Page 81 of Whispers of the Deep

He hissed a bit when she reached his ribs, but the worst was when she got to that torn hip fin.

“This looks very painful,” she said, not sure where to start with it. “Should I just...”

“Do what you have to do, achromo.”

Figuring she should just get it over with and not make either of them wait any longer, she grabbed the fin and put it back in place. He arched, his spine coming up off the floor as she apologized repeatedly. The sound of his pain, the deep rumble echoing through his gritted teeth, made every inch of her ache with him.

“I’m sorry,” she said, turning the medkit on and filling the space so the fin would stay in place. “I’m so sorry. I know this hurts, it’s almost done. It’ll be okay.”

And then she was done. Tossing the medkit away from them, she cupped her hands behind his head and drew it up to her chest. “You’re okay. You’re going to be okay now, I promise. That’ll fix you, and you won’t hurt anymore.”

But then she realized he wasn’t shaking in pain. He was laughing, his arms already coming around her and holding her a little more tightly against him. He lifted his head, looking up at her with far too much humor for a man who had just been in significant pain. “You are more worried about my wellbeing than I thought you would be.”

“You were in pain!”

“I have been in pain many times in my life. I’ve been bitten by sharks, attacked by squid, even had a turtle latch onto a gill when I was little.” He shrugged. “It’s all something that happens when you live as we do. I have never been cared for so gently, though. I will say that.”

She shouldn’t preen at the words. She shouldn’t be proud that she had taken care of him better than others, but she absolutely was.

Still. He laughed at her when she’d been worried about him. “I should toss you back into the sea, you beast.”

“Why’s that?”

“I was actually worried about you.”

“I know you were.” He smoothed his hand down her back, tugging her a little closer until she had no option but to straddle him. Then he did the strangest thing yet. He arranged her legs on either side of his tail, then snuggled her against his odd heartbeat.

Resting her cheek on his chest, she toyed with his rib gills. “Are you really okay now?”

“I’ll be fine. I just need rest.” He never stopped touching her. Gently moving his thumbs over her spine, sometimes coiling his fingers through her hair. She even felt him touch the lobe of her ear once.

And when she was almost drifting off to sleep, she muttered, “This can’t be comfortable for you. You’re laying on a hard floor.”

“You’d be surprised, Mira.” Then she swore he added, “Having you in my arms is the most comfortable I’ve ever been.”

Thirty-Two

Arges

He came to the next morning, already significantly healed. His body, though still sore and a little aching, was no longer torn or bleeding. Arges could even flex the fin at his hip. And though it wasn’t moving like normal—not even close, if he was being honest—he could at least move it.

And then there was the warmth spread out across his chest. The heat of a woman who had not only saved him but also wriggled her way into his heart. He wanted to hold her for longer. He wanted to cup the back of her head and rub her over every inch of his scales so that he could keep her scent with him always.

It was a strange sensation. One he’d only experienced with her, and he knew that was silly. There were plenty of his own people who were very interested in him. If he wanted a mate, he could find one with a snap of his fingers.

But he wanted her.

His brother’s warning rose in his mind, filtering through the warm fuzzy feeling of the morning. He would be hunted. His people would never understand their connection. Of course, that hurt his heart. He didn’t want to give up anyone at all and certainly didn’t think a love with this woman was worthy of throwing him out of their home. Nerves churned in his belly and he had the sudden desire to shove her off of him.

Then he remembered the skeletons outside of this dome. The way they had been coiled around each other, even in death. He knew what was the most likely story for how they had ended up there.

She’d died. She’d been in this dome, with her pretty dresses and all the beautiful things that undine had gathered for her from across the ocean. Age had caught up with her, or maybe she had gotten sick and no one had been able to help her. the achromos would certainly deny that any of their own people had ever had a connection with one of his own.

So maybe she had gotten sick and there was nothing her mate could do. When she had died, he’d gathered her in his arms and sank them both beside the home. Perhaps he had coiled his tail around her then, keeping them both beneath the waves until he had died.

Though the story was a sad one, there was also a lot of happiness in it as well. The love the male had for his mate was one that had extended beyond death itself.

He’d be lying if he tried to convince himself that he felt any different for her. For Mira.

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