I ’d screwed up, hurt my mate with some of my first words, and I didn’t know how to make it right.
Kendall wasn’t ready for the truth.
She could never go back to being only a land-walker.
My tentacles reached out to her, but she swam away.
“Come to the surface with me.” My voice came out raspier than intended.
I hated sounding weak, but hurting this woman, though unintentional, cut me to the core.
“Let me explain, please.”
I begged.
My mate had me begging and I hadn’t known her for more than a day and she’d been unconscious for most of it.
She had me wrapped around her tiny body and didn’t know it.
Kendall could command me with a look, and I would do anything she desired.
I longed to touch her, but she needed to make the first move, so I forced myself to emerge from the water and sit on the edge of the largest tidepool.
My tentacles tapped the water while I waited until she surfaced.
Fortunately, I didn’t have to wait long.
Kendall emerged, her blonde hair dripping in wavy tendrils down her back.
She looked glorious.
“Why? I need you to explain,” she said, crossing her arms over her chest.
The act pushed her breasts forward, and I stifled a groan.
Kendall had no idea how she affected me.
“After the explosions, you fell.”
“I remember. Then something hit my back.”
“I saw that.”
“You were watching me?”
“I raced to help as soon as I noticed you were sinking. I had no choice. My hearts beat for you.”
“You didn’t give me a choice. I make my own decisions.”
“Are you mad at me for saving you?” I asked, daring to hold hope.
“I haven’t decided to forgive you.”
“Had I not given you my venom, you would have died. I couldn’t let you go now that I found you.” I took a chance and took her hands in mine.
I marveled at the difference in our sizes.
Her bones were delicate and I worried I would accidentally crush her with my strength.
When she didn’t immediately remove her hands from mine, I smiled.
Progress.
She’d come around.
She had to.
“I wasn’t given a choice.” Her voice came out small.
Vulnerable.
“Would you rather have died?” I couldn’t believe it.
Kendall shook her head.
“No. But, I breathe under water. I’m not human anymore. I’m not me.”
Gently, I squeezed her hands.
“You’re still the same person you were, with a few extra abilities,” I said.
Kendall sighed.
“What exactly did you change me into? Will I grow tentacles too? I don’t want tentacles. I’m kind of attached to my legs.” Her eyes widened as if she was horrified at the thought of turning into something like me.
“No. Your legs will remain. I am the way I am because of my parentage. After we join our bodies, the possibility exists you may acquire gills to aid in gathering oxygen in the deepest part of the oceans.”
Kendall bit her lower lip, an act I found utterly adorable.
“What about the prophecy? I’m assuming there is more to it than ‘I’m yours’ and my choices have been taken away.”
I cupped her face in my hands.
“There is. A land-dweller will arrive in time for the greatest uprising ever seen among our people. They will unite the land and sea.”
“I’m not that person. Brooke is the diplomat. I’m a scientist! I’m not trained in diplomacy.” Kendall said.
I waved my hand.
“I will teach you. My hearts beat for you. Kendall, you are my mate, just as the fates foretold.”
Her lip trembled, uncertainty written on her delicate features.
“Do you wish to see our kingdom?”
“What do I have to do?”
I clasped her hand in mine.
“Come with me. I will show you our world.” I guided her into the water, taking care to keep her close to my side.
She had begun to trust me, and I would do all I could to keep her faith in me.
I spoke in soft commands in my native tongue rather than her language.
Hidden doors opened behind movable walls of kelp.
Deep sea eels with bioluminescence wove around us in gentle swirling paths, illuminating a tunnel system that descended deeper than she’d ever been before.
The pressure where I planned on taking her would test her upgraded lungs.
“A garage!” Kendall exclaimed.
“Of sorts. These pods are biological. They are the only creatures capable of accommodating our bodies. While they’re not necessary, they are fun.” I winked in her direction.
“Grab the hand-grips. For one not used to this method of travel, it can be disconcerting.”
“Got it.”
The translucent pod sealed around us before gliding forward with ease.
While she watched the water pulse with life, I watched her, gauging her reaction to my world.
Coral towers stretched toward the surface searching for elusive light.
Schools of radiant fish shifted in waves in front of our conveyance.
As we descended, the temperature shifted subtly, and the water took on a richer, darker hue.
I scanned Kendall’s body language for subtle signs that she could handle the chill.
“Our realm is not just the sea and beneath, we control the convergence of the currents. Nonmore Chasm is equally beautiful and dangerous.”
Kendall tilted her head, intrigued.
“Tell me about the dangers.”
