Page 25 of Seducing Scylla (Mated Myths #1)

Morgan

I wake with a jolt of fear, shouting and wrestling against my restraints before I become fully aware that I’m not tied up anymore, nor am I on the beach.

A gentle shushing calms my racing heart as I realize the weight pinning me down is one of Scylla’s thick blue-purple tentacles.

Her fingers brush through my hair with such gentleness that I could weep.

My nervous system feels completely and utterly shot and quite frankly, after the last few days I’ve had, I never want to leave this little nest of Scylla’s limbs. Ever.

My bottom lip quivers before a loud racking sob bursts from me.

This has been the most terrifying few days of my whole life.

Scylla says nothing while she continues to hold me; her gentle petting of my hair and arms never stopping while I sob in her arms. I cling to her as if she is my life raft; the one thing keeping me afloat in a stormy sea of emotions.

My sobs become hiccups around the same time my head starts to pound, and my eyes turn red and swollen from all the crying.

Silent, Scylla picks me up, still cradled in her arms. I sniffle and bury my head in the crook of her neck, not ready to face the world yet.

We’re briefly engulfed by darkness and then the glowing blue lights of thousands of glow worms. I poke my head up.

We’re in a small cave, with a smaller hot pool against one rocky wall, and to another side is an alcove with a small hole in the ground that drops down into the darkness below.

I blink, understanding blooms. It’s a bathroom of sorts.

The man’s words reverberate through my achy skull.

She didn’t check the hot pool. This hot pool that I didn’t even know existed.

“He was hiding in here,” I whisper, still staring dumbfounded at this little cave.

Scylla hisses. “It was my mistake for not checking.”

I close my eyes, tears threatening to well again.

“Where is he?” My voice breaks.

“You do not have to fear him any longer. ”

My shoulders sag, relief washing over me. I don’t ask what happened to him. I don’t want to know. I’m just relieved he’s gone, and I don’t have to worry about him coming back.

“I-I am sorry, Morgan. I did not protect you as I should have. You are my mate and my mistake led you to be taken.”

Scylla’s voice cracks and I peer up at her. She looks so sad. I don’t know if she can cry, but the black eyes that reflect the pretty glow of the worms illuminating the cave look glassier than usual.

“I understand if you wish to reject the mate bond. If,” she swallows, the words thick in her mouth, “you do not wish for me to be your mate. I have not cared for you the way you should have been. I gave you the wrong water, and—” she rambles, and I stare up at her, wide-eyed, before placing my fingers across her lips, halting her speech.

“Stop. You are my mate, and I won’t have anyone else.” My voice is firm.

“I am not a good mate.” Her voice is hushed as she speaks around my fingers.

“I don’t care. I had already decided I was staying. That I was going to see what this was between us. It’s new, and it’s scary, and I don’t know anything about what is involved in being your mate, but I’m willing to give it a shot. If you are?”

Scylla’s bottom lip trembles. She brings her forehead down to meet mine, my green eyes meeting her pitch-black ones across the short distance between us.

“I promise I will do better. Be better.”

“You don’t have to do or be better. I have felt nothing but safety and contentment from the moment I found myself in your furs. I just want you to be you. We can learn how to do all of this,” I wave my hand around us, “together.”

Her lips, already so close to mine, close the distance, crashing onto mine in a flurry of desperation.

I savor the feeling of her satiny soft hands embracing both sides of my face.

Our mouths dance feverishly with one another, the saltiness of the ocean and my tears mingling on our lips.

I let a soft moan slip free, eliciting a growling rumble in Scylla’s chest. I huff a laugh into our kiss, a smile chasing it as I gently pull free.

I stare at Scylla, tracing my hands down the sharp planes of her cheekbones, admiring the otherworldly beauty that she is.

“I have been wanting to do that ever since you kissed me goodbye.” Scylla smiles shyly back at me .

“I’ve been wanting to do that ever since I first saw you.” I laugh, heat blooming in my cheeks.

“It has been hard to resist the mate bond between us, but I wanted you willing and freely.”

I nod, swallowing thickly, and eye the tentacles that hold me tightly. The erotic thoughts of those tentacles caressing me and touching me in places I should be ashamed of have been on my mind constantly. But I’m not ashamed at all.

“I’m willing.”