“ B ourne, you can’t keep me here any longer.” I shouted into the empty bedroom.
No clocks adorned the walls, so I couldn’t be positive how long he’d left me alone, aching with need, but based on my sleep cycle, I guessed no more than a full day.
“Just because you kissed the daylights out of me, cuddled me all night without finishing what you started, doesn’t mean you get to leave.”
Though what I’d seen of Nonmore Chasm and the palace held the beauty of cathedrals I’d read about on Earth in Europe, like Notre Dame, Westminster Abbey or la Sagrada Familia, I couldn’t shake the feeling Nonmore was also my prison.
A gorgeous prison, but a cage, no matter how gilded, nonetheless remained a cage.
For whatever it was worth, I believed Bourne when he said he wanted to keep me safe.
But the prophecy lingered.
I wasn’t anyone special.
I was an Earth-born-and-bred human.
Well, maybe not a full human anymore, thanks to Bourne changing me against my will.
I still hadn’t fully forgiven him for that.
I leaned back on Bourne’s sea sponge bed and marveled again at how luxurious it was.
Living under the water had some perks, like never needing to change sheets, a fact I discovered after Bourne broke the best kiss of my life last night, carried me to the bed, and curled up next to me, cuddling me in his arms, while his tentacles wrapped around my legs and waist.
They were powerful muscles, extensions of his body, capable of extreme harm.
But Bourne had yet to do anything to harm me, yet the power he wielded with his trident and strong tentacles kept me on my toes.
As long as he continued to treat me with respect, I didn’t mind toeing the line.
He was bossy, but I supposed that came from being royalty and
“Follow me.” Bourne’s voice cut through the stillness of the space, yanking me from my reverie.
He slid into the cavernous room, moving with effortless command, his massive form gliding more than walking.
Despite his formidable presence, Bourne didn’t frighten me.
“I know you’ve been waiting. An urgent matter needed my attention, and you were asleep. I used my judgment.” He tilted his head, using the trident in his hand to prop up his crown.
“I am used to making spur-of-the-moment decisions.”
At his words, I felt my anger dissipate.
“It’s all right,” I said, and I meant it, finding comfort in his certainty, almost as though he were a fixed point in the shifting strangeness of my experience so far on Sanos.
I followed Bourne through a passage lined with glowing coral and whispering currents.
The ground pulsed faintly beneath my boots, as though the ocean itself were breathing around them.
A thousand questions ran through my mind, but for now, I fell back on my scientific training.
My plan was to remain silent, gather information, and observe.
“Where are we going?”
“This way,” he said, gesturing toward a raised platform in the center of a new chamber.
It overlooked a pool of dark, churning water.
“We call this the deep mirror. It shows what hides in ourselves.”
I hesitated.
It sounded strange.
“Like magic?”
Bourne gave a low, rumbling chuckle.
“To your kind, hoomans , perhaps. To us, it is our resonance. I spoke with Ahtu earlier. He seemed to think it would help you accept your new circumstances.”
“It’s humans.” I stressed the vowel.
“And resonance?” I asked.
“Watch.” Bourne placed his webbed hand into the pool.
The liquid responded instantly.
Images bloomed across the surface, like oil on water.
First, a ship crashing on Sano’s atmosphere; explosions on the pristine beaches and sea; drills boring into coral beds with dozens of creatures shouting.
Bourne’s breath hitched as images of nightmarish creatures with claws, rows of razor-sharp teeth, and lashing tails emerged from the deep.
His demeanor change sent a shiver through my spine.
“What are those?”
“Trench creatures. My people, our people, are the only defense between them and the rest of Sanos.”
Then, the images shifted to her shuttle and the explosion.
The women scattered, and I saw myself dragged under the water.
“That’s me.”
Bourne nodded.
“Is that what the aftermath of the explosion looked like? It’s a miracle I survived.”
“That’s why I gave you my mating venom. I didn’t think you would.”
I lowered my eyes.
“What about the others? I have to know if they’re alive.” I gestured to my wrist communicator.
“The signal won’t go through. I’m not sure if it’s broken. And my communicator is dead.”
Bourne took the device off my wrist.
“How does it work?”
“I’m not sure. I’m not an engineer.”
“Would you like me to see if someone can repair it?”
Hope filled my chest.
“Please. I need to get in touch with the others. I want to know if they’re alive.”
“All the royals of Sanos were scheduled for the meeting. If any were near the women, I’m sure the royals would have rescued your team.”
“Do you think they’re alive?”
Bourne blinked.