“The sea remembers. It holds the memories of our ancestors and the battles they fought. I don’t know how to explain it, but I trust the water. I allow it to lead me where it wants to go. It is impossible to fight the water’s desires. For us, the kraken, the outcasts, we are safe everywhere. We are the largest predators outside of the Trench. The creatures who dwell there are mindless eating machines. They destroy and consume. Only our kingdom has the strength to keep them contained.”
“Sounds scary.”
I didn’t know if she posed a question, and if it was, I was unsure how to answer.
As her mate, I wanted to prove I could protect her.
Her life wouldn’t be in danger as long as she remained by my side.
Instead, I hummed noncommittally.
The pod slowed and emerged over a dome of living glass surrounded by palatial coral spires.
“Welcome to the palace.” Shifting hues of sapphire and emerald, powered by pulses from deep thermal vents cast dazzling light over the city.
Between archways and towers kraken and merfolk swam with grace.
“How beautiful. You live here?” Kendall’s eyes widened, taking in my home.
“I do.” I left the conveyance pod and swam to Kendall, holding my hand to aid her descent.
Together, we stood on a sparkling platform.
“Is this mother-of-pearl?” she asked.
I shrugged.
“I don’t know what the surface calls it. But it is sturdy and prevalent.”
As the platform descended, Kendall curled into my side.
I preened at her confidence in my ability to protect her as my people watched.
Ahtu met us at the bottom.
His eyes flicked between us.
“Mate of Bourne. Welcome.”
“Kendall, please.” She extended her hand.
Ahtu stared, a quizzical look on his face.
“Place your palm in mine,” she said.
“It’s a greeting among my people.” She pumped her hand once, and then returned her hand to mine.
“What is your name, and how do you know Bourne says I’m his mate?”
“Ahtu. I witnessed the explosion. Bourne rescued you, and I protected you both while he brought you here.”
“Thank you.”
Ahtu’s tentacles folded until he bowed before her.
“It is an honor to meet the one who will bridge our realms, healing the rift among the inhabitants of our planet.”
“Let me give you a tour.” I guided Kendall toward the palace walls.
Once inside, with my friend and mate, I let down my guard.
Ahtu and I told her of the old wars between surface invaders and the kraken defenders.
Of the ongoing battle with Trench inhabitants, and of the prophecy whispered in the tides.
Kendall chuckled.
“You both think that’s me? I’m not anyone special, just a scientist. I didn’t come here to fulfill a prophecy.”
Ahtu studied her.
“Prophecies do not wait for belief. They arrive. And so did you. If Bourne’s hearts both beat, you are the catalyst.” He bowed at the entrance to my private quarters.
“Here, I take my leave for now.”
I lead Kendall into my chambers.
As I did, the energy between us shifted from something cautious to more personal.
My tentacles moved gently, brushing her arm with reverence.
She met my gaze and held it.
I expected her to pull back, but she didn’t.
”
“If I choose not to be part of this world?” she whispered.
“Then I will take you to the surface. You will be free. But know this,” I pulled her closer to me, keeping my voice low, “something inside you belongs to the ocean. Don’t you feel it? Does it call to you as it does to me? Before you decide, think about your past, and what you could have.”
“I’m drowning,” she murmured.
“Are you?” I placed my hand against her chest, relishing the rise and fall with each breath she took.
“Not literally, I can breathe. Drowning in memories.”
“Instead of looking back, why do you fight so hard to turn toward the future? Become who you were meant to be.” I wrapped Kendall in my arms.
My tentacles swirled underneath her, cradling her ass while I lowered my mouth to hers and kissed her with everything I had.
I poured my soul into the kiss, teasing her lips with my tongue.
I nipped at her lower lip with my teeth, careful to keep my sharp teeth from piercing her delicate skin.
When her mouth parted and allowed my tongue to enter, she melted into me, wrapping her arms around my neck.
She threaded her fingers in my hair, tugging gently.
I groaned at the slight pain.
Kendall had no idea what she did to me.
Of their own accord, the tentacles not supporting her wound their way up her legs, pulling them apart.
She wrapped her legs around my waist and my mating tentacle surged forward.
Kendall gasped into my mouth.
I took the opportunity to grind against her intimate parts while my mouth plundered hers.
My hands caressed her shoulders before moving over her chest.
I cupped her generous breasts in my hands, her nipples pebbling against the webbing between my fingers.
I wasn’t playing fair, testing our fledgeling mate bond.
While I wanted to sink myself into her body and complete the bond, she needed to control the first time, and I refused to take advantage of her conflicting emotions.
She ground herself against me, her warm core making me ache with need.
It took all of my willpower to break the kiss.
“Kendall, you’re not ready for more.”