to leave with me. I can feel my mate’s presence and I panic, swinging and bucking desperately.

But there is no stopping the inevitable. One step onto the dock and my kraken explodes from the water.