“I don’t know. You are not the first outsiders to fall into our waters. But, to my knowledge, you are the first to be spared.” His voice softened.
“If fate was as kind to my brethren as it was to me, your friends are alive.”
“That’s a non-answer if I’ve ever heard one.”
“It is my wish that they are as lucky as I have been.”
I didn’t know what to say, so I allowed myself to fall into companionable silence.
I reached out, my fingers brushing the surface of the oil-slicked water.
It shimmered again and revealed a grand throne, the back an enormous shell.
Bourne rested on it, and a naked woman sat on his lap with her back to his chest.
His tentacles held her legs splayed open.
His cock thrust into her body while a thinner tentacle flicked her clit.
“What is that?” Tension filled my voice.
“The throne room.” Bourne’s voice shook.
“I’ve never. No.”
“Who is she?” I ground out the words.
“Look.” He pointed.
“It’s us.”
I looked and saw myself, my head thrown back in ecstasy, my lips parted in a scream while tentacles writhed over my body, and a tentacle entered my mouth.
Reflection me sucked on the tentacle, while Bourne’s hands cupped my breasts and his fingers played with my nipples.
I turned to Bourne, my body aching with desire.
“Bourne,” I rasped.
“I ache. Help me.”
“If we do, there is no going back.”
“How far is the throne room?”
Bourne scooped me in his powerful arms and swam faster than I’d ever seen him through a half dozen tunnels.
“Slow down!” someone called as we passed a series of archways.
“It’s the king,” others shouted.
“He has his mate.”
“Where are they going?”
“He’s never acted like this before.” Laughter peeled from some of Bourne’s subjects who had never seen their ruler race through the halls.
He leaned over to whisper in my ear.
“My parents never let me play chase in the palace. Even when I was young, they stressed proper behavior. I’m making up for the times I missed racing.”
I couldn’t contain my laughter.
We weren’t acting rationally, but I didn’t care.
My body craved his.
Bourne didn’t stop until he passed a heavy curtain of glowing vines.
The room was large, with eight arches, two on each wall.
The throne rested on a raised dais at the far wall.
Bourne pressed his lips against mine in a passionate kiss.
Never breaking the kiss, he sat on the throne, my legs wrapped around his waist.
His hands tugged my shirt out of my pants and we parted only to pull it over my head.
My breasts rested in front of his mouth, and he suckled one of my nipples in his mouth.
I moaned.
“More.” My hands went to the clasp of my pants and I shimmied out of them with the help of his tentacles.
“Handy.” Bourne murmured his agreement against my nipple.
His tentacles slid up the inside of my legs, caressing the soft skin of my inner thighs.
I widened my stance, granting him access to my center.
A thin tentacle rubbed over my lower stomach, teasing my mound.
I gasped at the light suction on my sensitive flesh.
“Like that?” Bourne asked.
“Mm hm,” I moaned, unable to form a coherent thought.
Two tentacles raised my body up so my pussy hovered over his mouth.
“Grip the throne,” he commanded.
My fingers wrapped around the edge of the shell as he extended his tongue to lick my clit.
I cried out in pleasure.
He licked and suckled my clit like a man starved.
A tentacle teased the crack of my ass before settling over my empty pussy.
It felt firm, yet yielding.
The rounded tip slid into me ever so slightly.
His tentacle was thick, spreading me, preparing me for the massive cock I knew waited for me.
I didn’t know what to make of the smooth shaft, so similar to my favorite dildo, yet more cylindrical.
I grunted as he fucked me with the tentacle and suckled my clit in his mouth.
My entire body tensed, and a wave of pure pleasure flowed over me.
I screamed his name.
He lapped at me until my legs stopped quivering.
In a smooth motion, Bourne turned me around, pressed my back against his chest and impaled me on his cock.
“Mine,” he chanted while pounding into me.
I threw my head back, as I had seen in the slick.
This me, the real me, grabbed for his hands, pressing them against my breasts.
Tentacles gripped my legs, parting me, baring me to anyone brave enough to walk into the throne room while Bourne took me with abandon.
His narrower tentacle slid between my legs, and the suction cup latched onto my clit, providing delicious friction with his every movement.
More tentacles wrapped around my arms, pinning me in whatever position Bourne wanted me.
I’d never been restrained before, and I found I loved it.
“Kendall.” Bourne’s bellow shook the room as he spilled himself inside my willing body.
Hot jets of his seed coated my pussy, and he ground his cock deeper against me, not allowing a drop to escape.
Breathing heavily, Bourne turned my face to his, pressing a kiss against my lips.
“Mine. My mate.”